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Beijing’s first World Humanoid Robot Games open with hip-hop and martial arts

Humanoid robots danced hip-hop, performed martial arts and played keyboard, guitar and drums at the opening ceremony of the first World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing on Thursday evening.

The competition begins Friday with more than 500 humanoid robots in 280 teams from 16 countries, including the U.S., Germany and Japan, competing in sports including soccer, running and boxing. The event comes as China has stepped up efforts to develop humanoid robots powered by artificial intelligence.

During the opening ceremony, the robots demonstrated soccer and boxing among other sports, with some cheering and backflipping as if at a real sports event.

One robot soccer player scored a goal after a few tries, causing the robot goalkeeper to fall to the ground. Another player fell but stood up unassisted.

The robots also modeled fashionable hats and clothes alongside human models. In one mishap, a robot model fell and had to be carried off the stage by two human beings.

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Ukraine’s Patriots Now Struggling To Intercept Enhanced Russian Ballistic Missiles

Asurge in Russian use of ballistic missiles with enhanced maneuvering capabilities has cut into the effectiveness of Ukraine’s Patriot surface-to-air missile systems, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has confirmed. Russian missile strikes, as well as drone attacks, had spiked in recent months, in general, but they have tapered off to a degree recently ahead of a meeting tomorrow between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine has received three Patriot batteries from the United States, as well as two from Germany, one from Romania, and another jointly supplied by Germany and the Netherlands. The Ukrainian armed forces have also received a variety of different interceptors to use with those systems. American authorities announced last month that they were working with European allies to get additional Patriot batteries to Ukraine’s military. Patriot currently represents the only robust defense Ukraine has against incoming ballistic missiles.

However, “the UAF [Ukrainian Air Force] struggled to consistently use Patriot air defense systems to protect against Russian ballistic missiles due to recent Russian tactical improvements, including enhancements that enable their missiles to change trajectory and perform maneuvers rather than flying in a traditional ballistic trajectory,” according to a Special Inspector General report released this week.

This particular passage is cited to “DIA, response to DoD OIG request for information.” The entire report, which was jointly put together by the Offices of the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of State, and U.S. Agency for International Development, discusses U.S. government activities related to Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe between April 1 and June 30.

“For example, [a] June 28 attack included seven ballistic missiles, of which the UAF shot down only one,” the report adds. “A massed attack on July 9 – the largest air attack since the start of the war – included 13 missiles, of which the UAF shot down or suppressed 7.”

The Special Inspector General report does not offer any further details about what specific types of ballistic missiles are at the source of the issue, nor about the “enhancements” that have been made to them. Whether any specific Patriot interceptors have struggled more than others is also unknown.

However, Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat did mention Russia’s domestically developed Iskander-M and North Korean-supplied KN-23s in passing when talking publicly about this issue back in May. The Iskander-M and KN-23 are both short-range ballistic missiles. These are also understood to be, by far, the ballistic missiles that Russia most commonly employs in strikes on Ukraine.

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Marijuana prohibition has been a fraud

Since its inception, efforts to criminalize marijuana and to stigmatize those who consume it have been based upon hyperbole, stereotypes and outright lies.

The initial push for cannabis criminalization, which began in earnest more than a century ago, had little to do with preserving public health or safety. Instead, the move to prosecute cannabis users was based primarily on sensationalism and xenophobia.

For instance, a July 6, 1927, story in the New York Times, headlined “Mexican Family Goes Insane,” farcically claimed: “A widow and her four children have been driven insane by eating the marihuana plant, according to doctors, who say there is no hope of saving the children’s lives and that the mother will be insane for the rest of her life.”

An academic paper titled “Marijuana,” published in 1933 in The Journal of Law and Criminology, similarly made over-the-top allegations about marijuana’s supposed dangers. The authors wrote, “The inevitable result is insanity, which those familiar with it describe as absolutely incurable, and, without exception ending in death.”

By 1937, Harry J. Anslinger — America’s first “Drug Czar” — had successfully lobbied Congress to ban cannabis nationwide. He did so through the continuous use of racist rhetoric. “There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the U.S., and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana use,” he asserted. “This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others.”

Fast-forward to 1971. That’s when the Richard Nixon administration declared drug abuse to be “public enemy number one.” The lynchpin of this campaign was marijuana, which Congress had just classified as a Schedule I controlled substance — the strictest federal category available. Yet, privately, Nixon acknowledged that he did not think cannabis was “particularly dangerous,” and he lamented the “ridiculous” penalties faced by those arrested for possessing it.

Nonetheless, he and those in his administration publicly doubled down on the supposed marijuana threat for reasons that were almost entirely political. As his domestic policy chief, John Ehrlichman, later acknowledged, “We couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the (Vietnam) war or Black,” but we could get “the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and Blacks with heroin.”

By “criminalizing both heavily,” Ehrlichman explained, “we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news.”

“Did we know we were lying about the drugs?” he asked. “Of course we did.”

Now, 50-plus years later, marijuana remains categorized as a Schedule I controlled substance — the same classification as heroin — and various politicians still reiterate many of these same myths and mistruths. Slowly but surely, the public is turning the page. 

According to Gallup, 70% of U.S. adults think “the use of marijuana should be legal.”

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RFK Jr. Takes A Page From The Prohibitionist Playbook By Endorsing Criminalization Of Kratom Compound 7-OH

At a recent press conference, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsed the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recommendation to classify 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) as a federally controlled substance. Despite political promises to forge a different path, the same tired Drug War tactics were on full display.

What Is 7-Hydroxymitragynine?

7-OH is one of many naturally occurring alkaloids found in the leaves of kratom trees. These leaves have been used for centuries as an herbal remedy. They contain a complex blend of alkaloids that interact with opioid, serotonin and alpha-adrenergic receptors. Around the world, people use kratom to help manage discomfort, enhance focus or relax.

In raw, dried kratom leaf, 7-OH exists only in trace amounts (typically less than 0.1 mg per gram of leaf). It’s formed when a more abundant alkaloid, mitragynine, degrades in the leaves.

But in recent years, manufacturers have begun converting large amounts of mitragynine into 7-OH to create extremely potent products. Some capsules and tablets contain 15–50 mg of 7-OH, hundreds of times more than what you’d find in a standard 2–5 gram serving of kratom leaves. 7-OH products produce stronger pain-killing effects than leaf kratom or kratom extract.

Yet potency, on its own, isn’t a problem. The problem is how these products are being manufactured, marketed and sold—with little to no safety testing, evidence for medical claims or manufacturing oversight.

7-OH manufacturing practices are often substandard, resulting in tablets that contain a range of unknown byproducts and impurities with substantial differences between batches. Oftentimes, manufacturers label them with kratom leaf imagery and terminology (such as “advanced kratom alkaloids,” “superior kratom alkaloids,” “premium kratom alkaloids” or “organic kratom extract full-spectrum 7-hydroxymitragynine”) with the clear intention to mislead consumers into thinking isolated 7-OH is similar to kratom.

Few come with clear dosage instructions, warnings about potential interactions or disclosures about dependency risks. And most are sold at gas stations and smoke shops, where employees typically have no education on the products or their potential risks.

What the Media and Government Get Wrong About 7OH

With growing popularity has come growing scrutiny. But government agencies and major media outlets aren’t focusing on the issues laid out above. Instead, the FDA, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and HHS are leaning on a familiar narrative predicated on fear: opioid = bad, synthetic = dangerous and availability = addiction.

None of these equations hold up under scrutiny. First, opioids have saved far more lives than they’ve taken—through pain management, trauma care and palliative medicine. The vast majority of opioid-related deaths involve combinations with other sedatives, not opioids alone.

Second, the natural vs. synthetic distinction tells us nothing meaningful about a drug’s safety. Consider nicotine (natural, widely available, highly addictive) versus naloxone (synthetic, life-saving, non-addictive).

And finally, while availability may shape patterns of use, it’s not what drives addiction. We don’t attribute alcoholism to the mere existence of alcohol—especially when younger generations are drinking less despite liquor stores on every corner. Nor do we assume that junk food availability is the sole cause of disordered eating. Addiction is about context, not presence.

So far, there is little evidence to support the HHS’s narrative that 7-OH is ruining lives. Many people do report issues with dependency and withdrawal, as well as financial issues from spending a lot of money on 7-OH products. But reports of severe 7-OH-related harms (like overdoses) are sparse. There’s currently no public record of a single verified death caused solely by 7-OH. At the same time, many individuals report success using 7-OH to manage conditions that they haven’t found any other viable treatment for.

Despite the lack of research into 7-OH and evidence of significant harm (and the nascent state of medical research), the FDA has formally recommended that 7-OH be added to Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. If approved, possession or production of 7-OH above a certain concentration would be a felony offense.

But placing a compound in Schedule I has historically done nothing to eliminate risk. In fact, we’ve often seen this categorization increase harm by pushing substances into the shadows, where they become harder to monitor, regulate, or use safely.

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Game Day Just Got Creepy: Florida Stadium Swaps Tickets for Faces

The University of Florida has launched a facial recognition-based entry system for football games, making it the first college in the country to introduce this technology at a stadium.

Instead of showing a ticket or scanning a phone, participating fans will now be able to walk into games by having their face scanned at dedicated lanes.

The system, called Express Entry, was created by Wicket and reflects a larger pattern of biometric screening being integrated into major sporting events.

To sign up, fans must link their Ticketmaster accounts and submit a selfie.

Once registered, they can skip traditional lines and enter the stadium through special facial recognition lanes. The University claims the process is quick, easy, and designed to relieve congestion. “With Express Entry, fans can bypass the lines and enter games using their face instead of their phone or ticket. Enrollment is free and simple,” the University Athletic Association explained.

This move is part of a shift in how universities are beginning to experiment with surveillance-oriented technologies under the banner of convenience.

Though the program is optional and traditional ticketing methods remain available, the arrival of facial recognition at a public university venue introduces serious concerns around biometric data collection and surveillance practices in educational and public entertainment settings.

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Newsom says California to draw congressional maps to ‘END TRUMP PRESIDENCY’

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said California will move forward with drawing new congressional maps that he said “WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY” and allow Democrats to take control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

“DONALD ‘TACO’ TRUMP, AS MANY CALL HIM, ‘MISSED’ THE DEADLINE!!! CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE ‘BEAUTIFUL MAPS,’ THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!),” Newsom wrote Tuesday night, in a post written in the style of President Donald Trump’s occasionally all-caps social media posts.

The announcement comes amid Texas Republicans’ efforts to redraw congressional maps in their party’s favor. The redistricting showdown in Texas has led blue states to threaten to retaliate — with Newsom proposing to cut five GOP-held seats in California.

The redistricting battle in Texas — and potentially other states — has national implications, with control of the U.S. House potentially at stake. The Texas GOP’s proposed congressional map could net Republicans between three and five seats in next year’s midterm elections — seats that could make a difference as Republicans work to maintain their small majority in the U.S. House.

A spokesperson for California State Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas confirmed to ABC News that the state legislature is aiming to release draft maps on Friday.

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Meet the Leakers! Russiagate Was More Incestuous Than You Could Believe

Many years ago, Bill Whittle gave me the sharpest definition you might ever read for the proper role of journalism in a healthy republic: “They’re the antibodies of the body politic.” But we do not live in a healthy republic — and journalists too often are part of the cancer we’re trying to eliminate. 

Case in point: So-called journalists who, instead of investigating Russiagate claims, performed as marionettes for the Obama-era intelligence community, determined to rig and then undo a presidential election.

And now we have at least two names.

I’ll get to those in just a moment, but first, this important reminder.

At the center of the Obama White House’s fabricated Russia collusion narrative is Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) — currently under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland for mortgage fraud.

The first name is Ellen Nakashima, whom RealClearInvestigations senior reporter Paul Sperry dryly calls “the Washington Post’s handmaiden for the deep state.” Her most recent appearance, Sperry reported on Tuesday, isn’t under her WaPo byline, but in “FBI 302s as the likely key recipient of classified intelligence leaks from Adam Schiff regarding Russiagate.”

Sperry previously reported in July that “Declassified docs show Obama’s spooks used Washington Post stenographer Ellen Nakashima to plant 3 major Russiagate stories,” so the idea that Nakashima was also on Schiff’s speed dial is hardly outrageous.

“It has come to my attention that Washington Post reporter @nakashimae appears to be actively harassing ODNI staff,” administration intel chief Tulsi Gabbard posted on X last month. “Instead of reaching out to my press office, she is calling high-level Intelligence Officers from a burner phone, refusing to identify herself, lying about the fact that she works for the Washington Post, and then demanding they share sensitive information.”

Nakashima also helped bury the Hunter Biden Laptop from Hell story.

Another name is New York Times investigative reporter Michael Schmidt.

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Dem-Appointed Judge Lets Convict Walk — He’s Now Accused of Kidnapping a Mom and Her Kids

A Kentucky man who was sentenced to 14 years in prison last year but was put back on the street five months after his sentencing has been arrested after a Louisville woman and her children were kidnapped at knifepoint.

Armond Langford. 32, was arrested Friday after a six-hour manhunt, according to WHAS-TV.

Before his arrest, a woman and her two children were kidnapped. The woman said she was forced to drive to a bank as Langford demanded $20,000.

“He opened our back door and told them to get in the car…. They got in the car. They drove to the bank. He held a knife at her the whole time, he was telling her to drive faster,” Brandon Strong, husband and father of the victims, told the TV station.

He said his wife was stabbed during the ordeal and was treated for a non-life-threatening stab wound.

Langford had been sentenced to 14 years in prison in February 2024 after being convicted on charges of robbing multiple people who were withdrawing cash from ATMs from August 2021 to November 2021.

However, in July 2024, Judge Jessica Green granted a request for what’s called “shock probation,” in which the surprise of being set free is allegedly what keeps a criminal from reoffending.

Green was named to the bench in 2022 by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear.

Louisville council member Anthony Piagentini vented his anger.

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EU Covid grants in Poland spent on yachts, luxury cars and swinger club – Politico

Poland has suspended the distribution of EU funds intended for post-Covid pandemic recovery in the hospitality, tourism, and culture sectors, following controversy over alleged misuse of the money. Some of the funds were spent on boats and luxury furniture, as well as a grant registered to the address of a swingers’ club, Politico reported.

The scandal erupted after the Polish authorities published interactive online maps displaying grant recipients in a bid to showcase openness of the recovery program. The data, however, revealed that the funds bankrolled yachts, a pizzeria that added tanning beds, and, in one widely shared case, a business in southern Poland registered at the same address as a sex club.

Finance Minister Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz said on Tuesday that no additional funds would be released until each of the roughly 2,400 grants, totaling around 1.2 billion zlotys (€282.3 million/$330 million), undergoes individual scrutiny.

The HoReCa scheme, part of Poland’s long-delayed EU Covid recovery plan, aimed to support small tourism and hospitality businesses hit by pandemic restrictions. Poland was eligible for nearly €60 billion from the EU’s Recovery Fund, but access was blocked under the previous government due to a rule-of-law dispute. The new government unlocked the funds after the 2023 election by addressing EU concerns.

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