Real queen of style Diana’s dresses go on auction as rival Camilla is crowned
Diana’s couture will soon hit the auction block after coronation day. Camilla may or may not wear a piece by one of Diana’s favorite designers.
https://nypost.com/2023/05/05/real-queen-of-style-dianas-dresses-go-on-auction/
‘Blindspotting’ pays homage to ‘Romeo Must Die’ with an action star and Bay Area music
Season 2 of the Starz series features a fight (and love) sequence with action star Joe Taslim, who makes an appearance as Mustafa, Janelle’s ex-boyfriend.
We predicted the queen’s death — and worry about King Charles’ coronation
“My first vision was the crown falling, and I don’t know what this means, but it’ll either fall from the cushion or from the king’s head,” Lynne Antink said.
https://nypost.com/2023/05/05/we-predicted-the-queens-death-and-worry-about-king-charles-coronation/
Don’t believe the Big Bang Theory! Female scientists are close to equality, study says
The study says female scientists are approaching parity with their male counterparts — and in some cases actually have a leg up on their competition.
https://nypost.com/2023/05/05/female-scientists-are-close-to-equality-study-says/
I’m Princess Diana’s cousin — she would approve of my raunchy ‘black sheep’ lifestyle
A stunning British woman who claims to be cousins with Princess Diana says the late royal would approve of her unconventional lifestyle choices.
US-Russia On Verge Of “Open Armed Conflict” After Kremlin Drone Attack: Foreign Ministry
US-Russia On Verge Of “Open Armed Conflict” After Kremlin Drone Attack: Foreign Ministry
On Friday the highest ranking Russian official thus far to have issued a statement on the Wednesday drone attack which targeted Kremlin buildings which house President Vladimir Putin’s offices said that the drone operation out of Ukraine was impossible without US foreknowledge.
“It’s clear that without the knowledge of their minders, the terrorists from Kyiv could not have carried out (the attack),” Lavrov said while on a trip to India, in reference to Washington.
He followed with: “We will respond with concrete actions.” The statements came the day after Putin press spokesman Peskov said such decisions are not “made in Kiev, but in Washington.” He asserted that Ukraine is “doing what it is told to do by the US.”
While the Biden administration has quickly rejected these accusations, and has downplayed the significance of the whole incident, which Russia called an “terroristic” attempted assassination of a sitting head of state, there’s been a flurry of maximalist and fierce statements from various sectors of the Russian government.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said simultaneous to Lavrov’s remarks on Friday that US-Russia relations are starring into the abyss, headed towards armed conflict:
“We are working to keep relations with the US from falling into the abyss of an open armed conflict, we are already on the verge, on the edge of this abyss,” Ryabkov said on Thursday night in an interview with Russian Pervy TV channel.
Russia and the US maintain contacts, and the problem is in the lack of trust, that Washington defies everything Moscow says as “disinformation,” he said.
He followed by saying the US “has long been a direct part to the Ukrainian conflict, waging an open hybrid war.” He emphasized: “Ukraine is only a tool in their hands. … Their goal is to destroy a sovereign, independent Russia as an international factor, they are increasingly tempted to play with the idea of dismemberment of Russia. … This is a direct encroachment on the foundations of our state system.”
Ryabkov then recalled the “destructive role that the US played in events, preceding the 2014 coup in Kyiv” that led to an eight-year long war in the Donbas. “And now, they are trying to pretend that they are only helping Kyiv in its kind of struggle, this is the height of cynicism and hypocrisy,” he said.
“We see that the US bets on further escalation and we warn them against it. … We remind them that the risks have increased many times in recent months,” he stressed, saying there’s no “magic solution” at this point.
⚡️Here is what Bakhmut looks like after constant shelling of incendiary GRAD munitions. pic.twitter.com/V2hBnJEE8D
— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) May 5, 2023
Meanwhile, career diplomat and ambassador in the Indian Foreign Service and geopolitical commentator M. K. Bhadrakumar gets to the heart of the where things stand in the following excerpt in the wake of the ‘assassination attempt’ on Putin [emphasis ZH]:
The West’s cryptic or mocking remarks doubting the Kremlin statement on the failed Ukrainian attempt to assassinate President Vladimir Putin do not detract from the fact that Moscow has no reason on earth to fabricate such a grave allegation that has prompted the scaling down of its Victory Day celebrations on May 9, which is a triumphal moment in all of Russian history, especially now when it is fighting off the recrudescence of Nazi ideology on Europe’s political landscape single-handedly all over again.
The alacrity with which the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken debunked the Kremlin allegation, perhaps, gives the game away. It is in the neocon DNA to duck in such defining moments. That said, predictably, Blinken also distanced the Biden administration from the Kremlin attack.
…The heart of the matter is that Kiev’s much touted “counteroffensive” is struggling amidst widespread western prognosis that it is destined to be a damp squib. Actually, the salience of the Foreign Affairs podcast this week with Gen. Milley was also his diffidence about the outcome. Milley refused to be categorical that Kiev would even launch its “counteroffensive”!
There is a huge dilemma today as the entire western narrative of a Russian defeat stands exposed as a pack of lies, and alongside, the myth of Kiev’s military prowess to take on the far superior military might of a superpower has evaporated. The Ukrainian military is being ground to the dust systematically. In reality, Ukraine has become an open wound that is fast turning gangrene, and little time is left to cauterize the wound.
As we previously commented, the longer that Ukraine’s spring counteroffensive stalls, the likelier it is that the Ukrainians (and their NATO backers) will ramp up the cross-border ‘dirty war’ and black ops campaign against Russia proper. This makes the situation much more unpredictable and dangerous, given Moscow could begin to view this as an existential threat.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 05/05/2023 – 17:20
Mission im-pasta-ble! Neighbor solves mystery of mammoth NJ noodle dumping
A doorbell camera caught footage of a man cleaning uncooked noodles out of his mom’s house in Old Town after she died.
https://nypost.com/2023/05/05/neighbor-knows-who-dumped-pounds-of-pasta-in-old-town-nj/
How DeSantis gave Democrats the ‘session from hell’
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature ended its session calmly on Friday, wrapping up a monumental stretch of lawmaking that will serve as the springboard for Gov. Ron DeSantis when he begins his expected run for president in the next few weeks.
The relatively lightweight final day was in contrast to the frantic and emotionally charged moments that had dominated the 59 days of the annual session — one of the most productive stretches of right-wing lawmaking any state’s seen in years. Week after week, legislators pushed through measures dealing with abortion, guns, the death penalty, immigration, schools and gender identity, sometimes amid protests inside the capital.
It was a session that saw one GOP legislator call transgender activists “demons” and “imps” while another, in defending Republicans, said terrorists “hate homosexuals more than we do.”
And it revealed a powerful governor at the zenith of his sway. DeSantis’ allies in the Legislature delivered nearly everything he asked for, whether it was imposing new regulations on Disney or a law designed to block China from buying land in Florida.
DeSantis successfully pushed Republican lawmakers to fulfill his conservative agenda, and legislators acknowledged that DeSantis is emerging from the session with a checklist that is unrivaled by other recent Florida governors. If the governor worried at any point that his conservative victories could become liabilities with moderate Republican voters or in a general election, he did not show it — choosing instead to push for every last bill lawmakers would pass.
“I believe it would be political malpractice if he does not run for president,” said state Rep. Spencer Roach, a North Fort Myers Republican. “He has to capitalize on this moment.”
DeSantis is expected to sign many of the bills he championed soon, even as he continues making appearances out of state, including in Wisconsin this weekend and then in Iowa and Illinois later this month. Just hours after touting his legislative victories at the capital, DeSantis signed into law a measure that allows a board put in place to oversee land used by Disney in order to void a development agreement a previous board had inked with the entertainment giant.
He is also expected to review and sign into law a record $117 billion budget that contains millions set aside for expected legal challenges to many of the bills passed this year — as well as more funding to transport migrants to other parts of the country.
The governor on Friday largely sidestepped questions about his political future and a likely presidential campaign but acknowledged that he would clear up any remaining ambiguity shortly. He also brushed aside talk that he needs to jump into the presidential race as soon as possible as “chatter.”
“We’ll get on that relatively soon,” DeSantis said. “You either got to put up or shut up on that as well.”
Democrats, outgunned and relegated to superminority status, called the past two months the “session from hell” dedicated to an “extremist agenda.”
State Sen. Jason Pizzo, a South Florida Democrat, said the session was “sadly overshadowed by the aspirations of an absentee governor.”
Nikki Fried, the Florida Democratic Party chair, said DeSantis and legislators were “hellbent on stripping away the very freedoms we hold dear — from reproductive rights and academic freedoms to the right to love who we love.”
The session wasn’t completely about DeSantis. Republican legislative leaders were also able to push forward their own substantial priorities, including a measure championed by House Speaker Paul Renner to offer private school vouchers to any family that wanted them regardless of income. Senate President Kathleen Passidomo got a major affordable housing proposal into law.
And there were even a handful of bipartisan moments, including passage of a bill to expand eligibility in the state’s subsidized children’s health insurance program and a permanent tax break for household items like diapers.
But most of the focus remained squarely on DeSantis’ and his legislative wish list. Lawmakers not only gave DeSantis what he wanted on a long line of culture war issues, they also agreed to change state law so he does not have to resign if he becomes the Republican nominee for president. The GOP also used its supermajority to pass a bill shielding his travel records from public scrutiny.
DeSantis on Friday touted several education proposals that Republican lawmakers passed this session, highlighted by legislators expanding the state’s parental rights law by broadening the policies labeled “Don’t Say Gay” by critics
“The most important thing about all this is that we won the fight about parents’ rights,” DeSantis said. “In the state of Florida, our political process worked well, and it was not perverted by one very powerful company.”
DeSantis — who gained national prominence by bucking the federal government’s pandemic guidance — also heralded the passage of two measures that spotlight his continued battles with President Joe Biden. One bill makes permanent a law that bans vaccine requirements for employees and businesses, and another measure shields doctors from losing board certifications for publicly speaking against government health care policies.
DeSantis said doctors were punished for speaking against the federal “orthodoxy” about the Covid pandemic. One of them was state Rep. Joel Rudman (R-Navarre), who sponsored the House measure after he was sanctioned by a professional board after he criticized federal Covid policy.
“There’s a lot of things that the orthodoxy was wrong about,” DeSantis said. “You want physicians that feel competent they can follow the evidence, rather than just following the crowd.”
Former KNBC investigative news producer busted in child porn sting
Phil Drechsler was arrested in Ohio, after his wife reported he had driven there with multiple guns and suicidal thoughts, according to the FBI.
Eric Adams blasts FEMA for limited asylum-seeker funds, will move migrants out of NYC
NEW YORK — New York City will receive a fraction of the federal aid it applied for to manage the asylum-seeker crisis, a spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams said Friday — the same day the mayor announced a new program to send asylum-seekers to locations outside the five boroughs.
The administration applied for $350 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for costs associated with shelters, food and health care services for migrants. On Friday, the Adams administration learned it will be receiving only $30 million.
“Let us be very clear: This is both disappointing and woefully insufficient for a city that has carried the cost of sheltering, feeding, and supporting more than 60,000 asylum-seekers in the last year,” mayoral spokesperson Fabien Levy said in a statement. “New Yorkers have stepped up tremendously throughout this crisis and we look forward to working closely with our congressional delegation to remedy this serious mistake.”
The Department of Homeland Security explained in a press release that the $322 million it earmarked Friday primary went to border communities like El Paso, Tx., which has been one of the main entry points for migrants coming to the country via Mexico.
“This first round of funding was focused primarily on the needs of border communities due to the urgencies they are confronting,” the department said in a statement. “Several interior cities also received funding. The City of New York received the most of any interior city by a significant margin given its challenges.”
The agency added that it would be dishing out a second round of funding totaling $360 million that will be focused on municipalities beyond the border that have also been destinations for asylum-seekers.
“It is anticipated that New York will again receive a significant share in that round,” the release noted.
Regardless, the snub to New York City is likely to add more tension to the relationship between Adams and President Joe Biden. Adams is one of the 20 top surrogates for the president’s reelection campaign. He has also been increasingly outspoken about the need for asylum-seeker aid, and has been calling out the White House and Biden by name.
On Friday, the mayor also announced a new program that would send New York City asylum seekers to the Hudson Valley in an effort to reduce the strain on the municipal budget and city shelters. Single men already in the city’s care will have the option to spend four months in Orange Lake and Orangeburg north of the city.
While details about the arrangement’s origins were unclear, Adams seemed to suggest New York City struck a deal on its own after failing to receive assistance from the federal government and the administration of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. Earlier this year, New York City declared a state of emergency and asked the state to help move migrants to other locations in New York.
“Despite calling on the federal government for a national decompression strategy since last year, and for a decompression strategy across the state, New York City has been left without the necessary support to manage this crisis. With a vacuum of leadership, we are now being forced to undertake our own decompression strategy,” Adams said in a statement.
The new program, however, will do little to solve the city’s problems.
Next week, a federal border policy called Title 42 is set to expire, and with it, tens of thousands of migrants currently waiting along the southern border are expected to enter the country and eventually make their way to cities including New York. A CNN report Friday indicated that, in anticipation, the city is looking to potentially house migrants in tents in Central Park, unused airplane hangers or building container homes.
“We have reached our limit of new shelters that we can open right now, and we currently have no other option but to temporarily house recent arrivals in gyms,” Levy, the mayoral spokesperson, said in a statement. “This week alone, we received hundreds of asylum seekers every day, and with Title 42 set to be lifted next week, we expect more to arrive in our city daily. We are considering a multitude of options, but, as we’ve been saying for a year, we desperately need federal and state support to manage this crisis.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/05/nyc-mayor-blasts-fema-for-asylum-seeker-funding-00095653