W
said in Meanwhile, in Venezuela:
I was going to make a joke about her swapping her Nobel for Y-K-W's support of the opposition.
https://polymarket.com/event/will-trump-and-machado-share-the-nobel-peace-prize
The National Park Service card policy was updated this week to say that passes may no longer be valid if they've been "defaced or altered." The change, which was revealed in an internal email to National Park Service staff obtained by SFGATE, comes just as the sticker movement has gained traction across social media.
In a statement to NPR, the Interior Department said there was no new policy. Interagency passes have always been void if altered, as stated on the card itself. The agency said the recent update was meant to clarify that rule and help staff deal with confusion from visitors.
The Park Service has long said passes can be voided if the signature strip is altered, but the updated guidance now explicitly includes stickers or markings on the front of the card.
It will be left to the discretion of park service officials to determine whether a pass has been "defaced" or not. The update means park officials now have the leeway to reject a pass if a sticker leaves behind residue, even if the image underneath is intact.
Fox News coverage. It was definitely road rage.
@jon-nyc said in In Minneapolis:
This wasn’t a law enforcement action it was a road rage incident.
That's what I was seeing in those videos. They were plain pissed off and their emotions took off on them.
Like I said, ten seconds from face-to-face confrontation to dead is crazy.
There are tons of these freestanding units in all types of designs. Some are designed to be used as TV stands and have storage in them, and others, like ours, are just supposed to look like a fireplace. For us it's a good way to cover up a fireplace that we can't use but to still have a bit of the fireplace-y ambiance that we like.
Some polling numbers.
We have a woodburning fireplace that is original to the house. We had gas logs and a nice set of doors installed probably 20 years ago but we basically never used it. It sucks all the warm air from the house up the chimney. The hearth is floor level and we prefer something that has a raised hearth. And we did re-work the bookcases and the tile around the fireplace, but we weren't really happy with the way it all looked after the remodel but we just ignored it. We also finally realized that the mortar between the fire bricks is gone in lots of places, so a fire in the chimney is a real risk, so we stopped using it altogether. It was sort of a dead-feeling area in the living room.
Anyway...
Costco has freestanding electric fireplaces and we finally found one that we liked and ordered it. It fits perfectly in front of the fireplace and in between the bookcases that flank it. We either have to cut down or build a custom mantel, as the one that comes with it is too wide to fit the available space. But that's not a big deal.
It doesn't have the mantel on it right now but you can get an idea of how it looks. Because it fills the entire space and sits up higher, it totally changes how the room looks and feels.
It has LED flames and you can even turn on the embers. Bunch of colors and you can adjust the intensity. It's amazing how cozy the space feels.
So here's my question for this thread....the unit also has a space heater. We only plan to use it with the LED "fire" which doesn't draw much current at all. The unit is rated at 1500W. Most portable units have two or three heat settings plus a thermostat to turn off the heater when the room reaches the desired temp, as @steve-miller explained.
This unit only has a thermostat with a temperature setting. Lowest setting is 71 and it goes up from there. There doesn't seem to be a way to select hi/med/lo. I'm kind of assuming that it's always running at 1500W and it only goes on/off based on what the thermostat is set for. Does that seem reasonable? I turned it on briefly to be sure that it does actually work, but turned it off before the thermostat kicked in and did it for me.
Here are the specs for the insert. When I turned it on I could see the quartz elements at the top of the firebox insert, and a fan went on.
https://www.realflame.com/landscape-vividflame-electric-firebox
@steve-miller - BTW, the instructions with fireplace insert simply say you need a 15A circuit. It even says it's preferable to have a dedicated circuit, but not a requirement. That surprised me, as I'm on the same page you are with respect to space heaters.
And of course they say if your breakers pop, well then you need to do something. We have the Ting gizmo, so it might catch a potential problem.
As I said, we don't plan to use it as a space heater, so this is mostly an academic exercise. If I did want to use it for heat, I would get our electrician in and have the circuit that this thing is on separated out and create a new 20A circuit so it could be used without having to be concerned about it.
Well there you have it.
Donald Trump has said that he does not “need international law” and that his power is limited only by his “own morality”.
In a new interview with the New York Times, Trump said the only constraint to his power as president of the US is “my own morality, my own mind”.
“It’s the only thing that can stop me,” Trump said, adding: “I’m not looking to hurt people.” He went on to concede “I do” in regards to whether his administration needed to adhere to international law, but said: “It depends on what your definition of international law is.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/08/trump-power-international-law
Susie Wiles was right. He thinks he can do anything. But he always has.
Next up: Shooting someone on Fifth Avenue and getting away with it....
In West Virginia:
Miracle escape artist dog found; shelter staff react to his impressive breakout
https://www.wsaz.com/2026/01/07/shelter-staff-react-dogs-impressive-escape/
On the lamb: 50 sheep break away from flock and storm German supermarket
Ewes and lambs coaxed out of store in Burgsinn after about 20 minutes, leaving trail of destruction in drinks section
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/08/runaway-sheep-storm-german-supermarket
More than a dozen House Republicans broke ranks with their party Thursday and voted for a Democratic bill to extend expired Affordable Care Act subsidies for three years without any restrictions.
Why it matters: It's a rare instance of Republican lawmakers defying President Trump — though the phenomenon has become less and less taboo in recent months.
Seventeen House Republicans voted with Democrats to extend the subsidies despite opposition from Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
The bill, which passed 230-196, now heads to the Senate, where Senate Majority John Thune (R-S.D.) has signaled he has no plans to bring it up for a vote.
https://www.axios.com/2026/01/08/trump-mike-johnson-aca-subsidies-republican
Another video has surfaced. Seen in The Intercept and I can only see it there, at least for now.
https://theintercept.com/2026/01/07/video-ice-shooting-civilian-minneapolis/
If you don't have an (free) Intercept account and want to at least read the article:
So my guess that he might have lacked training doesn't seem to pan out. I heard on our local news that he had 10 years experience.
And last year, he had this experience. Certainly could have affected his response in this situation. Though I still can't see how shooting the driver stops the car from hitting him.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis on Jan. 7 is Jonathan Ross, the same officer who was dragged and injured by a fleeing driver in a separate incident last year, according to a person with knowledge of the case and verified by court documents.
On June 17, Ross was participating in an arrest of Roberto Carlos Munoz-Guatemala, a Mexican citizen, in Bloomington last year. Munoz-Guatemala had previously been convicted of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct and had been put on a detainer by immigration officials. Munoz-Guatemala ignored the agents’ commands, including to fully roll down his car window, so Ross broke open his rear window and reached inside to unlock the door.
Munoz-Guatemala put the vehicle in drive and accelerated onto the curb, the charges said. Ross was dragged alongside the vehicle and twice fired his Taser as Munoz-Guatemala weaved back and forth “in an apparent attempt to shake” him from the car. About 300 feet down the road, Munoz-Guatemala re-entered the street and the force knocked the officer from the car.
The agent required 20 stitches for a deep cut in his right arm and another 13 stitches in his left hand, according to court documents. A jury convicted Munoz-Guatemala of assaulting a federal officer in December.
Hours after the shooting Wednesday morning, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said the agent involved had “been dragged by a vehicle” in an earlier incident. At the time, she did not provide specific location details.
But she described the unnamed officer as “an experienced” agent who’d been in similar situations before and “followed his training.”
From the Star Tribune, local Minneapolis paper.
https://archive.is/Alwuw#selection-365.0-365.132
edit: Confirmed that he's a 10 year veteran, and a resident of Minneapolis.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/08/ice-agent-minneapolis-shooting
Weight and Health Benefits Vanish Fast after Quitting Weight-Loss Drugs, Study Finds
A new study finds that people who quit weight-loss medications, including GLP-1 drugs, regain weight four times faster than people who stop dieting or exercising
So much for transparency and accountability. The fix is in.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) announced Thursday that it has "reluctantly withdrawn" from the investigation into the shooting of a woman by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer.
The state investigative bureau said it was informed by the FBI that it would no longer have access to materials required for a "thorough and independent" review.
Minnesota BCA Superintendent Drew Evans issued a statement on Thursday morning saying on Wednesday, "after consultation with the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI, it was decided that the BCA Force Investigations Unit would conduct a joint investigation with the FBI" into the death of Renee Nicole Good during an ICE operation in south Minneapolis.
"Later that afternoon, the FBI informed the BCA that the U.S. Attorney’s Office had reversed course: the investigation would now be led solely by the FBI, and the BCA would no longer have access to the case materials, scene evidence or investigative interviews necessary to complete a thorough and independent investigation," Evans continued.
"Without complete access to the evidence, witnesses and information collected, we cannot meet the investigative standards that Minnesota law and the public demands," he added. "As a result, the BCA has reluctantly withdrawn from the investigation. The BCA Force Investigations Unit was designed to ensure consistency, accountability and public confidence, none of which can be achieved without full cooperation and jurisdictional clarity."
@AndyD said in In Minneapolis:
BTW
Vance sucks big time.
I hadn't heard his remarks from today until just a few minutes ago. I watched about 10 seconds' worth.
His record of being an idiot is intact. In record time.
@Steve-Miller said in I bought myself a Christmas present:
What will be your inaugural recipe?
I’m hoping for cornbread!
No cornbread yet. I started with some sauteed vegetables, and then some breaded pork cutlets. The pan is really non-stick and the food cooks up beautifully.
It is pretty heavy, however, especially when I hold it with one hand, tipping it, and scraping the contents into a bowl. Definitely a weight lifting exercise, at least for me.
A 12 inch skillet would probably be too heavy.
@AndyD I've seen most Fred and Ginger movies (pretty big fan here) but not Follow the Fleet, so that routine was new to me. And yes, great dress. And music. And dancing.
Watching White Christmas is a tradition in our household. My mom loved the movie and now that she's gone it feels like a little way to preserve a tradition.
There are many great dance scenes. This is one of my faves:
Link to video@Rontuner said in In Minneapolis:
It is important to consider that the ICE agents that have worked for many years used to follow procedures and protocol to assure that there was probable cause and warrants issued before taking anyone into custody. Plenty were deported on a regular basis.
This new ICE is acting like well-funded government-sponsored (Rebublican only) bounty hunters. Instead of procedure and protocol, warrants and research - agents are awarded cash bonuses for capturing people and placing them into the government (Republican only) system where they are presumed guilty until proven innocent. We've witnessed all sorts of random people being gathered, injured and murdered - and the first defense used by ICE and the government (Republican only) is to lie over and over.
How'd we get here? Three branches of government, where the executive branch is in charge of enforcing laws. We now know if the entire executive branch (Republican) decides what laws to ignore, and how to interpret existing laws and is willing to ignore the judicial branch (after all, who enforces what the judicial branch interprets?) it can lead to these results.
Good points about the rewards system in place for ICE agents. It really is a bounty program. And the rules of engagement have completely changed; there pretty much aren't any rules.
One other thing I thought of - how could shooting the driver of that car have prevented the agent from being hit? The momentum would carry the vehicle forward and he would have gotten clobbered anyway.
The only rational decision is, as the retired police chief said, to get out of the way. And worry about apprehending the perpetrator later.
