Month: August 2024

Shane Lowry finally saw some East Lake magic in Round 3 of the Tour Championship. He signed for a 6-under 65 and moved five spots up the leaderboard to 13-under overall.
Lowry is still 13 strokes behind Scottie Scheffler, though. Regardless, the Irishman knew shooting a good score on Saturday would help put him in a great position to earn a big-time bonus.
He recorded six birdies and one lone bogey on the day and said everything finally came together.
“To shoot a number today was nice,” Lowry said. “I’m a long way behind. But trying to finish up as far up this leaderboard as I can to top off what has been a pretty good season out here.”

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Over the three days, it seemed like East Lake finally dug its teeth into some players. The scoring average was 69.4, higher than the 68 average of the first two days.
However, Lowry executed well. He was No. 1 in strokes gained putting on Saturday, picking up +3.846 on the field. The former Open winner was also No. 2 in strokes gained approach to the green at +1.956.
Lowry also tied for first in strokes gained total, picking up a little over four shots in Round 3 alone.
It was his worst day off the tee, though, as he only hit 7-of-14 fairways. The 37-year-old hit 16-of-18 greens and made 144 feet of putts, which led the field.

Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images

Lowry’s putter was scorching hot on Saturday. He made two long birdie putts at 7 for 45 feet and 13 for 24 feet. Those kinds of putts kept the momentum going and turned his good round into an excellent one.
There are 18 holes left in the 2024 FedEx Cup playoffs. Lowry may not be within reach of Scheffler, but he still has a goal in mind.
“Finish as high up the leaderboard as I can, shoot the best score I can,” Lowry said. “I had a thought coming into this tournament— if I can win the actual tournament without the staggered start, I think that would be a successful week. I’m going to finish pretty high up the leaderboard. We’ll see how it goes. Scottie is way ahead, but you never know.”
Suppose he goes out and shoots another low number; who knows where it could land him on the leaderboard. For his first time in Atlanta, Lowry has put on quite the performance.
Lowry will play alongside Sam Burns on Sunday, and the duo tees off at 12:32 p.m. ET.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl. […]

Jason Billingsley/Baltimore PD/MEGA
A Baltimore man received a life sentence for the brutal 2023 murder of tech entrepreneur Pava LaPere, authorities announced.
Jason Billingsley, 33, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder on Friday. He received three life sentences for killing Pava LaPere, raping April Hurley, and attempting to murder Hurley and her male friend.
The New York post reports,
A career criminal, Billingsley was released from prison after a first-degree sex offense conviction before he went on a brutal rampage in Baltimore.

“This defendant should have never been released into the community following a first-degree sex offense conviction to inflict immense trauma, pain, and sorrow on so many individuals in such a short amount of time,” said State’s Attorney Ivan J. Bates.
“These cases inspired our legislation to eliminate diminution credits for first-degree sex offenders.”
On Sept. 19, 2023, Billingsley posed as maintenance staff and knocked on the door of the apartment of Hurley and her friend in the early morning hours, Bates said.
Billingsley kicked the door in, held Hurley down, sexually assaulted her and slashed her throat, the state’s attorney said.
Billingsley poured accelerant on the couple and the apartment and set it on fire, according to Bates. They both survived.
Six days later, LaPere was reported missing before cops found her body on the roof of her Mount Vernon apartment building, along with a brick.

Surveillance footage captured Pava LaPere, co-founder of EcoMap Technologies, standing up from the lobby couch at 10:32 p.m. to let Billingsley in.
They were then seen entering the elevator together.

At 11:08 p.m., Billingsley exited the building alone. The medical examiner determined her death was a homicide caused by strangulation and blunt force trauma.
Instagram / Pava LaPere
Pava LaPere, once honored on Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list for social impact, started her eco-focused company straight from her dorm room at Johns Hopkins University.
Police found LaPere’s body on the roof of her building.Instagram / Pava LaPere
On Friday, April Hurley and LaPere’s family stood alongside State’s Attorney Ivan Bates at a news conference to discuss Jason Billingsley’s guilty pleas and his life sentences.
“Every day, I have flashbacks and triggers that cause terrible anxiety, pain and stress,” Hurley reportedly said.
“I will never be the same person.”
“If it weren’t for God and my will to be alive, I wouldn’t be standing here today,” she said. […]

Patriotism and faith are constantly under assault from the left in our nation. Fortunately, there are some public servants that are fighting back and encouraging patriotism and faith.
Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters appeared on “Fox and Friends” on Saturday to discuss the importance of patriotism. He said that new policies would be put in place to encourage and protect students who want to show their patriotism.
He said that under the new policies, students would not be punished, but instead encouraged to embrace patriotism. This response was largely due to a high school student, Caleb Horst, being the target of anti-patriotic staff at Edmond High School earlier this month, forcing him to remove an American Flag on display in his pickup truck.
Fox News Reported:

Oklahoma State School Superintendent Ryan Walters told the Fox News Channel that his school district would be enacting new policies to allow students to show their patriotism after an Oklahoma high school student was forced to remove an American flag from his truck by school staff earlier this month.

Walters spoke on “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Saturday to declare that under new state school guidelines, no student will be punished for displaying the flag or showing their patriotism. Rather, they will be encouraged to love their country and better understand its founding.
“We’re not going to tolerate this anti-Americanism,” Walters told “Fox & Friends Weekend” co-host Pete Hegseth.
“Brand new guidelines will make schools across Oklahoma ensure flags can be flown and that students recite the Pledge of Allegiance at least once a week,” Hegseth said.
“What’s your stance in Oklahoma?” Hegseth asked.
“We are not gonna tolerate this anti-Americanism. We’ve seen it being pushed by the Biden administration, by the teacher’s unions, by the radical left. We are not tolerating it in our schools. We want patriots, we want our students flying the American flag. Here is the reality, that is a flag that so many have died for,” Walters said.
“We want our kids to love that flag, love this country, so we have acted swiftly to say that this will never happen again, every single school in the state will protect the students right to fly that flag,” Walters continued.
“The Pledge of Allegiance is required to be said once a week as well, right?” Hegseth asked.
“That’s right, look we need to be saying the pledge,” Walters responded.
“We need more patriotism. We have seen our schools become leftist indoctrination mills pushing hatred for country. That’s not gonna happen in Oklahoma,” Walters continued.
“What’s the response been?” Hegseth asked regarding adding the Bible in the curriculum.
“The Bible is gonna be back in classrooms here in Oklahoma. We will absolutely talk about the impact the Bible had throughout our history,” Walters responded.
Watch:
Watch the latest video at foxnews.com […]

Former Michigan State Senator Curtis Hertel Jr. is a far-left committed Democrat. He’s running for Congress in central Michigan, in a district that covers the state’s capital of 112,000 people, Lansing. The district is rated R+2 by political insiders, meaning that it generally skews in favor of Republicans, but only slightly.
Hertel is the former legislative liaison for Michigan’s far-left Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Hertel helped Whitmer pass a budget-busting $86 billion state budget filled with handouts for Communist Chinese battery plants, abortions, driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants, and more far-left priorities.
Hertel’s wife Elizabeth is Governor Whitmer’s Director of Health and Human Services who shut down the state for COVID, part of Whitmer’s illegal and unconstitutional far-left COVID powergrab. The Hertels were COVID tyrant hypocrites who left the state during the lockdowns for a vacation.
The district was held by Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a deep-state far-left Democrat who beat her Republican opponent in 2022, Tom Barrett, 52-46. Some referenced that previous race as the nation’s most expensive Congressional race. Slotkin is currently running for U.S. Senate against Trump-endorsed Mike Rogers. Hertel is running against Trump-endorsed Tom Barrett, running as the Republican again.

President Trump held another blowout rally in this district on Thursday in a small town 15 miles southwest of Lansing.

Now far-left Democrat Hertel is sending out mailers that talk about his commitment to securing the southern border, saying “Prices are out of control. The southern border is a mess.”

Hispanics only constitute 2.45% of the district, so they are an expendable minority to the Democrats. Democrats in the midst of a so-called “Hispanic Panic” because far-left policies have kept the borders open for so long that major urban areas are turning into gang wastelands as a result of open borders, defunding the police, and expanding social welfare programs.
Meanwhile Venezuelan gangs are taking over apartment complexes in Aurora, Colorado and the Democrats are calling it “imagination”
Whistleblowers confirm Biden-Harris is preventing border agents from using DNA to identify repeat illegals entering America and committing violent crimes.
Illegals let into America by Biden-Harris are storming onto school buses in Southern California, where parents are worried their kids are about to be abducted.
These stories are shaping a voter base hostile to Democrat policy records.
So it’s not surprising that Curtis Hertel’s mailers lack any mention except for the return address of the Democrat Party.
In fact, Democrat Hertel tries to take credit for standing up to the Biden administration on border security.
This is not a confident and bold left-wing political campaign.

Hertel also takes credit for working with Republicans, though the track record in Lansing’s prior legislative session is far-left legislation where 1-2 RINOs were bought off typically with pathetic legislative bribes.
Hertel says he “brought people together to get things done for us” and doesn’t list out the details of those accomplishments:

But these are the kind of lies that very few voters look into, so they are easy and consequence-free for Democrats to tell them.
Also conspicuous is that the Democrat, the party of diversity, is hypocritically sending out all-Caucausian mailers. Whereas the left has been militant about injecting diversity into every television commercial, every movie, and every social interaction possible, Democrats are now sending out racially segregated mailers where diversity is not a virtue they are expressing. By contrast, the post-BLM riots mass marketing and campaigning has used “forced diversity” to put racial and sexual-identities in obviously-prominent positions in all communications.
Both Barrett and Hertel served together in the Michigan State Senate. Barrett was a State Senator from 2019-2023, and Hertel was in the same chamber from 2015-2023.
Democrat candidate for U.S. Congress, Curtis Hertel, Jr.

Republican candidate for Congress Tom Barrett
Barrett is a conservative choice for voters, but is not considered extreme.
In fact, Barrett has been criticized for surrounding himself with left-wing staff and consultants.
Despite being ambiguous about election integrity and the obvious systemic voter fraud in the 2020 election, leftists attacked Barrett for it anyway and asked for Biden to imprison him.
The election in Michigan is on Tuesday November 5, 2024. Under new Democrat laws, early voting can start up to 28 days before election day, October 8th. Absentee ballots will be sent out starting 40 days prior to the election date, in less than a month on September 26th. […]

Switch-mode technology has made inverters which take a low DC voltage and turn it into a usable mains voltage within the reach of everybody. But still, there might be moments when a mains supply is needed and you’re not lucky enough to have AliExpress at your fingertips, and for that, here’s [Rulof] with a mains inverter that is simultaneously awful and awesome. He’s made a rotary converter, from trash and off the shelf parts.
While a switch-mode converter operates using PWM at many times the output frequency for efficiency, we’re guessing that most readers will be familiar enough with how AC works to see how a low frequency converter turns DC into AC. A set of switches repeatedly flip the polarity, and the resulting square wave is fed into a transformer to step up to the final voltage. The switches can be mechanical as with old-style converters that used vibrating reeds or rotary armatures, or they can be electronic using power transistors. In this case they are a set of microswitches actuated by a set of cams on a shaft driven by a small motor, and the transformer comes from a surplus UPS.
We’re guessing that the frequency will be only a few Hz and the microswitches will suffer from switching such an inductive load, but as you can see in the video below the break it does light a mains bulb, and we’re guessing it would be enough to activate most wall-wart switching power supplies. We’re not so sure though about his use of the IEC sockets from the UPS to carry 12 volts, as the current may be a little much for them.
Meanwhile if you thirst for more of this kind of thing, we have you covered.

[embedded content] […]

Mississippi Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday | thefirearmblog.com […]

Authored by Robert Knight via CoinTelegraph.com,Industry figures are divided on a contentious Californian artificial intelligence bill that passed on Aug. 28. The new legislation will compel AI firms to implement new safety protocols, including an “emergency stop” button for AI models.The Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act (SB 1047) passed the California Senate 29–9 on Aug. 28.The bill now goes to Governor Gavin Newson’s desk for ratification.Elon Musk was among those who expressed support for the bill. On X, he said it was a “tough call” but favored the legislation due to the “potential risk” of AI.Source: Elon MuskNot all tech figures are similarly persuaded, however. OpenAI chief strategy officer Jason Kwon is among those who have criticized the legislation.Calanthia Mei, co-founder of the decentralized AI network Masa, said she was not in favor of the new rules, suggesting they were the result of an undue rush to legislate.“Premature regulations like this will not only drive talent out of California; it will drive talent out of America,” Mei told Cointelegraph. She added:“The risk sits in the likely possibility that America’s current and proposed regulatory frameworks cap the growth of the AI industry.”Raheel Govindji, the CEO of the decentralized AI project DecideAI, took a contrasting view.“We are in favor of legislation,” Govindji told Cointelegraph. Govindji said DecideAI supports a killswitch controlled by a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), which is how they propose to democratize and decentralize an emergency stop.AI is a fast-moving industryThe fast-moving nature of the AI industry has stoked fears about its unfettered development.In an Aug. 22 letter, former staff and whistleblowers at OpenAI warned, “Developing frontier AI models without adequate safety precautions poses foreseeable risks of catastrophic harm to the public.”But to others, the rapid pace of AI development is something to be celebrated rather than feared.“In contrast to other transformative technologies, the speed of AI innovation is unparalleled. Builders are shipping new products, features and applications every day,” Mei said.“We as builders don’t even know where the ceiling of AI is; how would the government know the ceiling of AI? Setting limits for high-potential technologies is unwise.”Mei warned that the legislation’s ultimate cost would be to “drive talent out of the US” as it “did to crypto.”Those in favorGovindji proposes that a “DAO-controlled killswitch” could support the requirements of the legislation while still retaining “collective and transparent decision-making.”The bill states that any AI model should be able to “promptly enact a full shutdown” but fails to define the meaning of promptly, leaving considerable room for interpretation.For now, it is unknown whether a DAO model and its democratic voting system would be prompt enough to satisfy legislators. Govindji is confident it will. According to Govindji, DecideAI “will be ahead of the curve in providing AI which is a social good.”AI firm Anthropic has also publicly supported the bill. In an open letter to Governor Newsom, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said, ”AI systems are advancing in capabilities extremely quickly, which offers both great promise for California’s economy and substantial risk […] We believe SB 1047, particularly after recent amendments, likely presents a feasible compliance burden for companies like ours, in light of the importance of averting catastrophic misuse.”An earlier version of the bill forwarded criminal penalties for companies that failed to comply. After consultation with the industry, this provision was watered down to civil penalties only.Bill SB 1047Bill SB 1047 will only apply to “covered models,” with the definition of what models are covered shifting over time. On implementation, a covered model will be an AI that costs over $100 million to develop or “An artificial intelligence model trained using a quantity of computing power greater than 10^26 integer or floating-point operation.”The federal government’s Government Operations Agency will adjudicate any changes to the computing power threshold.In a letter to Governor Newsom, OpenAI’s Kwon argued that legislation toward AI should only be handled at a federal level “rather than a patchwork of state laws.”Given the overwhelming concentration of tech and AI firms in California, SB 1047 might arguably be the de facto national legislation for now. The situation could change should the legislation cause AI firms to flee to other states, but to avoid SB 1047 entirely, the firms would also need to cease all operations and services in California.Loading… […]

Credit: Getty Images
Swedish pop group ABBA has joined the parade of musicians hypocritically attempting to silence President Donald Trump.
The group, famous for their 70s disco hits, has demanded that Trump stop using their songs at his rallies, citing the so-called “unauthorized” use of their music.
Yet, despite their public outcry, the Trump campaign has stated they have the proper licensing to use ABBA’s music, making the band’s tantrum nothing more than another shallow attempt by out-of-touch celebrities to meddle in American politics.
In a statement obtained by Associated Press, it insisted that no request for permission had been received, and therefore, no license had been granted.

“ABBA has recently discovered the unauthorized use of their music and videos at a Trump event through videos that appeared online. As a result, ABBA and its representative has promptly requested the removal and deletion of such content. No request has been received; therefore, no permission or license has been granted.”

However, this claim was promptly refuted by the Trump campaign, which pointed out that they had indeed obtained a license through agreements with BMI and ASCAP, the organizations responsible for issuing blanket licenses for music use.
“The campaign had a license to play ABBA music through our agreement with BMI and ASCAP,” the Trump spokesperson told the AP.
This latest move by ABBA places them in a long line of virtue-signaling artists who have tried to weaponize their music against Trump, including Bruce Springsteen, Beyoncé, Celine Dion, and Foo Fighters.
The Gateway Pundit’s Kristinn Taylor reported Saturday that the rock band Foo Fighters threatened President Trump with “appropriate actions” after their 1990s hit “My Hero” was played while Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. took the stage at a rally in Glendale, Arizona Friday night.
Now, news has emerged suggesting that they should be the ones facing said “appropriate actions.”
One news outlet has uncovered the truth, and it turns out the Foo Fighters lied. The Independent reported Saturday that The Trump campaign DID have permission to play “My Hero” at the rally after the band sold their rights to BMI. […]

Democrats are now scrambling after last Friday’s news of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s endorsement of former President Donald Trump’s campaign for the general election.
How could a man whose family has lifelong allegiance to the Democrats now support a Republican ticket for the presidency?
Needless to say, that is not a good look, and the Democratic National Committee is now looking to make up for it by attacking Kennedy via their own website, with a collection of excerpts from new sites, like MSNBC and USA Today.
The DNC is sincerely hoping you’ll read all of these quotes on RFK and clutch your pearls at the Trump ticket while happily casting your vote in November for a woman with no platform and a running mate who puts tampons in boys’ bathrooms.

With the headline, “Whales, Worms, and Bears: Trump Spends the Week Owning RFK Jr.’s Baggage” the intent of the DNC is clear: This won’t be about policy.

While the entire article — if you can call it that — is just a collection of quotes, a few do stand out that indicate the strategy the DNC is now using, which communicates where their level of desperation is in picking Vice President Kamala Harris as their candidate.
Michigan State Senate Majority Whip Mallory McMorrow said, “RFK Jr. is just Donald Trump with a Kennedy name slapped on him.”
Please stop, senator! I don’t need any more convincing that I like this guy!
As a clear nod to RFK Jr.’s skepticism towards vaccines, USA Today‘s Rex Huppke said of the new addition to the Trump ticket, “Hope you like measles and polio, America …”
In a reference to RFK Jr.’s tales of brain worms and dumping a bear in central park, MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell said, “Robert Kennedy Jr., the Jeffrey Dahmer of the animal kingdom, has horrified his family almost as much as Jeffrey Dahmer horrified his family by endorsing the most horrifying Republican presidential nominee in history.”
That one is a bit harsh.
Dahmer murdered and ate people; RFK Jr. endorsed Trump for president.
The reader can indulge further on the DNC’s website, but the few quotes above prove the point.
While RFK Jr. is certainly a unique individual with his peculiarities, Democrats are anguishing over his Trump endorsement.
The Kennedy name is a synonymous with the Democrats given his father’s own presidential run and, obviously, his uncle serving as the 35th president.
Pulling a bunch of quotes from leftists and sticking them on your website isn’t exactly what most would classify as a well-constructed hit-piece.
They are just throwing something at the wall to see what sticks.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal. […]

It looks like the U.S.’s sole export is no longer just dollars and inflation…we’re also exporting the products of our rising crime rate.   A new report last week says that stolen vehicles have become a “world epidemic” and that there is a rising number of stolen vehicles at east coast ports, according to CBS. The number of cars seized at the Port of Newark is on the rise, according to CBS News New York’s Derick Waller.Jeffrey Greene, acting director at the Port of New York and Newark, oversees customs officials using x-rays to inspect containers and seize stolen cars. In one case, two junk vehicles concealed a pristine Mercedes, while another container held a stolen Chevy Silverado.So far this year, they’ve seized 331 vehicles, on pace to surpass last year’s total. Investigators say West African markets, especially Nigeria, offer the highest prices. Social media videos show luxury SUVs being unloaded from containers, sometimes still sporting American license plates.Greene commented: “So last year, the Port of New York-Newark here, we led the country in seized vehicles … We had 368 vehicles. That’s more than a car a day.”The CBS report says young people are often recruited for car thefts, according to Homeland Security Special Agent William Walker, who leads an auto crime task force.In one case, thieves in Totowa stole a luxury SUV by entering through an unlocked kitchen window to grab the key fob. Laura, a Morris County resident, tried storing her BMW keys in a “Faraday cage” to block devices used by thieves. Despite this, her SUV was stolen after thieves broke into her home through a locked window. Car thefts have surged in Newark, up 99% from 2022 to 2023. Montville Police Chief Andrew Caggiano is advocating for changes to New Jersey’s bail reform law, arguing that repeat offenders are frequently released, according to the report. “You can usually drive around at leisure with that plate on. No one will ever question you. It’s a world epidemic … And it’s because the organized criminals, they’re probably laughing at us, actually, because they’re not only making lots of money, but they don’t have to, actually have to do much work,” former police officer Dr. Ken German said. Loading… […]