Missing James Bond Aston Martin DB5 Reportedly Found

Steven Symes
Fri, December 31, 2021

That's wonderful news!

A 1963 Aston Martin DB5 originally used in the filming of the James Bond film Goldfinger has reportedly been found. As we reported before, Chassis No. DP/216/1 was being stored at the Boca Raton Airport in Florida inside a secured hangar when thieves broke in and stole it in June of 1997. The only thing left were tire tracks from the classic British car being dragged, presumably to a wrecker, although some have theorized it was loaded onto a cargo plane.

Check out Daniel Craig’s secretive car collection here.

While some believed the car was kept in the United States, others firmly believed it was taken overseas, leading to a worldwide hunt. Now, investigators believe they’ve located it in the Middle East. Where exactly it’s being kept hasn’t been divulged by Art Recovery International, a group which has tracked down countless stolen items. The only clue is that a witness saw the movie car in a “private setting” and that Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain are “particular areas of interest.”

What makes this Aston Martin a standout even among the few of its peers on the planet is the fact this one is the “gadget car” used in filming Goldfinger. Among the many interesting features installed for the movie are pop-out machine guns, tire shredders, smokescreen funnels, as well as water/oil sprayers. That makes the movie car ultra-cool and ultra-distinct and worthy of being driven by 007.

Reportedly, someone has been able to verify the serial number on the ’63 Aston Martin DB5 is a match for the missing car. It’s estimated the classic is now worth over $25 million. Christopher Marinello, chief executive of Art Recovery International is optimistic the movie car will be recovered soon.


“I’m hopeful that the possessor will come forward voluntarily before I have to make an announcement,” Marinello told The Telegraph in an interview. “It’s my policy to give possessors of stolen and looted objects every opportunity to do the right thing. I don’t believe the current possessor knew the car was stolen when he or she acquired it. Now they do know, I think they should make every effort to have a discreet confidential discussion about how we clear the title to this iconic vehicle.”

Anthony Pugliese, an American businessman and car collector, was the owner of the James Bond Aston Martin DB5 when it was stolen. Some accused him of paying to have it stolen as part of an insurance scam, going so far as saying it was dropped into the Atlantic Ocean from a plane so it would never be found. Pugliese has denied those allegations, saying he could have easily sold the classic movie car instead of collecting the insurance money.

Pugliese bought the car for $275,000 at a Sotheby’s New York auction back in 1986. After it was stolen, the insurance company paid a whopping $4.2 million and is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the safe return of the Aston Martin. Considering its value today, the insurance company might make off like a bandit when all is said and done.

Theories about where the Goldfinger 1963 Aston Martin DB5 driven by Sean Connery when he played James Bond went have run the range. Some believe an ultra-rich person paid to have it stolen and has it sitting in a private collection in his house, just like a real-life Bond villain. Others think it’s been sold on the black market, although you can’t really hide a car like this.

Ukraine nationalists FASCISTS march to honor wartime partisan leader





Ukraine Nationalist RallyActivists of various nationalist parties carry torches during a rally in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022. The rally was organized to mark the birth anniversary of Stepan Bandera, founder of a rebel army that fought against the Soviet regime and who was assassinated in Germany in 1959. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)Mor

Sat, January 1, 2022, 

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Hundreds of Ukrainian nationalists held a torchlight march in the capital of Kyiv to mark the birthday of Stepan Bandera, the leader of a rebel militia that fought alongside Nazi soldiers in World War II.

The Sunday march came amid persistently high concerns over Russia's massing of troops near the Ukrainian border, which many believe could be a prelude to an invasion. A large sector of eastern Ukraine has been under the control of Russia-backed separatist rebels since 2014.

“Today, when there is a war with the occupier at the front, and the struggle against the ‘fifth column’ continues in the rear, we remember and honor the memory of Stepan Bandera,” said Andriy Tarasenko, leader of the nationalist party Right Sector.

Bandera was the leader of a Ukrainian nationalist movement in the 1930s and 1940s, which included a rebel army that fought alongside the Nazis. Bandera’s supporters claim that they sided with the Nazis against the Soviet army in the belief that Adolf Hitler would grant independence to Ukraine.

Jewish groups associate Bandera’s followers with the massacre of Jews.

Japan to help build Bill Gates' high-tech nuclear reactor in Wyoming -Yomiuri


The logo of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is seen at the company's news conference in Tokyo

Fri, December 31, 2021

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd are set to cooperate with the United States and Bill Gates' venture company to build a high-tech nuclear reactor in Wyoming, the daily Yomiuri reported on Saturday.

The parties will sign an agreement as early as January for JAEA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to provide technical support and data from Japan's own advanced reactors, the report said citing multiple unidentified sources.

TerraPower, an advanced nuclear power venture founded by Gates, is set to open its Natrium plant in Wyoming in 2028. The U.S. government will provide funding to cover half of the $4 billion project.

Terrapower had initially explored the prospect of building an experimental nuclear plant with state-owned China National Nuclear Corp, until it was forced to seek new partners after the administration of Donald Trump restricted nuclear deals with China.

The United States has been competing with China and Russia which also hope to build and export advanced reactors.

Japan, on the other hand, has a bitter history of decommissioning its Monju prototype advanced reactor in 2016, a project which cost $8.5 billion but provided little results and years of controversy.

The Monju facility saw accidents, regulatory breaches, and cover-ups since its conception, and was closed following public distrust of nuclear energy after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Both JAEA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries could not be reached for comment, as their offices were closed for the New Year holidays.

(Reporting by Sakura Murakami; Editing by Kim Coghill)

A TALE OF TWO KOREAS
S.Korea's disgraced ex-president Park freed after nearly 5 years in prison

FILE PHOTO: S.Korea's disgraced ex-president Park freed after nearly 5 years in prison

Thu, December 30, 2021
By Hyonhee Shin

SEOUL (Reuters) - Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye was released from prison on Friday nearly five years after being convicted of corruption, fuelling debate over whether she would play any role ahead of a March presidential election.

Park, 69, was the country's first democratically elected leader to be thrown out of office when the Constitutional Court upheld a parliament vote in 2017 to impeach her over a scandal that also led to the imprisonment of the chiefs of two conglomerates, Samsung and Lotte.

South Korea's top court in January upheld a 20-year prison sentence imposed after Park was found guilty of colluding with a friend, who is also in jail, to receive tens of billions of won from the companies, mostly to fund her friend's family and non-profit foundations.

President Moon Jae-in granted a special pardon to Park last week, citing her deteriorating health and expressing hope to "overcome unfortunate past history and promote national unity".

Justice ministry officials delivered the pardon to Park at the hospital where she has been staying for a month at midnight on Thursday, the Yonhap news agency reported, adding she remained there on Friday. The hospital declined to comment.

Her lawyer has said Park, the daughter of a former military ruler, had offered an apology for causing public concern and thanked Moon for making a "tough decision".

Park's release comes as her old party, the main opposition conservative People Power Party, and Moon's Democratic Party are in a tight presidential race.

Her imprisonment divided the country, with right-wing, pro-Park groups staging weekly rallies to denounce Moon and his policies and call for Park's release, until COVID-19 distancing rules stifled the rallies last year.

Hundreds of Park's supporters braved freezing temperatures to flock to the hospital where she was staying late on Thursday to celebrate her release, with more than 1,000 bouquets of flowers arriving.

About 200 people held a protest in downtown Seoul against her release, Yonhap reported.

It was not clear if Park would resume any political activity but she said in a memoir released on Thursday that her conviction was politically motivated and she expressed hopes to "meet the people again one day".

People Power's presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, who investigated the Park scandal as prosecutor-general, said on Friday he had done his job as a public servant, adding he would like to visit Park when her health improved.

(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Robert Birsel)

N.Korea's Kim talks food not nukes for 2022


North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during the Eighth Conference of Military Educationists of the Korean People's Army at the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang


Fri, December 31, 2021
By Josh Smith

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un capped off his 10th year in power with a speech that made more mention of tractor factories and school uniforms than nuclear weapons or the United States, according to summaries by state media on Saturday.

North Korea's main goals for 2022 will be jump starting economic development and improving people's lives as it faces a "great life-and-death struggle," Kim said in a speech on Friday at the end of the 4th Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), which began on Monday.

The meetings coincided with the 10-year anniversary of Kim effectively assuming leadership of the country after the death of his father in 2011.

Kim has used previous speeches around the New Year to make major policy announcements, including launching significant diplomatic engagements with South Korea and the United States.

But summaries of his speech published in North Korean state media made no specific mention of the United States, with only a passing reference to unspecified discussions of inter-Korean relations and "external affairs."

The domestic focus of the speech underscored the economic crises Kim faces at home, where self-imposed anti-pandemic border lockdowns have left North Korea more isolated than ever before.

"The basic tasks facing the part and the people the next year are to provide a firm guarantee for implementing the five-year plan and make remarkable changes in the national development and the people's living," Kim was quoted as saying.

Kim spent the majority of his speech detailing domestic issues from an ambitious plan for rural development to people's diets, school uniforms and the need to crack down on "non-socialist practices."

He cited unspecified military advancements as a major achievement of the past year and discussed "militant tasks" facing national defence in 2022. The tractor factory he discussed in the speech is also likely to be used to build launch vehicles for missiles, foreign analysts have said, and North Korea is believed to have expanded its arsenal despite the lockdowns.

The big focus on rural development is likely a populist strategy, said Chad O'Carroll, founder of NK News, a Seoul-based website that tracks North Korea.

"Overall, Kim might be aware that revealing sophisticated military development plans while people are suffering food shortages and harsh conditions outside of Pyongyang might not be such a good idea this year," he wrote on Twitter.

(Reporting by Josh Smith; Editing by Chris Reese)

Unidentified person enters North Korea from South in rare border breach: Seoul
Issued on: 02/01/2022


Demilitarized Zone Laurence CHU AFP

Seoul (AFP) – An unidentified person entered North Korea from the South on New Year's Day, the military in Seoul said Sunday, a rare breach of the heavily fortified border between the neighbours.

Years of repression and poverty in North Korea have led more than 30,000 people to flee to the South in the decades since the Korean War, but crossings in the other direction are extremely rare.

The person was detected by surveillance equipment in the Demilitarised Zone -- which divides the Korean peninsula -- at 9:20 pm local time on Saturday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Sunday.

It sparked a search operation by the military, but to no avail.

"It was confirmed the person crossed the Military Demarcation Line into the North," it added.

The person has not been identified yet, a JCS official told reporters, adding South Korean authorities sent a message to the North on Sunday regarding the incident.

No unusual activity by the North Korean military has been detected, he said.

In 2020, North Korean troops shot dead and burned the body of a South Korean fisheries official Pyongyang said had illegally crossed the maritime border.

In the same year, a North Korean who had defected to the South three years earlier sneaked back across the heavily fortified border.

His crossing prompted North Korean officials to put the border city of Kaesong under lockdown over fears he may have the coronavirus.

The vast majority of North Korean who escape first go to China before making their way to the South, usually via another country.

Only a few have dared to cross the DMZ, which is riddled with landmines and has a heavy military presence on both sides.

© 2022 AFP

Giant bite photographed on great white shark

Giant bite photographed on great white shark

Alexandra Larkin
Fri, December 31, 2021, 4:59 PM·2 min read

Photographer Jalil Najafov took the photo of a lifetime while diving in Isla Guadalupe, Mexico: He spotted a gigantic great white female shark with a ring of teeth marks around her side, encompassing her entire chest. The shocking photo garnered significant attention on social media.

"On rare occasions, during mating season among sharks, 'mating scars' appear on female sharks' bodies caused by the males holding onto them. ... These scars are mostly deeper cuts and punctures, indicating a more forceful motivation such as coercive mating from the male's side," said Najafov, who captured the image in early December. He added photos of other female sharks he had photographed with large bite marks.

But experts he talked to believed the big bite taken of the 15-foot female shark weren't convinced that the bite was from a mating scar.

Tristan Guttridge, a behavioral ecologist and wildlife presenter for Discovery's Shark Week, told Najafov that he didn't believe the bite was from mating.

"Due to position as the wound [sic] looks like it's healed a fair bit and although mating scars can be nasty they are more superficial than that. The shape of it to me likely indicates a bite from another shark - seems a bit extreme for defense," he quoted Guttridge as saying.

Michael Domeier, another Discovery presenter and director of the nonprofit Marine Conservation Science Institute, told Najafov that he was "confident this is competitive aggression. I keep hearing people…describe this sort of thing as territorial aggression, but these highly migratory sharks don't have a traditional territory."

"That scar will heal to the point it won't be a good distinguishing mark," the expert said, per Najafov's post.

Najafov said that he was "very lucky" to have spotted and photographed the scar before it fully healed.

Giant female great whites aren't out of the norm. A 3,500 pound great white shark dubbed Nukumi, meaning "Queen of the Ocean," who researchers believed to be more than 50 years old, was tagged in October of 2020.

"When you see these big females like that that have scars from decades over their lives and multiple mating cycles, you can really kinda see the story of their life unfolding across all the blotches and healed wounds on their body," team leader Chris Fischer told CBS News' Jeff Glor in 2020. "It really hits you differently thank you would think."

GOP COVID DISINFORMATION AND MISINFORMATION CONTINUES

GOP's House Judiciary Committee members, led by Rep. Jim Jordan, tweet that booster shots don't work


Tom Porter
Fri, December 31, 2021

In a tweet, House Judiciary Committee GOP members questioned COVID-19 booster shots.

"If the booster shots work, why don't they work?" the tweet said.

WTF DOES THAT EVEN MEAN

The ranking Republican, Rep. Jim Jordan, has long pushed COVID-19 misinformation.

Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee questioned the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination booster shots on Twitter on Thursday as the Omicron variant continues to spread across the US.

"If the booster shots work, why don't they work?" tweeted the official account of the 19 Republican members of the committee, whose ranking member is Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.

In the now-deleted tweet, the members don't describe their grounds for questioning the effectiveness of the booster.

A follow-up tweet linked to an ABC News report on record numbers of COVID-19 infections in the US due to the Omicron surge.
—House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) December 30, 2021

Jordan has long promoted misinformation about COVID-19 and opposed vaccine mandates. In December, he claimed that "real America" was "done" with COVID-19.

He is one of several Republicans on the right wing of the party who've rallied in opposition to Biden administration measures to contain the virus and questioned its severity.

But the disease continues to claim thousands of lives in the US daily, and there are growing concerns about the capacity of hospitals to cope with a new surge in patients sick with the fast-spreading Omicron variant, which is highly contagious and evades some vaccine protections.

On its website, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the vaccine's "effectiveness at preventing infection or severe illness wanes over time" and that a booster is necessary to shore up the body's defenses against the disease.

"The recent emergence of the Omicron variant further emphasizes the importance of vaccination, boosters, and prevention efforts needed to protect against COVID-19," the website says.

Jordan is an ally of former President Donald Trump. But Trump has provoked anger among some allies by advocating vaccines. He was booed by some supporters at a recent event for saying he had himself gotten a booster shot. Insider's Cheryl Teh reported that several factions of the right wing were furious after Trump lauded the COVID-19 vaccines.

Sen. Marco Rubio blasts 'irrational hysteria' over Omicron coronavirus variant
John L. Dorman
Sat, January 1, 2022,

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.Drew Angerer/Pool via AP


Sen. Marco Rubio on Friday criticized fears over the Omicron variant as "irrational hysteria."

"Record numbers testing positive for a sore throat isn't a crisis," he tweeted.

Florida had a one-day record of 75,900 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, according to the CDC.

Sen. Marco Rubio on Friday criticized the public response to the highly-transmissible Omicron coronavirus variant, saying that fears emanating from the surge in new cases amounted to "irrational hysteria."

The Florida Republican —whose home state had a one-day record of 75,900 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — took to Twitter to minimize the severity of the new variant.

"Record numbers testing positive for a sore throat isn't a crisis. And people in the hospital for car accidents testing positive isn't a surge," Rubio wrote. "The real crisis is the irrational hysteria which has people with no symptoms waiting hours for a test or missing work for 10 days."

He went on to encourage fans who attended Friday's Orange Bowl football game in Miami.

"Very happy to see a packed stadium for tonight's #OrangeBowl," he tweeted. "There is no reason to close, limit or cancel anything. Ignore the hysteria & have a great New Years Eve!"

Despite the continued frustrated among many Americans over the enduring state of the pandemic as it enters a third consecutive year — along with President Joe Biden's continued push for vaccinations — the US recorded a record number of new COVID-19 cases this week.

On Thursday, the seven-day average topped 355,000 cases, according to Johns Hopkins University.

However, the risk of hospitalization for individuals infected with the Omicron variant is roughly a third of what is posed from the highly-infectious Delta variant.

While vaccines do not prevent individuals from contracting the coronavirus, they are credited with reducing the severity of illness in those who contract the disease.

Earlier this week, Rochelle Walensky, the director of the CDC, struck a more positive note on Omicron as it related to hospitalizations — while also adding a note of caution.

"While cases have substantially increased from last week, hospitalizations and deaths remain comparatively low right now," she said during a White House press briefing.

She continued: "I want to emphasize that this virus has proven its ability to adapt quickly, and we must adapt with it. And it is in that context that, last week, CDC updated our isolation and quarantine guidance for healthcare workers as we prepare for an anticipated surge in COVID-19 cases."

The CDC endured some criticism this week for its new recommendation that asymptomatic people infected with the coronavirus complete their isolation period after five days, which is a reduction from 10 days.

The agency said that the new guidelines were driven by science that showed that the bulk of virus transmission transpired earlier in the infection period.

However, former US Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Tuesday spoke out against the latest guidance from the agency.

"I love the CDC. Grew up wanting to work there and have been one of their most ardent defenders. I never dreamed the day would come when I would advise people NOT to follow their guidance," he tweeted.

"But ask any of them. They wouldn't even follow it for their own family," he added.

More than 825,000 people have died of the coronavirus in the US, with 54.7 million confirmed cases, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Lawsuit seeks to block 2 geothermal power plants in Nevada


The Dixie Meadows is pictured in June 2017 in Churchill County, Nev. In a lawsuit filed Dec. 15, 2021, conservationists and tribal leaders are suing the U.S. government to try to block construction of two geothermal plants there that they say will destroy a sacred hot springs and push the toad to the brink of extinction.

Patrick Donnelly/Center for Biological Diversity via AP

SCOTT SONNER
Fri, December 31, 2021

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Conservationists and tribal leaders are suing the U.S. government to try to block construction of two geothermal plants in northern Nevada’s high desert that they say will destroy a sacred hot springs and could push a rare toad to the brink of extinction.

The lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity and Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe says the project would turn a “pristine and unique location of ecological value and spiritual significance” into an industrial site.

It’s the latest public lands conflict pitting green energy production against potential harm to wildlife habitat or cultural resources in the biggest U.S. gold producing state, where legal challenges traditionally target things like hard-rock mining.


Environmentalists nationally have rallied around President Joe Biden’s ambitious renewable energy agenda, which embraces solar, wind and geothermal production.

Geothermal plants pump water from beneath the earth to generate steam to make electricity. The deeper they drill, the warmer the water is. The power plants produce significantly fewer greenhouse emissions than plants that burn natural gas or coal.

The lawsuit filed Dec. 15 accuses the Bureau of Land Management of illegally approving Ormat Technologies Inc.’s project in the Dixie Meadows about 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of Reno without the necessary environmental analysis.

It also says the agency is violating the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Bureau spokesman Chris Rose said the agency had no comment on the litigation.

A judge has scheduled a Jan. 4 hearing in U.S. District Court in Reno to consider the groups' subsequent request for a restraining order to temporarily block initial construction work Ormat planned to begin as early as Jan. 6.

Formed by natural springs, Dixie Meadows is a critical wetland ecosystem in a desert oasis that is home to the Dixie Valley toad found nowhere else in the world, the lawsuit says.

The Biden administration approved the project last month even though the center’s petition to list the toad as a U.S. endangered species is still pending before the Fish and Wildlife Service.

The center is the same group that won an endangered species listing earlier this year for a rare plant at the site of a proposed lithium mine 225 miles (362 km) southeast of Reno. Lithium is a key component of batteries for electric vehicles, a centerpiece of Biden’s energy strategy.

“We strongly support renewable energy when it’s in the right place, but a project like this that threatens sacred sites and endangered species is definitely the wrong place,” Patrick Donnelly, the center’s Nevada state director, said about the geothermal plants.

Tribal Chairperson Cathi Tuni said the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone's ancestors have lived in the Dixie Valley region for thousands of years and long recognized the hot springs as “a sacred place of healing and reflection.”

“The United States has repeatedly promised to honor and protect Indigenous sacred sites, but then the BLM approved a major construction project nearly on top of our most sacred hot springs. It just feels like more empty words,” she said.

Reno-based Ormat filed a motion Dec. 20 seeking intervenor status in the case, citing its $68 million investment over 10 years in the project, which it said could be jeopardized by any delays.

“Even a few weeks of delay in construction of this project ... may spell disaster for the financial viability of the project,” the company said, pointing to a December 2021 deadline in its private power production agreements.

“This exceptionally long and thorough review period took years longer than anticipated, and was several years longer than the majority of other Ormat projects permitted on federal land, which have generally taken about two years to permit,” Ormat Vice President Paul Thomsen said.

The bureau said in announcing the project’s approval in November the two 30-megawatt geothermal plants would help Nevada meet its renewable portfolio requirement that the state’s utilities procure 25% of their energy from renewable sources by 2025.

Donnelly said the company had refused requests to reconsider plans to start bulldozing for a 10-acre (4-hectare) pad and access road at the site on Jan. 6 and begin constructing the first of two power plants.

“That’s why we’ve had to take extraordinary legal measures, to ensure the massive legal deficiencies in this project’s approval process get evaluated before the bulldozers start to run,” he said in an email this week to The Associated Press.

ALL THE WAY FROM AUSTIN
Armadillos are marching across South Carolina. Be prepared to live with them

Sammy Fretwell
Sat, January 1, 2022

Emerging from a deer stand in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, Nathan Ginter heard a rustling sound that diverted his attention to a spot along the forest floor.

Not far away stood a collection of strange-looking animals rooting around in the dark.

“I shined a light on them and there were armadillos just everywhere, looking for some type of insects,’’ Ginter said of the encounter in Hampton County about 10 years ago.

It was a moment he won’t forget, and it’s the type of experience others across South Carolina should get used to.

Armadillos, hard-shelled creatures associated with the plains of Texas and the swamps of Florida, are marching through the state as they establish new homes here.

First spotted near the southern section of the Savannah River in the 1980s, armadillos have since showed up in the Columbia, Greenville and Charleston areas. One was seen on the beach at Kiawah Island in 2020. They’ve even moved into the mountains around Pickens and Walhalla during the past decade.

It’s not unusual to find a dead armadillo on the side of a highway or a live one sauntering through a suburban neighborhood. The animals dig in the dirt for worms and bugs they find particularly delectable.

”Lately, it seems like they’ve just taken off,’’ state wildlife biologist Jay Butfiloski said.

Biologists at Congaree National Park southeast of Columbia have seen armadillos in the vast flood plain, and hog hunter Bo Martin said he’s seen them in Lexington County. About the only place he has not encountered an armadillo is the Gaffney area, where he lives.

“They don’t bother nothing, but they are kind of nasty animals,’’ Martin said, noting that armadillos “stink. It’s more or less like a shelled possum. That’s how they refer to them out west.’’

In some residential areas of South Carolina, armadillos are considered a nuisance. Digging can leave lawns pockmarked with holes. Armadillos also can tunnel into lawns and underneath homes.

Some wildlife removal businesses are running large advertisements aimed specifically at eradicating armadillos from people’s homes and property.

One business, for instance, has dedicated multiple web pages to armadillo control services in Greenville and Myrtle Beach. The website said the company only relocates the animals, instead of poisoning them. Armadillo control services also are advertised elsewhere, including Florence and Anderson.

Butfiloski, with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, said armadillos have spread from the sandy lower Savannah River area into places he didn’t expect. That includes the Piedmont and mountains, areas with thick clay soil that’s harder to dig in than the soft soils of the lower Savannah River basin.

“You found them a lot in the sandier-soil type of counties, so you thought maybe that’s a byproduct of the soil types that are common; it’s easy digging.

“But going up into the Upstate, there’s nothing easy about digging in that red clay. It doesn’t seem to have stopped them.’’

While the DNR did not have statistics last week on armadillo sightings, agency biologist Tom Swayngham estimated there are thousands in the Jocassee Gorges mountain preserve alone.

The undeveloped wilderness of 43,500 acres surround Lake Jocassee, called Jim Timmerman Natural Resources Area at Jocassee Gorges, is managed by the S.C. Dept of Natural Resources. The is the view of the lake from atop Jumping Off Rock.

That should be no surprise to people who live just a few miles from Jocassee in North Carolina. The tiny resort community of Sapphire, N.C., has been besieged by armadillos, according to a recent story in the Guardian. Homeowners have complained so mightily that an area resident is being paid to get rid of the animals, the news outlet reported.

Armadillos are believed to have walked or swum into South Carolina from Florida, while others are moving east and north from Texas.

The species most associated with range expansion is the nine-banded armadillo, which National Geographic says arrived in Texas in the 1880s from Latin America.

These types of armadillos have hard protective armor across their bodies, heads and tails, and range in size from 8 to 17 pounds, according to the S.C. Department of Natural Resources. Some people say the animals look like possums with shells.

Armadillos are sometimes killed by cars because the animals have a natural tendency to jump – as high as three to four feet – when faced with danger. That can cause them to leap into passing cars.

Some people recoil at the site of armadillos, but Swayngham said others are fascinated by their appearance.

Scientists and wildlife managers can’t say conclusively why armadillos have moved into South Carolina, or other states in the South and Midwest. But warmer temperatures from the earth’s changing climate could be a factor. The animals can withstand some cold weather, yet they prefer milder climates.

Or it could be simply that the animals, by nature, are prone to move around when they have the opportunity.

Climate change “could be part of it, but I don’t think it’s the main driver,’’ said Patrick McMillan, a former Clemson University professor and host of a nationally broadcast educational television nature program.

“The main driver may be more that these interstate highways and railroads and all the corridors are good armadillo habitat. They’ve just utilized those to drive their range expansion.’’

Swayngham said he also suspects some armadillos have been transported to certain areas and released, although he’s not sure why. Last July, DNR enforcement agents found armadillos and other wild animals at a mobile home in Lee County during an investigation of illegal wildlife trading.

Armadillos aren’t considered dangerous, except that they can carry disease. Among the diseases associated with armadillos is leprosy, a debilitating illness that can cripple or paralyze people and cause blindness if left untreated.

Ginter, a wildlife removal specialist from Columbia, said he expects armadillo populations to grow in the capital city as they journey across the landscape. He gets several calls a month now, as opposed to one annually a few years ago, he said.

“They’re trickling in,’’ he said. “They are starting to root up people’s grass.’’

Karen Marts also submitted this photo of an armadillo, which she spotted during a walk at Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge. “I was walking on the main road of Pinckney Island last October, and some hikers said a 9-banded armadillo was in the long grass. He was digging for insects, and moved at a quick pace. ... This little animal seemed uninterested in me, and eventually just walked away.”

McMillan and Butfiloski said people should get used to armadillos.

It’s not worth the state trying to eradicate them, in part because they are not as destructive as wild hogs, nor are they particularly dangerous, Butfiloski said.

“Armadillos — you are going to have to learn to live with them,’’ McMillan said.

FDIC chairman appointed by Trump resigns

Fri, December 31, 2021


Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) Chairman Jelena McWilliams, a Trump appointee, resigned Friday amid a power struggle with Democratic members of the agency's board.

In a letter to President Biden released Friday, McWilliams announced she would step down from the FDIC on Feb. 4, less than four years after she was confirmed by the Senate to lead the bank regulator.

McWilliams's unexpected resignation came weeks after Democratic directors on the FDIC board attempted to launch a review of bank merger standards without her approval. While McWilliams ostensibly controlled the FDIC board, she was the sole Republican countering three Democratic directors: Former FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra and Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu.

In a op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, McWilliams denounced the Democratic directors for launching "a hostile takeover" of the FDIC. Republican lawmakers also condemned the Democratic FDIC directors for an unprecedented breach of nearly nine decades of collegiality among agency leaders. Democrats, including the White House, insisted that McWilliams must yield to the will of the FDIC majority.

"Putting partisanship & ideology over what was best for the [FDIC] & depositors, Chair McWilliams started a political fight she couldn't win. Now, rather than work cooperatively & collegially in the best interests of the organization, she has resigned," tweeted Dennis Kelleher, president and CEO of Better Markets, a nonprofit supporting stricter financial regulations.

A former bank executive and legislative aide, McWilliams had led the FDIC since June 2018. She was one of several bank regulators appointed by Trump to loosen and streamline the strict rules imposed after the 2007-08 financial crisis through the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law.

McWilliams immigrated to the U.S. from Serbia during the early 1990s breakup of Yugoslavia, attended the University of California, Berkeley and practiced law at several high-profile firms. She served as chief counsel for Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee and the executive vice president for Fifth Third Bank before she was appointed to lead the FDIC.

"Her story of coming to America to pursue her dream stands as an inspiration to us all," said Richard Hunt, president and CEO of the Consumer Bankers Association, a trade group for banks.

"A total class act who always sought balance-much to my chagrin at times. The FDIC cannot operate where the minority is not represented," he added.

McWilliams's resignation gives Biden a chance to install a new FDIC chief in line with the industry-skeptical financial regulators he has already appointed. Biden's choice will almost certainly face intense opposition from Republican senators, and the president has a narrow margin for error in the 50-50 Senate.

Biden must also appointee nominees for two vacant FDIC director positions, including the one held on an interim basis by Gruenberg. Chopra and Hsu are de facto members of the FDIC board as CFPB director and acting comptroller of the currency, respectively.

Updated at 5:21 p.m.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says GOP is 'projecting their sexual frustrations' after former Trump adviser comments on her vacation photo

April Joyner
Fri, December 31, 2021

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).Drew Angerer/Getty Images


Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded to comments on one of her vacation photos in Florida on Friday.


A former Trump adviser called her boyfriend's feet "gross" and "pale" and criticized mask mandates.


Ocasio-Cortez said the tweet was evidence of "sexual frustration" among her Republican critics.

New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded to a political commentator who remarked on one of her vacation photos on Friday by suggesting that some of her Republican critics harbored "sexual frustration."

Steve Cortes, previously a commentator for conservative TV network Newsmax and adviser to former President Donald Trump, posted a photo on Twitter of Ocasio-Cortez and her boyfriend on vacation in Florida. The two were pictured at a table with drinks, and neither of them wore masks.

"If Leftists like AOC actually thought mandates and masking worked, they wouldn't be frolicking in free FL," Cortes wrote. He added a jibe at Ocasio-Cortez's boyfriend, referring to his "gross pale male feet" and "hideous sandals."

Ocasio-Cortez quoted Cortes' tweet with a reply. "If Republicans are mad they can't date me they can just say that instead of projecting their sexual frustrations onto my boyfriend's feet," she wrote. "Ya creepy weirdos."



"It's starting to get old ignoring the very obvious, strange, and deranged sexual frustrations that underpin the Republican fixation on me, women, & LGBT+ people in general," she added.

Several of Ocasio-Cortez's critics accused her of attempting to deflect criticism with her tweet. A few wrote tweets using the hashtag #AocMeltdown, which was trending on Twitter on Friday evening.

Ocasio-Cortez, a vocal member of the Democratic Party's progressive wing and frequent target of conservative commentators, has spoken out on several occasions regarding sexism directed toward her. In the run-up to her first congressional term, for instance, she discussed "double standards" such as criticisms of her clothing.

Her visit to Florida has prompted online discussion among some of her political critics regarding mandates for masks and vaccines in response to COVID-19.

Ocasio-Cortez represents portions of the Bronx and Queens boroughs of New York City, which has relatively strict guidelines for mask-wearing and vaccination in response to COVID-19. By contrast, Florida, under Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, has passed laws barring employers from mandating COVID-19 vaccines and prohibiting schools from adopting mask-wearing policies.

On Friday, DeSantis' campaign commented on Twitter in response to Ocasio-Cortez's vacation photo. "Welcome to Florida, AOC!" the campaign team tweeted. "We hope you're enjoying a taste of freedom here in the Sunshine State thanks to @RonDeSantisFL's leadership."

Ocasio-Cortez criticizes GOP for 'projecting their sexual frustrations' at her
Fri, December 31, 2021

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) addresses reporters during a press conference on Wednesday, December 8, 2021 about a resolution condemning Rep. Lauren Boebert's (R-Colo.) use of Islamaphobic rhetoric and removing her from her committee assignments.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Friday shot back at criticism from right-wing figures after a photo of her on vacation with her boyfriend in Florida was shared online, suggesting that her critics stop "projecting their sexual frustrations" on her.

Steve Cortes, a former Trump campaign adviser, shared a photo on Twitter on Friday of Ocasio-Cortez in public with her boyfriend, Riley Roberts, vacationing in Florida.

Cortes attacked Ocasio-Cortez for not wearing a mask in public and also took aim at Roberts's "gross pale male feet in public."

Ocasio-Cortez responded by retweeting the photo and writing, "If Republicans are mad they can't date me they can just say that instead of projecting their sexual frustrations onto my boyfriend's feet. Ya creepy weirdos."


"It's starting to get old ignoring the very obvious, strange, and deranged sexual frustrations that underpin the Republican fixation on me, women,& LGBT+ people in general," the New York congresswoman added. "These people clearly need therapy, won't do it, and use politics as their outlet instead. It's really weird."

Ian Haworth, editor of The Daily Wire, replied to Ocasio-Cortez's tweet by writing, "I definitely do not want to date you."

"I'm glad you felt the need to share that with the world," Ocasio-Cortez quipped. "Don't worry, this is a totally normal thought to have and share as an editor of a right-wing website, and totally doesn't prove my point at all. I hear if you say it enough times you'll actually start to believe it."


She added that she found it "so creepy/weird" that people like Haworth are "responsible for shaping the NEWS HEADLINES we all see in media should be really concerning."

Ocasio-Cortez has family that lives in Florida, with her mother, Blanca Ocasio-Cortez, having moved to the state shortly before her daughter launched her successful congressional campaign.

Earlier on Friday, the hashtag #AOCLovesDeSantis began trending on Twitter as critics of Ocasio-Cortez blasted her for traveling to Florida.

They argued Ocasio-Cortez was acting hypocritically by traveling to a state with fewer COVID-19 restriction when she has previously spoken in support of pandemic mitigation measures and mask-wearing.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's (R) campaign shared the photo of Ocasio-Cortez, tweeting, "Welcome to Florida, AOC! We hope you're enjoying a taste of freedom here in the Sunshine State thanks to @RonDeSantisFL's leadership."

"Hasn't Gov. DeSantis been inexplicably missing for like 2 weeks?" Ocasio-Cortez wrote in response to the jibes. "If he's around, I would be happy to say hello. His social media team seems to have been posting old photos for weeks. In the meantime, perhaps I could help with local organizing. Folks are quite receptive here :)"



Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Rips 'Creepy Weirdo' Trump Adviser For Fixating On Boyfriend's Feet


Mary Papenfuss
Fri, December 31, 2021


Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) turned what was intended to be a slam against her on its head Friday, ripping a former senior Donald Trump campaign adviser and other Republican foes as “creepy weirdos.”

Steve Cortes (who left his job just weeks ago as a commentator on right-wing Newsmax) slammed Ocasio-Cortez and boyfriend Riley Roberts in a tweet for daring to travel for a holiday break to Florida, where masking isn’t mandatory.

Then in a bizarre bonus slam about the photo that Cortes had posted of the couple, reportedly dining outdoors in Miami Beach, Cortes criticized Roberts for “showing his gross pale male feet ... with hideous sandals.”


AOC sarcastically slapped down the odd comment as a sign of sexual frustration.

“If Republicans are mad they can’t date me they can just say that instead of projecting their sexual frustrations onto my boyfriend’s feet,” she tweeted in a sly dig. She added: “Ya creepy weirdos.”


She also tweeted about the GOP’s general problems with women and the LGBTQ community.

“It’s starting to get old ignoring the very obvious, strange, and deranged sexual frustrations that underpin the Republican fixation on me, women,& LGBT+ people in general,” she wrote.

The lawmaker also noted that she would be “happy to say hello” to Florida’s GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis — if she could find him. He has been on vacation, according to his aides, since omicron COVID cases have skyrocketed to record levels.

Cortes did not immediately respond to a request from HuffPost to comment on AOC’s takedown.

Twitter followers got in on the hijinks. One quipped with the question: “A republican attacking a guy for being pale?”

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

OK AFTER ALL THAT I HAVE TO ASK THE OBVIOUS;

HOW CAN THE STEVE KNOW THE GUY HAS PALE FEET SINCE HE IS WEARING SOCKS

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) 

Administration found using disappearing messaging app to communicate with staff

Sat, January 1, 2022

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) arrives to speak at an event with President Biden to discuss the bipartisan infrastructure deal during an event at the Port of Baltimore’s Dundalk-Marine Terminal in Baltimore Md., on Wednesday, November 10, 2021.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and his administration were found to be using a messaging app that deletes messages after 24 hours, keeping his internal communications with staff members private and out of the state archives.

Messages from the end-to-end encryption app Wickr obtained by The Washington Post show Hogan talking about a wide range of topics, including the state's response to the pandemic, coordinating with staffers and complaining about media. Chat rooms used by Hogan were set to a timer called "Burn-on-Read" which deletes the messages after 24 hours, the Post reported, citing records.

Hogan spokesman Mike Ricci told the Post the governor uses the app to "have political and communications conversations with advisers, many of whom do not work for the state." But the Post's reporting shows state employees who responded to Hogan's messages include his chief of staff and communications director.

In one instance, Hogan complained to staffers about acknowledging that 500,000 tests he had ordered from South Korea in the spring of 2020 needed replacing due to flaws.

"Stop talking about 1,000 f---ing tests!!!! Read what I say. Tests are unlimited," Hogan wrote in a message obtained by the Post.

The Post in November made a public records request for chatroom listings and messages from the governor and about two dozen of his staffers to confirm the use of Wickr and asked each individual to take "urgent and immediate" steps to preserve the records.

The governor's office then provided screenshots of the messages. While it did not deem the records as public, it provided them "in the interest of transparency," according to one of Hogan's government lawyers.

Hogan declined to be interviewed by the Post about his use of the app.

Maryland law requires that each level of state government retain its records on a schedule. The automatic deletion of messages by Hogan and members of his administration means it can never be determined whether the communications can be made public or be kept by the archives once he leaves office.

Hogan, who will finish his second term in 2022, has touted transparency, writing in a 2020 memoir that if "you are transparent and let people know what's happening, give them the straight facts, they will stand beside you through thick and thin."

Why 'I was just being sarcastic' can be such a convenient excuse

Roger J. Kreuz, Associate Dean and Professor of Psychology, University of Memphis
Sat, January 1, 2022

Oh come on, you could tell it was sarcasm ... right? AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki

After President Donald Trump said during a rally in June 2021 that increased testing was responsible for the surging number of infections, the condemnation of the inaccurate claim was swift.

Six days later, during a Fox News town hall, Sean Hannity asked Trump about those remarks on increased testing.

“Sometimes I jokingly say, or sarcastically say, if we didn’t do tests we would look great,” he replied.

This seems to be a pattern. Two months earlier, the president had mused about the beneficial effects of injecting disinfectants into the body to combat COVID-19. After many health officials expressed their dismay, Trump repeatedly claimed that he was just being sarcastic.

That same month, after he misspelled “Nobel Prize” in a tweet – writing it out as “Noble Prize” – he deleted the tweet before falling back on on a familiar excuse: sarcasm.

What is it about sarcasm that makes it such a convenient excuse for people who are trying to distance themselves from what they’ve said?

As I describe in my book on irony and sarcasm, most cognitive scientists and other language researchers think of sarcasm as a form of verbal irony. Both ways of speaking involve saying the opposite of what you mean. But the goals of irony and sarcasm are actually different.

For example, if someone slowly intones “What beautiful weather!” on a cold and rainy day, it’s clear they’re speaking ironically about a disappointing state of affairs. In general, irony is used to provide commentary on unexpected and negative outcomes.

Sarcasm, on the other hand, is most frequently used to disparage the actions of other people. If someone tells you that you’re a real genius after you forgot to meet them for an important appointment, they clearly don’t mean that you’re mentally gifted. Simply put, irony is commentary, but sarcasm is criticism.

That seems straightforward enough. But in actual practice, the line between irony and sarcasm is blurry and confusing. Many people assert they are being sarcastic when they are in fact being ironic, as in the previous example of the weather.

The enlargement of the domain of sarcasm – at irony’s expense – is a linguistic shift that has been going on for some time. In fact, linguist Geoffrey Nunberg called attention to this phenomenon 20 years ago. So it’s hard to fault the president for conflating the two.

Another element that makes sarcasm tricky to grasp has to do with saying the opposite of what is meant. The recipient of such a statement isn’t supposed to take it literally.

For this reason, when we use verbal irony or sarcasm, we might employ cues to signal our nonliteral intent. We may, for example, speak in a tone of voice that’s slower, lower and louder than how we speak normally. Our pitch may swoop up or down. Ironic statements are also frequently accompanied by facial displays, such as a smirk or the rolling of the eyes.

And that’s why, when being sarcastic over text or email, we’ll use emojis to relay nonliteral intent. Of course, even then, there’s no guarantee that the recipient will interpret the message correctly.

President Trump does, at times, clearly make use of sarcasm. For example, at a December 2019 rally in Hershey, Pennsylvania, he said, referring to the House’s imminent decision to initiate impeachment proceedings, that the Democrats “also understand poll numbers, but I’m sure that had nothing to do with it.” He signals sarcasm by using absolute words like “sure” and “nothing” and by gesturing broadly with both hands. He also pauses to give his audience a moment to interpret his remark as the opposite of what he has said – that, in fact, “my high poll numbers have everything to do with impeachment.” The remark is sarcastic because there’s a clear target: the Democrats in Congress.

But at both the Tulsa rally and his April press conference, the president’s controversial remarks didn’t have such accompanying verbal and nonverbal cues. He wasn’t being critical of anyone; he was simply asserting that testing leads to more infections, or asking what appeared to be sincere questions about the use of disinfectants to combat the virus. Chances are he literally meant what he said

As the president has repeatedly demonstrated, a claim of intended sarcasm can be used to walk back a remark that has been criticized or otherwise fallen flat. Thanks to our slippery understanding of the term, along with the way sarcasm can be easily missed, it can function like a “Get Out of Jail Free” card: The speaker can take a conversational mulligan and try to make things right.

We’ve all said things that we later regretted and appealed to “just kidding” or “I was being sarcastic.” However, if we habitually reach for such excuses to absolve ourselves of linguistic sins, it becomes, like the little boy who cried wolf, less and less effective.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Roger J. Kreuz, University of Memphis.

Read more:

What makes something ironic?

The rhetorical brilliance of Trump the demagogue

Why is sarcasm so difficult to detect in texts and emails?