Congrats to Wes and Pleasant Valley, Iowa for his addition to their coaching staff. Go Spartans.

I'm a casual that waits till August usually to look into what's new.

What dynamic youngsters are ready to get the Hawkeyes back to greatness.

... joined Russian army. Great marketing campaign by Russia. Join our Army or register as a sex offender.

He and Snowden can go have a love affair as far as I'm concerned.

US military veteran accused of having explicit images of a child apparently joined Russian army​

STEVE LeBLANC and NICK PERRY
Wed, April 10, 2024 at 5:39 PM CDT·5 min read





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Russia Ukraine War US Defector​

Wilmer Puello-Mota, a member of the 66th Security Forces Squadron, speaks during a gate dedication and renaming ceremony at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts, on Oct. 2, 2018. Puello-Mota, a U.S. Air Force veteran and former elected official in Massachusetts who fled the U.S. after being charged with possessing sexually explicit images of a child, told his lawyer he joined Russia’s army, and video appears to show him signing documents in a military enlistment office in Siberia, Russia.

BOSTON (AP) — A U.S. Air Force veteran who fled a charge of possessing sexually explicit images of a child told his lawyer he joined Russia’s army, and video appears to show him signing documents in a military enlistment office in Siberia.
Wilmer Puello-Mota, a former elected official in a small Massachusetts city, was expected to enter a guilty plea in Rhode Island in early January, but did not show up to court, according to prosecutors. Last week, video surfaced that appears to show the 28-year-old in Russia and expressing support for the country's war against Ukraine — footage that could be used to promote Moscow’s narrative of the conflict.

His lawyer, John M. Cicilline, told The Boston Globe that he called Puello-Mota on Jan. 8, the day before he was expected to plead guilty. According to prosecutors, he boarded a flight from Washington, D.C., to Istanbul, Turkey, a day earlier.

“He said, `I joined the Russian army,’ or something like that,” Cicilline told the Globe. “I thought he was joking.”

Cicilline said Puello-Mota wanted a career in politics and thought the criminal case had ruined his life.

“I’m sure he joined the Russian army because he didn’t want to register as a sex offender,” Cicilline said.

The Associated Press made several calls to Cicilline. A person answering his office phone said he would not make any additional comment.

Puello-Mota served in the U.S. Air Force and deployed to Afghanistan in 2015, when he was 19, media releases show. He later served with the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 104th Fighter Wing as a security forces airman.

Puello-Mota was arrested in 2020 in Warwick, Rhode Island, after he called to report a stolen gun and police said they found nude images of a 17-year-old girl on his phone. He was charged with one count of having sexually explicit images of a child. He was later also charged with trying to deceive prosecutors and his commanders about the case. Cicilline told the Globe he reached a deal to plead guilty to all charges in exchange for an 18-month prison sentence.

Videos surfaced on Russian social media and local television in March showing the blurred image of a man in a uniform in what appears to be a war zone displaying the U.S. flag.

In video posted online last week, a man who looks like Puello-Mota talks directly to the camera, speaking in English over background music and Russian subtitles and discussing a military operation. His face is not blurred. He does not say his name, and the videos do not mention the Rhode Island criminal case.

President Vladimir Putin has eliminated nearly all independent media in Russia — and state media aligned regularly trumpet Russian victories in Ukraine, denounce the West and otherwise amplify good news while ignoring the bad.

The Rhode Island attorney general's office said in a court document last month that it had received images purporting to show Puello-Mota in Ukraine and Russia.

“While the state cannot verify the authenticity of the videos and photographs, if they are accurate the defendant is well beyond the jurisdiction of this court and, if false, the defendant is engaged in an elaborate ruse to conceal his whereabouts,” Rhode Island prosecutors said.

U.S. State Department officials said they were aware of media reports about Puello-Mota fleeing to Russia but have had no contact with him and have no way to confirm those reports.

The most recent video appears to show Puello-Mota entering a building in Khanty-Mansiysk and shaking the hand of a uniformed man. At the end of the video, he is seen signing a document.

The AP verified the location after examining satellite imagery and historical photos of the area. According to a plaque on the door, it’s a military recruitment center run by the Russian Defense Ministry.

“Obviously it’s a difficult situation. It’s war. It’s a special military operation,” Puello-Mota says in the video, adding that he was lucky to be with “people from the international brigade.”

“We did our work. We did our job. We did what we were supposed to do,” he said. “I was very lucky and fortunate to serve with those guys. I definitely would do it again.”

Ian Garner, an assistant professor of politics at Queen’s University in Canada, called it “a huge propaganda opportunity” for Russia.
"To be able to show off an American citizen who has chosen to reinvent themselves, to reform themselves and become a part of the Russian war machine seems to provide evidence that Russia is winning a much bigger spiritual war,” he said.

Puello-Mota held the rank of technical sergeant when he forced to leave the guard in October 2022 because of the criminal case, said Don Veitch, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts National Guard. His security clearance was also revoked.

Holyoke City Councilor David Bartley, who worked with Puello-Mota on the City Council, said he considers him a good friend. He said the person in the video looks and sounds like him.

“To me that’s him,” he said.

He knew of no connections between Puello-Mota and Russia and called the footage “shocking.”

“The Wil that I know was a good, decent person,” Bartley said.

A Facebook page attributed to Puello-Mota includes a photo of the Kremlin and an updated profile photo of a man in a uniform operating a drone. It says he is from Holyoke and currently lives in Moscow and works at the Russian Defense Ministry, which is spelled in Russian.

Under Rhode Island law, Puello-Mota's trial cannot begin without him being present.

It's a witch hunt.
It's rigged.
The judge hates me.
The judge's daughter hates me.
The jury is rigged.
The jury hates me.
Someone on the jury is a democrat.
It's a fake charge.
I did nothing wrong...

...Every single time?

Serious question.

CNN —
During his 2020 presidential campaign, Joe Biden promised a stark departure from the immigration policies of the Trump administration.

He pledged a 100-day moratorium on deportations after taking office. He promised to protect sanctuary cities from federal law enforcement agencies. And he harshly criticized the Trump administration’s treatment of undocumented immigrants at the southern border, asserting that America had the capacity to “absorb people” while calling on asylum seekers to “surge” to the border

“We could afford to take in a heartbeat another two million,” Biden said at one event in August 2019. “The idea that a country of 330 million people cannot absorb people who are in desperate need and who are justifiably fleeing oppression is absolutely bizarre.”


Full article:

other than Cael. I'm just curious if there is someone out there other than Cael that is showing they are clearly doing a great job.

Pat Pop: NC State has developed nicely, but generally under-perform at NCAA's. Interesting approach with the 'dry team' thing, no way he'd bring in a Ferrari.
Manning: Nebraska's program has come a long way. But Manning is long in the tooth and his wrestlers peak their second/third year then regress to the end.
Koll: Does an amazing job. He'll have North Carolina rolling soon.
Hahn: Doing a great job at South Dakota.
Bormet: Gets a lot of work done in the portal. Has a lineup that wrestles the most boring brand of wrestling in the country.
Ryan: Gets great recruiting classes, but they mostly under achieve.
Smith: okie st isn't keeping up.

Argues she should return for another year, make more millions off NIL and endorsements, then find a role helping Iowa women’s basketball. She is not a fit for the WNBA and its left-leaning culture.

I agree with him.

Any libtards on HROT with the balls to admit you would be against this?

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Before the last three years, I couldn’t name a women’s basketball player. I knew of UConn and their history of championships in Women’s College basketball. But I feel like I’ve learned a lot about the sport. And it’s mostly a shit hole at the highest level.

Most refs are terrible and are consistently inconsistent.

Black Women hate/racist towards Clark

Jealousy and hate is rampant towards Clark.

Most programs are a net loss to the athletic budget because NCAA women’s tournament doesn’t give payouts for making tournament.

UConn former players are not to be looked up to. Completely biased and shouldn’t be given a platform on espn.

SVP is a asshat.

Dawn Staley is a good coach, but when you have that much talent going to South Carolina. You are going to win championships. I consider myself very liberal but the transgender women playing tarnishes women’s sports. I understand they want to compete but you can’t have it both ways.

WNBA is filled with hateful toxic women who don’t deserve Clark.

Agree/disagree? Add more to the list

Just when it seemed like we were done and dusted with standardized tests, we are back to square one. Per article other schools are also doing this. Will california schools also follow? Is this a move in the right direction or a reversal of progress?

President Biden plans to expand the boundaries of two national monuments in California in the coming weeks, aiming to bolster his conservation record and increase access to nature for disadvantaged communities, according to two people briefed on the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.


10 steps you can take to lower your carbon footprint

Biden is expected to sign proclamations expanding the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, both of which were originally designated by President Barack Obama, the two people said. The exact timing and location of the announcement has not yet been finalized, although it could coincide with Earth Day on April 22, they said.
John D. Podesta, senior adviser to the president for international climate policy, suggested that the expansions were imminent during a climate summit Thursday hosted by Washington Post Live.



“I worked for President Clinton, for President Obama. They both had tremendous conservation records,” Podesta said. “President Biden is just surpassing that in terms of what he’s able to do in the first term. And I think we’ve got more to come, including better use and better protection of public lands.”
White House spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Conservation groups, Native American tribes and California lawmakers have all called on Biden to expand these monuments. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) have championed legislation to enlarge the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, east of Los Angeles, but the measure has stalled in the divided Congress. Biden plans to use his executive authority under the 1906 Antiquities Act to bypass the gridlock on Capitol Hill.
Christian La Mont of Latino Outdoors, Steve Messer of the California Off Road Bicycling Association and Daniel Rossman of the Wilderness Society hike along a trail at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. They are proponents of expanding the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images)
Legislation from Padilla and Chu would increase the monument’s size by a third, adding 109,167 acres of Angeles National Forest land to the 346,179-acre monument. It is unclear whether the presidential proclamation would propose the same boundaries as the lawmakers’ bill.


The measure seeks to improve access to nature for Latino and low-income communities in eastern Los Angeles, which lacks parks and other green spaces. The Angeles National Forest is within a 90-minute drive for 18 million people, and it receives more than 4.6 million visitors annually — more than Yosemite, according to Forest Service data. On clear winter days, its trails offer stunning vistas of snow-studded peaks for hikers, mountain bikers and campers.

“The national forest provides a critical respite for escaping the urban blight and getting into the outdoors,” said Daniel Rossman, Southern California mountains landscape director for the Wilderness Society, which supports the monument expansion.
In November, the Agriculture Department held a public hearing on the proposed expansion — typically a precursor to a presidential proclamation. Most of the roughly 250 attendees voiced strong support for the proposal, saying it would protect scenic rivers and other sensitive landscapes for generations to come.



“The San Gabriel Mountains are among the most pristine and beautiful public lands in the country, with more visitors annually than Yellowstone, and they are right next to one of the nation’s densest and most park-deprived population centers,” Chu said in an emailed statement.
Chu, who stood beside Obama when he designated the monument in 2014, added that she would be “absolutely elated” for Biden to expand its boundaries and unlock “additional federal support and resources.”
The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation and other Native American tribes have spearheaded the campaign to expand the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument. They have called for adding roughly 3,925 acres and changing the name of the additional area from “Walker Ridge” to “Molok Luyuk,” which means “Condor Ridge” in the Patwin language.


Molok Luyuk and surrounding lands were part of the ancestral homeland of the Hill Patwin people. Condors once soared in the skies there, but their population has declined due to lead poisoning, habitat destruction and poaching.
The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reps. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) and Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) have led legislation to enlarge the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument and allow for tribal co-management of the site. The measure passed the House in 2022, when Democrats controlled the chamber, but has since stalled.
Biden has set an ambitious goal of conserving 30 percent of America’s lands and waters by 2030. He has designated five new national monuments, many of which are on lands that area tribes consider sacred. Most recently, the president in August created the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni National Monument near the Grand Canyon, safeguarding the site from new uranium mining.

#NailedIt

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A new poll indicates a group of Joe Biden's staunchest supporters - black Americans - are not feeling very enthusiastic about voting in 2024, possibly spelling trouble for the president's re-election effort. After losing the first two primaries in 2020, black voters handed Biden his first primary victory in South Carolina.

That watershed moment supercharged Biden's campaign and helped him beat out a crowded field to secure the nomination and later the presidency. Over 80 percent of black voters backed Biden in 2020. Now, as Biden has a firm grip on the Democrat party as he heads into a rematch against former President Donald Trump , that cohort of black voters may not show up.

A poll released Monday from In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda with PerryUndem found that just 59 percent of black voters are 'almost certain' to vote this fall and 12 percent 'will probably' vote. The results indicate that around 40 percent of black voters are not certain they will cast votes in the 2024 elections.

Additionally, 30 percent of respondents indicated the upcoming elections are not that important. And as Biden has ostracized some potential supporters over his stance on the Israel-Hamas war, some voters revealed they have considered withholding their vote as an act of protest. Nearly 20 percent said they have considered withholding their vote, according to the poll.

That number shoots up to 25 percent among younger voters. Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict heavily divided black voters with a third approving of his response, a third disapproving and a third unsure. The poll, which surveyed over 1,000 black adults, also provided insights into how the president is performing with younger votes.

Only 38 percent of voters aged 18 to 29 said they were almost certain to vote, while just 17 percent indicated they will probably vote. That means that nearly half of black voters in that age group are not committed to voting this cycle. When asked if they had to vote immediately, just 44 percent of young black voters responded they would vote for Democrats.

Of that group, 37 percent said they were unsure or they would not vote. When accounting for all those surveyed, 63 percent have a favorable view of Joe Biden while 35 percent view him unfavorably. The number one issue for black voters in 2024 is the cost of living. Racial justice, health care and education also ranked among the top voting concerns.

Trump, on the other hand, has surged with black voters recently. A March poll from the New York Times/Siena showed that 23 percent of black voters would vote for the former president . A similar poll conducted by the same firms in July 2023 found that 12 percent of black voters would vote for Trump, indicating he is picking up votes as his campaign charges.

Further, a December AP-NORC poll found that 25 percent of black voters approved of Trump, up from 18 percent in 2021. In the 2020 election, just eight percent of black Americans voted for Trump, according to Pew Research data. Read the full story:https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13236235/biden-poll-black-voters-2024-election.html?ito=msngallery

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/poli...a68c5e1483415f8f9906d596703802&ei=21#image=10

Dude is attempting his fourth appeal to delay the Cheating On His Wife trial.

House conservatives on April 10 tanked a procedural vote to advance a surveillance power reauthorization bill in protest against its lack of warrant requirements. The development is another blow to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) who already faces an ouster threat from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).

In a 193-226 vote, lawmakers voted not to advance Rep. Laurel Lee’s (R-Fla.) “Reforming Intelligence and Securing America” Act, which would extend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s (FISA’s) controversial Section 702 for a period of five years. The warrantless surveillance power is due to lapse on April 19.

While such procedural votes normally advance along party lines, 19 Republicans joined all Democrats to block the bill, employing a tactic increasingly used by GOP factions to apply pressure on leadership.

Conservatives who voted against the bill’s advancement were Reps. Greene, Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Dan Bishop (R-N.C), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), Michael Cloud (R-Texas), Bob Good (R-Va.), Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), Chip Roy (R-Texas.), Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Clay Higgins (R-La.), Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), Cory Mills (R-Fla.), Scott Perry (R-Pa.), Matt Rosendale (R-Md.), and Greg Steube (R-Fla.)

It’s yet another failure for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who in February had to pull a similar bill from the floor.

FISA Section 702 is one of several post 9/11 surveillance authorities that have come under scrutiny as some lawmakers from across the political aisle have raised alarm over its potential to violate the civil liberties of Americans.

Section 702, which was last authorized in 2018, was intended to permit warrantless surveillance of foreign nationals located outside the United States. However, in practice, it also sweeps up communications with U.S. citizens.

This vulnerability has allowed FBI agetnts to extensively misuse the tool in recent years, using it to search for the names of Black Lives Matter and Jan. 6 protesters.

The agency asserts that the program is vital to national security and that it has since undergone reform. Nevertheless, critics across the political spectrum have been apprehensive regarding the possibility of further constitutional infringements.

Former President Trump earlier on April 10 called on House Republicans to “KILL FISA,” pointing to how the FBI misused Section 702 to spy on his 2016 presidential campaign.



Mr. Mills, who voted against the bill, said after the vote that the result “isn’t a defeat for Johnson. It’s a victory for Americans.”

Mr. Roy told reporters after the failed vote: “We’re here to stand up for the people who are tired of [the] situation ... where the defense industrial complex, the Intel Committee, they get to see all this stuff behind closed doors and tell us what they’re going to do.

“The Founders were very clear about what we need to fear ... about how they will use foreign conflicts, foreign power as a smokescreen for going after our civil liberties. And that’s what we saw happening here.”

When the House Rules Committee on April 9 advanced the legislation for a floor vote, they left the issue of whether to require a warrant to a vote of Congress.

The warrant issue has spurred the creation of unlikely alliances, bringing such disparate lawmakers as House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Ranking Member Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) into agreement.

“When you have the history we have with this organization relative to not following the rules, we think you need a separate and equal branch of the government … to approve a warrant,” Mr. Jordan said in defense of the amendment during his opening remarks. “The warrant requirement has to be in the legislation or I don’t think we’ve done our job.”

Mr. Nadler agreed, saying that without a warrant requirement, the changes in Ms. Lee’s bill would be “so modest they would prove ineffective.”

The failure of the rule vote marks another loss for Mr. Johnson, who has already faced several failed rule votes during his roughly six months as speaker.

The Biden administration on Thursday announced they are closing what is often known as the "gun show loophole," by tightening up the definition of what it means to be "engaged in the business" of selling firearms.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) has just implemented a change in the federal register language, which was previously more specific to who was selling guns, and the agency did it in accordance with the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which was passed in 2022.

The administration rolled out the proposed rule in September 2023, taking in over 300,000 comments from the public.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/atf-proposes-rule-close-gun-show-loophole/story?id=102860501

Prior to the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, those "engaged in the business" of firearms dealer were required to register to become a federally licensed firearm dealer, according to the language previously used. The definition that ATF is implementing on Thursday is more specific to better regulate the market in accordance with the new federal law, according to the White House.

The rule now explicitly lists the types of commercial activities that indicate whether a person should become a federally licensed dealer and thus be required to run a background check; prevents people from evading the licensing and background check requirements by claiming that they are just selling a few guns, according to the White House; and prevents people from falsely claiming that guns are part of a personal collection and exempt a seller from running a background check on a buyer.


By being more specific and precise in the definition, Administration officials on a call with reporters said it would require more people to register for a federal selling license and run a background check on the person they are selling to.

President Joe Biden said in a statement he has spent time with people who lost loved ones to gun violence, and that he is taking action to make sure fewer guns are sold without background checks.


"This is going to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers and felons. And my Administration is going to continue to do everything we possibly can to save lives," he said. "Congress needs to finish the job and pass universal background checks legislation now.”

The final rule was signed off by Attorney General Merrick Garland.


“It will also close the gun show loophole and it closes the fire sale loophole as well by clarifying how firearms dealers who go out of business or lose their license must go about liquidating their inventory,” Garland told reporters. “Under this regulation, it will not matter if guns are sold on the internet, at a gun show or in a brick and mortar store, if you sell guns [you] must conduct background checks.”


There are over 80,000 licensed gun dealers in America. The Department of Justice estimates that there are over 20,000 unlicensed sellers who are selling firearms through online advertisements, gun shows and other means, according to the White House.

A senior administration official told ABC News they are confident the actions are legal and will stand up to potential challenges in court.

“Strong regulations like this one are not in conflict with the Second Amendment,” the senior official said.

Biden Says He Is Considering Dropping Prosecution of Julian Assange​

Apr 11, 2024

President Biden said Wednesday that he is considering a request from Australia to drop the prosecution of WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange. Today marks five years since Assange was locked up in London’s Belmarsh Prison facing extradition to the United States for publishing classified documents that exposed U.S. war crimes. Earlier today, Reporters Without Borders repeated its call for Assange to be immediately released.

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Tolerance is the name of the game.

Glad we went and all. And, Lester getting hurt was the end of it. But, had we not gone that far, would our expectations be so over the top?

It’s like we thought we belonged after that, and we don’t.

We don’t pull the players, no discredit to all the tremendous ones who’ve followed.

We definitely don’t get big time coaches lining up to take the reins of our program. We ran Lute out of town.

We’re Iowa. Flyover Iowa. Cornfields Iowa. Trapped in time Iowa. And, I don’t think we’re making roads to be any better.

Hell, people shit on players that play here. Give their all and stack up some real nice numbers.

Not good enough.

Read that sentence again.

It’s gonna take a serious commitment from the top down to change the big picture, if they even want to.

Throw rocks.