Californians are urged to avoid charging electric vehicles, days after the state announced the ban of new sales of gas-powered cars by 2035: California energy managers are warning that an expected heat wave over Labor Day weekend could cause blackouts and are urging state residents to conserve energy — which is bad news for electric vehicle owners. The California Independent System Operator — a non-profit that manages the power grid for 80% of California and a small part of Nevada — issued a bulletin Tuesday announcing that "extreme heat" conditions are "likely to strain the grid with increased energy demands, especially over the holiday weekend." "The power grid operator expects to call on Californians for voluntary energy conservation via Flex alerts over the long weekend," the bulletin announced. If a Flex Alert is issued, residents will be urged to reduce energy use between 4 and 9 p.m. to relieve stress on the power grid. "Set thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, avoid using large appliances and charging electric vehicles, and turn off unnecessary lights," the ISO advised. The warning came days after California's Air Resources Board voted to ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035. All new cars, trucks, and SUVs sold in the state will be required to run on electricity or hydrogen. Experts have warned that California's power grid does not currently have the capability to add millions of electric vehicles that need to be charged to operate. "Last week, California announced a ban on the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035. This week, they're telling people not to charge their electric vehicles," tweeted John Cooper, a spokesman for the conservative Heritage Foundation. https://www.theblaze.com/news/californians-told-not-to-charge-electric-vehicles Energy Company Shuts Down Access to Home Thermostats During 90 Degree Heat Wave in Denver: Now you know why the government and Big Tech were pushing smart meters. Residents in Colorado were surprised this week when they were unable to adjust the smart meters in their own homes. The government shut down access to their home thermostat in order to save on energy during the current heat wave. It’s for your own good. The Gateway Pundit warned consumers about smart meters back in 2011 when the Obama White House was pushing the idea. New Jersey banned supermarkets from providing plastic and paper bags — now people are apparently taking shopping baskets from stores: New Jersey's ban blocking various stores from providing customers with plastic bags is apparently causing a problem as some grocery stores experience the theft of plastic shopping baskets. "They are just disappearing," noted Louis Scaduto Jr. of Food Circus Super Markets, which owns several Super Foodtown stores in Monmouth County, according to Asbury Park Press. "I may actually have to just do away with them soon, can't afford to keep replacing them," he communicated via text message, according to the outlet. Scaduto's LinkedIn profile indicates that he is the "President / CEO / Co Owner of Food Circus Supermarkets, Inc." Asbury Park Press reported that Stop & Shop noted in a statement, "Like other retailers across the state, we have experienced theft of our handheld shopping baskets — an unintended consequence of the ban on plastic and paper bags." https://www.theblaze.com/news/new-jersey-bag-ban-baskets 'Pride' Event Canceled as Europeans March in Defense of Christian Values: 'We Don't Give Up Holy Places': These days, it is often considered tantamount to professing allegiance to Nazi ideology to openly oppose homosexuality as a matter of Christian conviction. So I believe we have something to admire in the thousands of Serbian Christians who protested against a massive LGBT “pride” event planned in their country — Christians who were not afraid to boldly declare that “we don’t give up holy places,” as one sign professed. Reuters reported that thousands turned up, led by members of the Serbian Orthodox Church, whose bishops are calling for the event to be banned. The outlet noted that the day before, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic had said Euro Pride, which is held every year in a different European city, will be postponed or canceled. Still adamant as to the threat to traditional values that the LGBT movement poses in their country, protesters carried signs saying “Keep your hands off our children” and “We don’t want a gay parade and occupation by the West,” according to Balkan Insight. Meanwhile, Western Christians have stood by, afraid of being termed hateful, old-world bigots for opposing LGBT ideology in our own “advanced” countries. To many Europeans, defending their traditional values is a matter of defending centuries of heritage and tradition. But to the unified body of Christ across the globe, defending our right to boldly oppose objective immorality is a matter of defending the cross and our right to bow before it. It is high time we stop being afraid of whom we’ll offend when we stand up for our values — it should concern us much more how many people don’t care about offending God. Americans taking out loans through buy-now, pay-later apps to purchase groceries: Apps that allow users to buy now and pay later have surged in popularity in recent years, with more and more retailers supporting the option. While the service remains most popular for big purchases, with the price of goods continuing to go up, many Americans are now opting to use it to purchase essentials. According to the Daily Mail, one of the major players in the buy now, pay later (BNPL) game, Zip, reported a 95 percent rise in the purchase of groceries using their service in the US. Users can pay for groceries or a pumpkin spice late with just 25 percent down, and the remaining 75 percent split into four payments over the following six weeks. With most buy now, pay later (BNPL) services, consumers are given the opportunity to split the cost of a purchase over a number of weeks or months, often with no interest. As with credit cards, it is easy to swipe, only to realize when it comes time to pay that you don't have enough money in your account.
According to Credit Karma, one third of BNPL users reported that they had fallen behind on at least one payment, with 72 percent of them adding that it had had an impact on their credit score. Many service providers charge late fees, meaning a simple purchase can quickly become expensive if payments are not made in time.