World's oldest known tortoise, Jonathan, dies aged 193
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RIP Jonathan the tortoise -
The “vini, vidi, vici” speech tonightInteresting strategy…don’t set an objective at the outset, don’t talk to your allies and when the going gets tough you claim victory and dump the mess you made on your former friends…
President Donald Trump will use a primetime address Wednesday night to declare that the month-long war in Iran is winding down, against a backdrop of spiking oil prices and increasingly dismal poll numbers.
The president has telegraphed that message in interviews, social media posts and public comments over the past 24 hours, laying the groundwork for a speech that is expected to claim that all military objectives have been met, according to six people familiar with the planning and granted anonymity to speak candidly. He also intends to harshly scapegoat NATO allies for the biggest unresolved matter of the war, Iran’s ongoing restrictions of shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Steve Bannon, Trump’s former White House chief strategist, said the president will essentially declare victory, laying out what he’s achieved in Iran and what he will do before the U.S. leaves along with “dumping on the NATO allies – it’s their issue.”
“Two, three weeks, definable objectives. ‘I came, I saw, I conquered’ — and we are hanging around a couple of weeks to conquer some more — maybe even then a ceasefire, while reiterating that the Hormuz situation is the Gulf Emirates’ and the Europeans’ to solve, and declare victory,” he added.
The president’s decision to deliver a major address about the war’s endgame, coming as an additional 2,500 U.S. Marines make their way to the region, may be primarily an attempt to assuage voters’ concerns and Wall Street’s unease about energy markets and the knock-on effects of the strait closure..
I think I have to wash my hair…
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Anyone watching the Artemis II launch?Before taking his last steps on the moon, NASA astronaut Gene Cernan made sure to scratch his young daughter's initials into the lunar dust.
He had some parting thoughts for the rest of humanity, too.
"We leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind," the Apollo 17 commander said before departing for Earth.
That was December 1972. Now, more than half a century later, NASA may be about to fulfill Cernan's wishes.
As early as Wednesday at 6:24 p.m., an Orion capsule seated atop a 322-foot rocket will blast off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. If all goes according to plan, the capsule will carry four astronauts around the moon and back — sending humans the farthest they've ever been from our home planet. NASA's live stream of the launch began at 12:50 p.m
www.npr.org/2026/04/01/nx-s1-5768254/nasa-astronauts-about-to-launch-moon-artemis-ii
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Axiom MathThis startup wants to change how mathematicians do math
Axiom Math is giving away a powerful new AI tool. But it remains to be seen if it speeds up research as much as the company hopes.
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Anybody go to a No Kings rally today?I thought about the protests against the Vietnam War in the 60s. I think they made a difference....
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New album from Paul McCartney -
Anybody go to a No Kings rally today?So does yours. That's why I said we are each forming an opinion based on what we are observing. Our interpretations are at opposite ends of the spectrum. I wouldn't tell you that you are wrong, but I will tell you I couldn't disagree with you more. There is a difference.
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Gas pricesA few months ago it was under three bucks a gallon. I don't drive very much so it's not a huge impact on me, but I feel really sorry for others who can't afford the increased prices.
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Gas pricesI paid $3.799 about ten days ago at Costco; it's $4.259 today. Costco is anywhere from a dime to a quarter a gallon cheaper than other stations.
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Anybody go to a No Kings rally today?