The legendary Ruth Slenczynska, born on January 15, 1925, is the last living student of Rachmaninoff. At 91 years old, she gives a breathtaking performance of Brahms' Intermezzo Op.118 No.2.

NEW: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools provides 21 executives with vehicles issued by the district, including nine members of Superintendent Crystal Hill’s cabinet, according to public records obtained by the Observer.

⚠️INSIDER CRONYISM AT SOUTH CAROLINA PORTS AUTHORITY⚠️These nine political appointees on the South Carolina Ports Authority Board are the ultimate example of insider cronyism dressed up as public service. Hand-picked by the Governor (mostly McMaster lately, with plenty of carryovers from Haley), rubber-stamped by the Senate, and dominated for years by Columbia developer Bill Stern as chairman, a guy who's funneled over $700,000 into South Carolina political campaigns. Many others on the board are former gubernatorial staffers, law firm partners with deep Republican ties, or well-connected business types from the Midlands. One from Charleston at best, and for a stretch in 2025, zero, despite the port being the economic engine for the entire Lowcountry. They get paid a pathetic $11,700 a year (plus expenses) for what is supposedly a part-time gig. Yet they control one of the most powerful economic machines in the entire state. The Port operation whose revenues have more than doubled in the last decade (from roughly $197 million in FY2015 to $426.5 million in FY2025). The whole thing generates an $87 billion annual economic impact, supports 260,000 jobs, and prints serious money through container fees, inland ports, chassis pools, and expansions, all while operating with almost no direct taxpayer operating subsidies. So why do wealthy, politically connected people fight for these seats like they're gold-plated? It's not the chump change stipend. It's the raw power. They get to: 💩Hire and fire the CEO 💩Approve massive contracts and capital projects worth hundreds of millions 💩Steer where new terminals, rail, and industrial development go 💩Influence harbor deepening, land deals, and infrastructure priorities that directly affect real estate values and business opportunities For a developer like Stern, or the network of insiders around him, this is a front-row seat to the biggest money spigot in South Carolina. You don't need a fat salary when you can shape policy that benefits your friends, your donors, your law firms, and your own business interests. 💩It's the classic South Carolina patronage game: loyal donors and operatives get rewarded with influence over a public asset that moves the entire state's economy. Meanwhile, local Charleston voices get sidelined, transparency is minimal, and the board operates like a private club for the connected. The port's explosive growth is impressive on paper, but don't kid yourself. 💩A big chunk of that "success" is being overseen by people whose primary qualification is political loyalty and campaign check-writing ability, not deep port expertise or accountability to the communities that actually feel the trucks, the congestion, and the impacts every single day. This isn't governance. It's a sweet little club where the well-connected get to play God over billions in commerce for pocket change, and everyone else gets to foot the real costs while they cash in on the connections.

I decided to move to a new bank because Wells Fargo sucks. Tried to put in the transfer request for all the money in Wells and a pop up says I'm only allowed to transfer $5000 in 1 day and $6000 in 1 month... I called and told them I wanted to move it all and they said: WF: "Im sorry sir, the account type won't allow us to do that." Me: "It's a checking account?" WF: "Yes, but it's a blah blah blah account with no fees." Me: "Okay, change it to another account type." WF: "We can't do that sir." Me: "Okay, is there an account that would allow me to transfer all the money out at once?" WF: "No" Me: "So why are you blaming it on the account type instead of saying it's your company policy?" WF: "I'm sorry sir, is there anything else I can help you with?" So I just put all of my expenses on that account and setup my payroll to go entirely into my new account. Took a bit of time but Wells has $0 of my money now and I'll never do business with them again...

Beside my sandwich, unbidden, lay a spear of deepest green, perfect in its solitude. Its silent arrival filled me with questions. It was simply there. Glistening. Diagonal. Touching nothing, claiming nothing, present. "I did not order this." "It comes with it," the woman said. Comes with it. From where. By whose decree. The menu does not mention the pickle. The receipt does not list the pickle. It is paid for by no one, and it arrives anyway — like a retainer who serves without salary because his grandfather served your grandfather. I looked around. The man at the next table had one. The woman by the window had one. Everyone had one. An entire nation, quietly attended. "You gonna eat that?" the man asked. I guarded it with my forearm. Whatever this green vassal is, it was assigned to MY plate. In my land, every item on the tray earns its place through ceremony and law. Here, the pickle holds no rank, claims no purpose, and is never explained. And yet remove it — picture the plate without it — and something is wrong. The sandwich stands alone. Unattended. A lord without a second. I ate the sandwich. The pickle waited. Of course it waited. The second eats last. Then I ate the pickle, and it was cold and sour and loyal, and I understood it had never needed an explanation. Some service is not written down. The pickle arrives. That is the whole oath. I confess that home now troubles me. When I cook for myself, the plate looks bare. Nothing on it would die for the sandwich. I bought a jar. My plates fly a green second now. The oath continues.

Hey @Delta, quick question. How does a SkyMiles member with over half a million lifetime miles who paid $1,000 for a 1.5-hour flight end up in Boarding Zone 8… of 8? Did your loyalty program get outsourced to an algorithm with a 75 IQ?

Once you understand how helicopters work. And the cleverness of the swashplate. And how steering linkages elegantly compensate for gyroscopic precession. And how the rotors will autorotate in an emergency. You never want to get into one of those flying bolt buckets again.

This is: The United States Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor, Stephen Miller: “The reason why those Americans in North Carolina, those mothers, those fathers, those precious little children, were left to die begging their government for help that never came is because the Democrats turned FEMA into an illegal alien resettlement agency.” Meaning: The Democrats said FEMA had NO money and left fathers to die in Maui. The Democrats said FEMA had NO money and left mothers to die in East Palestine, Ohio. The Democrats said FEMA had NO money and left children to die in North Carolina. BUT FEMA had an extra $1 BILLION to spend on illegals, including Social Security, Medicaid, SNAP, and voter registration. And, as a bonus, they complain that Elon Musk is now a trillionaire.

Hi @PBS, according to your own standards staff must exercise civility online and avoid sharing opinions online that compromises PBS’s public trust Does a board member calling for Trump to suffer a severe illness leaving him permanently disabled fall under these guidelines??

I got banned in India for talking about their military plane crashes, so I’m just going to set this right here.

Kelly, a Texas real estate license holder, testified at a Frisco City Council meeting about widespread housing and employment abuses tied to immigrants from India. She described a system where Indian applicants qualify for apartments but vanish after approval, with friends or others taking keys and the original leaseholder returning to India, bypassing standard background checks and creating fair housing violations that could trigger MASSIVE lawsuits! Once units go to Indian tenants, they sublease internally via Indian Facebook groups and apps, excluding all other races and nationalities. Fake tech companies hire entry-level H1Bs, pay for 10 apartments at a time, and supply groceries, while Americans lose jobs to these replacements and face evictions that block renting for 4-7 years!

Today is an important day for our state. South Carolina is at a crossroads: do we become California or do we move in a more conservative direction?  That’s why I’m excited to announce my complete endorsement of @AGAlanWilson. Alan is a combat veteran, a prosecutor, a family man, and a christian. I believe he will work with conservatives across the state to advance an agenda that puts South Carolinians first.  South Carolina can’t take another 8 years of more of the same: backroom deals, failing roads, a corrupted judicial system, sky high taxes, and increased wasteful spending.  We need a battle tested conservative to get down to Columbia and clean up the mess. I’m fully convinced Alan Wilson is the man for the job. Over the next several days, I will be doing what I can to ensure my voters turn out to vote for him, and that we secure a DECISIVE victory for him on June 23rd.

Thank you! It is truly concerning. Spiritual disciplines is also a phrase from this heresy. When I've seen pastors use these words up I've wondered if they're completely unaware of every wind of doctrine blowing through the church.

Pastors, I am *begging* y'all, in the same way you would not use the word "gay" to mean "happy and cheerful" because of the current connotation of that word, please stop using the terms... "formation" and "spiritual formation" ...to mean "normal, biblical discipleship/Bible study." There is currently a popular false doctrine out there called "Spiritual Formation". In a nutshell, it's mysticism and contemplative spirituality mainly from Richard Foster and Dallas Willard. It's not something you want your church members or potential church members to be confused about. This is Spiritual Formation: awordfitlyspoken.life/podcas… Share this around to help make others aware.

Please use your platform and repost and bring attention , EGYPT is going to prosecute him for converting to Christianity. Read more 👇

Tommy Robinson has just walked out of court with a victory that is already being called one of the most explosive free-speech moments in Britain. The terrorism-related case against him — linked to his refusal to hand over his phone PIN to UK police — was thrown out after the judge ruled the stop unlawful and reportedly said Robinson had been targeted because of his political views. This was not just about a phone. This was about power, politics, journalism, and whether the state can treat someone like a national security threat simply because it dislikes what they say. Robinson says he refused to unlock his phone to protect journalistic sources. The state treated it as a terrorism matter. The court, according to Robinson’s reaction, saw something far more disturbing: political targeting. Then came the detail that made the story explode worldwide: **Elon Musk reportedly helped finance Robinson’s legal defense**, stepping in where others stayed silent and turning the case into a global battle over free expression. Robinson thanked Musk publicly, asking why it had taken an American businessman to fight for justice in Britain. “First of all, thank you, Elon Musk,” Robinson said, before adding that he was targeted because of his political beliefs and that counterterrorism police were allegedly used to get access to his phone as a journalist. For supporters, this ruling is a brutal warning to the establishment: if terrorism powers can be used against controversial speech today, who will be next tomorrow? Critics will still call Robinson divisive, but this case has forced a bigger question onto the table — do rights only apply to people the government likes?

SHOCKING: The Rwandan immigrant Emmanuel Abayisenga had his asylum application in France rejected repeatedly since he filed it in 2012. Despite the deportation orders, he remained in the country illegally for years. The local priests entrusted him with the keys to the Nantes cathedral, assigning him the task of closing and caring for the building. After he set the cathedral on fire in 2020, destroying the organ and the choir, Father Maire took him into his own home, offering him shelter while awaiting trial. He then murdered Father Maire the following year. Suicidal empathy in a nutshell. Almost unbelievable.

I'm a cardiologist. I've held dying hearts in my hands in the cath lab at 3 AM. And I need to tell you something that changes everything about how we prevent heart attacks. For decades, the entire field was built on one target: lower LDL cholesterol. Statins save lives — that's settled science. But too many of my patients did everything right — took their statins, hit their numbers, lived clean — and still ended up on my table with a ruptured artery. We were treating the smoke while the fire kept burning. The fire is inflammation. And the evidence is now overwhelming. The CANTOS trial proved it first — lowering inflammation independent of cholesterol reduced cardiac events. But the newer data is what keeps me up at night. AI-enhanced CT angiography can now detect inflamed arteries by measuring changes in the fat surrounding your coronary vessels — the perivascular fat attenuation index. Higher inflammation in the fat around even one artery independently predicts cardiac death. When multiple arteries show inflammation, the risk multiplies dramatically — even in patients whose cholesterol looks perfect. This isn't theoretical. This is measurable. Right now. On a scan you can get this month. Low-dose colchicine — a drug that's been around for centuries for gout — is now FDA-approved specifically for reducing cardiovascular events. It works by quieting the inflammatory cascade that destabilizes the plaque sitting in your arteries. A pill that costs pennies is saving lives the statins couldn't reach. And the next wave is already in Phase 3 trials. Ziltivekimab — an IL-6 inhibitor — targets the central inflammatory pathway driving atherosclerosis. Phase 2 data showed a 90% reduction in hsCRP. The ZEUS cardiovascular outcomes trial is enrolling now, with results expected late 2026 into 2027. If positive, anti-inflammatory therapy will become standard in managing heart disease alongside lipid-lowering. The era of inflammation-targeted cardiology is arriving. But it goes deeper than drugs. AI is now predicting heart failure and cardiac events 5 years before symptoms — integrating CT imaging, electronic health records, and genetic data with accuracy that jumps far beyond traditional risk calculators. And polygenic risk scores — a simple genetic test that flags inherited cardiovascular risk — are now formally recognized as a risk-enhancing factor in the 2026 ACC/AHA guidelines. A single blood draw can reveal risk that's been silently building since birth. Decades before the first chest pain. Here's what this means for you right now — today: Ask your doctor for a high-sensitivity CRP test. It's cheap, routine, and measures the systemic inflammation that standard cholesterol panels completely miss. You can have perfect LDL and inflamed arteries that are quietly preparing to rupture. If your hsCRP is elevated, discuss low-dose colchicine with your physician. It's FDA-approved for exactly this. Push for a coronary CT angiography with AI plaque and inflammation analysis if you have risk factors. This isn't the stress test your parents got. This is 3D visualization of your actual arteries — with AI quantifying not just how much plaque you have, but what kind it is and whether the surrounding tissue is inflamed. Consider polygenic risk score testing — especially with a family history of early heart disease. It's now guideline-supported. And the foundation that never changes: move daily, eat real food, sleep 7-9 hours, manage stress, and know your numbers — ApoB, Lp(a), hsCRP, fasting insulin. I left Iran as a child with nothing. I rebuilt everything in a country that gave me the freedom to become a physician. I've spent twenty years watching patients get second chances. The ones who haunt me aren't the ones who died on my table. They're the ones who survived but never acted on what the science was telling them — years before the event that didn't have to happen. You can have perfect cholesterol and still have a heart attack. Inflammation plus genetics can drive plaque rupture in arteries that look "fine" on a standard panel. The myth that normal cholesterol means you're safe has cost more lives than I can count. We now have the tools to detect the fire — not just the smoke. AI to see it. Genetics to predict it. Drugs to quiet it. And the ancient basics — movement, real food, sleep, purpose — to prevent it from starting. Prevention is the new cure. And the science to make it real is no longer coming. It's here.

Scotland should win the World Cup just for this alone.

Wow! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💙 Thousands of Scotland fans are taking part in the Tartan Army March to Fenway Park in Boston ahead of the Red Sox game In partnership with @sparscotland