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nypost.com – By
Brittany Miller – A great-grandmother had a singular request for her grave: a 5½-foot-tall, nearly 600-pound penis statue. Catarina Orduña Pérez’s family erected the monument in “recognition of her love and joy for life,” according to Vice.

“She wanted to break the paradigm of everything Mexican, where things are sometimes hidden because of not having an open mind,” her grandson Álvaro Mota Limón told the outlet.

“She was always very avant-garde, very forward-thinking about things.”

Orduña Pérez, who died at the age of 99 on Jan. 20, 2021, was known in her small town of Misantla as Doña Cata for her fascination with penises. “She always said … that we were vergas,” said Mota Limón.

Vergas is a Mexican slang word that can mean three different things. There’s the usual English word that mean “c–k.” But it can also be an insult that means “Go screw yourself” or “You aren’t worth s–t.” The third way is actually a compliment, calling something cool. It just depends on how it’s phrased.

According to her grandson, the third way is how Doña Cata used the word.

She wanted her family to know that they were all vergas and could do anything they set their mind to, he said.

axios.com – By  Hans Nichols – Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) had a message for her Democratic colleagues before she flew home to Arizona for the weekend: She’s preserving her options.

Why it matters: Sinema has leverage and she knows it. Any potential modification to the Democrat’s climate and deficit reduction package — like knocking out the $14 billion provision on carried interest — could cause the fragile deal to collapse.

• Her posture is causing something between angst and fear in the Democratic caucus as senators wait for her to render a verdict on the secret deal announced by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin last Thursday.

Driving the news: Sinema has given no assurances to colleagues that she’ll vote along party lines in the so-called “vote-a-rama” for the $740 billion bill next week, according to people familiar with the matter.

more… https://www.axios.com/2022/07/30/sinema-schumer-manchin-deal-democrats 

mirror.co.uk – By Paul Keogh – A dad who claims he has had embarrassing chronic flatulence since eating a ham roll at a Christmas market five years ago is suing for over £200,000.

Tyrone Prades claims he has suffered “life changing” problems since eating a festive ham hock bap at the Frankfurt Christmas Market, in Birmingham, in December 2017.

The 46-year-old says he suffered with severe tummy problems within a day and was bed-bound for five weeks afterwards and ill for months.

Mr Prades says he has been left permanently afflicted by “embarrassing flatulence” as well as other issues, including a belly that makes “churning noises” so loud they keep him awake at night.

He claims he contracted salmonella from the bap and says market operator, Frankfurt Christmas Market Ltd, should pay more than £200,000 in compensation.

more… https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/dad-who-hasnt-stopped-farting-27557005 

cosmopolitan.com – By Jade Biggs – Growing up, we’re all taught the dos and don’ts of eating at the dinner table. No elbows on the table, no licking your fingers, cutlery in the correct hands at all times – these are just a few of the table manners that are drilled into us from day dot. Of course, the most important rule of all has always been to chew with your mouth closed. Until now, it seems.

That’s because some scientists have turned the dining table rule book on its head with their latest statement, claiming that eating with your mouth open can actually make your food taste better. Nan, look away now!

“We’ve been doing it all wrong,” Professor Charles Spence at Oxford University told The Telegraph. “Parents instil manners in their children, extolling the virtues of politely chewing with our mouths closed.”

He went on: “However, chewing open mouthed may actually help to release more of the volatile organic compounds, contributing to our sense of smell and the overall perception.”

more… https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/body/health/a40687686/eating-with-mouth-open-food-taste-better/ 

cnn.com –  By Annie Grayer – The House select committee investigating January 6 is zeroing in on former officials from Trump’s Cabinet for testimony and is particularly interested in learning more about conversations among officials about possibly invoking the 25th Amendment after the US Capitol attack.

The panel has interviewed former President Donald Trump’s former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, sources tell CNN.

Sources tell the CNN the committee is negotiating terms for a potential interview with former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe. Given the classified nature of Ratcliffe’s former role, there are unique issues the two sides have to work out.

The committee will also interview former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as soon as this week and is speaking with former acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney on Thursday.

Several former Cabinet officials are known to have met with the committee already, including Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia, Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller and Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen.

The committee also met with former Attorney General Bill Barr, but he had left the administration prior to the events of January 6th.

more… https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/jan-6-committee-expands-interest-into-possible-use-of-the-25th-amendment-against-trump-with-mnuchin-and-other-cabinet-interviews/ar-AA104iCZ?li=BBnb7Kz

globalpressjournal.com – By Khorloo Khukhnokhoi – ERDENET, ORKHON PROVINCE, MONGOLIA — Last year, the Mongolian government restricted schools’ use of so-called virginity tests, a decades-old, internationally condemned practice of checking girls for signs of sexual activity, usually via a vaginal exam. But when 16-year-old Alungoo D. arrived at her school in this northern province one day in January, she discovered little had changed.

Her school doctor told female students they would undergo a “medical examination” — a euphemism for a virginity test — on campus, something last year’s order prohibits. Additional government rules require schools to get both a student’s and her parents’ consent beforehand. Alungoo says she refused, as did four classmates, but school officials told the girls they had no choice. “We do not want to be part of a girls’ examination, but the school administration demands and insists that it is mandatory,” Alungoo says. (Her full name and her school’s name are being withheld to protect her identity and prevent harassment. There are just a few dozen schools in the province.)

More… https://globalpressjournal.com/asia/mongolia/mongolia-barred-virginity-tests-schools-students-say-theyre-still-happening/

people.com – By Glenn Garner – Showcase Cinemas is offering one of the most “vulnerable” communities in Britain a respite from the country’s record temperatures. The movie theater chain announced that redheads can catch a flick for free at U.K. locations on Monday, July 18 and Tuesday, July 19, which are anticipated to be the nation’s hottest days in recorded history.

“Free tickets for redheads on the hottest days ever!” Showcase advertised in a post, which they captioned: “You’re gonna want to let your redheaded friends know about this.”

More… https://people.com/health/uk-movie-theaters-offer-free-tickets-redheads-during-unprecedented-heatwave/