Adult film star Stormy Daniels doesn't want Trump's $130,000 hush money anymore. But unlike an unwanted new pair of shoes that suddenly feels too tight around the toes, can hush money be returned?

Daniels, aka Stephanie Clifford in real life, sent a letter to Trump's private lawyer Michael Cohen today offering to return the money for her freedom to freely share her story about Trump. This includes being free to share any text messages, photos and video she might have regarding their alleged affair.

According to NBC:

The letter says the money would be wired to an account designated by Trump by Friday. In return, Clifford would be allowed to "speak openly and freely about her prior relationship with the president and the attempts to silence her and use and publish and text messages, photos and videos relating to the president that she may have in her possession, all without fear of retribution or legal liability," the letter says.

"This has never been about the money," Clifford's lawyer, Michael Avenatti, told NBC News on Monday. "It has always been about Ms. Clifford being allowed to tell the truth. The American people should be permitted to judge for themselves who is shooting straight with them and who is misleading them. Our offer seeks to allow this to happen."

I can't see what the upside for Trump would be in taking her up on her offer, besides the $130,000, which is just pennies to Trump according to all the bragging he's done about his finances. Read the rest

This 3D printed house was unveiled today at SXSW in Austin, TX. A cement house like this – 650 square feet, single story – takes just 12-24 hours to "print."

It's "the first permitted, 3D-printed home created specifically for the developing world," says New Story, the non-profit for international housing, who has partnered with the 3D-printed housing construction company ICON to create 100 of these homes for low-income people in El Salvador by next year if all goes as planned.

According to The Verge:

Using the Vulcan printer, ICON can print an entire home for $10,000 and plans to bring costs down to $4,000 per house. “It’s much cheaper than the typical American home,” Ballard says. It’s capable of printing a home that’s 800 square feet, a significantly bigger structure than properties pushed by the tiny home movement, which top out at about 400 square feet. In contrast, the average New York apartment is about 866 square feet.

Not only is the ICON/New Story partnership making really affordable housing, but it's also making really cool-looking houses. Take a look inside:

This isn't the first house to ever be 3D printed, but others before it “are printed in a warehouse, or they look like Yoda huts," Jason Ballard, co-founder of ICON, told The Verge. "For this venture to succeed, they have to be the best houses.”

While the Trump administration is pushing for more guns in schools by arming school teachers and other school employees, Trump's son-in-law Jared's brother Joshua Kushner reportedly donated $50,000 to March For Our Lives, a planned gun control demonstration across the nation scheduled for March 24.

According to Axios:

Josh Kushner — a venture capitalist and entrepreneur who founded Thrive Capital, a venture capital firm; Oscar, a health insurance company; and Cadre, a real estate investment platform (and brother of Jared) — has quietly donated $50,000 to March for Our Lives.

After the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida last month, students from the school organized March For Our Lives, which will take place in Washington D.C. and dozens of other locations across the US. If you can't attend the march but want to participate in another way, you can donate here.

Via Mashable

Kelda Roys is running for governor in Wisconsin. She's also a mom, small business owner, and attorney. In the middle of her campaign ad, in which she talks about helping Wisconsin become the first state to ban BPA when she was in the State Assembly, her baby starts to cry. Her husband, who can't help the hungry infant, walks on set and hands his daughter to Roys, who casually starts feeding the baby while continuing her discussion. What an awesome way to normalize breastfeeding in public (not to mention proving how adept she is in the art of multi-tasking!). If you're uncomfortable watching a woman breastfeed, she suggests you "don't watch the video."

According to parenting site Scary Mommy:

She told Capitol Times that feeding her daughter on camera wasn’t planned. “Like most working parents around the state, I juggle a lot of things and responsibilities, and I wear a lot of hats,” she explained. “When we were shooting the video, my family was obviously there, and when the baby needs to eat I just feed her.”

We really loved her response to the question women always get: what if someone is uncomfortable about you breastfeeding your child? “Don’t watch the video,” Roys shared. “This is one way that babies get fed. It’s just a part of life. It’s a part of nature.” She went on to remind folks that women belong in politics just as much as men. “We have every right to have a seat at the table and run for office, even when we have young kids, just like men always have.”

Roys will be running against Tony Evers, Matt Flynn, Andy Gronik, Mike McCabe, Mahlon Mitchell, Paul Soglin, Kathleen Vinehout, and Dana Wachs for the Democratic nomination. Read the rest

Olivia Watts, a Melbourne-based circus performer, combines gymnastics with some sort of magic in this highly-skilled 6-hoop performance. Read the rest

Former President Barack Obama is in the late stages of negotiations with Netflix to produce a series of stories with his wife and former First Lady Michelle. The Obamas would be paid for exclusive content, which they say would not directly challenge Trump and the GOP, but instead would be inspirational. Stories might include moderated conversations on topics such as health care, voting rights, nutrition and climate change.

According to The New York Times:

The deal is evidence that Mr. Obama, who left the White House when he was just 55 years old, intends to remain engaged in the nation’s civic business, even as he has studiously avoided direct clashes with Mr. Trump about his concerted efforts to roll back Mr. Obama’s legacy. It is also a clear indication that the former president remains interested in the intersection of politics, technology and media.

Several people familiar with the Netflix discussions said that executives from Apple and Amazon, which have their own streaming services, have also expressed interest in talking with Mr. Obama about content deals.

The number of episodes and the format of the show hasn't yet been nailed down.

Image by Petty Officer 1st Class Mark O'Donald, USN - http://www.defenselink.mil/PhotoEssays/PhotoEssaySS.aspx?ID=1073, Public Domain, Link Read the rest

People who look like they're fishing on ice suddenly shout and scramble to safety as a wave underneath them creates wide cracks, breaking up the ice into large pieces. Yikes! Read the rest

Florida might become the third state – after Hawaii and Arizona – to be done with the hassle of changing their clocks twice a year. Yesterday the Senate overwhelmingly passed the Sunshine Protection Act in under one minute, with only two dissenters. The House had already passed it 103-11 last month. Now it has to be signed by Gov. Rick Scott.

If Scott passes it, however, it still has to go through Congress before Florida has Daylight Saving Time all year long.

What spurred the creation of this bill? Via Popular Mechanics:

According to the Tampa Bay Times, state senator Greg Steube came up with the idea when he walked into his local barbershop right after the clocks changed last fall. "One of the barbers had young children and it had such a negative impact every time they set their clocks back [that they had trouble] getting their kids up for school," he told the Senate Community Affairs Committee meeting. He said since introducing the idea, he’s heard from people across the state that the change could boost tourism dollars and save money, too.

“Today, one of the biggest cons [of daylight saving time] remains sunrise as late as 8:30 a.m. in parts of Florida, which means it would be pitch dark for school kids and early commuters,” author David Prerau, author of Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time, told the Miami Herald. “People do not like dark mornings and that’s the main reason daylight saving time has not been adopted year-round.”

There are a few drawbacks to the bill. Read the rest

What a difference 10 minutes a day makes. This man wanted to learn how to juggle, so he practiced for 10 minutes every day for 30 days. This comparison video shows us how far he progressed from Day 1 to Day 30. Read the rest

These animal heads are hyper-realistic, but no, they aren't taxidermy. Created by Japanese artist and modeler Kamonohashizokei, these heads of lions, cats, dogs, wolves and birds are made to be worn. But becoming an animal isn't cheap – Kamonohashizokei's wearable heads will set you back around $2,500, give or take a couple hundred bucks depending on which animal you choose. The artist also makes heads to be displayed on your wall, which cost even more. If interested, you can contact the artist at his online shop or on Instagram.

あ、こっち向いた #ひつじ #羊 #動物 #コーヒー #コーヒータイム #干支 #カメラ目線 #かぶりもの #マフラー #冬 #ほのぼの

A post shared by かものはし (@kamonohashizokei) on Feb 11, 2017 at 9:01am PST

新顔の白猫ちゃんが完成しました。#猫 #白猫 #ねこ #猫ちゃん #動物 #リアルどうぶつの森 #かぶりもの #アニマルマスク #クリスマス #可愛い猫 #cat #animals #mask #sculpture #かものはしの造形おもちゃ

A post shared by かものはし (@kamonohashizokei) on Dec 26, 2017 at 11:03pm PST

自然に溶け込むライオンのかぶりものつくりました。 #ライオン #かぶりもの #自然 #デート #目立つ #シュール #雰囲気 #動物 #造形 #lion #mask #animal

A post shared by かものはし (@kamonohashizokei) on Jan 24, 2017 at 2:58am PST

先日真夏のデザインフェスタに出展していました。たくさんの方々に来てかぶっていただけて嬉しかったです！ありがとうございました！ #動物 #かぶりもの #オオカミ #ハシビロコウ #ライオン #かものはし #かものはしの造形おもちゃ #造形 #真夏のデザインフェスタ #デザフェス #animal #mask #designfesta #sculpture #summer #wolf #shoebill #lion

A post shared by かものはし (@kamonohashizokei) on Aug 8, 2017 at 6:45am PDT

Via Oddity Central

Image: Kamonohashizokei Read the rest

Golden West College professor and counselor Tarin Olson from Long Beach, CA was caught on video telling a couple to "go back to your home country." Not only is she a racist, but she's also ignorant, as the couple and their baby are American.

"I want you to tell everybody why you told us to go back to our country," Tony Kao tells Olson in the video that he posted on Facebook, which went viral with 538,000 views as of yesterday. "You need to go back to your home country," Olson replies.

"And what does that mean?" Tao asks.

"Have your wife turn your phone off and I'll talk to you," the racist college counselor says.

According to Los Angeles Times:

On Monday, Olson said in an email to the Daily Pilot that she was "not in a good place emotionally after receiving so many disgusting emails …. for something that wasn't even racist and was then skewed by a guy named Tony who filmed me without my permission...

"I feel my perspective will be twisted if discussing the skewed video which cut out part of the incident," she said in a statement to the station. "If you would like to have a full normal interview about the displacement of European-Americans, then I gladly am available to enlighten the public."

Golden West College responded with this quote on Facebook and Twiiter: "It has recently come to our attention that there was a video posted on Facebook of a GWC faculty member making comments that the college does not condone or support. Read the rest

On a CNN Tonight's panel last night with Don Lemon, CNN economics analyst Stephen Moore cracked a stupid joke about Stormy Daniels, and it didn't go over well with Lemon and the other panelists.

On the subject of Daniels and her lawsuit against Trump, Lemon asks political commentator Kevin Madden to react to Daniels' claim that Trump's long-time attorney Michael Cohen has attempted to silence her as recently as last week. Madden says her claims are credible, and he's incredulous that we're even having to have this kind of discussion about a sitting president.

Then Moore jumps in and says, "Are you saying that a porn star would actually try to call attention to herself? Shocking, right?”

The atmosphere becomes awkward as the panelists quietly stare straight ahead with expressions of suppressed cringes on their faces. Moore tries to breaks the ice with, "I mean, that’s what porn stars do!” He digs himself deeper with, "My only point is, I mean, a porn star?" He then makes that horsey sound people make when they blow air between loose lips, to show that a porn star's remarks are to be dismissed.

Political Analyst Kirsten Powers, one of the other panelists, says, "I don't think it's appropriate to be demeaning this woman."

The ignorant drivel coming from Moore continues until the video finally cuts off. Read the rest

Remember last year when Trump was considering Mitt Romney to become secretary of state after he was elected? In the end Trump dumped the idea of Romney and Rex Tillerson got the job. Now, a second Steele memo that surfaced in November 2016 reveals that Tillerson might not have really been Trump's idea, but might actually have been a decision made by Trump's boss, the Kremlin.

According to The Daily Beast:

A new New Yorker profile of Trump-Russia dossier author Christopher Steele reports on a lesser-known memo the former MI-6 spy allegedly discussed with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators. According to the report, in late November 2016, Steele relayed information from his Russian sources that senior Kremlin officials had intervened to block Mitt Romney as President-elect Trump’s choice for secretary of State.

And according to The New Yorker:

One subject that Steele is believed to have discussed with Mueller’s investigators is a memo that he wrote in late November, 2016, after his contract with Fusion had ended. This memo, which did not surface publicly with the others, is shorter than the rest, and is based on one source, described as “a senior Russian official.” The official said that he was merely relaying talk circulating in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but what he’d heard was astonishing: people were saying that the Kremlin had intervened to block Trump’s initial choice for Secretary of State, Mitt Romney. (During Romney’s run for the White House in 2012, he was notably hawkish on Russia, calling it the single greatest threat to the U.S.) The memo said that the Kremlin, through unspecified channels, had asked Trump to appoint someone who would be prepared to lift Ukraine-related sanctions, and who would coöperate on security issues of interest to Russia, such as the conflict in Syria.

Soon after Frances McDormand received her Oscar for Best Actress for her brilliant performance in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, the statuette was stolen. After searching high and low for it, McDormand "was spotted crying emotionally outside the [Governor's] ball after giving up the search for the statuette on the premises and departing with her husband, filmmaker Joel Coen," according to USA Today.

And then it was found.

A man named Terry Bryant was arrested for grand theft for taking the statue. In the video above we see him prancing around, bragging to party-goers about the award that he won. No one noticed McDormand's name, which was already engraved on the statue.

"Who wants to tell me congratulations!" he says in a state of exuberance. And, in Hollywood fashion, everyone around him congratulates him, acting like they knew who he was and what he won the Oscar for. According to USA Today:

While the Oscar was still missing in action, McDormand was spotted crying emotionally outside the ball after giving up the search for the statuette on the premises and departing with her husband, filmmaker Joel Coen.

Security was then dispersed to look for the Oscar which, conveniently, already had McDormand's name engraved on it. (Oscars are engraved at the Governors Ball.)

Hours later, McDormand's representative Simon Halls confirmed to USA TODAY that the trophy and the Oscar winner were back together. No further details about the temporary separation were given, but The New York Times' Cara Buckley tweeted that a man took off with the statue, but was stopped by a photographer for celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck.

London product designer Dani Clode has created a prosthetic thumb, not to replace a missing digit, but simply to offer people an extra thumb, and therefore add to the human experience. She calls it the Third Thumb Project.

Clode uses bluetooth controllers in her shoes, which are connected to pressure sensors underneath her toes, to manipulate the thumb. "It extends the wearer's ability. It extends the wearer's self. It's an addition to the body," she says in the video.

The extra thumb allows you to easily do things like crack eggs, swipe an iPhone, and squeeze a lemon with only one hand instead of two. Now Clode is working on the Alternative Limb Project at the University College London with neuroscientists in a brain plasticity lab to design a prosthetic arm. Read the rest

A regular on MSNBC's Morning Joe, Donny Deutsch, who says he was close friends with Trump for 20 years, tells Joe Scarborough, "You felt something shift this week. You really felt the noose tightening."

He goes on to say that he is now "truly terrified of what he [Trump] is capable of doing – nothing short of starting a war to protect his hide...What is this man, cornered, dangerous, unhinged now – a very different man than he was 20 years ago – what is he capable of doing?" Deutsch also refers to Trump as twisted, evil and cruel.

He admits that he and Trump were as close of friends as friends can be, however, even then he would never have wanted to be in a foxhole with him, but "I always kind of felt like he was in on the joke." Looks like the joke's on us. Read the rest

This dad finds his son's weed, presumably while doing the laundry, and flushes it down the toilet. Reacting to a child's "wrongdoing" by posting the repercussions online isn't new, but it's such a strange strategy that some parents use to either teach or punish their child (not sure which).

"He's making Daddy problems right now. Don't let me find your shit in my house, or this is going to happen," the dad says. I guess the boy should just carry his weed on his person at all times, which could get him in a lot more trouble.

The hilarious part is that after the dad flushes, a chunk of weed pops back up. The dad is persistent, flushing again and again, but that little green ball of herb is just as persistent – symbolic, perhaps, of how well this dad's video is going to be received by his son. Read the rest