News Blogs (3,090)

A Michigan mom whose two sons died of fentanyl overdoses has slammed President Biden as “despicable” after he laughed off the false claim that his administration was to blame for their deaths.

Rebecca Kiessling, whose sons Caleb, 20, and Kyler, 18, died in July 2020 after taking fentanyl-laced Percocet pills, took aim at Biden on Wednesday night after he used her family’s story to knock GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s suggestion he was responsible for the fatalities.

“This is how you speak about the death of my sons? Because a congresswoman misspoke? You mock the loss of my sons?” Kiessling said in a scathing video posted on Facebook.

Kiessling had testified before the House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday about the loss of her sons, telling Congress that more should be done to stop fentanyl imports.

Greene (R-Ga.) quickly seized on Kiessling’s testimony, suggesting that the brothers might still be alive if the Biden administration had secured the border and stopped the flow of drugs into the US.

Biden, 80, poked fun at Greene on Wednesday night, chuckling as he told a gathering of House Democrats in Baltimore that the boys died under the Trump administration.

“I’ve read she was very specific recently saying that a mom, a poor mother who lost two kids to fentanyl, that I killed her sons. Well, the interesting thing: That fentanyl they took came during the last administration,” the president said, adding a “heh-heh” as one or two audience members murmured in disapproval of Greene.

A furious Kiessling said she was “shocked” at Biden’s reaction and demanded an apology from the commander-in-chief.

“How dare you. What is the matter with you? Almost every Democrat on the committee offered condolences, they at least had the decency to do that,” she said in the video. “You can’t even do that? You have to mock my pain?”

While Kiessling acknowledged that her sons died six months before Biden was elected, she slammed the government’s handling of the fentanyl crisis ever since.

Read more:

Heinz has found the 'ketchup' guy! But did he really want to be found?

Less than two weeks ago, Heinz set out on a now-viral mission to find Elvis Francois, the man who survived nearly a month at sea by eating nothing but ketchup and seasonings. On Monday, the company told CBS News that they found him in Dominica – thanks to the internet and local reporters.

Francois, 47, rose to internet fame earlier this year when he was rescued by the Colombian military, who shared that Francois became lost while working on his boat in St. Maarten after the weather shifted and carried him out to sea. He wasn't able to navigate his way home, so all he could do was "sit down and wait" – and live off the little bits of food he had on board, "ketchup ... garlic powder and Maggi," a brand of soup.

His story prompted Heinz to put out a call for people to help them #FindtheKetchupBoatGuy so they could gift him a new boat that they promise will be "equipped with full navigational technology to avoid another disaster in the future."

"The hunt is over," a spokesperson for Heinz told CBS News on Monday. "Through the power of social media ... Elvis was located in the Caribbean on the island of Dominica."

The company said that its Instagram post reached 4.8 million people and garnered more than 4,000 likes – a brand record. It helped them get in touch with local Dominica news outlet EmoNews, who the company said was able to contact Francois. In a Facebook post, EmoNews said that it "can confirm that the representatives of Heinz had a successful meeting with Elvis Francois via Zoom Conference call" on Friday.

"Heinz and Elvis are working out the logistical details of gifting him his new boat," Heinz said. "Anyone who shared, liked or commented on the brand's post helped broaden the reach and played an important part in finding Elvis… and Heinz wants to thank everyone who helped."

EmoNews appears to have found Francois last week, posting a video interview with him on their Facebook page. In it, Francois says he's "quite a mysterious person" who enjoys traveling and taking risks.

Read the full story here:

Last week, a Florida student attacked his teacher over a confiscated Nintendo Switch. He's 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 270 pounds and became upset because the teacher took his game console away from him during class.

Pushing the woman to the ground with such force she landed several feet from him and was unconscious. He stomped her and began punching her repeatedly where it took several people to pull him away from the woman.

The 17 year old 'boy' was arrested and is now facing felony assault charges.

I suggest you avoid watching the video if you are adversely affected by watching violence.




News link:

A 28-year-old who helps the elderly (before they pass away) to re-home their pets, has celebrated her 100th adoption.

Angela Rafuse was inspired to create her charity after her 85-year-old grandfather died, leaving his cat, Mackenzie, without a home. None of Angela’s relatives had capacity to take on the responsibility, so she decided to take in the calico cat herself.
After a bad break up, Angela moved home to live with her parents in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and began sharing the basement with the feline.

“I was processing the grief and heartbreak of a breakup and losing my grandfather, but the only options left were taking her to a shelter or me adopting her. I had to take her.”
Although Mackenzie became very grumpy and hissed a lot, Angela soon realized the cat was just scared. It eventually warmed to her new owner after lots of love and attention, inspiring the Canadian woman to start a new venture in 2021. Angela’s nonprofit, ‘My Grandfather’s Cat’, facilitates adoptions of dogs and cats belonging to seniors who are either terminally ill or wishing to enter a retirement home.

While Angela and the tabby lived in her parent’s basement for 18 months, she started posting videos on TikTok. Soon the duo grew a following of 656,000 people—and many commented about how their grandparent’s pets had to go into shelters after they passed. “It was like a divine intervention. I knew this is what I should do.” “We had 30k followers at that point and I thought ‘I can launch it on TikTok, as there were so many people in need’.”

Angela’s launch date was May 18, on her late grandfather’s birthday—and since then it has brought peace of mind to 100 pet owners. “It gives me so much purpose in life—and I have an amazing team of volunteers.” Most seniors are referred to My Grandfather’s Cat by care homes or shelters. They submit an application and the team then writes a profile to post on social media. They then interview people who might be interested, and find out who is a good fit—and the senior has the opportunity to interview the family, too.

“The senior then picks their pet’s second forever home—and the adoptees can stay in touch with the new owner who will share updates.”

One case Angela will never forget is when she helped a woman who had terminal cancer and underwent euthanasia. “We helped her find a new home for her cats, Koko and Lily, and she chose a lovely multi-generational home with two seniors, their daughter, and grandson. “She passed away knowing her best friends had the best home.” It was the last and most important thing on her to-do list.

What a great comfort and inspiration this would be to anyone with a pet!

If you have a Cosori air fryer please read the link to see if your model number is on the list. If it is fill out the registration form to have the company send you a new air fryer or a different product from the company.

I have a Cosori air fryer but my model number isn't on the list. Since there is a wiring problem I think they should replace all air fryers regardless of the model number. My first Cosori air fryer was defective and they sent me a new one which is the one I have now. These air fryers are made in China. That says enough about cheap labor.

I sidestepped the blogs here about a train derailment in Ohio and it appears those blogs disappeared in the night. But, there are news stories daily about this and here's what I found so far... 44 had instituted safety regulations and 45 rolled back regulations. While the National Transportation Safety Board is examining the causes/reasons for the derailment, fingers are being pointed in different directions.
This issue has become political and Republicans are blaming the 46th administration for not showing up and 44 has become their hero as he shows up for the publicity stunt/photo opp with bottles of water branded with his name. Other than rallying the troops for reelection, I'm unsure what power or authority he actually has as an ex-president, if any to help the people of Ohio.


Lots of links about this:




As usual, the reader comments tell some important opinions about the situation:

speakeasy said:
"Trump was and is part of the problem and now he wants to throw the blame on Biden. He received 70 percent of those peoples vote, now this is part of what happens when you go all out on deregulations with no safeguards. Now they are crying."





“Buttigieg should’ve been here already,” Trump told reporters as he handed out MAGA hats after speaking alongside Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio). Trump also said Biden should “get over here.”

45 has been super busy this week calling out anyone who doesn't support him. He's feuding with Fox News for their support of Ron DeSantis, who actually hasn't announced a run for the 2024 presidential election. But that's tied into their realization his claims of fraud in the 2020 election are unfounded.



In other news, The Georgia Grand Jury have released their findings to the 2020 election and possible and indictments may be forthcoming.

I read the news the other day about a woman who lost her life by an alligator near her house in Fort Pierce, Florida. Photos were posted of the Florida Wildlife Commission taking the creature away.
The followup story shows surveillance video of the event. Well, most of it.
She was walking her dog along the sloped edge to a pond when the alligator came directly toward them. The dog was on a leash behind the woman. When the gator went for the dog, he ran forward putting the alligator at the feet of the woman.
A neighbor was an eyewitness and called 911 stating the alligator had already submerged the woman into the water.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in a statement. "Serious injuries caused by alligators are rare in Florida."

...and chatillion who lives in Florida said "I know BS when I read it. Because, incidents with alligators happen a few times a year"





Story link:

The story mentions the alligator was killed and the dog survived.

I was working from home on Friday... well, that's what I told people. My goal was to finish some wardrobe drawings to a project I measured on Thursday. As usual, lots of texts and emails interrupted my morning. So my focus changed to music videos and my favorite, news stories. Some of those news stories were filled with comedy and that included Sarah Silverman and Bill Maher.

One common thread was about the politicians who have lied and continue to lie. There were stories about the Georgia Grand Jury and some indictments regarding the results of the 2020 election. I'm sure there's more to come about that.

I'm thinking... how could you get a pathological liar to tell the truth?
When I was a kid, we heard stories about Sodium Pentothal aka Truth Serum and secret agent movies about how they were able to get spies to reveal top secret information. I guess legally we (as a country) cannot do that and Lie Detectors can be fooled. So... other than torture with electric shock, there's really no easy way to make a liar confess.

One of the stories was about the 5 cops who were fired in the Nichols incident all plead not guilty in court Friday. Sorry, the video shows otherwise... get out the truth serum and let's hear the real story.

Let's just hope the legal system stays firm and gets all the facts straight so the liars stories can be debunked.

If that doesn't work, we'll have to summon the powers of Wonder Woman and her Lasso of Truth!


C'mere little politician, that's right... c'mere




The Big Liars | Real Time with Bill Maher

Breaking News...

You know who made a comment about entertainer Rihanna as having no talent. This was just prior to her performance at the Super Bowl this past weekend. Okay, then explain how since the age of 17, she put out eight albums in total, with 14 number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She is one of the best-selling digital artists of all time and has sold 60 million albums and 215 million digital tracks. Musically, that put her as a multi-millionaire.

Her real success comes from a line of her cosmetics and in February 2023, her estimated net worth is $1.4 Billion... Yes, "B-illion" and Forbes ranked her No. 21 on their list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women, becoming one of the youngest self-made female billionaires.



It's reported she didn't receive payment for her Super Bowl performance, but the appearance boosted her music career in more ways than one.

No-talent... I have to consider the source.