Supermarkets are stocking up on everything from sugar to frozen meat before they get more pricey, girding for what some executives anticipate will be some of the highest price increases in recent memory.

Some supermarkets said they are buying and storing supplies to keep their shelves full amid stronger demand. Grocery sales in the U.S. for the week ended June 19 rose about 15% from two years earlier and increased 0.5% from a year earlier, according to Jefferies and NielsenIQ data.

Stockpiling by food retailers is driving shortages of some staples, grocery industry executives said, and is challenging a U.S. food supply chain already squeezed by transportation costs, labor pressure and ingredient constraints.  — Wall Street Journal

Voters overwhelmingly believe “fake news” is a problem, and a majority agree with former President Donald Trump that the media have become “the enemy of the people.”

A new national telephone and online survey by Rasmussen Reports finds that 58% of Likely U.S. Voters at least somewhat agree that the media are “truly the enemy of the people,” including 34% who Strongly Agree. Thirty-six percent (36%) don’t agree, including 23% who Strongly Disagree. Source: Rasmussen Reports

When Chicago Public Schools resume classes in the fall, students as young as 10-years-old – grades fifth and up — will have access to free condoms.

The CPS Board of Education passed the new policy back in December. Per the new policy, schools that teach grades five and up will be required to maintain a “condom availability program.” 

CPS said the condoms will be provided at no cost by the Chicago Department of Public Health “in an ongoing effort to mitigate the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection, and unintended pregnancy” among students.  Source: Fox News

A new report reveals LGBTQ producers are actively working behind the scenes in children’s programming to push LGBTQ characters and storylines in animated cartoons to target young eyes and minds with their agenda.

The Insider reports transgender and nonbinary characters are increasingly being represented within animated kids’ shows. At present, the website found 259 LGBTQ characters in children’s animation, or 5% when compared to cisgender characters who make up 49%.

One example of the recent rise in LGBTQ characters within animated programs is the series Double Trouble, which includes several new characters who are identified as nonbinary, trans, and other gender minorities.  Source: CBN News

 

A clock in Iran that counts down to the destruction of the State of Israel has reportedly ceased working after power cuts sweep through the nation.

According to former Al-Monitor journalist Asaad Hanna, the “countdown to Israel’s annihilation clock” stopped displaying following a power outage. Source: Times of Israel

Iranian regime’s countdown to Israel’s annihilation clock has stopped working because of the power outages that have swept across Iran. pic.twitter.com/plWyIytqnl

— Asaad Hanna (@AsaadHannaa) July 5, 2021

Facebook users on Thursday began noticing a new pop-up warning that asks some whether they know anybody who could be “becoming an extremist.”

“Are you concerned that someone you know is becoming an extremist?” the warning asks. “We care about preventing extremism on Facebook. Others in your situation have received confidential support.”

The warning includes a clickable option to “get support” but does not provide a definition of an extremist or extremist behavior. — Source: Just the News

Wrapped up in that potential is the ability to bring extinct species back from the dead. As CRISPR allows scientists to splice individual genes that program for specific characteristics into the genome of living species, it could be used to create new, hybrid animals that exhibit at least some of the physical and behavioral traits of their extinct brethren.

One such species that has been brought into the CRISPR spotlight in recent years is the woolly mammoth. The Woolly Mammoth Project is one of several ambitious plans under the direction of Revive & Restore, a California-based non-profit organization co-founded by the long-time environmentalist Stewart Brand, with the goal of enriching biodiversity by genetically rescuing endangered and extinct species. How exactly might scientists achieve it in the case of the mammoth?

“First, you need to sequence a prehistoric mammoth,” explained journalist Ben Mezrich in a 2017 interview with National Geographic.  Source: Interesting Engineering

Planning a cookout this year? Ketchup on the news. According to the Farm Bureau, the cost of a 4th of July BBQ is down from last year. It’s a fact you must-hear(d). Hot dog, the Biden economic plan is working. And that’s something we can all relish. pic.twitter.com/7h9qLauIbC

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 1, 2021

Selecting your Gender Marker

You can now select the gender you would like printed on your U.S. passport, even if the gender you select does not match the gender on your supporting documentation such as a birth certificate, previous passport, or state ID. We no longer require medical certification to change the gender marker on your U.S. passport.

To request a new passport with a different gender than the one you have on your current passport, or if you are applying for your first passport, submit a new application and select your preferred gender marker. Follow the steps on this page to learn which form to submit. You can select “M” or “F” which are the gender markers currently available. We are working to add a gender marker for non-binary, intersex, and gender non-conforming persons as soon as possible.  Source: U.S. State Department