Trump warns DC mayor 'don't go woke' while upping threat to Dem-led cities in morning rant

Alexander Willis
September 1, 2025 

RAW STORY

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks, as he makes an announcement on the economy, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 7, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

President Donald Trump heaped praise onto Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser Saturday in a lengthy social media post, while at the same time, issuing her a “don’t go woke” warning and upping threats to other Democrat-led cities.

“Wow! Mayor Muriel Bowser of D.C. has become very popular because she worked with me and my great people in bringing CRIME down to virtually NOTHING in D.C.,” Trump wrote Monday in an online post on his social media platform Truth Social.

“Her statements and actions were positive, instead of others like [Illinois Gov. JB] Pritzker, [Maryland Gov.] Wes Moore, [California Gov. Gavin] ‘Newscum,’ and the 5% approval rated Mayor of Chicago, who spend all of their time trying to justify violent Crime, instead of working with us to completely ELIMINATE it, which we have done in Washington, D.C.”

Trump went on to declare that the nation’s capital had become a “crime-free zone” following the federal takeover of the city that has seen thousands of federal officers and National Guard members patrolling the city’s streets. The president has amped up threats to do the same in other Democrat-led cities, particularly Chicago, Illinois.

Regarding D.C., Trump claimed Bowser’s approval has “gone up” since the federal takeover, despite no recent polling having been conducted on her favorability, and credited her supposed polling boost to her cooperation with the White House. Overall approval for the D.C. federal takeover has been abysmal, with just 38% of Americans approving of the operation.

Trump went on, however, to issue Bowser a backhanded congratulations that came with a warning.

“Congratulations to Mayor Muriel Bowser, but don’t go Woke on us,” Trump wrote. “D.C. is a GIANT VICTORY that never has to end!”

AMERIKAN NERO

'Every day it's something new': Insiders claim Trump obsessed with remaking Washington

Alexander Willis
September 1, 2025   

RAW STORY

Donald Trump (Photo via Reuters)

President Donald Trump’s laser focus on remodeling the White House and greater Washington, D.C. has reached unprecedented levels when compared with past administrations, according to several White House insiders and officials that spoke with Politico.

“There have always been updates and changes to the White House; this is probably the first time when there are so many at once,” said Stewart McLaurin, president of the White House Historical Association, speaking with Politico for a story published on Monday.

Only seven months into his second term, Trump has made a number of remodeling proposals to both the White House and the D.C., including a new $200 million White House ballroom, a revamped Rose Garden, new flag poles on the White House lawns, a $2 billion street repavement project, and dozens additions to the Oval Office, most involving gold.

And according to a White House insider, the obsession with remodeling comes up daily.

“He seems to wake up and say, what else needs to be improved?” said a White House insider to Politico, described by the outlet as someone “familiar with the president’s plan,” speaking on the condition of anonymity. “Every day, it’s something new.”

While Trump’s focus in recent weeks has largely been on his federal takeover and crime crackdown on the nation’s capital, he’s also regularly talked about making D.C. “beautified,” pledging to do so within a 12-month period.

According to two White House insiders who spoke with Politico, a large part of the fixation on having D.C. “beautified” is Trump’s desire to have said projects completed in time for the United States’ 250th anniversary, which will occur next July 4.

Daniel Abramson, a Boston University professor of European and American architecture, told Politico that he believed Trump’s obsession with remodeling came from the president’s desire for “attention and power.”

“The gilding of the Oval seems to be about creating an imperial or royal setting for the performing of the duties of the presidency and a powerful executive branch,” Abramson said. “This is clearly a president who wants the attention and power concentrated on him.”

Trump's lickspittle-in-chief just made a very dumb move indee

Ray Hartmann
September 1, 2025

RAW STORY


Donald Trump gestures during a cabinet meeting at the White House. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Donald Trump’s narcissistic personality disorder took quite a jolt last week.

Here’s what some are saying happened: Vice President JD Vance somehow short‑circuited his electric fence and gave an interview to USA Today where he spoke openly — and maybe a little too eagerly — about that moment in the future when he might have to replace Trump as president.

“I've gotten a lot of good on‑the‑job training over the last 200 days," Vance said in an exclusive interview published Aug. 27, when asked if he was ready to assume the role of commander‑in‑chief.

"Yes, terrible tragedies happen,” he added. “But I feel very confident the president of the United States is in good shape, is going to serve out the remainder of his term, and do great things for the American people.”


Oh no you didn’t, JD.

By the time he started flipping around like a vice‑presidential seal, blathering about Trump’s supposed super‑stamina, it had to be too late.

Did Vance really not get the memo that Trump leaves office when Trump decides to leave office? That’s the last we all heard.


He might want to revisit the North Korean manual on speculating about the Leader’s health. We know he owns a copy — the whole Cabinet just performed it in unison in meeting with Trump last week.

We don’t have details as to how Trump exploded upon learning of the blasphemy from Vance, but it’s safe to assume he wasn’t swelling with pride. So, he thought he’d teach Vance a little lesson.

Oops. Wrong vice president.

Where can we go to get a president with cognitive acuity?

There’s nothing funny about the story that Trump revoked Secret Service protection for former Vice President Kamala Harris — as he’s done with other political targets. In fact, it’s disgusting that the topic is even being debated.

But liberals might not want to seize the bait too quickly on this one. As the New York Times reported, vice presidents typically receive six months of protection after leaving office as a matter of standard procedure.

President Joe Biden had extended that period by a year through executive order, given the unusually high threat level faced by Harris, the Times reported. Biden had done the right thing in the right way, which is to say quietly.

But it wasn’t a permanent step because the nation does not give lifetime Secret Service protections to former vice presidents and their families (unlike presidents). Maybe it should, but it does not.

I didn’t know that, and I’m guessing neither did you. But its important context because Trump and his right-wing state media wants our heads to explode on this one. Or any outrage that doesn’t involve mention of “Epstein.”

This doesn’t excuse the stench of Trump gleefully promoting diminished safety for his political opponents. It’s just the public version of how he privately chokes loyalty out of Republicans, in this view.

As a mobster, Trump has reveled in each opportunity to proclaim the withdrawal of Secret Service details from individuals — which would have taken place quietly under a decent president. He gets to thrill his bloodthirsty followers with the closest thing to “lock them up” presently at hand.

Best of all, Trump gets to bask in dishing out the one thing he’s never had to fake: brazen cruelty. Just another ugly trademark.

Meanwhile, the person who ought to be swallowing hardest is JD Vance.

After all, Trump tried to have his last vice president killed by a mob.

'A totally one sided disaster!' Trump scrambles as key ally meets with Putin and Xi

Tom Boggioni
September 1, 2025

RAW STORY

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China, September 1, 2025. Sputnik/Vladimir Smirnov/Pool via REUTERS


On the same morning when the New York Times was headlining a report about Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia holding hands and meeting with President Xi Jinping of China, Donald Trump attempted to downplay the summit that could portend a shift in world power alliances.

With the Times noting, the display of comity seemed aimed at getting the attention of the U.S. president, that observation turned out to be valid with Trump jumping on Truth Social to downplay the entire affair.

According to the Times, “The bonhomie between Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin was meant to convey a close bond between them as leaders of an alternative world order challenging the United States. Mr. Modi sought to show that India has other important friends — including China, regardless of an unresolved border dispute — if the Trump administration chooses to continue alienating New Delhi with tariffs.”

On Truth Social, Trump attempted to blow off worries about the alliance by writing, “What few people understand is that we do very little business with India, but they do a tremendous amount of business with us. In other words, they sell us massive amounts of goods, their biggest ‘client,’ but we sell them very little - Until now a totally one sided relationship, and it has been for many decades,” he claimed.

He then added, “The reason is that India has charged us, until now, such high Tariffs, the most of any country, that our businesses are unable to sell into India. It has been a totally one sided disaster! Also, India buys most of its oil and military products from Russia, very little from the U.S. They have now offered to cut their Tariffs to nothing, but it’s getting late. They should have done so years ago.”

“Just some simple facts for people to ponder!!!” he suggested.

You can see his post here.

'Is she that stupid?' Noem ridiculed for saying 'LA wouldn't be standing' if not for Trump

David Edwards
August 31, 2025
RAW STORY


CBS/screen grab

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem faced backlash after claiming Los Angeles "wouldn't be standing" if President Donald Trump hadn't deployed the National Guard in response to protests.

During a Sunday interview on CBS, host Ed O'Keefe asked Noem if she expected Trump to deploy troops to Chicago.

"You know, that always is a prerogative of President Trump and his decision," the secretary replied. "I won't speak to the specifics of the operations that are planned in other cities, but I do know that L.A. wouldn't be standing today if President Trump hadn't taken action, then that city would have burned down if left to the devices of the mayor and the governor of that state."

"You said L.A. wouldn't be standing, if not for these federal deployments?" the shocked host clarified.

"So many of those homes and businesses that were in downtown L.A. and in those areas were dealing with riots and violence, and coming in and bringing those federal law enforcement officers in was incredibly important to keeping peace," Noem insisted. "And so we are grateful that President Trump was willing to send resources and people in in order to enforce the law."


Noem's remarks were met with criticism.

"Kristi Noem just said on Face the Nation that her actions kept LA from being burned down by rioters," one Los Angeles commenter wrote on X. "She neglected to mention that her actions caused people to riot."

"So NOEM is saying that LA would have burned to the ground if not for them!" Jean Toth noted. "There were RIOTS & fires blah blah blah! It IS BECAUSE of ICE & the NATIONAL GUARD that the riots started! Is SHE THAT STUPID?"

"The NATIONAL GUARD did NOT sign up FOR THIS!"

Watch the video below from CBS or click the link.

Can artificial photosynthesis lead to new, carbon-neutral fuels?


By Dr. Tim Sandle
EDITOR AT LARGE SCIENCE

DIGITAL JOURNAL
August 27, 2025


Without photosynthesis we wouldn’t have food because it converts energy from the sun into chemical energy for the food chains. Image by Tim Sandle

Scientists from the University of Basel, Switzerland, have created a plant-inspired molecule capable of storing four charges using sunlight. This is regarded as a key step toward achieving the long-sought-after artificial photosynthesis. As a complexity, the process of artificial photosynthesis requires multi-electron reactions.

Whereas past attempts have failed, this process works under conditions of dimmer light, edging technology closer to real-world solar fuel production. Under the influence of light, the molecule stores two positive and two negative charges at the same time.

The intermediate storage of multiple charges is a key prerequisite for converting sunlight into chemical energy. Under this condiiton, the charges can be used to drive reactions – for example, to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

Photosynthesis

Plants use the energy of sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into energy-rich sugar molecules; this is the foundation of virtually all life. Animals and humans can “burn” the carbohydrates produced in this way again and use the energy stored within them. This once more produces carbon dioxide, closing out the cycle. Photosynthesis arose early in Earth’s history.

This process could also be the key to environmentally friendly fuels. For several years, scientists have been working to replicate natural photosynthesis by using sunlight to produce high-energy compounds. This includes so-termed ‘solar fuels’, such as hydrogen, methanol and synthetic petrol. If burned, such fuels would produce only as much carbon dioxide as needed to produce useful fuels. These would be carbon-neutral.

New molecule

The new molecule consists of five parts. These are linked in a series and each performs a specific task. One side of the molecule has two parts that release electrons and are positively charged in the process. Two on the other side pick up the electrons, which causes them to become negatively charged. In the middle, the chemists placed a component that captures sunlight and starts the reaction (electron transfer).

To generate the four charges, the researchers innovated photochemistry, in terms of taking a stepwise approach using two flashes of light. The first flash of light strikes the molecule and triggers a reaction in which a positive and a negative charge are generated. These charges travel outward to the opposite ends of the molecule. With the second flash of light, the same reaction occurs again, resulting in the molecule containing two positive and two negative charges.

The stepwise excitation makes it possible to use significantly dimmer light. This means moving closer to the intensity of sunlight. Earlier research required extremely strong laser light, some way from artificial photosynthesis.

The new findings from the study should help to improve understanding of the electron transfers that are central to artificial photosynthesis.

The research appears in the journal Nature Chemistry, titled “Photoinduced double charge accumulation in a molecular compound.”

Cookie crunch: Are consumers starting to push back on Internet tracking?


By Dr. Tim Sandle
EDITOR AT LARGE SCIENCE

DIGITAL JOURNAL
August 28, 2025


OpenAI is making internet search available to all ChatGPT users, allowing people to engage conversationally with the chatbot while seeking answers or information from the internet - © AFP Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV

Consumers remain unsure what cookies are and what the impact is when searching online (for the uninitiated, cookies are small files that store information on your device). According to a new survey, fewer than 2 in 5 (39%) of those polled have a strong understanding of what Internet cookies are used for. It follows that nearly one-quarter (24%) of respondents blindly accept internet cookies when they visit a webpage.

Websites must obtain your active and informed consent before storing most types of cookies. However, a large proportion of people opt to simply accept them so they can quickly access the web page content.

As the survey indicates, less than one-third of participants knew that cookies are also used to authenticate users and accounts. More than one-fifth of respondents (22%) said they think sites use cookies to sign users up for email lists involuntarily, and 13% said they have no idea at all what cookies do.

The firm All About Cookies has undertaken analysis on data privacy and online security. This is through a relaunch of the company’s Internet Cookies Trends report with updated statistics. The survey focuses on the U.S. market.

To collect the data for this survey, the company surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults in September 2023 and August 2025. These surveys were conducted via Pollfish. All respondents were U.S. citizens over the age of 18, and remained anonymous.

One key change, since the survey was last conducted, highlights how Internet users feel about cookie-based personalized adverts. It turns out that the vast majority (87%) find them invasive.

While cookies are useful for site functionality and user experience, they can also track your online activity, raising privacy concerns that necessitate legal compliance and informed user consent.

Yet for those knowledgeable about web cookies, there is an increased pushback against their use, with many users increasingly savvy about data privacy.

As the survey states: “Anyone who uses the internet on a regular basis has encountered cookies, whether through pop-ups asking for cookie permissions or by clearing cookies out of their browser. For how often we’re confronted with cookies, the assumption is that people know what they are.”

One common type of cookies is called a tracking cookie, which tracks a user’s behaviour and sells that data to other companies that use it to send targeted advertising to other websites that the user visits. It is this form of cookie that consumers are most resistant towards.

All About Cookies recommends the following tips for a safer web-browsing experience:Use an ad blocker to achieve a more secure browsing experience. Familiarize yourself with the best ad blockers and choose the features most necessary for your personal online safety.Be mindful of pop-up notifications. When should you accept cookies? Every website’s policy varies and it’s important to understand how your information could be used for advertising and retargeting.Enhance your privacy. Figure out how to clear computer cookies based on your preferred browser, and complete the necessary steps.

Sweet nectar: New study aids bee conservation


By Dr. Tim Sandle
EDITOR AT LARGE SCIENCE

August 28, 2025


Bumble bee on a plant. Image by Tim Sandle

A new study looking at how to conserve bees has tracked eight bumble bee species in the wild across eight years. Scientists from Northwestern University and the Chicago Botanic Garden recorded which flowers bees visited and calculated macronutrients in pollen from 35 flower species.

It was found that bee species occupy two distinct diet groups: one prefers protein, and another prefers fat and carbs. This more nuanced finding could help conservationists design pollinator gardens with flowers that meet bees’ nutritional needs.

Such findings are important due to the decline in bee populations globally. With this comes a decline in pollinators and an impact throughout the food chain. As Digital Journal pointed out a decade ago: “The causes of this decline are multiple. Reasons include loss of habitat from intensive farming, pesticide use, urban development and climate change. Each of these environmental pressures carries equal weight.”

The new study focused on pollen consumption, indicating that coexisting bee species occupy two distinct nutrient niches. Larger bodied bees with longer tongues prefer pollen that’s high in protein but lower in sugars and fats. Bees with shorter tongues, however, tend to gather pollen that’s richer in carbs and fats.

The scientists also found individual bees adjust their diets as their colonies grow and develop, reflecting changing nutritional needs throughout the season.

By dividing up nutritional resources, wild bumble bees can avoid competition, thrive together and keep their colonies buzzing strong all season long.

In terms of the variations with diets, while adult bees sip nectar for a quick burst of energy, they also collect pollen for their babies, or larvae, to help them grow. Worker bees gather pollen from various flowers, pack it into special “baskets” on their hind legs and ferry it home to feed their young.

The researchers developed a comprehensive nutritional map by examining a collection of bumble bee species in the wild to determine how species divide nutritional resources. The researchers tracked which flowers each bee species visited for pollen and then collected pollen samples from these plant species to understand their nutrient content.

The scientists took pollen samples back into the laboratory, where they measured the macronutrient content of each pollen sample, specifically calculating the concentrations of protein, fat and carbohydrates. The full dataset included nutritional profiles for 35 different plant species.

After determining the macros for each pollen sample, the researchers compared each bee species’ diet with their physical traits (like tongue length) and with seasonal shifts in flower availability. Immediately, clear patterns emerged.

Not only did pollen’s nutrient content vary substantially among plants, but it also changed throughout the season. Spring flowers, for example, have more protein-rich pollen, while late-summer flowers are richer in fats and carbs. Interestingly, this shift in protein aligned with bees’ nutritional preferences across the season.

The researchers also noticed the eight bumble bee species naturally divided into two diet groups. Long-tongued species collected pollen with higher protein and lower fat and sugar. Shorter-tongued species collected pollen with lower protein and higher sugar and fat. These differences seem to be associated with how tongue length influences which flowers bees can access.

As global pollinator populations face threats from habitat loss, climate change and poor nutrition, these findings highlight the need for conservation efforts that focus on nutritional diversity — not just floral diversity. Providing a mix of plants with nutrition could help support the specific dietary needs of different wild bumble bee species.

The research appears in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, titled “Nutrient niche dynamics among wild pollinators.”

Fans pour into S.Africa Comic Con despite few celebrity headliners

By AFP
August 30, 2025


Around 70,000 people are expected to attend Comic-Con Africa in Johannesburg - Copyright AFP Phill Magakoe

Hillary ORINDE

A 16-year-old in a yellow spandex Wolverine suit, claws fashioned from plastic straws, squared off against a stockier Deadpool two years his junior at Comic Con Africa, the continent’s largest pop culture gathering.

At this year’s festival — held at the same venue set to host G20 leaders in November — the stars weren’t on stage. They were the fans.

Thousands of self-professed nerds, comic book lovers, superhero fans and anime obsessives descended on the Johannesburg venue, undeterred by a noticeably slimmed-down celebrity lineup.

Highlights nonetheless included Dan Fogler, best known for playing Jacob Kowalski in the Harry Potter spin-off “Fantastic Beasts”.

Around 70,000 people were expected to attend the convention, which runs from Thursday through Sunday.

Among them was Tshegofatso Nabe, attending for the fourth year in a row.

The teenager left nothing to chance this time, maxing out her savings on a striking blonde-and-blue wig, coloured contact lenses, high platform shoes and delicate angel wings that seemed to sprout from the back of her head.

Her inspiration? Sunday, a villain from “Honkai: Star Rail”, a Chinese-built game where anime characters battle space monsters.

“The cosplay community is so kind and this is the only time in the year when I can experience the joy of wearing this costume outside without someone looking at me weirdly,” she told AFP, as Wonder Woman, Darth Vader and Spider-Man mingled nearby.

“There aren’t many conventions in Africa, and this is the only chance to express ourselves and connect with people who are in the same fandom,” she added.

South Africa, often considered one of Africa’s most progressive countries, still grapples with conservative attitudes that sometimes view cosplay and fandom culture as trivial.

– Here ‘for the vibes’ –

Originally, Comic Con began as a grassroots event for comic books fans to meet but it has grown exponentially and is today used by studios to launch their latest blockbuster movies and TV shows.

At the Johannesburg event, competitors also battled it out in popular eSports games like “FIFA”, with contests interspersed with music.

In another corner, rows of teenagers with headphones clamped to their ears gazed into curved screens, their gaming stage bathed in the pulsating glow of strobe lights.

“We are on par with Comic Con festivals in Europe and America,” said exhibitor and former gaming champion Elias Machete. “People are trying to look at the numbers but the quality here is so beautiful.”

Damian Wilson, a 31-year-old salesman who returned for the third year, agreed: “We are just here for the vibes.”

In Argentina, the tango keeps Parkinson’s symptoms at bay

By AFP
August 30, 2025


Women with Parkinson's disease dance in a tango therapy session in Buenos Aires - Copyright AFP JUAN MABROMATA

Sonia AVALOS

When the tango begins to play, Lidia Beltran shrugs off the Parkinson’s that plagues her, takes hold of her therapist and dances, her body fluid and her steps precise, as part of an innovative treatment program in Buenos Aires.

Some 200 patients have participated in tango workshops offered over the past 15 years at Ramos Mejia Hospital to study the impact of the dance on the symptoms of this incurable neurodegenerative disease, organizers told AFP.

“One of the main problems of the disease is gait disorder, and the tango, as a walking dance, works on starting and stopping steps, and strategies for walking,” says neurologist Nelida Garretto.

The results have been encouraging. Many patients find ways to alleviate symptoms such as the motor blocks that “freeze” their gait, says neurologist Tomoko Arakaki.

“A patient told us that when she freezes, she tries to do the ‘figure eight’ -– one of the classic tango steps — with her feet, and this enables her to get out of the freeze,” Arakaki says.

Dancing the tango helps build a “sensory pathway” that helps with walking, she says.

“We know that Parkinson’s requires pharmaceutical treatments. Tango is used to rehabilitate the motor part. With music, you can get out of complex situations,” she says.

Beltran, 66 and diagnosed with Parkinson’s two years ago, had never danced the tango. She joined the workshop on the advice of doctors.

“If it’s to stop the advance, I have to do it, I have to dance for my life,” she says.

In addition to tremors, stiffness, difficulty with balance and speech problems, Parkinson’s leads to social isolation and depression. The tango workshop can help in these areas.

Beltran reports that dancing boosts her stability and her mood. “Tomorrow I’m sure I’ll feel better because today I danced tango,” she says.

– Tuesday happiness –

Patients dance with partners not suffering from Parkinson’s, and under the guidance of dance therapists like Manuco Firmani, a professional tango dancer who has been involved with Parkinson’s rehabilitation since 2011.

Emilia, 86, doesn’t want to give her last name because she is dancing against the wishes of her son, who worries over the two-hour bus trip she takes to reach the studio in central Buenos Aires.

“For me this is the happiness of every Tuesday” says the retired teacher with a frail, bent body and whispery voice, for whom tango evokes memories of her youth.

“Every year we conduct specific evaluations to analyze the benefits of tango,” says neurologist Sergio Rodriguez. “We have measured improvements in cognitive skills, motor skills, gait and balance.”

– Multi-tasking –

Walking is at the core of the Argentine tango, specialists say. But that’s not the only reason it is an effective rehabilitation method for Parkinson’s patients.

Tango also requires dancers to follow rhythms, to move in a set direction and to interpret the physical cues of their dance partner.

“There are many simultaneous messages that must be resolved, which is very positive for this disease,” says Garretto.

At the end of class, there is applause and “an air of satisfaction” in the room, says dance therapist Laura Segade.

“After all, who can take away what they’ve danced?”