A Saudi Arabian judoka faced off against her Israeli opponent at the Tokyo Olympics today - defying pressure to follow the lead of two other Muslim athletes who boycotted their bouts.

Tahani al-Qahtani fought against Raz Hershko in the women's 78kg category at Tokyo on Friday, before the pair clasped hands and raised them in the air as a show of solidary when the bout was over.

Questions had swirled over whether the bout would go ahead after two Muslim athletes in the men's 73kg competition walked out rather than get in the ring with an Israeli opponent.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9843705/Saudi-judo-Olympian-ignores-pressure-boycott-bout-against-Israeli.html
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The Olympic spirit wins again!

A Newsmax reporter on Friday left White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre baffled after asking a bizarre question about whether White House officials were personally conducting tests to make sure the delta variant had become the dominant strain of the novel coronavirus.

During the Friday White House press briefing, the Newsmax reporter asked, "How do you know test whether it's the dominant strain in the area when people just test whether they're COVID-positive?"

"We don't test it, we listen to public health and scientists and they tell us it's the delta variant," Jean-Pierre said.

The reporter then asked if the health experts explained their "process" for testing.

https://www.rawstory.com/newsmax-reporter/
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These guys remind me of the 90s TV show "You Can't Do That on Television" and the teacher who Plaintively asked "Where do they get them, and why do they keep sending them to me?"

The U.S. Navy will begin preliminary hearings to determine if it will bring arson charges against a sailor accused of starting the 2020 fire that damaged the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) so extensively it had to be scrapped. During the Article 32 preliminary hearing, an officer will review all of the available evidence before determining whether or not charges should be formally referred against the accused. The sailor has not yet been identified.

A media statement issued to Task and Purpose’s Jared Keller from Commander Sean Robertson, spokesperson of the U.S. 3rd Fleet, reads:

On July 29, charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice [UCMJ] were brought forth against a Navy Sailor in response to evidence found during the criminal investigation into the fire started on USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) on July 12, 2020. Evidence collected during the investigation is sufficient to direct a preliminary hearing with due process under the military justice system. The Sailor was a member of Bonhomme Richard’s crew at the time and is accused of starting the fire.

Vice Adm. Steve Koehler, commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet is considering court-martial charges and has directed a preliminary hearing at which an impartial hearing officer will make determinations and recommendations required by the UCMJ prior to any further trial proceedings - including whether or not there is probable cause to believe an offense has been committed and to offer a recommendation as to the disposition of the case.


https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/41759/navy-formally-accuses-sailor-of-starting-the-fire-that-destroyed-the-uss-bonhomme-richard
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I'm a Navy brat, and this fire really hurt my heart. Just the thought that it could be arson, especially if intentional, hurts worse.

I have a really good article I'd like to share from a source I'm subscribed to, but it's marked "Subscribers Only" which of course means it would be paywalled. I have looked for other similar articles from other sources but haven't found one. Should I just forget about it, or post it anyway?

TULSA, Okla. (Gray News) – Police arrested a mother in Oklahoma for child neglect after her 12-year-old daughter gave birth to the child of a man twice her age.

According to the Tulsa Police Department, an investigation revealed the child’s mother and family members were aware of the relationship between 24-year-old Juan Miranda-Jara and the girl.

Miranda-Jara admitted to police he had been in a relationship with the girl since October 2020. Police say the family allowed for the relationship to happen.

“There are photos of the family throwing a baby shower for the victim and the suspect,” police wrote in a statement posted on Facebook.

https://www.wvlt.tv/2021/07/30/mother-arrested-child-neglect-after-12-year-old-daughter-gives-birth/
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But wait, there's more! Click on the embedded story about the guy....

Youth Olympics hammer thrower Alegna Osorio has died from head injuries sustained in a training accident, the Cuban national sports institute said on Thursday.

The 19-year-old Osorio was struck by a hammer at a track and field stadium in Cuba in April.

“We share this unbearable pain with her family,” said Osvaldo Vento, the president of Cuba’s national sports institute.

Osorio placed fourth in the girls’ event at the 2018 Buenos Aires Youth Olympics and took bronze at the Pan-American under-20 championships two years ago.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/29/youth-olympian-alegna-osorio-dies-after-being-struck-by-hammer-during-training
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This is a sad and devastating but thankfully relatively rare event. However, as the grandmother of a young woman who, as her mom puts it, "throws shit" (discus and shot) I am aware of the dangers. Peace and light to Alegna's family.

Come, young ones: Gather around the glow of the smartphone's screen for a tale of a distant time when we watched TV on big boxy machines, and switched channels when we were bored.

There were commercials — several of them — between the segments of TV shows. What's more, in the distant era before streaming, you had to watch them all — or, if you had time, run to the kitchen or the bathroom. You couldn't pause, or fast forward, or take the screen with you.

And in the darkest, wee-est hours, when all the real programming ran out, the night creatures emerged — beasts called infomercials that were entire TV programs about people selling products that might be useful to you but that you probably didn't know you wanted.

These immediate forebears of home-shopping channels and, beyond them, the content marketing techniques of the 21st century were where Ron Popeil, an American original who gave the world the word "Ronco" and died Wednesday at 86, thrived.


https://www.npr.org/2021/07/29/1022133556/ron-popeil-the-inventor-wait-theres-more-late-night-infomercials-is-dead-at-86

Federal prison officials have allowed Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics doctor accused of sexually abusing hundreds of girls and women, to avoid paying financial penalties that are part of his sentence — even as he spent more than $10,000 from his Federal Bureau of Prisons account while behind bars, according to a new court filing.

The spending details are contained in a prosecutor’s motion Wednesday that seeks to force the Bureau of Prisons to turn over Nassar’s current prison account balance to help cover a court-
ordered payment of $5,300 to the federal Crime Victims Fund.

Bureau of Prisons officials have required Nassar to pay only about $100 a year, according to court papers, or about $300 since he entered the federal prison system in late 2017 after pleading guilty to receiving and possessing child pornography.

During the same period, Nassar spent more than $10,000 through his government-run prison account that covers commissary, email and phone expenses, a situation that one former law enforcement official called an egregious example of how the agency fails crime victims.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/larry-nassar-prison-bank-account/2021/07/28/abdf6560-ee14-11eb-bf80-e3877d9c5f06_story.html

Most nights at 7 pm we watch an episode or two of "Gunsmoke" which always was, and remains to this day, my favorite western, radio or TV. I wasn't allowed to listen to it on the radio ('too violent'), but my brothers and I would sneak when our parents were out and we had a babysitter. I never knew William Conrad was a short fat dude until he got his own show, but whatever. Anyway, in recent years it's been interesting to me to note that the show tackled a number of social issues including domestic abuse (both spousal and child), racial prejudice--Matt Dillon almost always took the side of the Native Americans--and an occasional dip into addiction, both alcohol and gambling. And while I like Matt, my favorite character on the show always was, and remains to this day, Doc Adams. I was always curious about him, his background, and how he ended up in Dodge. Very few clues, although in one show he encounters a man he treated years ago in Libby Prison during the Civil War. (And for a show that takes place in the 1870s, there are darn few references to the Civil War, which is kind of odd.) I am also fond of Miss Kitty, and there's a lot abut her background. But it was never quite the same after Chester left.

As a young teen, I liked "Cheyenne", but now I can't stand it. Just unreal. I still love "Have Gun, Will Travel", but it's pretty politically incorrect these days ("Hey Girl"? Really? And it was "Hey Boy" on the radio, which is worse.) Richard Boone, however...what can I say?
And in my college days, there were a bunch of us who used to meet every day at 5 pm to watch reruns of "Maverick" because it was funny, but we knew it was anything but real. I don't think it's even funny now. Never liked "Bonanza" or "The Big Valley". "Sugarfoot"? "Petticoat Junction"? Spare me.

Anyone else? (Especially "Gunsmoke" fans)

Source: Washington Post

TOKYO — Sunisa Lee, an 18-year-old from Minnesota, won the Olympic all-around title in a competition that came down to the final routines. Team USA has won every all-around title at the Games since 2004, and even after Simone Biles withdrew as she continues to work through mental health struggles, the Americans’ streak remains intact.

Rebeca Andrade of Brazil had an opportunity to climb ahead of Lee with her floor routine, but she went out of bounds twice and finished fewer than two tenths behind. Lee earned a 57.433, and Andrade finished with a 57.298. With an immense amount of pressure during the final rotation, Lee hit her floor routine with poise and earned the best score she’s gotten on that apparatus at these Games.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/07/29/olympic-gymnastics-all-around-final/

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I have been following this young woman with increasing interest. She is SO steady and peaked at just the right time!