Author: Alex Trent

On Wednesday, two law enforcement officers who were present during the defense of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, stopped by Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives. To the surprise of some, the two men were met with boos and jeers from state GOP lawmakers and several Republicans walked out of the legislature chamber in protest. Visiting the Legislature Source: J. Passepartout/Wikimedia US Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, along with his former Sergeant Aquilino Gonell were introduced to the House floor by Democrat speaker Joanna McClinton. Clinton called the men “heroes” who had “bravely defended democracy in the United States Capitol…

Former President and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was invited to attend a fundraiser in the ‘lion’s den’ in liberal San Francisco hosted by tech venture capitalists. This meeting comes in the context of Democrats in the state introducing a flurry of bills trying to regulate and restrict the tech industry, with the meeting suggesting there might be a growing appetite for the often left-leaning California tech sector in Republican politics. Tech Fundraising Source: Wikimedia Commons Two sources told Reuters that Trump managed to raise $12 million at the fundraiser hosted by tech venture capitalists David Sacks and Chamath…

California Governor Gavin Newsom offered a strong rebuke to Republicans in the US Senate after a bill to establish a right to contraception failed to get the 60 required votes to advance. In the video statement on X, Newsom lambasted Republicans for not living up to their ideals as the ‘Party of Freedom.’ Senate Bill Source: Ian Hutchinson/Unsplash On Wednesday, the United States Senate held a vote on a bill called the Right to Contraception Act which would establish federal protections and guarantee a right to access forms of contraception for Americans, among other provisions. The bill was sponsored and…

Recently, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced plans to make a number of cuts, including cutting millions from the state’s law enforcement budget ahead of the yearly budget deadline. Critics of Newsom have criticized the proposal as desperate and a reversal of what a Newsom spokesperson originally told Fox News that there were “no cuts to law enforcement.” Newsom Budget Source: Bureau of Reclamation/Wikimedia Recently in May, Newsom unveiled a revised budget proposal that promised a “balanced budget over two years.” “The Governor is solving two years of budget problems in a single budget, tightening the state’s belt to get the…

A new lawsuit filed in Utah court by the state alleges that the functionality of a feature on the social media app TikTok, called TikTok LIVE, is enabling adults to prey on children and minors on the app. TikTok Live allows users to pay for a live streamer to make content on the app, which the lawsuit argues sets up a situation where adults are paying for content from kids akin to a ‘virtual strip club.’ Utah Statement Source: Taylor Brandon/Unsplash On Monday, the government of Utah released a statement about its lawsuit against TikTok, accusing the company of “raking…

Across the country, billions, maybe even trillions of cicadas are emerging from the ground in accordance with their natural life cycle and rhythms. However, people in some areas who ordinarily experience cicadas may find that the outdoor scene is mysteriously silent. The reason for this has to do with the development of the country in recent years, people destroying previous cicada homes, and the spreading out of cicada populations. Periodical Cicadas Source: Dankeck/Wikimedia 2024 is a special year for Cicadas because of a special double-emergence event from two broods of periodical cicadas that will overlap geographically. In contrast to annual…

A new global climate change study conducted by a group of 57 scientists around the world has gone into preprint. The study aimed to examine the record heat observed in 2023, ultimately concluding that 92% of it was caused by humans. However, although the study found global temperatures are rising, researchers also found that there was no significant acceleration of human-based climate change beyond what was expected. New Study Source: NASA/Unsplash The report, titled “Indicators of Global Climate Change 2023: annual update of key indicators of the state of the climate system and human influence,” used UN-approved methods in an…

A case report published on June 5 documented the first incident of a sexually transmitted ringworm rash that is caused by a rare type of fungus. The fungus was identified as Trichophyton mentagrophytes type VII and is considered a contagious fungus. This case report comes at a time when researchers are worried about the effectiveness and viability of anti-fungal drugs. Case Report Michael Discenza/Unsplash On Wednesday, JAMA Dermatology published a report titled “Potential Sexual Transmission of Tinea Pubogenitalis From TMVII.” The report revealed that a man in New York City tested positive for Trichophyton mentagrophytes type VII (TM-VII), developing a…

The healthcare system in the United States has been facing an increased risk from cyberattacks in recent years.  In the past, cybersecurity experts have predicted this rise, warning the US government has not been taking the threat seriously enough as patients face risks to their privacy and cyber intruders have increased ways to run amuck in the nation’s health system. Cyber Spike Michael Geiger/Unsplash FBI data tracking internet crime in 2023 found that the healthcare industry had the highest number of organizations falling victim to ransomware attacks. The number of ransomware attacks almost doubled in one year from 2022 to…

On Tuesday, Biden announced a controversial move to significantly cut back on the ability for migrants to apply and be granted asylum when crossing the border illegally to come into the United States. This move, which came in the context of pressure to secure the border ahead of the election, may actually hurt Biden in another, possibly even more critical way: a blow to the economy. Biden Border Crackdown Source: Wikimedia Commons Joe Biden made an announcement of new actions this week he is implementing to try to secure the border amidst recent high months of border crossings. “President Biden…