Hillary Clinton criticized the Trump administration for urging Americans to have more babies, and argued that is what immigrants are for.
Clinton appears to have made the absurd comments at an event hosted by 92NY, a cultural center in New York City, as part of its “Newmark Civic Life Series,” though little was published online about the event.
The failed presidential candidate was discussing her book Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty, which was released on September 17, 2024.
Clinton criticized recent comments by J.D. Vance and Elon Musk advocating for higher birth rates, suggesting they reflect a larger agenda to return to traditional family structures without adequate support systems.
Speaking at the March for Life rally in January, Vice President JD Vance said, “Let me say very simply: I want more babies in the United States of America.”
Clinton argued that urging Americans to have babies ignores the economic contributions of immigrants.
“The people who produce the most children in our country are immigrants,” Clinton said. “One of the reasons why our economy did so much better was because we had a lot of immigrants, legally and undocumented, who had a larger than normal family.”
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The U.S. fertility rate has been trending downward for several decades, causing significant changes in demographics, economics, and social policy.
The fertility rate in the U.S. is 1.78 births per woman, a slight increase from 1.77 in 2022. This rate remains well below the replacement level of 2.1, which is needed to maintain a stable population.
Dramatic video captured a U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter landing on a busy road in La Mesa, California.
Moments after it landed, an agent exited the aircraft running with a wounded K-9 in his arms, KNSD-TV in San Diego reported with respect to the May 9 incident.
“Boo was out there doing his job, tracking a group that crossed illegally, and unfortunately, he got bit by a rattlesnake,” U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent Esteffany Solano said.The helicopter landed near the intersection of Grossmont Boulevard and Jackson Drive.
Bewildered bystanders at first didn’t know what to think, KFMB-TV in San Diego reported.
“I didn’t know what was going on, then I saw the dog, and I just started crying. I’m a dog person — I just hoped he was okay,” Nessa Lene, a La Mesa resident who recorded video of the incident, later recounted.
Another witness said traffic stopped in all directions.
“I just saw the helicopter drop briefly, guy run out with the dog in his hands — it was a German Shepherd — started running at us,” Tyler Oder, who works at a shop near the landing site, added. “Traffic was halted, north, south, east and west.”“The dog was panting,” Oder added. “It was kind of sad, too.”
Officers rushed the two-year-old dog to the Pet Emergency Specialty Center, where staff administered anti-venom and IV fluids.
He is stable, recovering, and under close observation.“Boo is more than just a dog, he’s a federal agent, and he’s treated as one. We’re thankful he was able to get the care he needed,” Solano noted.
Dr. Jennifer Willey, the medical director at the pet emergency center, said snake bites are common this time of year.
“We typically see two to three snakebite cases a day during peak summer,” Willey said. “You’ll see pain, you’ll see swelling, sometimes we can find the actual punctures, and then there’s usually pretty distinct bruising that develops right away.”
The Post recently observed Allied Universal Security Services guards inside the Herald Square station holding the emergency doors open on two different occasions to let a stream of scofflaws through.
Once the gate opens, straphangers don’t hesitate to go through it, Allied Guard Romuald Zampou said. Several commuters could be seen walking up to the gate, and exchanging words with the guard, who then let them in. Whenever the guard opened the door, other fare-evaders would make a dash for it.
“Whenever the gate opens, nobody wants to pay,” offered Allied Guard Romuald Zampou, 52, from The Bronx. “They say, ‘You’re not a cop,’ and you can’t stop it.
“Once they cross the gate, you have to let them in,” he added.
Commuters seeking a free ride come up with all sorts of excuses, according to Zampou, who works five eight-hour shifts a week, making approximately $800.
“My phone is busted, my card has no money, card doesn’t work, the clerk said I can go through,” Zampou recounted. “Two people go in on one swipe. Most people don’t want to pay.”
In 2022, the MTA quietly signed a multi-million dollar contract with Pennsylvania-headquartered Allied Universal Security Services for 500 guards charged with cracking down on turnstile jumping.
Today, the subway system boasts 1,000 armed and unarmed Allied guards. To date, the MTA has forked over $35 million to the world’s largest private security firm.
Allied Guard Romuald Zampou said he cannot stop straphangers from using the emergency gate. “I’m not a cop,” he told The Post.
At the Herald Square station, three armed guards are supposed to maintain a presence close to the MetroCard machines between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. However, on multiple visits to the station over the last three weeks, The Post never once saw an armed guard at that station.
And at West 96th Street station, The Post spotted two armed Allied guards who spent the first hour of their shifts outside the station, smoking — one, a cigarette, and the other, a cigar. They were also seen stepping away several times for coffee.
Often, when they were on duty, they could be seen standing at the south entrance, leaving the north entrance vulnerable. Meanwhile, three other guards were seen in conversation with a pair of NYPD officers.
The MTA is spending millions on a turnstile-jumpers clampdown.
An insider told The Post the guards sometimes sleep through their shifts in their cars, or hang out in nearby diners.
“The higher-ups are all aware of what’s going on, and they’re doing nothing about it,” the source said. “And the MTA keeps paying that money each month.”
State and city politicians have long accused the MTA of mismanaging its massive $20 billion budget — like the $1 million in federal grant money it spent on a study to help the agency understand the mind of the everyday fare evader.
The agency has struggled to collect billions in fares, and has authorized rescue programs — such as congestion pricing and fare hikes — to balance its books.
“Holding an exit gate open for riders to enter without paying is illegal and unfair to millions of New Yorkers who do pay, regardless of whether you’re a vendor or anyone else,” said MTA spokesperson Kayla Shults.
Emergency crews responded to a major explosion at a Palm Springs building late Saturday morning, as authorities investigate the cause—including the possibility of terrorism.
The blast occurred just before 11 a.m. at the American Reproductive Centers on North Indian Canyon Drive, near East Tachevah Drive. The force of the explosion was felt up to two miles away, and nearby structures sustained damage.
“It’s all on the table—including terrorism,” said Lt. William Hutchinson, speaking to The Desert Sun from the scene.
Witnesses described hearing a deafening boom, and videos circulating on social media show significant damage, including shattered windows at a neighboring liquor store.
Officials have not yet determined whether the explosion was deliberate or accidental. However, Hutchinson confirmed that at least one person appears to have died, and graphic images from the site suggest human remains were found.
Palm Springs Mayor Ron deHarte reported that multiple structures were still ablaze in the area following the explosion.
NBC Palm Springs referred to the incident as a “car explosion,” though authorities have not confirmed the source or nature of the blast.
Residents have been urged to stay clear of the area to allow emergency crews to manage the scene. First responders were still arriving as of noon.
The explosion occurred close to—but not directly on—the grounds of Desert Regional Medical Center, the city’s primary hospital.
The American Reproductive Centers facility does not offer abortion services. It is known as the Coachella Valley’s first full-service fertility clinic and IVF lab, according to its website. Since opening in 2006, it has provided services including in vitro fertilization, egg donation, genetic testing, fertility preservation, and support for LGBTQ+ family planning and surrogacy.
Tamara Cash, a local resident, was out jogging nearby when the explosion occurred.
“The sound was so intense it shook my whole body,” she told The Desert Sun. As she passed the building shortly after the blast, she said windows were blown out throughout the area, including at Desert Regional Medical Center.
“We allow the worst people in the world to occupy the moral high ground and stay there”
Tucker Carlson noted Friday that while many perceived “sins” are obsessed over in the modern age, there are two that are almost completely “ignored” in a telling reflection of the state of society.
As part of a lengthy discussion with The Blaze’s Jason Whitlock, Carlson urged there is a necessity to reframe the conversation on this particular matter.
Whitlock noted that the legacy media pushes Americans to “say the most uncomfortable truths.”Carlson responded, “Well, that’s right, and if you’ve ever had your money taken from you in a gypsy three-card monte scam, and I have, I’ll just be honest, then you know the scam works by misdirection.”
“You’re looking at one thing when the real action’s happening outside the frame. So you have to wonder, racism is a sin, clearly. Cruelty to other people, judgment of other people, those are sins, but they’re not the only sins,” he continued.
“So you have to wonder why the emphasis on those sins, which are actually not really profound in this country,” Carlson pondered, adding “Two of the sins that are totally ignored that I do think are kind of wrecking the country are violence and greed, and those are never mentioned, ever.”
“Washington worships violence. The majority of the discretionary federal budget goes to violence, one trillion dollars, when, actually, we’re not in danger of being invaded,” Carlson emphasised, asking “What is this? Where is that money going, actually? The other thing is greed, which is closely related to it.”
“When the mafia charged 20% interest, they went to jail under RICO statutes for loan sharking,” Carlson continued, further noting “Well, Citibank charges, what, 30% on a credit card, and it’s totally fine, and you can’t just charge it in bankruptcy, thanks to Joe Biden.”
“So if I had to pick a villain, I think credit card companies cause a lot more misery than the KKK, among people I know,” Tucker proffered, going on to describe the damage “high interest credit cards” wreak on Americans.
“The second problem we have is that we allow the worst people in the world to occupy the moral high ground and stay there,” Tucker urged.
“How are they allowed, people who don’t care at all about the actual human consequences of their policies, how do they get to brag about what great people they are?” Carlson asked.
“They should not be allowed to! So maybe the first thing we need to do, if we’re going to contend with people like that and reframe the conversation along lines that actually help people, actual people, not some abstract idea of people, but living people who you can, again, smell like they’re right there,” he further stated.
“The first thing we need to do is not accept their terms, and their terms are always the same. ‘I’m the good guy. You’re the bad guy.’ No! No, you’re not! You’re a bad guy, and I’m not going to get bossed around by you anymore, ever,” Carlson asserted.
The ancient Romans were masters of building and engineering, perhaps most famously represented by the aqueducts. And those still functional marvels rely on a unique construction material: pozzolanic concrete, a spectacularly durable concrete that gave Roman structures their incredible strength.
Even today, one of their structures – the Pantheon, still intact and nearly 2,000 years old – holds the record for the world's largest dome of unreinforced concrete.
The properties of this concrete have generally been attributed to its ingredients: pozzolana, a mix of volcanic ash – named after the Italian city of Pozzuoli, where a significant deposit of it can be found – and lime. When mixed with water, the two materials can react to produce strong concrete.
But that, as it turns out, is not the whole story. In 2023, an international team of researchers led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found that not only are the materials slightly different from what we may have thought, but the techniques used to mix them were also different.
The smoking guns were small, white chunks of lime that can be found in what seems to be otherwise well-mixed concrete. The presence of these chunks had previously been attributed to poor mixing or materials, but that did not make sense to materials scientist Admir Masic of MIT.
"The idea that the presence of these lime clasts was simply attributed to low-quality control always bothered me," Masic said back in January 2023.
"If the Romans put so much effort into making an outstanding construction material, following all of the detailed recipes that had been optimized over the course of many centuries, why would they put so little effort into ensuring the production of a well-mixed final product? There has to be more to this story."
Outside of the Pantheon in Rome.
Masic and the team, led by MIT civil engineer Linda Seymour, carefully studied 2,000-year-old samples of Roman concrete from the archaeological site of Privernum in Italy.
These samples were subjected to large-area scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and confocal Raman imaging to gain a better understanding of the lime clasts.
One of the questions in mind was the nature of the lime used. The standard understanding of pozzolanic concrete is that it uses slaked lime. First, limestone is heated at high temperatures to produce a highly reactive caustic powder called quicklime, or calcium oxide.
Mixing quicklime with water produces slaked lime, or calcium hydroxide: a slightly less reactive, less caustic paste. According to theory, it was this slaked lime that ancient Romans mixed with the pozzolana.
Based on the team's analysis, the lime clasts in their samples are not consistent with this method. Rather, Roman concrete was probably made by mixing the quicklime directly with the pozzolana and water at extremely high temperatures, by itself or in addition to slaked lime, a process the team calls 'hot mixing' that results in the lime clasts.
"The benefits of hot mixing are twofold," Masic said.
"First, when the overall concrete is heated to high temperatures, it allows chemistries that are not possible if you only used slaked lime, producing high-temperature-associated compounds that would not otherwise form. Second, this increased temperature significantly reduces curing and setting times since all the reactions are accelerated, allowing for much faster construction."
Schematic of the proposed mechanism for self-healing within ancient Roman mortars. (Seymour et al., Science Advances, 2023)
And it has another benefit: The lime clasts give the concrete remarkable self-healing abilities.
When cracks form in the concrete, they preferentially travel to the lime clasts, which have a higher surface area than other particles in the matrix. When water gets into the crack, it reacts with the lime to form a solution rich in calcium that dries and hardens as calcium carbonate, gluing the crack back together and preventing it from spreading further.
This has been observed in concrete from another 2,000-year-old site, the Tomb of Caecilia Metella, where cracks in the concrete have been filled with calcite. It could also explain why Roman concrete from seawalls built 2,000 years ago has survived intact for millennia despite the ocean's constant battering.
So, the team tested their findings by making pozzolanic concrete from ancient and modern recipes using quicklime. They also made a control concrete without quicklime and performed crack tests. Sure enough, the cracked quicklime concrete was fully healed within two weeks, but the control concrete stayed cracked.
The team is now working on commercializing their concrete as a more environmentally friendly alternative to current concretes.
"It's exciting to think about how these more durable concrete formulations could expand not only the service life of these materials, but also how it could improve the durability of 3D-printed concrete formulations," Masic said.
