In 1996 TWA Flight 800 was shot down south of Long Island.

The government of the United States, despite the embarrassment of having been caught in court rigging lab tests and lying in its reports, still officially attributes the disaster to a spark in the center fuel tank, while government spokespeople insist that the witnesses who saw a missile hit the jumbo jet are all drunks

 ==============================================================

Rare Wartime Protests Across Ukraine As Zelensky Moves To Oust Defense Chief

 Rare wartime protests have broken out in Ukraine in the wake of President Zelensky sacking his popular Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov - which is reportedly in process but not finalized yet.

The 35-year old defense chief was only six months into his tenure, and is widely hailed as a reformist innovator who has turned the tide of war, having overseen a strategy of punishing wave after wave of devastating drones on Russian energy infrastructure.

The NY Times on Thursday said that "thousands of people took to the streets of cities across Ukraine on Thursday to protest" his dismissal.

This marks only the second time of the war that protests of this size have broken out in the capital and other cities, related to deeply unpopular moves and policies of President Zelensky:

The demonstrations were only the second large street protests in Ukraine during more than four years of war. Rallies also took place last year against a move by President Volodymyr Zelensky to neuter anticorruption agencies.

On Thursday, protesters poured into a square in central Kyiv, the capital. They turned out in Odesa, in the south, and in Lviv, in the west. In the frontline city of Kharkiv, in the northeast, more than 300 protesters with cardboard signs crowded sidewalks, chanting “Shame, shame, shame!” Their numbers grew as the morning wore on.

Ukrainians started venting their anger on social media as soon as Fedorov' s impending dismissal was announced via Ukrainian national media.

 https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/rare-wartime-protests-across-ukraine-cities-zelensky-moves-oust-defense-chief

 ==============================================================

Lawyers to investigate claims of GB power grid cover-up over blackout risk

 Great Britain’s grid operator has brought in independent investigators to look into accusations that its staff were involved in a cover-up over the power system being at a greater risk of blackouts during the heatwave.

The government-owned energy system operator will face the scrutiny of an external legal firm after a whistleblower claimed that control room staff were warned against leaving a paper trail relating to efforts to stabilise the power system during record high temperatures in late June.

The accusations, which were raised in parliament last week by the Conservative shadow minister Claire Coutinho, include claims that senior bosses at the National Energy System Operator (Neso) were “risking blackouts to protect Neso’s reputation”.

“These whistleblowers are coming to me because they are worried that the grid is becoming increasingly unmanageable and they do not have faith that their concerns are being taken seriously internally,” Coutinho said.

Industry data shows that power grid frequency fell below operational limits as the high-pressure heat dome curbed renewable energy generation and triggered unplanned outages at gas plants, while demand for electricity to run air-conditioning systems surged.

The whistleblower alleged that during this period senior bosses ordered control room staff to ensure that there was no audit trail or records of key decisions made relating to managing fluctuations in the electricity system.

 https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jul/13/lawyers-to-investigate-claims-of-gb-power-grid-cover-up-over-blackout-risk

=================================================================================

Congress just hit the brakes on a defense bill that almost always passes

 The Senate didn’t just stumble over another spending bill.

It stalled a $1.15 trillion National Defense Authorization Act.

The vote failed 50 to 46.

It needed 60 votes just to begin debate.

That almost never happens.

The NDAA has been one of Congress’s most reliable bipartisan bills for decades.

This time was different.

The obvious reason was Iran.

Democrats argued Congress shouldn’t approve one of the biggest military budgets in U.S. history while the administration’s military campaign against Iran continues without a broader congressional debate.

But that wasn’t the only fight.

Several senators also objected to provisions expanding U.S.-Israel defense cooperation.

One proposal would create a Pentagon position dedicated to coordinating U.S. and Israeli defense technology.

Another would expand intelligence sharing.

Another would increase cooperation between both militaries.

Those aren’t minor changes.

They’re structural.

Outside Congress, 14 organizations, including the ACLU, J Street, CODEPINK, and Win Without War, urged senators not to move forward unless lawmakers were allowed to vote on restricting funding for the Iran war.

Then look at the politics.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll found Democratic support for Israel fell from 59% in 2018 to 22% in May 2026.

That’s not a small shift.

 https://www.investmentwatchblog.com/congress-just-hit-the-brakes-on-a-defense-bill-that-almost-always-passes/

==========================================================================

Chinese Trains Return To Iran Bridge Repaired

 =====================================================================

Montana License Plates Explained

Another dryer saved

If you have a broken appliance and you don’t want to see it go to the landfill use the website takemyappliance.com and a local person will come get it. If you want to pick up appliances and flipped them for money visit takemyappliance.com/partners

 Lefties Losing It: The View's Sunny Hostin pulls celebrity card after son's arrest

 (BS part about the US winning in Hormuz.)