[America attempting to study any object] We could try shooting it?

These sharks are hardly ever seen alive.

"Mental rotation" is a key component of the much-loved video game.

Microsoft have agreed a deal to purchase energy to power their expanding AI operations.

Firing a spacecraft at an asteroid is all very well, but this has a much more science fiction feel.

Recent observations might have given us the answer.

In its Sunday night media-focused newsletter, Semafor had a puff piece celebrating the faux Republican (read: progressive) site The Bulwark as “one of the breakout media successes” in 2024 with its personalities “bona fide stars” that liberal strategist and publisher Sarah Longwell declared to represent “a new center”... even though their site has a singular, crazy-ex-girlfriend-level focus on Donald Trump. The Free Beacon’s Joe Simonson put it perfectly in mocking these tools: “The Bulwark is a rabidly partisan pro-Democratic website that nearly exclusively employs Democrats but wants its readers to believe they’re centrists. This is nothing but a marketing technique to build their liberal readership.” “This cynical technique is common at so many outlets. You’re not a Democrat. You’re actually not even ideological. But you’re *definitely* not a Republican. You’re a reasonable person, right? It just so happens that Democrats are the party for reasonable people — forever,” he added. Much of Max Tani’s piece centered on its explosion on YouTube, led by Tim Miller, “the floppy-haired, open-collared face of Never Trump outlet The Bulwark” who, much to his chagrin, has realized the key for his videos have to include a thumbnail with him “making the MrBeast face, the wide-eyed, open-mouthed smile.” Miller, a darling of MSNBC for snarky takes trashing Republicians and espousing support for Democrats seemingly from president on down to township supervisor, has pulled The Bulwark’s YouTube from “50,000 YouTube subscribers last September” to “631,000 as of Saturday afternoon and counting.” Tani sort of gave away the game by acknowledging their growth has come “in the last two months” and “[s]ince President Biden dropped out of the race” with one viral video having this comical title: “Kamala’s MOST POWERFUL AD So Far! Everyone Needs to See!” Tani also gave away the game by showing places like downtown Washington D.C. and an event hosted by The Atlantic where Longwell and Miller are treated like royalty (click “expand”): Now, he and his Bulwark colleagues are bona fide stars of political media. During a lunch last week with this Semafor reporter in downtown D.C., a young woman stopped to ask for a selfie with Miller and Bulwark Publisher Sarah Longwell (“I can’t wait to send this to my mom,” she remarked). Backstage at the Atlantic Festival that day, staffers for Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.) posed for pictures with The Bulwark duo before they took the stage to raucous applause. Panel moderator Evan Smith, the senior adviser to Atlantic owner Emerson Collective, pointed out that The Atlantic doesn’t often prefer to host other non-Atlantic media personalities at its events, but made an exception for The Bulwark crew, a sign of their influence and popularity.      (....). The publication launched in 2018 out of the ashes of the Weekly Standard, founding editor Bill Kristol’s conservative magazine, which found itself in an ideological no man’s land as one of the few right-leaning publications that failed to bow to Donald Trump. Originally, founders Kristol, Longwell, and Charlie Sykes conceived it as a conservative news aggregator, a place to share the views of Republicans in media and politics who had been alienated by Trump’s rise. For Longwell, a former Republican staffer, The Bulwark began largely as a side project to her primary gig as a survey researcher and strategist. Early after The Bulwark’s launch she approached two of her political clients — Kathryn Murdoch, the wife of the Fox News owner’s son James, and liberal megadonor Reid Hoffman, who founded and sold LinkedIn. They were both readers and fans of the site, and she asked if they’d chip in to help cover the initial shortfalls of about $400,000 and keep the publication going. The outlet’s subsequent growth happened almost by accident. (....) This sometimes produces surreal scenes: Last week, a room full of 400 liberal and center-left Atlantic Festival guests erupted in applause for remarks by Kristol, once best known as the most committed media promoter of George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq. “The surge has turned The Bulwark from an anti-Trump refuge into a promising media business,” he boasted, adding Longwell’s prediction the publication could “break even this year.” The former Daily Beast reporter claimed “The Bulwark is riding two converging trends” with one being a “tectonic realignment that’s been happening in US politics, and serves as a kind of media escort from former Republicans on their way to support for Democratic candidates.” That’s putting it mildly. Before Longwell’s comical conclusions that The Bulwark seeks to “build a new center” and “community” across “the country that sort of refuses to engage in extreme sides of politics” and they’re “not pursuing big investment dollars,” Tani argued The Bulwark has been “fueled by the antipathy towards Trump and alienation from the current conservative movement.” Let’s go through the headlines of the five most-recent editions of their five political newsletters. First, The Triad: Mark Robinson Proves—Again—That the Republican Party Is a Failed State; The GOP is an impotent institution. The Kamala Prediction Accountability Project; JVL needs your help. Who Will Republicans in Springfield, Ohio Vote For?; What happens when partisans find out that their presidential nominee is lying about them and hurting their community? The Ballad of Byron York: Meet Conservative Media’s Saddest Stenographer; One man’s journey from normie Republican apologist to MAGA evangelist—and (sort of) back. Trump Is the Main Character of 2024. Again.; How to take over the news cycle with this one weird trick. Now, Morning Shots (featuring Bill Kristol): This Is an Emotional Rollercoaster; Harris is Up! No, Trump is Up! No— How Dumb Do They Think You Are?; Mark Robinson is barely even trying to beat the allegations. He thinks his voters won’t notice. Suffering in the Service of Trump; The former president is fine with shutting down the government or delaying interest rate cuts so long as it helps his political chances. The Miles Davis of Tax Policy; Trump’s just making it up on the fly. You’re Allowed to Call Trump a Threat to Democracy; Political violence is an intolerable threat to our nation. It isn’t the only one. Third, Press Pass with the description of “[i]n-depth reporting on Congress, campaigns, and the way Washington works”: The Trump Assassination Conspiracies Have Reached the Capitol; Plus: Five minutes to midnight on the government shutdown clock. Senate Republicans Did Not Follow the Fertilization Leader; “This is just another show vote for Schumer trying to make an issue out of something that isn’t.” Ted Cruz Has Suddenly Gotten Quiet on Abortion; Plus: Republican lawmakers are frantic after Trump’s debate. Republicans Are Losing the House Fundraising Battle; Plus: How do GOP senators feel about Dick Cheney now? GOP Lawmakers Also Follow Tucker Carlson’s Favorite Nazi Apologist; Plus: Are you getting a different “I Voted” sticker this year? Four, MAGAville: The North Carolina “Black Nazi” Who Could Cost Trump the Presidency; Will Mark Robinson’s gross posts drag down the other Republicans on the ballot? Ex-U.S. Attorneys Rip DeSantis’s Trump Assassination Probe; ‘This governor likes to stick his nose into federal matters for political purposes.’ Trump Team: ‘We’ll Take The Hit’ on Cat Eating to Keep Immigration in the News; The ex-president’s team, led by JD Vance, would rather talk about migration than abortion. And Springfield allows them to. Laura Loomer Looms Over Trump Land; Factionalism is breaking out over her newfound prominence within the ranks. ‘Trump Blew It’: Cat Scratch Fever on The Debate Stage; “He was supposed to make her own the Biden record. That didn’t really happen.” And, finally, Overtime: How a U.K. Firm Helped China Crack Down on Hong Kong Democracy; Plus: Mr. Biden Goes to Moscow What a Second Trump Term Would Look Like; Plus: The GOP Scheme That Could Bring Our Electoral System to Its Knees Trump Attacks the Post Office—and Democracy; Plus: Trump and Vance Are Hypocrites About Political Violence Here’s How Harris Should Respond to Putin’s Nuclear Saber-Rattling; Plus: The Violence Will Get Worse  The Five Counties to Watch in 2024; Plus: Laura Loomer Is the Symptom, Not the Disease 25 newsletters and maybe two with headlines that, on the surface, weren’t anti-Trump or anti-Republican. How is this any different from, say, The Atlantic, The New Republic, or Slate?

Federal prosecutors revealed in a Monday filing that Ryan Routh, the 58-year-old Democratic donor suspected of trying to assassinate Kamala Harris' opponent on Sept. 15, previously offered an international bounty on President Donald Trump's head and had foreknowledge of Trump's whereabouts. According to the filing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, a civilian witness approached law enforcement days after Routh's Sept. 15 arrest, indicating the suspected would-be assassin had dropped off a box at his residence several months prior. 'It is up to you now to finish the job.' Upon learning of the assassination attempt, the witness, who is unnamed in the filing, apparently opened the box. There, he reportedly found ammunition, a metal pipe, building materials, four phones, and a number of letters, including one addressed to "The World." Routh's appeal to murderers abroad, which largely reads like Harris campaign literature, allegedly states: Dear World, This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I am so sorry I failed you. I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job. Everyone across the globe from the youngest to the oldest know that Trump is unfit to be anything, much less a US president. U.S. presidents must at bare minimum embody the moral fabric that is America and be kind, caring and selfless and always stand for humanity. While the Department of Justice disclosed the first page of the letter, the remainder was not shared. However, the filing indicated that the letter does at one point state, "He [the former President] ended relations with Iran like a child and now the Middle East has unraveled." Donald Trump Jr. asked on X, "WTF!? Why is Kamala's DOJ publicizing Ryan Wesley Routh putting a bounty on my dad's head???" Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) suggested, "The DOJ, which is trying to put Trump in prison, is now offering a bounty on Trump's head by releasing this. Why else would they release this?" Routh's letter to killers abroad echoes what he wrote in his self-published 2023 book, "Ukraine's Unwinnable War." In the book, Routh — who made around 20 small donations to Democrats through ActBlue between 2019 and 2020 and who the Department of Homeland Security declined to investigate despite previous complaints — apologized to Iranians for Trump dismantling the nuclear deal and noted, "You are free to assassinate Trump as well as me for that error in judgment." Routh added, "No one here in the US seems to have the balls to put natural selection to work or even unnatural selection." Prosecutors indicated that the box Routh dropped off with the witness also contained a handwritten list of dates in August, September, and October and corresponding venues indicating where Trump had appeared or was anticipated to show up. It's presently unclear whether the dates and locations were all public knowledge. However, acting USSS Director Ronald Rowe told reporters last week that Trump "wasn't supposed to have gone there in the first place," referencing his Sept. 15 visit to the golf course. There was also a notebook in the box filled with names and phone numbers linked to Ukraine along with "discussions about how to join combat on behalf of Ukraine." Blaze News previously reported that Routh fancied himself an international recruiter for Ukrainian forces and ran the website "Fight for Ukraine." Although Ukraine's foreign legion reportedly figured him for a charlatan, he was featured in multiple mainstream reports about international recruitment. In addition to attempting to help Afghan militants qualify to fight against Russia in Ukraine, Routh was apparently a cheerleader for the Ukrainian brigade associated with neo-Nazis since its inception. He appears at the 1:50-minute mark in a 2022 video of a Ukrainian demonstration in support of the Azov Brigade. The Azov Brigade said in a statement last week that it "has no connection" to Routh. The court filing noted further that the FBI obtained cell site records for two of the phones found in the vehicle Routh reportedly used to flee the scene of the alleged assassination attempt. The records indicated that Routh traveled from Greensboro, North Carolina, to West Palm Beach on Aug. 14. Between Aug. 18 and Sept. 15, Routh's phone allegedly accessed cell towers near Trump's golf course and Mar-a-Lago residence on numerous occasions. Extra to revealing Routh's apparent willingness to outsource Trump's assassination to foreign killers and his apparent foreknowledge of Trump's whereabouts, prosecutors highlighted ahead of Routh's detention hearing Monday that on Dec. 20, 2002, the Ukraine-war obsessive was convicted in North Carolina for possession of a weapon of mass destruction — a "binary explosive device" — as well as in 2010 for multiple counts of possession of stolen goods. Blaze News previously reported that when Routh appeared in court on Dec. 18, 2002, his bond amount was increased to $100,000, and he was ordered released Dec. 18 by Superior Court Judge Peter M. McHugh. Days later, Routh entered a plea agreement that led to dismissal of the explosives charge, and his bond was reduced to $10,000. Rather than serve up to 19 months in prison, Routh was ultimately ordered to serve 60 months of probation and to pay a $225 fine. Like Blaze News? 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The Georgia State Election Board voted on Friday to pass a rule that mandates all counties to hand-count ballots in the upcoming election.The proposal requires ballots to be hand-counted by precincts in addition to machine-counting already in place. The poll manager and two poll officers will be tasked with unsealing the ballot boxes and making independent counts of the ballots. After their counts match one another, they are to compare that to the machine count and resolve any discrepancies.'Every time you make a statement that this could be against the law, you are welcoming lawsuits.'The rule aims to “ensure the secure, transparent, and accurate counting of ballots.”Critics of the proposal claim it will substantially slow down the ballot-counting process, causing delays in Georgia’s election results.Janelle King (R), a board member in support of the proposal, stated ahead of the vote on Friday, “According to our Georgia Code, the role of the state election board — part of our role — is to ‘to promulgate rules and regulations to define uniform and nondiscriminatory standards.’”“As we stated several times, having some counties counting by hand and some counties not does not establish uniformity. This rule will do that, and we do have the ability to do that. We would not be breaking any statutes,” King noted.The board’s chair, John Fervier (R), who opposed adopting the new rule, pushed back on King’s statements.Fervier said, “It says in accordance to the rule and with existing statute, I believe. And if there’s no statute support for this —”“Can you show that to me, Mr. Chairman?” King asked.“Did you read the attorney general’s opinion?” Fervier asked King, after appearing to sigh and drop his hands on the table in frustration.“I’m not talking about the attorney general’s opinion. I’m talking about what is in our Georgia election code book,” King responded.As his last comment before proceeding with the vote, Fervier stated that the board voting for the rule would be “going against the advice of our legal counsel.”Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr (R) previously claimed that the proposal was “not tethered to any statute — and [is], therefore, likely the precise type of impermissible legislation that agencies cannot do.” Carr also expressed concerns that such changes are too close to the upcoming November election.“Mr. Chairman, I have to point out, that every time you make a statement that this could be against the law, you are welcoming lawsuits,” King stated.The audience cheered in response to King’s statement.“Lawsuits that we know will be dismissed,” King continued. “I just read in our code what we can and can’t do. Undisputed. So I just want to be on record stating that I really am getting a little tired of encouraging lawsuits.”“I will not correct your comments,” Fervier replied.Following the exchange, the board proceeded with a voice vote and passed the rule 3-2.Sara Tindall, a Democrat on the board who voted with Fervier to reject the measure, told CNN, “Everyone that I have heard from personally is against it.”Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger claimed the rule “would not withstand a legal challenge.”Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A series of nearly a dozen street takeovers involving hundreds of cars and reckless drivers wreaked havoc during one night over the weekend in Philadelphia.Police said officers responded to multiple locations between 9:30 p.m. Saturday and 4:33 a.m. Sunday to address illegal street racing and car meetups, WTXF-TV reported.'We have your picture. We're coming for you. If you think you got away last night, you didn't, OK? So when you hear that banging on the door, it will be us. We’re coming with search warrants, and we’re coming with arrest warrants.'Blaze News has reported extensively on street takeovers, which typically involve participants meeting at a predetermined intersection, blocking it off, and doing endless donuts in a circle and other dangerous stunts while a big crowd gawks and records it all on video.Philadelphia has been dealing with the problem for some time.You can view a video report here about this weekend's incidents, which WTXF said involved "dangerous behaviors," including drifting, setting off fireworks, starting trash fires, and vandalizing police vehicles. The following are descriptions of some of them:Around 9:30 p.m. on Bustleton Avenue about 50 cars were involved, and police issued nine citations under the Nuisance Car Ordinance and 15 citations to spectators, the station said. One driver tried to escape capture by driving directly at officers, which resulted in a crash with a civilian vehicle, WTXF said, adding that the driver has been identified and a warrant issued for the driver's arrest.At the intersection of 20th Street and Pattison Avenue at 11:47 p.m., the station said more than 100 vehicles were reported drifting and engaging in reckless driving — and two people were arrested after fleeing from police and crashing into a pole.At 3:30 a.m. on Fox Street, a police officer suffered minor injuries while responding to an assist call when a car fleeing authorities struck his vehicle, WTXF noted.At Island and Bartram Avenue, more than 200 vehicles were involved in drag racing and drifting at 4 a.m., the station said. What's more, officers were attacked and a police vehicle was damaged — and the crowd dispersed when additional police units arrived, WTFX said.At 4:33 a.m., more than 100 cars were reported drifting and setting trash fires at 15th Street and Market Street, the station said, adding that participants also attacked officers and damaged multiple police vehicles, causing broken windshields and flattened tires. "There’s officers in the car; they’re jumping on the windshield. They're physically doing damage," Deputy Commissioner Mike Cram told reporters, according to WTXF. "They don't care about your safety, their own safety. If you've all seen the videos with their behavior, they really don't care. It's just about, 'How much chaos can we can we cause?'"Cram described how difficult it can be to corral the perps, the station noted: "It's plain whack-a-mole; that's the best way to describe it. We hit 'em at one location, they move to another very quickly. Obviously they don't abide by any traffic regulations. They don't care."Police said they're pulling out all the stops to combat street takeovers — and WTXF noted law enforcement's message to the culprits: "Do not think for a moment that you got away with it and that you will not be held accountable. There are cameras everywhere, there is a considerable amount of evidence to go through; PPD will use that evidence to make arrests when warranted."Deputy Commissioner Francis Healy added the following, the station reported: "We have your picture. We're coming for you. If you think you got away last night, you didn't, OK? So when you hear that banging on the door, it will be us. We’re coming with search warrants, and we’re coming with arrest warrants."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!