Authored by Amy Denny via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Imagine being the school band director and waking up at 1 a.m. on the day of a big parade to realize that you never booked the school bus to transport your students.

For Lisa Burden, this experience was more than a nightmare. It was a wake-up call to her own shortcomings. While exceptionally bright and creative, she also had to contend with another side of herself. She’d struggled since childhood with challenges like being able to keep track of things and being told she talked too much.

“There were responsibilities that I would just forget to do. It wasn’t like I didn’t want to do them,” she told The Epoch Times. “I came to a point when I had to admit I could not keep it all in my head. I’ll have a thought, and then I don’t know when I’ll have that thought again.”

While attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a condition that can undermine a person’s ability to navigate our modern age, in some ways, it is more helpful to think of it as a mismatch of mental abilities. ADHD involves symptoms of inattentiveness, impulsiveness, and hyperactivity, among others.

People with ADHD have brains that think differently in a world that’s become more sedentary and rigid. Experts say seeing ADHD through a new lens can help adults strengthen their thinking, improve their relationships, and accentuate their strengths.

Maybe It Is ADHD

About 15.5 million—or 6 percent—of American adults have been diagnosed with ADHD. About half were diagnosed as adults, with one-third of those diagnosed receiving treatment, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To be diagnosed with ADHD as a child, one needs to have six symptoms involving inattentiveness, hyperactivity, or impulsivity. An adult diagnosis requires five.

Those symptoms include the following:

• Trouble paying attention or being easily distracted
• Being disorganized
• Procrastinating
• Inability to plan or organize
• Difficulty recalling daily tasks
• Losing things frequently
• Being extremely talkative or frequently interrupting
• Trouble multitasking or focusing on larger projects
• Finding it hard to follow instructions or finish projects
• Inability to sit still for lengthy periods
• Fidgeting
• The need to be constantly moving
• Prioritizing immediate rewards over future rewards

There are a few other criteria, too, including symptoms that have been around since before age 12, with clear evidence that they are severe, frequent, and persistent enough to cause problems in at least two areas of life, such as at work, school, church, or home.

Finally, hormonal and mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety, or a psychotic disorder, must be ruled out. However, there is no definitive diagnostic tool, such as bloodwork or brain scans, for ADHD.

Beyond Stereotypes

Experts understand ADHD better than they did two decades ago. The stigma is lifting, and awareness is growing, according to Marcy M. Caldwell, a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in the treatment and assessment of adult ADHD.

She told The Epoch Times that social media has given voice to people who are describing their experiences with ADHD and raising it as a possibility for many people who might not have considered it previously.

For a number of years, ADHD was stereotypically considered a disorder associated with young boys. That, particularly, left a lot of girls undiagnosed in childhood who went on to be diagnosed as adults.

However, professionals are beginning to better understand that symptoms can vary depending on race, sex, and age, Caldwell said. They are also noting that children often don’t outgrow ADHD, as was previously believed in most cases. Rather, she said symptoms relapse and remit throughout life depending on other circumstances.

“In that waxing and waning, the symptoms can come up again around major life events,” Caldwell said. “In normal life, the major events come up at different times. But in 2020, we were all hit with a major life event, so there was a big upsurge in diagnosis that happened after COVID as everyone was adjusting to very new circumstances.”

Pillars of Brain Health

Caldwell described the ADHD brain as working as an off-on light switch, whereas a neurotypical brain can adjust lighting with a dimmer switch. That is, for those with ADHD, the light switch is either on—hyperfocusing, usually with enjoyable tasks—or off for tasks that aren’t as pleasurable.

It takes far more energy, she said, for someone with ADHD to use their brain like a dimmer switch, though it can be done. That energy can come from the following foundational health pillars:

• Sleep
• Exercise
• Nutrition
• Medication
• Meditation
• Connection

“Those are six really hard things, and there’s a lot involved with them. You don’t have to do all of them,” she said.

However, on a day when you don’t get much sleep, you can try one of the others to boost your brain energy, typically exercise, according to Caldwell.

Movement as Fuel

Any exercise is great for boosting energy, though specific exercises may be more tolerable to different brain states, said Caldwell. Rowing, running, and walking are helpful for those who are inattentive. Meanwhile, sports like soccer or karate—during which you must respond to a constantly changing environment—are good for those struggling with hyperactivity and impulsivity.

The problem, Caldwell added, is that most people try to change how their brains work so they can function in the world rather than changing the world for how their brains work. That means if you need to move more, as many with ADHD do, consider using a standing or treadmill desk, take frequent breaks, and exercise before work to build up energy stores.

“A lot of people start out with more ability to regulate their tasks and attention, and as the day goes on, they have less capacity to do that,” she said. “Save things that aren’t as taxing for later in the day.”

Read the rest here…

Authored by Stacy Robinson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

BioWare, developer of the wildly popular Mass Effect and Dragon Age video game series, is at the center of a new battle.

Following the failed launch of two costly triple-A titles, the studio was banking on a win. Its latest offering is the fourth title in the Dragon Age series; the last was released 10 years ago.

Initial reactions to trailers for Dragon Age: The Veilguard were decidedly negative. Longtime fans of the series criticized the softer, stylized art of the new game, comparing it to a Disney-Pixar movie.

But after BioWare invited a group of streamers and critics to a private, hands-on demo of the game, hope was rekindled. Those who had experienced Veilguard firsthand were generally positive, and encouraged fans of the series to wait for the full release.

Days before its release, clips of Veilguard were leaked, revealing that the game was rife with transgender ideology and messaging based on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

One scene showed a character doing pushups as penance for forgetting to use “they/them” pronouns, and then lecturing about how a simple apology was not enough for the crime of “misgendering.”

Another scene, in a high fantasy setting with dragons and elves, showed a character revealing to her parents that she identified as nonbinary.

The game’s character customization system does not allow for the creation of curvy female characters but it does allow players to add mastectomy scars.

Laura Kate Dale, “queer representation critic and consultant” and author of “Gender Euphoria,” posted on social media platform X about having worked on the project.

Corinne Busche, Veilguard’s game director, is also transgender. Busche told co-workers that the goal for the Dragon Age team at BioWare is to use games to create a safe space for the LGBT community.

“It’s such a rare thing for marginalized communities to have representation where we feel proud and powerful in how we are depicted. It’s so deeply meaningful for so many,” Busche said in a developer interview on BioWare’s website.

While it is true that previous Dragon Age titles featured LGBT characters—and allowed players to romance same sex characters in-game—Veilguard’s approach seems to have struck a different chord this time.

Critics’ Reviews

While some fans were still scratching their heads at the leaked clips, early critic reviews for Veilguard were mostly positive.

The game received the thumbs-up from Eurogamer, Game Rant, and GamingBible—all of whom awarded it a perfect 100 out of 100. Even Finger Guns, which gave it a lower-end score of 60, called it “a solid, albeit, unspectacular RPG experience.”

IGN—notorious for giving scores of seven—gave Veilguard a nine out of 10. [ZH: lol]

That review was received differently when it was revealed the critic identifies as transgender; IGN released an alternate, less positive review shortly thereafter.

Some critics were more tepid in their response.

Games journalist Skillup gave the game a “cannot recommend” evaluation. He didn’t mention the progressive content and instead referred to the game’s “silly and childish” tone, and lack of narrative subtlety.

“This game cannot surface any ideas without just saying them aloud,” he said.

“Every interaction sounds like HR is in the room.”

He—and others—also criticized the “hollow and repetitive” gameplay loop. “Zero variety in mission design,” he noted. He said he eventually lowered the game’s difficulty settings, just so he could rush through it more quickly.

The disparity between professional critic reviews and those by consumers is stark: Metacritic shows the game’s audience score is 3.8 out of 10 for Playstation users; the score for PC users is 2.5.

Costly Business

Triple-A game development is a risky, expensive business. Games can cost hundreds of millions and take years to develop; one failure may drive a studio out of business.

Official sales numbers for Veilguard have not been released—a common practice unless a game does very well—but speculation abounds. It is unlikely the real numbers will be known before EA’s earnings call in February

One way of gauging sales is to look at the number of concurrent players on STEAM, the world’s largest digital PC video game marketplace. Veilguard reached a maximum of just over 89,000 players on Nov. 3.

By comparison, Farming Simulator 25 peaked at more than 135,000 concurrent players.

Veilguard is reported to have sold more than a million copies—not a great result for a triple-A title that may have cost between $80 million and $200 million to develop.

By contrast, Game Science’s recent release Black Myth: Wukong sold 18 million copies within its first two weeks.

And while Veilguard was given positive reviews by gaming media, Wukong’s development team was accused of sexism, fat-shaming, and homophobia just ahead of the release.

Read the rest here…

Authored by Richard Porter via RealClearPolitics,

Hollywood sequels rarely achieve the magic of the original, but “Gladiator II” comes close.  Except for the familiar populist framework of a lone man taking on “the system” against all odds, the echoes to the original are sufficiently distant that the new movie feels fresh and original. 

Plus, it turns out that Ridley Scott’s blockbuster is a timely, if unwitting, metaphor for Donald Trump’s own sequel, which is off to a better start than his original. This time he won the popular vote and his transition is smoother, most recently featuring Trump’s triumphant trip to Paris, Kash Patel’s appointment to lead the FBI, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s obeisant visit to Mar-a-Lago.  

This is what Trump’s “revenge” looks like. Compared to a Gladiator-inspired populist revolt, it’s both genteel and more satisfying: What red-blooded American viewer doesn’t enjoy seeing Trump arm-wrestling with Macron again and making a nanny-state bully like Trudeau heel, or seeing him appoint bold populists like Patel, Bobby Kennedy Jr., and Tulsi Gabbard to lead, and turn upside down, politicized government agencies that sought to do him in?

Ancient Rome has always been both an inspiration and a cautionary tale for America’s leaders. George Washington modeled on Cincinnatus by relinquishing his military power to enhance civilian government, and he frequently quoted the Roman senator Cato, who sacrificed his life in support of the Roman Republic. The Founders chose an eagle as our national symbol – the symbol of the Roman god Jupiter used to represent Roman power. Both John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams idolized the Roman orator Cicero. More ominously, Abraham Lincoln’s stage-actor assassin John Wilkes Booth played the role of Mark Antony in an 1864 New York City performance of “Julius Caesar,” with his brother Edwin playing Brutus. And as he leapt from the president’s box in Ford’s Theater, Booth shouted “Sic semper tyrannis,” the words attributed to Brutus as he killed Ceasar.

Over the course of our nation’s history, comparisons between the United States and ancient Rome have focused on the fall of the latter as a caution for the former. The comparisons range from financial mismanagement to far-flung and over-extended military commitments.

So, Roman lessons for the U.S. are nothing new. Ridley Scott, who produced and directed “Gladiator II,” drew parallels between his movie and contemporary American politics in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, but – this is fun! – he’s spectacularly wrong about both. 

Scott told the Hollywood Reporter that he modeled the heavy in Gladiator II – a creepy, Machiavellian opportunist whom Denzel Washington brings to life – on Donald Trump. “He evolved into a very rich merchant selling shit to the Roman armies – food, oil, wine, cloth, weapons, everything,” Scott said. “He maybe had a million men spread around Europe. So he was a billionaire at the time, so why wouldn’t he [have ambitions toward the throne]? ‘Why not me?’ He’s also a gangster – very close to Trump. A clever gangster. He creates chaos and from chaos he can evolve.”

Is anyone surprised that a Hollywood liberal misses the point about Trump in his own movie? Ridley Scott has it precisely backwards: The Trump parallel is not the scheming creature of the Roman political swamp, but the hero, a prince who would not bow to those who sought to crush and kill him. It’s Trump’s rivals, scheming, duplicitous power seekers seeking to whip up hate, who are whispering in the ear of a non-compos mentis leader.

And what ultimately drove the young prince to become the populist leader of Rome? As he approaches the inevitable climatic death match, the Gladiator himself reprises the core idea from the first film: “The dream that was Rome.” It’s a fragile dream of a Republic that will only be achieved by taking back power from corrupt, weak leaders and scheming politicians.

The gladiator’s speech about Rome applies to contemporary America. It’s about recapturing the American Dream and refreshing government of, by, and for the forgotten people – instead of the powerful – the very ideas that bring cheers to a Trump rally.

With that in mind, consider the words ascribed to Marcus Aurelius – words that the film’s hero and villain both quote: “The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury” or “The best revenge is not to be like your enemy.”

Trump’s many enemies, the folks whipping up fear that he will use government power to go after political enemies as the Democrats did to him, misunderstand MAGA “revenge,” as Trump made clear again during his long Sunday interview with Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press.” Government institutions that have been infused with politics and corrupted away from their purpose are not reformed by changing the politics, but by purging the politics. 

Trump’s revenge is to be different, to empower allies to reveal and reform corruption, and to reduce the power of government over the people instead of expanding it.

Nothing will crush his haters more than being a great president. “I’m really looking to make our country successful,” Trump told Kristen Welker. “I’m not looking to go back into the past. I’m looking to make our country successful. Retribution will be through success. If we can make our success â?? this country successful, that would be my greatest, that would be such a great achievement. Bring it back.”

Trump’s 2024 victory against all the forces arrayed against him is just the opening act of his sequel. Now the fun really begins. Someday, Hollywood will understand what most Americans already see: Donald Trump is a gladiator for the dream that is America.

Richard Porter is a lawyer in Chicago and a former policy advisor to President George H.W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle.

President-elect Trump on Friday said he and fellow Republicans would make a full effort to liberate Americans from daylight saving time and its twice-yearly clock adjustments — which take a human toll that ranges from annoyance to death.

“The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn’t! Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation,” wrote Trump in posts to his own TruthSocial platform as well as X. 

While his statement was welcome news to many people across the political spectrum, it prompted immediate confusion about what exactly he was proposing. There are two approaches to ending those aggravating clock adjustments on the second Sunday in March and first Sunday in November:

• Eliminating daylight saving time, which would mean year-round “standard time” 
• Making daylight saving time permanent 

Many people who detest the changing of the clocks casually call for “doing away with daylight saving time,” not appreciating that, taken literally, it would mean their summers would have earlier sunrises and sunsets. It’s not clear if Trump unintentionally fell into using that language, or if he really wants to see permanent standard time — which is already the state of affairs in Arizona and Hawaii.  

Correct vibes but I think we actually want PERMANENT daylight savings, right?

Or has the vampire lobby won https://t.co/VKqq8KVaCF

— Christian Keil (@pronounced_kyle) December 13, 2024

Like so many of the nation’s ills, daylight saving time sprang from the warfare state: It was first introduced during World War I with the goal of conserving fuel. Woodrow Wilson’s interventionist idiocy unjustly killed 115,516 American service members, and daylight saving time keeps on taking lives on the home front. Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder found that around 30 traffic-accident fatalities a year may result from the disruption in sleep rhythms, while another study found a 3% daily spike in total mortality in the week after the spring clock adjustment.   

Permanent daylight saving time is appealing to people who want to enjoy more daylight when they leave work. It also has the support of retailers, restaurants, recreation leagues and other organizations that do better with more light at day’s end. Criminals may oppose it: Research has found that dangerous crime increases 7% when daylight saving time ends each fall.  

That’s not to say permanent daylight saving time is a no-brainer. That option comes at the price of many more Americans in northern states waking up to darkness at 8am and even later during the winter months. “A lot of people prefer to have that daylight at the end of the day instead,” University of Pennsylvania clinical psychology professor Philip Gehrman told the New York Times. “But those mornings are going to get dark.” Those dark mornings are cited as a potential safety risk to children waiting at bus stops and walking to schools.  

I’ll work with anyone to make DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME permanent. It’s time to stop changing our clocks for no reason at all. pic.twitter.com/LZeHhMhCfI

— Senator Patty Murray (@PattyMurray) December 13, 2024

Meanwhile, many sleep experts say permanent standard time is the healthier option for the human body. “If you get too much light too late in the evening, it disrupts your sleep, and we are essentially creating a months-long environment in which we are actually receiving light at a time that is later in the day than is optimal for our health,” public health professor Dr. Adam Spira of Johns Hopkins told CNN.  

A 2021 AP-NORC poll found that only 25% of Americans want to keep flipping the clocks back and forth, while 43% said they wanted standard time all year, and 32% said daylight saving time should be  made permanent. It’s likely many respondents would change their stances — in both directions — if they had a deeper understanding of each option’s implications.

In November, Trump wing-men Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy — who are heading up his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — both hinted that they’d like to see an end to the clock changes. Trump’s son, Don Jr, immediately chimed in, saying, “Leave it daylight saving time always.” 

It’s inefficient & easy to change.

— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) November 27, 2024

In 2022, a bill to make daylight saving time permanent passed the Senate via unanimous consent, but hit a brick wall in the House. That “Sunshine Protection Act” was introduced by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who’s been nominated to serve as Trump’s Secretary of State.   

It’s a topic many people are passionate about, which is why it’s a shame Trump didn’t throw it into this year’s presidential election mix. In the wake of his announced opposition to the clock changes, social media lit up with people sharing their own views on the topic: 

Standard time is normal — daylight saving is artificial.

The end. pic.twitter.com/vmOEZwpSpp

— Calvin╭ರ_⊙ (@TisMoreorLess) December 13, 2024

Me in the middle of December 2025 after Trump ends Daylight Saving Time pic.twitter.com/af1YzJ640H

— Trumps Good Ear (@TrumpsGoodEar24) December 13, 2024

Standard Time is actually good and making Daylight Saving Time year round is a bad idea https://t.co/vt5viSpjoU pic.twitter.com/3AsmCeMiHs

— Ian Miller (@ianmSC) December 13, 2024

If Donald Trump maintains Daylight Savings Time year round, he will be the greatest president ever.

— Natalie Jean Beisner (@NJBeisner) December 14, 2024

Submitted by QTR’s Fringe Finance

I was happy to welcome my friend Peter Schiff back on to Fringe Finance this past week, where I was able to get his take on a couple of the items I wrote about on the blog last week – most importantly, whether or not he thinks markets will crash up (hyperinflation) or down (deflationary depression).

Schiff and I also talked about his perspectives on markets, government policies, and the future of Bitcoin and gold. I also asked Schiff about his miscalculations, primarily underestimating the length of time it would take for economic reckoning and on bitcoin.

Speaking from his residence in Puerto Rico, Schiff painted a dire picture of the U.S. economy, marked by excessive debt, misguided monetary policies, and misplaced optimism.

Schiff’s outlook on the markets remains grim. “The market is already very expensive,” he observed, highlighting that “the optimism factored in is misplaced.” He warned of an impending reckoning, exacerbated by years of deficit spending and inflationary policies: “We have a $36.2 trillion debt that’ll soon reach $40 trillion. This is unsustainable.”

“The market is already very expensive. It’s hard to see parabolic upside when optimism is misplaced. The markets are expecting good things to happen that aren’t going to happen.” – Peter Schiff

On whether markets are set to “crash up or crash down,” Schiff remarked, “Higher inflation is baked in, but that’s not good for the dollar. The markets are wrong to think it is.” His skepticism extends to the Federal Reserve, which he accused of sacrificing long-term economic health for short-term stability: “The Fed is a one-trick pony. Its solution to every problem is to inflate, mask the problem, and hope it goes away.”

🔥 50% OFF FOR LIFE: Using this coupon entitles you to 50% off an annual subscription to Fringe Finance for life: Get 50% off forever

Schiff remains an unwavering advocate for gold, dismissing Bitcoin as a speculative bubble. He criticized Bitcoin’s lack of utility, stating, “It’s not digital gold; it’s not digital anything.” Contrasting it with gold, Schiff argued, “Gold has intrinsic value and has been a store of wealth for millennia. Bitcoin has failed to be money for 15 years.”

Taking aim at Michael Saylor’s proposal for the U.S. government to sell its gold reserves to buy Bitcoin, Schiff called it “a horrible idea” and dismissed Saylor’s comments as “self-serving.” He continued, “Bitcoin is not a reserve asset; it’s a speculative tool that has concentrated risk.”

Schiff also lambasted the speculative frenzy surrounding Bitcoin ETFs and institutional purchases: “Bitcoin ETFs and MicroStrategy have cornered 8% of Bitcoin’s total supply. That’s a bubble waiting to burst.”

“Bitcoin ETFs and MicroStrategy have already cornered 8% of Bitcoin’s supply. That’s concentration risk in a speculative bubble,” Schiff said. “Michael Saylor’s proposal for the U.S. to sell its gold for Bitcoin is not just a bad idea—it’s delusional. It’s putting all your eggs in one highly speculative basket.”

Schiff highlighted the worsening state of the U.S. economy: “People are working harder for less real income, drowning in debt, and paying 25% interest on credit cards. This is the reality behind the so-called recovery.” He lambasted the bipartisan reluctance to address deficits: “Trump promised to cut deficits but signed every debt-busting bill put on his desk. Nothing will change under his leadership.”

We also discussed:

• Market outlook: Speculation on whether markets will experience an inflationary rise or deflationary crash
• Federal Reserve policies: Predictions about the Fed’s actions concerning inflation and interest rates
• Inflation expectations: Discussion about how inflation impacts the economy and the U.S. dollar
• Government deficits: Criticism of rising budget and trade deficits under various administrations.
• Trump’s economic policies: Evaluation of Trump’s promises versus the reality of government spending and deficits
• Impact of tax cuts: Debate over whether tax cuts would stimulate the economy or worsen the deficit
• Military and welfare spending: Criticism of increases in military and welfare spending despite calls for fiscal restraint.
• Gold and currency: The comparative value of gold versus the U.S. dollar and other assets.
• Bitcoin and cryptocurrency: Analysis of Bitcoin’s perceived value, speculative nature, and potential risks.
• Comparative risk of assets: Comparison between speculative investment in Bitcoin and traditional markets.
• Historical trends in gold ETFs: Analysis of gold’s stability and its market dynamics versus Bitcoin.
• Government intervention in Bitcoin: Concerns over potential government involvement in Bitcoin markets
• Critique of modern monetary theory (MMT): Dismissal of MMT as a sustainable economic approach
• Economic bubbles and malinvestment: Concerns over the allocation of capital into unproductive sectors
• Debt servicing crisis: Warnings about rising interest payments on national debt
• Future economic predictions: Forecasts of a potential dollar crisis or significant inflationary period

You can watch the entire hourlong interview here. 

QTR’s Disclaimer: Please read my full legal disclaimer on my About page here. This post represents my opinions only. In addition, please understand I am an idiot and often get things wrong and lose money. I may own or transact in any names mentioned in this piece at any time without warning. Contributor posts and aggregated posts have been hand selected by me, have not been fact checked and are the opinions of their authors. They are either submitted to QTR by their author, reprinted under a Creative Commons license with my best effort to uphold what the license asks, or with the permission of the author.

This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stocks or securities, just my opinions. I often lose money on positions I trade/invest in. I may add any name mentioned in this article and sell any name mentioned in this piece at any time, without further warning. None of this is a solicitation to buy or sell securities. I may or may not own names I write about and are watching. Sometimes I’m bullish without owning things, sometimes I’m bearish and do own things. Just assume my positions could be exactly the opposite of what you think they are just in case. If I’m long I could quickly be short and vice versa. I won’t update my positions. All positions can change immediately as soon as I publish this, with or without notice and at any point I can be long, short or neutral on any position. You are on your own. Do not make decisions based on my blog. I exist on the fringe. The publisher does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided in this page. These are not the opinions of any of my employers, partners, or associates. I did my best to be honest about my disclosures but can’t guarantee I am right; I write these posts after a couple beers sometimes. I edit after my posts are published because I’m impatient and lazy, so if you see a typo, check back in a half hour. Also, I just straight up get shit wrong a lot. I mention it twice because it’s that important.

ABC News and star anchor George Stephanopoulos have reached a settlement with Donald Trump for $15 million, after Stephanopoulos asserted that Trump was found “liable for rape” in a civil case while interviewing Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) last March.

After the network played a clip of Mace discussing being a victim of rape, Stephanopoulos asked: “How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw?”

“You’ve endorsed Donald Trump for president. Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape,” the host continued, referring to the case brought by Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll.

Here is the video 🚨

Trump sued George Stephanopoulos after this interview with Nancy Mace for defamation, and Stephanopoulos is now scheduled for a deposition next week

Raise your hand ✋️ if you hope Trump gets every dime he can outta Stephanopoulos pic.twitter.com/kGZnsHML6G

— @Chicago1Ray 🇺🇸 (@Chicago1Ray) December 13, 2024

During his contentious discussion with Mace, Stephanopoulos repeated the claim 10 times despite the fact that a jury only found Trump liable for “sexual abuse” – which under New York law is distinctly different from rape.

After the federal jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse, but not rape, Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote in a later ruling that just because Carroll failed to prove rape “within the meaning of the New York Penal Law does not mean that she failed to prove that Mr. Trump ‘raped’ her as many people commonly understand the word ‘rape.’”

…

The settlement was publicly filed on Saturday, revealing that the two parties have come to an agreement and avoided a costly trial. According to the settlement, ABC News will pay $15 million as a charitable contribution to a “Presidential foundation and museum to be established by or for Plaintiff, as Presidents of the United States of America have established in the past.” Additionally, the network will pay $1 million in Trump’s attorney fees. -Fox News

After Trump sued for defamation, Stephanopoulos was a pissy little midget – telling CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert that he wouldn’t be “cowed out of doing my job because of a threat,” Fox notes further.

“Trump sued me because I used the word ‘rape,’ even though a judge said that’s in fact what did happen. We filed a motion to dismiss.”

The settlement came after U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisette M. Reid recently ordered Trump and Stephanopoulos to attend an in-person deposition hearing next week ahead of the Dec. 24 deadline for the defendants to file a motion for summary judgment, in order to avoid a trial.

In his lawsuit against Stephanopoulos and ABC, Trump was represented by Florida attorneys Alejandro Brito and Richard Klugh, who also represent the president-elect in his legal case against CNN. The settlement with ABC was filed in the Southern District of Florida Federal Court where both parties signed and agreed to the terms. -Fox News

The settlement is the latest in a string of legal victories for Trump – ranging from the dismissal of his 2020 election fraud lawsuit, to his classifieds records case. Trump was also granted a request to file a motion to dismiss in his New York ‘Stormy Daniels’ case.

Trump is separately suing CBS News for $10 billion in damages over “deceptive conduct.”

Authored by Gwyn Morgan via The Epoch Times,

After decades on the outs with environmentalists and regulators, nuclear power is being heralded as a key component for a “net zero” future of clean, reliable energy. Its promise is likely to fall short, however, due to some hard realities.

As North America grapples with the challenge of providing secure, affordable, and sustainable energy amidst soaring electricity demand, it is time to accept this fact: Natural gas remains the most practical solution for powering our grid and economy.

Nuclear power’s limitations are rooted in its costs, risks, and delays. Even under ideal circumstances, building or restarting a nuclear facility is arduous. Consider Microsoft’s much-publicized plan to restart the long-dormant Unit 1 reactor at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania. This project is lauded as proof of an incipient “nuclear revival,” but despite leveraging existing infrastructure it will cost US$1.6 billion and take four years to bring online.

This is not a unique case. Across North America, nuclear energy projects face monumental lead times. The new generation of small modular reactors (SMRs), often touted as a game-changer, is still largely theoretical. In Canada—Alberta in particular—discussions around SMRs have been ongoing for years, with no concrete progress. The most optimistic projections estimate the first SMR in Western Canada might be operational by 2034.

The reality is that nuclear energy cannot scale quickly enough to meet urgent electricity needs. Canada’s power grid is already strained, and electricity demand is set to grow significantly, driven by electric vehicles and enormous data centres for AI applications. Nuclear power, even if expanded aggressively, cannot fill the gap within the necessary time frames.

Natural gas, by contrast, is abundant, flexible, low-risk—and highly affordable. It accounts for 40 percent of U.S. electricity generation and plays a critical role in Canada’s energy mix. Unlike nuclear, natural gas infrastructure can be built rapidly, ensuring that new capacity comes online when it’s needed—not decades later. Gas-fired plants are cost-effective and capable of providing consistent, large-scale power while being capable of rapid starts and shut-downs, making them suitable for meeting both base-load and “peaking” power demands.

Climate-related concerns surrounding natural gas need to be put in perspective. Natural gas is the lowest-emission fossil fuel and produces less than half the carbon dioxide of coal per unit of energy output. It is also highly adaptable, supporting renewable energy integration by compensating for the intermittency of wind and solar power.

Nuclear energy advocates frequently highlight its zero-emission credentials, yet they overlook its immense challenges, not just the front-end problems of high cost and long lead times, but ongoing waste disposal and future decommissioning.

Natural gas, by comparison, presents fewer risks. Its production and distribution systems are well-established, and North America is uniquely positioned to benefit from the vast reserves underlying all three countries on the continent. Despite low prices and ever-increasing regulatory obstacles, Canada’s natural gas production has been setting new records. Streamlining regulatory processes and expanding liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity would help revive Canada’s battered economy, with plenty of natural gas left over to help meet growing domestic electricity needs.

Critics argue that investing in natural gas is at odds with the “energy transition” to a glorious net zero future, but this oversimplifies the related challenges and ignores hard realities. By reducing reliance on dirtier fuels like coal, natural gas can help lower a country’s greenhouse gas emissions while providing the reliability needed to support economic growth and renewable energy integration.

Europe’s energy crisis following the recent reduction of Russian gas imports underscores natural gas’s vital role in maintaining reliable electricity supplies. As nations like Germany still phase out nuclear power due to the sheer blind ideology of their left-wing parties, they’re growing more dependent on natural gas to keep the lights (mostly) on and the factories (partially) humming.

Europe is already a destination for LNG exported from the U.S. Gulf Coast, and American LNG exports will soon resume growth under the incoming Trump administration. Canada has the resources and know-how to similarly scale up its LNG exports; all we need is a supportive federal government.

For all its theoretical benefits, nuclear power remains impractical for meeting immediate and medium-term energy demands. Its high costs, lengthy timelines, and significant remaining public opposition make it unlikely to serve as North America’s energy backbone.

Natural gas, on the other hand, is affordable, scalable, and reliable. It is the fuel that powers industries, keeps homes warm and provides the stability our electricity grid needs—whether or not we ever transition to “net zero.” By prioritizing investment in natural gas infrastructure and expanding its use, we can meet today’s energy challenges head-on while laying the groundwork for tomorrow’s innovations.

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The original, full-length version of this article was recently published in C2C Journal.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.

Israel has already conducted at least 300 major strikes on Syria since Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took over Damascus and much of the country, with President Assad having fled to Moscow, where’s he’s been given asylum.

Israeli warplanes have been able to launch attacks with impunity, having decimated airbases, missile storehouses, and even chemical weapons facilities. Israel has finally degraded and destroyed what was once among the most feared anti-air defense system and network in the region (which is why previously Israeli warplanes only launched attacks on Syria from over Lebanese airspace). 

Throughout this past week, HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani (who is now reverting to his birth name of Ahmad al-Sharaa) remained noticeably silent on the non-stop Israeli attacks which have kept all of Damascus awake at night and involved low flying Israeli warplanes.

But on Saturday Jolani is seeking to give Israel ‘assurances’ – also as IDF tanks and troops have crossed into Syria and have expanded occupation of more parts of the south. He said his new government has “no intention of confronting Israel.”

“We are not looking to engage in a conflict with Israel and cannot bear such a battle,” Jolani continued, and further pointed out he’s not looking for war with Iran either.

He signaled intent for “no hostilities with the Iranian people” but also called Assad’s ouster “a victory over the dangerous Iranian project in the region.”

He said Syrian state “should not be governed with a revolutionary mindset, and we need laws and institutions [to this end]” – as he pledges to bring stability and has said he won’t let his forces embark on revenge killings.

There have been reports of Sunni Islamist militants targeting Alawite villages in the Latakia or possibly central Syrian countryside, but thus far no evidence of attacks on ethno-religions minorities in Damascus or major cities have emerged.

The Druze community, which is an Islamic offshoot in the south and considered heretical by hardline Sunnis, is deeply fearful and some tribes near Golan are actually seeking Israeli production. The Druze leadership doesn’t trust the jihadists of HTS and are actually petitioning Israel to annex their villages:

In a video posted to X on Friday that features captions in English, a Hader resident claiming to be a representative of the Druze people, an esoteric ethnoreligious group, urged a large crowd to consider what their future will be like. The village is located within the buffer zone between Israel and Syria, which IDF troops entered last week.

“If we have to choose, we will choose the lesser evil,” he said. “And even if it’s considered evil to ask to be annexed to the [Israeli] Golan, it’s a much lesser evil than the evil coming our way,” the man added, apparently referring to the HTS, which was formerly known as the Al Nusra front – an offshoot of Al Qaeda in Syria.

BREAKING: The Druze leader of al-Suwayda in southwestern Syria issued a statement for his village.

“We will not agree to live under the rule of the rebels, who are identical to ISIS, we want to live under Israeli rule and become part of Israel.”
pic.twitter.com/x5y1IqSqrM

— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) December 13, 2024

The man warned, clearly in reference to the armed jihadist factions now all over Syria: “That evil might take our women, might take our daughters, they might take our houses.”

Israel has meanwhile signaled it plans to keep its military presence in southern Syria, and will maintain a forward operating base on the Syrian side of Mt. Hermon. 

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

President Trump won the election over a month ago. Yet ‘Joe Biden’ sent out a post on X Friday saying that he’s “praying” Trump will not implement “Project 2025”.

They just can’t stop with this nonsense.

I pray to God that the president-elect throws away Project 2025. I think it would be an economic disaster.

I believe the only way for a president to lead America is to lead all of America.

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) December 12, 2024

They don’t know what else to do with themselves.

I see the Gen Z staffer from your party’s brutal loss hasn’t been fired.

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 12, 2024

They’re STILL going with this 🤣 https://t.co/BbhUwDIm8H

— Brendon Leslie (@BrendonLeslie) December 12, 2024

They’re like Wall-E the garbage droid that keeps collecting garbage for eternity after humanity has left Earth for a different planet.

Need to make him into a garbage cube like wall-e pic.twitter.com/lDRC2W2TKs

— Keigofucker6969 (@RacoonsInPasta3) August 2, 2024

Speaking of garbage…

…those who are garbage and those who voted for Harris.

— Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) December 12, 2024

The post doesn’t even make sense.

Why would Trump have to throw it away? It’s not his. https://t.co/IRrdHU6nxL

— The🐰FOO (@PolitiBunny) December 12, 2024

He said 900 times he hasn’t read it – it’s NOT his. You’re trying to create linkage that doesn’t exist. Quit trying to divide. No one believes you. https://t.co/nRYcNRNgKz

— Dean Cain (@RealDeanCain) December 13, 2024

Why would anyone listen to the Biden Administration about what constitutes sound economic policy?

Forgive me for ignoring anything YOU call “economic disaster”
You give all our money to Ukraine!

— LibertyJ (@LibertyJen) December 13, 2024

Ebenezer Scrooge says what?

Speaking of economic disasters… https://t.co/wNKs9nCTYC pic.twitter.com/ZEPFUEdjss

— DuchessOfSalt👑💎 (@SaltyMom10) December 13, 2024

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