I'm trying desperately to be respectful of the person speaking to me, but my husband keeps texting me.First he sends me a selfie of him with Rafi*, then it's an account of who stopped him on his way into the NICU. Then he suggests I take a selfie with Jillian* so he can post them side-by-side on Facebook and boast that we finally have two babies.People will ask if they're twins, I'm sure. But they're not twins. In fact, the babies aren't even ours.I take care of these babies because I'm what's known as an "interim parent."The program I'm part of is rare; there are very few like it in the United States.While the babies are in my care, the birth parents retain their legal rights as parents and are encouraged to visit their babies (if that's something they would like).If they weren't in the care of interim moms like me, these tiny babies might wait in the hospital a few extra days while their adoptions are finalized — or they might enter the foster care system.In New York, biological parents have 30 days after adoption proceedings begin to change their minds about their placement plan.I became an interim parent when a local mom posted about it on our neighborhood Yahoo! group."That! THAT I can do!" I thought, as I looked at the computer screen.I was thrilled. I felt incapable of doing other types of volunteer work, but I felt like I had finally found a community service that I could perform. So, my husband and I applied. And after months of doctor appointments, background checks, interviews, and letters of reference from close friends, we were accepted.The hope with the interim boarding care program is that biological parents have time to gain clarity about their decisions without pressure.It also helps adoptive parents feel secure in their status as parents.The children don't usually get the chance to be present when one of our babies goes home, so this was a special day. Roughly 30% of the babies I've cared for have returned to their biological parents after their stay with me, and the rest have been adopted. Many of the birth mothers I've known have pursued open adoptions, selecting and meeting their child's forever families.People often ask me what the experience of interim parenting is like, but there's no rule: Each case is different.Babies stay with us, on average, for a few weeks. But one baby stayed with us with five days, another for nine and a half weeks.Whatever the scenario, my family and I are available to care for these babies until they go home ... wherever "home" may be.This work can be emotionally challenging, too. Some biological parents do not interact with us at all while they're making big decisions, and some end up being very involved. Some text regularly, requesting photos and updates on the baby while the baby is in our care. Sometimes they schedule weekly visits with the babies. One birth mom became such a constant in our life that my son asked if we could bake her cookies.I am often blown away by the biological parents' gratitude.Melody* was one of the most beautiful babies I'd ever cared for, and I met her parents a couple of times. When they came to take her home, it was as though she was the only one in the room. When they thanked me for taking care of her, my lip started to quiver.I had also never met Jibraan's dad, either, when I placed him in his arms the day they went home together. "From the bottom of my heart ... I can't tell you what you've done for me," he said. I remember that he towered over me, the size of a linebacker, clenching his jaw to keep the tears from spilling down his cheeks.When I wave goodbye to the social workers at the agency after introducing each baby to their forever family, I always wonder how long it will be before I get to hold another baby.I don't get attached to each baby, per se. But I get attached to having a baby, to taking care of a baby. I resent my empty arms, and I feel like I've lost my purpose. So each time I see the adoption agency's phone number pop up on caller ID, my heart skips a beat.When the voice on the other end says, "Hi, Ann ... are you ready to take another baby?" my first thought is, "Baby! I'm getting a BABY!" That excitement lasts for at least 48 hours.But even as the adrenaline calms down and the sleepless nights begin to take their toll, the experience of caring for each baby proves to be more than enough motivation for me to keep going.The emotions that swell when my babies go home with any parent — their adoptive parents or their birth parents — are not just because of the emptiness I feel in my arms or even because of the happiness I have for my babies and their families.The emotions I feel are because of the fullness in my heart and the gratitude I have for being a part of each of these babies' stories, even if it's just for a moment.This article was written by Ann Lapin and originally appeared on 04.08.16

For decades, women's liberation, Me Too and other movements have shed light on the reality of being a woman in a patriarchal society. As a result, we've all gained a better understanding of how women are impacted by sexism and have slowly but surely re-examine social norms that have negatively affected women throughout history. What's often been overlooked, though, is how patriarchal norms negatively affect men as well. We know that men have been discouraged by society from sharing their feelings, but the notion that men don't open up because it's "unmanly" is also an oversimplification. Sure, there are men who don't know how to express their feelings, but there are also conscientious, emotionally available men who don't talk about the hard parts of being a man out loud because they don't want to overshadow women's concerns with their own. It's ironic that a sensitivity to women can get in the way of openly sharing the reality of being a man, but here we are. A question posed on Reddit provided an invitation for men to open up with its unique framing: "What would women dislike most if they became men?" and men took the opportunity to share things that women might not realize they struggle with. While there may be a temptation to compare these things to what women deal with, listening with compassion and an open mind goes a long way toward building understanding and empathy. Considering the fact that suicide rates among men are four times higher than women, we need more understanding because clearly a lot of men are struggling. Here are some of the things men shared:Trying to convince people you're not scary or creepyWomen are generally viewed as safe, while men are seen as potential threats. There are understandable reasons for that, but women may not realize how exhausting it is to try to navigate that as a man who genuinely isn't a threat. It hurts to know that people are automatically afraid of you."People being afraid of you for nothing you have done.""Constantly worrying about not looking like a creep. Seriously, shit is exhausting. I’m a 5ft 10 inches, 225lbs, muscular black dude. I know damn well that that I’m probably the last person a woman(or anyone for that matter) wants to see walking behind them while they are alone at night.I work in retail too so there’s times where I will walk around the store just to avoid walking behind women just to make them feel better.Just to be clear, I’m not saying that women aren’t justified for being wary. I completely understand why they might feel that way but it just sucks constantly trying to make sure I don’t accidentally look like a creep." Men are automatically seen as a potential threat.Photo credit: Canva"I’m 6’1, 265 lbs, brown, bald. No one has sat next to me on a bus in years. A child refused to sit next to me on a flight once and threw a tantrum about it. I ignored her the entire time. But oof that hurt. I cried watching Coco.""Dude as a 6'2 fat dude with a beard I feel like being perceived as a creep is responsible for like 80% of my social anxiety, like I can't casually physically interact with anyone cause I'm scared of being called a creep.""I’ll never forget the feeling of a loss of innocence when I was around 17yo and a woman grabbed her kid as I was walking towards my car (it looked like I was walking towards the kid who was in the general trajectory in the parking lot) and it dawned on me 'oh, I’m no longer seen as a child, I’m a potential threat now.' It was such a weird feeling."Being viewed with suspicion around childrenWomen can say they love kids and show affection toward them without much of an eyebrow raise. But men who love children in pure and wholesome ways can't express that without people assuming or fearing they're a pedophile."People thinking you're a pedo when you're watching your own kid at the park.""Being viewed with suspicion whenever I interact with children. Plenty of shitty things about being female, but that one is particularly sad for men.""It's really sad, because children have this reckless abandon that is fun to watch. Running around and playing with no greater purpose in mind, just enjoying being alive without thinking about what's above and below.I can't go to public parks without being looked at like I'm a predator, much less go anywhere where children are playing without the exact same vitriol but on steroids. Children are fun to watch, and I'm not there watching for some sick sexual thrill or to hurt anyone, I just like to be reminded that I once WAS one of those children not so long ago." Dad playing with kidsPhoto credit: CanvaBeing seen as the lesser parentMuch has been made of women often being the "default parent" who shoulders most of the mental burden of parenting. But a lot of that is social expectation, and even men who try to take on an equal share of parenting duties find that they're fighting an uphill battle to be treated as an equal parent. "Being treated like a second rate parent even if you're the only parent.""While signing up for a daycare I told them to call me first if our kids got sick. They said “weeee usuallyyyyyyy caaaaaaalll the mooommm fiiiiiirst…??” With a confirming look towards my wife.I told them I wfh 5 minutes away and my wife is a teacher so if they want to waste their time calling my wife first go ahead but I’ll be (and am) usually the one to pick them up.They still call my wife first.""I was a stay at home dad. I told the teachers that when I met them at the beginning of the year. I was listed first in primary contacts. The number of times the school called my wife at work and then she called me so I could go pick up a sick kid was too high.""ThEy LeTtInG yOu BaBySiT?""Whenever my wife is without our kid they're always asking who is watching him. Like I am. His father. He's not being babysat, he's not being watched, he's just at home with me. Foreign concept to so many people."Alternatively, being seen as a hero for doing basic parenting thingsOn the flip side, a lot of men shared their bafflement at being venerated for doing very basic parenting things. While this may not seem like something to complain about, it's a bit infantilizing if you think about it. "Sometimes I'm just chilling with my kids at the park and get told I'm the best dad ever. Like I'm doing the bare minimum right now ma'am. This is the floor of what I should be praised for, not the ceiling." Dads go grocery shopping with kids, too.Photo credit: Canva"When my sister had her kids her ex husband used to occasionally take his baby to work at the community college in a sling and lecture with the baby. He became totally famous on campus as the best dad ever and he was shared viral on local social media as being totally adorable Meanwhile she was just a mom with a baby, completely unremarkable. No praise, just general annoyance from strangers that she even had her baby out in public.""I noticed this when I had custody of the kids after we separated. I was a freaking hero for attempting what millions of single moms have been doing forever. And it was in the eyes of women ( most men didn't care or notice) that my status was elevated while many of them were looking down their noses at the single mom's. Double standard for sure.""Yeah I was going to say.. in the experience of me and one of my close friends, as a guy, the bar for being considered a great parent is disturbingly low."The expectation to be an actual hero—and being seen as expendable"Women and children first" has been a standard of emergency response forever, which isn't inherently bad but does send a message about the expendability of men. Imagine being told that your life is less valuable as a rule. "If danger comes knocking, you have to answer the door while everyone else runs for the hills.""I love how people are only outraged if women and children die. Like every dude aint also someone's son.""Yup. If I’m a man dying, who cares. If I want a shred of sympathy, I have to describe myself as a husband, a father, or a provider.""People see men as expendable.""Off to the front lines you go.""I learned from a thread a few weeks ago that women have no concept of this whatsoever. It hasn't even occurred to them that they could be considered more expendable than another person by default and they're offended that it would even be a possibility." Men's lives are seen as expendable in some ways.Photo credit: CanvaA lack of complimentsOf course, there are women who don't feel like they get many compliments as well, but it appears to be a particular issue with men. Perhaps women compliment each other more, and men don't. Or perhaps it's that men misinterpret compliments as flirting too often, so women don't offer them to men as much. "You may go a year or ten without a single compliment. Many men are laying in their casket before many good things are ever said about them.""I had a woman complement my parallel parking skills 30 years ago, I can tell you when and where.""So true, lmao. The last "real" compliment I got was 3 years ago (lmao) that too from my dad's (male) boss who said I've an amazing smile.Well, unless my mom counts? I'm the most eligible bachelor in India as far as she's concerned. ?""The whole thing is an ugly catch 22. Men think compliments are flirting because they don't get enough compliments, but women avoid complimenting them because they don't want them to think it's flirting."The genuinely confusing messages about showing emotionThe common refrain is that men should show their emotions more and that women will respond positively to that. But in reality, many women have been as conditioned as men to view male emotion as weakness, and some respond accordingly. "Crying in front of people has the exact opposite effect.""'why don't you open up emotionally?'Opens up emotionally'I can't explain it, but I'm just, not attracted to you anymore.'""This one is real tho. You get shunned for not opening up, and you get shunned for opening up.""I joined a support group for victims of something I'm not going to get into, but the amount of guys who had their wives/girlfriends abandon them or cheat on them almost immediately after a traumatic experience like a parent dying or being the victim of a violent crime was staggering. As soon as they showed emotion, 'weakness' and needing support themselves, it was all over for the relationship." Many men feel like they can't show emotion even when they want to.Photo credit: Canva"Yup. When I got the call that my dad's cancer had spread to his brain and was terminal, I was at work and started to cry. It wasn't a sob or ugly cry at all and I was trying to keep it together. Once my coworkers in the office noticed, they just quietly got up and walked into another room without saying anything. I tried to focus on my work and pull it together, but after about 3 minutes I was literally alone in the room. It was an open concept kind of office and there were about 15-18 desks in the room. Nobody said anything. Nobody asked if I was ok. They just got up a left.About 15 minutes later the office manager asked if I needed to leave for the day because I was making other people uncomfortable. I heard at least one group of people joking about it on my way out.I ended up quitting a couple of months later because everybody treated me completely different afterwards. I went from being the funny guy at work to the weird guy who cried at work."There were some other things men shared that are worth taking a look at, but the bottom line is that there's genuine value in putting ourselves in other people's shoes. Just as women want men to understand what we deal with on a daily basis, men also have experiences and feelings that go unrecognized and unacknowledged. We all have a lot to learn and unlearn as we make our way toward gender equality, and truly understanding one another's realities is a vital step in that direction.

The corner of the internet devoted to grime and muck being scrubbed away to oh-so satisfying perfection, otherwise known as #CleanTok, is mostly wholesome, cathartic fun. But every once in a while, controversy comes in. For a mom named Audrey (who clearly has a passion for cleaning hacks, given her TikTok handle of @organizedchaos4), that moment came after she filmed herself doing a deep clean on her 12-year-old daughter’s room. Several people chimed in to accuse her of spoiling her kid, essentially. Granted, Audrey admitted that she had posted the video “hoping that the trolls would get those thumbs a-movin’.” So when they did indeed come after her, she was ready. “I surprised my daughter by cleaning her room for her. She's been getting herself up for 6 a.m. practices, she gets herself to school, she's out of the house before the rest of us have even woken up,” Audrey says in the clip. “Keep in mind she's 12. In return for all that she's been doing, I thought it would be a nice treat if I just did a quick speed clean of her room. It was no big deal.” Audrey goes on to say that the point of her follow-up video was to reiterate the importance of “extending grace.” @organizedchaos4 When we throw empathy out the window, we throw grace out the window. If you saw the video and your first reaction was to say, “why isn’t she doing it herself?” Ask yourself, “have I EVER left a room messy because I was overwhelmed, tired, busy?” If so, then you are in no position to judge a child for the same thing. #grace #kindness #help #parenting #cleaning #kids #mom ♬ original sound - Organized Chaos | Audrey That's what I did for my daughter. She had fallen behind on her room and I helped her.,” she says. “It costs you nothing, and it creates this ripple effect of kindness. We all have setbacks, we all have failures, we all make mistakes and if you say you don't you're lying. By extending grace we are spreading kindness, we are spreading compassion. If you can't extend grace to your own children then there's no way you're going to extend it to anyone else in the world and that's a scary world to live in.”Audrey then argues that being kind to others often makes it “easier” to be kind to ourselves, which is “vital for our mental health.”She then concludes, “so if you watched the video yesterday or you're watching this one today and you're thinking negative thoughts, ask yourself, ‘Am I quick to judge, be resentful, be negative or am I quick to extend grace or ask yourself have I ever stumbled and wish grace had been extended to me?’”Down in the comments, we see that Audreynis certainly not alone in her thinking. “Kindness costs nothing and provides everything,” one person wrote.“This will only inspire your daughter to keep working hard and give back when she has a chance to, and know she can rely on you when she struggles,” added another. Several other moms even chimed in about doing something similar for their kids. “Exactly I did the same thing for my 23-year-old daughter who works full-time and is a full-time college student. She’s 100% independent. I just want to take some off stress off her plate,” one mom sharedAnother said, “I do this for my daughter still, and it's her house.” As with all things in parenting, balance is key. Of course we don’t want to instill laziness, but at the same time, kids can’t be expected to overachieve in all areas, at all times. Adults can’t even manage this without a little help. Sounds like this is truly a case of a good kid acting as responsibly as humanly possible, and a mom just wanting to help out where she can, all why'll teaching her the world can be a safe place. Hard to see anything wrong with that.

Though the singer has only appeared on the show once before — and Fleetwood Mac never played SNL — she and her bandmates have been part of the show in many ways.

The illustrations tie into her many iconic roles.

Though the singer has only appeared on the show once before — and Fleetwood Mac never played SNL — she and her bandmates have been part of the show in many ways.

Watch The X22 Report On Video 2 videos found Ep 3471b – [KH] Exposed,Polls Crash,[DS] Pushing Terror Narrative Before,During & After The Election Ep 3471a – Rand Paul, Elon Begin The Narrative Of Why We Need To Remove The [CB] Click On Picture To See Larger PictureChina’s stimulus is now wearing off. The jobs that are being created are government jobs. The payroll data doesn’t make sense, big revisions are coming. Rand Paul, Elon send message about where inflation comes from, this all leads back to the [CB]. [KH] is exposed, the people are seeing the truth, the [DS] is pushing [KH] out, they know Trump is going to win. They are now planning for the post rigging of the election. The [DS] has now pushed the narrative that a terrorist is going to interfere in the election. They are now setting it up so they can interfere before, during and after the election. This will all backfire on them, Trump know the playbook, countermeasures are in place.   Economy BREAKING: China's Shanghai Composite falls nearly 6% as the stimulus-based rally comes to an end. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index is now down 11.5% over the last 2 days. Can stimulus really fix China's economic problems? pic.twitter.com/pqKPf1hrq3 — The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) October 9, 2024 What is happening with US government jobs data? The September jobs report shows the economy created 785,000 new government jobs, the second-largest monthly increase on record. Government jobs also accounted for a whopping 85% increase in total payrolls in the household survey.… pic.twitter.com/joxmif637J — The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) October 9, 2024   In effect, the number of government workers hit a new all-time high of 22.2 million. This helped push the unemployment rate down to from 4.2% to 4.1% Without government jobs, the unemployment rate would have been as high as 4.5%. Something really does not add up here. We expect at least one large downward revision in last month’s jobs data. This would put 2024 downward jobs revisions above 300,000. Not even 2008 saw as many months with downward revisions as we have seen. Follow us @KobeissiLetter for real time analysis as this develops. — The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) October 8, 2024  should expect material revisions over the next 2 months. The 254,000 September payroll creation number is likely overestimated given most of the job numbers have been revised downward over the last two years. This year alone, nonfarm payroll employment has been revised down by 293,000 jobs. We expect major downward revisions ahead. Biden Wants Banks to Report All Transaction over $600 The Biden Administration is pushing banks to report every $600 transaction, whether a deposit or withdrawal, from every business or personal account. The Democrats want everything, and no matter how much they collect, they will always spend more. TAXES are really no longer even necessary along with borrowing. They never pay off the debt anyhow, and it would be immensely more efficient for the government to just print the money they need and end both borrowing and taxation. Over 70% of the national debt is due to interest and wars. It does not go to expand the economy or help people whatsoever. Source: armstrongeconomics.com Dairy Farmer Makes it Clear: ’There’s No Question Our Four Years Under Trump Management Was Much Better” (Video)    A dairy farmer from Wisconsin spoke with Fox News and made it clear that there is “no question” that President Trump was “much better.” It is a refreshing change to hear an American citizen’s perspective rather than one of the endless talking heads. In a candid interview he shared, “We’ve been decided for a long time, yes. We’re Republican. We’re conservative. Yeah, there’s no question in our mind that our four years under Trump management was much better than the three and a half years under Biden management or whoever is… That’s a great mystery is who is actually running the government right now.” “It’s pretty obvious, hey, he’s a nice old guy, but he’s lost it. And it bothers the heck out of me that we’re thinking about electing a person that just six weeks ago, or I don’t know how many weeks, told us, ‘Oh, Biden’s on top of it. He’s really aggressive and really knows what he’s doing’.” Well, we all seen that in the debate. He’s passed his time.” As a farmer, what have you seen under this administation compared to under Trump? “Inflation. I mean, we’ve been ate alive by inflation. We don’t set our prices, and our prices tend to run a couple of years behind everybody else. So while we’re paying twice as much for tires and fuell and feed and everything else, our milk price stays the same until just now in the last month that it finally came up. But inflation has ate us alive.” Trump has gone into the bluest areas of Wisconsin, do you think folks in those counties might be receptive to hearing from him when he goes there? Source: thegatewaypundit.com Costco Gold Bars Are Selling Out Even As Prices Surge, Survey Finds  Around 77 percent of Costco outlets that sell bullion bars were sold out in the first week of October, a Bloomberg survey found. The news outlet and financial services company said it surveyed 101 stores in 46 states that sell gold and recently restocked the precious metal. The apparently high number of sales comes even as gold prices have surged in the past year or so. In the past 12 months, gold is up about 41 percent, going from around $1,864 per ounce to $2,640 per ounce. According to data provided by the American Precious Metals Exchange (APMEX), the spot price for gold hit a record $2,686 per ounce on Sept. 26. Costco started selling the 1-ounce gold bars in late 2023 in its stores and via its website, available only to members. Source: zerohedge.com https://t.co/cxuhDnu8Ml — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 9, 2024 TAKE. A LISTEN Political/Rights UPDATE: North Carolina National Guard Admits They ‘Rotor Washed’ a Hurricane Helene Relief Site As RedState reported on Tuesday, Brian Trascher, Vice President and PIO of the United Cajun Navy, confirmed the Sunday “rotor washing” event at one of their Hurricane Helene relief stations in North Carolina by what he surmised was a UH60 Blackhawk helicopter. https://twitter.com/NCNationalGuard/status/1843780336616124896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1843780336616124896%7Ctwgr%5Ef10fe9a952c773ff622ba7a2df80936c30baf096%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fredstate.com%2Fjenniferoo%2F2024%2F10%2F09%2Fupdate-north-carolina-national-guard-admits-the-rotor-wash-of-a-disaster-relief-site-was-on-them-n2180335 Source: redstate.com https://twitter.com/amuse/status/1843814760283824294   the Black Hawk helicopter seen in the video below. It belongs to the Connecticut Army National Guard. Props to CNN for actually asking the right questions here: CNN: As Hurricane Helene was making landfall, Biden was at the beach, Kamala was flying between ritzy California fundraisers, and you were at an awards ceremony in Los Angeles. How do you respond to these allegations?… pic.twitter.com/mWfPuZlFUf — Melissa Hallman (@dotconnectinga) October 9, 2024 Mayorkas: Kate uhh, we don’t uhh listen to or uhh pay attention to uhh such unproductive, uhh, and quite frankly, uhh counterproductive words. FEMA’s Ridiculous New ‘Hurricane Misinformation’ Website Needs Some Serious Fact Checking  The goal of the website is abundantly clear when you open it up. Do your part to the stop the spread of rumors by doing three easy things: Find trusted sources of information. Share information from trusted sources. Discourage others from sharing information from unverified sources. Jawohl!  FEMA knows they’ve lost the PR war and is trying to deflect responsibility by blaming everyone but themselves. Rumor: FEMA distributes aid based on demographic characteristics. Fact: FEMA provides assistance to survivors regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. Well, that’s demonstrably false. FEMA itself held a webinar just last year “trumpeting the urgent need to move away from policies that benefit the greatest number of people and instead turn focus toward ‘disaster equity’ where aid is distributed based on innate characteristics like sexual orientation and gender identity.” The site also tried to debunk the “rumor” that FEMA is out of funds for disaster relief, as reported by DHS’ own head honcho, Alejandro Mayorkas. Rumor: FEMA does not have enough money to provide disaster assistance for Helene. Fact: FEMA has enough money right now for immediate response and recovery needs. If you were affected by Helene, do not hesitate to apply for disaster assistance as there is a variety of help available for different needs. FEMA is ratcheting up its Keystone Cops routine at exactly the wrong time, with Hurricane Milton tracking at top speeds toward Florida. The bottom line is, if you’re doing your job and you’re doing it well, you don’t need to waste time and resources on trying to prove that you are. FEMA is flailing, and we all know it. Source: redstate.com BREAKING: North Carolina mayor says his daughter applied for FEMA’s $750 payment but was DENIED. pic.twitter.com/HnpP8d2nF0 — Election Wizard (@ElectionWiz) October 9, 2024 TAKE A LISTEN pic.twitter.com/zMZcaYaAsd — Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) October 9, 2024 Kamala can be heard telling an aide (who is feeding her questions) that it's a "live broadcast" before immediately asking the question. She's a total fraud. pic.twitter.com/jWQteg20Ep — Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 9, 2024 TAKE A LISTEN   REPORT: Trump Campaign Sounds Alarm Over Potential Disenfranchisement of More Than 530,000 Trump Voters in Flood-Ravaged Western North Carolina SCOOP: Trump campaign fears >530k Trump voters in western NC cd be disenfranchised by Helene. In fact,26 of 28 counties hit by flooding voted for Trump in '20. "There's a 4-to-1 disparity (vs Biden/Harris voters). We're very concerned," a Trump insider said. NC=16 electoral votes — Paul Sperry (@paulsperry_) October 9, 2024 The left-wing media are already signaling how the storm could swing the election,   According to Newsweek, registered Democrats in North Carolina have taken an early lead in returning mail-in ballots, raising Republican concerns about election integrity after officials implemented rule changes in counties severely impacted by Hurricane Helene. According to VoteHub.us, which sources data from the North Carolina State Board of Elections, a total of 22,910 mail-in ballots have been submitted so far, with 9,075 returned by Democrats, compared to 5,595 by Republicans and 8,240 by unaffiliated voters. Out of the 284,245 mail-in ballots requested, 261,335 have yet to be returned. Of the outstanding mail-in votes, 93,285 belong to registered Democrats, 65,333 to Republicans, and 102,717 to unaffiliated voters. Starting on October 9, the “Team Trump Bus Tour” will travel across North Carolina. The goal: to energize the conservative base and ensure every Trump supporter makes it to the polls despite the challenges. This tour is filled with high-profile conservative figures, including Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Rep. Elise Stefanik, and former Trump administration officials like Hogan Gidley and Kash Patel. Source: thegatewaypundit.com President Trump is giving free rooms at Trump Doral hotel to the lineman getting ready to help the people of Florida during the Hurricane. The people's President. pic.twitter.com/uRwM0UVjiN — Ronnie Lucero (@RonnieLuceroNM) October 9, 2024 Epstein Victim Virginia Giuffre Backs Trump: ‘Hopefully Our New President…Again’ — Ready to Spill Secrets to Elon Musk on Epstein Client List, Asks ‘What Are Your Plans to Set Things Right in the Billionaires’ Club?’ Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre backs Trump, signaling readiness to reveal secrets from Epstein’s client list with Elon Musk. Virginia Giuffre, one of the most prominent victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s notorious sex trafficking ring, has publicly thrown her support behind Donald Trump while reaching out to tech mogul Elon Musk about the infamous Epstein client list. Source: thegatewaypundit.com Geopolitical/Police State Brazil Lifts Ban on X After The Platform Agrees to Censor Accounts  The Supreme Court in Brazil has ruled to end the suspension on Elon Musk’s social media platform, X. This decision comes after an intense dispute lasting over a month between the judicial power and the popular online platform, featuring notable clashes over censorship demands. This significant ruling is the result of a legal dispute that kicked off when, in a late August verdict, Judge Alexandre de Moraes mandated a nationwide blockade of the platform. The platform found itself under scrutiny for refusing to secretly censor accounts in Brazil, particularly from supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro. As part of the restoration, X has not only paid a fine but has complied with a court order for the censorship of at least nine accounts, including that of a sitting senator, Marcos do Val. Source: reclaimthenet.org War NEW: Biden had intel 4 months in advance of Russia's invasion of Ukraine that Putin planned to send 175,000 troops across border, yet Putin blew off Biden's personal warnings not to invade and Zelensky didnt take Kamala Harris seriously, either, a new book by Bob Woodward reveals — Paul Sperry (@paulsperry_) October 8, 2024 Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, the Commander of the Quds Force under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCG), is still considered Missing; with him not being seen at a Ceremony today where Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Forces, was… pic.twitter.com/Zkx8cU7s6T — OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) October 9, 2024  presented with the “Fath Medal” by Supreme-Leader Ali Khamenei. Though a Senior Advisor to the IRGC, Ebrahim Jabbari stated after the Ceremony that Qaani is in “Perfect Health” and will soon also receive the Medal. Israel has not briefed U.S. military officials on its plans for retaliation against Iran, U.S. officials say Israeli Defense Minister Gallant was to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Austin in D.C. on Wednesday, but the trip has been postponed at the request of Prime Minister Netanyahu Israeli leaders still have not briefed the United States on specific details of their military response to last week’s ballistic missile attack by Iran, even after American military officials have discussed possibly supporting Israeli retaliation with intelligence or airstrikes of their own, according to two U.S. officials. Source: nbcnews.com  North Korea Becoming A Nuclear ‘Military Superpower’, Kim Jong Un Declares North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said his country is becoming a “military superpower” capable of deploying nuclear weapons, an option which would not be ruled out in the case of an enemy attack. “Our steps toward becoming a military superpower and a nuclear power will accelerate,” Kim declared in a Monday speech at the University of National Defense. He specifically cited the US concentration of its forces, including nuclear assets, on the Korean peninsula in support of Seoul as a reason for pursuing nuclear superpower status. “The military alliance of the United States and the Republic of Korea, has flouted by the puppets themselves, has become completely nuclear-based, and we need to keep our military preparedness at an endlessly high level,” Kim said. Source: zerohedge.com North Korea to cut off all roads to South North Korea’s military has announced that it will cut off all roads and railways to the South, in response to Seoul’s joint military exercises with US forces. According to a statement by the general staff of the North Korean People’s Army and shared by state media, the project to sever all transportation lines with South Korea and “completely separate” the two territories was launched on October 9. Additionally, Pyongyang said it will “fortify the relevant areas of our side with strong defense structures,” according to the Korean Central News Agency. Source: rt.com   False Flags WOW: A study involving 1.7 million children has found that myocarditis and pericarditis only appeared in children who had received Covid mRNA vaccines. Not a single unvaccinated child in the group suffered from these heart-related problems. This is absolutely shocking. pic.twitter.com/aI6Vs5XeC0 — Dr. Simone Gold (@drsimonegold) October 8, 2024 Q BREAKING: Tim Walz calls for eliminating the Electoral College while fundraising at Gavin Newsom's Sacramento private residence. "I think all of us know the electoral college needs to go." Add it to the list:– Packing the Supreme Court– Adding Puerto Rico and DC as states-… — Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) October 8, 2024   – Shredding the Freedom of Speech – Destroying 2A with “mandatory” gun confiscation – Eliminating the benefits of US citizenship – Abolishing the Senate filibuster And more… The party of “protecting democracy” despises America’s constitutional republic. HOLY SHT! A University of Kansas professor just blatantly said men “who won’t vote for Kamala” should be lined up and SH0T! WTF is wrong with people? pic.twitter.com/0KoJKUZyiD — Gunther Eagleman (@GuntherEagleman) October 9, 2024 TAKE A LISTEN What in the hell is this? What kind of accent is that? This is disqualifying to be in charge of anything, let alone the Commander in Chief of the most powerful force in human existence. There’s a reason the Dems kept a lid on her. She’s retarded. pic.twitter.com/BMHgvewszp — Clandestine (@WarClandestine) October 9, 2024 Stephen Colbert regrets asking her this question. https://t.co/SzeeSK81ci — Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) October 9, 2024   Fact Check: Kamala Harris Falsely Claims Donald Trump ‘Would Terminate the Constitution’ CLAIM: Former President Donald Trump “would terminate the Constitution of the United States,” Vice President Kamala Harris claimed on The View. VERDICT: FALSE. Trump vowed many times to protect the Constitution. “He has said he would terminate the Constitution of the United States,” Harris said, regurgitating a false narrative from the establishment media. In 2020, CNN wrote the headline: “Trump calls for the termination of the Constitution in Truth Social post. The story read: Source: breitbart.com Trump campaign demands ‘unedited transcript’ of Kamala Harris ‘60 Minutes’ interview after her Israel ‘word salad’ disappears  Trump’s campaign insisted Tuesday that CBS News release an “unedited transcript” of Vice President Kamala Harris’ entire “60 Minutes” interview after her “word salad” about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was cut from Monday’s broadcast. The dramatic edit was made after “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker noted that “it seems that Prime Minister Netanyahu is not listening.” Source: nypost.com   IT’S NOT JUST ARIZONA: Students in Georgia Receive Text Messages From Kamala Harris Campaign in Potentially Illegal Breach of Personal Data – Nevada, Michigan, New Mexico, New Hampshire, and North Carolina Too!   More than 100,000 Georgia college students and parents from multiple universities have reportedly received text messages from the Kamala Harris campaign, urging them to vote for her, in a potentially illegal use of state resources to influence the results of the 2024 election. Some of the text messages are addressed to the “Dawgs,” the official mascot of the University of Georgia. Via College Republicans at ASU: Source: thegatewaypundit.com Trump says Apple is hiding the encrypted overseas accounts of both of the assassins that tried to kill him and that Apple should be punished and forced to open them up so we can find out the truth behind who is really behind the shooting. Apple was quick to open the January 6th… pic.twitter.com/p8VizoHSKZ — Green Lives Matter (@Ultrafrog17) October 9, 2024  grandma cell phones, yet they won’t open up the phone of an almost Presidential assassin? Why won’t they open the phone? This is absurd. Trump says that the assassin hiding in the bush had six phones. Six. Who was he talking to? This most be priority number one yet they are covering it up, obviously. “So this shooter had three or so cell phones. The FBI’s never gotten them opened. The other shooter three apps they call them And I believe they were foreign based apps from what I understand. They haven’t opened them and they’re foreign based. And you know you hear all about Iran because I was rough with Iran but I wanna see Iran do great I wanna see Iran do great Yeah But I wanna stop all the killing and all this And and, I was rough on Iran and they supposedly have a hit on me. They have three apps and foreign based two of them.. Maybe three of them are foreign based They haven’t opened them yet. Why wouldn’t you open them when you hear about Iran? Then the other one had six cell phones, and they haven’t opened.. Now you know it’s very hard to open a cell phone… Only Apple can do it in theory unless you have somebody But they had no problem getting the January six people’s cell phones open. They opened their cell phones very quickly…..I would like them to open up these apps and find out what’s in there And so he had six cell phones… Who has six cell phones…Why does he have them? And why haven’t they opened up those cell phones? So if if you had And it’s different You know if you’re a drug dealer, I think it’s terrible in many ways but I guess from another standpoint Apple the primary group people buy those ones because they will never open them for any reason But they got them open…Apple has a key…And the key is I mean it just they can do it immediately. But they don’t do it… I think the rules have to go out and they have to open those things and they have to find out. And in terms of national security you have to either punish Apple or you have to get somebody that can do it. But in terms of national security, so the one guy has six phones lots of messages to people…Who are those people he’s calling when he’s hiding in the bush?”   Gold Star Mom Tina Peters sacrificed her freedom to expose election fraud in Colorado Now that she’s been sentences to 9 years in prison, she’s released her election fraud findings It shows they deleted files Her incredible work needs to be publicized, analyzed, and amplified https://t.co/MqE8zK1DBY — DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) October 9, 2024   files replaced with new files Now we know why the Democrat Judge in her case refused nearly all of her witnesses and excluded virtually all of her defenses, then sentenced her to 9 years in prison — because if this became a nationwide story the entire house of cards with Dominion could fall. Consolidated return sheets, opening and closing tapes, daily recap sheets from early voting, poll pad recap sheets, absentee ballot recap sheets, ballot images, log files, tabulation files, a numbered voter list, absentee numbered list of voters, absentee ballot oath envelopes,… — Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) October 8, 2024   security verification forms, and chain of custody forms of the poll manager and technician. And Fulton County must appear at the next meeting. GAME ON! Honored to serve. I’ve already spoken to most of the movers & shakers in AZ, and I’m heading there shortly after fulfilling another campaign duty in another part of the country. Have laptop, will travel! I look forward to working w/ our AZ legal colleagues already on the ground! pic.twitter.com/0fTNX9Etic — Harmeet K. Dhillon (@pnjaban) October 9, 2024   NEW: Virtually none of the major polls are factoring in third-party candidates Cornel West and Jill Stein (who's on every swing state ballot but Nevada), and when they are factored in, Trump's actually in the LEAD, a key Trump campaign adviser involved in internal polling notes — Paul Sperry (@paulsperry_) October 9, 2024 Trump’s Chances Of Winning Electoral College Continue To Increase As Blue-Wall State Poll Swings In His Favor A J.L. Partners model showed Trump with an advantage over Vice President Kamala Harris, giving Trump a 58.8% chance of winning the electoral college compared to Harris’ 41.1%, after a Michigan poll released on Thursday by Michigan News Source and MIRS showed him leading in the Great Lakes State. Previous polling by The New York Times and Siena College revealed Harris and Trump locked in a close race in the key battleground of Michigan as well. “Things continue to move against Harris—Trump’s win probability has increased by another two points since last week. The win probability gap has now widened to nearly 18 points,” Callum Hunter, data scientist at J.L. Partners, said, according to the Daily Mail . gns did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment. Source: dailycaller.com SCOOP: Trump campaign insiders say they are confident Trump will take MICHIGAN and its 15 electoral votes based on focus groups w/ Muslims who say they'd "never vote for a woman," and on Cornel West & Jill Stein bleeding off votes from Kamala. Stein got 51,463 Mich votes in 2016 — Paul Sperry (@paulsperry_) October 9, 2024 I have to say… I am very impressed with this policy proposal. "The Civil Rights Act prevents such platforms from prohibiting individuals from using said platforms on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, nationality or sex. There is no reason that the platforms… pic.twitter.com/k9YHNMg3nE — George (@BehizyTweets) October 8, 2024 Fox News proposes dates for possible second Trump-Harris debate  Oct 9 (Reuters) – Fox News has invited U.S. presidential contenders Donald Trump and Kamala Harris to participate in a possible second debate on either Oct. 24 or 27, the network said in a statement on Wednesday. Source: reuters.com Trump is having a rally in Madison Square Garden on the 27th Especially in big cities https://t.co/Edw2uKxc7U — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 8, 2024 BREAKING: FBI says it has arrested Afghan man who was planning US Election Day attack on large crowds Agents arrested Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, after an investigation that discovered the man had been stockpiling automatic weapons and had been in the process of liquidating his family’s assets. The FBI arrested an Afghan man who it says was influenced by the Islamic State to plan an Election Day attack that would have targeted large crowds in the US, AP reported Tuesday. Source: thepostmillenial.com Also recall photos of half-empty planes leaving Kabul in early days of the evacuation—the brass ordered the C-17s filled despite warnings from officials the Afghans were not being vetted. https://t.co/nfghFEGtde pic.twitter.com/bMlzLyFc7O — Lucas Tomlinson (@LucasFoxNews) October 9, 2024 Started / Going, CNN Edition pic.twitter.com/3pY90ivFRG — Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) October 9, 2024   Donald Trump has been proven right AGAIN! https://t.co/CZPbv2T4wP — Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) October 9, 2024 If Trump wins, it appears the Deep State have plans to activate terror cells that are already inside our nation. The Dems let millions of people into our country, unchecked, and some number of them are literally terrorists. I fear what they have planned is horrific. pic.twitter.com/rtStD1cgiG — Clandestine (@WarClandestine) October 9, 2024  

by Chris Menahan, Information Liberation: Chris Rufo investigated how 2,000 Haitian migrants “suddenly arrived” in the small town of Charleroi, Pennsylvania and discovered “an open conspiracy between the federal government, publicly funded NGOs, and private corporations.” TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/ We conducted an investigation to understand how 2,000 Haitian migrants suddenly arrived in Charleroi, Pennsylvania. […]