Greene to introduce ‘weather modification' bill
'I am introducing a bill that prohibits the injection, release, or dispersion of chemicals or substances into the atmosphere for the express purpose of altering weather, temperature, climate, or sunlight intensity. It will be a felony offense,' she wrote in a Saturday post on X.
'I have been researching weather modification and working with the legislative counsel for months writing this bill,' Greene added.
The Georgia lawmaker said the legislation would resemble Florida's Senate Bill 56, which was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in late June.
The text makes it illegal for individuals to practice geoengineering and weather modification by imposing a $100,000 fine and a five-year prison sentence.
The punishment would apply to cloud seeding, an 80-year-old technology that adds tiny particles—usually silver iodide crystals—to clouds to trigger rain or snow, as defined by the Government Accountability Office.
Some states have practiced the measure, but it's rarely been undertaken by federal jurisdictions.
'We must end the dangerous and deadly practice of weather modification and geoengineering,' Greene said of the forthcoming bill.
However, lawmakers in the Sunshine State said cloud seeding is a safe practice that has been undermined by conspiracy theories about weather alteration, as contrails, condensation trails left in the air by planes, are sometimes confused as chemtrails.
'[They are] kind of two different things, and I think people have got them mixed up, because they think that they've heard that this chemtrail conspiracy theory is about geoengineering and weather modification,' Mick West, a science writer and fellow for the Committee of Skeptical Inquiry, told 12News.
'Then, they discover that there's this thing called cloud seeding, which actually is weather modification. And then they kind of put two and two together and make 17.'
Greene made headlines last year when she suggested Democrats were able to 'control the weather' in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, prompting then-President Biden to condemn what he called 'irresponsible' and 'beyond ridiculous' falsehoods.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) poked fun at Greene's bill in a post online.
'I'm introducing a bill that prohibits the injection, release or dispersion of stupidity into Congress,' he wrote in a Saturday post, quoting Greene's original announcement.
But one of her Republican colleagues has already signaled he'll back her efforts.
'Let's roll Chairlady!' Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) wrote online.
Greene's office did not immediately respond to additional requests for comment on the bill and potential federal penalties outlined in the text.
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Miami Herald
10 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Some communities won't fly new state flag: ‘It's not a greater Minnesota flag'
MINNEAPOLIS - Old Glory is the only flag flying outside Detroit Lakes City Hall. You won't see the Minnesota state flag - the retired one or the new one that a number of communities refuse to hoist on flagpoles. Minnesota's new state flag was divisive from the start, especially in deep red, rural areas. The flag redesign process sparked intense Republican-led opposition as the DFL-controlled Legislature formed a commission in 2023 to replace the old flag. Some counties passed resolutions rejecting the new design before it was adopted last year. Now some cities are voting against flying it. "I think part of it is people think the new flag is ugly," said Detroit Lakes Mayor Matt Brenk. "Some people think the old flag was racist. I mean, there's all sorts of reasons that people are picking a side on this deal." Detroit Lakes is the latest city to oppose flying the new state flag in north-central Minnesota, where you're more likely to see the old banner on front porches, farms and lakefront properties. "We were on the lake this weekend and noticed a lot of the old flags and a few new ones," said Pequot Lakes Mayor Tyler Gardner. "They typically wouldn't have had a state flag before. It used to just be the American flag." Pequot Lakes is still flying the retired state flag and doesn't plan on raising the new one, Gardner said. "It drives us nuts that there's a divisive argument over a flag, that, let's be honest, it's a state flag. Does anybody really look at them that much?" Crosslake is also supporting the old state flag. In May, the council unanimously voted not to fly the new one. The cities are in Becker and Crow Wing counties, which also don't fly the new state flag. Only state buildings are required to fly the state flag. It's optional at city- and county-owned buildings: Some fly the old flag, many raised the new one, and some never flew the state flag. Julie Ring, executive director of the Association of Minnesota Counties, said in an email that she was unaware that any counties had taken action against the new state flag. The League of Minnesota Cities said it doesn't track flag activity, nor is it a topic on which it provides guidance or opinions. The Minnesota Secretary of State's Office shares flag etiquette, but it wouldn't weigh in on the cities and counties refusing to fly the new flag. Crow Wing County was the first to pass a resolution against the flag design, followed by Nobles, Houston and McLeod. The cost associated with replacing flags was cited as a concern. Even if a county opts out of supporting the official state flag, it is required in every courtroom. The 87 county courthouses are funded and overseen by the state as part of the judicial district court system. Kyle Christopherson, state court spokesman, said judicial districts worked with each county separately to determine payments for flag and seal replacements in courtrooms. Some counties fronted the bill while most were paid for by the state. The Ninth Judicial District, made up of 17 counties in northwest Minnesota, for example, paid for flag and seal replacements in all counties except Aitkin and Crow Wing. County Administrator Deborah Erickson said Crow Wing spent $10,000 to replace the state seals and nine flags in the courthouse. She sees the new state flag flying outside the Brainerd fire station on her drive to work. The county decided not to hoist the new flag at its veterans memorial, where the retired flag previously flew. Many jurisdictions didn't switch over to the new flag for practical, not political, reasons. In Dodge County, officials decided to use up their remaining stock of old flags. "It's just until the current supplies run out, then we would make the conversion," said County Administrator Jim Elmquist. The average outdoor flag lasts up to 90 days, depending on weather. A few old flags are still flying, but Elmquist said they will be replaced by fall. Faribault passed a resolution in February 2024 against the new state flag design, but the city hasn't opposed flying it since, said city spokesman Brad Phenow. "Now we've been following suit, and if we know when a flag needs to be replaced, we replace it with a new one," he said. The former state flag displayed the old state seal, which showed a white settler plowing a field while looking at a Native American man riding toward him on horseback. The imagery dates back to when Minnesota was still a territory and is viewed as a celebration of the idea that settlers were destined to take over the land. Tribes criticized that image as racist and it has long been the subject of controversy. High school students first brought these concerns to state lawmakers in 2017, but a redesign push didn't take hold until recently. A 13-member commission was given four months in late 2023 and a budget of $35,000 to redesign the flag and seal. They sifted through thousands of flag submissions from the public and narrowed it down to a finalist while making a few tweaks. The winner was a deep blue abstract shape of Minnesota with a white eight-pointed star - a nod to the state's motto, "Star of the North" - next to a block of light blue to represent Minnesota's abundance of water. The old flag was adopted in 1957, while the state seal represented Minnesota for most of the state's 166-year history. Both were replaced in 2024 on May 11 - Statehood Day. Crosslake Mayor Jackson Purfeerst cited the Native American imagery as a reason the city voted to continue flying it. "We are flying the original Minnesota state flag because of how rich Crosslake's history is with Native Americans and the tribes," Purfeerst said in a video on Facebook that garnered more than 500 comments of praise. "We have multiple Indian burial grounds all over town. We had one of the biggest battles of Native Americans on Rush Lake. ... We are honoring our history, we are honoring our culture, and we are honoring who came before us." In Babbitt, on the eastern edge of the Iron Range, the City Council first approved a measure opposing the new flag in 2024. It voted in February against flying the new flag, a decision that Councilor Jim Lassi says has garnered much community support. "Historically, we've probably had one of the most beautiful flags out of all 50 states," Lassi said. "You could tell right away that it represents Minnesota," with lakes and showy lady's slippers woven into the design. Lassi said the new flag is "ugly" and caters to "wokeness." Detroit Lakes went back and forth on the new flag. In March, the council voted in support of flying it, but then came backlash from residents and some council members. They voted again in May to not fly it, then in June decided not to fly either state flag after a tie-breaking vote from the mayor. Brian Ahlsten, who lives in Detroit Lakes and previously lived in the Twin Cities, said at the June council meeting that the new state flag doesn't represent rural Minnesota. "Some have tried to turn this into a left vs. right issue," he said. "This is more of a Twin Cities vs. greater Minnesota issue. … This flag serves to drive a wedge between us. It's a Twin Cities flag. It's not a greater Minnesota flag." Wendy Spry, who serves on the council and is an enrolled member of White Earth Nation, said the flag was changed for a reason. "This council turned its back on unity and welcomeness," she said. --- (Jana Hollingsworth, Trey Mewes and Jp Lawrence of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.) --- Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Miami Herald
10 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
‘Black market' dining reservations sell for thousands. States want to stop that
NEW ORLEANS - This isn't just any old list. With tables spread across several distinct dining rooms at the storied Commander's Palace restaurant, managers must calculate precise labor needs and open up the reservation list for just the right number of rooms at the right time for each dinner service. "If I spread the reservations out too much, it feels like you're sitting in church," said operations manager Steve Woodruff. "We have an old saying: Nothing dresses up a dining room like customers." In recent years, emerging third-party online platforms selling hard-to-get dinner reservations have created headaches for popular restaurants like Commander's Palace. New platforms such as Appointment Trader auction off the most desirable tables for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. And unlike other platforms that contract with restaurants, such as OpenTable, the reservation trading apps work outside of a restaurant's control: Anyone can make a reservation (often for free) and sell it for a profit, with the platform taking a commission on the sale. During this year's Super Bowl weekend in New Orleans, one table at a French Quarter restaurant went for more than $2,100. When customers spend that kind of money before the meal, Woodruff said, it heightens expectations and alters a diner's perception of value without restaurants even knowing. He said the apps also can force restaurants to run a service with empty tables if those online platforms don't find buyers - putting the risk on the business, not the customer. "If you resell a concert ticket, you had to risk something to buy the ticket. There's no risk here," he said. The issue is increasingly gaining the attention of state lawmakers. Commander's Palace and the Louisiana Restaurant Association successfully lobbied for a new law banning the resale of reservations without the consent of restaurant operators. Recently, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed the bill, which gained unanimous approval in every committee and floor vote. The Louisiana law follows the signing of bills by New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. A similar measure passed by the Illinois legislature is awaiting action by the governor. California and New Jersey are also eyeing such protections. "I know what it takes for people to build a brand," Republican state Rep. Troy Hebert, who sponsored the Louisiana bill, said in an interview. "I mean, think about it: You're making money off of my brand, and I didn't even know about it." He said online reservation platforms can use automated technology to quickly secure reservations, holding them hostage from other customers. Hebert noted that restaurants can still choose to work with any of the online reservation trading systems. "We're not preventing people from running those types of models," he said. "They just need to get the permission of the establishment. That's it." The new law allows the attorney general to issue platforms a $1,000 daily fine for each restaurant they're selling reservations for without permission. Appointment Trader founder Jonas Frey told Stateline that lawmakers are only hearing from powerful restaurant associations and the reservation platforms they contract with like OpenTable and Resy, which have pushed for these new laws. Frey said restaurants often show no availability online even when they have free tables. "It's one of the reasons why Appointment Trader works so well, because people with the relationship to the restaurant generally get these tables," he said. "We didn't make this problem - the restaurants are doing that." He said the site can actually help restaurants avoid no shows because most trades occur on the day of the reservation. And many restaurants require a credit card for a reservation, meaning a consumer could be charged even if schedules change and they can't use their reservation. "In my mind, it's atrocious: You're liable for something, but then you're not allowed to sell it," he said. Consumers completed 50,000 transactions on the platform last year, he said, with a no-show rate of only 1%. While restaurants have raised concerns about people making lots of reservations to flip a few online, Frey said his site blocks sellers who list too many openings without selling them. So far, these"black market" restaurant reservations have been most problematic in the nation's hottest dining destinations, including Chicago, Las Vegas, Miami, New Orleans and New York City, said Mike Whatley, vice president for state affairs and grassroots advocacy at the National Restaurant Association. "It's the places where there are those reservations that if you aren't logging on right at midnight a month out to get the reservation, you're not getting them, where these challenges have arisen, where you're seeing piracy take place," he said. Whatley added that this wave of state legislation is reminiscent of one that followed the rise of third-party delivery services such as DoorDash. In some cases, delivery platforms posted restaurant menus and sent drivers to pick up orders without permission. "And restaurants were going, 'Hey, why am I on this website? I didn't give authorization for that,'" he said. Whatley said some restaurants have responded to reservation traders by requiring deposits to make reservations, decreasing the likelihood of no-shows. "There's a lot of interest in states where this isn't a problem yet, getting ahead of it and just passing something on a bipartisan basis so that it never becomes a problem down the road," he said. Commander's Palace first learned of these platforms early last year when a customer asked why he couldn't get a table on the restaurant's website but saw one for sale on Appointment Trader. Woodruff said the new law is important because the restaurant and its reservation vendor struggled to tell which reservations came directly from customers and which came from reservation traders. "It didn't feel like we could fight it effectively on our own in house, because it's like a game of Whac-A-Mole," he said. Located among historic mansions and Victorian homes in the city's Garden District, Commander's Palace is more of a campus than a single restaurant. Nicknamed "Big Blue" among the staff for its striking teal paint job, the restaurant sprawls across nearly 12,000 square feet and is known for dishes like turtle soup and gumbo. In business for more than 130 years, Commander's Palace is among the city's most famous spots. Reservations can be difficult or impossible to land, especially between October and May when tourists and conventions fill the Big Easy. Proponents of reservation trading platforms argue they can provide customer flexibility. But Woodruff says it's only those websites that are winning - while consumers and restaurants lose out. In the foyer of the restaurant, Woodruff pulls up a big screen at the podium displaying the tables for every meal service. The restaurant is a must-stop for many tourists, but it's the locals that keep the place running year-round. Wearing a white shirt and black braided leather suspenders, Woodruff scrolls back to the recent Mother's Day brunch service. The screen shows the history of each customer. Some have dined here dozens of times, some more than 110. "These people spend every family special occasion with us," he said. "There's an awful lot of local goodwill that I try and cultivate." ____ Stateline reporter Kevin Hardy can be reached atkhardy@ Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Elon Musk's New Party: Who Has Declared Interest?
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Elon Musk's new political party has attracted the interest of political figures including Mark Cuban and Anthony Scaramucci. Writing on X, formerly Twitter, multiple people have responded to Musk announcing he would form a new party, though he has also attracted criticism, too. Why It Matters On Saturday, Musk announced he was forming a new political party called the "America Party." It came after Musk—who supported Trump during the 2024 presidential election campaign and who the president put in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency—fell out with Trump over "The One Big Beautiful Bill." Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition in Washington, D.C., on March 9, 2020. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition in Washington, D.C., on March 9, 2020. AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File Musk posted a poll on July 4, asking respondents if they wanted a new party, with 65.4 percent saying that they supported the idea. On X, formerly Twitter, he wrote: "Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom," citing the poll. Given he is a foreign-born U.S. citizen, Musk cannot run for president but he can support third-party candidates, who can put themselves on the ballot in every state, if they have enough signatures to support their bid. However, this could prove difficult because it is rare for third-party candidates to break through significantly in federal elections. What To Know Posting on X, Marc Cuban, a billionaire businessman and TV personality suggested he was interested in the party, sharing fireworks emojis then writing: "I work with [Center for Competitive Democracy]. They will help you get on ballots. That is their mission." Anthony Scaramucci, who was fired by Donald Trump just 10 days into the job as White House communications director in 2017, wrote: "I would like to meet to discuss." Social media personality Brian Krassenstein, who has over 900,000 followers, wrote: "Awesome! Where can we see more information?" Tyler Palmer, a tech investor and producer, suggested policies the America Party should endorse like modernizing the military with AI and robotics and said if these policies were on the platform "where do we send our donations?" Is this the America Party platform? -reduce debt, responsible spending only -modernize military with ai/robotics -pro tech, accelerate to win in ai -less regulation across board but especially in energy -free speech -pro natalist -centrist policies everywhere else If so… — Tyler Palmer (@tyler__palmer) July 5, 2025 However, other people expressed concerns about the party. Roger Stone, a longtime Republican strategist and Trump loyalist, said: "I have huge respect for @elonmusk and everything he has done for free speech and to ferret out waste fraud and corruption in federal spending, but I would rather see him pursue his efforts at electoral reform within the Republican Party primaries rather than having a new party splitting the vote of sane people and letting the Marxist Democrats gain control again." Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon also criticized the party on the Friday edition of his podcast The War Room. "The foul, the buffoon. Elmo the Mook, formerly known as Elon Musk, Elmo the Mook," Bannon said. "He's today, in another smear, and this—only a foreigner could do this—think about it, he's got up on, he's got up on Twitter right now, a poll about starting an America Party, a non-American starting an America Party." He added: "No, brother, you're not an American. You're a South African. We take enough time and prove the facts of that, you should be deported because it's a crime of what you did—among many." What People Are Saying Dafydd Townley, an American politics expert at the University of Portsmouth, previously told Newsweek that "third parties do not tend to have a long lifetime in American politics," adding that Musk's new party "would likely split the Republican vote, potentially resulting in a Democrat-dominated House of Representatives, at least in the short term, due to the winner-takes-all electoral system." What Happens Next As more details about the party emerge, it is likely that other high-profile political figures will comment on it, either to criticize the initiative or to offer their support.
