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The president's silence after an attack in Kansas speaks volumes about his priorities.

Fans gathered at Austin's Bar & Grill in Olathe, Kansas, to kick back and watch the Jayhawks secure their 13th consecutive Big 12 basketball title. But their good mood was interrupted by gunfire.

Adam Purinton, 51, allegedly opened fire in the bar Wednesday night, killing Srinivas Kuchibhotla, a 32-year-old engineer. Kuchibhotla's friend, Alok Madasani, 32, and Ian Grillot, 24, were severely injured in the attack.

Left to right: Srinivas Kuchibhotla, Alok Madasani, and Ian Grillot. Photos via Facebook.


That night, according to witnesses, Purinton told Kuchibhotla and Madasani "Get out of my country" before being asked to leave the bar. He left, only to return with a gun. After shots were fired, Grillot intervened. Purinton was arrested in Clinton, Missouri (about 75 miles southeast of Olathe), after he allegedly told a bartender he needed a place to hide out because he'd "just killed two Middle Eastern men."

Kuchibhotla and Madasani are Indian — not that it would be any better if they weren't.

Photo by Andres Gutierrez/41 Action News, used with permission.

Here's what President Trump said regarding Wednesday's act of terror in Kansas.

That's right. He hasn't said a word.

He hasn't tweeted. He hasn't released a statement. His press secretary hasn't raised the issue in briefings. The silence is deafening.

This attack comes less than a month after the Trump administration announced plans to focus efforts of the Countering Violent Extremism program (CVE) solely on Islamic extremism.

Currently, the Department of Homeland Security uses the CVE to administer grants to schools and nonprofits that counter potential extremist violence. Narrowing the group's focus is seen as a win for white supremacists, as it could limit funding for groups that aim to prevent terror attacks led by right-wing extremists.

Ku Klux Klan members and counter-protesters argue at a Klan demonstration at the Columbia, South Carolina, state house. Photo by John Moore/Getty Images.

That's exactly what this attack in Kansas was: terrorism.

The shooter allegedly came to the bar that night to harm, kill, and instill fear in pursuit of his political aim. No one is asking who radicalized him or calling for a ban on middle-aged suburban white men until we "find out what's going on." He didn't need explosives, detailed plans, or the financial backing of a faraway clandestine cell. He had the tacit approval of an entire administration. This one-man army "took his country back." And the president said nothing.

Jaganmohan Reddy shows a picture of his son Alok Madasani in Hyderabad, India, after Alok was injured in the shooting. Photo by Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images.

I don't expect the president to respond to everything, but I do expect him to respond and condemn acts of terror and hate — especially those happening right here at home.

On an average day in the U.S., 93 people are killed with guns. Targeted attacks against African-Americans, Muslims, and Latinos have gone largely unchecked by Trump's team since the election. In 2017 alone, Jewish Community Centers across the United States have received close to 70 bomb threats, causing chaos, fear, and confusion.

Heather Lindsay and her partner Lexene Charles at their Connecticut home that was vandalized with a racial slur. Lindsay said their home has been vandalized multiple times. Photo by Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images.

After JCC bomb threats on Feb. 20, Trump broke his silence and spoke out against the tele-terrorism, saying, "The anti-Semitic threats targeting our Jewish community and community centers are horrible and are painful and a very sad reminder of the work that still must be done to root out hate and prejudice and evil."

Photo by Olivier Douliery - Pool/Getty Images.

He's quick to remind the press of his Jewish grandchildren, daughter, and son-in-law. He boasts about being the "least anti-Semitic" person we've ever met. But the self-described "law and order" candidate has yet to present actual plans to crack down on anti-Semitism or violent white nationalism.

No plans to remove Steve Bannon, whose former website is a haven for anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim sentiments. No plans to root out right-wing extremists online, where many radicalize and push their violent agendas. No plans to help local law enforcement support and assist the synagogues, mosques, and community centers under attack or to help bring the perpetrators to justice. Again, the silence is deafening.

President Trump at Ben Carson's exhibit at the National Museum of African-American History and Culture. Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images.

I don't want to think about what it will take to get Trump to actually do something about white supremacy.

Instead, all of us can do our part. We can stand up for victims like Kuchibhotla, support individuals and groups targeted by right-wing extremism, and take to the streets and the ballot box so our representatives know that white supremacy has no place in our communities or government.

Planet

Easy (and free!) ways to save the ocean

The ocean is the heart of our planet. It needs our help to be healthy.

Ocean Wise

Volunteers at a local shoreline cleanup

True

The ocean covers over 71% of the Earth’s surface and serves as our planet’s heart. Ocean currents circulate vital heat, moisture, and nutrients around the globe to influence and regulate our climate, similar to the human circulatory system. Cool, right?

Our ocean systems provide us with everything from fresh oxygen to fresh food. We need it to survive and thrive—and when the ocean struggles to function healthfully, the whole world is affected.

Pollution, overfishing, and climate change are the three biggest challenges preventing the ocean from doing its job, and it needs our help now more than ever. Humans created the problem; now humans are responsible for solving it.

#BeOceanWise is a global rallying cry to do what you can for the ocean, because we need the ocean and the ocean needs us. If you’re wondering how—or if—you can make a difference, the answer is a resounding YES. There are a myriad of ways you can help, even if you don’t live near a body of water. For example, you can focus on reducing the amount of plastic you purchase for yourself or your family.

Another easy way to help clean up our oceans is to be aware of what’s known as the “dirty dozen.” Every year, scientists release an updated list of the most-found litter scattered along shorelines. The biggest culprit? Single-use beverage and food items such as foam cups, straws, bottle caps, and cigarette butts. If you can’t cut single-use plastic out of your life completely, we understand. Just make sure to correctly recycle plastic when you are finished using it. A staggering 3 million tons of plastic ends up in our oceans annually. Imagine the difference we could make if everyone recycled!

The 2022 "Dirty Dozen" ListOcean Wise

If you live near a shoreline, help clean it up! Organize or join an effort to take action and make a positive impact in your community alongside your friends, family, or colleagues. You can also tag @oceanwise on social if you spot a beach that needs some love. The location will be added to Ocean Wise’s system so you can submit data on the litter found during future Shoreline Cleanups. This data helps Ocean Wise work with businesses and governments to stop plastic pollution at its source. In Canada, Ocean Wise data helped inform a federal ban on unnecessary single-use plastics. Small but important actions like these greatly help reduce the litter that ends up in our ocean.

Ocean Wise, a conservation organization on a mission to restore and protect our oceans, is focused on empowering and educating everyone from individuals to governments on how to protect our waters. They are making conservation happen through five big initiatives: monitoring and protecting whales, fighting climate change and restoring biodiversity, innovating for a plastic-free ocean, protecting and restoring fish stocks, and finally, educating and empowering youth. The non-profit believes that in order to rebuild a resilient and vibrant ocean within the next ten years, everyone needs to take action.

Become an Ocean Wise ally and share your knowledge with others. The more people who know how badly the ocean needs our help, the better! Now is a great time to commit to being a part of something bigger and get our oceans healthy again.

Pets

Family brings home the wrong dog from daycare until their cats saved the day

A quick trip to the vet confirmed the cats' and family's suspicions.

Family accidentally brings wrong dog home but their cats knew

It's not a secret that nearly all golden retrievers are identical. Honestly, magic has to be involved for owners to know which one belongs to them when more than one golden retriever is around. Seriously, how do they all seem have the same face? It's like someone fell asleep on the copy machine when they were being created.

Outside of collars, harnesses and bandanas, immediately identifying the dog that belongs to you has to be a secret skill because at first glance, their personalities are also super similar. That's why it's not surprising when one family dropped off their sweet golden pooch at daycare and to be groomed, they didn't notice the daycare sent out the wrong dog.

See, not even their human parents can tell them apart because when the swapped dog got home, nothing seemed odd to the owners at first. She was freshly groomed so any small differences were quickly brushed off. But this accidental doppelgänger wasn't fooling her feline siblings.

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Video of sisters trying to fix a DIY haircut perfectly captures the chaos of sisterhood

“This is THE sisters experience…you captured the whole thing."

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Ask any group of sisters what it was like growing up with each other, and they will undoubtedly use the word chaos. Girlhood in itself is a bit of a delightfully feral time. Add yet another wild child (or more) into the mix, and you never know what’s going to happen.

But there’s also a beautiful loyalty. Sure, sisters can turn from friends to enemies on a dime, but in those purer moments, you’ll see them stop at nothing to help one another.

And it’s all these aspects, and everywhere in between, that were captured in a hilarious TikTok as three sisters banded together to fix a DIY haircut gone wrong…the day before school picture day, no less.
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The music of Queen has a profound visceral effect on everyone. Few pieces of art can cause complete strangers to put aside their differences and come together in song, but by golly, “Bohemian Rhapsody” is one of them. It would be cheesy if it weren’t so absolutely beautiful.

This pertains even to non-English-speaking countries, it appears. Recently, thousands of Harry Styles concertgoers in Warsaw, Poland, began cheering as those iconic beginning piano notes penetrated the air.
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Mom tells wild story of how her daughter kidnapped a 'chocolate baby' while out grocery shopping

People have a sneaking suspicion that the little girl has seen 'Corina, Corina' one too many times.

Mom shares wild story of how her daughter kidnapped a baby

Sometimes we hear a story that makes us collectively confused. Should we be offended? Laugh? Donate to a parents future bail fund for their children? It's really a toss up but the consensus on this mom's eyebrow raising story is that laughter and bail money are both appropriate responses.

Maranda Arbogast, a mom that runs the TikTok page, momma.chaos, shared a hilariously mortifying story of a time she took her three daughters grocery shopping and somehow wound up in a, "one of these things is not like the others" moment. The mom of three leads into the story by explaining that she is raising children that will likely have run ins with the law.

"Some families gotta save money for medical expenses or college funds. We gotta save money for bail because we are raising criminals, especially my middle daughter. It's always the middle child," Arbogast jokes. "She's gotta be frisked before we leave anywhere."

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Period simulators gave cis-gendered men a painful glimpse of what women go through on a monthly basis. But what about going through life with an actual human growing in their belly?

That’s where the watermelon challenge comes in.

TikTok’s watermelon challenge is a simple concept, where dads-to-be strap watermelons, weighing somewhere around 14 pounds, onto their bellies in order to simulate what it’s like for pregnant moms. Bonus point for taping mangos onto the chest because #lactation.

The results are both hilarious and illuminating.

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Over the past few years, "Don't Say Gay" bills have been introduced across the U.S., sparking widespread controversy about how LGBTQ issues should be addressed in schools. Supporters argue they protect children from inappropriate content by restricting discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in educational settings.

Opponents believe these bills marginalize LGBTQ individuals by fostering stigma and potentially infringing on teachers' ability to openly address students' questions or experiences.

Currently, 11 states have banned LGBTQ discussion in public schools, and 5 require parental consent.

Author and comic book expert Marc Tyler Nobleman recently found himself at the center of the controversy, and his simple rationale for using the word “gay” in his school presentations presents an age-appropriate and inclusive way to approach at the issue.

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