USA - A test of a new feature that asks users to report friends they suspect may be becoming an extremist has been greeted with horror from Facebook users. It’s a bizarre precedent that we should all be concerned about. Over the past few days, some Facebook users have reported seeing prompts asking them if they are concerned that someone they know might be becoming an extremist. Other users are being notified they may have been exposed to extremist content as they were naively reading political articles or watching videos on the platform. Ultimately, what this means is that if the policy is implemented, Facebook is quite literally going to encourage people to report their friends for committing thought crimes. Even worse, Facebook will punish its own users who may have potentially committed wrongthink.

USA - Tens of thousands of people who say they were sexually abused while scouts and filed suit against the Boy Scouts of America have reached an $850 million settlement, the largest in a child sexual abuse case in United States history. More than 84,000 people are part of the lawsuit against the 110-year-old organization, which has been plagued with claims of abuse from volunteers and leaders since the 1960s. The Boy Scouts of America filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year as it faced mounting legal costs to defend itself against claims of sexual abuse against boys. Boy Scouts leadership has insisted that scouting “is safer now than ever before” and 90 percent of the claims against the organization “occurred more than 30 years ago.”

USA - The Western US is preparing for blistering, dangerous heat next week as the heat wave continues that set record high temperatures and left at least 500 dead. Last month earned the title of the hottest June on record, with eight states recording new highs of well over 100 degrees. But the worst is yet to come, as the NWS has issued excessive heat warnings for next week to areas in California, Arizona, Utah, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho that will affect over 31million residents. Several cities in California could climb even higher, with Sacramento predicted to reach 114 degrees, Fresno an all-time high of 115 degrees, and Redding a shocking 117 degrees on Sunday. Other cities further from the coast will not be spared, with Las Vegas expected to peak at 117 degrees this weekend. Several states are voicing concerns of power outages, with one California power grid operator begging residents to conserve power in preparation for next week's unrelenting temperatures. Last week already saw temperatures in the Pacific Northwest reach heat levels previously known only to Death Valley.

USA - Large numbers of birds are dropping dead from a “mystery disease” throughout much of the eastern half of the country, and scientists still have absolutely no idea why this is happening. They have tested the dead birds for a whole host of known illnesses, but those tests have not revealed the cause of this plague. We are being told that a lot of the affected birds appear to develop neurological problems, and many of them go completely blind before they finally die. The “mystery disease” has spread to more states since I first wrote about this plague, and at this point the list of affected areas includes Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana. If authorities are unable to find a solution, will this plague eventually spread across the entire nation? I don’t know why the mainstream media is not giving this story more coverage, because this is quickly turning into a major crisis.

USA - The US says there is an 'increased potential' for nuclear conflict with the country's main enemies because they are stockpiling nuclear weapons. Russia and China have been modernizing and expanding their respective arsenals over the last decade, according to a recently disclosed 2020 report from the Pentagon on nuclear operations. And North Korea has accelerated testing of missiles capable of reaching America's homeland, and Iran has the technology to create a nuclear weapon within a year of deciding to do so. It says the US has tried to negotiate reductions in nuclear weapons capabilities since since 2010, but 'no potential adversary has reduced either the role of nuclear weapons in its national security strategy or the number of nuclear weapons it fields. Rather, they have moved decidedly in the opposite direction,' according to the report, which was released on Tuesday and specifically mentions Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.

CHINA - Chinese leader Xi Jinping could soon be toppled and the Chinese Communist Party could "collapse," according to a senior China analyst Paul Monk. Speaking to Sky News Australia, Mr Monk revealed that China's economy is "more fragile than it lets on" in spite of the facade the regime projects about itself. The issue of Taiwan is also a major source of tension between China and the US. However, Cai Xia, a leading Chinese dissident and scholar, recently said the Communist regime is much weaker than it looks. She said: “I recommend that the US be fully prepared for the possible sudden disintegration of the CCP. Xi Jinping’s overly suspicious and narrow-minded personality has led to continuous purges inside the party, which have brought extreme dissatisfaction among the middle and high-level officials. Everyone feels unsafe."

USA - The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus has released, and then deplatformed, a new video with a threat to many American parents:

"You think we're sinful, you fight against our right, you say we all lead lives you can’t respect. But you’re just frightened, you think that we’ll corrupt your kids if our agenda goes unchecked. Fine, just this once, you’re correct," the lyrics go.

"We’ll convert your children, happens bit by bit, quietly and subtlety and you will barely notice it, you can keep them from disco, warn about San Francisco, make them wear pleated pants, we don’t care."

"We're coming for them, we’re coming for your children! We’re coming for them, we’re coming for them, WE'RE COMING FOR YOUR CHILDREN!!!"

USA - Storm Elsa has been tearing through New York City, with heavy rains flooding subways and submerging cars. Even before Storm Elsa hit New York, heavy rains pummelled parts of the city on Thursday, July 8. The heavy downpour left parts of the city’s major roads and subway stations submerged on Thursday evening. While Tropical Storm Elsa brought with it heavy rain, it even triggered tornadoes in North Carolina and Georgia. Commuters had to wade through waist-deep waters in parts of the city such as in Upper Manhattan.

USA - In August, a shortage probably will be declared for Lake Mead, which will trigger substantial cuts in water deliveries to Arizona, Nevada and Mexico next year to slow further losses. California's vast reservoir network, the State Water Project, is delivering only 5% of requested supplies to its 40,000 water rights holders, which is sending reverberations throughout the state. In June, the City of San Jose became the largest urban area to impose water restrictions so far this year, with Santa Clara County declaring a water shortage emergency. The drastically reduced deliveries from the state have also directly affected farmers, and by extension, smaller communities that rely on well water.

USA - American society is in a state of crisis. Violent crime is on the rise. Drug overdoses and suicides continue to be silent killers. The population seems more divided than ever, and millions of citizens are racked with fear and anxiety. Each of these outcomes is driven by multiple factors, but one that is undeniably tied to all of them is the failure of men to protect, provide, and lead. Put simply, America is in trouble because American men are in trouble. It's not just low testosterone or men in dresses that are the issue. The problems most prominently on display are a loss of virtue, honor, dignity, courage, and responsibility. To quote C S Lewis, we are producing men without chests. When men are weak, women and children suffer. We have reached such a critical moment in our history, and America’s future hangs in the balance.

USA - This week, during CNBC’s ‘Buffett & Munger: A Wealth of Wisdom’ show, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway predicted that “there will be another pandemic.” “We know that there is a nuclear, chemical, biological and now cyber threat. Each of them has dire possibilities,” Buffett said. “It doesn’t seem like it’s something that society is fully prepared to deal with,” he added. The businessman, who ranks ninth in the Forbes billionaire ranking, revealed that the main lesson that the coronavirus has taught him is that the world is not prepared to deal with emergency situations.

USA - The Satanic Temple is weaponizing the first amendment and putting up disgusting signs across the nation. These billboards advertise Satanists’ religious exemptions in abortion and compare cake batter to the miracle of human conception [they infer that cake batter is not a cake and that a fertilised egg is not a baby].

USA - The rulers are not content with the amount of power they wield over the public just yet and are showing that the continued eroding of any illusion of freedom will continue. The psychopaths that many Americans believe have power now want a government-run credit reporting system to further control the slave class. House lawmakers on Tuesday called for sweeping reforms to the credit reporting industry with some politicians going so far as proposing a nationally run system, saying the three major bureaus are failing Americans. We are now one step closer to a Chinese-style social credit system. We had better become aware of what’s being done to us before it's too late. This is just another step toward their permanent enslavement goal in which you will be given a digital wallet controlled by the master and if you act up as their slave, they will cut you off.

JORDAN - The US has closed sprawling bases in Qatar that once served as a forward staging area in the Middle East, and has transferred the remaining weaponry and supplies to Jordan, in a move that analysts say positions Washington to deal better with Iran. Moving US troops to Jordan decreases the threat of rocket attacks against US troops in the Gulf region from Iranian-backed militias. "You want to be able to deny the Iranians that leverage, in a negotiation," said Kamran Bokhari, a national security expert at the Center for Global Policy. "If they're signaling that they have your bases in missile range, that decreases your leverage behind the scenes." The US will continue to use Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, a basing hub for US Central Command (CENTCOM).

USA - Farmers struggling in the California drought are shaking almonds off their trees to save the trees themselves, according to Victor Davis Hanson, a farmer and conservative commentator. Hanson ...said that the lack of rainfall and the absence of new water infrastructure projects in the state was forcing farmers to sacrifice the crop to save the trees, which require significant investments of money and time. “Even driving along the west side [of the Central Valley],” Hanson noted, “you’re starting to see things I never saw before. There are orchards out there where they’ve shaken the almonds off, to keep the tree alive but not to have enough water for the crop this year.” Despite the Biden administration’s recent push for infrastructure spending, little attention has been paid to the development of water infrastructure, such as reservoirs or desalinization plants, which could help alleviate California’s drought. Current infrastructure was developed half a century ago for a state population that is half of today’s size.