On this day in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for his revolutionary invention: the telephone. The first words communicated were the famous “Mr. Watson, come here, I need you”—from Bell to his assistant.
Here is a surprise….. California Gov. Gavin Newsom broke with Democrats on the issue of transgender athletes, stating Democrats were wrong to allow biological men to compete in women’s sports events.
He said it’s “deeply unfair” for transgender girls and women to compete in female sports, breaking with fellow Democrats who have generally supported allowing trans student athletes to play on school sports teams that align with their gender identities.
Newsom made his remarks Thursday in the debut episode of his podcast, “This Is Gavin Newsom,” in which he conducted a 71-minute interview with conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, who opposes same-sex marriage and has said there is an “LGBTQ agenda.”
US plans to fire 80,000 Veterans Affairs workers as part of Trump cuts according to an internal memo seen by Reuters, drawing condemnation from some military veteran groups and Democrats.
The VA’s chief of staff, Christopher Syrek, sent a memo to senior agency officials on Tuesday, telling them the goal was to return the agency to 2019 staffing levels of just under 400,000. That would mean cutting about 82,000 staff.
“Now, we regret anyone who loses their job and it’s extraordinarily difficult for me especially as a VA leader and your secretary to make these types of decisions but the federal government does not exist to employ people. It exists to serve people,” Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins said in a video posted on X on Wednesday.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have become the first NBA team to clinch a postseason berth after defeating the Miami Heat 112-107 for their 12th consecutive win, improving to 52-10 on the season.
It’s odd that I have not watched a single game this season.
Hamas has brushed off President Donald Trump’s latest threat and reiterated that it will only free the remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
The militant group accused Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to back out of the ceasefire agreement they reached in January. The agreement calls for negotiations over a second phase in which the hostages would be released in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a permanent ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua said the “best path to free the remaining Israeli hostages” is through negotiations on that phase, which were supposed to begin in early February. Only limited preparatory talks have been held so far.
On Wednesday, Trump issued what he said was a “last warning” to Hamas after meeting with eight former hostages. The White House meanwhile confirmed it had held unprecedented direct talks with the militant group, which Israel and Western countries view as a terrorist organization.
“Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Only sick and twisted people keep bodies, and you are sick and twisted!”
We shall see….
