Ann Coulter writes book in praise of Donald Trump

NEW YORK (AP) — Ann Coulter's next book will be a story of praise — for Donald Trump.

Sentinel, a conservative imprint of Penguin Random House, announced Monday that Coulter's "In Trump We Trust: The New American Revolution" will be published Aug. 23. According to Sentinel, Coulter will call on "conservatives, moderates, and even disgruntled Democrats" to unite behind the presumptive Republican nominee, whom Coulter has supported for months.

Coulter shares with Trump a long history of inflammatory comments. She says in a statement that he is a "one-man wrecking ball against our dysfunctional and corrupt establishment."

Her other books include "Mugged: Racial Demagoguery from the Seventies to Obama" and "Treason: Liberal Treachery From the Cold War to the War on Terror."

France restores Nazi-stolen Degas drawing to rightful owners

French Culture Minister Audrey Azoulay, left, and Viviane Dreyfus daughter of the late Maurice Dreyfus pose next to the late 19th century drawing "Trois danseuses en buste" by Edgar Degas, as she listens to the speech of French Culture Minister Audrey Azoulay in Paris, France, Monday, May 9, 2016. The French government hands over an Edgar Degas drawing to the family of Maurice Dreyfus 76 years after it was stolen by Nazi occupiers. The photo of the late Maurice Dreyfus, right. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

PARIS (AP) — France has restored to its rightful owners a drawing by Edgar Degas that was stolen by the Nazis from its Jewish owner in 1940.

In a moving ceremony in Paris on Monday, Culture Minister Audrey Azoulay said that "Trois danseuses en buste" — a late 19th-century charcoal sketch of three ballerinas — was found in 1951 in a cupboard in the Occupation-era German Embassy. It had since remained unclaimed in the Louvre.

Viviane Dreyfus accepted the drawing for her father, Maurice, who died in 1957 without ever speaking of the lost work.

She said she was "extremely touched," especially because she didn't know the work existed.

There are 2,000 unclaimed works sitting in French museums, of which at least 145 were stolen by the Nazis.

How That Big Ant-Man Reveal Ended Up in Captain America: Civil War

When we say Captain America: Civil War has the best superhero action scene of all time in it, we mean it. Part of that is the sheer amount of superheroes involved, part of that is the humor, another part is Spider-Man, but a big part is what Ant-Man does. So we talked to the people behind the scenes about how it went down.

Spoiler warning.

During the massive airport battle, Ant-Man goes the opposite way of his normal stuff and becomes Giant-Man, an incredibly tall and strong version of himself that completely begins to destroy team Iron Man. It feels like the kind of reveal that might have been been saved for the upcoming sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp but producer Kevin Feige felt this was the right time.

“It was just a great idea to turn the tide of the battle in a huge, shocking, unexpected way,” Feige told io9. “We have a lot of ideas for Ant-Man 2, none of which are contingent upon revealing Giant-Man, so we thought this would be the fun, unbelievable unexpected way to do that.”

Civil War’s writers, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely revealed that bringing Giant-Man into the film was something they really wanted to do but there was some pushback.

“The brothers [directors Joe and Anthony Russo] had to fight for it,” McFeely said. “They had to go to the studio and say, ‘No it’s not silly, it’s cool.’”

“Some people are like ‘What does Ant-Man do in a big fight? Well, he can become the most powerful thing,” Markus interjected. “It will be awesome and it is a literal escalation of the fight.”

“It’s a comic book movie!” McFeely continued. “In the grounded Winter Soldier, it’s Three Days of the Condor except in the middle there’s a talking robot that tells you HYDRA has been there the whole time. And a lot of people went, ‘That’s a little much.’ No, it’s a comic book movie! That’s okay. Same thing here, except it’s Giant-Man.’

According to Feige, the other good part of it was, “We knew if we got Spideywe could have him do the AT-AT thing.”

Yes, in the movie Spider-Man brings down Giant-Man just like Luke Skywalker brings down AT-AT’s on Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back, by swinging around his legs. Spidey himself even references “that old movie,” a moment the writers didn’t want.

“The brothers really wanted to put it in there,” said McFeely. “We get a little queasy about referencing other movies. They don’t, and they were right.”

There's More to How We Taste Sweetness Than We Thought

Scientists assumed there is just a single type of taste receptor on the tongue responsible for our perception of sweetness. Now researchers from Monell Chemical Senses Center have found that those cells also contain gut enzymes, which contribute to sweet tastes. They describe their findings in a new paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The “taste map” that you may have seen in your elementary school science classes—which maps out different regions of the tongue according to which tastes it senses—has been pretty thoroughly debunked. Instead, taste receptors cover the entire tongue, with different foods tripping different receptors. And scientists thought the so-called T1R3+T1R2 receptor was the only one involved in our perception of sweetness, according to co-author Sunil Sukumaran.

But that’s only the first part of the process. There’s a second pathway for tasting sweetness. The intestines and pancreas also have sugar receptors, except these are only sensitive to simple sugars like glucose, and don’t pick up complex sugars like sucrose (glucose plus fructose). The same enzymes in the gut that break down sugars, so they can be absorbed into the bloodstream, are also present on the tongue, providing a second, subtle layer to how our perception of sweetness.

“It makes sense that the tongue and gut would share similar pathways, as both detect ingested chemicals that are important for metabolic energy,” said study co-author Karen Yee in a statement.

The better we get at figuring out how individual tastes work, the better we can also get at replicating those tastes in artificial sweeteners, so that they don’t taste quite so artificial. “Caloric sugars are sensed by both the T1r pathway and the newly identified pathway,” Sukumaran said. “Artificial sweeteners, on the other hand are sensed by the T1R pathway alone.”

How to Get Rid of Car Air Conditioner Odor

How to Get Rid of Car Air Conditioner Odor

Odor is a normal characteristic of automotive air conditioners. However, the odor's intensity can be reduced significantly by identifying and eliminating its root cause. An unpleasant odor emanating from the dash vents is commonly caused by mice or other small animals nesting in the air box -- which requires removing the nest from the inside of the duct or blower motor area -- or it can be caused by mold and bacteria growing on or around the air conditioner's evaporator core.

Step 1: Unclog the Evaporator Drain Tube

The most common contributor to mold and bacteria growth in the air box is a clogged evaporator drain tube. The drain tube should steadily drip water when the air conditioner is running, especially when it's humid outside. If this drain tube is clogged with leaves or other debris, the evaporator's condensation won't drain out causing water to stagnate. Find the drain tube by looking under the passenger side of the vehicle near the bottom of the firewall area. A metal coat hanger works well to gently push through the clog.

Tip

Water and debris can rush out of the drain tube when it is unclogged. Safety glasses are recommended for this under-car procedure.

Warning

The evaporator core can be punctured or damaged very easily by pushing the coat hanger too far. Do not allow the hanger to travel past the drain tube.

Step 2: Clean the Evaporator Core

If the odor continues after unclogging the drain tube, then you may need to use ananti-odor kit. Several products are available for this purpose. One product that can be purchased is a spray can with a long hose to reach through the vents and kill the mold and bacteria. This is the easiest method but not always the most effective. Other products are available, but they may require access to the evaporator core by either removing the blower motor, removing the blower resistor or by drilling a hole in the duct near the evaporator. If you buy the kit, follow the step-by-step manufacturer's instructions. These products typically use a chemical cleaner that is sprayed onto the evaporator and allowed to dry. You then apply another chemical to prevent further mold and bacterial growth.

Step 3: Replace the Cabin Filter

Many cars today use a cabin air filter to clean the incoming air. These filters typically need to be replaced every year or every 10,000 to 15,000 miles, according to vehicle manufacturers. A charcoal impregnated cabin filter can be purchased to help the elimination of odors. Access to replace the cabin filter may be from under the hood near the firewall, under the windshield or from behind the glove box. It is housed inside the air box.

Tip

Specific instructions explaining the replacement interval and procedure of the cabin air filter can be found in the vehicle's owner's manual.

To help prevent future mold and bacterial growth, when parking the vehicle set the HVAC system to the outside -- fresh-air -- mode. This can help dry out the air box.

How to Troubleshoot a Starter Solenoid

How to Troubleshoot a Starter Solenoid

Without it, your car cannot go anywhere. Yet, a starter solenoid's only job is to complete the circuit between the battery and the starter when you turn the key to start. However, not every start goes as smoothly as it should, and the solenoid might refuse to crank the engine, disengage the pinion gear or might keep the starter motor running. Fortunately, even with very little knowledge of electricity you can learn to troubleshoot a problematic solenoid. Gain the skills to test both on-starter and remote-mounted solenoids. For these tests, it is better if you have the help of an assistant.

Step 1

Check that your car battery is fully charged before beginning these tests.

Step 2

Move the gear to neutral if you are diagnosing a car with a standard transmission or park if you are diagnosing a car with an automatic transmission.

Step 3

Apply the parking brake and make sure to stay away from moving engine parts as you proceed with these tests.

Step 4

Disconnect the coil high tension cable from the distributor cap and ground it using a short jumper wire.

Step 5

Ask your assistant to turn the ignition key to start while you listen for a click at the starter solenoid. If you hear a firm click, go to step 9 if you have an on-starter solenoid; go to steps 10 and 11 if you have a remote-mounted solenoid. If you hear a weak click or repeated click sounds, go to the next step.

Step 6

Unplug the small control circuit wire at the solenoid terminal. If there are two small wires, disconnect the one marked with an "S"; otherwise, check the wiring diagram for your particular vehicle to locate this wire.

Step 7

Connect a jumper wire to the battery positive terminal. As you bring the other jumper wire’s end in touch with the solenoid’s control circuit terminal you should hear a solid click; if you do not hear any sounds or hear a weak or chattering sound, make sure the solenoid is properly grounded and there is no corrosion or other substance preventing a good ground. Repeat the test. If you still don’t hear a solid click, replace the solenoid.

Step 8

Unplug the small control circuit wire at the solenoid terminal. Ask your assistant to turn the key to start. Using a voltmeter, test for voltage at the control circuit wire. If the meter reads 0 volts, there is an open in that part of the circuit preventing the solenoid from operating the starter. Locate and fix the open.

Step 9

Ask your assistant to turn the key to start. Check for a voltage drop between the solenoid's battery terminal and the starter motor strap. The voltage drop should be no more than 0.2 volts; otherwise, replace the solenoid. Make sure the battery cable is well connected to the solenoid. Remember, this step is only for an on-starter solenoid.

Step 10

Ask your assistant to turn the key to start. Check for a voltage drop across the two cable connections on the solenoid. The voltage drop should not exceed 0.2 volts. If it does, make sure the cable connections are completely clean and well connected. If you still read over 0.2 volts, replace the solenoid. Remember, this step and the next one are only for remote-mounted solenoids.

Step 11

Unplug the small control circuit wire at the solenoid’s terminal. Using your multimeter, measure the resistance between the control circuit terminal and the solenoid’s ground bracket. If the resistance is above 5 ohms, replace the solenoid. Remember, this step is only for remote-mounted solenoids.

What does it feel like to be dead?

What does it feel like to be dead?

Probably not nothingness. Here's a thought experiment: 

A man offers you $1 million to participate in the following experiment: Be killed in a painless, non-inconveniencing manner, and immediately thereafter "resurrected" using a super-high-resolution 3D printer which re-creates you from raw materials (with perfect precision down to the very last atom and neuron in the exact same state right before you died). Would you participate because you believe you will persist in the replica and enjoy the $1 million (continue living life)? Or would you decline because you believe the replica is just a separate individual with your same thoughts/memories and the original you would be dead forever (feeling nothing, never able to enjoy the $1 million)? 

• If you decline (you think the replica is a separate individual who gets to enjoy the $1 million, and you'll be dead forever), then you must also fear "death" in 10 years, even if you live. That's because every decade or so, every single atom in your brain has been cycled out due to eating food and pooping poop, so you retain almost none of the original materials that made your brain 10 years ago. If your identity is tied to the specific atoms that make up your brain, you already died many times.

• If you participate (you think you persist in the replica), then you agree you would continue to experience the world in this replica. That raises the question: If the brain were a tiny bit different, would it still be you? Of course, because when you get a concussion, your brain becomes damaged, but no one says their consciousness is being replaced by another observer. But then you realize, you could make a replica of you whose brain is 99.999% the same as yours. And, you can't see the world from two viewpoints at once. Actually, maybe even a mouse brain is 1% the same as yours, and you obviously aren't seeing the world 1% from a mouse's point of view. And you start to realize the only solution to this whole conundrum: Somehow, the pure feeling ofawareness in the present moment must a fundamental property of the universe.Emotions, qualia, ego, identity etc. are manufactured by the brain, but the single bit of "I am aware therefore something exists" is not.

The fact is, we don't know how "consciousness" (the uncanny feeling of being certain one's own present moment of awareness exists) happens. A human brain is only "more conscious" than a rat brain because it is more complex. It is only "more conscious" than a pile of falling dominoes because it is more complex. Since the uncanny "I, right now, am here" feeling does not appear to be explained by brain activity, it makes sense for it to be a ubiquitous property of the universe that exists whenever anything interacts with anything. Death would then be more like separation from ego/self rather than complete consciousness shutdown, which is more like everythingness than nothingness.