📢 Forum Update - Hello everyone! I've made an improvement to the forum that should make following active discussions much easier. Beginning today, forum topics will display the most recent replies first (while keeping the original topic post at the top), so you no longer have to navigate through multiple pages to find the latest conversation. This change also helps improve the browsing experience in long-running discussions with many pages of replies. If you notice anything that doesn't seem to be working correctly or have any feedback, please let me know. — Richard G. While some initially cast doubt on whether Audacy will be actually controlled by Soros, the FCC's Monday memo reveals a Soros entity will hold a "controlling, attributable interest in the reorganized company, holding 57% or greater" of Audacy. All three Democratic appointees on the FCC supported the final decision both to approve the assignment of licenses previously under the control of a Texas bankruptcy court to the reorganized Audacy and to spare the company from having to comply with Section 310(b)(4) of the Communications Act, which prohibits foreign owners from having a stake in a radio station license exceeding 25%. Trump-appointed FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said in his dissenting statement, "The Commission’s decision today is unprecedented." "Never before has the Commission voted to approve the transfer of a broadcast license — let alone the transfer of broadcast licenses for over 200 radio stations across more than 40 markets — without following the requirements and procedures codified in federal law," continued Carr. "Not once." Carr previously told nationally syndicated radio host and Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck, "Foreign company ownership of U.S. radio stations is not supposed to exceed 25%. But Soros took foreign investment to make his bid, and then he asked the FCC to make an exception to the usual review process." Legendary actor and country singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson, most known for his roles in A Star is Born (1976) and Blade (1998), died at the age of 88 on Saturday. A representative for Kristofferson confirmed that the star died peacefully at his home in Maui over the weekend. In a statement, Kristofferson’s family said he’s “smiling down at us all.” His music career would lead him to five Grammy wins, including a lifetime achievement award in 2014. Minneapolis, Minnesota, has sworn in its first police officer who is not a U.S. citizen, according to reports. The Minnesota Police Dept. has reported that Lesly Vera, a native of Somalia, was sworn in on Thursday as the department’s first non-citizen officer. Vera was seen at the swearing-in ceremony wearing a hijab over her head as she took the oath of office and received her badge. She is a legal resident alien and authorized to work, but is not a U.S. citizen. The Somali migrant community in Minneapolis is the largest in the United States and the city has been a target of Somali migration since the 1990s. Somalis were drawn to the city for its generous welfare programs and the chance to live as ex-pats among their own countrymen, but the community has recently been rocked by a massive fraud case entailing tens of millions in stolen Medicaid funding connected to a fake charity called Feeding Our Future run by leading local Somali residents. The door was opened for Vera last year when the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) adopted new rules that allowed state law enforcement agencies to elevate non-citizens to the role of police officer. The citizenship requirement was dropped and applicants now only need to be a legal resident and cleared to work in the U.S. to be handed a gun and badge. Minnesota is not the only state working to allow non-citizens to become police officers. California, Colorado, and Illinois are also crafting legislation to give non-citizens police powers. Minneapolis was rocked in 2017 when police officer and Somali-native Mohamed Noor shot and killed an Australian woman while responding to a 911 call. Officer Noor was eventually convicted of third-degree murder and manslaughter, though the state Supreme court later vacated the third-degree conviction. Ultimately, Noor was sentenced to 57 months for murdering the woman. The city received widespread criticism over the move on social media. X chief Elon Musk, for one, was disturbed by the news that a non-citizen was given powers to detain, arrest, and jail citizens. Musk likened the situation to the fall of the Roman Empire, adding that “the Roman Army also increasingly relied on non-citizens.” A Tesla electric vehicle caught fire while parked inside a garage that was flooded with saltwater from Hurricane Helene in Florida, prompting officials to issue warnings to EV owners in storm-affected areas. WFLA reports that dramatic surveillance footage released by Pinellas County authorities in Florida shows the moment a parked Tesla spontaneously burst into flames inside a garage that had been inundated by floodwaters from Hurricane Helene. The video reveals how the fire originated underneath the electric vehicle and rapidly spread, completely engulfing the car in flames within a span of just one minute as thick, billowing smoke filled the cluttered garage space. Authorities further advised EV owners to take necessary precautions to prevent similar fire hazards. They strongly recommended against charging, driving, or storing electric vehicles and e-bikes inside homes or garages if the vehicles had been exposed to saltwater flooding. The county stressed that any flooded electric vehicle should be moved at least 50 feet away from flammable materials and towed to a dealership for a thorough safety inspection before attempting to operate it again. In 2022, Florida Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis wrote an urgent letter to the NHTSA seeking guidance on how to deal with the threat of EV fires caused by stormwater: Last week, electric vehicles were seen catching on fire in Florida after becoming waterlogged during Hurricane Ian, giving firefighters “a new challenge” they “haven’t faced before,” Patronis said. “I joined North Collier Fire Rescue to assess response activities related to Hurricane Ian and saw with my own eyes an EV continuously ignite, and continually reignite, as fireteams doused the vehicle with tens-of-thousands of gallons of water,” Patronis continued in his letter to the NHTSA.
Kris Kristofferson, Country Music Icon, ‘Blade,’ ‘A Star is Born’ Star, Dead at 88:
Minneapolis Swears In First Non-U.S. Citizen as Police Officer:
Electric Time Bomb: Tesla Bursts into Flames Inside Garage Flooded by Hurricane Helene: