Podcasts about officials

The FBI arrested a man from Woodbridge, Virginia, on Thursday who investigators believe planted pipe bombs near the Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters the night before the 2021 US Capitol riot. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Well it only took 5 years but a suspect in the January 6th Pipe bomb story has finally been arrested.  Officials with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) told Fox News that they arrested the suspect early Thursday morning... Fox News says the suspect is a man by the name of 30 year old Brian Cole Jr..

Officials from the Great Lakes Economic Development Council talk to JP Hampstead about the opportunities and challenges in driving capital investment into a cross-border region that happens to be one of the world's greatest industrial centers. ⁠Follow the Bring It Home Podcast⁠ ⁠Other FreightWaves Shows⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission approves a compromise that could help settle the rail trail debate. Plus, an update on the California gubernatorial race.

State and local elections officials across the country are preparing for a variety of ways the Trump administration could interfere with the 2026 midterm elections. We discuss the risks and what tactics the president and his allies have suggested.This episode: senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith, voting correspondent Miles Parks, and senior political correspondent and editor Domenico Montanaro.This podcast was produced by Casey Morell and Bria Suggs, and edited by Rachel Baye.Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Minnesota officials are passing the buck on the Somali fraud problem, then ABC blows a hole in the Washington Posts fake news report.  Visit the Howie Carr Radio Network website to access columns, podcasts, and other exclusive content.

Officials in Minneapolis have described fear and panic among the Somali community due to the Trump administration's immigration raids. After nearly five years, there's been a breakthrough in the DC pipe bombing cases. The Defense Department is facing a lawsuit from a major news publication. Just two days after peace talks, Russian President Vladimir Putin has made aggressive claims about Ukrainian territory. Plus, a worring report about global child deaths. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Military officials head to Capitol Hill for a briefing on boat strikes To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode. After Israel and Lebanon held direct talks on Wednesday in the presence of US envoy Morgan Ortagus, Magid remarks on the rare contact between the two countries. The US aims to prevent the expansion of Israeli operations in Lebanon during the ongoing ceasefire, while Israel wants to ensure that Hezbollah is not able to rearm. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly weighed in on Jewish settler violence against Palestinian villagers, and Magid notes the premier's insistence on redirecting the so-called hilltop youth's criminal tendencies via educational efforts rather than using security measures or imprisonment. Netanyahu also discussed legalizing certain West Bank outposts in light of their role in preventing Palestinian land grabs in Area C. Last month, the Trump administration shelved the idea of sanctions on Palestinian Authority leaders, after PA Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas fired his finance minister when it was discovered that illicit "pay to slay" payments were still being made to Palestinian security prisoners. Magid talks about the White House decision, and its sense of satisfaction with the development. Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates. For further reading: Officials from Israel and Lebanon hold first direct talks in decades in Naqoura Netanyahu said to back recognition of illegal farming outposts in West Bank Social equality minister roundly panned for plan to divert Arab economic development funds US shelved sanctions on PA leaders after Abbas fired minister over prisoner payments Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Pod-Waves. IMAGE: FILE - A helicopter flies over a base of the U.N. peacekeeping force, in the southern town of Naqoura, Lebanon on Oct. 14, 2020. The French oil giant Total said Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022 it will soon launch exploration activities in search for gas in the Mediterranean off Lebanon's coast following last month's historic deal between Lebanon and Israel on their maritime border. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amid budgetary constraints and federal directives to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs, Dallas officials have developed a plan to help them decide when to take the lead in addressing resident needs and when not to. In other news, DFW International Airport contributes more than $78 billion to the North Texas economy. That's  according to a new impact study released Wednesday from the Perryman Group; the Academy of Country Music Awards are leaving Frisco for Las Vegas next year. For three consecutive years, country luminaries and rising acts have descended upon the Ford Center at The Star; and the largest online retailer in the U.S. has brought its drone delivery service to North Texas. Amazon has gone live in Richardson for local customers as it makes its first big push into the region. Customers in the area can use the technology for tens of thousands of items in as little as one hour. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today - A wave of national store closures might be hitting Sahuarita, but local officials say there’s no reason to worry about long-term impacts.Support the show: https://www.myheraldreview.com/site/forms/subscription_services/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Canada's Food Price Report predicts grocery prices will rise 4-6% next year. Despite trade tensions, Prime Minister Mark Carney, US President Donald Trump, and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum will all be on stage together tomorrow for FIFA World Cup Draw. Ukraine's lead negotiator is preparing for a high-stakes meeting with US Envoy Steve Witkoff in Miami today. Officials say five people, including two children, were killed in Israeli air strikes near Khan Younis. Social media giant Meta begins to remove access to its platforms for young Australians, ahead of world-first social media ban. A Prince Albert retiree is speaking out, after falling victim to a cryptocurrency scam involving a deep-fake CBC news report. Steve Cropper, song writer, guitarist with Booker T and the McG's, dies in Nashville at age 84.

President Trump has rolled back Biden-era fuel-economy rules, saying the move will lower car prices and protect U.S. auto jobs. The White House argues the old standards were too costly and pushed electric vehicles on consumers. Officials say the change could cut car prices by about $1,000 and save Americans more than $100 billion.ICE officers have arrested an Afghan man on suspicion of providing support to a regional branch of the ISIS terror group. He is the third Afghan national to be arrested in just over a week, raising questions about a Biden-era program for refugees after the Taliban takeover in 2021. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is expanding social media vetting for applicants for all H-1B visas.President Trump said on Wednesday that land strikes on Venezuela will start very soon, and that these strikes will go beyond pressure campaign on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Trump also doubled down on his defense of the September 2nd strike in the Caribbean, saying that every boat that's taken down saves 25,000 American lives. He says that drugs coming in through the sea are down by 91% since the strikes began.

The state officials in Minnesota are in denial that the Somalis in the area are causing more trouble than is worth.  Visit the Howie Carr Radio Network website to access columns, podcasts, and other exclusive content.

It's Wednesday, December 3rd, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Jonathan Clark Thailand orders Christian back to Vietnam to likely torture Last Wednesday, a court in Thailand ordered that a Christian activist and asylum seeker must be sent back to Vietnam. Y Quynh Bdap, the co-founder of Montagnards Stand for Justice, faces a 10-year sentence in Vietnam for alleged anti-Communist activities.   International Christian Concern noted, “If extradited to Vietnam, he will likely face torture, violence, and imprisonment. … This will set a dangerous precedent for the thousands of other Christian refugees in Thailand who could also be extradited to their home country, where they fled persecution.” According to Open Doors, Vietnam is the 47th most dangerous country worldwide for Christians. Flooding and landslides in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand Monsoon rains brought catastrophic flooding and landslides to Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand last week. The death toll has surpassed 1,300, and nearly a thousand people are missing. The National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka is distributing emergency aid to pastors and Christian workers in the country. The group said the flooding has been “displacing families and severely impacting pastors, Christian workers, and churches.” Trump pauses immigration from Third World countries In the United States, President Donald Trump announced last Thursday his administration will “permanently pause” migration from Third World countries.  This came a day after an Afghan national shot two National Guard members with a  357 revolver in Washington, D.C. near the White House. U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, aged 20, died the next day. U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolf remains in serious condition. However, doctors report that he was able to give a thumbs-up sign when prompted and he wiggled his toes on command as well. Brigadier General Leland Blanchard spoke at a press conference. BLANCHARD: “Their families' lives are all changed forever because one person decided to do this horrific and evil thing.” Officials charged the 29-year-old Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, with first-degree murder yesterday. The Afghan man drove cross country, from his home in Washington State, to carry out the targeted attack. He had immigrated to the United States in 2021 under a Biden era program evacuating Afghan refugees during the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces. Listen to comments from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.  LEAVITT: “Sarah and Andrew represent the very best of America, two young patriots who were willing to put on the uniform and risk their lives in defense of their fellow Americans. Both of them truly embody the profound words spoken by Jesus Christ in the Gospel. Greater love has no one than this to lay down one's life for one's friends.” (John 15:13) Mass killings are down this year Mass killings in the U.S. are down according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today. There have been 17 shooters who killed four or more people in a 24-hour period not including themselves. That's the lowest on record since 2006. Mass killings mostly occur at people's homes and often involve family members.  California officials dropped $70,000 in COVID fines against church Officials in California recently dropped nearly $70,000 in fines against a church and Christian school. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health targeted Calvary Chapel San Jose and its affiliated Calvary Christian Academy during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Joel Oster with Advocates for Faith & Freedom said, “This is a complete victory, not only for Calvary Christian Academy, but for every church and Christian school in California. The State tried to use [the Occupational Safety and Health Administration] as a weapon to intimidate a religious institution. They failed. And they were forced to walk away from their own claims.” Should pro-life ministry be compelled to reveal names of donors? The U.S. Supreme Court heard a case yesterday involving a pro-life ministry in New Jersey. The case began in 2023 when the state targeted First Choice Women's Resource Centers with a subpoena, demanding the names of its donors.  Reuters reports that the justices appeared favorable to the pro-life ministry. William Haun with The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty said, “The Court should make clear that state bureaucrats cannot exploit their power to intimidate ministries or chill the faith commitments that guide their work.” Isaiah 10:1-2 says, “Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, who write misfortune, which they have prescribed to rob the needy of justice, and to take what is right from the poor of My people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless.” The “Naughty and Nice List” of U.S. retailers And finally, AUDIO: “He's making a list and checking it twice. He's going to find out who's naughty or nice.” Liberty Counsel released its latest “Naughty and Nice List” last month. The list catalogs retailers that are censoring Christmas and ones that are publicly celebrating it. Companies that celebrate Christmas include Costco, Lowe's, and Walmart. Companies that silence and censor Christmas include TJ Maxx, Barnes & Noble, and CVS Pharmacy.   Mat Staver with Liberty Counsel said, “Christianity remains the largest faith tradition in the United States and is associated with worship, family traditions, nostalgia, and seasonal joy. … We are happy to report that some retailers still recognize that the Christmas season is about the birth of Jesus and is not just a winter holiday.” Close And that's The Worldview on this Wednesday, December 3rd, in the year of our Lord 2025. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com.  Plus, you can get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

At Raymond (R.D.) Cheely's sentencing hearing for the random highway murder of Jeffrey Cain, prosecutor Steve Branchflower said that the shooting delivered a stunning message to Anchorage. “No matter who you are or where you live, or what precautions you take to protect yourselves, you cannot escape violence; you can't hide.” Branchflower added, “Because we can no longer trust Raymond Cheely to do the right thing, we must make sure he is never again left unwatched.”'' Sources Doto, Pamela. “Fugitive nabbed. Gustafson arrested in Hollywood hotel.” April 18, 1992. Anchorage Daily News. Enge, Marilee. “Cheely's lawyer says evidence scant, wants dismissal.” April 9, 1992. Anchorage Daily News. Enge, Marilee. “Death penalty urged. U.S. says law covers bombing.” May 15, 1992. Anchorage Daily News. Enge, Marilee. “Friend, prosecutors tell different tales of Ryan.” April 22, 1992. Anchorage Daily News. Enge, Marilee. “Letters, tapes reveal young man's woes.” April 19, 1992. Anchorage Daily News. Enge, Marilee, and Natalie Phillips. “No motive, no suspect yet in bombing. Officials warn people involved in highway-shooting trial to be careful of packages.” September 19, 1992. Anchorage Daily News. Enge, Marilee. “Prosecutors air tapes at bomb hearing. Recordings include defendants' accounts of motive, work on deadly package.” April 7, 1992. Anchorage Daily News. “Gustafson v. State.” June 18, 1983. Touch N' Go. “Gustafsons.” Season 1, Episode 1. October 26, 2019. Killer Siblings. Phillips, Natalie. “Broke, tired, hungry Gustafson “relieved” by arrest, Feds say.” April 19, 1992. Anchorage Daily News. Phillips, Natalie. “Cheely guilty in bombing Alaskan. Could get two life terms.” March 14, 1995. Anchorage Daily News. Phillips, Natalie. “Gustafson owns up to killing.” November 27, 1995. Anchorage Daily News. Phillips, Natalie. “Inmates passed notes. Informants testify to Cheely actions.” February 10, 1995. Anchorage Daily News. Phillips, Natalie. “Ryan denies plot role. Cheely friend moved explosives.” March 4, 1995. Anchorage Daily News. Phillips, Natalie. “Sister recounts role as go-between.” February 18, 1995. Anchorage Daily News. Phillips, Natalie. “State wants bomb suit settlement lawyers asked to detail $2.6 million agreement.” May 1, 1996. Anchorage Daily News. Rinehart, Steve. “Mail bomb: 4 charged government says highway killers plotted death from prison  Blast that killed father intended for son: convict's sister held: brother still at large.” April 2, 1992. Anchorage Daily News. Toomey, Sheila. “Bomber gets life plus 30. Gustafson ineligible for parole.” May 8, 1993. Anchorage Daily News. ________________ Treat the True Crime Lover on your Christmas List to Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. OR For Murder Mysteries Set in the Wilderness of Kodiak Island, Check Out These Novels. ___________________ Also, All Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier Merchandise in the Store is On Sale! https://youtu.be/7Fv52Bf8yfY ___________________ Join the Last Frontier Club's Free Tier ______ Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master's degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman's Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing. Robin invites you to join her at her website: https://robinbarefield.com, and while you are there, sign up for her free monthly newsletter about true crime in Alaska. Robin also narrates a podcast, Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. You can find it at: https://murder-in-the-last-f...

A bill that would redraw Indiana's congressional map to benefit Republicans was passed through committee Tuesday after hours of testimony. A push to redraw Indiana's congressional districts has divided Republicans in the solidly conservative state. Last year, Indiana froze enrollment for a program that helps low income families pay for child care and preschool, and the state has kept making cuts. More than 36 percent of people released from prison return within three years, according to the Indiana Department of Correction. Officials in Clark County, Indiana report drug overdose deaths so far this year are half what they were last fall. The City of Indianapolis says it's been hard at work making roads and trails safe after Monday night's snowfall. Want to go deeper on the stories you hear on WFYI News Now? Visit wfyi.org/news and follow us on social media to get comprehensive analysis and local news daily. Subscribe to WFYI News Now wherever you get your podcasts. WFYI News Now is produced by Zach Bundy, with support from News Director Sarah Neal-Estes.

A shocking case out of Palm Beach County is raising major red flags about government overreach, land grabs, selective prosecution, and weaponized local agencies. In this special Corsi Nation panel, Dr. Jerome Corsi brings together experts, medical professionals, and witnesses to expose what may be one of the most disturbing abuse-of-power cases in Florida. This is the FULL story the mainstream media won't touch.

Charlie Weston, Personal Finance Editor for the Irish Independent, discusses the Freedom of Information documents which show officials in the Department of Energy claimed there was a strong case for paying energy credits in budget 2026.

AP correspondent Mike Stobbe reports that the Trump administration is questioning the safety of hepatitis B vaccines for newborns.

Did Pres. Donald Trump fall asleep during the latest Cabinet meeting? Photos have showed bruising and swelling on the president, prompting questions about his fitness at age 79. The White House released MRI results from October, confirming “perfectly normal” cardiovascular and abdominal health. Officials dismissed concerns as political theater, insisting Pres. Trump remains in excellent condition. Please Like, Comment and Follow 'Broeske & Musson' on all platforms: --- The ‘Broeske & Musson Podcast’ is available on the KMJNOW app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever else you listen to podcasts. --- ‘Broeske & Musson' Weekdays 9-11 AM Pacific on News/Talk 580 AM & 105.9 FM KMJ | Facebook | Podcast| X | - Everything KMJ KMJNOW App | Podcasts | Facebook | X | Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A newly released Department of Homeland Security memo confirms the Trump administration has frozen more than 1.4 million asylum cases and paused green card and naturalization processing for people from 19 countries labeled high risk. Officials must re-review past approvals and reopen cases when necessary. DHS cites recent terrorism cases as justification for overhauling its vetting procedures. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed with the latest news from a leading Black-owned & controlled media company: https://aurn.com/newsletter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Officials are waiting to hear how much money Arizona will get as part of the Rural Health Transformation Program. We'll hear what the state is asking for. Plus, a Tiny Desert Concert with a Valley artist who rose to online superstardom writing songs about video games.

Close to 50,000 student visa cases — including 46,590 awaiting review — are stuck in limbo as officials warn the tribunal is severely understaffed. Senate Estimates also heard that student visa decisions overturned last quarter were “extraordinarily high,” adding more pressure to the system. In this podcast, certified migration agent Deepti Arora shares key tips to help student visa applicants navigate the process smoothly.

From the BBC World Service: Factories in China have long been an engine of economic growth, so it's worrying for leaders in Beijing that a new survey shows activity unexpectedly contracted in November. It's the eighth straight month that production has shrunk. What's it telling us about the world's second biggest economy? And later, Iran is experiencing an unprecedented drought, with rainfall at record lows and reservoirs nearly empty. Officials are pleading with citizens to conserve water.

From the BBC World Service: Factories in China have long been an engine of economic growth, so it's worrying for leaders in Beijing that a new survey shows activity unexpectedly contracted in November. It's the eighth straight month that production has shrunk. What's it telling us about the world's second biggest economy? And later, Iran is experiencing an unprecedented drought, with rainfall at record lows and reservoirs nearly empty. Officials are pleading with citizens to conserve water.

This episode is presented by Create A Video – Mecklenburg County Commissioners, the sheriff, court staff, and chief judge expressed great concern about a new state law that makes it harder to release defendants from jail who are facing serious crimes. Subscribe to the podcast at: https://ThePetePod.com/ All the links to Pete's Prep are free: https://patreon.com/petekalinershow Media Bias Check: GroundNews promo code! Advertising and Booking inquiries: Pete@ThePeteKalinerShow.com Get exclusive content here!: https://thepetekalinershow.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this special Crown Refs Community Q&A episode, Paul and Marc Vaccaro break down some of the most important health, fitness, and performance questions submitted by basketball officials from the Crown Refs community. The conversation dives into preventing and rehabing common officiating issues like tight hamstrings, shin pain, lower back discomfort, and core weakness—while introducing practical solutions like loaded stretching, Nordic curls, barefoot training principles, ankle mobility work, decompression through hanging, and spinal health strategies. Marc also explains why core strength isn't just about abs, but about creating a strong 360° cylinder around your spine for longevity and injury prevention on the court.The episode also explores performance nutrition for officials who travel and work multiple games per week, including what to eat before early morning workouts, how to maintain muscle during the season, fasting strategies for busy referees, clean eating on a budget, and how to stabilize blood sugar to avoid crashes during games. They discuss protein options, fuel timing, the truth about protein bars, the role of whole foods, and realistic approaches to staying lean and strong during the grind of the season. If you're an official looking to stay durable, energized, and physically prepared for a long season, this episode delivers practical, real-world guidance straight from the Crown Refs community.

This episode we look at many of the natural events and talk about those observing and writing things down, and why they may have wanted to do so. For more, check out our podcast blogpage:  https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-139   Rough Transcript: Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is episode 139: Observing the "Natural" World. Members of the Onmyou-ryou, dressed in the official robes of their office, sat around in their observation tower, measuring the location of the stars.  They kept their light to a minimum, just enough so that they could write down their observations, but not so much that it would destroy their vision.  As they looked up, suddenly they saw a strange movement: a streak through the sky.  They waited, and observed, and then there was another, and another after that.  It was as if the stars themselves were falling from the heavens.  They watched as it seemed that the constellations themselves were melting and falling apart.  Quickly they scribbled down notes.  Tomorrow, with the light of day, they would consult various sources to see just what it could mean.  For now, their role was simply to observe and record.   Welcome back, everyone.  It is the height of holiday season in the US as I record this, and in our narrative we are in the middle of the reign of Ohoama, aka Temmu Tennou, who came to power in 672 and who has been shoring up the Ritsuryo state instigated by his late brother, Naka no Oe, aka Tenji Tennou.  We have talked in recent episodes about how Ohoama put a lot of the state under the control of members of the royal family, or at least those with claims to royal blood, and how he had also begun work on the Chronicles—the very works that we have been using to try and understand the history of this and earlier periods.   It seems clear that Ohoama and his cohorts were doing their best to solidify their control and, in the process, create what they felt was a modern state, leveraging the continental model, but not without their own local flavor.  After all, they were also investing in the kami based rituals of state and specifically in Ise shrine, which they claimed as an ancestral shrine for their lineage. This episode, let's dig into another thing that was getting reported around this time.  And that is… science!  Or at least observations of the world and indications of how people were interacting with it. Before going into the subject, I want to acknowledge that "science", or "Kagaku" in modern Japanese, may not look like what we think of as "science" today.  The word "Kagaku" itself appears to come about in the late Edo period, and became associated with the western idea of "Science" in the Meiji period.  Today we think of it as observations, yes, but also testing via the scientific method. I think it might be more appropriate to categorize a lot of earlier science under a term like "learning" or "study", and it seems to have encompassed a wide range of topics of study, some of which we would include as "science" and some which we might refer to more as "arts".  There is also a very fine line with religion and philosophy as well. From a modern perspective, I think one could fairly argue that "science"—particularly the so-called "hard" sciences—refers to something that can be empirically tested via the scientific method.  So you can see something, form a hypothesis, create a test, and then that test should produce the same results no matter who conducts it, assuming you account for the variables. And please don't @ me about this… I know I am simplifying things.  This isn't a podcast about science unless we are talking about the social sciences of history and archaeology. In contrast to our modern concept of science, much of what we see in the Asuka era is built around using our reasoning to arrive at the truth of something.  In cases where we are dealing with clearly physical phenomena that have observable causes and effects, this can lead to remarkably reliable results.  One example of this is calendrical science—it isn't that hard to observe the passing of days and seasons.  Even the rotation of the earth and the movements of stars and even something with as large a period as comets could be observed and tracked, especially if you had centuries of data to comb through.  In fact, they often would predict things that it turns out they couldn't, themselves, see.  They could predict that an eclipse would occur, for example, even when that eclipse was only visible somewhere else.  And they didn't have to calculate gravitational pull, mass, or distances between different heavenly bodies for that to occur. Similarly, in the agricultural sphere: you had so many people who observed the seasons and would figure out new ways of doing things.  It doesn't take an understanding of chlorophyl to know that plants generally do better when exposed to sunlight. I believe the leap happens when you get to things that go beyond purely observable means.  Sickness, for example—how do you explain viruses or germs without equipment like microscopes to see what our eyes alone cannot?  And if such "invisible" things could cause so much damage, then why could there not be other "invisible" elements, such as kami and boddhisatvas?  And as humans we are driven to make connections.  It is one of the things that has driven our technological innovation and rise, but it is also something that can easily go awry.  Like when you are sitting in a dark house, alone, and you hear a noise.  Rationally, you might know that houses settle and creak, but that doesn't necessarily stop your brain from connecting it with thoughts that someone must be in the house making that noise. Or even how we make judgments based on nothing more than how someone talks or what they look like, because our brains have made connections with those things, for good or ill. A large part of the rationalization that was accomplished in Asian thought had to do with concepts of Yin and Yang, the negative and the positive, the dark and the light.  This was thought of as a kind of energy—qi or ki—that was embedded in things.  We discussed this somewhat back in episode 127, because yin yang theory, along with the five element theory, known as Wuxing or Gogyou in Japanese, became embedded in the idea of the calendar.  Why was summer hot, except that it was connected with an excess of fire energy?  And the cold, dark days of winter would be associated with an excess of water, naturally. I should note that while this is one of the more comprehensive philosophical systems in use, it was not the only means by which various phenomena and effects were rationalized.  After all, it had to be imposed on a framework of how the world otherwise worked, and descriptions of the world came from a variety of places.  There was, for example, the Classic of Mountains and Seas, or Sanhaijing, which detailed the world as envisioned in the period before the Qin dynasty, although there were occasional updates.  The Sanhaijing  described regular plants and animals in the same breath as gods and monsters.  There were also various buddhist sutras, which brought their own cosmological view of the universe that had to be squared with other visions, including those passed down locally describing the archipelago as the "Reed Plain" and giving particular importance to eight of the islands—though which eight depends on which variant of the creation myth you are referencing. To categorize the study of the natural—and what we would consider the supernatural—world around them, the Ritsuryou set up specific bureaus.  One of these was the Onmyou-ryou, the Bureau of Yin-yang, also known as the Onyo no Tsukasa.  This Bureau oversaw divination, astronomy, time, and calendars.  At its head was the Onmyou-no-kami.  Below them were the various scholars studying the core subjects, as well as technical practitioners to carry out the rites and divination. On the continent, priority was generally given to astronomical and calendrical studies, and many of the more magical practices or rituals would fade away, likely because there were local Taoist institutions who could take up much of that work.  In Japan, however, it seems that the calendrical studies tended to ossify, instead, while onmyoji came to fill a role not just for the state but also among the population for divination and other such practices.  Even into the Edo period one could find private onmyoji, and the Bureau itself lasted until the very beginning of the Meiji period. Another important institution of the Ritsuryo government for learning was the Daigakuryou, the Bureau of Great Learning.  Students of Japanese may recognize the term "Daigaku" referring, today, to universities. The original concept for the Daigaku-ryou, or Daigaku no Tsukasa, was focused on the study of those things that were considered perhaps a bit more practical and necessary to anyone who might want a political career.  Since this was founded on concepts of Confucian government, it is little wonder that it was originally designed to focus on Confucian studies, among other things.  This fits into the idea of a supposed meritocracy, where one's education was part of the examination.  You may recall from Episode 115 we talked about the National University in Chang'an, which is likely something that the Daigaku Ryou could only ever dream of becoming. Early arts taught at the Daigaku Ryou included the Confucian classics, mathematics, writing, and Chinese pronunciation.  These were all things that you would need to know to become a part of the bureaucracy The idea of a school may have been born along with the early institution of the government, with mention as early as 671, in the last year of Naka no Oe's reign, but we don't have it clearly established in the code until later.  Full operations may have been somewhat delayed due to the tumultuous events of Ohoama's accession to power in 672, but we do see it explicitly mentioned in the year 675.  On the first day of the year we are told that Students from the Daigaku Ryou, along with students from the Onmyou-Ryou and from the Gaiyaku Ryou, the Bureau of External Medicine; along with the Woman of S'ravasti, the Woman of Tara, Prince Syeonkwang of Baekje, and Silla labourers offered presents of drugs and various rarities. We talked about the first two, the Daigaku-ryou and the Onmyou-ryou, but the Gaiyaku Ryou doesn't seem to have a lot of information out there beyond this mention.  Later there would a "Ten'yaku Ryou", or Bureau of Medicine, established in the code.  Since we don't have any extant codes from this period beyond what was written down in the Nihon Shoki, we don't know for certain what the Gaiyaku-ryou was , and it is possible that the Gaiyaku-Ryou was a precursor to the Ten'yaku Ryou.  "GAI" means "outside" or "external", leading me to wonder if this referred to external medicine in contrast to internal medicine, or if it meant medicine or drugs from outside teh archipeloago. I would point out that these students are found with the Woman of S'ravasti, or Shae; the Woman of Tara; a Baekje prince and Silla labourers.  In other words, they were all people from outside of the archipelago.  This is not entirely surprising as it was from outside that much of the learning was coming into the country. "Yaku" or "Kusuri", which can be translated as either "Drugs" or "medicine", could refer to a number of things.  How effective they were is somewhat questionable. Almost certainly some of them had confirmed medicinal efficacy, but others may have been thought to have been effective due to things like their connection to the five elements, or wuxing, theory. For example, something red might be assumed to have a warming effect because of the presumed presence of the fire element.  And the power of the placebo effect no doubt made them seem at least partially effective.  Consider, for example, how many people will swear by certain remedies for the common cold when all it really does is distract you, or perhaps make you a bit more comfortable, until the symptoms pass on their own. A more certain science was probably that of Astronomy, which we've mentioned a few times.  The passage of the stars through the sky was something that could be easily observed.  There is a theory that some of the first lines in the Yijing, or book of changes, may actually be a description of the changing of seasons as different aspects of a given constellation rise over the horizon, and the placement of certain stars would help in the adjustment of the lunar calendar, since the moon's orbit does not match up exactly with the solar year, and year the solar year was quite important to things like agriculture and even sailing to the mainland. This all makes 675 a seemingly banner year for science, as four days after the presentation of medicine to the throne, the government erected a platform by which to observe the stars.  This wouldn't need to be much—it could have been an earthen mound, or just a tower, from which one could get above the ground, presumably see over any buildings, to the horizon.  Granted, Asuka might not be the best place for such observations, with the nearby mountains meaning that the true horizon is often obstructed.  Nonetheless, it may have been enough to make calculations. Astronomy platforms, or Tenmondai, would continue to be used up until at least the Meiji period.  Without a telescope, observations were somewhat limited—though they also didn't have the same level of light pollution that we have today.  Remember, many woke just before dawn and went to sleep not too long after the sun went down, which only makes sense when you are living in a place where creating light, while doable, also ran the risk of burning your entire house to the ground. It is worth noting that the sky for the ancient Japanese was likely quite different than what most of us see when we look up, unless you are fortunate enough to live in a place with very little light pollution.  For many of those living today in the cities and suburban landscape, go outside at night and you might see the moon and some of the brightest stars, but for most of the ancient Japanese, they would look up and see the heavenly river, the Amakawa, or Milky Way.  They would have looked up at a sky glittering with myriad dots of light, as well as planets and more.  It was both familiar and strange—something one saw regularly and yet something that was also extremely inaccessible. Astronomical observations would have been important for several reasons, as I've mentioned.  They would have been used to keep the calendar in check, but they would also have likely been used to help calibrate the water clock, which helped to tell time.  Of course, going back to the five elements and yin yang theory, it is also believed that the energy, the qi or ki, changed with the seasons and the movements of the stars and planets—planets were not known as such, of course, but their seemingly erratic movements compared to bright lights in the sky meant they were noticed and assigned values within the elemental system. One of the things that came with the changing seasons, the heavenly movements, and the flow of ki was a concept of "kata-imi", literally directional taboos.  There were times when certain directions might be considered favorable or unfavorable for various actions.  This could be something as simple as traveling in a given direction.  In the centuries to come this would spawn an entire practice of kata-tagae, or changing direction.  Is the north blocked, but you need to travel there, anyway?  Well just go northwest to say hello to a friend or visit your local sake brewery, and then travel due east.  Ta-da!  You avoided going directly north!  There were also mantra-like incantations that one might say if they had to travel in an inauspicious direction to counteract the concept of bad influences. This also influenced various other things, and even today you will often see dates where a year and month might be followed by simply the character for "auspicious day" rather than an actual day of the month. So observing the heavens was important, and it was also important that they tostudy the works of those on the continent, whose records could help predict various astronomical phenomena.  Except that there was one tiny problem:  I don't know if you've noticed, but Japan and China are in two different locations.  Not all astronomical phenomena can be observed from all points of the globe.  The Northern Lights, for example, are rarely seen in more southerly latitudes, and while eclipses are not too rare, a total eclipse only impacts certain areas of the earth, along relatively narrow paths. I mention this because it isn't always clear if the records we get in the Nihon Shoki are about phenomena they directly observed or if they are taking reports from elsewhere and incorporating them into the narrative.  One such event is the comet of 676. The entry in the Nihon Shoki tells us that in the 7th lunar month of the 5th year of Temmu Tennou, aka 676 CE, a star appeared in the east that was 7 or 8 shaku in length.  It disappeared two months later. We've mentioned some of this before, but the sky was divided up into "shaku", or "feet", though how exactly it was measured I'm not entirely sure.  It appears to be that one foot was roughly 1.5 degrees of the sky, give or take about a quarter of a degree, with 180 degrees from horizon to horizon.  So it would have been about 10 to 12 degrees in the sky.  Another way to picture it is if you hold out your arm towards the object, and spread your index and little finger, it would probably fit between those two points.  This comet hung around for some time, and a great part about a comet like this is that it was viewable from multiple locations.  After all, as the earth turned, different areas were exposed to the comet as it passed through our part of the solar system.  Thus we have records of it from not just the Nihon Shoki:  We also find it in the Anglo-Saxon chronicles, where it was thought to have foretold the end of Bishop Wilfred's control of Northumbria.  We also see it in Tang, Silla, and Syrian sources. These sources aren't always in complete agreement.  For one thing, they noted when they first saw it, which might have been impacted by local conditions.  And then conversion between lunar and solar calendars can also sometimes get in the way.  Roughtly speaking, we have the Nihon Shoki providing dates of somewhere from about August or September of 676, on the Western calendar, to October or November. Tang sources put it from 4 September to 1 November.  Silla Chronicles claim that it first appeared in the 7th lunar month, so between August and September.  A Syrian Chronicle notes a comet from about 28 August to 26 October in the following year, 677, but this is thought to have been a mistake.  European sources generally seem to claim it was seen in August and lasted for three months.  All of these sightings put it at roughly the same time. Working with that and with known comets, we think we actually know which comet this is:  The Comet de Cheseaux also known as the Comet Klinkenberg-Cheseaux.  And I should mention this is all thanks to a research paper by M. Meyer and G. W. Kronk.  In that paper they propose that this is the comet with the designation of C/1743 X1, or the common names I just mentioned.  If so, based on its trajectory, this comet would have been visible in 336, 676, 1032, 1402, 1744, and is next predicted to show up in 2097.  And no, those aren't all exactly the same amount of time.  It is roughly every 350 years or so, but with the movements of the solar system, the planets, and various gravitational forces that likely slow or speed up its movement, it doesn't show up on exactly regular intervals.  Still, it is pretty incredible to think that we have a record of a comet that was seen the world over at this time, by people looking up from some very different places. Comets were something interesting for early astronomers.  They may have originally been seen as particularly ominous—after all, in the early eras, they were hardly predictable, and it would take years to get enough data to see that they were actually a somewhat regular occurrence.  In fact, it is likely that early astronomers were able to figure out eclipse schedules before comets.  Still, they seem to have come to the realization that comets were in fact another type of natural and reoccurring phenomenon.  That isn't to say that they didn't have any oracular meaning, but it did mean they were less of an obvious disturbance of the heavenly order. We have another comet mentioned in the 10th lunar month of 681, but that one seems to have had less attention focused on it, and we don't have the same details.  Then in the 8th lunar month of 682 we have an entry about a Great Star passing from East to West—which was probably a shooting star, rather than a comet.  Comets, for all that they appear to be streaking across the sky thanks to their long tails, are often relatively stable from an earthbound perspective, taking months to appear and then disappear again. Then, on the 23rd day of the 7th month of 684 we get another comet in the northwest.  This one was more than 10 shaku in length—about 15 degrees, total, give or take.  Given the date, we can be fairly confident about this one, as well: it was the famous Halley's comet.  Halley's comet is fascinating for several reasons.  For one, it has a relatively short period of about 72 to 80 years, though mostly closer to 75 to 77 years in between sightings.  The last time it visited the earth was in 1986, and it is expected back in 2061.  Halley's comet has been recorded since the 3rd century BCE, and, likely because of its short period, it was the first periodic comet to be recognized as such.  There are other periodic comets with short periods, but many of them are not visible with the naked eye.  Halley's comet is perhaps the most studied comet, given its regular and relatively short periodicity.  It is also connected to the famous writer, humorist, and essayist, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, aka Mark Twain.  He was born only a few days after the comet reached perihelion in 1835 and died a day after it reached the same point again in 1910, and while he may not have visited Japan in his lifetime, it was a period of great change both in his home country of America and in Japan.  America, of course, would undergo a Civil War over the issue of slavery in the early 1860s, and shortly after that Japan would have its own civil war in the form of the Meiji Revolution.  And while he never visited—and translation could only do so much to capture the art of his prose—Mark Twain's works were apparently quite influential in Japan in the early 20th century. Of course, comets were just one of the celestial phenomena to be observed.  The astronomers were interested in just about anything happening in the sky.  We have accounts of both solar and lunar eclipses, and not necessarily full eclipses either.  We even have notice of the movement of some planets, such as in 681, when they noted that the planet mars "entered" the moon. Obviously the astronomers weren't recording every raincloud that came through—at least not in the main chronicles—but they did capture a fair number of events.  They did record particularly memorable storms.  For instances, in the 8th lunar month of 675 there was a storm that is said to have caused sand to fly and which then damaged houses.  This sounds like a wind storm without rain—after all, if there was rain, you would expect that the sand would have been wet and tamped down.  It is possible to have hurricane level winds without the rain.  While typhoons typically bring rain, especially as they usually build up their strength at sea, it is possible to have the winds alone, as I've experienced, myself, in Tokyo.  This most likely happens in an isolated area—there is water and rain somewhere, but the typhoon can be large, so parts of it may only get the wind and little or no rain.  I wonder if something like that happened in this instance.  It is also possible that this record refers to actual sand being brought across from the continent.  In some instances, sand can be lifted up from as far away as Mongolia and carried all the way to Japan, though it is pretty rare. And it wasn't just wind and sand.  We get accounts of hail coming down as large as peaches, torrential rainstorms, and even ash, likely from a volcanic eruption that was otherwise unrecorded.  There are also accounts of snow, though typically recorded in times where you wouldn't expect to see it, such as the third lunar month, which would mean snow in late April or early May. Mostly these storms are mentioned in terms of how they affected the immediate fortunes of the living, but sometimes storms did even more damage.  In 682, for example, a hoar-frost was reported in both Shinano and Kibi in the 7th lunar month.  On its own, this probably wouldn't have been worth mentioning, but the chroniclers add that because of storms the "five grains had not formed".  So storms had diminished the crops and the hoar-frost was apparently the killing blow.  The harvest that year would be lean, and it would not be a happy time for many that winter. And then, just as important as what was happening was what was not.  There are several mentions of droughts, particularly towards the end of Spring, early Summer.  This is traditionally a drier period, and if it is too dry it could harm the harvest.  And so the government was expected to find a way to bring the rain—a tall order, the general resolution to which seems to be prayers and rituals designed to bring rain.  In a place like Japan, I suspect that it was usually just a matter of time before the prayers were "successful", thus reinforcing their presumed efficacy. Some of the things that they recorded were a bit more mysterious.  For example, in the second lunar month of 680 we are told that a sound like drums was heard from the East.  There are many things this could theoretically be, from rumbles of thunder to some other phenomenon, though the following year we have a note about thunder in the West, so theoretically they knew the difference between thunder and drums.  Later that same year, 680, we are told that there was a "brightness" in the East from the hour of the dog to the hour of the rat—about 8pm to midnight.  Was this some kind of aurora?  But wouldn't that have been in the north, rather than the east?    Could it have been some kind of lightning?  But that is a long time for a lightning storm to hang around.  And there are other strange things, some of which seem impossible and we have to doubt.  For example, in 684 they said that, at dusk, the seven stars of the Big Dipper drifted together to the northeast and sank.  Unless they are just recording the natural setting of the stars of the big dipper.  Certainly, over time the constellation appears to rotate around the north star, and it dips down to or below the horizon in the autumn months.  So were they just talking about the natural, yearly setting of the stars, or something else? There may be some clues in that the 11th lunar month, when that was recorded, we see several other heavenly phenomena recorded.  Two days after the Big Dipper set, at sunset, a star fell in the eastern quarter of the sky that we are told was as large as a jar.  Later, the constellations were wholly disordered and stars fell like rain.  That same month, a star shot up in the zenith and proceeded along with the Pleiades until the end of the month.  While this sounds like shooting stars and a possible meteor shower, a later commenter suggested that this was all a heavenly omen for the state of the court, showing the "disordered" state of the nobility at this time.  Of course, this was also a year and change before the sovereign's eventual passing, so there is also the possibility that the Chroniclers were looking at events later and ascribing meaning and importance after the fact. In another account of something seemingly wonderous: in 682 we are told that something shaped like a Buddhist flag, colored like flame, was seen by all of the provinces and then sank into the Japan sea north of Koshi.  A white mist is also said to have risen up from the Eastern mountains. There are various things that could be going on here.  It strikes me that the white mist could be a cloud, but could also be something volcanic.  And the flame colored prayer flag makes me think about how a high cloud can catch the light of the rising or setting sun.  That could look like a flag, and can seem extremely odd depending on the other conditions in the sky. Or maybe it was aliens. Okay, it is unlikely that it was aliens, but I think that these do give an idea of the kinds of records that were being made about the observed phenomena.  Obviously the Nihon Shoki is recording those things that were considered particularly significant for whatever reason.  This could just be because it was something odd and unexplained, or perhaps it was more well known but rare.  It may have even had religious connotations based on some aspect, like evoking the image of Buddhist flags.  And it is possible that it was thought to have had significant impact on events—perhaps even an impact that isn't clear to us today, many centuries removed from the events. Some things were clear, however.  Lightning strikes are often mentioned specifically when they strike something of note.  In 678, we are told that a pillar of the Western Hall of the New Palace was struck by lightning, though apparently the building itself survived.  Then, in 686, Lighting appeared in the southern sky with a large roar of thunder.  A fire broke out and caught the tax cloth storehouse of the Ministry of Popular affairs, which immediately exploded in flames.  After all, a thatched roofed, wooden building filled with kindling in the form of cloth—and likely a  fair amount of paper and writing supplies to keep track of it all—sounds like a bonfire waiting to happen.  There were reports that the fire had actually started in Prince Osakabe's palace and then spread to the Ministry of Popular Affairs from there. It is also worth noting that recording of such events was still somewhat new to the archipelago as a whole. They were learning from the continent, but also defining their own traditions. Observations of natural phenomena weren't just relegated to celestial occurrences or weather.  After all, there was something else that one could observe in the sky:  birds.  Now this wasn't your average bird-watching—though I'm not saying that there weren't casual birders in ancient Japan, and if we ever find someone's birding diary from that era I think that would be so cool.  But there were some things that were significant enough to be mentioned. For example, in 678 we get a report of "atori", or bramblings.  Bramblings are small songbirds which are found across Eurasia.  Notably they are migratory, and are known to migrate in huge flocks especially in the winter time, and sure enough on the 27th day of the 12th month we are told that the bramblings flew from the southwest to the northeast, covering the entire sky.  This makes me think about some of the other mass migrations that used to occur that have largely been reduced significantly due to habitat loss, disruption to traditional migratory routes, and other population pressures on various bird species.  Still, having so many birds that it blocked out the sky certainly seems a significant event to report on.  We later see a similar account in 680, with the flock moving from southeast to northwest.  Given the location of Asuka it sounds like they were flocking in the mountains and heading out over the Nara Basin, perhaps seeking food in another mountainous area. In 682, the birders were at it again.  This time, around midday on the 11th day of the 9th lunar month, several hundreds of cranes appeared around the Palace and soared up into the sky.  They were there for about two hours before they dispersed.  Once again, cranes are migratory and known to flock.  Cranes are also known as a symbol of long life and joy—and I can understand it.  Have you ever seen a flock of cranes?  They are not small birds, and they can be really an incredible sight.  Flocks of cranes themselves were probably not that rare, and it was no doubt more about so many gathering around the palace which made it particularly special. It wasn't just birds in the sky that were considered important symbols, though.  Birds often are noted as auspicious omens.  Usually strange birds, plants, or other such things are found in various provinces and presented to the throne.    So in 675, Yamato presented auspicious "barn-door fowl", likely meaning a fancy chicken.  Meanwhile, the Eastern provinces presented a white falcon and the province of Afumi presented a white kite.  Chickens are associated with the sun and thus with the sun goddess, Amaterasu, and albino versions of animals were always considered auspicious, often being mentioned in Buddhist sources.  Later, in 680, we see a small songbird, a "Shitodo", also described as white, and probably albino, sent to the court from nearby Settsu. Then, in 681 there is mention of a red sparrow.  Red coloration is not quite the same as albinism, though it is something that does occur at times, when the brownish coloration comes out more red than brown, and I suspect this is what we are talking about.  This is most likely just a recessed gene or genetic mutation, similar to causes for albinism, but just in a different place in the DNA.  As for why it was important:  I'd first and foremost note that anything out of the ordinary (and even some ordinary things) could be considered a sign.   Red was also seen as an auspicious color, so that may have had something to do with it as well.  And then there is the concept of Suzaku, the red bird of the south.  Suzaku is usually depicted as an exotic bird species of some kind, like how we might depict a phoenix.  But it was also just a "red bird", so there is that, and perhaps that was enough.  Not that this red sparrow was "Suzaku", but evoked the idea of the southern guardian animal.  A year prior, in 680, a red bird—we aren't told what kind—had perched on a southern gate, which even more clearly screams of the Suzaku aesthetic. It is probably worth noting here that in 686, towards the end of the reign, not that anyone knew it at the time, Ohoama decided to institute a new nengo, or regnal period.  It was called Shuuchou—red or vermillion bird—and it likely referred to Suzaku.  This nengo was cut short, however, with Ohoama's death that same year.  Nengo were often chosen with auspicious names as a kind of hope for the nation, so clearly "red bird" was considered a good thing. A month after the red sparrow, Ise sent a white owl, and then a month after that, the province of Suwou sent a red turtle, which they let loose in the pond at the Shima palace.  Again, these were probably just examples of animals seen as auspicious, though they would have likely been recorded by the Onmyou-ryou, who would have likely combed through various sources and precedents to determine what kind of meaning might be attached to them. Color wasn't the only thing that was important.  In 682, the Viceroy of Tsukushi reported that they had found a sparrow with three legs.  There are numerous reasons why this could be, but there is particular significance in Japan and Asia more generally.  A three legged bird is often associated with the sun Andusually depicted as a black outline of a three legged bird inside of a red sun.  In Japan this was often conflated with the Yata-garasu, the Great Crow, which is said to have led the first mythical sovereign, Iware Biko, to victory in his conquest of Yamato.  Thus we often see a three legged crow depicted in the sun, which was an object of particular veneration for the Wa people from centuries before.  And I suspect that the little three-legged sparrow from Tsukushi  I suspect that this had particular significance because of that image. Animals were not the only auspicious things presented to the throne.  In 678, Oshinomi no Miyatsuko no Yoshimaro presented the sovereign with five auspicious stalks of rice.  Each stalk, itself, had other branches.  Rice, of course, was extremely important in Japan, both from a ritual and economic sense, so presenting rice seems appropriate.  Five stalks recalls things like the five elemental theory—and in general five was consider a good number.  Three and five are both good, prime numbers, while four, pronounced "Shi", sounds like death and is considered inauspicious.  Three, or "San" is sometimes associated with life, and five is associated with the five elements, but also just the fact that it is half of ten, and we have five fingers on one hand and in so many other ways, five is regarded as a good number in much of Asia. That the stalks had multiple branches likely referred to them bearing more than the usual amount of rice on them, which seems particularly hopeful.  Certainly the court thought so.  In light of the auspicious gift, all sentences of penal servitude and lower were remitted.  In 680, Officials of the Department of Law gave tribute of auspicious stalks of grain, themselves.  I'm not sure, in this case, that it was all that they hoped, however, as that began three days straight of rain and flooding. A year earlier, in 679, we are told that the district of Ito, in Kii, immediately south of Yamato, sent as tribute the "herb of long life".  We are told that it "resembled" a mushroom—probably meaning it was a mushroom, or maybe something formed into a mushroom shape.  But the stem was about a foot long and the crown was two spans, about 6 feet in diameter.  This is pretty incredible, and I have to wonder if there is a bit of exaggeration going on here. Another tribute was a horn found on Mt. Katsuraki.  It branched into two at the base, was united at the end, and had some flesh and hair still attached, about an inch in length.  They claimed it must be horn or a Lin, or Kirin, sometimes referred to as an Asian unicorn—a mythical creature considered to be quite auspicious and benevolent.  This was on the 26th day in the 2nd lunar month of the year 680, probably around March or April.  I highly suspect that what they found was an oddly shaped bit of antler from  a buck whose antlers had begun to come in and which might have been taken out by wolves or bears or something else altogether.  The fact that the ends were said to be fused together could just be referring to some kind of malformation of the antlers.  The fur and flesh could mean that the antlers were still growing—antlers would probably just be coming in around early spring time.  Still, there is no telling how long it was there, so it could have been from the previous year as well.  Attributing it to a kirin seems a bit of a stretch, but it was clearly something unusual. Animals and plants were recorded in tribute, but also when something odd happened.  Fruiting out of season was one such occurrence, which we've seen elsewhere in the chronicles as well.  There was even a record when the famous Tsuki tree outside of Asukadera had a branch fall down.  Presumably it was a large and noticeable branch, and by now this appears to have been a tree with a bit of age to it that had seen a lot, so it makes sense it got a mention. Finally, we go from the heavens to the earth.    Perhaps the most numerous observations in the Chronicles were the earthquakes.  We've noted in the past that Japan is extremely active, volcanically speaking, so it makes sense that there are multiple accounts of earthquakes each year, especially if they were compiling reports from around the country.  Most of these are little more than just a note that there was an earthquake, but a few stand out. The first is the 12th lunar month of 678.  We are told that there was a large earthquake in Tsukushi—modern Kyushu. The ground split open to the width of about 20 feet for more than 30,000 feet.  Many of the commoners' houses in the area were torn down.  In one place there was a house atop a hill, and though the hill crumbled down the house somehow remained intact.  The inhabitants had apparently been home and must have been oblivious, as they didn't realize anything had happened until they woke up the next morning. Again, probably a bit of hyperbole in here, but if we think back to things like the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, where large areas of land shifted noticeably along the fault lines, it is likely that this was a similar or even more catastrophic event.  And here I'll give a quick plug for Kumamoto, which is still working to rebuild from the earthquake, and if you ever get a chance, I recommend a visit to the Kumamoto Earthquake Memorial Museum or Kioku, where you can see for yourself just how powerful mother nature can be. Another powerful earthquake was mentioned in the 10th lunar month of 684.  If the earthquake in Tsukushi had hit mostly agricultural areas, based on the description, this seems to have hit more populated regions.  We are told that it started in the dark of night, the hour of the boar, so about 10pm, give or take an hour.  The shaking was so bad that throughout the country men and women cried out and were disoriented—they could not tell east from west, a condition no doubt further hindered by the dark night sky.  There were mountain slides and rivers changed course, breaking their banks and flooding nearby areas.  Official buildings of the provinces and districts, the barns and houses of the common people, and the temples, pagodas, and shrines were all destroyed in huge numbers.  Many people and domestic animals were killed or injured.  The hot springs of Iyo were dried up and ceased to flow.  In the province of Tosa, more than 500,000 shiro of cultivated land sank below sea level.  Old men said that they had never seen such an earthquake.  On that night there was a rumbling noise like that of drums heard in the east—possibly similar to what we had mentioned earlier.  Some say that the island of Idzu, aka Vries Island, the volcanic island at the entrance of Edo Bay, increased on the north side by more than 3,000 feet and that a new island had been formed.  The noise of the drums was attributed to the gods creating that island. So here we have a catastrophic quake that impacted from Iyo, on the western end of Shikoku, all the way to the head of Edo Bay, modern Tokyo.  This appears to be what seismologists have labelled a "Nankai Trough Megathrust Earthquake".  Similar quakes have occurred and are predicted to occur in the future., along a region of Japan from the east coast of Kyushu, through the Seto Inland Sea, including Shikoku, through the Kii peninsula and all the way to Mt. Fuji.  The Nankai Trough, or Southern Sea Trough, is the area where the continental shelf drops down, and where the Philippine tectonic plate slips underneath the Eurasian—or more specifically the Amuric—plate.  As these plates move it can cause multiple events all along the trough at the same time.  Since being regularly recorded, these quakes have been noted every 100 to 150 years, with the last one being the Showa Nankai quakes of 1944 and 1946. For all of the destruction that it brought, however, apparently it didn't stop the court.  Two days after this devastating quake we are told that Presents were made to the Princes and Ministers.  Either they weren't so affected in the capital, or perhaps the date given for one of the two records is not quite reliable.  Personally, I find it hard to believe that there would be presents given out two days later unless they were some form of financial aid.  But what do I know?  It is possible that the court itself was not as affected as other areas, and they may not have fully even grasped the epic scale of the destruction that would later be described in the Chronicles, given the length of time it took to communicate messages across the country. Which brings us back to the "science" of the time, or at least the observation, hoping to learn from precedence or piece out what messages the world might have for the sovereign and those who could read the signs.  While many of the court's and Chronicler's conclusions may give us pause, today, we should nonetheless be thankful that they at least decided to keep notes and jot down their observations.  That record keeping means that we don't have to only rely on modern records to see patterns that could take centuries to reveal themselves.  Sure, at this time, those records were  still a bit spotty, but it was the start of something that would be remarkably important, and even though these Chronicles may have been focused on propaganda, the fact that they include so many other references are an incalculable boon to us, today, if we can just see to make the connections.  And with that, I think I've rambled enough for this episode.  We still have a couple more to fully cover this period. Until then, if you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website,  SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  

December 1, 2025 ~ West Virginia University Professor of Political Science Erik Herron joins Chris, Lloyd, and Jamie to discuss top U.S. and Ukrainian officials meeting in Florida for the latest round of discussions on a peace plan. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

China has launched a nationwide inspection of fire hazards in high-rise residential and public buildings after a major blaze in Hong Kong killed at least 128 people, with about 200 others still unaccounted for, authorities said.中国政府宣布，香港发生重大火灾造成至少128人死亡、约200人下落不明后，中国已启动全国范围的高层住宅和公共建筑消防隐患排查工作。In a notice issued on Saturday, the Work Safety Committee of the State Council instructed local governments to immediately carry out checks and fix problems in occupied residential towers, office buildings, hospitals and shopping complexes. The campaign aims to prevent accidents linked to renovation work, aging facilities and blocked evacuation routes, the committee said.国务院安全生产委员会周六发布通知，要求各地政府立即对已投入使用的住宅楼、写字楼、医院和商场进行安全排查整改。该委员会表示，此次行动旨在防范因装修施工、设施老化及疏散通道堵塞引发的事故。The directive comes in the aftermath of Wednesday's fire at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in Hong Kong's Tai Po district. The blaze was first reported at 2:51 pm and quickly escalated to the city's highest alarm level, sending thick smoke billowing into the sky and spreading to seven of the development's eight apartment blocks. All visible flames were brought under control by Saturday.该指令是在周三香港大埔区旺福苑住宅区发生火灾后发布的。火灾于下午2时51分首次报告，迅速升级至全市最高警报级别，浓烟滚滚升腾至天空，并蔓延至该发展区八栋公寓楼中的七栋。截至周六，所有可见火势均已得到控制。Initial findings indicate the fire started on lower-floor scaffolding and spread rapidly due to flammable insulation materials and bamboo structures used for exterior wall repairs. The buildings were undergoing maintenance at the time, and the outer surfaces were covered with construction netting and othercombustible materials, investigators said.初步调查结果显示，火灾始于低层脚手架，因外墙维修使用的易燃隔热材料和竹制结构而迅速蔓延。调查人员称，事发时建筑正处于维护阶段，外表面覆盖着施工防护网及其他可燃材料。Under the new nationwide measures, checks will target risky renovation practices, such as unapproved construction, use offlammable insulation and hot work like welding in crowded indoor spaces.根据新出台的全国性措施，检查将重点针对高风险装修行为，例如未经批准的施工、使用易燃隔热材料，以及在拥挤的室内空间进行焊接等热作业。Inspectors will also focus on malfunctioning fire-fighting facilities, includingfire hydrants, sprinklers, smoke-control systems and emergency exits. Problems such as piles of combustible debris, blocked escape passages and electric bikes parked or charged in hallways are also listed as common hazards requiring immediate attention.检查人员还将重点排查消防设施故障问题，包括消防栓、喷淋系统、排烟系统及紧急出口。堆积的易燃杂物、被堵塞的逃生通道、以及停放在走廊或在走廊充电的电动自行车等隐患，也被列为需要立即处理的常见安全隐患。Local authorities have been told to combine self-inspections by building managers with random official checks. Hazards must be fixed without delay, and major issues will be subject to tighter supervision, the notice said. Severe violations will be punished.地方当局已接到通知，要求将建筑管理人员的自查与官方抽查相结合。通知称，隐患必须立即消除，重大问题将受到更严格的监督，严重违规行为将受到惩处。Officials said the campaign is intended to close safety loopholes and reduce the risk of large-scale tragedies, particularly in densely populated high-rise communities.政府人员表示，此次行动旨在堵塞安全漏洞，降低大规模悲剧发生的风险，尤其是在人口密集的高层住宅区。combustibleadj. /kəmˈbʌs.tə.bəl/可燃的，易燃的fire hydrants消防拴

Tom Elliott has called out the hypocrisy from federal environmental department officials, whilst discussing renewable energy on his program.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the International News Review... Saturday Mornings Show” host Glenn van Zutphen and co-host Neil Humphreys welcome Bloomberg News Editor Joanna Ossinger to unpack the headlines dominating Asia. We begin in Hong Kong, where tragedy has struck with the death toll rising to over 130 after the devastating Tai Po fire. Officials now admit fire alarms were not working properly, raising urgent questions about safety standards and accountability. Next, we turn to Thailand, where “once in 300 years” rainfall has triggered catastrophic floods across Southeast Asia. Joanna explains the scale of the disaster and its implications for climate resilience in the region. Closer to home, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s remarks on the China-Japan spat over Taiwan have sparked a wave of online barbs and spin from Chinese netizens. We explore what this reaction reveals about regional sensitivities and Singapore’s longstanding diplomatic stance. And finally, a bizarre story from Bangkok: temple staff were stunned when a woman, believed dead, began moving inside her coffin moments before cremation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

November 29 2025 9AM;Officials say the 29-year-old suspect, who will likely be charged with first-degree murder, was an Afghan National who previously served alongside U.S. troops. The shooting claimed the life of 20-year-old National Guard soldier Sarah Beckstrom while the other Guardsman, 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe remains in critical condition. David Noriega joins The Weekend to discuss Lakanwal's background from where he lived in Bellingham, WA.For more, follow us on social media:Bluesky: @theweekendmsnow.bsky.socialInstagram: @theweekendmsnowTikTok: @theweekendmsnow To listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads, sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A Middle Eastern nation is boycotting the Dec. 5 draw for the 2026 World Cup in the U.S. Correspondent Gethin Coolbaugh reports.

SubscribeBuy me a coffeeMichigan just detonated a political firestorm — and Episode 100 breaks it wide open. After a viral moment in Lansing where Michigan's top education official refused to answer the basic question “How many genders are there?”, the State Board moved full steam ahead and approved sweeping new gender identity standards for students.Tonight, Daren Wiseley breaks down what that moment really means for parents, kids, and the battle over who controls reality in the classroom. The episode digs into what actually happened, what these standards really say, and why Michigan parents are calling it a direct attack on reality.

Independent investigative journalism, broadcasting, trouble-making and muckraking with Brad Friedman of BradBlog.com

One National Guard member is dead and another is fighting for his life after an ambush-style attack in the nation's capital. Authorities say they plan to seek the death penalty against the suspect. Meanwhile, President Trump is pausing all immigration from dozens of countries in the wake of the attack.  Also on this morning's show: New information is emerging from the devastating fire in Hong Kong as the death toll there continues to climb ... Trump threatens Venezuela, telling US troops a land attack could come very soon ... US negotiators head to Moscow amid new warnings from Vladimir Putin against telling Ukraine.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Following a shooting near the White House earlier this week, authorities have confirmed that National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom has died. A second soldier, Andrew Wolfe, remains in critical condition. The attack has renewed scrutiny of immigration policy. The administration has ordered a review of all green cards from so-called “countries of concern,” including Afghanistan.At least 128 people are now confirmed dead in Hong Kong's Wang Fuk Court fire, one of the city's deadliest disasters in generations. Rescuers are still combing the burned high-rises, with around 200 residents unaccounted for, as investigators examine how renovation materials and faulty alarms may have fueled the fast-moving inferno. Officials say the fire engulfed seven of the eight residential towers after bamboo scaffolding and renovation materials fueled the flames.A powerful winter storm is poised to disrupt post-Thanksgiving travel across the Northern Plains, the Upper Midwest, and into the Great Lakes. Forecasters warn snow could spread as early as Friday and intensify through the weekend, creating hazardous road conditions and ushering in a sharp drop in temperatures.

Hong Kong's fire department says firefighting and rescue efforts have concluded at the residential complex where a fire killed at least 128 people. Officials say about 200 people remain missing.

The authorities in Hong Kong say more than 80 deaths have now been confirmed after the city's worst fire in decades. Officials think that number will grow, with more than 200 people still missing. It's unclear what caused the fire but the eight residential blocks were undergoing renovations. The contractor is reported to have breached safety requirements on multiple occasions during construction projects. We speak to a former firefighter who is an expert in tower fires.Also on the programme: How Israel's offensive on Lebanon has continued, despite a ceasefire; and a scientific study casts new light on how cats came to be domesticated and part of the daily life of so many human beings.(Photo: Smoke billows from an apartment fire in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong, China, 27 November 2025. Credit: Leung Man Hei/ EPA Shutterstock)

Watch The X22 Report On Video No videos found (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:17532056201798502,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-9437-3289"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");pt> Major UBI study finds the more cash you give to the poor, it just makes them quit and not want to work. The debt is out of control 24 cents of every dollar goes to interest. The [CB] is collapsing. The [CB] mission is to destroy their old system and bring the people to a new system. Trump is helping them destroy their old system. The [DS] is desperate, Trump is ushering in peace and they know if this happens they will lose even more leverage to start a war. The [DS] is trying to divide the people this country and the movement that elected Trump. The know that arrests are coming and they are trying to break the counterinsurgency so the people are not behind Trump. This is already failing, nothing can stop what is coming, nothing. Economy https://twitter.com/profstonge/status/1993658495468728570?s=20 (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:18510697282300316,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-8599-9832"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs"); https://twitter.com/zerohedge/status/1993526341665542237?s=20 https://twitter.com/ultrapepemqtter/status/1990938476666048584?s=20 https://twitter.com/JoeLang51440671/status/1993692907115524320?s=20 Political/Rights Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Takes Victory Lap Over ‘First Rebuilt House' in Pacific Palisades After Fires – There's Just One Little Problem Los Angles Mayor Karen Bass recently did a little victory dance about the ‘first rebuild' of a house in the Pacific Palisades after the wildfires. Hey, it has only been almost a year, right? There is one little problem with the house that Bass is celebrating, however. It was a developer project that was in the works before the fires even happened. That's right, this house wasn't even one of the average homes destroyed by fires and her incompetence. What a surprise. The New York Post reports: https://twitter.com/austinbeutner/status/1992983832640073862?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1992983832640073862%7Ctwgr%5E1948d10752ca8b2e751627587116d657aa7f9737%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2025%2F11%2Flos-angeles-mayor-karen-bass-takes-victory-lap%2F. Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/ElectionWiz/status/1993619585392853496?s=20 https://twitter.com/FBISanAntonio/status/1993324194008875091?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1993324194008875091%7Ctwgr%5E6ff9acc0b508c58b2c0e326d3b42fe771bbb42d2%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fredstate.com%2Fwardclark%2F2025%2F11%2F25%2Fnew-san-antonio-sweep-nets-51-confirmed-tda-criminals-n2196559 https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1993341609824731480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1993341609824731480%7Ctwgr%5Ea663c448b933df11eb2c62c9f899610bb785a839%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2025%2F11%2Fag-bondi-gives-update-memphis-safe-streets-task%2F https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1993419780108550293?s=20 DOGE https://twitter.com/epaleezeldin/status/1993404838596792723?s=20 ZILCH! If Ed Malarkey wants the EPA to release any more funding to Massachusetts for lead pipe replacement, he will have to tell his state to submit a plan to us ASAP on how it is going to spend what it has received previously and is still sitting on. The Trump EPA isn't messing around when it comes to TOTAL ACCOUNTABILITY of precious U.S. taxpayer dollars. Geopolitical https://twitter.com/AAGDhillon/status/1993535086462152800?s=20 The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is establishing a new office within its Civil Rights Division specifically dedicated to enforcing and protecting Second Amendment rights, which guarantee the right to keep and bear arms under the U.S. Constitution. Named the Second Amendment Rights Section, this office is set to open on December 4, 2025, and will focus on investigating and challenging local or state laws, policies, or practices that the DOJ deems as infringing on gun rights.  This move is part of a broader shift in priorities under the Trump administration, reallocating resources to emphasize conservative-leaning civil rights issues, such as gun ownership, over traditional areas like racial discrimination or police misconduct oversight. The initiative stems from a February 2025 executive order by President Donald Trump, which instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to review and address any federal, state, or local infringements on Second Amendment rights.  The office will operate using existing DOJ funding and personnel, without needing new congressional approval, though Congress was notified of the plans.   former DOJ officials, argue that this emphasis on gun rights dilutes the division’s core mission of safeguarding the rights of marginalized groups, especially amid ongoing gun violence issues in the U.S. (with 378 mass shootings reported as of November 25, 2025).  https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1993654295263350864?s=20 SHAME: Brazil Descends Into Tyranny, as Supreme Court Justice Moraes Orders Bolsonaro To Start Serving His Unjust 27-Year Prison Sentence for Fake ‘Coup' Bolsonaro, man of the people. The fakest coup ever. Liberty-loving people in Brazil and around the world are saddened, as a major injustice has taken place. Out-of-control Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, a sanctioned human rights abuser, has ordered that former President Jair Bolsonaro begin serving his 27-year prison sentence for plotting an ‘attempted coup'. Under socialist Lula da Silva, the rogue Judiciary is persecuting right-wingers – and no target was more valuable than Bolsonaro. Sanctioned Justice Moraes is still running the country unopposed. CNN reported:   Source: thegatewaypundit.com War/Peace https://twitter.com/amuse/status/1993435854480539753?s=20   despite Trump's January directive to restore all troops forced out under Biden's Covid shot mandate. Officials blame Stephanie Miller, the DoW undersecretary controlling personnel systems, who designed and enforced the original mandate and previously served as the Pentagon's DEI chief. Her husband's work as a defense and pharmaceutical lobbyist adds further conflict concerns. Hegseth and senior Trump deputies have spent months fighting internal resistance to comply with the order. https://twitter.com/ColonelTowner/status/1993459007978172629?s=20   schools/homes repeatedly Russia decides to protect the Ukrainians in the Donbas and therefore according to the CIA: it’s Putin’s war. Trump Says No Firm Deadline for Ukraine, Russia to Reach Peace Deal Trump, speaking to reporters on board Air Force One as he flew to Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday, said U.S. negotiators were making progress in discussions with Russia and Ukraine, and Moscow had agreed to some concessions. He did not detail them. A U.S.-based framework for ending the war, first reported last week, prompted fresh concerns that the Trump administration might be willing to push Ukraine to sign a peace deal heavily tilted toward Moscow. Trump said his envoy Steve Witkoff would be traveling to Moscow soon to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and that his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who helped negotiate the Gaza deal that brought about an uneasy ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, was also involved. Trump in recent days had set the Thanksgiving holiday as the day when he wanted to see Ukraine agree to a deal to bring about an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. But he and his aides have backed away from a firm deadline and now say they would like an agreement as soon as possible. Trump said it appeared that Russia had the upper hand in the war and that it would be in Ukraine’s best interests to reach an agreement. Source: newsmax.com https://twitter.com/kadmitriev/status/1993424275592954337?s=20 https://twitter.com/WarClandestine/status/1993448542397251701?s=20   President Putin in Moscow and, at the same time, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll will be meeting with the Ukrainians. I will be briefed on all progress made, along with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. I look forward to hopefully meeting with President Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but ONLY when the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages. Thank you for your attention to this very important matter, and let's all hope that PEACE can be accomplished AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!   DONALD J. TRUMP PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Medical/False Flags BREAKING: Government Accountability Office Director Reveals Covert Effort Inside GAO to Defy RFK Jr., Preserve Vaccine Data Deleted by HHS (VIDEO)  A Government Accountability Office Director was caught on undercover video revealing a covert effort to defy RFK Jr. and preserve vaccine data deleted by the HHS. The O'Keefe Media Group posted video of GAO director Steven Putansu admitting to possible violations of federal records and theft laws. Per OMG: Putansu admitted on hidden camera GAO staff “stole and backed up” federal data to keep it outside RFK Jr. led HHS control – a potential violation of several federal statutes, including: – Unauthorized Removal or Destruction of Public Records (18 U.S.C. § 2071) – Theft or Conversion of Government Property (18 U.S.C. § 641) – Computer Fraud & Abuse Act – CFAA (18 U.S.C. § 1030) for accessing or copying government data without authorization. “We've stolen and backed those things up so that someday they can come back to government,” he said to the undercover OMG journalist. Putansu trashed the ‘vaccine deniers' in the HHS. “I'd watch out for the vaccine denying HHS who's going to ruin health care in this country even more than it already is,” he said. “It limits the amount of permanent damage… research he's trying to delete is stored outside his control,” he said. WATCH: The GAO released a statement in response to OMG's undercover video operation: “Regarding your inquiry, GAO collects & retains data for requested audits & engagements in accordance with GAO's statutes & agency protocols. GAO is committed to meeting the highest level of independence, nonpartisanship, & professional standards while conducting audits, evaluations, & investigations & we take seriously any suggestion otherwise.” Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/AwakenedOutlaw/status/1993477109831119259?s=20  prohibited from removing, copying, or concealing official records without authorization, especially to interfere with executive branch operations or policy implementation.’ ~ Grok All told, because sentencing would run concurrently those involved could easily get a 10-year sentence. However, if the DOJ and judge decide to make an example of him/them, they could get more—along with an 8 to 9 figure for restitution + multi-million-dollars fines, effectively bankrupting them and taking everything they owned. Enjoy, shitbirds!  https://twitter.com/nypost/status/1993372507043242297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1993372507043242297%7Ctwgr%5Ea7086b8f00b98d794a84ab5935e8ccda69f80d81%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fredstate.com%2Fkatie-jerkovich%2F2025%2F11%2F25%2Fone-guess-why-worlds-strongest-female-winner-was-stripped-of-title-n2196553 https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1993374918315319533?s=20 https://twitter.com/SecScottBessent/status/1993411604520505719?s=20   for contributions to qualifying Scholarship Granting Organizations, marking the first time a federal tax credit directly supports private donations for K-12 education. Treasury is working with states now to ensure readiness for implementation. Education is the first step to financial freedom, and the Trump Administration is committed to providing pathways to support students nationwide. [DS] Agenda Democrat Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick Surrenders to Authorities After Allegedly Laundering $5 Million in FEMA Funds — Allegedly Bought 3.14-Carat Yellow Diamond Ring A sitting Democratic member of Congress from Broward County, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, surrendered to federal authorities Tuesday in Miami amid explosive allegations that she orchestrated a scheme to steal and launder $5 million in FEMA COVID-19 disaster relief funds, and used a portion to bankroll her 2021 congressional campaign and purchase a luxury yellow diamond ring. “The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to steal that $5 million and routed it through multiple accounts to disguise its source. Prosecutors allege that a substantial portion of the misappropriated funds was used as candidate contributions to Cherfilus-McCormick's 2021 congressional campaign and for the personal benefit of the defendants. According to the Miami Herald, the money trail reveals a stunning web of alleged financial abuse and deception: $2.4 million transferred into the bank account of Cherfilus-McCormick's consulting company. $1.2 million routed to relatives. $830,000 moved into an account where the congresswoman was an authorized signer. $334,000 sent to a co-defendant, Nadege Leblanc, to orchestrate straw donor contributions. $190,000 transferred to a company associated with her brother, Edwin Cherfilus. $109,000 allegedly used to purchase the now-infamous 3.14-carat Fancy Yellow Diamond ring. The indictment alleges that more than $1.14 million was then funneled into her campaign account in September and October 2021, just in time for her congressional race, funds prosecutors say were “illegally sourced and misrepresented” on campaign reports and tax returns. Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/ZohranKMamdani/status/1993107017100304653?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1993107017100304653%7Ctwgr%5E271a9bb4777a48bf3973b6303388944477019e08%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailysignal.com%2F2025%2F11%2F25%2Fmamdani-names-radical-cop-hating-professor-to-community-safety-post%2F https://twitter.com/thestustustudio/status/1993111704629395961?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1993111704629395961%7Ctwgr%5E271a9bb4777a48bf3973b6303388944477019e08%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailysignal.com%2F2025%2F11%2F25%2Fmamdani-names-radical-cop-hating-professor-to-community-safety-post%2F   humanity. This is the worldview Mamdani is bringing into city government. https://twitter.com/amuse/status/1993689427940426054?s=20 https://twitter.com/amuse/status/1993491221902418137?s=20 https://twitter.com/CynicalPublius/status/1993497362451296263?s=20  context, as people need to understand certain precedents that illustrate the following points: 1. What the Sedition 6 have done is unprecedented since the Civil War. 2. Historic U.S. military success in some cases may never have happened had the Sedition 6 had a say at the time. 3. The exercise of lethal force we are seeing again the invading drug boats is both legal and consistent with past US actions by some of our greatest Presidents, and is consistent with the Monroe Doctrine. 4. The act of undermining a nation's military through perfidious information ops is a classic behavior of fascists and communists. History speaks, and should be our guide. Links: THREAD President Trump's Plan https://twitter.com/DataRepublican/status/1993590807002333358?s=20  n Without War to advertise seditious-adjacent behavior on billboards. And Win Without War has multiple Congressional liaisons on their “About” page. National Lawyers Guild is an infamous supporter of antifa per @MrAndyNgo , which of course is now a foreign terrorist organization. cc: @CynicalPublius https://twitter.com/DataRepublican/status/1993668483125576071?s=20   Lawyers Guild (NIPNLG) is a fiscally sponsored project of the Alliance for Global Justice (AfGJ), and the NLG as a whole is widely recommended as the primary legal contact and support provider for participants in pro-Palestine and immigration protests. Win Without War is a fiscally sponsored project of the Center for International Policy (CIP), as disclosed on CIP's 2019 IRS Form 990. The Center for International Policy (CIP) is a progressive think tank advocating for a non-militaristic U.S. foreign policy centered on diplomacy, transparency, human rights, and solutions to war, corruption, inequality, and climate change.  CIP's major funders include Open Society Foundations (George Soros), Carnegie Corporation of New York, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Charles Koch Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation and McKnight Foundation, among others (per Cause IQ and public 990 filings). https://twitter.com/mrddmia/status/1993720894020063590?s=20  presidential election, which is allowed by the Electoral Count Act of 1887 and the First Amendment. That's why Democrats didn't face charges for objecting to Republican presidential wins in 1968, 2000, 2004, and 2016. Fani Willis took our country https://twitter.com/julie_kelly2/status/1993418873127805086?s=20   allegations that she had placed the explosive devices outside Democratic and Republican party offices. ODNI officials said the agency received a tip from a person affiliated with a media organization about potential criminal wrongdoing by an individual believed to be working at an intelligence agency and set about documenting it in a memo. A short time after the unfinished memo began to circulate, the conservative news outlet, Blaze News, published details similar to those in the draft, including the woman’s full name. CBS News was not shown the memo, but sources said McNamara had accessed confidential files to obtain details about the woman for the draft memo, including her place of work and Social Security number. The federal security officer cooperated with the FBI, sources close to the matter said. Her lawyer said publicly she had done nothing wrong. Both the woman and her lawyer declined to comment. She returned to work after being placed on a brief leave, one of the sources said.” Another “Seven Ways from Sunday” Effort Against DNI Tulsi Gabbard – The J6 Pipe Bomber Was Wrongly Identified  CBS is writing a narrative through the background story of how the wrong identity was originated, and that tracks back to Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.  In essence, a hit against Tulsi Gabbard emerges, and the details end up showing a transparent intelligence operation for those who have paid close attention. According to CBS an anonymous “whistleblower” originally contacted the ODNI, Tulsi Gabbard's office, with information about who the J6 pipe bomber was.  Subsequently, “a unit overseen by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard drafted a memo identifying the woman and describing allegations.” As the article is written, “Several sources told CBS News that the classified draft memo, which was on ODNI letterhead, was written by Paul McNamara, who is in charge of Gabbard's Director's Initiatives Group, which is tasked with providing “transparency and accountability” and executing President Trump's intelligence-related executive orders.” Shortly thereafter, Steve Baker at Blaze News then wrote an article naming the accused pipe bomber, using information that directly paralleled the report within the DNI's office. The accused woman was cleared during an FBI investigation that stemmed from the memo and The Blaze report.   The woman provided an alibi and recordings of her activity timestamped during the time when she was accused of walking through the streets of Washington DC.  CBS narrative doesn't focus on The Blaze or the reporting of Steve Baker, instead the media hit shifts responsibility to Tulsi Gabbard who is operating outside her intelligence oversight lane and conducting independent investigations which includes information from “outside sources.” Having followed the operations of these embed “intel officials” the motive for this operation against the office of the DNI is clear.  You, me, all of us can see with clear non-pretending eyes, the intent of this op was to change the way Tulsi Gabbard is receiving information and to block the delivery of external sunlight. Source: theconservativetreehosue.com https://twitter.com/SenRonJohnson/status/1993418804794474815?s=20   eliminating political opposition. These records are only the tip of the iceberg. https://twitter.com/DC_Draino/status/1993425046849692155?s=20   totally false. Come on Kash, let's take a picture to show them you're doing a great job!” Do not believe the Fake News! https://twitter.com/TheChiefNerd/status/1993489608034693365?s=20 TAKE A LISTEN https://twitter.com/drawandstrike/status/1993455727718060348?s=20  (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:13499335648425062,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-7164-1323"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="//cdn2.customads.co/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");

This week we go into the dark heart of American Gestapo: Gregory Bovino's Border Patrol, which pushes ICE to become even more aggressive in his fascist feverdream.  Here to help us make sense of this hellscape is Nick Schwellenbach, a Senior Investigator at the Project on Government Oversight and former Communications Director at the U.S. Office of Special Counsel–a government agency set up after Watergate, meant to protect us from the next Nixon–more on that in this week's bonus show out Thursday.  Bovino grew up a Border Patrol fanboy idolizing fascist fiction and now stalks American cities in a Nazi-style trench coat with a taxpayer-funded film crew glamorizing his violent raids. Like Trump is a showman, Bovino is cruelty as a recruitment tool to consolidate power. Under his un-checked leadership, his border patrol army operates deep inside the U.S., smashing car windows, kidnapping U.S. citizens, and rounding up tens of thousands of people, including veterans and children, into detention centers where deaths are spiking at unprecedented rates.  With the help of questions submitted by a Gaslit Nation listener (thank you, Isabel!) we go into all the pressing questions about Bovino's Border Patrol and also ICE, including what happened to the children who disappeared under Trump's first term and what can be done to protect vulnerable immigrants today? As you listen to this episode, which opens with a clip of Bovino justifying shooting protesters with pepper balls, keep in mind Republicans gave ICE, which works closely with Bovino's Border Patrol, $75 billion over the next four years. They're also operating under aggressive weekly quotas. But is their war chest also for general population control?  For our bonus episode this week, we look at the safeguards that could have prevented Trump's return and why they didn't. To listen to the bonus, subscribe to our Patreon at the Truth-Teller level ($5/month) or higher. We are extremely grateful to our listeners who are keeping us afloat during a very difficult economic time. Every bit of support helps give us the freedom to be independent and tell the truth, so thank you again for making Gaslit Nation possible! If America climbs out of this black hole, it will be because people like you, our Gaslit Nation listeners, refused to look away. Want to hear Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit! EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: December 1st 4pm ET – Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky + Total Resistance by H. Von Dach – Poetry and guerrilla strategy: tools for survival and defiance. Minnesota Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: join on Patreon.  Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: join on Patreon.  Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, join on Patreon.  Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, join on Patreon.  Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, join on Patreon.  Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community Show Notes:   Where ICE Has Taken The Most People | On The Grid | WIRED https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD9ETC80HDA NPR report: This year was the deadliest since 2005 for people in ICE custody  https://www.expressnews.com/news/border-mexico/article/ice-deadliest-year-npr-21119815.php Big Budget Act Creates a "Deportation-Industrial Complex": The result will be a lopsided, enforcement-only machine that will be hard to dismantle. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/big-budget-act-creates-deportation-industrial-complex   Man arrested by Ice dies in jail cell in Long Island, New York: This article is more than 1 month old Officials in Nassau county confirmed death of 42-year-old man to Newsday but declined to share details https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/19/ice-death-long-island-ny   Trump officials launch ICE effort to deport unaccompanied migrant children https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-directs-ice-agents-find-deport-unaccompanied-migrant-2025-02-23/ Federal judge says border patrol chief admitted he lied, in ruling limiting federal agents' use of force in Chicago https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/us/gregory-bovino-deposition-chicago-immigration   Greg Bovino's Border Patrol Agents Use Disproportionate Force, Data Shows https://www.pogo.org/investigations/greg-bovinos-border-patrol-agents-use-disproportionate-force-data-shows   Fighting for a government that serves the people. https://www.pogo.org/   8-year-old girl dies in Border Patrol custody in Texas, as agency struggles with overcrowding https://apnews.com/article/border-patrol-child-custody-death-harlingen-2e2b27eeb3da669ee17241b8b3ee9ee2   Detainee Death Reporting https://www.ice.gov/detain/detainee-death-reporting   CBP Fatal Encounters Tracker https://www.aclutx.org/en/cbp-fatal-encounters-tracker   FACT FOCUS: Claims that more than 300,000 migrant children are missing lack context https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-misinformation-migrant-children-missing-7ab0cea2fd2238346197429e952baa8b   How they did it: The New York Times exposes migrant child labor exploitation across 50 states https://journalistsresource.org/media/migrant-children-labor-abuse-goldmith/   Homeland Security agents rescue migrant teen sisters from sex traffickers — after they arrived in US as unaccompanied minors https://nypost.com/2025/04/29/us-news/hsi-agents-rescue-teen-migrant-sisters-from-sex-traffickers/   Gaps in Sponsor Screening and Followup Raise Safety Concerns for Unaccompanied Children https://oig.hhs.gov/reports/all/2024/gaps-in-sponsor-screening-and-followup-raise-safety-concerns-for-unaccompanied-children/   Trump's False Claim of Missing Immigrant Children  https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/07/16/trump-false-claim-missing-immigrant-children   Under Joe Biden, Have 85,000 Undocumented Children Gone 'Missing'? https://www.newsweek.com/under-joe-biden-undocumented-children-missing-1812728   Democratic Women's Caucus Open Letter https://juliabrownley.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/dwc-letter-to-dhs-on-ice-impersonators-and-women-s-safety.pdf   How ICE Raids Are Making It Easier for Civilian Men to Assault Immigrant Women: Kylie Cheung argues in this op-ed that a rash of cases of men dressing as plainclothes ICE agents and assaulting immigrant women is possible because ICE agents operate with impunity. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/men-dressed-as-ice-agents-to-assault-immigrant-women-horrifying-trend   Houston man pretended to be ICE agent to rob driver, charging docs allege https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/crime/article/houston-ice-agent-robbery-20395157.php   North Dakota man accused of impersonating an ICE officer when jail staff released an inmate to him https://apnews.com/article/north-dakota-immigration-williston-ice-agent-f89f0f070e5c39cd763a5018017ff332 US sees spate of arrests of civilians impersonating Ice officers https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/28/civilians-impersonating-ice-officers   ICE Annual Report Fiscal Year 2022 https://www.ice.gov/doclib/eoy/iceAnnualReportFY2022.pdf Border agent charged with child sex trafficking, fraud in Cochise County https://tucson.com/news/local/border/article_5e596767-4575-485b-88e8-0a6265e5bb41.html The Green Monster: How the Border Patrol became America's most out-of-control law enforcement agency. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/10/border-patrol-the-green-monster-112220/ FBI Warns of Criminals Posing as ICE, Urges Agents to ID Themselves: In a bulletin to law enforcement agencies, the FBI said criminal impersonators are exploiting ICE's image and urged nationwide coordination to distinguish real operations from fakes. https://www.wired.com/story/fbi-warns-of-criminals-posing-as-ice-urges-agents-to-id-themselves/ How a tragic family secret turned Greg Bovino from a quiet country boy into the force of Trump's unflinching border patrol crackdown https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15288355/greg-bovino-border-patrol-family-secret-donald-trump-immigration.html Revealed: Trump administration retreats on combating human trafficking and child exploitation https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/17/trump-human-trafficking-programs-cut Trump administration takes hundreds of migrant children out of their homes, into government custody https://archive.ph/qc65g#selection-2109.7-2109.106 Oversight Agency Says 32,000 Unaccompanied Children Are Missing. But Are They? https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/are-32000-unaccompanied-children-missing/  Judge rules against Department of Homeland Security: "Given the inconsistencies between the BWC footage and the use of force reports, with the BWC footage undermining what agents put in their reports, the Court cannot rely on Parra's [who is Bovino's deputy] broad generalizations of protesters' actions or Defendants' responses to those actions. Turning to Bovino, the Court specifically finds his testimony not credible.  Bovino appeared evasive over the three days of his deposition, either providing "cute" responses to Plaintiffs' counsel's questions or outright lying." "To the extent that agents use ChatGPT to create their use of force reports, this further undermines their credibility and may explain the inaccuracy of these reports when viewed in light of the BWC footage." https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ilnd.487571/gov.uscourts.ilnd.487571.281.0_3.pdf

Officials in Utah advise locals to not brine their turkeys in the Great Salt Lake. Bear attack shelters are now being sold in Japan after attacks continue. Adolf Hitler is about to win an election in Namibia, but it's not THAT guy. // Weird AF News is the only daily weird news podcast in the world. Weird news 5 days/week and on Friday it's only Floridaman. SUPPORT by joining the Weird AF News Patreon http://patreon.com/weirdafnews - OR buy Jonesy a coffee at http://buymeacoffee.com/funnyjones Buy MERCH: https://weirdafnews.merchmake.com/ - Check out the official website https://WeirdAFnews.com and FOLLOW host Jonesy at http://instagram.com/funnyjones - wants Jonesy to come perform standup comedy in your city? Fill out the form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfvYbm8Wgz3Oc2KSDg0-C6EtSlx369bvi7xdUpx_7UNGA_fIw/viewform

It's Wednesday, November 26th, A.D. 2025. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  Written by Jonathan Clark.  Filling in for Adam McManus I'm Ean Leppin. (Contact@eanvoiceit.com) Christian Institute Proposed Street Preacher Charter. Officials in the U.K. are increasingly targeting Christians who express their faith in public. In response, the Christian Institute launched its new “Street Preacher's Charter” in Parliament last week. The document defends the rights of street preachers in England and Wales. The wrongful arrest of a Scottish preacher in 2022 inspired the charter. Mike Judge, a trustee of The Christian Institute, said, “This Charter is a timely shield for those who dare to speak — and a timely corrective for a society tempted to silence them.” U.K. Street Preacher Acquitted A jury in the U.K. acquitted a street preacher recently. The case began after a Muslim family reported street preacher Shaun O'Sullivan to authorities. Officials charged him with religiously aggravated intentional harassment. However, O'Sullivan testified in court that he simply preaches the Gospel in public after being saved from a life of crime and violence. Andrea Williams with the Christian Legal Centre said, “This was another example of police overreach . . . The acquittal is . . . a reminder of the fragile state of fundamental freedoms in our country right now.” When commanded not to preach, the apostles said in Acts 4:19-20, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak about the things which we have seen and heard.” Christian Universities to Launch Outreach to Europe One of the largest Christian universities in the United States is launching outreach to Europe to counter the rise of secularism there. Liberty University of Lynchburg, Virginia is now offering over 600 online degrees to students in Europe.  Lucian Mustata is Liberty's European representative for the project. He told Christian Daily International, “we need to invest in the next generation. In the long term, secularism grows in Europe because we're not investing in teenagers and the next generation with Christian values. It's very important to have Christian education in Europe.” Trump Designates the Muslim Brotherhood as Terrorist Organization On Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to designate certain chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations.  The organization was founded in 1928 with chapters across the Middle East. Last week, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott similarly designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. He said the goal of the group is to “forcibly impose Sharia law . . . These radical extremists are not welcome in our state and are now prohibited from acquiring any real property interest in Texas.”  This coming on the heels of a report released called The Muslim Brotherhood Strategic Entryism into the United States.  Chris Mitchell from CBN News has more concerning this report. MITCHELL: “And what it does, and why this is so significant – it exposes a generational strategy to impose Shariah Law on the United States. They call it “a civilizational struggle,” and it's based on four pillars. One is influencing public policy. Two, influencing legal strategies, and what that tries to do is minimize criticism of Islam and turn that into charges of Islamphobia and charges of discrimination. Number three is infiltration of institutions – charities, universities, schools, and even to influence Middle East studies in those universities. And, four is to control the narrative through the medium, to shake the public debate. A key issue in this is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We've heard charges of Palestine, from the river to the sea, globalize the Intifadah. That puts it in context, is what they're trying to do is just influence media, the society, and then just introduce, in a gradual way, Shariah Law.” Planned Parenthood Forced to Shut Down Centers Due to Financial Strain Planned Parenthood announced yesterday it is closing one of its locations in Ohio. The abortion giant has now closed 45 centers so far this year. Many closures are due to the Trump administration's support for defunding abortion providers. A recent report from Planned Parenthood admits, “Already buckling under immense financial strain due to our country's frayed and underfunded public health system, Planned Parenthood health centers across the country are being pushed to the brink.” New Survey Concerning the Understanding of Salvation is Released by Barna Dr. George Barna released his latest research on the worldview of Americans. The survey found most U.S. adults say eternal salvation demands a blend of works and grace. For example, one-third of Americans who call themselves “born-again” believe good people can earn salvation. And nearly half of Americans believe they will earn their way into Heaven by being generally good or doing enough good deeds. Dr. Barna noted, “There remains a shocking degree of misunderstanding among Christians regarding sin, repentance, forgiveness, and salvation.” Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Bible Sales Surge This Year And finally, mainstream media outlets are noting this year's surge in Bible sales. The Associated Press reports Americans have purchased over 18 million Bibles this year.  Brenna Connor with Circana BookScan told Religion News Service, “Sales for Bibles have been steadily growing in the U.S. since 2021 and have set unprecedented annual sales records since 2022. 2024 marked a 20-year high for Bible sales in the U.S., and 2025 is on track to surpass these levels, underscoring the growing interest in religious content among U.S. consumers.” Close And that's The Worldview on this Wednesday, November 26th, in the year of our Lord 2025. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com.  Plus, you can get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. Filling in for Adam McManus I'm Ean Leppin (Contact@eanvoiceit.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

Here are 3 big things you need to know—   One — The White House is denying a report that President Trump is considering removing FBI Director Kash Patel in the coming months.  On Tuesday MSNow cited three people with knowledge of the situation, who say Patel's top aides have become frustrated with headlines generated by Patel, and that top FBI official Andrew Bailey is being considered to replace him.  Later, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X, saying the story was completely made up.   Two ---  A pair of turkeys are enjoying presidential pardons.  President Trump signed the paperwork for Gobble and Waddle yesterday in the Rose Garden.  Trump took a shot at former President Biden, saying the turkey pardons last year were determined to be invalid because they were signed by an auto-pen.  And number three --- The Thanksgiving travel rush is on.  The TSA expects to screen over 18-million flyers between today and next Tuesday, and today's the busiest with 52-thousand flights scheduled nation-wide.  Officials say air traffic control staffing is back up to pre-government shutdown levels, and flights are largely on-schedule. 

Episode 4952: Holding Political Officials Responsible Over Treasonous Claims; Utilizing The Economic Strength Of The US

Mark has intriguing insights to share about the benefits of eating foods containing pumpkin. Meanwhile, a recent discovery in New York City, twenty-four years after the events of 9/11, has brought to light boxes containing detailed records of the air quality at the time. These findings raise new concerns regarding the transparency of political officials who were in charge of the city during that period, especially as more citizens and first responders have reported long-term health issues linked to exposure to the toxic smoke from the collapsing buildings. The revelation of these records may further erode public trust in those officials. Mark takes your calls! Mark interviews former Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa. Curtis shares his firsthand observations of rising crime across New York City's boroughs. Sliwa expresses concern about the visible spike in criminal activity, especially after midnight when fewer NYPD officers are on duty, increasing the city's vulnerability. Also, Andrew Cuomo's political future, with speculation about whether the former governor plans to remain active in the political arena or seek future office, looks strong.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark has intriguing insights to share about the benefits of eating foods containing pumpkin. Meanwhile, a recent discovery in New York City, twenty-four years after the events of 9/11, has brought to light boxes containing detailed records of the air quality at the time. These findings raise new concerns regarding the transparency of political officials who were in charge of the city during that period, especially as more citizens and first responders have reported long-term health issues linked to exposure to the toxic smoke from the collapsing buildings. The revelation of these records may further erode public trust in those officials. Mark takes your calls! Mark interviews former Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa. Curtis shares his firsthand observations of rising crime across New York City's boroughs. Sliwa expresses concern about the visible spike in criminal activity, especially after midnight when fewer NYPD officers are on duty, increasing the city's vulnerability. Also, Andrew Cuomo's political future, with speculation about whether the former governor plans to remain active in the political arena or seek future office, looks strong.

The American occupation began amidst vast ruins; Japanese officials burned evidence regarding atrocities like Nanjing. Class A crimes focused on aggressive war, targeting senior leaders like Tojo Hideki. Crucial prosecution evidence was found in the detailed diary of the emperor's advisor, Kido Koichi. The US Supreme Court ruled against jurisdiction over earlier military commissions. The International Military Tribunal for the Far East was subsequently established.