Funded...

Mayor de Blasio’s presidential campaign is powered by donations rife with possible conflicts.

At least $370,000 in contributions to de Blasio 2020 are tied to people and entities with business or interests before the city, an analysis by the Daily News found.

The donations represent 34% of nearly $1.1 million that de Blasio’s campaign collected between May 16 and the end of June, according to filings with Federal Election Commission.

They came from individuals, corporations, limited liability companies and firms with vested interests in municipal operations and regulations, as well as donors who work for entities lobbying the de Blasio administration and relatives of those with business before the city.

The fact that Mayor de Blasio’s long shot presidential campaign is so heavily funded by individuals who have interests before the city is troubling, particularly because the mayor has a track record of favoring campaign donors.

Hoax...

Siding...

House Democrats joined with Republicans on Wednesday to kill an impeachment resolution against President Trump, a move that is likely to rankle the Democratic Party’s liberal base clamoring to oust the president.

The vote was 332 to 95, with 95 Democrats voting to keep the resolution alive and 137 of their colleagues siding with Republicans.  

Rep. Al Green (D-Tex.) put Democratic leaders in a bind Tuesday night by filing articles of impeachment accusing Trump of committing high crimes and misdemeanors. His resolution, which cited Trump’s comments targeting four minority Democratic congresswomen, was privileged, requiring that the House act within two days.

Senior Democratic leaders favored a procedural vote to table, or effectively kill, the resolution, avoiding a direct vote on the impeachment articles.  

Point...

Many declared that if Trump becomes the president they well leave the country.
They didn't leave yet. It is a matter of choice.   Just a thought.

Pulling...

Some think that the strategy is simple. That goes in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, etc.

Is it?  Did we achieve something?

What is it that we achieved? What was our price? And what was the price of the locals?

Just a thought.

Pain...

Kyle Wilhelm, 40, pleaded guilty to two counts of obtaining controlled substances by fraud before United States District Judge Mark A. Goldsmith.

Between February 2015 and February 2018, Wilhelm utilized his position as a hospital pharmacy manager to fill prescriptions for fictitious patients using false birth dates, false addresses and by the unauthorized use of a medical doctor’s Drug Enforcement Administration registration number, according to the United States Attorney's Office of the Eastern District of Michigan.

In total, he obtained more than 200,000 dosage units of controlled substances such as oxycodone, hydromorphone, and hydrocodone acetaminophen, according to officials.

Wilhelm was indicted on 12 charges. The remaining charges will be dismissed during sentencing, according to the plea agreement.

Heat Wave...

A heat wave forecast for New York City to push temperatures near the 100 degree mark on Friday, Saturday and Sunday could put New Yorkers in the dark again, a Con Ed spokesman warned.

“We expect that there could be service outages  those things happen during heat waves,” Con Ed spokesman Michael Clendenin told PIX11 on Monday. “We know it’s going to be intense. This heat wave coming up is something else and we’ve got to get ready for it.”

Clendenin said Con Edison invests $2 billion every year to prepare for electricity demand when the temperature soars.

The outage that darkened a big swath of Midtown and the Upper West Side on Saturday wasn’t caused by heat or high demand, Clendenin said.

Heavy air conditioning use pushes up electricity demand on Con Ed’s system. Con Ed’s all-time record electricity usage can lead to blackouts at certain areas.

Ikea...

Ikea is shutting down its only furniture factory in the United States.

The Swedish company will end production this December at its plant in Danville, Virginia. Operations will move to Europe, where the company says it can cut costs.

Ikea pointed to raw material prices, which it said are higher in the United States than Europe. 

A recent shift in Ikea's retail strategy to adapt to the growth of online shopping has led to job cuts in other parts of the business.

The company has been investing in online pickup services and digital fulfillment centers, and in 2017 bought TaskRabbit, an online marketplace for finding gig workers. It's also been opening smaller stores in big cities to attract younger shoppers.

Nuts...

Eating nuts on a regular basis may improve your health in many ways, such as by reducing diabetes and heart disease risk, as well as cholesterol and triglyceride levels. This nutritious high-fiber treat may even aid weight loss — despite its high calorie count.

However, nuts are very calorie dense (high in fat, low in water), so eating unlimited amounts can easily add an extra several hundred calories a day to your diet, which could lead to weight gain and increased cholesterol levels.

Nuts are antioxidant powerhouses. Antioxidants, including the polyphenols in nuts, can combat oxidative stress by neutralizing free radicals — unstable molecules that may cause cell damage and increase disease risk. 

One study found that walnuts have a greater capacity to fight free radicals than fish.

Rx...

With all the talks among the Democratic presidential hopefuls, plan for this, and that, tax the rich, nothing for the poor, here is one to be added to the agenda.

Reducing the price of medication is a great help to all. Just a thought.