South Carolina State Flower: Yellow Jasmine

State Flowers 1 Minute

Yellow jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) became our official state flower in March 14,1924. Because it is native to our state, it is also called Carolina jessamine. Other names include trumpet vine, evening trumpet flower, and both yellow jasmine and Carolina Jasmine. (Jessamine and jasmine are two variations of the same word, and both are acceptable and accurate names for this plant. Here we refer to it as jessamine since that is how it is spelled in Joint Resolution No. 534, which established the flower as an emblem of South Carolina nearly a century ago.)

Jessamine is an evergreen vine that climbs trees, fences, and latticework all over our state. It blooms in very late winter or early spring, offering the first hope of warm weather to come! This flower loves sun and can grow quite fast given plenty of space and moist, well-drained soil.

When the US Mint decided to release quarters for each of the states, it was decided that Yellow Jessamine would appear on South Carolina’s quarter, along with the palmetto tree and the Carolina Wren (our state bird).

Important* – Although jessamine’s delicate, funnel-shaped blossoms are beautiful and fragrant, these flowers are poisonous! Touching them can produce an allergic reaction, and eating them can be fatal. Be careful not to mistake them with flowers such as honeysuckle, which contain a sweet and unharmful nectar.

SOURCE: SCIWAY.NET

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Published by pat frederick

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93 thoughts on “South Carolina State Flower: Yellow Jasmine”

  1. Morning All!
    it’s a chill 46* this morning!! but the skies have cleared for the most part.
    the hummers are not waiting on the railing for the feeders…wonder how many started the migration already?

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Good morning! When they start, they pretty much all go at the same time. 60 again here this morning. From now on, the temp shouldn’t go much above 80. These flowers look a lot like the Trumpet vine flowers, except for the color and they’re not quite as big. Pretty tho!

      It won’t be long now before the only pills I’ll be taking will be vitamins and the diuretic – I’ve only got another 21 days left of that. I could probably just stop but no sense in letting them go to waste. Altho I’ve got another whole bottle of the pills from the gastro doctor, Dr. Lutz told me yesterday I can stop taking them. I’ll finish the bottle I’ve got opened but I’m tossing the other bottle. He went waaaay overboard on that script, prescribing 3 bottles of 90 pills, w/3 refills left! Insane! I think specialty doctors have huge egos!

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Morning Filly!
        we were trying to see (the hummers) we still had one or two males when we were watching, the rest were females. in the spring the males return first.
        i wouldn’t toss those pills just yet. maybe put them in a closet somewhere just in case and when they near their expiration date toss them?

        Liked by 1 person

  6. TheseTruths

    TheseTruths(@thesetruths)

    Offline

    Wolf

    August 27, 2025 02:06

    Tom Fitton:

    BREAKING: NYTIMES today reports Gates Foundation pulling back hundreds of millions from notorious Arabella Advisers. The story discloses what the Left media has hidden for many years: that Arabella essentially runs nearly 200 non-profits as a fiscal sponsor. This is a scheme to hide from Americans that leftist “grassroots” groups are anything but — they are part of political hydras centrally run by entities such as Arabella.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. If Islam modified their religion to comply with our Constitutional requirements and accepted that ALL religions are subject to the Constitution first and foremost, some of these practices would be acceptable. But they refuse to do that – as long as that remains the case, Islam should be banned in the US, pure and simple.

        Liked by 1 person

  10. Just The News: “The Trump administration is planning to take over Washington, D.C.’s Union Station, the Transportation Department said on Wednesday.

    Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed in a statement that DOT was renegotiating a cooperative agreement with Union Station Redevelopment Corporation, which controls the station, and Amtrak, Reuters reported. The formal action confirming the department’s renewed control of Union Station is expected in September, he added.

    The Trump administration’s plan to take control of Union Station comes after the president deployed National Guardsmen to the capital and took over the Metropolitan Police Department earlier this month to crack down on crime.

    Last week, Vice President JD Vance visited soldiers guarding the station.

    DOT in April said it would withdraw the Metropolitan Transportation Authority from leading the Penn Station Reconstruction project in New York City. Instead, Amtrak, backed by the department, will oversee the project in Manhattan.

    The White House reportedly forced Amtrak’s CEO to resign. The railroad company has since been run by its president, Roger Harris. On Wednesday, Amtrak is to unveil new high-speed Acela trains for the Boston to D.C. route, the busiest rail corridor in the U.S.”

    Liked by 1 person

  11. “FBI Rehires Jan. 6 Whistleblower Stephen Friend, Awards Backpay — Other FBI whistleblowers also reach settlements”

    Sharyl Attkisson, Aug 27, 2025

    EXCERPT: “After much controversy and ado, former FBI special agent Stephen Friend has been reinstated to the FBI, with backpay. That development is as a result of extensive negotiations involving the whistleblower watchdog group Empower Oversight, Sen. Chuck Grassley’s (R-Iowa) office, and other advocates for Friend.

    In 2022, Friend made headlines after he refused to take part in a planned FBI SWAT raid in Florida on a nonviolent January 6 suspect. He stated that the surprise, armed raids being conducted on people who had at most committed misdemeanor trespassing were dangerous, unwarranted, and politically motivated. He subsequently lost his job.

    Since President Trump was elected to a second term, whistleblower advocates have been working to help him and other FBI agents claiming retaliation to get back their jobs or reach suitable settlements. However, the effort was said to have been met with continued resistance from FBI Director Kash Patel, among others.

    The turn of events for Friend was announced along with a host of other whistleblower settlements. Some, like Friend, fought what they saw as FBI overreach involving the January 6 investigations. Three are being reinstated to duty while others who are still employed are being allowed voluntary retirement.

    “My family and I are relieved to close the book on an incredibly difficult three years. I want to publicly acknowledge and express my eternal gratitude to my attorneys from Empower Oversight and Senator Chuck Grassley for their resolute support throughout the entire process.

    While this reinstatement is a vindication about the retaliation I experienced, the victory will ring hollow if the FBI engages in similar retribution against future whistleblowers. I pray we see the necessary changes to ensure justice for anyone willing to come forward with reasonable concerns about the agency.

    Most importantly, I have to express my eternal gratitude to my family. I could not have endured this ordeal without their love and support.

    ‘You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.’ -Genesis 50:20”

    Stephen Friend, FBI Special Agent

    I profiled Friend’s case in 2022 on an episode of my TV news program “Full Measure.” You can read the transcript and watch the video below.

    Friend also took part in my investigation of the undisclosed use of confidential informants and undercovers in the crowd during the swarming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. You can also read that transcript and watch the videos below. Read on for details.….”

    https://sharylattkisson.substack.com/p/fbi-rehires-jan-6-whistleblower-stephen

    Liked by 2 people

  13. “Arrow Stork: How Real Science is Done”

    Jimychanga, Aug 27, 2025

    🕊️ The Pfeilstörche That Solved a Mystery

    “In the summer of 1822, a wealthy German hunter aimed his rifle skyward and brought down a stork. Nothing unusual—until he noticed something bizarre lodged in the bird’s body: a long, foreign spear. This wasn’t just any stork. It was a Pfeilstorch—literally, an “arrow-stork.” And it would become the accidental key to solving one of the oldest mysteries in natural science: Where do birds go in winter?

    For centuries, the disappearance of migratory birds had puzzled humanity. Storks, swallows, geese—they filled the skies in summer, then vanished without a trace. Theories ranged from poetic to absurd. Aristotle believed birds hibernated or transformed into other species. In the 1600s, respected British physician Charles Morton proposed that birds flew to the moon to winter. Yes, the moon.

    The Pfeilstorch changed everything.

    When scientists examined the fallen stork, they discovered the spear was of African origin. Somehow, this bird had survived a 1,200-mile impalement and flown from Africa to Germany. It was the first hard evidence that birds migrate across continents—not into caves, not into trees, and certainly not into lunar orbit.

    Inspired by this revelation, German ornithologist Johannes Thienemann launched one of the earliest bird-tracking experiments. Around 1906, he fitted thousands of storks with aluminum leg bands and asked anyone who found them to report the location. The results were staggering: letters poured in from across Africa, confirming migratory routes and finally solving the mystery.

    As of 2003, 25 Pfeilstörche have been documented in Germany—each one a feathered testament to resilience and the power of accidental discovery.

    What blows my mind is this: the entire breakthrough hinged on a single bird that refused to die. It flew across continents with a spear through its body, carrying the truth in silence. That kind of grit makes you wonder—maybe the moon theory wasn’t so crazy after all. These birds don’t just migrate. They endure.

    Unlike the groupthink that gripped global institutions during the COVID era—where slogans like “follow the science” often served as rhetorical shields against scrutiny—the Pfeilstorch stands as a quiet monument to genuine scientific curiosity. No mandates, no lobbying, no censorship. Just a bird, a spear, and a question.

    While public discourse around masking, distancing, and experimental injections was often short-circuited by political pressure and media conformity, the arrow-stork’s journey reminds us what science looks like when it follows the evidence, not the narrative. It didn’t need a consensus. It needed observation, persistence, and the humility to admit we didn’t know. That’s the kind of science worth trusting.

    Liked by 1 person

  14. “Civil War Is Coming To Britain — Britain’s political leaders have lost all legitimacy, and the British people have the right to revolt against them in self-defense.”

    By: John Daniel Davidson, August 27, 2025

    Scottish girl

    EXCERPT: “By now you might have seen a video clip circulating on social media of a defiant and terrified young Scottish girl wielding a knife and a hatchet to fend off the advances of a migrant man who allegedly had been harassing her and her younger sister. You can hear the fear and anger in their voices, a mix of desperation and rage and confusion. You can also hear the man’s voice, taunting them. At one point one of the girls cries out, “Don’t touch my little sister, she’s only twelve!”

    You might also have heard how the story ended: the police arrested the girl for possession of a bladed weapon. They didn’t detain or even investigate the migrant man.

    The entire sordid history of Britain’s civic collapse — stretching back decades to the Rotherham rape gangs scandal and forward to today — is in some ways contained in the striking image of this wisp of a girl with knife and hatchet in hand, facing down a predatory migrant. She is clearly desperate, abandoned by the adults who were supposed to protect her, sold out by the political leaders who were supposed to maintain the cohesion and safety of her city, reduced at last to brandishing crude weapons to defend herself from foreign men brought to her native land against her will.

    It’s a scene that encapsulates the total loss of legitimacy of the British government and a portent of what comes next: civil war.

    This isn’t hyperbole. Britain right now shows all the signs of descending into sustained civil conflict and eventually open civil war. The ruling elites have broken the social compact by importing mass numbers of foreigners who are hostile to the native population. The government has repeatedly and consistently signaled to the ethnic white majority that there is indeed a two-tiered system of justice — and that they are on the lower tier. Political leaders and public officials have criminalized dissent from their agenda and sent police to harass and arrest people in their homes for criticizing the government.

    Worst and most stomach-turning of all, the British ruling class has failed to adequately acknowledge or take appropriate action in response to the Pakistani rape gangs scandal — a scandal which is ongoing, a festering wound in the British body politic. Just this week, Rupert Lowe, a member of Parliament and the chair of the Rape Gang Inquiry, released a statement saying the inquiry had identified 85 local authorities “in which the gang-based sexual exploitation of children is taking place, or has historically done so.” The inquiry, says Lowe, has identified “patterns of targeted exploitation by predominantly Pakistani males, combined with gross negligence from public bodies.”

    Most telling, however, was the map that Lowe released with his statement, showing exactly where these rape gangs are. It should come as no surprise that they are mostly in working class, economically downscale regions of Britain, where de-industrialization has gutted entire communities, created high unemployment, high rates of child poverty, and left young British girls vulnerable to predation by Pakistani rape gangs…..”

    https://thefederalist.com/2025/08/27/civil-war-is-coming-to-britain/

    Liked by 2 people

  15. “Restoring Arlington Cemetery’s Reconciliation Monument Is Pivotal For American Greatness — The restoration of a monument in Arlington Cemetery may serve as the spiritual portal that brings America back to its origin in greatness.”

    By: Scott S. Powell, August 27, 2025

    Reconciliation Monument

    EXCERPT: “The attack on normalcy, traditions, and history in America intensified in 2020 with Covid-19 lockdowns and the riots catalyzed by the death of George Floyd. When destruction then turned under the Congressional Naming Commission to the icons associated with the Confederacy of the Civil War period, the Reconciliation Monument in Arlington Cemetery came into the crosshairs. 

    It was removed from Arlington on Dec. 16, 2023, despite longstanding traditions and laws against desecrating gravesites. The Reconciliation Monument was the last work of the sculptor Moses Ezekiel, and he chose the monument’s location as his burial ground, making the monument his headstone. 

    Now with the Trump administration’s priority to revive Americans’ appreciation of their heritage, this somewhat obscure monument is in the spotlight. And for good reason, because the Reconciliation Monument can serve as the catalyst and spiritual portal that bring America back to its origin in greatness as the nation of “e pluribus unum” — meaning one out of many.

    In a recent post on X, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reiterated that the reinstatement of the 1914 Reconciliation Monument, which celebrates the bringing together of the South and the North after decades of post-Civil War division, was important because it fosters the unity of America, and its removal by “woke lemmings” in 2023 was inconsistent with honesty and openness about the past.

    The secretary added: “Unlike the Left, we don’t believe in erasing American history — we honor it.” The Reconciliation Monument is projected to be restored to Arlington in 2027.

    Most Americans may not realize the full cultural and spiritual significance of restoring this monument to its rightful place in Arlington Cemetery. In this time of intense spiritual warfare against traditional values and constitutional America, we certainly need to preserve and restore historical monuments.

    But we also need to go on the offense and uphold the American values that inspired these great markers of history. And the Reconciliation Monument compels such action better than any other monument in Arlington and beyond.

    History and Meaning of the Monument

    The Reconciliation Monument, called by some the Confederate Monument, displays four cinerary urns (one for each year of the Civil War), a frieze of 14 shields representing the 11 Confederate states and the border states of Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri, and 32 life-sized action figures. Most prominent is a Romanesque woman in a flowing gown with a plow and a pruning hook.

    Lower on the base is inscribed Isaiah 2:4: “They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks.” Also prominent are two black figures: an enslaved man following his white owner to war and an enslaved woman depicted as a “mammy” holding a white officer’s child. While critics can say that such portrayal romanticizes slavery, these figures are shown as enslaved individuals in subservient roles, reflecting an historically accurate view of slavery in America at that time.

    More than any other monument in Arlington Cemetery, the Reconciliation Monument captures the essence of what makes America great: the willingness to see our faults, forgiving our transgressors, the quest for unity, and the celebration of beauty and freedom.

    Also noteworthy is that while some have called it the Christmas Monument because of the Christian values it represents, the Reconciliation Monument was conceived, designed, and executed by the distinguished Jewish sculptor Ezekiel, who had served in the Civil War. In the foremost rank of American sculptors, Ezekiel made the ideals of the spiritual and godly, the Greek sense of beauty, and the American outlook of freedom uniquely visible through his sculptural works…..”

    https://thefederalist.com/2025/08/27/restoring-arlington-cemeterys-reconciliation-monument-is-pivotal-for-american-greatness/

    Liked by 1 person

  16. “Left-Wing Media Spreads Falsehoods About Trump’s New Election Integrity Watchdog — Anyone who tries to undermine this work, through hit pieces, social media posts, or lawsuits, is working against secure elections.”

    The Federalist, By: Beth Brelje, August 26, 2025

    ENTIRE ARTICLE: “Election systems expert Heather Honey has been sworn in at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a deputy assistant secretary, leading elections integrity for the Trump Administration, and the left is losing its mind.

    Honey, a long-time open-source investigator, has spent years analyzing every aspect of how elections are administered, looking for vulnerabilities that leave election systems open to exploitation. Her investigations have led to lawsuits aimed at changing or clarifying election laws in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, Maine, and Tennessee, where she helped rewrite election legislation.

    Honey was the lead investigator on President Trump’s criminal defense team supporting his Jan. 6 trial preparation.

    Democrat operative Marc Elias, possibly the king of election lawfare, is so threatened by Honey’s new position that he has launched into hyperdrive attacking her on his far-left page, Democracy Docket, where one of his writers, Matt Cohen, has published an inaccurate hit piece smearing Honey.

    The piece claims Honey “played a key role in the right-wing effort, much of it driven by conspiracy theories, to pressure states to withdraw from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) — a nonpartisan organization that helps to coordinate accurate voter registration data between states across the country.” Wow. So many errors in just one sentence.

    ERIC is a hard left organization that is wildly ineffective at cleaning the voter rolls, (which should be done by state or local election administrators anyway) and that assessment is based on real data, not conspiracy theories.

    Cohen also originally claimed Honey used a “right-wing app” called “IV3” to clean voter rolls, and he connected the app to the Election Integrity Network. But IV3 is a True the Vote product and neither Honey nor the Election Integrity Network is affiliated with that group or app, confirmed Cleta Mitchell, an attorney and the founder of the Election Integrity Network. A day after the hit piece was published, at Mitchell’s request, Democracy Docket added a correction for this portion of the still error-riddled piece.

    Elias went to social media this week to cast a shadow on Honey’s reputation, calling her an “election conspiracy theorist.” And the word in election circles is that a few more hit pieces are planned from other leftist groups who don’t want anyone to tinker with the election rules that have been quietly established by leftist bureaucrats in Washington over the years. For example, seemingly small decisions about what information belongs on the Federal Post Card Application could have profound effects on elections.

    Elias is an attorney who has made a career of attacking Republicans in court. His online bio boasts of winning more than 60 lawsuits against GOP election integrity efforts. Few people understand the nuances of election systems as well as Elias. But Honey does. She will be able to spot and articulate election policies that should be changed to make the elections more secure.  

    Before taking the DHS position, Honey has been working as the Executive Director of the Election Research Institute, where she filed the first lawsuit challenging former President Joe Biden’s executive order that required federal agencies to engage in voter registration drives that favored Democrat voters and was funded by taxpayers.  

    Honey co-founded Verity Vote, an election research firm; and was a co-founder of the PA Fair Elections Coalition, which has helped educate voters and election administrators on how elections work so they better understand the process. And PA Fair Elections led a 2024 effort to get voters interested in filling Pennsylvania’s many empty elected election official positions. Upon discovering that poll watchers don’t necessarily all understand election rules, PA Fair Elections wrote a detailed booklet called the Elections Officials Handbook. It covers most aspects of voting, such as registration; reconciliation and certification of election results; pre-canvassing absentee and mail-in ballot, provisional voting and more.

    PA Fair Elections is a state partner of the Election Integrity Network.

    Another of the many errors in Cohen’s Democracy Docket piece claims, “Honey has been involved in efforts to cast doubt on the 2020 election results. She has a long history of starting and promoting election conspiracies throughout Pennsylvania.”

    But Honey’s practice is not to call an election rigged or allege that fraud was committed. Instead, she looks for anomalies and election system weaknesses that could have many explanations, such as an innocent mistake by an election clerk or full-on cheating. Searching for these vulnerabilities and seeking ways to prevent them in the future is an important step in election integrity. Anyone who tries to undermine this sort of work, through hit pieces, social media posts, or lawsuits, is working against secure elections.”

    Liked by 1 person

  17. Just The News: “House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., is planning on reintroducing legislation to reform U.S. election laws, including banning states from counting ballots that arrive after polls close on Election Day.

    “We’ll be reintroducing legislation in the weeks ahead, putting forward that gold standard for states about how you should be operating and running your elections, and putting in enforcement mechanisms for states that fail to meet a high standard,” Steil told the “Just the News, No Noise” TV show on Monday. “The obvious standard that I think should be the most obvious is that ballots need to be in by the time the polls close.”

    Steil said that the sole exception to this rule would be ballots from veterans who are serving active duty overseas.

    “Separate of that, everybody should be able to have their ballot in by the time the polls are closed,” he said. “It’s no different than when you were in high school when a paper was due.”

    Earlier this month, President Donald Trump announced via TRUTH Social that he would lead a movement to get rid of mail-in-ballots and voting machines due to the potential they create for fraud and corruption.

    In March, Trump signed an executive order titled, “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections.” An aspect of the executive order is that absentee or mail-in ballots cannot be counted after Election Day.

    “States like California, more or less, are seeming to be encouraging people to come in at the final hour, because they allow those ballots to arrive after the polls close again,” Steil said. “That doesn’t instill confidence in our elections. What it does is it weakens it.”

    Steil said that states need to step up to improve election operations as the 2026 midterms are approaching. “What we want is Americans to have strong conviction and a strong belief that the election system works, and we know what protocols and procedures we need to have in place,” he said. “We just need the willingness of states to step up and do it, or we need the federal government to come in and force those states to get their elections into gear.”

    In June, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the Department of Justice Harmeet Dhillon sent a letter to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, alleging the commission violated federal law by not providing voters with a required complaint process under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).

    Dhillon threatened to withhold federal election funds if the matter wasn’t fixed. “Quite surprisingly, we have learned that the Wisconsin Elections Commission has refused to provide any administrative complaint process or hearing regarding HAVA complaints against the Commission,” the letter reads. “Rather, Wisconsin has decided to rely on a 2022 state court case opining that the Commission cannot police itself.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. if you show up at the polls after they close, they do not allow you to vote. It is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to get there on time. there should only be the veteran’s exception for that with mail in ballots.

      Liked by 1 person

  20. so the old no speaka-da-english trick?

    gil00

    gil00(@gil00)

    Offline

    Coyote

    August 27, 2025 11:06

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15039023/harjinder-singh-bodycam-footage-cops-english-new-mexico.html

    New bodycam footage of a migrant truck driver speaking to police during a traffic stop weeks before he was accused of killing three people has raised questions about his English language proficiency.

    Harjinder Singh, 28, was charged with three state counts of vehicular homicide and immigration violations after the fatal August 12 crash on the Florida Turnpike.

    The trailer of his semi–truck collided with a minivan as he made an illegal U-turn, killing all three people inside the vehicle. Singh and the passenger in his truck were uninjured.

    There has been much speculation over how well Singh, a native of India, speaks and understands English after the Department of Homeland Security confirmed he failed an English Language Proficiency assessment.

    Singh only correctly answered two out of 12 verbal questions and only accurately identified one out of four highway traffic signs, DHS alleges. He also used a translator during his court appearance.

    But the emergence of video of Singh speaking with a New Mexico state trooper on July 3 after he was pulled over for speeding has sparked new controversy as it appears the migrant understood the conversation. 

    The officer asked Singh if he wanted to appear before the court or pay the fine for the traffic violation, to which the trucker responded ‘pay the fine’.

    Singh told the officer that he had ‘no tickets’ before the incident. The trooper said ‘I hate to be the first guy to write you a ticket,’ prompting a slight smile from the trucker.

    ‘Full name, sir?’ Singh asked as he filled out paperwork. The officer confirmed ‘yes’.

    This is the one you’ll take care of within 30 days,’ the trooper said as he handed Singh his traffic ticket. 

    The officer pointed to a section on the form, adding: ‘Just choose one of those options right there.’

    ‘Thank you, sir,’ Singh replied.

    ‘You’re welcome,’ the officer said before handing the driver another form. ‘This right here is your inspection.’

    ‘Ok, thank you, sir,’ Singh said again. 

    Before he headed back to his vehicle, Singh asked the officer a question in broken English that the trooper said he did not understand.

    Singh tried again: ‘I mean this my ticket and… my license, how many year?’

    The officer explained that a moving violation could stay on his license for several years, with the specific number varying by state.

    ‘Ok,’ Singh answered, suggesting he understood the remark. The officer then said ‘have a good one’ as he returned to his cruiser. 

    Like

  21. Just The News: “California, New Mexico and Washington could risk losing federal funding if they fail to enforce English Language Proficiency requirements for commercial motor vehicle drivers, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Tuesday.

    The move comes on the heels of an Aug. 12 deadly Florida Turnpike crash involving an 18-wheeler making an unauthorized U-turn. The driver, Harjinder Singh, failed an ELP assessment during an interview with the Federal Motor Carrier Administration following the accident. Singh missed 10 of 12 verbal questions on the proficiency test and was only able to correctly identify one of four traffic signs, according to officials.

    During a Tuesday morning news conference, Duffy said the DOT is giving the three states 30 days to comply before withholding “up to 100% of funding” from the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program.

    “States don’t get to pick and choose which federal safety rules to follow,” said Duffy. “As we saw with the horrific Florida crash that killed three, when states fail to enforce the law, they put the driving public in danger. Under President Trump’s leadership, we are taking aggressive action to close these safety gaps, hold states accountable, and make sure every commercial driver on the road is qualified to operate a 40-ton vehicle.”

    The DOT says that an investigation by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration found “significant failures” by the three states to “properly place drivers out-of-service for ELP violations.” They added that the California Highway Patrol has “publicly stated it has no intention of following this important federal regulation.”

    The DOT noted multiple ELP violations involving the three states between June 25 and Aug. 12. Duffy signed an order in May providing guidelines to “strengthen” English proficiency enforcement for truckers.

    The secretary’s latest announcement comes as Duffy pushes a DOT nationwide audit of “non-domiciled commercial driver’s license issuance.”

    Singh was ruled to be an unauthorized alien by Florida Judge Lauren Sweet. Singh reportedly entered the U.S. via the southern border illegally in 2018 and was able to obtain a CDL in California. His attempts to obtain work authorization were rejected in 2020 by the first Trump administration, according to Homeland Security.

    Singh is due back in court on Wednesday and is facing three charges, each of vehicular homicide and manslaughter. He was denied bail after being deemed a “flight risk.”

    Liked by 1 person

  22. SE DC is one of the most dangerous areas…..people avoided it even back in the ’80’s.

    Just The News: “A man was killed in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, ending the city’s 12-day no-killings streak since President Trump ordered federal agencies to assist local law enforcement to crack down on crime. At about 12:25 a.m. on Tuesday in Southeast Washington, Metropolitan Police officers responded to reports of a shooting, according to the police department, The Hill reported.

    The officers found a man “unconscious and breathing, suffering from a gunshot wound,” and he was transported to a local hospital, “where after all lifesaving measures failed, he was pronounced dead,” the Metropolitan Police Department said.

    The White House has touted no homicides reported in the capital since Aug. 14, citing preliminary police data. Trump took control of the MPD on Aug. 11, and only two killings had been reported since then: one that day, and another on Aug. 13. For a 16-day period earlier this year, from Feb. 25 to March 12, D.C. had no murders reported.

    This year, there have been 101 homicides reported in the city, compared to 118 over the same period last year. More crimes may be added to the database later, as the preliminary data are not final.”

    Liked by 1 person

  23. Just The News: “At least two people are reportedly dead, with more than a dozen injured after a shooting on Wednesday at a Minneapolis Catholic school. The shooting occurred during the morning drop-off at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, which is for pre-K to eighth grade, according to ABC News.

    City officials said that the shooter is “contained” and that there is “no active threat to the community.” The suspect is believed to be dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The school was evacuated, and the families of students were later directed to a “reunification zone” at the school.

    Children’s Minnesota, a pediatric trauma hospital, told The Associated Press that it is treating five children injured in the shooting. Hennepin Healthcare said it was also caring for people injured in the shooting.

    “I’ve been briefed on a shooting at Annunciation Catholic School and will continue to provide updates as we get more information,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) posted on X. “The BCA and State Patrol are on scene. I’m praying for our kids and teachers whose first week of school was marred by this horrific act of violence.”

    The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are also responding to the scene.

    President Trump posted on Truth Social regarding the shooting, saying, “I have been fully briefed on the tragic shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The FBI quickly responded and they are on the scene. The White House will continue to monitor this terrible situation. Please join me in praying for everyone involved!”

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted on X, “DHS is monitoring the horrific shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis. We are in communication with our interagency partners, and will share more information as soon as it becomes available. I am praying for the victims of this heinous attack and their families.”

    Liked by 1 person

  24. “Trump Knows What Soros is Planning!”

    Clandestine, Aug 27, 2025

    Holy shit…Trump just called out George/Alex Soros for funding violent protests. The timing is not accidental. Soros is planning more protests/riots in major US cities for when Trump begins arrests on Deep State actors, hence why the NG are being deployed.

    NG presence is not just about stopping crime in our cities. Trump is deploying them to cities nationwide to have a preemptive standing deterrent on hand, because he knows what the enemy is planning.

    Trump is warning Soros and the Dems, that he knows they are planning another nationwide insurrection, similar to the BLM “summer of love”, which was also funded/orchestrated by Soros via Democrat NGOs.

    Trump knows their playbook, only this time, he is not going to let them get away with it.

    Things are about to get VERY interesting.”

    Liked by 1 person

  25. “Bloated, Opaque and Undisciplined Pentagon Budget Undermines our National Security — Our investigators exposed systemic problems with contracting, grantmaking and tracking expenses”

    OpenTheBooks, Aug 27, 2025

    EXCERPT: “The Pentagon has an annual budget approaching a trillion dollars ($824.5 billion in 2024). While the United States boasts the strongest military in the world, not every dollar of Pentagon spending goes towards furthering national security, and examples of waste, fraud, and abuse abound. In fact, the agency has never passed an annual financial audit. At the same time, interest payments on our national debt ($1.02 trillion annually) now exceed our annual defense budget.

    Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced in March that the department had cancelled over $580 million worth of contracts and program spending related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and decarbonization initiatives. Hegseth followed up in May with $5.1 billion in additional contract cuts for “ancillary things like consulting and other nonessential services,” along with more DEI-related work.

    As the administration and Congress consider additional defense spending, and as Americans debate the proper use of the military, auditors must carefully review DOD grants and contracts to assure the American people that their tax dollars are being spent wisely.

    Our investigators identified 20 problem areas within DOD that deserve further review and point to broader, systemic problems in Pentagon spending, auditing, and policy that are ripe for reform:…..”

    “…..CONCLUSION

    These examples go well beyond individual instance of wasteful spending decisions: They demonstrate systemic bloat at the Pentagon that requires significant improvements to processes and performance. They demonstrate systemic bloat at the Pentagon that requires significant improvements to processes and performance. As we continue debating ways in which we may further extend our military might, and expand the role of the military, it’s critical the Pentagon finally takes necessary steps to get current costs under control.”

    https://openthebooks.substack.com/p/bloated-opaque-and-undisciplined

    Liked by 1 person

  27. Phew! This garden bed is turning into a bigger project than I had anticipated. But it will take how ever long it takes – I’ve got no deadline! The crabgrass had overgrown the landscape fabric and the stones in one corner so I’m pulling that all out. The overall smooth outline was ruined by that section. By the time, I’m done, it will all be smooth, neat and cohesive. Then I can turn my attention to the issue of getting the wood-burning stove installed on top of the tree stump….I’m still figuring that one out but it will definitely take a chainsaw, I’m thinking…..

    Liked by 1 person

  28. Just The News: “Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., announced Wednesday that the Food and Drug Administration rescinded emergency use authorizations for COVID-19 vaccines.

    “I promised 4 things: 1. to end covid vaccine mandates. 2. to keep vaccines available to people who want them, especially the vulnerable. 3. to demand placebo-controlled trials from companies. 4. to end the emergency,” Kennedy posted on X.

    “In a series of FDA actions today we accomplished all four goals. The emergency use authorizations for Covid vaccines, once used to justify broad mandates on the general public during the Biden administration, are now rescinded,” added. 

    “FDA has now issued marketing authorization for those at higher risk: Moderna (6+ months), Pfizer (5+), and Novavax (12+). These vaccines are available for all patients who choose them after consulting with their doctors,” he continued. “The American people demanded science, safety, and common sense. This framework delivers all three.”

    Kennedy thanked FDA Director Marty Makary for his leadership.”

    Liked by 1 person

              1. Oh, yeah – they’ll play with barrels and other every day items, too. I’ve seen horses pick up a muck bucket (big plastic buckets used for cleaning stalls) by their handles and swing them around, too.

                Liked by 1 person

              3. I used to go out in the pasture with Gage’s battery-powered car and run it around for Zaarouf to chase – he loved it! Never did catch it! LOL

                Liked by 1 person

  34. “The 61,740 pounds of cocaine represent enough cocaine to kill everyone in Florida.”

    FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) – Officials with the U.S. Coast Guard showed off what they say is the largest drug offload in the agency’s history. Authorities on Monday said their work is helping to keep Americans safer from the scourge of drugs.

    “Today, we are witness to the largest drug offload in Coast Guard history,” Coast Guard Rear Adm. Adam A. Chamie said during a briefing in Florida. It was a historic offloading for the Coast Guard at Port Everglades. “A total of 76,140 pounds of illegal narcotics,” Chamie stated.

    Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton is now back in American waters after an operation spanning two months across the Pacific and Caribbean, like the seizure off the coast of Haiti two weeks ago.

    “If you want to see in general what’s keeping America safe from drugs, it’s this. It’s the work they’re doing out there every day, every night, 365, 24/7,” U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Charles R. Sergeant said. In total, the offload street value is estimated at $473 million.”

    Liked by 1 person

  35. I gotta say – this kind of cantalope is THE best ever! Out of only 3 plants, there are at least 19 lopes on the vines! Granted, only about 4-5 are big enough that they will be worth eating but still…..if the weather stays warm longer than usual…..it will be a nice bunch of melons!

    Liked by 1 person

  40. Beachy Head, East Sussex, England

    Big Caddie and a gas pump, appropriate.

    Dreamscape

    EXCERPT: “HIGH up in the Swiss Alps is one of the world’s most challenging — and epic — construction sites. Teams here are building an enormous new dam in the most unforgiving of locations. The site sits 2,000 metres above sea level, hours away from any major city, and you can only reach the place for a few months each year because in the winter it’s virtually shut off due to snow.

    This is no ordinary dam, either. It’s going up right in front of another dam, which was built almost a century ago, has a crack and is now damaged beyond repair. It can’t be fixed, it can’t be demolished, and if nothing is done at all, well, that wouldn’t be good.

    But how do you replace something the size of a dam in the middle of a mountain range? And what would really happen if they just didn’t bother? We went to Switzerland to find out.

    The Spitallamm Dam is one of two giant manmade walls that were built a long time ago to form a huge body of water called Lake Grimsel. Why’s it so important? Well, firstly it might not be as famous as that big one in America that it looks very similar to — the Hoover Dam — but this dam does have its own place in history.

    Spitallamm is one of the world’s first large arch-gravity dams. It was built up in the mountains between 1925 and 1932 and is actually older than the Hoover Dam, which completed three years later.

    At 114 metres, Spitallamm was also one of the tallest dams in the world when it finished. The vast structure was built by some 600 construction workers almost entirely by hand.

    But hold on a minute. For those of you wondering what on Earth an arch-gravity dam is, here’s a quick explainer.

    It’s where a dam curves upstream and narrows, using its own weight and support bracings to force most of the pressure of the water behind it against the rock walls of the canyon that it sits in…..”

    https://www.theb1m.com/video/spitallamm-dam

    Liked by 1 person

  42. Just The News: “The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Wednesday announced that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez is no longer in the role, less than a month after she was sworn in.

    Monarez was confirmed to the role in a party-line Senate vote in late July but had been serving as the agency’s acting head since January. HHS did not give a reason for Monarez’s departure and no interim replacement has yet been named.

    “Susan Monarez is no longer director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” HHS posted on X. “We thank her for her dedicated service to the American people. [HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.] has full confidence in his team at the CDC who will continue to be vigilant in protecting Americans against infectious diseases at home and abroad.”

    This story is developing and will be updated.“

    Liked by 1 person

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