Author Archives: brendacalsbeck

Large percentage of Americans are living under financial strain

Important Takeaways:

  • 61% of Americans say they are living paycheck to paycheck even as inflation cools
  • Lower-income workers have been the hardest hit by price spikes, particularly for food and other staples, since those expenses account for a bigger share of the budget, studies show. Roughly three-quarters of consumers earning less than $50,000 annually and 65% of those earning between $50,000 and $100,000 were living paycheck to paycheck in June, based on LendingClub’s numbers.
  • Fewer top earners have been struggling to make ends meet. Of those earning $100,000 or more, only 45% reported living paycheck to paycheck, the report found.
  • A majority, or 52%, of adults, including high earners, said they have felt more financially stressed since before the Covid pandemic began in 2020, according to a separate CNBC Your Money Financial Confidence Survey conducted in March — largely due to inflation, rising interest rates and a lack of savings.

Read the original article by clicking here.

Dr. David Jeremiah points to hope even though so many seem to be leaving the faith

Knocking on Door

Important Takeaways:

  • A Shift Away From Biblical Faith: Why Are So Many Quitting Christianity?
  • The Pew Research Center has tracked viable data for years and studied the trends. Their projections are disheartening…
    • In 2020, 64% of people of all ages were Christian. This number will shrink to between a little more than half (54%) and just above one-third (35%) of all Americans by 2070.
    • Over that same period, “nones” (people who are religiously unaffiliated) will rise from the current 30% to somewhere between 34% and 52% of the U.S. population.
  • But do not despair! There is hope in the headlines. And while what is happening in the church shocks us, it is not a surprise to God. The falling away of the church is prophesied in Scripture and points to the soon return of Christ. And for His own, the faithful and redeemed, salvation is secure.
  • This “falling away” isn’t new. Throughout history, many have embraced Christianity, only to abandon it later. Even the first Christians faced this challenge. Demas, a coworker of Paul, initially supported him but eventually left, “having loved this present world” (2 Timothy 4:10).
  • The core issue isn’t that people are falling away from church or even falling away from the faith. We’re talking about falling away as Judas did, from Jesus Himself. We’re talking about branches that cut themselves off from the vine. These are people who have—these words are stark—“trampled the Son of God underfoot . . . treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and . . . insulted the Spirit of grace” (Heb. 10:29).
  • How can this happen?
  • They Fall Away Because They Are Deceived
  • The Bible very clearly warns that spiritual deception will lead many to fall away from Christ in the end times.
  • “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:1–2).
  • There are those who receive the Gospel with joy but lack a strong foundation. These individuals seek solutions rather than a Savior and want the blessings of belief without fully committing to Christ. During times of temptation, they fall away (Luke 8:13).
  • But, don’t despair. There’s still hope. God knows those who are His, and He will bring them home safely. Jesus said: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28).

Read the original article by clicking here.

The path we’re on leads to more Government Control

(Photo 65763839 © Flynt | Dreamstime.com)

Important Takeaways:

  • As states continue to implement digital ID systems, it is essential that they build tools in ways that inherently protect civil liberties rather than asking citizens to just trust government officials.
  • In many states, Americans can now ditch their physical wallet and verify their identity simply by tapping their device on a scanner. And just as digital wallets from Apple and Google have made commerce more convenient, digital ID systems could potentially make government interactions faster and more efficient. But they also raise the ominous specter of government surveillance. Can we have the efficiency of a digital ID without letting government track our every move?
  • Yes, but that’s not the path we’re on.
  • Take Colorado. Since 2019, Coloradans have been able to use a digital ID as a legal form of personal identification throughout the state. Users download an application to their smartphone, enroll in the service, and have their identity authenticated by taking photos or videos of a valid ID card or other government issued documents to prove that they are who they claim to be. Then that information is encrypted, and the user is granted a digital ID and an associated key or code that serves as an identifier.
  • Coloradans can simply show their digital ID to verify their identity in much the same way as you would show your driver’s license to a bartender to prove you are over 21. That means of verifying identity is relatively private. However, many services, both public and private, are increasingly turning to electronic verification, which requires pinging a government server. This ping creates a data record outlining who, what, when, and where. Over time, these records create a government-controlled ledger of information about its citizens.

Read the original article by clicking here.

‘She just held them and prayed;’ Tornado ripped through Nash County

Matthew 24:7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

Important Takeaways:

  • There is devastation.
  • Dortches, in Nash County, is one of the areas where officials told CBS17 they’re finding the most damage.
  • With just a moment’s notice, people on Town Hall Road found shelter where they could.
  • “When I looked out, it was like midnight. Tree limbs were going this way and that way,” said Mayor Jamie Vick.
  • “The good Lord blessed us, because as you can see with what’s around here, with the size of these trees, the wind, I mean, a lot of people could have lost their life,” said Vick.
  • “She took the brunt of the damage coming in off of them. Three small children she has. She said she watched the roof come off the house just held them and prayed.”
  • The tornado ripped out trees, and even picked up a propane tank. The tank was dropped off next to a little white house that is now barely standing.

Read the original article by clicking here.

Reports of chemicals from the train derailment killing fish, residents worry about long term health impact

Ohio Train Derailment

Luke 21:11 There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.

Important Takeaways:

  • Worried residents near Ohio train derailment report dead fish and chickens as authorities say it’s safe to return
  • The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said the chemical spill resulting from the derailment had killed an estimated 3,500 small fish across 7½ miles of streams as of Wednesday.
  • “Don’t tell me it’s safe. Something is going on if the fish are floating in the creek,” Cathey Reese, who lives in Negley, Ohio
  • Jenna Giannios, 39, a wedding photographer in nearby Boardman, said she has had a persistent cough for the past week and a half. “They only evacuated only 1 mile from that space, and that’s just insane to me,” she said, coughing throughout the conversation. “I’m concerned with the long-term heath impact. It’s just a mess.”
  • Andrew Whelton, a professor of environmental and ecological engineering at Purdue University, said it’s possible the burn created additional compounds the EPA might not be testing for.
  • “When they combusted the materials, they created other chemicals. The question is what did they create?”

Read the original article by clicking here.

NASA predicts a Solar Storm to hit Earth July 19

Mathew 24:29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken

Important Takeaways:

  • Leading space science expert predicts a ‘direct hit’ on Earth from a solar storm
  • It has been a busy time for solar activity. Back in March of 2022, Earth was hit by separate geomagnetic storms, according to government weather agencies in the U.S. and the U.K.
  • Then earlier this month, a G1-class geomagnetic storm hit the Earth, causing bright auroras over Canada. The only problem is that nobody saw this storm coming until it was quite late.
  • Five days ago, a giant sunspot and filaments on the solar surface had astronomers worried about possible Earth-directed solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that could lead to blackouts.
  • Finally, on Friday, it was reported that a massive solar flare had erupted from the Sun, which could see radio blackouts in many parts of the world.
  • Now, on Saturday, Dr. Tamitha Skov, known as the “Space Weather Woman,” predicted a “direct hit” from a solar storm to take place on Tuesday. She took to social media to share the news along with a NASA prediction model video.
  • “Direct Hit!” she wrote on Twitter. “A snake-like filament launched as a big solar storm while in the Earth-strike zone.”
  • “NASA predicts impact early July 19

Read the original article by clicking here.

From Kabul to Kentucky: Afghans put down roots in refugee haven

By Amira Karaoud and Mary Milliken

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (Reuters) – After exhausting journeys that took them from Kabul to Qatar to European cities to U.S. military bases, Afghan families fleeing the Taliban alighted in Kentucky, in a small city well versed in receiving refugees.

Bowling Green has welcomed waves of refugees over four decades, beginning with the Cambodians in the 1980’s and then Bosnians in the 1990’s, plus Iraqis, Burmese, Rwandese and Congolese and others, who have helped make the city of 72,000 a diverse and economically thriving place.

Wazir Khan Zadran was a tribal leader who fought 20 years ago against the Haqqani network, a powerful faction within the Taliban. Although he more recently worked with a non-governmental organization, he knew the Taliban would come for him.

Zadran said the Americans saved him and his family by picking them up in a Chinook helicopter in August and taking them to the Kabul airport. After a spell at a New Mexico military base, they were sent to Bowling Green and quickly realized they had lucked out in their new American lives.

“We are so happy in Bowling Green,” said the 41-year-old father, who has secured a comfortable house and sent his children to school with the assistance of the local resettlement agency, the International Center, founded in 1981.

“Also, the local community is helping us and introducing the culture to us,” Zadran added.

His six children are learning songs in English, sending “Dear Santa” letters off, going to the library and lapping up ice cream at Baskin-Robbins.

In the aftermath of rising anti-immigrant and refugee sentiment during the Trump administration, the United States government is now handling its biggest refugee evacuation since Vietnam. Of the nearly 75,000 expected to settle in America, Bowling Green will receive 350 Afghans in fiscal year 2022.

There are plenty of jobs for new residents of Bowling Green, an agricultural and manufacturing hub, perhaps best known for the assembly plant that makes the coveted Corvette sports car. The Bosnians, who now number around 10,000 and own several companies, attest to the good job prospects when the Afghans’ expedited work permits arrive in coming months.

“In 2000 when I came here, I arrived with a couple of suitcases and two infant children and my wife,” said Tahir Zukic, a Bosnian from Srebrenica who owns Taz Trucking, employing 100 people and 140 trucks.

“It’s absolutely an amazing place to be, with a lot of opportunity and you can just do what you like to do.”

For those who did not work with the Americans in Afghanistan, learning the language could be the toughest part of adapting to their new home, Zukic said. But they also must learn how America works, how to drive, how to get a credit card. And what to do when tornadoes approach.

The twisters that tore through Kentucky this month jolted the Afghans’ sense of security. They were confounded by the 1 a.m. sirens that reminded them of Kabul and shocked by the uprooted trees, roofs ripped off houses and deaths in one neighborhood home to many immigrants.

“We never saw a storm like this before in our life in Afghanistan, so we felt maybe we were going to another war,” Zadran said. “But God saved us.”

‘THIS IS MY PLACE’

Firas Majeed arrived in Bowling Green from Baghdad via Brooklyn, New York, in 2016. The Iraqi refugee came to visit a friend and decided “this is my place.” He now co-owns a grocery store stocked with Middle Eastern and European foods after working as a welder.

“The quality of life is higher than in the big cities,” said Majeed, who appreciates the big skies and verdant farms around Bowling Green, strong job market, low rents and medical care.

Majeed said the Afghans will get a lot of support because everyone saw the images of the chaotic evacuation from Kabul. The Iraqis can teach them things, like how to get a driver’s license.

Bowling Green is also a place that allows refugees to hold onto their identities while becoming Americans – offering a socially conservative environment to raise families and practice religions.

At the Forest Park Baptist Church, Congolese refugees have breathed new life into the community. Worship services and Bible study are translated into Swahili and sometimes held in that language.

“We love their gospel singing,” said church leader Mike Givens, and the church translates their songs so everyone hears the message.

“Our community has changed, so if we do not seek or go after the immigrant population, our church will not survive,” added Givens.

Back at the Zadran house, the children make quick progress with their new culture. The eldest, Zuleikha, teaches her siblings a song in English with the lyrics “What are you thankful for?”

As they applaud their own performance, Zuleikha declares “Finished!” and flashes a wide grin.

(Reporting by Amira Karaoud and Mary Milliken; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Analysis: High stakes at sea in global rush for wind power

By Susanna Twidale and Nora Buli

LONDON(Reuters) – Global competition for offshore wind power is so hot that license auctions now resemble the oil and gas competitions of just a few years ago, and some of the names are familiar too as global oil majors move aggressively into renewable energy.

The drive among top fossil fuel producers to make fast inroads into lower-carbon businesses comes as more and more countries roll out plans to boost wind power in an effort to reduce their carbon footprint.

The cost of securing sites to develop has risen to levels that some top wind farm operators say are unsustainable and which will hurt consumers by driving up power prices.

Governments worldwide are expected to offer a record number of tenders for offshore wind sites and capacity this year, with more than 30 gigawatts (GW) on the block.

That is almost as much as total existing global wind capacity of 35 GW, and the tenders are shaping up to be the most competitive ever.

Several European oil firms including Total, BP and Shell plan to rapidly increase their renewable power portfolios, reducing reliance on oil and gas to satisfy investors who want to see viable long-term low-carbon business plans and governments which are demanding reductions in emissions.

The oil majors, with deep pockets, are willing and able to pay up for a foothold in the market, even though margins are much smaller than for their traditional operations.

At a leasing round held by the Crown Estate earlier this year for seabed options around the coast of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, BP and German utility EnBW paid a record price to secure two sites, representing 3 GW.

Developers pay an annual option fee prior to taking a final investment decision (FID), which in the case of BP and EnBW will amount to around 1 billion pounds ($1.38 billion) made in four annual payments of 231 million pounds for each of the two leases.

Traditional offshore wind developers, Iberdrola, Orsted and SSE all confirmed to Reuters they had been unsuccessful in the leasing round.

The previous Crown Estate offshore round was held more than a decade ago when the market was a fraction of its current size and structured without option fees, an added cost developers will now have to recoup.

“Someone is going to have to pay and it’s probably, at least in part, the consumer,” said Duncan Clark, Orsted’s UK head.

Some analysts also said the high fees threaten to erode the huge cost reductions the industry has achieved over the past decade.

Mark Lewis, Chief Sustainability Strategist at BNP Paribas, said the Crown Estate option fee would add around 35% to project development costs, assuming today’s building costs.

BP said the fee was justified by the prime location of the two Crown sites: in the Irish Sea, in shallow water, close to the shore allowing for shorter, cheaper connection cables, and next to each other allowing for cost efficiencies across both projects.

“Not every resource base was born equal,” BP’s low carbon energy chief Dev Sanyal told Reuters, adding that those factors made the company confident of achieving the 8-10% return it has set for renewable projects.

EnBW said the prices achieved reflect the different intrinsic value of the respective projects.

Some in the industry fear a knock on effect with Ben Backwell, CEO of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), saying there aren’t enough projects currently to meet demand.

“So you are going to create an over-heated market when what we want to see is more opportunities made available,” he said.

A price cap at a Crown Estate Scotland tender of Scottish seabed leases taking place this year has already been hiked tenfold.

Orsted, Iberdrola and SSE all confirmed to Reuters they expect to enter the Scottish round, and while neither BP, Total nor Shell would directly confirm their involvement to Reuters, analysts said it would be surprising if oil firms did not participate.

Projects from the recent Crown Estate auction will not be built until 2027-2030, when development costs are expected to have fallen further, at least partly offsetting higher fees.

Announcements about larger turbines, for example, show the pace of technology development remains very active, said Julien Pouget, senior vice president renewables at Total, which won a lease in the Crown Estate auction with Macquarie’s Green Investment Group.

“(That) makes us optimistic on the potential in terms of cost reductions,” he said.

While Britain offers a guaranteed return on some renewables, the amount has fallen sharply, tracking lower development costs.

At a 2019 auction for contract for differences (CfD), which guarantee operators a minimum price for electricity sold, a record low price of 39.65 pounds per megawatt hour (MWh) was achieved, some 30% lower than the previous auction held in 2017 and lower than current average electricity prices.

The next CfD auction is expected at the end of 2021, too early in the development process for the recent Crown Estate lease winners.

Although Britain is the world’s largest offshore wind market, with around 10 GW of capacity, opportunities elsewhere are increasing and tenders are expected to be keenly fought.

European countries including Denmark, Poland and France are expected to hold auctions this year, with more regions planning to build up capacity.

In the United States, President Joe Biden wants to deploy 30 GW of offshore wind power by 2030. There are currently 13 projects in development, with a combined capacity of around 9.1 GW and expected to come online by 2026.

Iberdrola is already involved in tenders in Rhode Island and Massachusetts through its U.S. arm Avangrid, while BP sealed a $1.1 billion deal last year to buy 50% stakes in two U.S. developments from Norway’s Equinor.

In Asia, Japan plans to install up to 10 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, and 30-45 GW by 2040, with analysts expecting tenders for a total of around 3 GW of capacity to be held this year.

Iberdrola, which bought Japanese developer Acacia Renewables last year, said it expects to participate in tenders there.

“Asia is going to be a huge market for renewable growth globally and we as a global player want to be actively participating in that,” said Jonathan Cole, managing director at Iberdrola Renewables’ offshore wind division.

However, experts cautioned new regions cannot charge as much for seabed leases or expect to offer such low price support as Britain.

“We have a mature industry in Europe and the UK but it’s not there yet in Asia, or the U.S.,” GWEC’s Backwell said.

“Each region has to build up its own industry and skills before they can expect to see the most competitive prices.”

($1 = 0.7246 pounds)

(Reporting By Susanna Twidale and Nora Buli; additonal reporting by Nicola Groom, Yuka Obayashi, Vera Eckert and Christoph Steitz. Editing by Veronica Brown and Kirsten Donovan)

Blinken warns entities involved in Nord Stream 2 pipeline to immediately quit

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department is tracking efforts to complete Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline and evaluating information on entities that appear to be involved, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday.

“Any entity involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline risks U.S. sanctions and should immediately abandon work on the pipeline,” Blinken said in a statement, adding the Biden administration is committed to complying with 2019 and 2020 legislation with regards to the pipeline and sanctions.

Shortly after Blinken’s statement, Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican and an opponent of the pipeline, lifted a hold he had placed on two of President Joe Biden’s nominees, including William Burns for director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Nord Stream 2, led by Russia state energy company Gazprom with its Western partners, would double the capacity of an existing link to take Russian gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea. Biden believes the project is a “bad deal” for Ukraine and Central and Eastern European allies, Blinken said.

The pipeline would bypass Ukraine, likely depriving it of lucrative transit revenues and potentially undermine its efforts against Russian aggression.

Sanctions law that went into effect this year require the State Department to sanction companies that help Nord Stream 2 lay pipeline or provide insurance or certification of its construction. Nearly 20 companies, mostly insurance firms, recently quit the project after Washington warned them in recent months that they could be sanctioned.

Cruz said he would maintain a hold on Wendy Sherman, who Biden has nominated to be the No. 2 official at the State Department until the administration imposes full sanctions on ships and companies involved in the project. Sherman easily passed through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week and a hold would only likely delay a full Senate vote on her nomination.

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Timothy Gardner; Editing by Chris Reese)

Why Republican voters say there’s ‘no way in hell’ Trump lost

By Brad Brooks, Nathan Layne and Tim Reid

SUNDOWN, Texas (Reuters) – Brett Fryar is a middle-class Republican. A 50-year-old chiropractor in this west Texas town, he owns a small business. He has two undergraduate degrees and a master’s degree, in organic chemistry. He attends Southcrest Baptist Church in nearby Lubbock.

Fryar didn’t much like Donald Trump at first, during the U.S. president’s 2016 campaign. He voted for Texas Senator Ted Cruz in the Republican primaries.

Now, Fryar says he would go to war for Trump. He has joined the newly formed South Plains Patriots, a group of a few hundred members that includes a “reactionary” force of about three dozen – including Fryar and his son, Caleb – who conduct firearms training.

Nothing will convince Fryar and many others here in Sundown – including the town’s mayor, another Patriots member – that Democrat Joe Biden won the Nov. 3 presidential election fairly. They believe Trump’s stream of election-fraud allegations and say they’re preparing for the possibility of a “civil war” with the American political left.

“If President Trump comes out and says: ‘Guys, I have irrefutable proof of fraud, the courts won’t listen, and I’m now calling on Americans to take up arms,’ we would go,” said Fryar, wearing a button-down shirt, pressed slacks and a paisley tie during a recent interview at his office.

The unshakable trust in Trump in this town of about 1,400 residents reflects a national phenomenon among many Republicans, despite the absence of evidence in a barrage of post-election lawsuits by the president and his allies. About half of Republicans polled by Reuters/Ipsos said Trump “rightfully won” the election but had it stolen from him in systemic fraud favoring Biden, according to a survey conducted between Nov. 13 and 17. Just 29% of Republicans said Biden rightfully won. Other polls since the election have reported that an even higher proportion – up to 80% – of Republicans trust Trump’s baseless fraud narrative.

Trump’s legal onslaught has so far flopped, with judges quickly dismissing many cases and his lawyers dropping or withdrawing from others. None of the cases contain allegations – much less evidence – that are likely to invalidate enough votes to overturn the election, election experts say.

And yet the election-theft claims are proving politically potent. All but a handful of Republican lawmakers have backed Trump’s fraud claims or stayed silent, effectively freezing the transition of power as the president refuses to concede. Trump has succeeded in sowing further public distrust in the media, which typically calls elections, and undermined citizens’ faith in the state and local election officials who underpin American democracy.

In Reuters interviews with 50 Trump voters, all said they believed the election was rigged or in some way illegitimate. Of those, 20 said they would consider accepting Biden as their president, but only in light of proof that the election was conducted fairly. Most repeated debunked conspiracy theories espoused by Trump, Republican officials and conservative media claiming that millions of votes were dishonestly switched to Biden in key states by biased poll workers and hacked voting machines.

Many voters interviewed by Reuters said they formed their opinions by watching emergent right-wing media outlets such as Newsmax and One American News Network that have amplified Trump’s fraud claims. Some have boycotted Fox News out of anger that the network called Biden the election winner and that some of its news anchors – in contrast to its opinion show stars – have been skeptical of Trump’s fraud allegations.

“I just sent Fox News an email,” Fryar said, telling the network: “You’re the only news I’ve watched for the last six years, but I will not watch you anymore.”

The widespread rejection of the election result among Republicans reflects a new and dangerous dynamic in American politics: the normalization of false and increasingly extreme conspiracy theories among tens of millions of mainstream voters, according to government scholars, analysts and some lawmakers on both sides of the political divide. The trend has deeply troubling long-term implications for American political and civic institutions, said Paul Light, a veteran political scientist at New York University (NYU).

“This is dystopian,” Light said. “America could fracture.”

Adam Kinzinger, a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives, is among the few party members to publicly recognize Biden’s victory. He called his Republican colleagues’ reluctance to reject Trump’s conspiracies a failure of political courage that threatens to undermine American democracy for years. If citizens lose faith in election integrity, that could lead to “really bad things,” including violence and social unrest, he said in an interview.

David Gergen – an adviser to four previous U.S. presidents, two Democrats and two Republicans – said Trump is trying to “kneecap” the Biden administration before it takes power, noting this is the first time a sitting American president has tried to overthrow an election result.

It may not be the last time. Many Republicans see attacks on election integrity as a winning issue for future campaigns – including the next presidential race, according to one Republican operative close to the Trump campaign. The party, the person said, is setting up a push for “far more stringent oversight on voting procedures in 2024,” when the party’s nominee will likely be Trump or his anointed successor.

Other Republicans urged patience and faith in the government. Charlie Black, a veteran Republican strategist, does not believe Republican lawmakers will continue backing Trump’s fraud claims after Biden is inaugurated. They will need White House cooperation on basic government functions, such as appropriations and defense bills, he said.

“People will come to see we still have a functioning government,” Black said, and Republicans will become “resigned to Biden, and see it’s not the end of the world.”

The Biden campaign declined to comment for this story. Boris Epshteyn, a strategic advisor to the Trump campaign, said: “The President and his campaign are confident that when every legal vote is counted, and every illegal vote is not, it will be determined that President Trump has won re-election to a second term.”

‘THERE’S JUST NO WAY’

Media outlets declared Biden the election winner on Nov. 7. As calls were finalized in battleground states, Biden’s lead in the Electoral College that decides the presidency widened to 306 to 232.

Many Republican voters scoff at those results, convinced Trump was cheated. Raymond Fontaine, a hardware store owner in Oakville, Connecticut, said Biden’s vote total – the highest of any presidential candidate in history – makes no sense because the 78-year-old Democrat made relatively few campaign appearances and seemed to be in mental decline.

“You are going to tell me 77 million Americans voted for him? There is just no way,” said Fontaine, 50.

The latest popular vote total for Biden has grown to about 79 million, compared to some 73 million for Trump.

Like many Trump supporters interviewed by Reuters, Fontaine was deeply suspicious of computerized voting machines. Trump and his allies have alleged, without producing evidence, a grand conspiracy to manipulate votes through the software used in many battleground states.

In Grant County, West Virginia – a mountainous region where more than 88% of voters backed the president – trust in Trump runs deep. Janet Hedrick, co-owner of the Smoke Hole Caverns log cabin resort in the small town of Cabins, said she would never accept Biden as a legitimate president.

“There’s millions and millions of Trump votes that were just thrown out,” said Hedrick, 70, a retired teacher and librarian. “That computer was throwing them out.”

At the Sunset Restaurant in Moorefield, West Virginia – a diner featuring omelets, hotcakes and waitresses who remember your order – a mention of the election sparked a spirited discussion at one table. Gene See, a retired highway construction inspector, and Bob Hyson, a semi-retired insurance sales manager, said Trump had been cheated, that Biden had dementia and that Democrats planned all along to quickly replace Biden with his more liberal running mate for vice president, Kamala Harris.

“I think if they ever get to the bottom of it, they will find massive fraud,” said another of the diners, Larry Kessel, a 67-year-old farmer.

Kessel’s wife, Jane, patted him on the arm, trying to calm him, as he grew agitated while railing against anti-Trump media bias.

Trump’s rage against the media has lately included rants against Fox News. He has pushed his supporters towards more right-wing outlets such as Newsmax and One America News Network, which have championed the president’s fraud claims.

Rory Wells, 51, a New Jersey lawyer who attended a pro-Trump “stop the steal” election protest in Trenton last week, said he now watches Newsmax because Fox isn’t sufficiently conservative.

“I like that I get to hear from Rudy Giuliani and others who are not immediately discounted as being crazy,” he said of Trump’s lead election lawyer.

Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy said the network’s viewership has exploded since the election, with nearly 3 million viewers nightly via cable television and streaming video devices.

Ruddy said Newsmax isn’t saying that Biden stole the election – but they’re also not calling him the winner given that Trump has valid legal claims. “The same media who said Biden would win in a landslide now want to not have recounts,” he said in a phone interview.

Charles Herring, president of One America News Network, said in a statement that his network has seen three weeks of record ratings, as “frustrated Fox News viewers” have tuned in.

‘NO WAY IN HELL’

Some Trump supporters said they would accept Biden as the winner if that is the final, official result. Janel Henritz, 36, echoed some others in saying that she believed the election included fraud, but perhaps not enough to change the outcome. Henritz, who works alongside her mother Janet Hedrick at their log cabin resort in West Virginia, said she would accept the outcome if Biden remains the winner after recounts and court challenges.

“Then he won fair and square,” she said.

In Sundown, Texas, Mayor Jonathan Strickland said there’s “no way in hell” Biden won fairly. The only way he’ll believe it, he said, is if Trump himself says so.

“Trump is the only one we’ve been able to trust for the last four years,” said Strickland, an oilfield production engineer. “As far as the civil war goes, I don’t think it’s off the table.”

If it comes to a fight, Caleb Fryar is ready. But the 26-year-old son of Brett Fryar, the chiropractor, said he hoped Trump’s fraud allegations would instead spark a massive mobilization of Republican voters in future elections.

Asked whether Trump might be duping his followers, he said it’s hard to fathom.

“If I’m being manipulated by Trump … then he is the greatest con man that ever lived in America,” Caleb Fryar said. “I think he’s the greatest patriot that ever lived.”

(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Texas, Nathan Layne in West Virginia and Tim Reid in California; editing by Brian Thevenot)