Hi! I have a 5 year old large dog (around 80ish pounds) who is terrified of getting his nails cut. I’ve tried doing it at home and when we take him to the vet it takes about 5 people to even attempt to get it done. They’ve prescribed him 400 mg gabapentin and 100 mg trazadone HCL to help with his stress, but this last appointment it was not helpful. He was still terrified and they failed to cut them all in one go. They told me they will try one last time and if it is not helpful they will probably need to start sedating him and using the drill tool to keep them short. I am a college student and I know sedation will be expensive, but I also know going under that often could be risky for him. Does anyone have any other medication or remedies I could try before we go to sedation? Any advice would be really helpful. Thank you!

I am F53 and engaged to M60. We've been together for nearly 3 years. When we first met, he said he was a Trump fan. I am not. He also is Morman, but told me he wouldn't ever push that on me. Because he's Morman, he doesn't drink (much). Again, he said it was fine if I did. I also smoked when we first met.
He is a good man, and we had fun together. Admittedly, I'd been single and lonely after ending an engagement just before COVID and I liked having a nice guy to hang out with. He treated me well, was funny and kind.
After 5 months, I got a job offer to move across the country, and when we spoke about it, he encouraged me to go and agreed to maintain our relationship long distance. I commuted to my job every other week from Feb. 2021 to Sept. 21 and then moved completely. He even said at that time he'd consider moving where I was "some day."
I traveled back and forth and was with him over the Christmas holidays in 2022/2023.
Then he came to visit me for a month in Feb/Mar 2023. We went on a cruise and then he worked from my house and I worked at home and at the office. During that time, his mother would call every day and berate him for leaving for so long. She has the beginnings of dementia, but it was difficult to hear their conversations, and I eventually just left the room when she called.
During that trip, he said he could never move that far from his parents while they're alive and that he probably didn't want to move where I was anyway. Also during that trip, he got mad at me for being too competitive when we played Wordle and Trivial Pursuit because I did a little trash talking. I tried to stop doing that, but he was very sensistive to it. Eventually, after two or three (IMO) stupid fights about it, he talked to his friend who told him to stop being such a p****. We've not argued about that since, but I also no longer play any games with him.
Then, in April of 2023, I was diagnosed with kidney cancer. I went on medical leave and had my kidney removed in June of 2023. I traveled to his house before the surgery and stayed for about a month, and then he came to stay with me for the surgery and took amazing care of me while I was in the hospital and recovered. By then I'd decided I no longer wanted to be so far away from my family, including my college-age kids so I rented out my house and moved fully in with him in July of 2023. By now, we agreed we loved each other and were working toward marriage.
Before I moved, I suggested we could rent out his condo and buy a place together. But when I started talking about locations and looking at houses, he said he couldn't move and wanted to stay close to his parents. I respect that, but my (new job) is more than an hour away from his house, and I have to go in 3 times a week. Nonetheless, I agreed we could just stay in the condo.
In December of 2023, we picked out and purchased an engagement ring. It sat in our home until the beginning of March. Some time in February he started talking to his family. His two adult daughters were supportive, but his parents and aunt were not. Though they all proported to love me, they just didn't see why at his age he'd even want to get married again. I have and make more money than him now, but he stands to inherit much more than me. We agreed to do a prenup to protect our estates for our children while also taking care of each other. He kept me aprised of his challenging conversations but eventually told me he got his parents and aunt to agree to support our wishes.
In March, while he came with me on a business trip, he proposed while we were out for dinner. I'll admit it was a big anti-climactic, but I suppose I felt that's sort of to be expected at our age. Btw we were both married for 10+ years and have two children. We were also both previously engaged but broke those off a year or so before we met.
Then, he never told anyone that we actually got engaged. I asked why, and he said since he told them he was going to give me a ring, they knew what the needed to know. I sat through at least two meals with his parents and one with his brother and it never came up. He didn't mention it, and they didn't notice. That felt uncomfortable, and I told him that. He didn't do anything different. We went to a family wedding, and his sister in law noticed my ring, and as I expected, made a big deal of it. It still didn't feel celebratory.
I guess I started to feel insecure and doubtful around this time and possibly started noticing (maybe even looking for) other things. We had a converation about how I was working with some colleagues to start an LGBTQ+ employee resource group at work and how I was frustrated that leadership, which is in a European country, did not support our efforst. I'd been an executive sponsor of such a group at a different job before, and I'm a passionate ally. When I expressed my frustration, he told me he understood why the company wouldn't want to set one up because they just want to focus on business. I tried to speak to him about the benefits of embracing these kinds of diversity efforts have at work, but it was clear he didn't want to hear it.
Then, and I think this was a different conversation, he said he believes being LGBTQ+ is immoral. I asked if that was due to his religion, and he said no, he's always felt that way. I reminded him that my daughter sees herself as part of that community, and his response was that he would never treat her poorly and would never say anything unless he was asked. That one hurt.
Over the next several weeks, we had more frustrating conversations. One began as a result of that viral bear in the woods question. I told him I too would choose the unknown bear over an unknown man and he could not in any way comprehend what we were talking about. I admittedly got frustrated, but I tried to explain about how women are disproportionately affected by violence, and he said "What about men. We get attacked too." I was incredulous but not getting anywhere.
I even started therapy again because I just wasn't getting past this. After my first session, I sat down and told my fiance that I was feeling disconnected and was worried about our different social and political ideologies. He asked me what other areas I felt we were different in. I reminded him about my passionate opinions about abortion rights. womens health issues, etc. And he said he knew I was kind of a feminist. I think we ended by saying we might need to stay away from some of these issues.
Then just last night, I asked how he was feeling about everything. And the whole thing started again, but got even worse. I told him I'm not kind of a feminist, but that I am a feminist. He asked me what that meant, and I reitterated several issues I'm passionate about. And he said something like, "what about issues facing men... it's not easy being a man." I said we weren't talking about men but that we're talking about issues that face women, including me. He said that was selfish.
I asked him if he had the same conversation with someone in a minority population and that person told him about things they've experienced because of their skin color. He said yes he'd had those converations and told a black person, for example, that if he thinks he has it hard, try trading places with him. My fiance grew up middle class, was well fed and clothed, had college paid for him, graduated, developed a good career, got married, moved to a upscale community and had children. Did I mention he is a POC? His parents are German and Phillipino, but he looks Samoan.
This let to a conversation about privelege, and he just could not understand it it all. When I suggested that he faced fewer obstacles than other people by virtue of the family he was born into, he said "OK, why does that matter. Am I supposed to feel bad?" I was just so frustrated at this point, and it felt like not only could he not understand or respect how I look at things, but that he was trying to poke holes in my thoughts.
So I know that was a long story, but it was a bit cathartic to put it down on paper. We spoke again this morning and both agreed these difference in social issues are serious and that we should step back and re-evaluate our engagement, and ultimately our relationship.
I guess I'm asking if I am the asshole for running through some red flags earlier in our relationship to end up now facing the prospect of moving for the third time 2.5 years. It's really been a crazy few years...

For starters, my mom thinks IUD are the same thing as an abortion so I havent told her I have it. That being said, she is going with me to all my consults cause im scared of losing important info and she is the one that is going to take care of me post op. But as she is going with me to all these things, I dont have a window to tell my doctor about the IUD, I wanted to say that because she asked about ac pills and how Im not taking any but I couldnt go in further detail in front of my mom.
Also, Im 23 years old, im not a teen, I just trust my mom and etc, shes seen my boobs before cause I had to have help 2 years ago for a removal of a nodule on my nipple. BUT ALSO I dont want to have a religious battle at home about how Im not supposed to have an IUD and how this is against God and etc. So like, do I need to tell my doctor about this? Is it going to affect something in the end?

I hope that someone on here will read this post and give me some sound advice.
33/F 37/M We’ve been together for 6-7 months. He and I were Facebook friends for four years before dating. Flirting here and there but nothing serious because at the time he was going through a separation (13 year marriage). Fast forward to several months ago, we went on our first date and things took off fairly quickly from there. Within a month we were living together (I know, not the best move).
He moved in with me and pays majority all of my bills and expenses. I have been paying my way through my Master's program and my finances were not the best. I work as a revenue cycle manager and he works as a superintendent for a pipefitting company. He makes good money and never fails to remind me lol. Initially, our relationship was beautiful. He was attentive, generous, loving, and great with my kids (one who has special needs). Overall, it was everything I had hoped for. But after just a month of living together the arguments progressively started. He takes steroids and was powerlifter. When we met he told me he was going through withdrawal so I was patient with him when he was having his ups and downs. In addition, he's in the process of divorce and managing coparenting with his ex. I was patient through it all, cleared a space in my home for his children to sleep in so that they would be comfortable.
It was hard but manageable. His mood swings didn't affect me as much during the time because I knew there was a lot going on in his life. Well time went on and when he would have these mood swings he would say things to me like "I'm just not comfortable here" and "I don't like living in this city" and during our arguments he always threatened to leave me. He also constantly complained that he doesn't like being away from his kids (8, 11, 13) and that he just isn't happy without them. Which I completely understood. Though he did see them throughout the week and weekends-but still I understood.
March 8th I found out that I was 5 weeks pregnant and that's when things turned ugly. Though he told me he was elated and wanted to create a family with me there were constant loud arguments in front of the children (I take accountability because I did the yelling too). He would grab me, throw me across the bed when he was angry, hold me down, forcefully cover my mouth if I tried to talk, choked me quite a few times and broken things in my home during our fights. Cops had to be called out more than once. And my 11 year old hated having him around and was visibly afraid during the fights. My ex is a muscular bigger man and very very strong. He's gotten more and more physical with me, more and more argumentative and also started back on steroids during my pregnancy which effected his temperament. At 8 weeks pregnant we MUTUALLY decided to get an abortion (he sent me the money for it) because of the arguments, and me just not handling the pregnancy well-also to add his divorce was still not final. All of these factors influenced my decision to go through with the abortion and he supported me at first. But after the abortion, while I'm still bleeding, we argued and he called me a baby killer. Told me the only reason he was with me was because of the baby. Apologized a few hours later, bought me some gifts, sent me some money in an attempt to smooth it over. This was his pattern. Valentines Day, my birthday, mothers day..we argued and fought. I have never in my life delt with a man so up and down. One minute I'm being yelled at and disrespected and the next I'm the love of his life and he can't wait to marry me.
Yesterday was his daughters birthday and he told me he was taking her out after work (He leaves work at 3:30 every day). We spoke one time at 7pm, and I called him several times at 10pm, he calls me back once at nearly 11pm and gets to my house at almost 12am on a school night from "spending the day with is daughter." I should add that since his ex wife went back to work he drives 45 minutes from my house to hers to pick the kids up from the bus stop and take them home. He does this every day and usually gets home close to 7pm-8pm. I've expressed my comfortability with him spending time over there while she's present and his response is that he doesnt. But he does. Quite often. When he got home I was visibly upset, he asked "why the fuck are you making that face?" I didn't respond. And then he followed up with "this is our last weekend together." I asked for my house key, he yelled, had a tantrum, then left the house. Came back 5 minutes later and told me he loved me and didn't want to argue. I've heard that before. I told him he couldn't come back to my home.
What makes this break up hard is that he genuinely has done some amazing things for me, and my children. He's shown me a lot of love and encouragement. And has ALWAYS ALWAYS been thre when I needed him. I loved him and have asked him to seek therapy. This relationship has made me angry and resentful, and I just need out.
**I should add that his ex does not like me, though I take good care of her kids when they are with me. My ex has also shared things with her pertaining to our relationship that I've had to correct him on. He's gone to movies, and outings with her and the kids (which isn't a problem) except he lied about it. Which is why I don't have trust in him when he's out that way*

Hey, everyone. This is a throwaway account just to avoid any issues. I posted here a couple hours ago with my main account, but deleted just in case. I'm happy to provide my other account to the mods if needed. Also, I'm so sorry in advance for the long post. I just needed to at least hear some kind words, so thank you for hearing me out.
My wife struggles with BPD, Bipolar 2, and CPTSD. She also suffers from Fibromyalgia, Endometriosis, Hashimoto’s, and Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria. We’ve been together for about 15 years, and while everything has been extremely hard, I want to stress that I do not blame her for anything. She is in DBT and Trauma Therapy, and is actively trying to work on herself. She accepts responsibility when she’s aware of a problem and tries her best to remedy things where she can. I love her and appreciate all the hard work she puts into trying to fix things and learn where she can improve.
With that said, I can’t fully express how hard things can get on my end. She’s federally disabled, so she stays at home and just focuses on herself as much as she can. The world can be challenging, though, especially with her degree of disability, so she doesn’t go out much. She ends up feeling very alone and has created a codependent situation where she doesn’t feel comfortable going out unless I’m with her, and when she’s not having a good BPD day, approaches me as if I am required to provide her that support or attention and failing to be there for her or failing to want to do those things is treated equivalently to depriving her of an emotional need. She doesn’t act that way when she’s doing well, but when she has a bad day (which can be somewhat often), that’s when I’m blamed. With this, my life is just going to work, working as hard as I can to support her, coming home, giving her all my free time because she’s been alone all day, repeating that until the weekend when I do work around or outside of the house, and give all my free time to her again. I understand how unhealthy it is to not have any form of self-care available to me, but so much as mentioning that I want to do something for me can sometimes devolve into abuse, so I often just stop trying and do my best to get some enjoyment out of the time I give to her.
Outside of those social issues, she also tends to use a coping mechanism she’s developed over the years on me. Whenever she has very heavy feelings about a situational thing (i.e. something that she has no control of or any outlet for, like a cherished pet dying, where she can’t blame or attack anyone but still creates heavy feelings), she doesn’t seem to know how to work through those feelings in a healthy way and ends up holding onto them until they pile up. Her way of coping, then, is to latch onto any problem she can find from me (or anyone else in the way, but typically just me), blow up that problem as big as she can, then try to shove all her feelings into that problem by attacking or emotionally abusing me. And, if that problem is too small to justify all those feelings, then she will pull in any problem she can from the past – small problems, large problems, unresolved problems, resolved problems, things to do with me, or even things that have nothing to do with me. She’ll then take those issues and continue adding it to the base problem until she feels like she’s offloaded all her feelings and can move on. I’ve attempted to tell her about the coping mechanism a few times in the past, but when she started using the fact that I wanted to talk about a problem to use her coping mechanism on me, I stopped trying to bring it up.
So, with these two main issues, things can be an emotional rollercoaster. I feel like I’m chained up in a corner, where sometimes she comes over to really love and care about me, and other times she stops by just to emotionally beat me. I feel so extremely alone, all the time. But, what makes it worse is that I know it’s not really her fault. She’s getting the help she needs and is actively working on her issues. She feels remorse whenever I’m able to talk with her about these issues, and tries her best to support me when she’s doing well. If she wasn’t actively trying to fix the issues, or didn’t accept responsibility for her actions, I would likely be okay just walking away. But, she needs a support system. She needs someone there to help her or she will never get better. It’s like there are two very distinct people I’m married to – one that is loving, kind, appreciative, and supportive, and the other is angry, spiteful, and abusive. And, I know if I walk away from the abusive side of her, I have to abandon the side of her that I love, and that’s just not something I’m willing to do. She deserves support just as much as anyone else, but it’s just so extremely hard, all the time.
I will say, I was able to very recently get her to accept couple’s therapy. I know it’s going to be tricky because she has actively tried to discredit my therapists in the past when they say things she doesn’t agree with. So, I know if we get a couple’s therapist that she doesn’t have some kind of default trust in, there’s the risk she will fall into that mindset again. She does fully trust her therapist at this point, so I asked her to get a recommendation from him in an attempt to create some default trust in whomever we end up seeing together. Today is her next therapy session, so hopefully she comes back with a name and contact information for us to set up our first session. I sincerely wish we didn’t have to do couple’s therapy because most insurances don’t cover couple’s, which means I have to pay out of pocket with money I don’t have. But, the alternative is just remain chained up in the corner with no end in sight, and I just don’t think I have it in me to continue this cycle without entirely just falling apart.
I’m so sorry for the long post. I’m sorry for anyone that made it this far, but thank you for any support you can provide. I don’t want to leave her. I want to support her as much as I can, and hopefully couple’s therapy finally makes things better. But, for now, I feel so extremely alone, so thank you for hearing me out. I hope you all have a wonderful day.

38F - 1,73m - 84kg
I’ve had 4 pregnancies:
1st at 19yo and I did an abortion by taking orally/putting a pill inside up my vagina - it’s illegal in my home country (I mention this because I can’t tell if it’s relevant or not)
2nd I was 31yo - singleton
3rd I was 34 - twins
4th and last - 36 - singleton
All my babies were breastfed.
It took me 11 months to get my period back after I had my first kid even though I exclusively bf him until 6mo and kept bf him until after 2yo.
Then I got pregnant when he was 2.5yo and that was about the time I last had my period.
After my twins were born, it never had my period back. I got pregnant with my 4th child when the twins were about 14-15mo without having my periods.
Now almost 15mo after giving birth I still haven’t had my periods back. I still bf until today, but not exclusively anymore since my child was about 5mo.
Is this supposed to be concerning? Should I just wait for it as it might come back eventually? How long does it start to be worrisome?
I’d like to add that women in my family (great grandmothegrandmothemother) tend to go into menopause in their early-mid 40’s. Is it possible that I am already going into it?
Is it worth a visit to my obgyn now or is worth to wait more? Life is really busy with all the kids, it’s difficult to make time and arrangements for stuff for myself.
PS: overall very healthy, never had any major issues except for an appendix surgery when I was 15yo.
Currently on medication for PTSD and ADD (sertraline (since Novembe23)/vyvanse - since end of April/24).
Thank you!

My wife and I have been together for 6 years. She says that we don't spend enough time together and that I'm not attentive enough. She thinks I don't care all while telling me on a daily basis that she hates me because of it.
Here's what she expects, per the text she sent me 15 minutes ago:
(We both get home around 5:00 PM after work)
Sit with her while she cooks dinner
Eat with her (nothing wrong with this, I enjoy it.)
After eating, sit with her and watch a show.
Then grab her some clothes and towels and take them to the batheoom
Sit with her while she takes a bath.
After, sit with her in the bed till she's ready to go to sleep.
By this time it's about 9:30 or 10:00 PM. I still have things to do. This doesn't include cleaning, taking care of the dogs or any of the numerous things I have to do personally every day.
I go to bed at 12PM - 1AM every night. I wake up at 5AM.
If I can't fulfill this she loses her shit.
Just to put things in perspective. I'm working my normal job, and working with my dad to build his business at the same time. Good money and more is coming so I'm doing everything I can to make it. I work 6 days a week. She is pregnant and I'm doing everything I can to please her, provide for her and a future for my child. I can't catch a break and honestly my mental health has taken a massive hit. She constantly reminds me of how terrible I am and how much she hates me.
Idk what to do. I love her though. Very much so.
This is the last text she sent me:
"no, you've been shitty and at this point I don't think your capable of being any better."
How am I supposed to remedy this? She's not listening to me at all. It doesn't matter what I say, she's right and I'm wrong. How do I fix this issue?
TL;DR
Wife has a todo list 10 miles long, it's driving me nuts.

Occasionally I get a funky, sewer like smell in the basement. For context, here’s my setup. Ranch home with full basement. It’s not a natural gas smell (negative on detector). Laundry is on main floor. I do not have a sump pump or floor drain. I am able to remedy the smell by putting a cleaning pellet (Affresh) in an empty washing machine cycle (hot water). However, the washing machine and the drain hole does not smell at all. Just the basement. Smell goes away in about an hour so so after I run the cycle.
Thoughts?

Hey, everyone. This is a throwaway account just to avoid any issues. I know getting support is the point of this subreddit, but I still feel badly offloading on anyone, so I’ll start by saying I’m sorry and thank you.
My wife struggles with BPD, Bipolar 2, and CPTSD. She also suffers from Fibromyalgia, Endometriosis, Hashimoto’s, and Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria. We’ve been together for about 15 years, and while everything has been extremely hard, I want to stress that I do not blame her for anything. She is in DBT and Trauma Therapy, and is actively trying to work on herself. She accepts responsibility when she’s aware of a problem and tries her best to remedy things where she can. I love her and appreciate all the hard work she puts into trying to fix things and learn where she can improve.
With that said, I can’t fully express how hard things can get on my end. She’s federally disabled, so she stays at home and just focuses on herself as much as she can. The world can be challenging, though, especially with her degree of disability, so she doesn’t go out much. She ends up feeling very alone and has created a codependent situation where she doesn’t feel comfortable going out unless I’m with her, and when she’s not having a good BPD day, approaches me as if I am required to provide her that support or attention and failing to be there for her or failing to want to do those things is treated equivalently to depriving her of an emotional need. She doesn’t act that way when she’s doing well, but when she has a bad day (which can be somewhat often), that’s when I’m blamed. With this, my life is just going to work, working as hard as I can to support her, coming home, giving her all my free time because she’s been alone all day, repeating that until the weekend when I do work around or outside of the house, and give all my free time to her again. I understand how unhealthy it is to not have any form of self-care available to me, but so much as mentioning that I want to do something for me can sometimes devolve into abuse, so I often just stop trying and do my best to get some enjoyment out of the time I give to her.
Outside of those social issues, she also tends to use a coping mechanism she’s developed over the years on me. Whenever she has very heavy feelings about a situational thing (i.e. something that she has no control of or any outlet for, like a cherished pet dying, where she can’t blame or attack anyone but still creates heavy feelings), she doesn’t seem to know how to work through those feelings in a healthy way and ends up holding onto them until they pile up. Her way of coping, then, is to latch onto any problem she can find from me (or anyone else in the way, but typically just me), blow up that problem as big as she can, then try to shove all her feelings into that problem by attacking or emotionally abusing me. And, if that problem is too small to justify all those feelings, then she will pull in any problem she can from the past – small problems, large problems, unresolved problems, resolved problems, things to do with me, or even things that have nothing to do with me. She’ll then take those issues and continue adding it to the base problem until she feels like she’s offloaded all her feelings and can move on. I’ve attempted to tell her about the coping mechanism a few times in the past, but when she started using the fact that I wanted to talk about a problem to use her coping mechanism on me, I stopped trying to bring it up.
So, with these two main issues, things can be an emotional rollercoaster. I feel like I’m chained up in a corner, where sometimes she comes over to really love and care about me, and other times she stops by just to emotionally beat me. I feel so extremely alone, all the time. But, what makes it worse is that I know it’s not really her fault. She’s getting the help she needs and is actively working on her issues. She feels remorse whenever I’m able to talk with her about these issues, and tries her best to support me when she’s doing well. If she wasn’t actively trying to fix the issues, or didn’t accept responsibility for her actions, I would likely be okay just walking away. But, she needs a support system. She needs someone there to help her or she will never get better. It’s like there are two very distinct people I’m married to – one that is loving, kind, appreciative, and supportive, and the other is angry, spiteful, and abusive. And, I know if I walk away from the abusive side of her, I have to abandon the side of her that I love, and that’s just not something I’m willing to do. She deserves support just as much as anyone else, but it’s just so extremely hard, all the time.
I will say, I was able to very recently get her to accept couple’s therapy. I know it’s going to be tricky because she has actively tried to discredit my therapists in the past when they say things she doesn’t agree with. So, I know if we get a couple’s therapist that she doesn’t have some kind of default trust in, there’s the risk she will fall into that mindset again. She does fully trust her therapist at this point, so I asked her to get a recommendation from him in an attempt to create some default trust in whomever we end up seeing together. Today is her next therapy session, so hopefully she comes back with a name and contact information for us to set up our first session. I sincerely wish we didn’t have to do couple’s therapy because most insurances don’t cover couple’s, which means I have to pay out of pocket with money I don’t have. But, the alternative is just remain chained up in the corner with no end in sight, and I just don’t think I have it in me to continue this cycle without entirely just falling apart.
I’m so sorry for the long post. I’m sorry for anyone that made it this far, but thank you for any support you can provide. I don’t want to leave her. I want to support her as much as I can, and hopefully couple’s therapy finally makes things better. But, for now, I feel so extremely alone, so thank you for hearing me out. I hope you all have a wonderful day.

FYI, this is a story COLLECTION. Lots of standalones technically. So, you can basically start to read at any chapter, no pre-read of the other chapters needed technically (other than maybe getting better descriptions of characters than: Adam Vir=human, Krill=antlike alien, Sunny=tall alien, Conn=telepathic alien). The numbers are (mostly) only for organization of posts and continuity.
OC Written by Charlie Stastarrfallknightrise,
Typed up and then posted here by me.
Proofreading and language check for some chapters by u/Finbar9800 u/BakeGullible9975 u/Didnotseemecomein and u/medium_jock
Future Lore and fact check done by me.
Caution swearing!
Also, god I love you Conn… please never change!
Previous First [Next](link)
Want to find a specific one, see the whole list or check fanart?
Here is the link to the master-post.
"Both of you get your suits back on."
"What the hell is going on!?”
Richards demanded, Adam took a deep breath,
"Captain Richards that was not an opening for a discussion, that was an order. Now put the damn suit on, or I swear I will knock you out and do it myself!”
The three of them were floating in the module staring at each other, hands resting against what must have been no more than a few millimeters of aluminum.
He stared at them, and they stared back.
Adam did not break eye contact with the two, willing them to do as they were told. Chavez was the first to move, hurrying over to her space suit and struggling to pull it on in a near panic as bright lights flashed from outside. Inside his heart was pounding but he tried to remain calm for the two standing before him.
He hurried over to help Chavez pull on her gear, finally sealing the helmet in place as Richards finally moved to do the same.
Adam helped pull the hard torso over the man's head and link it to the waist before helping him pull on his gloves and, eventually the helmet. Before he let go, he kept hold of Richards by either side of the helmet staring at him through the glass,
"I promise, if you listen to me, I will keep you safe."
He kept eye contact with the other man until Richards finally nodded, and Adam let him go to float over and put on his own suit. His hands were steady, for now, but he knew as soon as the crisis was over he'd be shaking like a leaf.
If he survived…
He gritted his teeth, cursing himself for thinking like that.
He was Admiral Vir for crying out loud. He had survived far too much to go and die now.
He returned to the helm of the command module as he looked out the thick window at the lights flashing on either side of them. Despite the war that was raging around them, everything seemed so strangely quiet. There was no sound no rumbling, not even a vibration as one of the jets flew past. Despite being at the controls of the vehicle, there was nothing he could do. They only had a certain amount of fuel to get them to the lunar surface, and if he wasted any of it at all, they would be either caught in orbit, or miss the moon entirely.
He had to keep his cool.
Another bright burst of light lit the window to his right. This one was closer this time.
His heart leaped up into his throat.
Richards and Chaves joined him buckling into their seats.
"What is going on?”
Richards demanded again, his mike distant and tinny with the sound of very old technology.
"I believe Anti-Alliance forces are attempting to assassinate me. They have been trying for months now, and I think they are being encouraged by very powerful members of the government."
They watched as another set of ships zoomed past.
He saw a flash of a silhouette, just enough to know that one of them was a Thunderhawk and the other was a silver Rundi drone.
It confirmed his worst fears. The Chairwoman had been behind this the whole time!
[…]
Red nearly collided with the rocket. The Thunderhawk had pulled up the last minute, but he had almost been too late. He jerked the stick to the side, throwing up his wing just in time to avoid hitting the rocket as it made its slow way through space. He dove down on the other side forced to break off pursuit and cut in front of another Thunderhawk coming in from above. He made to look like he was going to ram them, playing a dangerous game of chicken, which he won at the last second as the other pilot panicked and cut to the left.
There were too many of them. Only five out of the original twenty had been destroyed, and he and the rest of their pilots were busy just keeping the thunder hawks away from the rocket, much less to have any time of firing at them. He had sent one of his people down to earth and one of them off towards the moon for backup. The moon was still hours away yet, so the hope that some help would be sent from them was unlikely, and even the woman he had sent down to earth's surface was cutting it close.
He didn't have much hopes that they would be able to hold out that long.
Inside the cockpit his warning lights began to blink and blair as one of the other jets got a lock on him. He rolled right to avoid them and dove down, cutting off the lock but still being pursued by those behind him. Up ahead he saw one of the silver balls erupt into flames as it was targeted by an expert hit from one of the Thunderhawk pilots.
He rolled right.
Someone else rolled left. He cut up just in time to avoid being hit and raced forward to cut off another Thunderbird that was heading directly towards the rocket.
[…]
Eris hurried down the hallway, her knees screaming as she did her very best to sprint, but despite her human anatomy, she was a little too much like a starborn.
With a cry of frustration she reached up and tore off her hoodie, throwing it to the ground and engaging her anti-gravity belt. The ribbons on her back billowed out behind her.
Light spilled in from the windows on either side of the catwalk she was now on, filling her with a buzzing energy that she could feel radiating through the ribbons like electricity. She knew from her study of starborn that they could travel at thousands of miles an hour in the vacuum of space, especially when under the power of a star. She didn't think she needed to go THAT fast, but anything would be better than what she was doing now.
As if in response to her will, she suddenly began to glide forward, picking up speed as she swooped towards the end of the hall, wind catching her in the face and roaring along her cheeks. With her starborn skin, she barely felt a thing as she raced around the corner and out of the waiting door. Two men dressed in military ACUs dived to the side as she blew past them crying out in alarm and confusion as the "Alien" floated by.
Somewhere distantly, she could sense Conn racing in the opposite direction towards the base.
Sunny and Admiral Kelly had Admiral Massie in their custody and were dragging him out into the hallway.
She blew across the open ground her ribbons snapping and billowing behind her as she did. She didn't even have time to imagine what she looked like as she roared over the open field and towards the waiting news vans which were just beginning to pack up their things. They were close to leaving, but she set out a sharp hard telepathic pulse ordering them to stop.
Compelling them to stop.
They froze in their tracks and looked up to see her coming.
Someone scrambled to turn on their camera, not sure what was going on but sure it had to be something good.
She tried not to think about what they would see as the camera flared to life following her approach.
"Make us live."
She ordered,
The news people glanced between each other in confusion,
"But no… we aren’t-"
"What are-"
She came to a sudden jolting stop before them, her billowing black hair fanning out behind her like a curling halo.
"I said, put us on air."
This time the telepathic pulse was too strong to resist. Mostly that, paired with the fact that none of them were sure they really wanted to resist. She was way too interesting to pass up.
They hurried to do what they were doing, and Eris was given just enough time to feel nervous before the camera was turned to her.
They were live.
She read it in the minds of those behind camera who she cut off as she began to speak,
"Citizens of Earth, there has been a horrible conspiracy against you. The UN president has ordered the assassination of Admiral Adam Vir and has continually attempted to sabotage the mission. Just now General Massie was taken into custody after ordering the deployment of twenty Thunderhawk’s to harass the rocket and make its destruction look like some sort of collision with space debris."
The group gawked at her as she raised her hand with the small silver device and began playing the recording.
She knew something like this would never be admissible in court. She was pretty sure it would be considered entrapment of some kind, which is why it must be heard now, before everyone, so that the actions of the president could be judged by a jury of the world where it could not be hidden by political machinations.
"Communications have been lost with Apollo 11. And it is... Well... It is likely that he is already dead..."
Her voice broke,
"No matter what happens, I need you, and this nation to understand what is happening before it gets swept under the rug. I saw it with my own eyes, heard it with my own ears and experienced their meeting in the thoughts of a man who is both xenophobic and hateful to his own humankind."
She kept talking trying to give them all the information she could, spilling thoughts she had heard in the head of the UN president and General Massie alike. Every meeting, every liaison, every name until her voice was beginning to crack.
[…]
The UN president was just standing to enter her vehicle when a slow muttering began in the crowd behind her. She turned as the ground before her went silent.
She watched as a wave ran through the people. A wave of nudging and whispering and showing off news feeds they had pulled up on their wrist implants. It wasn't long before the entire crowd was either staring down at their arms or clustered around someone else for viewing.
"What is going on?”
She wondered, turning to one of her men who was staring down at her own wrist.
"Madame president?"
He said with a look of confusion.
She could hear it now.
"Her and General Massie have ordered members of the UNSC to adjust funds in order to hide the twenty Thunderhawk’s they were squirting away for just such an event."
She hurried forward, grabbing the secret serviceman by the arm, staring at it as she watched the streaming newsfeed and the freaky white alien with the large dark eyes and flowing black hair.
"She is afraid of aliens, she wishes to isolate and eventually use humanity's superior forces to overtake trade in the galaxy, forceful if need be."
The muttering behind her had turned into an angry grumbling, and she turned to see the eyes of hundreds that turned towards her.
"Get me out of here."
She hissed. the Secret Serviceman took a step back with a look of confusion and indecision on his face.
"It's your job."
She snarled, but he just stared at her.
She hurriedly ran over to her car as the crowd began to filter in around them pressing close. A few of the secret service men pulled guns, but a large majority of them were frozen with indecision and were taken over by the crowd. She scrambled into the back seat of her vehicle and slammed the door shut screaming at the driver to get moving.
The crowd was surrounding them now, pounding at the glass.
She could hear their angry voices raised for her to be heard behind bullet proof glass.
Outside, she watched a lone figure step onto the platform where the lectern was and stare at her with its beady black eyes. The Chairwoman of the GA stood over the crowd like it's filthy alien lord.
And even though Rundi could not smile, she could swear it was smiling.
[…]
Baby K hit a rough patch of turbulence coming down from the atmosphere. She struggled with the controls as she was thrown left and right inside the cockpit of her rickety shuttle.
Donovan Red had ordered her down here to grab the UNSC, but she was so scared and full of adrenaline that she had dropped it at too steep an angle. The ride was much bumpier than it was supposed to be, and her teeth were rattling inside her head.
Just then two Jets suddenly cut in behind her out of nowhere, and she heard her console beep and warn her about a lock on, making it clear that she was just one click of a trigger away from imminent doom.
"This is Eagle Dispatch One, unidentified vessel, you have crossed into restricted UNSC airspace, identify yourself or be destroyed! You have ten seconds to comply, over."
She scrambled for her communications, but her fingers felt as stiff as wood as she scrambled for the button.
"I repeat, this is Eagle Dispatch One, unidentified vessel, you have entered restricted UNSC airspace, you are ordered to identify yourself or be destroyed. Five seconds remaining. Over."
She slammed her first into the comms button nearly panicking,
"UNSC!"
Her voice was rattling,
"This is B-baby K, and I... The Apollo 11 is under attack!"
She was breathless as she forced the words out.
There was silence over the coms,
"Say again? Uhm I mean please repeat over.”
"Apollo 11 is under attack!"
”…”
”…”
More silence,
”Roger that. Please stand by. Over."
The lock lifted and the two jets pulled up to the side of her, staying close now.
She recognized those jets as two F-90 Darkfires.
They stayed by her side for a moment, and as close as they were she could see one of the pilots fidgeting with the coms, talking and wildly gesticulating, while his copilot was beginning to wildly flip switches.
Meanwhile, a second voice came in over the coms.
"On your left! Eagle Dispatch Two here, unidentified vessel, please land on UNSC base airstrip one. Just contact the control tower once you get close for guidance and instruction."
Baby K looked over into the other jet, just to see the pilot adjusting his helmet and clicking an oxygen tube to the front of his helmet. His co-pilot had already put the additional oxygen mask on and was also flipping switches.
”Uhm aren’t you going to escort me?”
Baby K managed to blurt out in confusion,
”Godspeed Baby K, Eagle Dispatch Two over and out.”
Both men in the jet to her left had apparently finished their preparations and gave her a quick salute.
Then suddenly, both jets adjusted their angle and cut engines, before switching to their big fusion engines, rocketing them up and out of sight within seconds.
[…]
So far it had been a relatively quiet day at the Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base. Most of the air traffic had been canceled due to the launch of the Apollo mission, so there was not much to do, leaving much of the Airport less staffed than normal.
In the Air Traffic Control tower of the base, only two men were working. Though “working” was stretching it, considering Senior Controller M. Fredrick was currently in the middle of his book (though he was at least in front of his station) and his comrade Senior ATC Instructor A. Millard was currently sitting in a corner, watching a movie on his implant.
”So what are you watching? One of those old Star Wars movies?”
”You bet! Those are the best! By the way any info on that “lost civilian” who got into our airspace?”
”No not yet, though I sent Eagle Dispatch and told them to be extra unfriendly, that will scare these civilians off for sure!”
”Pffft, why couldn’t they watch the start like any other person? There is always some dumb rich kid doing dumb stuff with daddies private shuttle… I don’t understand why we always let them off with a warning…”
The console started beeping,
”Oh look that’s them now!”
”Put ‘em on speakers!”
”Will do!”
…
”ATC this is Eagle, come the FUCK in!”
Fredrick rolled his eyes,
”Ahem… This is Elling Field ATC, calling Eagle Dispatch One. We hear you, over.”
”ATC what the FUCK took you so long!?”
”Ellington Field ATC, to Eagle Dispatch one, firstly: language, secondly: please follow standard radio rules, over.”
”THE APOLLO IS UNDER ATACK BY HOSTILE ELEMENTS!”
”Ellingt-WHAAAAT!? Repeat please! Over!”
”THE APOLLO IS BEEING ATACKED BY HOSTILE ELEMENTS! REQUETING IMMEDIATE ASSIST!”
Fredrick just stared at Millard dumbfounded. As the senior officer Millard was quick to collect himself and jumped up and towards his console.
”What are you waiting for Fredrick! Are we blind!? DEPLOY THE GARRISON!”
Fredrick ignored all protocol and just flipped the switch to connect his comms to every recipient available.
”ATC to all personnel and everyone who can hear me, the Apollo is under attack, I repeat, the apollo is under attack. I want all available planes that can reach the outer atmosphere ready ASAP! Get the darkfires on the runway I want them in the air yesterday!”
[…]
Conn raced towards the airstrip, feeling the wind in the ribbons at his back. He couldn't go nearly as fast as he wanted to with air resistance.
Why the hell did Adam always have to get into so much trouble, why did he always have to be the center of attention!?
Everyone either hated him or loved him, but the problem was people who hated him also wanted to kill him.
Why did he have to be so controversial!?
Why did he have to be hated for something that was such a big deal. Why couldn't he be hated for having controversial political opinions. Conn paused…
On second thought, controversial political opinions were kind of what had gotten them here in the first place, so he guessed that was kind of a useless comparison. How about being the kind of guy who liked to talk too much about fishing. That was a great way to make people hate you for being boring, but it didn't usually mean that people wanted to kill you.
Maybe they could get the man a hobby doing something that wasn't so controversial…
Like…
Kicking small Animals or…
Cannibalism.
He came roaring to the stop at the edge of the airfield just in time to watch an entire platoon of pilots racing towards jets. He could hear their minds and looked up to see a rather dinky shuttle descending from the sky. He floated forward towards one of the jets as two pilots leaped inside.
He was going to need a ride.
The pilots turned to look at him, but Conn just shook his head.
The pilots decided to ignore him in the confusion and Conn grabbed on tight.
Starborn, he had come to learn, were a very interesting species in comparison to others. Vertically, as in from the top down he was very fragile and likely to break his neck or collapse his spine if there was any kind of pressure, but with horizontal forces, he was practically indestructible. Below him the ship roared to life and soon they were gathering speed along the runway.
His grip was tight, and he used the extra energy from his ribbons to speed himself up along with the jet to reduce the pull on his arms.
His grip wasn't that strong.
They went vertical almost immediately, and he made sure to orient his body in the correct direction as they went hurtling into the sky.
[…]
Red's right wing had been hit. If there had been atmosphere around him he would have been a goner, but there was no air resistance here, so once he regained control of his roll, he pulled back into position and fired one last shot as the opportunity arose. The sixth Thunderhawk was destroyed in an eruption of debris, which he dodged only with difficulty, limping without the aid of the maneuvering jet on the end of his one wing. Things were only speeding up now, the Rundi were almost gone and the pressure was being laid thick on his people. They were hard to hit but the pursuit made it almost impossible for them to do any real maneuvering of their own. He was almost hit again as another Thunderhawk sped underneath him. They rolled this way and that rocking from one side to the other. Flying through debris and over strips of silver metal.
Below them the earth hung as a glowing orb.
Red cut in a wide circle coming in with the sun at his back, using it to blind one of the enemy Thunderhawk’s as he came in. He watched the group of them form up suddenly as a ring around the slow moving rocket, intending quite certainly to rush it all at once. He screamed into the comm trying to order his men around, but it was going to be too late, he could already see it coming.
The jets rushed forward, and he did too, screaming inside his helmet as they went to broadside Apollo 11.
And then with all the silence of space, sixteen F-90 Dark Fires came spitting overhead all at once, raining down a line of ordinance that cut through the group of unsuspecting Thunderhawk’s.
Space around them was filled with a myriad of silent explosions as each and every one of them was ripped to shreds.
All except one…
He saw it at the last moment.
It had been hit in the tail and had gone wildly off course.
It turned sideways, but had just enough force... For its wing to tear straight through the aluminum siding of the rocket.
FUCK!
[…]
Chavez and Richards had been ordered to strap into their seats.
Adam had taken it upon himself to lock down the rest of the main cabin. Outside the flashing lights were like a fireworks display without sound. He grabbed onto one of the rails, forcing equipment back into place, so that if anything happened it wouldn't fly out.
His legs were kicked up behind him as he floated forward reaching for some of the controls as a sudden bright wash of light filtered in through the windows. He heard a scream over his com, and then the air around him was rent with a horrific tearing noise, which suddenly went silent. There was a rush, and he jerked forward as he was sucked back... And out of the ship entirely.
His hands and legs kicked and flailed as he tried to right himself, hearing his own breathing as the only sound as he watched the rocket begin to spin, debris erupting around him as air, and whatever wasn't strapped down was sucked through the small opening.
The rocket was spinning wildly but still on course, while he was spinning wildly in a silent abyss.
Grunting against the force of his spin, he reached down for the controls to the CO2 canister built into the pack of his spacesuit.
He groaned, not sure which way was up or down or back. He tried to right himself against the spin by firing in the opposite direction to slow his spin.
He could see the rocket now spinning in the opposite direction with the sudden loss of oxygen. He hoped the other astronauts were ok. He saw the silhouette of a jet fly past in the distance making its way towards the spinning rocket.
At least there was someone here to help.
Maybe the others would survive-
And then he just… stopped, coming to a confusing halt in the middle of space.
That shouldn't have been right!
He should have kept going forever!
He tried turning his head, but he felt like the pillsbury doughboy in this two thousand year old suit.
What was happening?
"Did you miss me Baby?”
Well shit, now he sort of wished he could keep spinning.
There was a tugging on the outside of his suit, and Conn floated into view in front of his helmet.
"Hey sweetheart."
"You are probably the last person I wanted to see."
He said, though he didn't entirely mean it, and unfortunately Conn knew that too, the mindreading asshole that he was.
”I could hardly let the father of my child go spinning off into space without taking accountability for his family. After al child support is paying way more than widows pension."
"Shove it up your ass Conn."
"No really, not even the vacuum of space is going to save you from your responsibilities. Now, about custody, I was thinking you could have every other weekend and a couple of major holidays…”
He gave a rueful sort of smile as Conn grabbed him by the life support pack and started floating them towards the rocket.
The F-90s had somehow managed to slow the spin of the rocket, and pull it back on course with grappling magnets.
All around them space was filled with debris. No more working Thunderhawk’s were present and those that were were quickly being grappled. One sleek racing jet slowly cruised past them. One of its wings was damaged, but whoever was inside waved with one hand as he rolled past.
Adam lifted a hand as Conn brought him the last few hundred feet to the torn opening in the side of the ship, allowing him to step through.
Conn patted him on the side of the helmet,
"Make sure to be home by dinnertime sweetie."
Before blowing him a kiss and vanishing back out the hole.
Adam floated there, a bit nonplussed for a moment before turning back to the front of the ship where Chaves and Richards were still strapped into their seats staring at him and after Conn. He floated over to strap himself in.
"Admiral! You're ok!”
"Yes, it seems that I am, thanks to a... Friend of mine."
Just then Conn appeared again just before their right side window, and like the classy gentlemen that he was began rubbing his butt up against the glass.
He sighed,
"Friend is kind of stretching it."
"Apollo 11 this is Houston, do you copy!"
The man on the other end of the line sounded close to tears, and Adam hurried to respond,
"Houston this is Apollo 11."
On the other side he thought he heard the sound of voices cheering in relief.
"What is your status, over?”
"We are a bit beat up Houston, we have a tear in our hull, but our suits are ok, and we have help."
"Prepare to abort mission."
Adam frowned,
"Now wait a second there Houston! I didn't get sucked out the side of my own rocket to just quit now. Tell the boys to come up here and patch us up and we can finish the mission. All systems are still functioning, and we are back on course."
He glanced over at the others,
”That is, if the crew wants to continue."
There was a pause and then Chavez timidly piped in,
"I'd be ok with that."
Richards sighed,
"Roger Houston, patch us up."
Granted it may have been cheating. Apollo 11 hadn't had support with special tools that could just patch up a spaceship within ten minutes, but then again the original Apollo 11 hadn't been in the middle of a firefight while on their journey to the moon.
So it was with some trepidation that Houston allowed it, and before long they had air back inside the cabin back up to pressure, but they also had a sixteen-man rotating escort for the rest of the way.
The group of them were even shocked to see Rundi drones join the formation, only to learn that it had been the UN president who had allegedly called the hit on him. It was hard to believe, but they were only getting snippets here and then from over radio and from Conn, who floated around occasionally to rub another part of his anatomy against the window and give them teasing updates.
The moon was growing slowly in their vision.
"Hehe, I can see my house from here."
Adam remarked as they prepared to detach the lunar module from the rest of the ship.
They landed without incident, observed by mobile camera crews and news reporters as he made his own footprint on the never changing dust of the moon's surface. He gave them a thumbs up to let them know he was fine and hesitated only once before setting up the UN flag in the dirt. He refused to let his enthusiasm be dampened by the day's events and hopped around dancing and leaping for joy as another one of his childhood dreams was fulfilled.
…
That was before he plowed face first into the moon's surface and required help from Richards to stand back up again.
They left soon after taking another three days of escort back to earth before strapping themselves in for final entry.
Conn left them just as they were entering orbit with a very big and very drawn out middle finger for all three of them.
"Your friend is super delightful isn't he?”
"You don’t know the half of it, try having a child with him."
Adam muttered, refusing to elaborate even as they stared at him in confusion.
They fell from the sky and landed somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, picked up by the waiting navy vessel who was within nine miles of their landing site. They were fished from the water and returned safe and sound to the ship to cheers and cameras. Adam's legs felt a little like jelly after days of not using them, and he was finally able to relax lying on the deck of the ship under the sun as people ran around them on either side.
His hands shook slowly building up after the stress of the last week. He took long deep breaths and closed his eyes.
The next few days were going to be a real shit show.
And somehow it wasn’t because he was now known as the man who faceplanted not one, but TWO interstellar bodies…
The media was way to busy with the other story, a massive net of deceit and corruption that would now be uncovered.
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Want to find a specific one, see the whole list or check fanart?
Here is the link to the master-post.
Intro post by me
OC-whole collection
Patreon of the author
Thanks for reading! As you saw in the title, this is a cross posted story written by starrfallknightrise and I'll just upload some of it here for you guys, if you are interested and want to read ahead, the original story-collection can be found on tumblr or wattpad to read for free. (link above this text under "OC:..." ) It is the Empyrean Iris story collection by starfallknightrise. Also, if you want to know more about the story collection i made an intro post about it, so feel free to check that out to see what other great characters to look forward to! (Link also above this text). I have no affiliations to the author; just thought I’d share some of the great stories you might enjoy a lot!
Obviously, I have Charlie’s permission to post this and for the people already knowing the stories, or starting to read them: If you follow the link and check out the story you will see some differences. I made some small (non-artistic) changes, mainly correcting writing mistakes, pronoun correction and some small additional info here and there of things which were not thought of/forgotten or even were added/changed in later stories (like the “USS->UNSC” prefix of Stabby, Chalar=/->Sunny etc). As well as some "biggemajor" changes in descriptions and info’s for the same stringency/continuity reason. That can be explained by the story collection being, well a story collection at the start with many standalone-stories just starring the same people, but later on it gets more to a stringent storyline with backstories and throwbacks. (For example Adam Vir has some HEAVY scars over his body, following his bones, which were not really talked about up till half the collection, where it says it covers his whole body and you find out via backflash that he had them the whole time and how he got them, they just weren't mentioned before. However, I would think a doctor would at least see these scars before that, especially since he gets analyzed, treated and goes shirtless/in T-shirts in some stories). So TLDR: Writing and some descriptions are slightly changed, with full OK from the author, since he himself did not bother to correct these things before.

DAY: MAY 14, 2024

• 5-14-2024CAN EATING OR DRINKING CAFFEINE BEFORE BED IMPACT YOUR HEALTH? Having a lot of food in your stomach before bed can redirect blood flow to your gut to digest the food, meaning there is less blood flow going to your brain. You need that blood flow to your brain to make sure you go into the different sleep stages. If you have caffeine in your system or are sensitive to it, the time to fall asleep can double. Caffeine has a half-life of up to 4.5 hours, so a safe bet is to avoid caffeine after noon.
• 5-14-2024RESEARCHERS DETECT HIDDEN INGREDIENTS AND QUESTIONABLE CLAIMS IN SUPPLEMENTS some supplement companies may mislead customers with unproven health claims and undeclared ingredients. The researchers focused on supplements that have been associated with the purported treatment or prevention of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses. During the pandemic, the use of dietary supplements skyrocketed throughout the world. “There was a big spike in purchase and use of these types
• 5-14-2024TEXT MESSAGES WITH FINANCIAL INCENTIVES CAN HELP MEN WHO ARE LIVING WITH OBESITY LOSE WEIGHT, UK STUDY FINDS text messages with financial incentives can help men who are living with obesity lose weight and could be a valuable alternative to traditional weight management programs. Men who were offered cash for hitting weight loss targets lost more weight than those not given a financial incentive,
• 5-14-2024EXERCISE BENEFITS THE BRAIN, BUT IMPROVING ITS BLOOD VESSELS MAY TAKE LONGER People with less consistent brain blood flow patterns may be at greater risk of dementia and cerebrovascular disease. To explore whether regular aerobic exercise can help, researchers at Iowa State University have conducted a pilot study, the results of which were recently published in the Journal of Applied Physiology. “The big take-away is that exercise is good for the arteries and brain, but its effects are complex and takes time to accumulate benefits
• 5-14-2024SOCIAL ONLINE TRAINING CAN HELP AGAINST LONELINESS AND DEPRESSION a ten-week, partner-based mental online training program boosted resilience, empathy and compassion, and deepened social connections. At the same time, these short daily, app-based practices done with another person, so-called Dyads, decreased loneliness, depression, anxiety and a negative outlook
• 5-14-2024TECH ALONE CAN’T REPLACE HUMAN COACHES IN OBESITY TREATMENT, STUDY FINDS technology alone can’t replace the human touch to produce meaningful weight loss in obesity treatment. The study, titled “An Adaptive Behavioral Intervention for Weight Loss Management: A Noninferiority Randomized Clinical Trial,” . “Giving people technology alone for the initial phase of obesity treatment produces unacceptably worse weight loss than giving them treatment that combines technology with a human coach
• 5-14-2024ULTRASOUND CAN HELP PATIENTS WITH A TYPE OF RHEUMATIC DISEASE LEAD LONGER AND HEALTHIER LIVES ultrasound can help patients with a type of rheumatic disease to live longer and healthier lives. These patients have so far had an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, which contributes to premature death. Patients with a type of rheumatic disease called radiographic axial spondyloarthritis, a disease that causes changes in the bones in the pelvis and spine, have poorer health quality of life than control subjects.
• 5-14-2024SCIENTISTS FIND REPEATED, SMALL HITS TO HEAD IN FOOTBALL PLAYERS CAN DAMAGE BLOOD VESSELS IN THE BRAIN The work involved specialized helmets that were used to monitor head impacts in 60 university football players. Credit: Dalhousie University Repeated blows to the heads of football players can damage the small blood vessels of the brain, according to research by Dalhousie University scientists from the Brain Repair Center who believe this damage may contribute to brain dysfunction in some athletes years after play has ended. The neuroscientists found that the brain’s blood vessels can get damaged by a succession of small hits
• 5-14-2024‘MICROPREEMIE’ BABY WHO WEIGHED JUST OVER 1 POUND AT BIRTH GOES HOME FROM ILLINOIS HOSPITAL Nyla was born at just 22 weeks weighing 1 pound and 1 ounce, making her what’s known as a “micropreemie.” She left Silver Cross Hospital on Monday weighing a healthy 10 pounds, and was taken home by her first-time parents
• 5-14-2024RESEARCHERS INVESTIGATE IF PHARMACOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF ADHD REDUCES CRIMINALITY pharmacological treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) reduced violence- and public-order related crimes. However, it did not reduce other types of crimes, among patients with ADHD in early to late adolescence considered to be in the gray zone (or on the margin) for such treatment.
• 5-14-2024A NEW DRUG SHOWS POTENTIAL BENEFITS IN THE RECOVERY OF PATIENTS AFTER A HEART ATTACK beneficial effects of the novel drug Sacubitril/Valsartan in the management of myocardial infarction (MI). The research offers new insights into the drug’s ability to reduce inflammation, cardiac fibrosis, and prevent dangerous heart arrhythmias post-MI. Cardiovascular diseases, especially MI,
• 5-14-2024STUDY EXPLORES ROLE OF EPIGENETICS, ENVIRONMENT IN DIFFERING ALZHEIMER’S RISK BETWEEN BLACK AND WHITE COMMUNITIES environmentally caused alterations to specific areas of the genome—known as imprint control regions—during early development may contribute to the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, and that Black people may be more affected than white people. The work adds to our understanding of the ways in which environmental factors can contribute to genetic alterations and disease susceptibility.
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ALFALFA AND NETTLE LEAF
Everyone needs to check this out.
I’ve been looking for a remedy to help with chronic allergies for nearly 10 years. It gets worse during allergy season, but remains steady throughout the year.
I’ve tried everything under the sun…nasal spray, antihistamines, multiple allergy tests, pills, ginger, turmeric, diet changes (low histamine, low inflammatory), etc. None of those did anything at all, except Benadryl (which was effective), but made me into a zombie and fall asleep after 2 hours.
After hearing Bart Sibrel on Joe Rogan mention alfalfa to remedy allergies, I started using alfalfa and nettle leaf in tea about a week ago. I also made them into capsules, but that didn’t seem to be as effective. Since then, my allergies have been reduced by at least 80%.
Miracle!!!!
Boil water and then put about half a teaspoon of nettle and half a teaspoon of alfalfa in and let steep for about 10 minutes, drink up. I’ve been doing this about 3 times a day.
These links will get you where you need to go:
https://homesteadingfamily.com/easy-home-remedy-for-allergies/
https://www.farmhouseteas.com

Hi all,
First, this is a long post, and for that I apologize. I have a lot on my mind I’m trying to process right now. I’m also a creative writing minor, so I realize this will come across as a story.
I attend a fairly conservative college where most of the students being Christian. I myself am not religious, and due to the environment I try to keep that fact to myself so as not to be rude or disruptive. Some people do know about my lack of belief, and I’ve had mixed responses from them when they learn. Some want to convert me, others are rather nonchalant about it.
The reason I am writing is because I recently had a conversation with one of my literature professors that has left me wondering how I should respond. The conversation started after I asked him a follow up question to something he mentioned about the Bible: “That it’s the greatest story about the human condition humanity ever told.” For context, he’s been a Catholic his entire life.
My follow up question to him after class was this: “But if it’s just a story, why should we believe it, especially when there seem to be so many contradictions within it?” This tends to be my first question when someone makes a claim about the Bible, and it is born partly out of curiosity (I genuinely want to know why, as no Christian I’ve talked with has given me a good answer to it) and partly as a challenge, as I don’t want to see him wasting his life worshipping something that isn’t true. Perhaps this is not the best motivation, but it is what sparked my question.
He didn’t answer right away, but when he did this is (roughly) what he said: “My favorite story is William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury. I think it, while being fictitious, presents a deep understanding of human nature. I read it to understand the characters, and, by understanding them, hopefully learn a little bit more about myself and others in the process. Does it matter if it is true? Depends on what you mean by true. If you mean it in the sense of “this actually happened,” then you will be disappointed by a lot of literature. But if you mean it as “this reveals an important quality of human condition,” then I think it is very true.” He then chuckled and added, “Your question reminds me of a quote one of my professors told me when I was a student: ‘Everything in the Bible is true; some of it actually happened.”
This surprised me, as this is the first time I had really talked with someone who didn’t take the Bible (specifically the creation story) literally. I clarified with him to make sure I understood him correctly, and he affirmed what I said.
I probed him a bit more about that, asking if the fact that it was written by humans makes it less trustworthy. Why should we place so much faith in something that was written by mere men? I figured he would say something like “God wrote the Bible,” as that is what people I know have said.
He paused again and thought. His eventual response was this (if I recall correctly): “I have two reasons for why I believe in the Bible, one reason for believing in God, and one additional reason for why I am Catholic. The first reason for why I believe in the word of the Bible is because I think it is written by God. Unfortunately, that isn’t the most convincing reason even for myself, as why should I believe it is written by God? This leads to my second reason, which is that I simply find the story of the Bible presents to be the most beautiful and brilliant work to ever exist. I have spent years studying the intricacies of the Bible simply because I find its underlying themes and its story of human failure and promise for redemption to be gripping and compelling. Shakespeare doesn’t even come close, in my opinion. If it’s not written by God with human hands, then I don’t know what is. But this still is built upon believing that God exists, so let’s go to why I think that.
"The way I see it, faith is a natural part of human life. It is impossible to find a functional person who doesn’t trust something, and trust is one of the pillars of faith, so similar in fact that I view it as faith. If everything in the world is man-made and artificial, without divine influence, I think at the very least I would still choose to believe in the word of the Bible because I find it the most beautiful thing in the world. A large part of the reason I believe in God is because I think it is natural to have faith in something. If I am going to have faith in something no matter what, I want my faith to be in something beautiful, intellectually rigorous, and good for humanity.
“This leads into my reason for being Catholic, which is in large part it is because I think it presents the most holistic, beautiful, and practical theory for human success. Everything it teaches is geared toward human success, both individually and socially. People might disagree with what the Catholic Church defines as “human success,” but I think the Catholic Church is onto something.”
I asked him to elaborate, and he explained how the Catholic Church (if I understand correctly) places great emphasis on God’s first two commands to Adam and Eve: “Be fruitful and multiply.” “Multiply,” he explains, “sounds like what it says: make more humans.” This is not to say every male and female should hook up, but rather that we as a society should be concerned about the “continuation of our species.”
This command is to be taken hand in hand with the next one: “Be fruitful.” Making lots of babies isn’t the point--the point is to make lots of “good” humans. What does he mean by ‘good?’ “That,” he shrugs, “is where a lot of people disagree. I myself am not entirely sure how to describe ‘good’ humans, but I’ll try. I could say ‘love’ is the measure of a 'good' human, but even there people disagree with what ‘love’ is. I think love, however, is fundamentally about willing the best for the other, to the point of being willing to lay down your life for that person. An enduring society that produces those types of people is one that I would say is a good society, and I think people who take the ideals of Catholicism seriously and live them out as intended are the most likely to do that.”
I asked him about the abuse that the LGBTQ community has had to endure at the hands of Christians, and how the Catholic Church does not recognize same-sex marriage and calls those people sinners. I also asked about how denying abortion access to women is loving to them. He winces at this, and says this in reply: “A lot of people say and do terrible things in the name of Jesus and 'love.' The Catholic Church’s official teachings do not say we should be cruel to LGBTQ members or to women who have had or want an abortion. Unfortunately, people are people and people are often hypocrites, many without realizing it. When it comes to the LGBTQ community, the Catholic Church does not say ‘being homosexual is a sin,’ it says that homosexuality is a disordered desire. The ‘sin’ comes from acting on that desire, as the Catholic Church holds that all sexual acts should be reserved for the opposite sex as a unitive and potentially procreative act within the security of monogamous marriage between a man and a woman. This goes back to “be fruitful and multiply:” Sex is so very pleasurable because it is extremely important for reproduction, which is what all life, in general, tries to do. Since the sexual act has been shown scientifically to significantly rewire the human brain, shouldn’t we try to be as careful as we possibly can be with it and make sure it is used for its intended purpose: to make babies? That is part of the Church’s practical reasoning for why homosexual acts (and extramarital and non-unitive sex) are not to be encouraged or endorsed by the Catholic Church.
"Many Christians, unfortunately, forget the lessons of the Gospel stories of the woman about to stoned and the woman at the well: those two woman were isolated and outcast from their homes for their sexual acts; one of them was about to be killed it. What happens to these women is intended to be viewed as unloving. Jesus, however, befriends them despite them ‘objectively’ sinning. He never endorsed their behavior, but he still treated them with respect and love. Even if people today might argue those women did nothing wrong, the point of those stories is that Jesus considered them ‘sinners’ and yet he loved and befriended them anyway. That is literally what Jesus was doing in every city he went to: Spending time with the people who were considered terrible sinners, not because he agreed with their actions but because they are human and thus deserve to be loved. I think Christians today too often forget that is the core message of the Jesus' teachings: to love one another.
“As for abortion, the Catholic Church’s position on that rests upon our emphasis on the inherent dignity of human life. The Catholic Church believes human life begins at conception. Operating under that view, abortion is murder and should thus be strongly discouraged and/or condemned. Personally, I think it should still remain a decision between a woman and her doctor, as the doctor is the only one with the medical expertise necessary to accurately say when an abortion is actually necessary to save the woman’s life. That, however, is a tragedy, and it is one the Catholic Church acknowledges is an unfortunate situation of ‘abortion is necessary to save a life that would be otherwise lost.’ Doctors need the confidence and ability to make difficult decisions without fear of being punished for it. That means there is a risk of abuse and malpractice, but that is the nature of trust.”
We were running out of time before he had to get to his next class, so I asked him one last question that was on my mind: “Can the existence of God be proved?”
He chuckled at this. “Some of my colleagues will likely disagree with me on this, but I personally don’t put a lot of stock in ‘proofs for God.’ I haven’t found one that convinces me, and I believe in God. I think they do a good job of suggesting God exists, but proving He exists? I don’t think so. I don’t think it’s possible to prove God’s existence to someone who doesn’t already believe in God. I think the most we can do is show is why belief in God is not illogical—that’s the role of apologetics. But I can’t say, with absolute certainty, that I am right. That’s part of why it is faith: We might be wrong. If we are wrong, then ‘we are of all people the most pitiable.’” (I had to look this up afterward, as he made it sound like a quote. He was quoting Paul’s letter (1 Cor:15-19) talking about what it means if Christians are wrong about their faith. It seems he was applying this quote to all people of faith who are wrong.)
He gave me an example of what he means by ‘impossible to prove:’ “Think of your paper for this class. You, hopefully, are writing about something that you think is true. You are speculating at what the author meant, at how the author thought, why the author wrote the book or scene the way he or she did, or any works or events that likely influenced the work you are studying. Can you know for certain that you are correct?”
My answer: “No. But I can find evidence for it that shows I probably am.”
His reply: “Exactly. It is the same way with God. I don’t think we can prove God definitely exists the same way you can’t prove, with 100% confidence, that your paper’s thesis is correct. I think there is a lot of evidence that suggests God does exist, but I can’t prove it. Belief in God is inductive, and therefore inherently uncertain. This is how the Catholic Church also understands “Natural Law” and “Moral Law.” We can’t really prove either of them exist, we just have a lot of evidence gathered from observing the world and humanity that we think strongly suggests a natural and moral law. Apologists are the ones in charge of showing how our teachings and beliefs on these subjects are not inconsistent and intellectually bankrupt to hold.
“One last thing, to explain what I mean by ‘lots of evidence for God’s existence.’ Imagine we were to find Van Gogh’s The Starry Night out in the woods. I can’t prove that someone painted it, but I think a strong case can be made that someone did paint it. I might go so far as to argue it is obvious. That’s how I tend to view the world and the universe: one giant painting made by God by means of scientific laws and evolution.”
At this point he had to leave for his next class. He thanked me for the conversation and asked if I was still able to make it to cigars this Friday to celebrate the end of the term. I told him yes, and that I will probably have more questions and that I hope he didn’t mind if I asked him. He said he did not mind.
So that leads me to here: I have never had a conversation with a person of faith like this before. Almost every response he had appealed to an intuition that he seemed fine with not everyone sharing. He's also the first Christian I've met who says he doesn't think God can be proved and doesn't seem bothered by that. I suppose my question for you is: What should I ask him? What should he clarify?

ALFALFA AND NETTLE LEAF
Everyone needs to check this out.
I’ve been looking for a remedy to help with chronic allergies for nearly 10 years. It gets worse during allergy season, but remains steady throughout the year.
I’ve tried everything under the sun…nasal spray, antihistamines, multiple allergy tests, pills, ginger, turmeric, diet changes (low histamine, low inflammatory), etc. None of those did anything at all, except Benadryl (which was effective), but made me into a zombie and fall asleep after 2 hours.
After hearing Bart Sibrel on Joe Rogan mention alfalfa to remedy allergies, I started using alfalfa and nettle leaf in tea about a week ago. I also made them into capsules, but that didn’t seem to be as effective. Since then, my allergies have been reduced by at least 80%.
Miracle!!!!
Boil water and then put about half a teaspoon of nettle and half a teaspoon of alfalfa in and let steep for about 10 minutes, drink up. I’ve been doing this about 3 times a day.
These links will get you where you need to go:
https://homesteadingfamily.com/easy-home-remedy-for-allergies/
https://www.farmhouseteas.com

ALFALFA AND NETTLE LEAF
Everyone needs to check this out.
I’ve been looking for a remedy to help with chronic allergies for nearly 10 years. It gets worse during allergy season, but remains steady throughout the year.
I’ve tried everything under the sun…nasal spray, antihistamines, multiple allergy tests, pills, ginger, turmeric, diet changes (low histamine, low inflammatory), etc. None of those did anything at all, except Benadryl (which was effective), but made me into a zombie and fall asleep after 2 hours.
After hearing Bart Sibrel on Joe Rogan mention alfalfa to remedy allergies, I started using alfalfa and nettle leaf in tea about a week ago. I also made them into capsules, but that didn’t seem to be as effective. Since then, my allergies have been reduced by at least 80%.
Miracle!!!!
Boil water and then put about half a teaspoon of nettle and half a teaspoon of alfalfa in and let steep for about 10 minutes, drink up. I’ve been doing this about 3 times a day.
These links will get you where you need to go:
https://homesteadingfamily.com/easy-home-remedy-for-allergies/
https://www.farmhouseteas.com

MS-ISAC CYBERSECURITY ADVISORY
MS-ISAC ADVISORY NUMBER: 2024-055
DATE(S) ISSUED: 05/14/2024
SUBJECT: Multiple Vulnerabilities in Siemens Ruggedcom Crossbow Could Allow for Arbitrary Code Execution
OVERVIEW: Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in Siemens Ruggedcom Crossbow, the most severe of which could allow for arbitrary code execution. Siemens Ruggedcom Crossbow Access Management solution designed to provide cybersecurity compliance for industrial control systems. Successful exploitation of the most severe of these vulnerabilities could allow for arbitrary code execution in the context of the logged-on user. Depending on the privileges associated with the user an attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.
THREAT INTELLEGENCE: There are no reports of these vulnerabilities being exploited in the wild.
SYSTEMS AFFECTED:

• Ruggedcom Crossbow prior to Version 5.5

RISK: Government:

• Large and medium government entities: High
• Small government entities: Medium

Businesses:

• Large and medium business entities: High
• Small business entities: Medium

Home users: Low
TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Multiple Vulnerabilities have been discovered in Siemens Ruggedcom Crossbow, the most severe of which could allow for arbitrary code execution. Details of these vulnerabilities are as follows:
Tactic: Initial Access (TA0001):

• The affected systems allow the upload of arbitrary files of any unauthenticated user. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability and achieve arbitrary code execution with system privileges.(CVE-2024-27939)
• The affected systems allow any authenticated user to send arbitrary SQL commands to the SQL server. An attacker could use this vulnerability to compromise the whole database.(CVE-2024-27940)
• The affected client systems do not properly sanitize input data before sending it to the SQL server. An attacker could use this vulnerability to compromise the whole database.(CVE-2024-27941)
• The affected systems allow any unauthenticated client to disconnect any active user from the server. An attacker could use this vulnerability to prevent any user to perform actions in the system, causing a denial of service situation. (CVE-2024-27942)
• The affected systems allow a privileged user to upload generic files to the root installation directory of the system. By replacing specific files, an attacker could tamper specific files or even achieve remote code execution. (CVE-2024-27943)
• The affected systems allow a privileged user to upload firmware files to the root installation directory of the system. By replacing specific files, an attacker could tamper specific files or even achieve remote code execution. (CVE-2024-27944)
• The bulk import feature of the affected systems allow a privileged user to upload files to the root installation directory of the system. By replacing specific files, an attacker could tamper specific files or even achieve remote code execution. (CVE-2024-27945)
• Downloading files overwrites files with the same name in the installation directory of the affected systems. The filename for the target file can be specified, thus arbitrary files can be overwritten by an attacker with the required privileges. (CVE-2024-27946)
• The affected systems could allow log messages to be forwarded to a specific client under certain circumstances. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to forward log messages to a specific compromised client.(CVE-2024-27947)

Successful exploitation of the most severe of these vulnerabilities could allow for arbitrary code execution in the context of the logged on user. Depending on the privileges associated with the user an attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.
RECOMMENDATIONS: We recommend the following actions be taken:

• Apply appropriate updates provided by Siemens to vulnerable systems immediately after appropriate testing. (M1051: Update Software)
  • Safeguard 7.1: Establish and Maintain a Vulnerability Management Process: Establish and maintain a documented vulnerability management process for enterprise assets. Review and update documentation annually, or when significant enterprise changes occur that could impact this Safeguard.
  • Safeguard 7.4: Perform Automated Application Patch Management: Perform application updates on enterprise assets through automated patch management on a monthly, or more frequent, basis.
  • Safeguard 7.7: Remediate Detected Vulnerabilities: Remediate detected vulnerabilities in software through processes and tooling on a monthly, or more frequent, basis, based on the remediation process.
  • Safeguard 9.1: Ensure Use of Only Fully Supported Browsers and Email Clients: Ensure only fully supported browsers and email clients are allowed to execute in the enterprise, only using the latest version of browsers and email clients provided through the vendor.
• Apply the Principle of Least Privilege to all systems and services. Run all software as a non-privileged user (one without administrative privileges) to diminish the effects of a successful attack. (M1026: Privileged Account Management)
  • Safeguard 4.7: Manage Default Accounts on Enterprise Assets and Software: Manage default accounts on enterprise assets and software, such as root, administrator, and other pre-configured vendor accounts. Example implementations can include: disabling default accounts or making them unusable.
  • Safeguard 5.4: Restrict Administrator Privileges to Dedicated Administrator Accounts: Restrict administrator privileges to dedicated administrator accounts on enterprise assets. Conduct general computing activities, such as internet browsing, email, and productivity suite use, from the user’s primary, non-privileged account.​​​​​​
• Restrict execution of code to a virtual environment on or in transit to an endpoint system. (M1048: Application Isolation and Sandboxing)
• Use capabilities to detect and block conditions that may lead to or be indicative of a software exploit occurring. (M1050: Exploit Protection)
  • Safeguard 10.5: Enable Anti-Exploitation Features: Enable anti-exploitation features on enterprise assets and software, where possible, such as Microsoft® Data Execution Prevention (DEP), Windows® Defender Exploit Guard (WDEG), or Apple® System Integrity Protection (SIP) and Gatekeeper™.
• Restrict use of certain websites, block downloads/attachments, block Javascript, restrict browser extensions, etc. (M1021: Restrict Web-Based Content)
  • Safeguard 9.2: Use DNS Filtering Services: Use DNS filtering services on all enterprise assets to block access to known malicious domains.
  • Safeguard 9.3: Maintain and Enforce Network-Based URL Filters: Enforce and update network-based URL filters to limit an enterprise asset from connecting to potentially malicious or unapproved websites. Example implementations include category-based filtering, reputation-based filtering, or through the use of block lists. Enforce filters for all enterprise assets.
  • Safeguard 9.6: Block Unnecessary File Types: Block unnecessary file types attempting to enter the enterprise’s email gateway.
• Inform and educate users regarding the threats posed by hypertext links contained in emails or attachments especially from un-trusted sources. Remind users not to visit un-trusted websites or follow links provided by unknown or un-trusted sources. (M1017: User Training)
  • Safeguard 14.1: Establish and Maintain a Security Awareness Program: Establish and maintain a security awareness program. The purpose of a security awareness program is to educate the enterprise’s workforce on how to interact with enterprise assets and data in a secure manner. Conduct training at hire and, at a minimum, annually. Review and update content annually, or when significant enterprise changes occur that could impact this Safeguard.
  • Safeguard 14.2: Train Workforce Members to Recognize Social Engineering Attacks: Train workforce members to recognize social engineering attacks, such as phishing, pre-texting, and tailgating.

REFERENCES:

MS-ISAC CYBERSECURITY ADVISORY
MS-ISAC ADVISORY NUMBER: 2024-054
DATE(S) ISSUED: 05/14/2024
SUBJECT: Multiple Vulnerabilities in Adobe Products Could Allow for Arbitrary Code Execution
OVERVIEW: Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in Adobe products, the most severe of which could allow for arbitrary code execution.

• Adobe Acrobat is a family of application software and Web services used to view, create, manipulate, print and manage Portable Document Format (PDF) files.
• Adobe Substance3D Painter is a 3D painting software that allows users to texture and add materials directly to 3D meshes in real-time.
• Adobe Substance3D Designer is a 3D design software that generates textures from procedural patterns inside node-based graphs.
• Adobe Aero is a cross platform solution that enables creatives with no coding and mininmal 3D experience to design, share, and view interactive augmented reality experiences.
• Adobe FrameMaker lets you create structured or template-based documents, review and collaborate with multiple content management systems and publish to a multitude of devices.
• Adobe Dreamweaver is a proprietary web development tool.
• Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editor and design software.
• Adobe Animate is used to create vector graphics and interactive content.

Successful exploitation of the most severe of these vulnerabilities could allow for arbitrary code execution in the context of the logged on user. Depending on the privileges associated with the user, an attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights
THREAT INTELLIGENCE: There are currently no reports of these vulnerabilities being exploited in the wild.
SYSTEMS AFFECTED:

• Adobe Acrobat DC 24.002.20736 and earlier versions on Windows and macOS.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader DC 24.002.20736 and earlier versions on Windows and macOS.
• Adobe Acrobat 2020 20.005.30574 and earlier versions on Windows and macOS.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader 2020 20.005.30574 and earlier versions on Windows and macOS.
• Adobe Substance 3D Painter 9.1.2 and earlier versions.
• Adobe Substance 3D Designer 13.1.1 and earlier versions.
• Adobe Aero 0.23.4 and earlier versions on Windows and macOS.
• Adobe FrameMaker 2020 Release Update 5 and earlier on Windows.
• Adobe FrameMaker 2022 Release Update 3 and earlier on Windows.
• Adobe Dreamweaver 21.3 and earlier versions on Windows and macOS.
• Adobe Illustrator 2024 28.4 and earlier versions on Windows and macOS.
• Adobe Illustrator 2023 27.9.3 and earlier versions on Windows and macOS.
• Adobe Animate 2023 23.0.5 and earlier versions on Windows and macOS.
• Adobe Animate 2024 24.0.2 and earlier versions on Windows and macOS.

RISK: Government:

• Large and medium government entities: High
• Small government entities: Medium

Businesses:

• Large and medium business entities: High
• Small business entities: Medium

Home users: Low
TECHNICAL SUMMARY: Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in Adobe Products, the most severe of which could allow for arbitrary code execution. Details of these vulnerabilities are as follows
Tactic: Execution (TA0002)
Technique: Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203):
Adobe Dreamweaver 21.3 and earlier versions on Windows and macOS.

• Adobe Animate 2023 23.0.5 and earlier versions on Windows and macOS.
• Adobe Animate 2024 24.0.2 and earlier versions on Windows and macOS.

Adobe Acrobat:

• Use After Free. (CVE-2024-30284, CVE-2024-34094, CVE-2024-34095, CVE-2024-34096, CVE-2024-34097, CVE-2024-34100)
• Out-of-bounds Write. (CVE-2024-30310)
• Out-of-bounds Read. (CVE-2024-30311, CVE-2024-30312, CVE-2024-34101)
• Improper Input Validation. (CVE-2024-34098)
• Improper Access Control. (CVE-2024-34099)

Adobe Substance 3D Painter:

• Out-of-bounds Read. (CVE-2024-30308, CVE-2024-30309)
• Out-of-bounds Write (CVE-2024-30274, CVE-2024-30307)

Adobe Substance 3D Designer:

• Out-of-bounds Read. (CVE-2024-30281)

Adobe Aero:

• Use After Free. (CVE-2024-30275)

Adobe FrameMaker:

• Heap-based Buffer Overflow. (CVE-2024-30288)
• Out-of-bounds Write. (CVE-2024-30291, CVE-2024-30290, CVE-2024-30292)
• Buffer Overflow. (CVE-2024-30289)
• Out-of-bounds Read. (CVE-2024-30287, CVE-2024-30286, CVE-2024-30283)

Adobe Dreamweaver:

• Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection'). (CVE-2024-30314)

Adobe Illustrator:

• Out-of-bounds Write. (CVE-2024-20791)
• Out-of-bounds Read. (CVE-2024-20793)
• Use After Free. (CVE-2024-20792)

Adobe Animate:

• Out-of-bounds Write. (CVE-2024-30282, CVE-2024-30296, CVE-2024-30297)
• Stack-based Buffer Overflow. (CVE-2024-30293)
• Heap-based Buffer Overflow. (CVE-2024-30294)
• NULL Pointer Dereference. (CVE-2024-30295)
• Out-of-bounds Read. (CVE-2024-30298)

RECOMMENDATIONS: We recommend the following actions be taken:

• Apply the stable channel update provided by Adobe to vulnerable systems immediately after appropriate testing. (M1051: Update Software)
  • Safeguard 7.1 : Establish and Maintain a Vulnerability Management Process: Establish and maintain a documented vulnerability management process for enterprise assets. Review and update documentation annually, or when significant enterprise changes occur that could impact this Safeguard.
  • Safeguard 7.2 : Establish and Maintain a Remediation Process: Establish and maintain a risk-based remediation strategy documented in a remediation process, with monthly, or more frequent, reviews.
  • Safeguard 7.6 : Perform Automated Vulnerability Scans of Externally-Exposed Enterprise Assets: Perform automated vulnerability scans of externally-exposed enterprise assets using a SCAP-compliant vulnerability scanning tool. Perform scans on a monthly, or more frequent, basis.
  • Safeguard 7.7 : Remediate Detected Vulnerabilities: Remediate detected vulnerabilities in software through processes and tooling on a monthly, or more frequent, basis, based on the remediation process.
  • Safeguard 16.13 Conduct Application Penetration Testing: Conduct application penetration testing. For critical applications, authenticated penetration testing is better suited to finding business logic vulnerabilities than code scanning and automated security testing. Penetration testing relies on the skill of the tester to manually manipulate an application as an authenticated and unauthenticated user.
  • Safeguard 18.1 : Establish and Maintain a Penetration Testing Program: Establish and maintain a penetration testing program appropriate to the size, complexity, and maturity of the enterprise. Penetration testing program characteristics include scope, such as network, web application, Application Programming Interface (API), hosted services, and physical premise controls; frequency; limitations, such as acceptable hours, and excluded attack types; point of contact information; remediation, such as how findings will be routed internally; and retrospective requirements.
  • Safeguard 18.2 : Perform Periodic External Penetration Tests: Perform periodic external penetration tests based on program requirements, no less than annually. External penetration testing must include enterprise and environmental reconnaissance to detect exploitable information. Penetration testing requires specialized skills and experience and must be conducted through a qualified party. The testing may be clear box or opaque box.
  • Safeguard 18.3 : Remediate Penetration Test Findings: Remediate penetration test findings based on the enterprise’s policy for remediation scope and prioritization.
• Apply the Principle of Least Privilege to all systems and services. Run all software as a non-privileged user (one without administrative privileges) to diminish the effects of a successful attack. (M1026: Privileged Account Management)
  • Safeguard 4.7: Manage Default Accounts on Enterprise Assets and Software: Manage default accounts on enterprise assets and software, such as root, administrator, and other pre-configured vendor accounts. Example implementations can include: disabling default accounts or making them unusable.
  • Safeguard 5.4: Restrict Administrator Privileges to Dedicated Administrator Accounts: Restrict administrator privileges to dedicated administrator accounts on enterprise assets. Conduct general computing activities, such as internet browsing, email, and productivity suite use, from the user’s primary, non-privileged account.
• Restrict use of certain websites, block downloads/attachments, block Javascript, restrict browser extensions, etc. (M1021: Restrict Web-Based Content)
  • Safeguard 2.3: Address Unauthorized Software: Ensure that unauthorized software is either removed from use on enterprise assets or receives a documented exception. Review monthly, or more frequently.
  • Safeguard 2.7: Allowlist Authorized Scripts: Use technical controls, such as digital signatures and version control, to ensure that only authorized scripts, such as specific .ps1, .py, etc., files, are allowed to execute. Block unauthorized scripts from executing. Reassess bi-annually, or more frequently.
  • Safeguard 9.3: Maintain and Enforce Network-Based URL Filters: Enforce and update network-based URL filters to limit an enterprise asset from connecting to potentially malicious or unapproved websites. Example implementations include category-based filtering, reputation-based filtering, or through the use of block lists. Enforce filters for all enterprise assets.
  • Safeguard 9.6: Block Unnecessary File Types: Block unnecessary file types attempting to enter the enterprise’s email gateway.
• Use capabilities to detect and block conditions that may lead to or be indicative of a software exploit occurring. (M1050: Exploit Protection)
  
  • Safeguard 10.5: Enable Anti-Exploitation Features: Enable anti-exploitation features on enterprise assets and software, where possible, such as Microsoft® Data Execution Prevention (DEP), Windows® Defender Exploit Guard (WDEG), or Apple® System Integrity Protection (SIP) and Gatekeeper™.
• Block execution of code on a system through application control, and/or script blocking. (M1038: Execution Prevention)
  
  • Safeguard 2.5 : Allowlist Authorized Software: Use technical controls, such as application allowlisting, to ensure that only authorized software can execute or be accessed. Reassess bi-annually, or more frequently.
  • Safeguard 2.6 : Allowlist Authorized Libraries: Use technical controls to ensure that only authorized software libraries, such as specific .dll, .ocx, .so, etc., files, are allowed to load into a system process. Block unauthorized libraries from loading into a system process. Reassess bi-annually, or more frequently.
  • Safeguard 2.7 : Allowlist Authorized Scripts: Use technical controls, such as digital signatures and version control, to ensure that only authorized scripts, such as specific .ps1, .py, etc., files, are allowed to execute. Block unauthorized scripts from executing. Reassess bi-annually, or more frequently.
• Use capabilities to prevent suspicious behavior patterns from occurring on endpoint systems. This could include suspicious process, file, API call, etc. behavior. (M1040: Behavior Prevention on Endpoint)
  
  • Safeguard 13.2 : Deploy a Host-Based Intrusion Detection Solution: Deploy a host-based intrusion detection solution on enterprise assets, where appropriate and/or supported.
  • Safeguard 13.7 : Deploy a Host-Based Intrusion Prevention Solution: Deploy a host-based intrusion prevention solution on enterprise assets, where appropriate and/or supported. Example implementations include use of an Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) client or host-based IPS agent.

REFERENCES:

Hello party people, not sure if I came to the right place but got a situation on our hands. Went to tour a SF ranch home in our area and as soon as we walked in there was a noticable damp & musty smell that permeated the whole house. There was no crawl space (house was built effectively on top of the dirt with less than 2 inches between them) or vapor barrier. We are thinking water is coming down the property and settling under the house, also evident from some wobbly floor joists. From an initial call with a mold remediation company, since we cannot properly address the source of the water by getting under the house we can attempt to remove the existing mold but the problem will always come back. We suspect this is a big deal since if we wanted to address the source of the water we're talking jacking the house up, digging a new crawl space, etc - AKA some major, labor-intensive, and costly work, but aren't sure. We can't even scrub down the moldy floor joists since they're under the damn house!
We have a bit of a unique situation- for us, the property is more interesting than the house (6 acres). My husband is a builder and we would likely live on the land in a travel trailer for a year or two while we build up a new house on that land. I guess I'm curious in y'all's opinions, how big of a deal are these mold/water problems and are we crazy for thinking the house is a complete tear down? We offered about 60% under asking, which is a fair price for the land alone, but don't know if we're out of our minds or if you can truly make the mold situation livable. Thanks in advance

I have a 9 wk old. Last week he developed a bit of a cough. Earlier this week I took him to the doctors. He’s never had a fever. Sleeping, eating and pooping like normal. She told me it was just a regular cold and his body had to go through the motions.
At the beginning I was giving him a low dose of Tylenol (he’s the right weight for it) however I felt like it did nothing for him so I stopped.
He is in great spirits but this damn cough won’t go away. He has some phlegm which he has no idea how to spit out so that has been causing discomfort. Yesterday it started to really affect his eating. He will eat fine but the minute he starts coughing and we remove the bottle, he refuses to take it back. I’m at my wits end trying to ensure he is getting enough food and not losing weight. I have tried all the at home remedies to help with the cough and nothing is working.
Any advice would be appreciated. I’m a first time mom and just worried that he won’t get better or that he will start to lose weight.

this is my first time posting on reddit, im looking for any kind of advice or input. i (17F) have been with my boyfriend (19M) for almost six months now, our anniversary is in 2 days. this is my first relationship and his second relationship, we’ve had problems since we started dating, we’ve never been in a fight over anything ive done, just gonna be completely real im a very anxious person and a huge perfectionist in every aspect of my life and since this is my first relationship i have been extremely diligent to do everything right, i cant say the same for him. hes hurt me emotionally so many times throughout this relationship, he can often be careless and doesnt consider me, and then doesnt see a problem with that. hes fucked up in so many MAJOR ways that have literally landed me in the hospital, no physical ab*se is happening, but he is still the cause of my reoccurring doctors visits. i wont get into all the ways hes hurt me emotionally and done shit thats fucked me over since this post is intended to be ab my current predicament with him, but i will just say that it gets BAD. hes never cheated on me as far as i know, i believe women should never trust men so im not saying this because i trust his every word, i just genuinely dont think he would have the balls to do something like that, plus i am literally the catch of his life. his friends and mine and just people we are acquainted with often ask me how he pulled me and say to him and i that im way out of his league, my boyfriend says this as well. i dont want to come off as cocky or anything like that at all, i am a very humble person irl, but i just want to paint the picture of our relationship for anyone who can help me out right now. i do know that im very very pretty, patient, caring, generous, kind, understanding, polite, and poised. i grew up with an eating disorder most of my life and never believed my appearance was good enough or held any value, so i made a point to not have a rotten soul, i made a point to really really work on myself on the inside, so that i could fall in love with being alive enough to realize that my appearance was not the most important thing. throughout the years my insecurity faded away and ive gotten to a point in my life where i know who i am, i know that im a truly good person, and i know that im really good looking. ANYWAY sorry for that whole spiel but it will be relevant when i get into whats happening in my relationship at the moment!!!!
my relationship has a lot of really good moments, i can be so real with him, we are always laughing on good days, he can be so kind and caring and chivalrous at times, i feel so safe with him in those times, i believe we have a really genuine connection.
NOW for the current issue… i broke up with him this march (we were only broken up for exactly 24hrs) due to the build up of fucked up shit hes put me through, him following pornstars on insta, liking girls thirst traps, disappearing to LA when i was in the hospital because of him, and the list goes on and on and on. my point is, one of the reasons was him following porn stars and liking that kind of content on social media. we are not an on and off couple, this is the only time we’ve broken up, and the whole 24hrs that we were we quite literally stayed on the phone, throughout the whole evening, night, morning, and his whole work day up until we met up to continue talking ab things in person. i was extremely explicit in the fact that his current behavior was unacceptable, i wasnt going to stand for it, and that i would have a 0 toleration policy for any boundary crossing, fuck ups, or general asshole behavior in the future.
i told him that i had 2 options, i could either follow through with my decision to leave him based on what has actually happened in our relationship, or i could trust him saying that he was going to change and give him a second chance. i am really in love with him and i want him to be a part of my life, as i want to be a part of his, so i chose to stay with him and give him the opportunity to prove to me he could be better, and continue to be a better man from that point forth. things have been really good since i made this choice, hes made a major effort to be better in every aspect, and made positive changes to his own life, he seems happier and seems to have more energy and more of a lust for life since this, and i am so happy to see that. i could go on and on but basically things have just been really amazing.
NOW FOR THE REAL TEA!!!! 2 weeks ago i found out i was pregnant, and had to take the abortion pill a few days after that, he was really amazing throughout the whole process, but its been hard for me nonetheless, the way doctors treated me, having to hide it from my mom, having morning sickness, the hormonal up and downs of it all, the fact that being pregnant is my biggest fear, combined with other stress in my personal life. ive been kinda down lately due to this, it was just a hard thing to go through esp at my age, but ive been making an effort to take care of myself, not slip into depression, and move forward with my life. ive been doing well more recently, but it was just a rough patch for me personally. my cat has also been sick since ab the exact same time i found out i was pregnant, and ive been super stressed ab that and losing sleep taking care of him all night and day, every night and day.
REALREAL TEA TIME. REAL TEA. since my cats not doing well, i decided to hangout with my boyfriend after he got off of work the other day, just to get my mind off of it, get out of the house, and enjoy life for a bit. we ended up having an AMAZING night, like seriously so good, i fell in love with him all over again ab 10 million times that night. at the end of the night we decided to go back to my place and sleepover there. he went to sleep soon after we got home, but i stayed up because i needed to take off my makeup and take a shower. before showering, i decided to go on his phone to send myself cute pictures we had taken and also to take a peak at what hes been up to. things have been so good lately and i wanted to prove to myself that i made the right decision in staying with him. unfortunately things did not go so well. i ended up looking through his phone for a few hrs because i found LOADS of hentai and porn he was looking at on reddit in his history, porn on discord, repeating onlyfans links in his search history (which were dated to the DAY after i found out i was pregnant and would have to have an abortion), i found a group he was in on facebook that consisted entirely of borderline porn, and i found messages he had deleted on facebook of him messaging a girl and asking her to send him nudes and telling her that she was sexy dated to when we first officially got into a committed relationship, his recent searches on reddit were all groups that consist solely of porn, his link history on reddit contained onlyfans links, and there were onlyfans models in his recent searches on insta as well. i was absolutely devastated, i was feeling so many things and wanted to end it right then and there, i decided to take my shower, do skincare and all of that stuff, go to sleep and tell him what i found in the morning. it was like 3am at this point. i finished getting ready for bed around 5:30am and went to my nightstand to plug in my phone, my boyfriend is a super heavy sleeper so i didnt think him waking up was even a possibility, but he woke up and asked me to come cuddle in bed with him, since he was half awake, i knew if i got into bed he’d start cuddling with me, and i could not handle that so id have to push him away, leaving me no choice but to confront him at that time instead of in the morning as i had planned. so i said “hey (bf’s name), do you wanna tell me why you’ve been looking at loads of porn on reddit” he quickly became fully conscious when he realized what was happening. he was still out of it but kind of trying to talk to me and ask me what was happening, i didnt say anything, i grabbed my pillow and a blanket and told him to go back to sleep and that we’d discuss it in the morning, he asked me where i was going and i said to sleep on my couch, then i gave him 2 options, i said he could either leave right then and there, or go back to sleep and we’d talk ab it later in the morning and i would sleep on my couch, but i told him we were not gonna have the convo right then and there. i went downstairs and set up my couch bed, then i was like wait a damn minute why am i the one sleeping on the couch, i came back upstairs and told him that i changed my mind and that he could either leave or sleep on the couch. he never made a decision and we ended up having the whole convo ab everything right then and there, i remained stern and i was clearly angry but i did not raise my voice or throw out insults. at first he tried lying to me and saying it wasnt him and all this other bullshit, but eventually he admitted that he has a porn addiction. i was still extremely upset, i understand that its a common thing in my generation, porn-like content is all over social media and so easy to access, but it still shook me to my core. porn addiction is a real thing but like idk how to deal with this, i am so hurt and feeling so many things, there was SO much of it and it all feels like cheating to me. this is making me question everything ab our intimate life, it makes me feel like it doesnt mean anything to him. idek when and how he has the energy to jerk off because we both have a high sex drive and see each other rly often, so we have LOTS of sex and im never the one to tap out after multiple rounds. its not vanilla either so its not like theres some sort of unfulfilled desire happening, i really do not get it at all, and i am SO unbelievably hurt. i dont know if i can ever move on from this or forgive him, or “help and support and reassure” him as he tries to quit this addiction. it feels like im begging my bf to only have eyes for me. like im support him in his endeavor to stop looking at other naked girls. nothing about it feels right and i dont know what to do. i love him so unbelievably much, but this changes everything, i wish this never happened because i do want to be with him, i just dont know how to, or if i should, now. any and all advice would be appreciated. i am completely undecided on what to do from this point on.

My (29F) husband (40M) wants to sell our family home. What do I do?
Hi Reddit,
I'm in need of some advice regarding my current marital situation and the potential sale of our home. To give you the full picture, I'll start from the beginning. Apologies for the length, but I feel all the details are necessary to understand the context.
I (29F) met my husband (40M) on Tinder four years ago. We dated for about eight months when my family had an opportunity to purchase a property. My then-boyfriend was also looking to be involved in a business deal of that sort, and he was interested in having his name on the property as well. My father supported this, seeing as how my boyfriend was a physician with a good income, and saw this as a way to bring him closer to our family. The opportunity came quickly, and we all signed the contract to purchase the house.
Trouble began shortly after this. My boyfriend requested that only he and I be on the title of the house, removing the rest of my family, as he saw a future with us and envisioned it as our potential family home. My father was very pleased to hear this and supported it, so we obliged. During this time, the property had increased in value, and I requested the other family members be paid off so we could buy out their shares. My boyfriend declined, feeling it was unfair.
To skim over some details, here are the highlights of the construction: My boyfriend paid more for the down payment than we initially realized would be required. Because of this, he paid no further construction costs. The construction proceeded with debt from my family until the construction loans came through. My family paid for the construction, and my father built the house for us without charging for his management services. My father was displeased with my boyfriend’s behavior and required him to pay more money for the construction due to inflation and the COVID shutdown. My boyfriend declined, and my mother and I secretly took out a line of credit to front the construction costs to my father, pretending it was from my boyfriend. Eventually, as we got the construction loans on a rolling basis after meeting construction milestones, my mother’s line of credit was paid off.
During this time, my family and I wondered why my boyfriend had not proposed. I decided that if he hadn't proposed by a certain time, I would leave him. Fortunately, he did propose on Valentine’s Day 2022. By spring of 2022, construction was coming to an end, and it was time for us to settle into the house. My fiancé felt uncomfortable with how much money he had put into the house and was worried I could leave him and make a profit. I promised him I wouldn’t leave him, but it wasn’t enough. He said he would believe me if I had a child with him, otherwise women would leave men if there were no ties. I told him I would have a child with him right when we got married. He suggested I come off birth control, as it takes months for a woman’s cycle to normalize after being on birth control for many years. I promised him I would come off birth control.
Coming off birth control was more stressful than I realized. I was very hormonal, breaking out, and felt unlike myself. This contributed to my fiancé and I fighting more than usual. In one particularly heated fight, I told him I would go back on birth control and even purchased the pills, but he told me he would break up with me if I did because he wanted to get to know the real me. I conceded, and then something switched in me and I became excited at the possibility of having a baby. I started tracking my cycle and figuring out my ovulation days. I shared this with my fiancé, and on one of those days, we got pregnant. I didn’t find out until the end of summer 2022. When I did find out, I told my fiancé and suggested we should probably get married.
My fiancé's first response was that we should wait to see if the baby sticks, and if it does, then we can plan a marriage but he wanted to wait until February 2023. I was very disappointed and angry and yelled at him. I felt alone and overwhelmed by the thought of having an illegitimate child. After discussing potentially getting an abortion, potentially breaking up, and potentially selling the house, I talked my fiancé into keeping the baby and getting married. He also wanted to keep the baby but was afraid of our situation. After many fights about when to have the wedding, we finally decided on December 2022. At that point, I was four months pregnant. During this time, my fiancé and I had major arguments that therapy couldn’t even remedy. We would yell at each other, slam doors, I would cry, and he would hold himself up in a room for hours. We had nice moments too, but they were heavily clouded over by the bad.
Finally, we got married, and things were good for a while. But then we faced some marital problems. My husband kept separate accounts and managed the finances himself. We had a joint credit card where I could pay for expenses without being questioned. He made all of the major investment decisions and major purchases. If I tried to disagree or speak up, he would get upset because this was not the submissive wife I had promised him I would be. I made significantly less money than him but lived a good lifestyle, buying almost anything I wanted within reason. Coming from a traditional family, I was upset that finances were kept separate. And so it continued that my husband would invest tens of thousands of dollars into our house so that his family from out of town would visit. We live in Vancouver, Canada, but his family is from Ottawa. In hopes of luring his youngest sister (of four) to Vancouver, my husband would make any modification to the house that his youngest sister showed the slightest interest in. This included a hot tub on the rooftop, a media system in the basement, a movie projector, and much more. After said sister got married, she made it clear that she would not move to Vancouver. Then a switch happened in my husband, and he suddenly wanted to sell the house.
Meanwhile, during all this time, I had my baby, and my husband and I were still fighting more than ever. I felt no support from him, and he felt drained by his work, our fights, and being away from his family. Recently, for the past three months, he has been consistently pushing for the sale of our house. This is where my dilemma lies. I am afraid to sell this house because my husband has kept finances separate, and the mortgage on this house has been serving as a way for me to feel secure. My husband contributes a monthly amount on a regular basis. He could have forced a sale in the past but didn’t, instead paying into the monthly mortgage on top of other bills. Now, he is considering forcing the sale of our house, but I am upset that he is citing financing as the issue when I have been begging him to save money instead of spending (his response is that $200,000 does not affect a $2M mortgage, and that he now feels burnt out and wants to retire sooner and live passively). If I agree to sell, I feel unstable about moving from our home given that my husband and I fight so frequently, and I am left alone to take care of the child. It is also worth noting that my parents live right across the street and come over frequently to help with the child, or I would go over to seek their help. My husband says that he feels abandoned and uncomfortable frequently because of our proximity to my parents, but I feel it’s only been helpful because there have been times when I felt truly alone, and my parents were my only solace and support. My husband would ignore me for days, especially when I was postpartum and vulnerable. My parents now see my husband as someone who doesn’t put his wife and child first. My husband says that the massive mortgage we have is too stressful for him, and he can’t take that burden. I am sad that my husband will not consider keeping this house for another three years so that I can get comfortable with the idea of selling the house and that potentially I and my family can all move to Ottawa so that we can allow my husband to be closer to his family. My husband says that he’s tired of the mortgage and feeling forced to work and missing out on spending time with our daughter (his job is very high stress).
I don’t know what to do at this point, Reddit. I’m currently on extended maternity leave, but it ends in six months. My husband and I will have to come to an agreement about the house, otherwise, it is likely that he will force the sale of the house even if I’m not ready to move. I’ve consistently felt rushed and overlooked in this relationship. I am tired of being the small voice that does not impact decision-making. My husband is now being nice to me and trying to show me a good time, but I see it as him turning on his charming mode so that I can say yes to the sale of this house. I’m not sure what to do. Our fights and disagreements are so bad and the marriage feels like doom sometimes (never any physical violence). I sometimes questions even staying with him, but I worry for my daughter. I’m afraid of her being an only child of divorce; I imagine it’ll be lonely and emotionally traumatizing. He is a good father to her, even though he is cold (but civil) with me.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
TL;DR:
I need advice. I met my husband four years ago, and we bought a house together with my family's help. Financial disputes caused issues. Despite getting married and having a baby, we fight often. My husband handles our finances separately, spent a lot on the house, but now wants to sell it. I feel insecure about selling because the mortgage is like an investment to me, and also I rely on my parents, who live nearby, for help with our child. My husband feels stressed by the mortgage and feels homesick for his family 3000km away. I feel overlooked in decision-making and am unsure whether to agree to the sale, or to stand my ground and not sell. Sometimes I question staying in the marriage for my daughter’s sake, or is it better give up on this unhappy marriage.

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Kansas

Despite voters overwhelmingly rejecting a constitutional amendment that would have allowed abortion restrictions in the state, Kansas Republicans passed several anti-abortion bills into law late last month, overriding the governor’s veto.
The first bill, HB 2436, makes it a crime to “coerce” someone into having an abortion. Democrats attempted to widen the scope of the bill to include all kinds of reproductive coercion, like pressuring someone to become or stay pregnant and prohibiting their access to birth control, and enshrine a right to “reproductive autonomy.” Republicans voted down the amendment.
The second bill, HB 2749, requires medical facilities and providers to (1) ask patients their reason for having an abortion and (2) report the data, including personal information about the patient, to the legislature every other year. Gov. Laura Kelly (D) agreed with the objections of Democrats and reproductive rights advocates, saying when she vetoed the bill that there is “no valid reason to force a woman to disclose to the legislature why she is seeking an abortion.”

• Democrats offered numerous amendments to HB 2749, including one to require men to report to the legislature their reasons for having a vasectomy and another requiring men to report why they are seeking treatment for erectile dysfunction. Republicans rejected all of them.

Finally, the Republican legislature overrode Kelly’s line-item veto allocating $2 million to the Pregnancy Compassion Awareness Program, created last year with a different veto override. The program is run by an anti-abortion group called the Kansas Pregnancy Care Network, which refers pregnant people to crisis pregnancy centers designed to use misleading information to discourage them from obtaining an abortion.

Louisiana

Louisiana’s legislature is doubling down on its anti-abortion laws, passing bills to increase criminalization and refusing to add exemptions to its abortion ban.
Earlier this month, the Louisiana House took up a bill passed by the Senate that would make it a crime, punishable by jail time, to possess abortion-inducing medication. SB 276, sponsored by 23 Republicans and one Democrat, was initially written to create a punishment for coercing someone into an abortion without their knowledge or consent (e.g. spiking a drink). However, House legislators recently added an amendment to the bill that classifies mifepristone and misoprostol as Schedule IV substances alongside some opioids and benzodiazepines. A pregnant person possessing the drugs for their own use could not be charged, but others who intend to distribute them to pregnant people seeking an abortion or store them for their own potential future use would face up to ten years in prison.

“Neither is a drug of abuse or dependence, and that is what the controlled drug schedule is for,” said [emergency room Dr. Jennifer] Avegno of the abortion drugs. “It makes no scientific or medical sense to put these drugs in the same category as Xanax or Valium.”
Mifepristone is a drug that blocks a hormone called progesterone, which is necessary for a pregnancy to continue. Misoprostol causes uterine contractions, causing the body to expel the pregnancy tissue. Mifepristone is also used to treat Cushing’s disease, a hormonal disorder. Misoprostol is also used to induce labor, manage a miscarriage and in the treatment of ulcers. Neither are addictive. “People do not go around taking them and getting dependent and having bad outcomes because of it,” said Avegno. “It’s like saying your blood pressure medicine or insulin is a drug of abuse.”

A week later, Republicans on the House Criminal Justice Committee voted 7-4 to reject a bill to add rape and incest exceptions to the state’s total abortion ban. House Bill 164, written by Democratic Rep. Delisha Boyd, would have allowed girls younger than 17 to have abortions if they became pregnant as the result of sexual assault.

“That baby [in the womb] is innocent … We have to hang on to that,” said committee member Rep. Dodie Horton, R-Haughton, who voted against the bill. Rep. Lauren Ventrella, R-Greenwell Spring, also voted against the legislation, saying the proposed law would be difficult to enforce. Teenagers who had consensual sex might feign rape or incest in order to get access to abortion services, she suggested…
Dr. Neelima Sukhavasi, a Baton Rouge doctor specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, also implored the lawmakers to approve Boyd’s proposal. She and her colleagues have delivered babies for pregnant teenagers, including mothers as young as 13, since Louisiana’s abortion ban went into effect two years ago. These young pregnant people can experience health complications that affect them for the rest of their lives, Sukhavasi said, and sometimes don’t have the mental capacity to handle the births. “One of these teenagers delivered a baby while clutching a teddy bear,” she told the committee.

The Committee also killed three other bills: HB 56, to allow abortions in cases of spontaneous miscarriage or nonviable pregnancy; HB 63, to clarify that the removal of an ectopic pregnancy is not an abortion under state law; HB 293, to add protection for physicians who do not intend to induce abortion by prescribing certain medications.

Texas

Meanwhile, in Texas—a state that pioneered the war on women and reproductive rights—a man initiated legal action to sue people who helped his former partner obtain an out-of-state abortion.
The man, Collin Davis, filed a petition in a state district court seeking permission to launch legal depositions to collect evidence for a potential lawsuit under a Texas law that contains civil liability for anyone who “aids and abets” an abortion. According to his lawyer, Jonathan Mitchell (who crafted the anti-abortion law), Davis is seeking to sue “co-conspirators and accomplices…involved in the murder of [his] unborn child.”

“Fathers of aborted fetuses can sue for wrongful death in states with abortion bans, even if the abortion occurs out-of-state,” he wrote. “They can sue anyone who paid for the abortion, anyone who aided or abetted the travel, and anyone involved in the manufacture or distribution of abortion drugs.”
Molly Duane, a senior staff attorney with the Center for Reproductive Rights, described Mitchell’s statement and general approach as misleading “fearmongering.”
“People need to understand that it is not a crime to leave Texas or any other state in the country for an abortion,” said Duane, who is working with lawyers from the firm Arnold & Porter to represent the woman and others targeted in the Davis case. “I don’t want people to be intimidated, but they should be outraged and alarmed.” Duane described the woman’s relationship with Davis as “toxic and harmful.”

Mitchell also represents a different man who pursued a similar claim last year: Marcus Silva engaged Mitchell to sue the friends of his estranged wife for allegedly helping her obtain abortion pills. Evidence later revealed that Silva knew about the plans beforehand and did not intervene, likely intending to use the threat of legal action as a way of forcing his partner to halt divorce proceedings.

Monday’s counterclaim illustrates, in painstaking detail, exactly how Silva—aided by Mitchell—allegedly deployed this tactic. It was only after Brittni’s abortion was complete that Silva revealed he knew about the plan and, according to the lawsuit, threatened to turn her in if she didn’t submit to his continued abuse. He even showed the police photographs of messages discussing the possibility of an abortion. “Once I finally got home with the girls he had been drinking and he told me that he knew,” Brittni texted one friend. “He’s using it against me.” In another message, she wrote, “Now he’s saying if I don’t give him my ‘mind body and soul’ until the end of the divorce, which he’s going to drag out, he’s going to make sure I go to jail for doing it.” […]
The counterclaim points out another flaw in his argument: Silva himself “is responsible for the alleged injury for which he seeks to recover.” He “knew that Brittni planned to terminate her alleged pregnancy and acquiesced in accepting Brittni’s actions,” so “it would be unconscionable to permit him to benefit by changing his position now.” His claims, in short, are barred “by unclean hands,” because he effectively entrapped his estranged wife—covertly discovering her plan to terminate the pregnancy, then allowing her to go through with it for the express purpose of blackmailing her into staying with him.

Indiana

A three-judge panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals last month unanimously recognized a religious freedom challenge to the state’s complete ban on abortion.
The case, brought by Hoosier Jews for Choice and four anonymous women of various faiths, alleges that the ban interferes with “their sincere religious beliefs that require and direct them to obtain abortions” criminalized since the law took effect in 2023. According to Jewish law, a fetus does not have personhood until birth, and abortion is required if the pregnancy endangers the life or health of the mother.

Brief of Hoosier Jews for Choice (and other plaintiffs): As indicated by the declarations of numerous rabbis, Judaism teaches that a fetus becomes a living person only at birth, and prior to that is considered part of the woman’s body, without independent rights. Abortion should occur and is mandated to end a pregnancy that may cause serious consequences to a woman’s mental or physical heath. Judaism also recognizes that physical health risks are not limited to those likely to cause substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function. Judaism stresses the necessity of protecting the physical and mental health of the woman—a life—over the potential for life present in a zygote, embryo, or fetus. Therefore, restrictions that prevent a woman from obtaining an abortion where compelled by Jewish law, which mandates that the woman act to protect her physical or mental health, impose a substantial burden on that person’s religious exercise.

Under Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), “a governmental entity may not substantially burden a personʹs exercise of religion,” defined to include “any exercise of religion, whether or not compelled by, or central to, a system of religious belief.” This means that arguments about whether plaintiffs are strictly observant are irrelevant; the law protects sincerely held religious views regardless of whether that view is idiosyncratic or unorthodox. However, even a law that imposes a substantial burden on the exercise of religion can be enforced if it is “the least restrictive means of furthering [a] compelling governmental interest” (the strict scrutiny test).
The state argued that abortion does not carry “religious significance” and, even if it did, the abortion ban satisfies strict scrutiny because it is “sufficiently narrowly tailored” to “further the State’s interest” in “protecting human lives in the womb.” Throughout Indiana’s brief, the state attempts to use science to back up fetal personhood, extending developmental physiology to make unfounded claims that protected life unquestionably begins at conception:

In lower courts, the State’s compelling interest is not up for debate. In Cheaney v. State, the Indiana Supreme Court held that the State’s interest in protecting unborn children is “valid and compelling” from “the moment of conception.” …A basic understanding of biology supports these holdings. “That human fetuses are human beings is a scientific fact, not a theological claim.” Regardless whether an individual person believes this, “the scientific consensus” is that “[d]evelopment begins at fertilization,” after which the newly created “unicellular zygote divides many times and becomes progressively transformed into a multicellular human being through cell division, migration, growth, and differentiation.” …. Science thus tells us that “[t]he act of performing an induced abortion during any stage of pregnancy, from fertilization up to birth, ends the life of an innocent human being.” The State’s interest in protecting unborn fetal life at any stage from intentional destruction accordingly is nothing less than “compelling.”

A panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals—made up of a Republican appointee and two Democratic appointees—unanimously ruled against the state, upholding a lower court’s injunction against the abortion ban as it applies to the plaintiffs. In the process, the court laid out a path for religious freedom challenges to abortion bans in other states and at the federal level.

The trial court found that absent a preliminary injunction, Plaintiffs would be irreparably harmed by the loss of their religious freedoms guaranteed by RFRA. A loss of First Amendment freedoms, which include the right to free exercise of religion, “for even minimal periods of time, unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury.”... Without a preliminary injunction, Plaintiffs will suffer the loss of their right to exercise their sincere religious beliefs by obtaining an abortion when directed by their religion and prohibited by the Abortion Law. They also have shown their sexual and reproductive lives will continue to be restricted absent the injunction and as a result of the Abortion Law.

• Briefs can be found under case number 22A-PL-2938 on Indiana’s Appellate docket