January 15, 2025

ABOUT TIME: New obesity definition sidelines BMI to focus on health. “The group’s revised definition, published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology1 on 14 January, focuses on how excess body fat, a measure called adiposity, affects the body, rather than relying only on body mass index (BMI), which links a person’s weight to their height. They propose two categories: preclinical obesity, when a person has extra body fat but their organs work normally, and clinical obesity, when excess fat harms the body’s organs and tissues.”

Posted at 4:52 pm by Stephen Green

SHE IS LARGE; SHE CONTAINS MULTITUDES: Stacey Abrams group to pay largest fine for campaign violations in Georgia history.

A voting rights group founded by Stacey Abrams will pay $300,000 for illegally supporting her 2018 gubernatorial campaign — the largest fine ever assessed for violating Georgia campaign finance laws.

Under a consent order approved by the State Ethics Commission on Wednesday, the New Georgia Project admitted it raised and spent millions of dollars to support Abrams’ unsuccessful campaign without registering as an independent political committee and disclosing its activities, as required by state law. It also supported the campaigns of other Democratic candidates that year, as well as the unsuccessful 2019 Gwinnett County MARTA referendum.

In all, the New Georgia Project and an affiliated group, the New Georgia Project Action Fund, admitted to 16 violations of state campaign finance laws.

It’s a dramatic about-face for a group that for years denied it did anything improper and mocked the investigation as a politically motivated “fishing expedition.” On Wednesday, it admitted to every allegation the commission had leveled against it.

To be fair, her campaign to be governor was merely a stepping stone towards the ultimate prize:

Posted at 4:30 pm by Ed Driscoll

ISRAEL, HAMAS REACH DEAL TO RELEASE HOSTAGES, PAUSE FIGHTING IN GAZA:

Leaders of Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization have agreed to the outlines of a cease-fire that would pause the brutal 15-month military campaign in Gaza launched in response to the October 7 terror attack, according to multiple reports from the Middle East.

The deal, which needs to be ratified by Israel’s cabinet, comes after months of negotiations between the two sides over a multi-phased plan that would include the release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

President Joe Biden announced the deal from the White House on Wednesday, saying it comes after more than “15 months of terror for the hostages, their families, the Israeli people” and “15 months of suffering by the innocent people of Gaza.”

“Media reports a few minutes ago claimed that the deal had been concluded,” Ed Morrissey adds. “Netanyahu’s office says not so fast:”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says ceasefire deal with Hamas has still not been reached and that the final details were still being sorted out. That comes after multiple mediators had said Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza and the release dozens of hostages after more than 15 months of war.

That’s because the terrorists tried to play the Hamas Hokey Pokey again:

The Israeli negotiating team was recently informed that Hamas decided at the last minute to make new demands – this time regarding the Philadelphi corridor, in contrast to the maps that have already been approved by the cabinet and American mediators.

Israel strongly opposed any changes to these maps, the source said.

An informed source told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that Hamas found a “loophole” in the agreed-upon deal, with Egypt agreeing to amend the deal and “close the loophole” based on Hamas’s demands in the latter stages and in coordination with the Israeli team, as per the Arab media report.

As I wrote earlier, don’t count on this deal holding up until the hostages get released. And even if it holds up through Phase I, don’t be surprised when Hamas reneges and demands a renegotiation at that point, too.

Stay tuned.

Posted at 4:14 pm by Ed Driscoll

TO BE FAIR, IT’S ALL HE KNOWS HOW TO DO:

UPDATE:

Posted at 4:09 pm by Glenn Reynolds

NOTHING TO SEE HERE, MOVE ALONG:

Full story here.

Posted at 3:55 pm by Stephen Green

THE 60-MINUTE LAUNCH WINDOW FOR STARSHIP FLIGHT TEST 7 OPENS AT 5 PM EASTERN and you can watch here.

Posted at 3:50 pm by Stephen Green

BIDEN’S PARTING GIFTS: Republican congressional members outraged over Biden plan to remove Cuba from State Sponsor of Terrorism list. “A high-level source U.S. government source with direct knowledge about Cuba confirmed to ADN Cuba that the Biden administration will remove the communist regime from the State Sponsors of Terrorism (SSOT) list. The source also stated that the decision came directly from the Democratic administration at the White House, not the State Department.”

Posted at 2:48 pm by Stephen Green

CHANGE: Starbucks reverses open bathroom policy.

In a letter directed to store managers and above, which the company provided to Fox News Digital, Starbucks executive vice president and president of Starbucks North America Sara Trilling noted, “we are establishing a new code of conduct that will be displayed in every store. This is common practice, and makes clear that our spaces, including our cafes, patios and restrooms, are for use by paying customers and our partners.”

The coffee company’s move to limit the use of its facilities to paying customers represents an about-face from its previous policy.

In 2018, the company declared, “Any customer is welcome to use Starbucks spaces, including our restrooms, cafes and patios, regardless of whether they make a purchase.”

It’s a tribute to human stubbornness that the 2018 policy lasted as long as it did.

Posted at 1:46 pm by Stephen Green

PAM BONDI GLORIOUSLY OUTSMARTED DICK DURBIN:

Despite claiming concern over actions that Donald Trump might take, which Joe Biden himself actually did, Durbin continues to grandstand by pretending to be concerned that Trump is going to violate the Constitution and whether Bondi will say “no” to Trump when he does.

He even brought up the 2020 election as an example, and Bondi blindsided him by pointing out his deception.

“He said to the Georgia secretary of state, find 11,780 votes,” Durbin told her reference

“Do you have the entire context of that call?” Bondi asked. “I feel like it was long — much longer than that, and may have been taken out of context.”

“It was an hour long,” Durbin admitted.

“Right,” Bondi replied.

Bondi’s point pans out because reading the transcript of the call proves that Trump’s words show he was actually arguing that a thorough investigation would reveal evidence of fraudulent votes that altered the outcome of the election, not that he was directly asking Raffensperger to “find” 11,780 votes for him. Trump was emphasizing his belief that the election was marred by irregularities, and he insisted that uncovering these discrepancies would restore the rightful results with his victory in Georgia. The request for “11,780 votes” was a response to the reports of fraudulent activities, not a demand to fabricate votes.

Related:

More: Pam Bondi Helps Dem Sen. Mazie Hirono Make a Fool of Herself at ANOTHER Hearing.

Scott Adams ponders the horror — the horror — of what we’re watching this week:

Posted at 1:40 pm by Ed Driscoll