FORTEAN PHENOMENA

Origins of black ring in the sky over Virginia a mystery

Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Several Virginia residents captured video when a mysterious black ring was seen floating in the sky over the Williamsburg area.

Multiple witnesses in the Hampton Roads region reported seeing the black ring in the sky shortly after 11 a.m. Tuesday, and multiple people captured photos and videos of the unusual phenomenon.

The ring vanished within a few minutes.

Seemingly similar blacks rings have been spotted in other locations in the past, with fires and explosions being cited as the likely cause.

The James City County Fire Department said it was unaware of any reports of incidents that could have caused the ring at the time of the sightings.

Ricky Mathews, a meteorologist for WAVY-TV, said the cause was likely pyrotechnics or similar incident of concentrated fire causing a smoke ring to rise. Fellow meteorologist Steve Fundaro hypothesized it might have resulted from an industrial process.

SEA SERPENT

A rarely seen deep sea fish is found in California, and scientists want to know why

  Aug 17, 2024

A rarely seen deep sea fish resembling a serpent was found floating dead on the ocean surface off the San Diego coast and was brought ashore for study, marine experts said.

The silvery, 12-foot-long (3.6-meter) oarfish was found last weekend by a group of snorkelers and kayakers in La Jolla Cove, north of downtown San Diego, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography said in a statement.

It's only the 20th time an oarfish is known to have washed up in California since 1901, according to institution fish expert Ben Frable.

Scripps noted that oarfish have a mythical reputation as predictors of natural disasters or earthquakes, although no correlation has been proven.

Oarfish can grow longer than 20 feet (6 meters) and normally live in a deep part of the ocean called the mesopelagic zone, where light cannot reach, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Swimmers brought the La Jolla Cove oarfish to shore atop a paddleboard. It was then transferred to the bed of a pickup truck.

Scientists from NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center and Scripps planned a necropsy on Friday to try to determine the cause of death.

MOVING UP FROM TOYOTA

Chechen warlord invites Musk to Russia after he’s filmed driving machine-gun mounted Cybertruck

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has invited Tesla CEO Elon Musk to Russia after being filmed behind the wheel of one of the company’s Cybertrucks, equipped with a machine gun

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
 August 17, 2024


Chechnya President Ramzan Kadyrov invited Tesla CEO Elon Musk to Russia on Saturday after being filmed behind the wheel of one of the company’s Cybertrucks mounted with a machine gun.

In a clip posted on Kadyrov’s Telegram channel, the self-styled strongman was seen taking the stainless steel-clad Cybertruck for a leisurely drive before standing astride the machine gun mounted in the truck bed, draped with belts of ammunition.

In a gushing post, Kadyrov, who rules over Chechnya, a republic within the Russian Federation, described the vehicle as “undoubtedly one of the best cars in the world. I literally fell in love.”

He also said he would donate the vehicle to Russian forces fighting in the invasion of Ukraine. “It’s not for nothing that they call this a cyberbeast,” he said. “I’m sure that this beast will bring plenty of benefits to our troops.”

Kadyrov, who was sanctioned by the U.S. after being linked to numerous human rights violations, said he received the truck from Musk, although this was not independently confirmed. Messages left with Tesla seeking comment were not immediately returned.

Kadyrov also took advantage of the video clip to invite Musk to Chechnya.

“I don’t think the Russian Foreign Ministry would mind such a trip,” he said. “And, of course, we’re waiting for your new developments that will help us finish our special military operation (in Ukraine).”

SCOTUS VS HUMAN RIGHTS

Supreme Court denies stays of Title IX changes to protect LGBTQ students in 10 states


The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday denied a Department of Education request to enable partial enforcement of recent Title IX changes in 10 states while awaiting pending federal appellate court cases regarding their legality. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI. | License Photo

Aug. 17 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court refused to hear arguments regarding stays of federal Title IX changes made by the Biden-Harris administration to protect LGBTQ students that 10 states successfully challenged in federal courts.

The Supreme Court on Friday denied the Department of Education's request to stay federal court injunctions that stop enforcement of several provisions of recent Title IX changes in 10 states.

Those provisions include defining sex discrimination based on "sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation and gender identity," the Supreme Court said in an unsigned denial Friday.

Ten states and other parties filed federal lawsuits in Louisiana and Kentucky to stop enforcement of the Title IX changes and secured preliminary injunctions, which the Department of Education seeks to have overturned by federal appellate courts.

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The Education Department also wants to enforce the new changes to Title IX that aren't contested while the Fifth and Sixth Circuit Courts of Appeal hear the respective cases in October, but the appellate courts denied the requests.

The respective appellate court judges "concluded otherwise because the new definition of sex discrimination is intertwined with and affects many other provisions of the new rule," the Supreme Court said.

"The allegedly unlawful provisions are not readily severable from the remaining provisions," the court said in its denial.

"The lower courts also pointed out the difficulty that schools would face in determining how to apply the rule for a temporary period with some provisions in effect and some enjoined," the court said.

The denial letter said the Department of Education has the burden to show it has a likelihood of success in its legal argument and must show which provisions are independent of the new Title IX definition of sex discrimination, but has not.

"The court expects that the courts of appeals will render their decisions with appropriate dispatch," the unsigned Supreme Court said while denying the Education Department's requests for partial stays.

Title IX refers to the 1972 Education Amendments that ban discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities that accept federal funding.

CRT

Biden establishes national monument at site of 1908 Springfield, Ill., race riot

"Over 100 years ago this week, a mob not far from Lincoln's home unleashed a race riot in Springfield that literally shocked the conscience of the nation," 

Aug. 16 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden signed a proclamation Friday establishing the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument in Illinois recognizing one of the most notable moments of racial tension in the country at the time.

The creation of the monument came on the 116th anniversary of the riots that took place Aug. 14- to 16, 1908, in Springfield, Ill., which saw two Black men lynched while nearly three dozen businesses, mostly Black and Jewish establishments were destroyed in the city's Levee neighborhood by a White mob after two Black prisoners were moved instead of being released to them.

"By signing this designation for the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument, we remind ourselves we have to -- we -- we have no safe harbor unless we continue to remind people what happened," Biden said in the Oval Office before signing the proclamation.

"I am an optimist. I'm optimistic about this country because we're good people. But we can't let these things fade," he added.

The administration characterized the national monument as an effort to weave together two important threads in our nation's story -- "the hateful violence targeted against Black Americans, and the power of dedicated individuals to come together across racial lines to transform shock and grief into hope and action."

The monument will protect 1.57 acres of federal land in Springfield including historical objects that detail the riots.

"Over 100 years ago this week, a mob not far from Lincoln's home unleashed a race riot in Springfield that literally shocked the conscience of the nation," the president said Friday. "I mean, it shocked the conscience of the nation. But ... people forgot it as if, you know, it didn't happen. If you listen to some of our colleagues, you'd think, 'Oh, no, no, no. We've never had this problem.'"

The White House said that national outrage over the attack helped spark action around civil rights and led to the creation of what is now known as the NAACP.

"By establishing the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument, President Biden is recognizing the significance of these events and the broader history of the Black community resilience in the face of violent oppression," the White House said.

"President Biden and Vice President [Kamala] Harris are committed to protecting places that help tell a more complete story of our nation's history, including by recognizing difficult moments that have been ignored or obscured for far too long."

Canada says Ukraine can use donated tanks in Russia

CANADA INVADED RUSSIA IN WWI

 Ukraine's armed forces are now authorized to use donated Canadian military equipment like the Leopard tank (German version pictured) inside Russian territory, Canada’s Department of National Defence confirmed.

File Photo by Filip Singer/EPA-EFE

Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Ukraine's armed forces are now authorized to use donated Canadian military equipment inside Russian territory, Canada's Department of National Defence confirmed.

Canadian officials made the comments Thursday, joining several other countries that have already given Ukraine the green light to use donated weapons inside Russia's territorial border.

Canada donated eight Leopard 2A4 tanks, several dozen armored combat support vehicles, hundreds of armored patrol vehicles and 4,200 M72A5-C1 rocket launchers. It has also provided ammunition and air defense systems.

"Ukrainians know best how to defend their homeland, and we're committed to supporting their capacity," Canadian Department of National Defense spokesperson Andrée-Anne Poulin told POLITICO Friday.

"Canada steadfastly supports Ukraine's right to defend itself against Russia's illegal and unjustifiable war -- and that is why we have committed over $4 billion in military assistance to Ukraine."

Overall, Canada has provided around $4.5 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since 2022. The Canadian government has pledged to continue military support until at least 2029.

British officials on Thursday gave Ukraine permission to use its donated weapons in Russian territory as long as international laws are respected.

The news came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed Britain's Cabinet in July, calling for a reduction of weapon use restrictions on arms supplied by Western countries for use in Ukraine's war with Russia.

Germany has also previously said Ukraine has permission to use donated Western weapons inside Russian territory.

Zelensky on Thursday said his troops have now captured the town of Sudzha as they continue their incursion into Russian territory.

A ground invasion into Russia's western Kursk Oblast has been progressing for a week. The region shares a border with Ukraine and is where Russian officials have declared a state of emergency and evacuated thousands of residents in response.

It wasn't immediately clear if any of the Western donated military hardware was being used in the offensive.

DESANTISLAND

Backlash arises after Florida school accused of throwing out LGBTQ-themed books


A story about administrators at the New College of Florida throwing out hundreds of library books, many reportedly containing LGBTQ+ themes, has ignited a new controversy over the conservative takeover of the public liberal arts school. 

File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Aug. 16 (UPI) -- A report about hundreds of library books, including "many on LGBTQ+ topics and religious studies," being tossed by administrators at the New College of Florida sparked angry reactions from civil liberties groups on Friday.

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune on Thursday reported that the New College of Florida, a small, public liberal arts school whose governance was restructured last year by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, had hauled hundreds of library books to a landfill, "many of which contained LGBTQ+ themes."

Published images showed a dumpster in the parking lot of the school's Jane Bancroft Cook Library overflowing with books and collections, reportedly from the school's now-shuttered Gender and Diversity Center.

The New College has been at the center of a national controversy over academic freedom after DeSantis, a former Republican presidential candidate, appointed six new conservative members to its board of trustees with the stated goal of transforming the institution from an enclave of nonconformist "free thinkers" into a bastion of conservative thought.




Chosen to lead newly reshaped board was Christopher Rufo, an outspoken critic of "critical race theory in American institutions" and an activist claiming to have inspired legislation in 15 states.

The school denied the Herald-Tribune report, issuing a statement claiming it was carrying out a routine maintenance of its campus library and removing materials due to the scrapping of the gender studies program.

"A library needs to regularly review and renew its collection to ensure its materials are meeting the current needs of students and faculty," the school said. "The images seen online of a dumpster of library materials is related to the standard weeding process."

Nevertheless, the story created a backlash from civil liberties and academic freedom advocates.

"It's appalling to see books treated like common trash, and disposing of them by the truckload is nothing short of an attack on education itself and an attempt at all-out erasure," People For the American Way President Sante Myrick said in a statement.
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"These books could have helped people learn about each other, appreciate each other, and come together in common knowledge; instead, they'll likely rot in a landfill, and the people of Florida will be worse off for it," he added.

Myrick termed pictures of the mounds of trashed books "a shocking preview of what we could see during a second Trump administration, and we cannot let it happen. We cannot allow knowledge to become a casualty of hate."

"Politicians and school boards are making moves to ban books -- predominately those by Black and LGBTQ authors -- from public schools and libraries across the nation," added the American Civil Liberties Union. "But we'll keep fighting for our right to learn."

"Ron DeSantis' extremist college makeover continues with the destruction and disposal of hundreds of books from the gender and diversity collection at New College of Florida," said Jonathan Webber, Florida policy director for the Southern Poverty Law Center.

"The destruction of books for political gain is completely outside the mainstream of American values and is only embraced by a few fringe elements. Students and parents believe that educational decisions should remain in the hands of educators. They do not want Tallahassee politicians using their classrooms to advance their own ideological agendas," he said.

British union ASLEF announces 22-day weekend strike for LNER rail line workers


Britain's ASLEF union Friday announced strike actions by train drivers on the LNER line every weekend from Sept. 1-Nov. 10.

File Photo by Neil Hall/ EPA-EFE

Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Uunion train drivers at London North Eastern Railway Friday announced 22 days of strike actions over staffing issues.

From Sept. 1 through Nov. 10, train drivers represented by the Associated Society of Engineers and Firemen union will take strike action every weekend.

"The bottom line is that LNER does not employ enough drivers to deliver the services it has promised passengers, and the government, it will run," ASLEF lead negotiator Nigel Roebuck said.

LNER said the rail line would continue to work with the union to find a way to resolve the labor issues.

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"Our priority focus will be on minimizing disruption to customers during the forthcoming Aslef strikes, which sadly will continue to cause disruption and delays," LNER said in a statement.

ASLEF General Secretary Mick Whelan said the union was forced into the strike by LNER allegedly repeatedly breaking labor agreements and acting in bad faith with bullying tactics.

"The continued failure of the company to resolve longstanding industrial relations issues has forced us into this position," Whelan said. "We would much rather not be here. But the company has brutally, and repeatedly, broken diagramming and roster agreements, failed to adhere to the agreed bargaining machinery, and totally acted in bad faith."

According to Roebuck, union drivers complained of being "badgered for favors" by managers

LNER operates British trains on the east coast mainline as well as from London to other cities including York, Leeds and Newcastle.

Widespread disruption is expected during the strike actions.

ASLEF said the announced LNER strike actions are not related to a national rail labor dispute with 16 companies.

The government has proposed a deal with ASLEF leaders to settle that dispute and worker approval of the deal is pending. The deal offers train drivers a 14% pay increase over three years with no changes to work terms or conditions.

That pay hike will be retroactive covering the 2021-2024 period.

FDA approves first at-home, over-the-counter test for syphilis

NIETZSCHE COULD HAVE USED THIS

 (aacad.org)
The First to Know test for syphilis, manufactured by NOWDiagnostics, is the first at-home, over-the-counter test for the sexually transmitted disease to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Photo courtesy NOWDiagnostics

Aug. 16 (UPI) -- The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the first over-the-counter, at-home test for syphilis in response to surging levels of the sexually transmitted disease nationwide.

Regulators issued the green light for the release of the First To Know Syphilis Test, made by NOWDiagnostics of Springdale, Ariz., noting its status as the first at-home test to detect Treponema pallidum, or syphilis, antibodies in human blood.

They cautioned that results from the home test alone are not sufficient to accurately diagnose a syphilis infection and should be followed by additional testing by medical professionals.

Even so, the approval marks a significant milestone in the detection and treatment of STDs as cases soar across the United States, health officials said.

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"Access to home tests may help increase initial screening for syphilis, including in individuals who may be reluctant to see their health care provider about possible sexually transmitted infection exposure," said Dr. Michelle Tarver, acting director of the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health. "This can lead to increased lab testing to confirm diagnosis, which can result in increased treatment and reduction in the spread of infection."

Syphilis can seriously damage the heart and brain and can cause blindness, deafness and paralysis if left untreated, and when transmitted during pregnancy, can cause miscarriage, lifelong medical issues and infant death.

It's one of most serious of the sexually transmitted diseases and is now seeing a major resurgence. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported syphilis cases increased 80% between 2018 and 2022, jumping from 115,000 to more than 207,000, reaching their highest levels since the 1950s.

The situation has become so concerning that the Department of Health and Human Services in January established the National Syphilis and Congenital Syphilis Syndemic Federal Task Force to tackle the problem.

"The syphilis crisis in our country is unacceptable," said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. "The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to addressing this urgent issue and using all available means to eliminate disparities in our health care system."

Today in History: August 18, 1920

19th Amendment gives women the vote

2024: ERA STILL NOT PASSED



FILE - In this August 1920 file photo, Alice Paul, seated second from left, sews the 36th star on a banner, celebrating the ratification of the women’s suffrage amendment. The banner flew in front of headquarters of the Women’s Party in Washington of which Miss Paul was national chairperson. The 36th star represented Tennessee, whose ratification completed the number of states needed to put the amendment in the Constitution.

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Today in history:
On Aug. 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, guaranteeing American women’s right to vote, was ratified as Tennessee became the 36th state to approve it.

UPI Archives

August 26, 1920

Women's right to vote now official in United States

WASHINGTON, Aug. 26, 1920 (UP) - The right of women to the ballot was formally made a part of the Constitution of the United States today when Secretary of State Colby proclaimed ratification of the nineteenth amendment.

Colby announced the proclamation when he arrived at his office today, having signed it shortly before at his home here.

The official certification that Tennessee had become the 36th state to ratify the amendment was taken to his home early today.

A group of suffrage leaders who had waited until a late hour last night for the arrival of the Tennessee certification were hurriedly summoned to the State Department and met Colby.

They cheered when he told them the last step to make the amendment operative had been taken.

Among those in the party were Miss Alice Paul, chairman of the National Women's Party; Mrs. Abby Scott Baker; Miss Julia Emorty, Baltimore; Dr. Lydia Allen Devilbis of Georgia; Miss Mary Moore Forrest, Scituate, Mass.; Mrs. Anne Calvert Neely, Vicksburg, Miss.; Mrs. Walb, Houston, Tex.; Mrs. Cyrus Meade, Dayton, Ohio; Miss Emilie Grace Kay, St. Paul, Minn.; and Miss Emma Wold, Portland, Ore.

The Tennessee certification was taken to Colby's home by Charles L. Cooke, master of ceremonies of the State Department, and Colby and Frederick Nielson, State Department solicitor, went over it for possible legal flaws. They found none, it was stated.

Suffragists had expected to make the ceremony of proclaiming the amendment a public one and evidently were disappointed.

They requested him to go through the ceremony again for their benefit and for moving picture men.

Colby said he would consider going over the ceremony again and went into his office.

The women, however, left the State Department without waiting for Colby's decision.

They held a jubilation at their own headquarters a short distance away.

Miss Alice Paul declared that the suffragists will not relax their vigilance until they are sure that no further attempts will be made to take from the women what they have won.

Miss Paul will go to New York immediately to attend a conference where the date of the National Women's Party convention will be decided.