Not again...

One of President Donald Trump's most vocal opponents is creating a political war machine to take on the commander in chief  re-election in 2020.

Bill Kristol, who served in the administrations of Republican presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, says his nonprofit organization Defending Democracy Together is seeking a GOP candidate to run against Trump in 2020.

"People aren't going to say they will run against Trump unless they have the infrastructure but I've been trying to persuade people that it may not be that difficult," he added.

Kristol,  explained that he's organized a coalition of activists who are polling voters and meeting with focus groups in swing states such as New Hampshire.

Kristol is also readying a super PAC for 2020 GOP candidates which would allow his team to raise unlimited amounts of cash and push out campaign advertisements backing a particular nominee.

Grapes...

A Virginia winemaker awoke earlier this week to a very unpleasant surprise: Virtually all of the grapes in his vineyard had been stolen overnight. David Dunkenberger lost around 2.5 tons of grapes in the unusual robbery.
Dunkenberger said it only took him a minute to realize his vineyard was nearly picked clean, which appeared to have happened between the hours of 5 p.m. Monday and 7 a.m.
Tuesday.

It takes six to eight people about six hours to pick through one variety of grapes, and six varieties were stolen that night.

Dunkenberger works a separate full-time job to allow him to keep the vineyard, which he is unsure he'll be able to do anymore.

Wyeth...

Andrew Wyeth Paintings. Day Dream 1980

Sterile...

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In the winter of 2016, a plane carrying an unusual shipment made its way from Italy to Africa. Inside were the eggs of 5,000 genetically modified mosquitoes. 

Scientists are determined to eradicate the deadly disease that kills nearly three million people worldwide every year. Africa bears the brunt of the burden. 

All 5,000 mosquito eggs carried a genetic modification that made the males  sterile and the next generation sterile and so on. Now, after two years, scientists finally have a group of 10,000 sterile male mosquitoes that carry the genetic modification and are also fully adapted to the local conditions. 

The Bug...

The company's American unit announced that it would end global production of the third-generation bulbous bug in July of next year after offering two special editions for sale.

The compact Beetle was introduced in Germany in 1938 and came to the U.S. 11 years later, where it became a symbol of utilitarian transportation often used by hippies. The iconic car sold for about 30 years before U.S. sales stopped in 1979.  

Volkswagen revived it in the U.S. in 1998 as a more modern "New Beetle," but it attracted mainly female buyers.

Assistance...

Officials in New Bern, a coastal town in Craven County, North Carolina, said at least 150 people were "awaiting rescue" early Friday morning as the dangerous hurricane moved ashore, packing 90-mph winds.

"More are on the way to help us," New Bern officials tweeted early Friday. "You may need to move up to the second story, or to your attic, but WE ARE COMING TO GET YOU." 

Emergency workers said they'd gotten more than 100 calls from residents in need of assistance, but there was no way to reach everyone immediately.

We wish people would heed the warnings.

Dash...

DASH is a flexible and balanced eating plan that helps create a heart-healthy eating style for life.

The DASH eating plan requires no special foods and instead provides daily and weekly nutritional goals. This plan recommends:

• Eating vegetables, fruits, and whole grains
• Including fat-free or low-fat dairy products, fish, poultry, beans, nuts, and vegetable oils
• Limiting foods that are high in saturated fat, such as fatty meats, full-fat dairy products, and tropical oils such as coconut, palm kernel, and palm oils
• Limiting sugar-sweetened beverages and sweets.
• *1,500 milligrams (mg) sodium lowers blood pressure even further than 2,300 mg sodium daily.  

Turkey...

Turkey has reportedly shipped arms to Syrian rebels ahead of a planned regime offensive on Idlib province - which now might be have been put on hold.

Turkey's vocal resistance to the offensive might have also been a stumbling block, with Ankara a key part of the Russian and Iranian-sponsored Astana peace process.

Turkey has suggested it would assist the rebels if such an attack takes place, and allow the Idlib garrisons of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) to be bolstered by the Ankara-sponsored Euphrates Shield force in northern Syria.

Among the weaponry to enter Idlib in recent days are Grad missiles, the FSA officer told the agency.

Turkey has been trying to isolate moderate rebel forces from jihadi organisations - such as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham - in Idlib, as talk of a regime-Iranian-Russian offensive builds.

Bezos...

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos launched Bezos Day One Fund, a new philanthropic initiative, with an initial commitment of $2 billion to help homeless families and create preschools for low-income communities.

The Day 1 Families Fund will issue annual leadership awards to organizations and civic groups doing compassionate, needle-moving work to provide shelter and hunger support to address the immediate needs of young families  

The Day 1 Academies Fund will launch and operate a network of high-quality, full-scholarship, Montessori-inspired preschools in underserved communities.

No Fire...

George Papadopoulos, the former Trump campaign adviser whose loose talk overseas about Russians having “dirt” on Hillary Clinton triggered an FBI investigation into election interference, was sentenced Friday to 14 days in federal prison for lying to the FBI early in that inquiry. 

Papadopoulos was also given 12 months  probation, and must perform 200 hours of community service. He was also ordered to pay a $9,500 fine.