Donald Trump Jr. and MAGAworld pounced on the news of Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis with wild speculation about a long term “cover-up” of the former president’s disease.

Hours after Biden’s office announced Sunday that he had been diagnosed with a “more aggressive form” of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, Trump Jr. boosted a conspiracy that was already circulating among MAGA influencers and pundits.

“What I want to know is how did Dr. Jill Biden miss stage five metastatic cancer or is this yet another coverup???” he wrote on X.

Every day y'all gunna get a random picture of this little shit!

Edit: and/or video

Chinese “kill switches” have been found hidden in American solar farms, prompting calls for Ed Miliband to halt the rollout of renewables.

On Thursday, the Energy Secretary was urged to impose an “immediate pause” on his green energy blitz to review whether UK solar plants are also at risk.

The components found in the US included cellular radios capable of switching off the equipment remotely, raising serious concerns about grid security, according to Reuters.

They were found inside power inverters manufactured by unnamed Chinese companies.

Power inverters are the key links between solar or wind farms and the rest of the power system, converting their electricity so the wider grid can use it.

One source told Reuters that compromising such equipment would give Beijing the ability to inflict blackouts on the West, claiming it would create “a built-in way to physically destroy the grid”.

"While the B60 is designed for powerful 'Project Battlematrix' AI workstations sold as full systems ranging from $5,000 to $10,000, it will carry a roughly $500 per-unit price tag."

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/29919785

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump have held a rare phone call, which the US leader described as “excellent,” but the Kremlin refused to agree to a ceasefire in the war with Ukraine, despite pressure from Washington and European allies.

Speaking to reporters in Sochi after the two-hour conversation on Monday, Putin described the call as “very meaningful and frank,” and said he was prepared to work with Ukraine on drafting a memorandum for future peace talks.

However, the Russian leader declined to support the US-proposed 30-day unconditional ceasefire, which Ukraine had already agreed to – and which Washington had framed as the call’s primary objective.

The car bombing outside a California fertility clinic that killed one person and injured four others appears to have been driven by anti-natalist ideology, according to two senior law enforcement officials briefed on the incident.

The suspect, identified by authorities as Guy Edward Bartkus, is believed to have carried out Saturday's explosion, which resulted in his own death. 

Investigators are focusing on social media posts made by the suspect, including a 30-minute audio recording, which they say support anti-natalist views. While the posts and the recording are still being verified, officials believe they reflect the ideology behind the bombing. Anti-natalism refers to the belief that no one should have children.

cross-posted from: https://aussie.zone/post/20651320

Archive/non-paywall link.

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/22390829

To try to tackle this, the Welsh Labour government, alongside Plaid Cymru, introduced measures to curb second-home ownership. This included giving councils the ability to push council tax on second homes to 300% the usual rate. They also closed a loophole whereby second-home owners could register as a business in order to pay the much lower business rates.

Gwynedd council used these powers to hike council tax to 150% in April 2023. By the end of 2024, house prices had fallen by 12.4% as second-home owners tried to sell up. In Pembrokeshire, house prices fell by 8.9% after the council increased the council tax to 200% on second homes (though this was reduced to 150% recently).

TIL Final Fantasy 11 still exists

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/64411674

President Donald Trump’s most ardent supporters are motivated by their prejudices, not economic concerns, social scientists contend. Will Democrats stop trying to win their votes?

In January, Smith and his University of Kansas colleague, associate sociology professor Eric A. Hanley, published a 47-page paper deconstructing the Republican president’s appeal. Building on decades of scholarship about the lure of authoritarianism and their own analysis of American voting psychology in 2012 and 2016, the social scientists make an argument that some may find offensive and others unsurprising.

It goes something like this: Trump’s biggest supporters are motivated by bigotry and want him to hurt the people they dislike.

Note: There's a lot to unpack in this article, and this just seems to be the hook.