“I DON’T THINK BILL DID ANYTHING WRONG.” President Trump Defends Bill O’Reilly Against Sexual Harassment Allegations.

PROGRESS: Marines Testing Polymer Solutions to Cut Ammo Weight.

“We have to have lighter equipment,” Williford said, adding that the service is interested in using “polymer magazines, polymer rounds” and other polymer products to reduce ammunition weight.

The Marines have tested polymer-cased .50 caliber ammunition, but companies also make polymer ammunition pallets that offer significant weight reduction.

“On a .50-caliber pallet, we think we can save 1,000 pounds per pallet,” Williford said.

The U.S. Army has had a strong interest in reducing the weight of ammunition for a decade. The service has invested in the Lightweight Small Arms Technology program, which has produced a matured lightweight squad automatic weapon that is about half the weight of a 17-pound M249 squad automatic weapon.

I wonder if lighter rounds would be easier on the barrels as well as on the shooters.

SILENT SQUAW: Elizabeth Warren Goes Silent on Equal Pay Day After Free Beacon Report.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) failed to acknowledge Equal Pay Day for the first time in her Senate career after it was reported on Tuesday that women working in her Senate office earned just 71 percent of what was earned by men.

Warren has used Equal Pay Day, which fell on April 4 this year, in years past as an opportunity to speak out on the gender pay gap. Last year she took to the Senate floor to call Equal Pay Day a “national day of embarrassment” and pledged to continue her “fight” until the pay gap was erased. She gave similar statements on Equal Pay Day in 2015, 2014, and 2013, her first year in the Senate.

This year, Warren was the only female Democratic senator who ignored Equal Pay Day entirely, and it was not due to a lack of opportunity.

She delivered a nearly 10 minute speech Tuesday afternoon and made no mention of equal pay. The topic of speeches during the session was the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch, but that didn’t stop fellow Democratic Senators Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), or Kamala Harris (Calif.) from acknowledging Equal Pay Day.

Heh.

FIREBRAND: Nikki Haley Slams ‘Assad, Russia And Iran’ In United Nations Speech.

UN Ambassador used to be such a sleepy little job.

BUT OF COURSE: Whites Banned From ‘Black Lives Matter’ Event in Philadelphia.

The new anti-racism is nearly indistinguishable from the old racism.

ASTRONOMY: Citizen scientists may have located candidates for Planet Nine.

A BOTNET IS BORN: Navy to Demo ‘Motley Crew’ Collaborative Drone Attack.

The next big thing for unmanned naval aviation is a group of unmanned aerial systems that can share information and then assign tasks and make strategic targeting decisions based on available intelligence.

This concept, called Motley Crew, will be demonstrated by the Navy in 2018 or 2019, said Rear Adm. Mark Darrah, the service’s program executive officer for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons.

Speaking at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space conference Tuesday, Darrah said there are many factors still to be decided — which unmanned systems to feature, for example, and what the target sets would be — but the goal is clear: Develop autonomous systems that could be strategic, collaborative and efficient.

SkyNet smiles.

IS ANYBODY HERE NOT O.K. WITH THIS? You May Not Live Long Enough to Ride a Driverless Car.

Well, maybe not me, but Glenn has plans to live for a very, very long time.

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): Well, it’s as much a hope as a plan, but . . .

PERHAPS, BUT WHICH PEOPLE? House Intel Dem Predicts ‘Some People End Up in Jail’ After Russia Investigation.

DARKER THAN DARK: A Visual Guide to Vantablack, the Darkest Substance Ever Made.

It’s so dark, photos of things coated in it look like bad photoshops — I had to triple-check to make sure Vantablack wasn’t an April Fool’s hoax.

TO DATE WE HAVEN’T GIVEN THEM MUCH REASON TO: Does North Korea even care how the US responds to its missile tests?

PRAVIN R. JETHWA: Towards High Noon in U.S.-China Relations.

The administration should craft and implement a clear, bold and bipartisan “Pacific Doctrine” which would stipulate the following:

Any attempt by an outside or a regional power to impede, block or jeopardize America’s freedom to navigate or overfly any of the maritime spaces in the western Pacific, at any time or anywhere, including the South China Sea, now or in the future, (a) will be resisted by force, and (b) that America will seek to impose an unmistakable military defeat on the aggressor to preserve and protect America’s access and alliances in the aforementioned regions.

A clearly articulated and nationally agreed doctrine along these lines would not only proclaim America’s purpose, but at an operational level, establish, for the first time, red-lines and explicit deterrence vis-à-vis the Chinese regime, much like the Truman doctrine of 1947 which laid the foundations for the historically successful containment policy against the Soviet Union.

A clear strategy backed by strong alliances is perhaps the best deterrent to war, but the “bipartisan” part is going to be problematical given that there doesn’t seem to be anything Democrats won’t do to sabotage the current Administration.

RICHARD FERNANDEZ: The Sovietization of American Politics.

Hope looks like it just left town. To boot there are now allegations that Susan Rice actively requested the “unmasking” of Trump campaign and transition official’s names from intelligence reports. That makes a “dual track investigation” inevitable according to law professor William Jacobson. “I don’t see how the Obama administration does not now become a target of congressional investigation after this revelation.” Both sides are in a race to see who can jail or politically cripple the other side first. Although the pawns will fall first the game won’t end until checkmate traps one of the two rival kings.

No one is backing down, certainly not the Democrats. “Why is Trump flailing?” writes Greg Sargent in the Washington Post, “because Americans hate his agenda, and it’s based on lies” . Uncompromising stands are nothing new for the Democratic party. The difference is that this time the Republicans aren’t giving way. The strange guy with orange complexion has put the progressives out of reckoning by being just as unreasonable as the conservatives thought the liberals were. The strategy of “by any means necessary”, so effective when the Democrats enjoyed a monopoly on its use is now transformed into a pact of mutually assured destruction as the other side adopts similar methods.

Obama and Trump are in a game of chicken that neither seems ready to abandon.

Obama probably can’t afford to, and there’s no reason Trump should want to.

And do read the whole thing.

JUSTICE: Wife of Pulse gunman to be extradited to Florida.

Federal court documents obtained by WESH 2 News show that Noor Salman has waived a hearing in California where she was going to fight extradition.

Salman had been scheduled to appear in court for the hearing on Monday.

Salman will be brought back to Orlando and will appear in court to face charges of obstructing justice and providing support to a terrorist.

It no longer shocks, but it does still sadden a little how often the wives aid and abet their terrorist husbands.

PASS THE KETCHUP: Why French Fries Are More of a “Superfood” Than Kale.

Frankly, the superfood term could use a sensible and scientific makeover. The foods most commonly crowned with the description are fruits and vegetables with high concentrations of antioxidants and vitamins. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, studies conducted “generally don’t provide strong evidence that antioxidant supplements have a substantial impact on disease,” so there’s no reason to assume that eating tons of so-called “superfoods” would impart added benefits over a balanced diet. Moreover, the body doesn’t need mega doses of vitamins, and too much can actually be harmful. For example, consuming an average of 1.5 cups of cooked kale a day over a six-year timespan could result in chronic vitamin A toxicity, and that assumes no other dietary intake of the vitamin.

Clearly, someone could not subsist on the current conception of “superfoods,” so how “super” are they really? A truer superfood, one which provides almost everything the body needs, is the humble potato. Packed with starch, fiber, and protein, as well as a plethora of vitamins and minerals, it may be the most complete food on the planet. Cut one up and fry the slices with a little canola oil, and you’ve got yourself a healthful feast!

I always suspected that kale was based on a vicious lie told by happiness-hating harridans.

RETAIL BLUES: Payless ShoeSource files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

I can’t remember the last time I went into a store to buy a pair of shoes.

REX TILLERSON: U.S. ‘Has Spoken Enough About North Korea’

NORTH KOREA: A Significant Demonstration of Missile Know-How.

The latest launch only travelled 60 kilometres horizontally, but this should not necessarily be interpreted as a failure. The missile reached an altitude of 189 kilometres, well into outer space. This would seem to be a test of an alternative trajectory, which exposes the missile to different conditions. Re-entry testing could have been conducted on this flight.

There could be another explanation for the launch. This could be a test of elements of the submarine-launched missile from a land-based silo, or a test of systems common to both missiles.

We could be witnessing the evolution of both land and sea missiles at the same time, and a growing synergy between the two.

In any case, the development of these two classes of missiles represents a major development in North Korea’s strategic power.

Nazi Germany was able to build about 5,200 V-2 ballistic missiles in less than two years, all while being subjected to Allied bombardment and invasion on two fronts. That North Korea should be able to develop a thriving missile program seven decades later and under (nominally) peacetime conditions should come as no surprise. What we can’t afford to be surprised by is their ultimate intentions.

FASTER, PLEASE: The End Of OPEC Is Near.

The market believes that if crude oil prices remain above $50 per barrel, U.S. shale oil production will increase. For this reason, OPEC is finding itself in a catch-22 situation: It is losing market share to the U.S. shale oil drillers, but it is unable to propel prices considerably higher. It is losing its ability to influence prices above a certain level. [As Instapundit readers have been aware for a while now. -Steve]

A cartel is able to hold its members only when it fulfills their objective of higher prices, which has not been the case with OPEC. The member nations will now look to fulfill their objective by cheating and acting individually, according to their requirement.

Saudi Arabia, which was the leader of OPEC and the price setter of the world, is losing its clout in OPEC. Even in the current round of production cuts, most of the work is being done by Saudi Arabia, whereas the other members are shying away from their designated quotas.

OPEC has far outlived the average lifespan of a cartel, but if the OPEC members don’t regroup and act together, chances are that the cartel will come to an end very soon.

It couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of crooks, thugs, and despots.

WELL, THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY, YOU KNOW: Brain cancer patients live longer wearing electric cap designed to zap tumors.

The cap, called the Optune, works by sending alternating, intermediate-frequency (200kHz) electrical fields into the brains of cancer patients. The idea is that the electrical fields disrupt cell division, preventing cells from properly lining up their chromosomes during a cellular split. This disruption, the company says, is fatal to cells. But because cancer cells make up the majority of the cells dividing in the brains of adult cancer patients, the treatment is more harmful to tumors than the brain.

Patients are supposed to wear the cap for at least 18 hours every day, as well as stay on a standard chemotherapy, called temozolomide. The Optune has strips of electrodes connected to a small generator that patients can carry around in a bag. The electrical fields cause mild warming, but otherwise they don’t disrupt normal daily life. And patients can wear a hat over their futuristic-looking medical caps.

In the five-year, phase III clinical trial—from July 2009 to November 2014—466 glioblastoma patients were randomly assigned to try out the Optune with their temozolomide treatment, while 229 others took just temozolomide.

The median overall survival jumped from 16 months among patients on the standard chemotherapy to 21 months for those also using the Optune, researchers found. In the first two years, the Optune seemed to boost patient survival rates from 31 percent to 43 percent. At three years, survival went from 16 percent to 26 percent. And at four years, standard treatment patients had an 8 percent survival rate, while cap-wearers had a 20 percent rate. At five years, survival rates jumped from 5 to 13 percent.

Those are impressive numbers for a new treatment for an almost-universally fatal cancer.

I LOVE THIS LADY: How a Queer Dance Party in Front of Ivanka Trump’s House Made a Wine-Sipping Woman an Internet Star.

ANDREW MCCARTHY: A Watergate-style Scandal.

In general, it is the FBI that conducts investigations that bear on American citizens suspected of committing crimes or of acting as agents of foreign powers. In the matter of alleged Russian meddling, the investigative camp also includes the CIA and the NSA. All three agencies conducted a probe and issued a joint report in January. That was after Obama, despite having previously acknowledged that the Russian activity was inconsequential, suddenly made a great show of ordering an inquiry and issuing sanctions.

Consequently, if unmasking was relevant to the Russia investigation, it would have been done by those three agencies. And if it had been critical to know the identities of Americans caught up in other foreign intelligence efforts, the agencies that collect the information and conduct investigations would have unmasked it. Because they are the agencies that collect and refine intelligence “products” for the rest of the “intelligence community,” they are responsible for any unmasking; and they do it under “minimization” standards that FBI Director James Comey, in recent congressional testimony, described as “obsessive” in their determination to protect the identities and privacy of Americans.

Understand: There would have been no intelligence need for Susan Rice to ask for identities to be unmasked. If there had been a real need to reveal the identities — an intelligence need based on American interests — the unmasking would have been done by the investigating agencies.

The national-security adviser is not an investigator. She is a White House staffer. The president’s staff is a consumer of intelligence, not a generator or collector of it. If Susan Rice was unmasking Americans, it was not to fulfill an intelligence need based on American interests; it was to fulfill a political desire based on Democratic-party interests.

I’m so old I can remember when the Obama Administration was “amazingly scandal-free.”

QUESTION ASKED: How Is Syria Still Using Chemical Weapons?

Perhaps because Bashar Assad and Vladimir Putin lied about getting rid of all the chemical weapons, and President Obama didn’t want to ruffle any feathers while Assad and Putin were providing cover for his failed Syria policy?

FASTER, PLEASE: Jeff Sessions Presses Shift at Justice Department.

As the new administration struggles to repeal the Affordable Care Act and ban travelers from some Muslim-majority countries due to terrorism concerns, the former attorney general and prosecutor from Alabama, who has been immersed in justice-related issues for decades, has swiftly implemented a series of crime-fighting provisions while relaxing civil-rights initiatives.

In two months, Mr. Sessions has reversed the department’s withdrawal from for-profit prisons; pulled out from part of a major voting rights case in Texas; nixed federal guidance allowing transgender students to use the public bathrooms of their choice; threatened to withhold Justice Department funding from “sanctuary cities” that thwart cooperation with federal immigration officials; and ordered a crackdown on violent crime, potentially including attacks against police officers.

There’s also a purely federal matter which might require his attention.

CAUCUS CO-CHAIR: Blue Collar Workers ‘Feel More Disconnected’ to Dems Than Ever Before.

Deplorable.