9 Home Remedies for ADHD That Are Worth a Try

Difficulty concentrating? Sitting still or controlling impulsive behaviors? Attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) affects 11 percent of school-age children, and symptoms often continue into adulthood, according to the organization Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD). Untreated—or undertreated—ADHD can cause problems with school, work, and relationships. Medication can be very effective at reining in ADHD symptoms, but these drugs do confer their fair share of side effects namely sleeplessness and loss of appetite. The decision to start ADHD medication is not an easy one for parents as kids must take these drugs for the long haul. As a result, many people are searching for home remedies for ADHD that really work—and these have some evidence to back them up.

Avoiding artificial food coloring 
Some research dating back to the 1970s suggests that food colorings may cause hyperactivity in susceptible kids. A widely quoted study in the Lancet led certain European countries to ban some of these ingredients. In the study, children who consumed a drink containing artificial colors and preservatives exerted symptoms of hyperactivity. The US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Food Advisory Committee, however, determined that the studies to date do not prove there’s a link between food coloring and ADHD or warrant a ban. “There is accumulating evidence that artificial colors can have a small, but significant detrimental effect on behavior in children—and possibly adults—with ADHD, ” says Eugene Arnold, MD, professor emeritus at the Center for Psychiatry and Behavioral Health of the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus and a CHADD spokesperson. “They are not the main cause of ADHD, but there are some individuals in which food dyes may be an important one.” His advice? Avoid them. “They don’t have any nutritional or health benefits and are only used to make foods more attractive.” Read the labels and choose products without artificial colors and dyes and see if this is one of the home remedies for ADHD that works for you.

Upping omega-3s 
The omega-3 fatty acids found in high supply in certain types of fish may help put the brakes on inflammation. Dr. Arnold points out they’re good for your heart and there is compelling evidence that omega-3s are also good for the brain—potentially one of the home remedies for ADHD. “The brain is made up of 60 percent fat and fat insulates the neurons to help the brain run more smoothly,” he says. “Inflammation is involved in many brain disorders and the anti-inflammatory effects of omega-3w may also help.” Research in Neuropsychopharmacology found that children with ADHD had low levels of omega-3 in their blood; when the kids got omega-3 supplements, their ADHD symptoms including hyperactivity, inattention, impulsivity, and cognitive performances improved. The benefits aren’t immediate, says Dr. Arnold: “It can take three months to build up your levels.”Omega 3’s can’t be manufactured in the body, which means we can only get them through diet—namely fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, and trout, or supplements. 

Try behavioral therapy 
Behavioral therapy can help mitigate ADHD symptoms, especially when combined with medication. You can create structure for the time spent at home by developing routines and schedules that you refer to regularly. Parents can help by praising a child for what they do well instead of criticizing their behaviors. The National Institute of Mental Health’s Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD showed that medication therapy alone or medication with behavioral therapy resulted in the greatest improvement in a child’s ADHD symptoms when compared with treatment by a local doctor, even if this care included medication. The combination worked best in improving anger management and emotional control, benefiting interactions with parents and school, the JAMA Psychiatry study revealed. “The combination treatment provides the extra benefit of addressing associated symptoms of ADHD and improving level of functioning in ADHD patients, and reducing the dose required for drug treatment which in turn, could reduce drug-related side effects,” says Ike De La Peña, PhD, assistant professor of Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, California.

Considering micronutrients 
Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals that we need in smaller supply than other nutrients, and there is some evidence that kids with ADHD may have an imbalance of micronutrients. When researchers gave children with ADHD a micronutrient supplement containing 13 vitamins, 17 minerals, and four amino acids, the kids showed marked improvements in attention symptoms and general functioning compared with those who took a dummy pill or placebo; however, the supplement didn’t seem to help with hyperactivity or impulse control. The results appear Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. “If kids don’t eat a balanced diet, a multivitamin with a whole spectrum of nutrients is a good idea,” Dr. Arnold says.  

No screens before bedtime 
Sleep is important for healthy brain function, and one of the best ways to encourage your kids to get better sleep is to restrict their use of phones, computers, and other blue-light emitting devices for two hours before bed, advises Dr. Arnold. Helping kids get better sleep can be one of the simplest home remedies for ADHD. “Use of these devices prevents the onset of melatonin, a hormone which the brain needs to go to sleep.”  

Moving more 
Exercise increases feel-good chemicals in the brain such as dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin and this can have the same effect on the brain as the stimulant methylphenidate—a drug that doctors commonly prescribe to treat ADHD, Dr. Arnold says. A review of 30 studies looking at how exercise affects ADHD functions in kids gives it the thumbs up. Exercise—especially moderate to strenuous aerobic such as running—improves cognitive, behavioral and physical symptoms of ADHD, according to findings published in Complementary Therapies in Medicine. “Approaches like yoga or tai chi that combine movement with meditative mental states may be a good option, says John Kruse, MD, PhD, a San Francisco-based neuroscientist and psychiatrist.

Spending time outdoors 
Nature can be medicine for your brain. Kids who play outdoors in areas with lots of green tend to have milder ADHD symptoms than those who play indoors or in more urban areas, finds a study in the journal Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being. “Many individuals experience a direct soothing and restorative experience being in nature, and many of my ADHD patients have reported being more alert and enhanced concentration after time spent in green spaces, ” says Dr. Kruse.

Considering melatonin 
Some doctors recommend melatonin as a supplement to prevent jet lag among weary travelers; there is some research that suggests it can help treat insomnia in children with ADHD, according to a study in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. “There may be a role in some children with ADHD, but further study is needed,” Dr. Arnold says.  

Trying caffeine and L-theanine 
It’s still early to say for sure, but research suggests that there is something about the combination of L-theanine and caffeine that may improve ADHD symptoms, says Chanaka N. Kahathuduwa, PhD, assistant professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, Texas. A small study showed improved attention and cognitive performance and decreased impulsivity among kids with ADHD who took the combo. That said, impulsivity increased when either substance was administered alone, suggesting there is something synergistic taking place. “The doses we used—2.5 mg per kilogram of body weight for L-theanine and 2 mg/kg —of caffeine are low and considered safe for children,” says Kahathuduwa. There were no side effects seen in this small trial. Exactly how this combination reduces ADHD symptoms is not clear, but researchers suspect that it activates the brain’s default mode network, which may be weakened in ADHD. The study found that the kids’ attention was sharper when they got the combination. The next step, he says, is a large-scale clinical trial. “We only have pilot data, but there is no harm in asking your doctor about caffeine and L-theanine.”

11 Things That Might Happen to Your Body if You Switch From Coffee to Tea

Both drinks have their benefits, so here’s what to expect if you want to cut back on coffee.

Your teeth might get brighter 
Coffee is notorious for staining teeth, so switching to tea could make your smile brighter, especially if you stick with white or green tea. “Your teeth won’t get stained as much, which people often don’t think about,” says Sonya Angelone, RDN, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, in San Francisco.  

You could lower your cholesterol 
Drip coffee removes compounds called cafestol and kahweol, but unfiltered coffee, like French pressed coffee or espresso, retains them. Why should you care? Those compounds may increase LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, which could up your risk for heart attack and stroke. “A lot of people drink unfiltered coffee because they don’t think of espresso as unfiltered,” says Angelone. Swap out those coffee drinks for tea, though, and your cholesterol may improve. 

You might get headaches 
Depending on how sensitive your body is to changes and how much caffeine you’re used to getting, you could feel withdrawal symptoms if you cut down during your switch from coffee to tea. “It usually happens when you have a significant change like cutting it out, but it could happen as well if you just cut down,” says Angelone. After your body gets used to the change, though, those symptoms will go away.

Your heartburn might get better 
Coffee can relax the band of muscle between your esophagus and stomach. When that space opens, stomach acid could splash back up and cause acid reflux. “You may be better off having tea, even if it has a little caffeine,” says Angelone. “There’s something in coffee, but we don’t know what it is. For some people that tend to have heartburn, coffee could make it worse—even decaf.” 

You’ll probably get better sleep 
Because coffee has more caffeine than tea does, you could find that you sleep better at night with less of the stimulant. “It might help you sleep better if you’re getting less caffeine, because caffeine can contribute to restlessness and insomnia,” says Angelone.

You could feel less on edge 
If you regularly drink more than three or four cups of coffee a day, you could be over-stimulating your body. Drinking too much coffee can make you jittery and irritable, especially if you’re sensitive to caffeine, says Angelone. Because there’s less caffeine per cup in tea, though, you’re less likely to go overboard.  

You might not lower your risk for type 2 diabetes 
A review of studies published in 2014 in Diabetes Care suggested that coffee may reduce your risk for type 2 diabetes, but scientists haven’t pinned down why. Some think it’s because coffee increases proteins that carry hormones such as testosterone and estrogen, which help reduce risk of type 2 diabetes, while others say it’s because coffee increases insulin sensitivity. “Observational studies don’t always come up with a reason. They just say we see it,” says Angelone. “But when they continue to show the same things, it’s a good sign.” Regardless, you probably won’t get that same level of prevention from tea, she says.

You could avoid muscle cramps 
Too much coffee in your system could make it hard for your body to absorb magnesium, even though coffee contains small amounts of the mineral. “If you drink a lot of coffee and don’t get enough magnesium—which most people don’t—it would look like muscle cramps and trouble sleeping, which could be from caffeine or not enough magnesium,” says Angelone. Some drugs, such as proton pump inhibitors, can decrease magnesium levels too, so pairing them with coffee could make levels go down even more. By switching to tea, though, you can avoid the effects.  

Your mood might change 
It could be from the caffeine, or it could be from the socializing people do when sipping a cup of joe, but studies, including one published in 2018 in the journal Nutrients, have shown coffee can improve mood and lower your risk for depression. Making the switch to tea could make you lose out on those benefits. “Even if it were the caffeine, it would mean you’d need twice as much tea,” says Angelone.

You could alter the beneficial effects in terms of cancer 
Studies, including one published in 2016 in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, have linked coffee consumption with a lower risk for colorectal cancer. While tea has been linked to a lower risk for colon and liver cancer, numerous studies, including one published in 2019 in the International Journal of Cancer, found that drinking hot tea can increase your risk for esophageal cancer. By hot tea we mean almost scaldingly hot, and this same risk may apply to the frequent consumption of any scalding-hot beverage.

You’ll be a little better hydrated 
Despite what you may have heard about caffeine as a diuretic, coffee helps keep you hydrated. Your body still holds about a third of the liquid in a cup of coffee, which isn’t much less than the half-cup it would hold from an 8-ounce glass of water. Still, tea’s lower caffeine content could make it a bit better for hydration, helping your whole body feel better. “You don’t tend to get dizzy. Your skin looks better when you’re better hydrated, and your whole body functions better,” says Angelone. “It basically detoxifies the blood.”  

6 Foods and Supplements That Promote Joint Health

Joint discomfort affects 15 million Americans, and studies have shown that severe joint discomfort is on the rise among those affected. We all know that getting to the root cause of an issue is more effective than simply masking the symptoms — but what will really curb the nagging discomfort in your knees, or the sharp feeling when you lift your arms? Here are some foods and supplements that help promote joint health– and help knock out the discomfort while they do it. 

1. Walnuts

Walnuts are an omega-3 fatty acid power house and provide several health benefits for your joints. Shown to reduce inflammation markers, these nuts help keep your joints comfortable, Flax seeds and canola oil also contain the same fatty acids, for those who can’t consume nuts.

“The goal is to increase intake of food sources of anti-inflammatory foods. For example, foods high in unsaturated fats like omega-3 polyunsaturated fats are key,” says Rachel Fine MS, RD, CSSD, CDN, registered dietician and owner of To The Pointe Nutrition. “Omega-3s are precursors to eicosanoids, which are powerful hormones important to the nervous system and immune system. Eicosanoids derived from omega-3 fatty acids are known to have anti-inflammatory effects.”

2. Garlic

A powerful cousin to the onion, garlic has long been considered one of those most medically beneficial foods on the planet. Packed with vitamins and minerals, garlic also contains a potent and beneficial sulfur compound called allicin, which is only present in the fresh, crushed version of the bulb. The diallyl disulfide in garlic limits the effect of inflammatory cytokines, which makes it an anti-inflammatory food to include in your meals anytime you can. 

3. Leafy greens

Spinach and kale aren’t just the foundation of a great salad — they’re joint health heroes too. Packed with antioxidants and nutrients that promote overall health, greens can help ensure you’ve got the vitamins your body needs to keep your joints healthy.

“If you are looking for the best way to support your joints — go green!” says Luisa Szakacs, Naturopathic Doctor. “Dark green leafy veggies like kale and spinach are loaded with Vitamins A, C, and K, which reduce inflammation and contribute to healthy joints. They also provide an excellent source of calcium to strengthen bones and benefit your overall health.”

4. High-quality glucosamine and chondroitin supplements

A naturally occurring substance in cartilage, glucosamine in supplement form has shown in studies to promote joint health. Typically paired with chondroitin, another naturally occurring component of cartilage, the two compounds synergistically work to promote joint comfort and help slow cartilage breakdown better than they do on their own. Keep in mind that not all glucosamine and chondroitin is of the same quality. When choosing a glucosamine and chondroitin supplement, be sure to do your research and find a brand that is high-quality and backed by research, so you know that it works.

Cosamin®, the No. 1 researched glucosamine/chondroitin brand,* works to help protect your joints the cellular level — where cartilage is maintained. Cosamin® is scientifically proven to help promote joint comfort, by helping to protect the cartilage that cushions your joints and eases movement. Known for quality and developed by a pharmacist, the researched, tested, and certified supplement gives joints a fighting chance against joint discomfort.

5. Fish

When it comes to joint health, eating fish is incredibly helpful, but all fish are not created equal. In this case, you want to include cold water, fatty fish, like salmon, sardines, and trout, in your meals. These fish are high in omega-3 fatty acids and have anti-inflammatory properties that make them excellent additions to any diet. A word of caution: many of the fish high in omega-3 fatty acids are also high in mercury. Experts say that, sardines, salmon, and trout, are among those with less mercury.

“Healthy fats such as those from fish or cod liver oil can aid in supporting the joints due to their anti-inflammatory properties,” says Melody Barrons, Nutritional Therapy Practitioner. “Our bodies have a process in which it inflames and anti-inflames through the production of prostaglandins. These prostaglandins are made specifically from the types of fats that we consume. If we eat a diet containing poor fats it increases the prostaglandins that increase inflammation. When we consume a diet of healthy natural fats our body produces the proper balance of prostaglandins.” 

6. Berries

Don’t discount these sweet treats as only good for dessert! Berries are nutrient-dense fruits that pack a healthy punch. Filled with antioxidants, berries such as blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries fight inflammation and help to maintain blood-sugar levels. Berries are also considered a good source of vitamin C, with blackberries boasting 35 percent of the recommended daily intake.

“Vitamin C is an essential vitamin used in the production of collagen in the body, says Caitlin Self, Licensed Dietician Nutritionist. “Collagen is one of the compounds that helps keep skin elastic and stretchy, and it provides the same kind of support in the joints. You can also take collagen powder to help, but ensuring you’re getting enough vitamin C has an added benefit. Not only does it help promote the production of strong collagen, it also has powerfully anti-inflammatory effects throughout the body. As a result, it can help both reduce joint inflammation and support healthy collagen production.”

The bottom line

The important take-away message for you to consider is that these healthy foods and supplements can be the start to the path of better joint comfort while you implement a healthier lifestyle that incorporates positive changes in diet and overall wellness.

“Diet plays a large role in our health impacting more areas than we thought, and more being discovered continually, joint health included,” says Lisa Richards, nutritionist and author of The Ultimate Candida Diet Program.

'My mom won't wake up!': Girl, 12, calls 911 after her mother overdoses on heroin on a Florida highway with her three children in her minivan

A 12-year-old girl was forced to call 911 after her mother overdosed on heroin in her minivan while driving on a highway with her three children. 

Tiffany Smith, 28, was eventually charged with child neglect after she was revived by paramedics on the I-4 in Volusia County, Florida last Thursday night. 

The Volusia County Sheriff's Office has since released the frantic 911 call of the distraught 12-year-old girl begging for help.  

Tiffany Smith, 28, was eventually charged with child neglect after she was revived by paramedics (above) on the I-4 in Volusia County, Florida last Thursday night when she overdosed on heroin

'My mom won't wake up and we're on I-4 in the car,' the sobbing girl told the dispatcher. 

'We're in the grass. I put it in 'N' because I don't know how to put it in 'Park'.

Her two brothers, aged seven and one, could be heard screaming for their mother in the background of the 911 call. 

The sheriff's office said Smith had lost consciousness on the side of the highway. 

She was revived after receiving a dose of Narcan from paramedics.

Officer body cam footage showed Smith in the back of an ambulance after she came round.

'I honestly took a little bit of heroin because my back was hurting,' Smith told an officer.

The officer responded: 'Heroin? Is that something you should be taking for your back?' 

'It's not but I had no painkiller and my back was hurting and I am making a five-hour trip,' Smith said. 

She told officers she was driving herself and her three children to South Carolina to visit her sister at the time. 

The family's two dogs were also in the minivan when she overdosed. 

The children were placed into their care of their grandmother while the two dogs were turned over to Volusia County Animal Control. 

Smith was admitted to AdventHealth Fish Memorial hospital in Orange City before being charged with child neglect.

'These people are lunatics': Donald Trump tells fiery Kentucky rally the Democrats are going 'totally insane' while Rand Paul challenges the media to print the whistle-blower's name in front of MAGA supporters wearing 'read the transcript' t-shirts

Donald Trump used a campaign rally Monday night - meant to rally his base for ahead Tuesday's gubernatorial election in Kentucky - to attack his Democratic political rivals and slam the impeachment inquiry into his presidency. 

'These people are lunatics,' the president said of Democrats.  

'While we are creating jobs and killing terrorists, the radical Democrats are going totally insane. They want to obliterate the rule of law, drive out faith from the public square, and you know, confiscate your guns,' he said in a speech lasting one hour and 20 minutes. 

Several supporters were lined up behind him in white t-shirts that said 'Read the transcript' - a reference to Trump's argument that if Democrats read the transcript of his July 25 call with the Ukrainian president, it would show he did nothing wrong.

Supporters wearing 'read the transcript' t-shirts appeared behind President Trump

Democrats are investigating allegations Trump with held nearly $400 million in military aid from the Ukraine in exchange for an investigation into his political enemies.

He has maintained he's done nothing wrong. 

The supporters were stationed directly behind Trump, so they would appear on camera as the rally played out on television. The group came down the stairs to take their place shortly before the rally started.

The crowd gave them a standing ovation and several of them waved their hands in the air like boxers as they took their place in the camera-ready position inside the Rupp Arena. 

Meanwhile, Kentucky’s Republican Senator Rand Paul claimed Republicans know the name of the whistle-blower - whose revelation of Trump's July 25th phone call with the Ukrainian president sparked the impeachment inquiry - and challenged the media to print the person’s name.

The senator claimed the whistle-blower worked for Joe Biden when Hunter Biden sat on the board of a Ukrainian gas company.

‘We also now know the name of the whistle-blower. The whistle-blower needs to come before Congress as a material witness because he worked for Joe Biden at the same time Hunter Biden was getting money from corrupt Ukrainians. I say tonight to the media, do your job and print his name!,’ he said as the crowd in the Rupp arena cheered.

The whistle-blower is known to be a male CIA officer who was detailed to the White House. There are reports he also advised the White House when Joe Biden was vice president.

Trump and his allies charge Biden, as vice president, quashed a Ukrainian investigation into a Ukrainian gas company Burisma, where Biden's son Hunter served on the board from 2014 until earlier this year.

Biden has denied any wrongdoing and no charges have been filed against either Biden.

Paul challenged Congress to subpoena both Hunter Biden and the whistle-blower and, if not, they should leave Capitol Hill.

‘I say this to my fellow colleagues in Congress, to every Republican in Washington, step up and subpoena Hunter Biden and subpoena the whistle-blower,’ he said. ‘And I say to my colleagues, if shifty Schiff will not let Hunter Biden come and if you will not bring the whistle-blower for word, every Republican in Congress should take a walk and say this is a farce.

Trump praised his defender.

‘Wow, that was excellent. Wow, thank you. Thank you very much. Great job. He is a warrior. He is a warrior,’ he said. 

And he attacked the Bidens repeatedly in his remarks. He referred to the former vice president by his favorite knickname for him 'Sleepy Joe.'

'Get off the stage Sleepy Joe, Sleepy Joe get off the damned stage,' he said.

But it was Biden's son Hunter that Trump attacked repeatedly, comparing the treatment of him to the treatment of his two eldest sons.  

Hunter Biden sat on the board of BHR, a Chinese equity firm, that was trying to raise a $1.5 billion financial stake - a number the president has latched on to to accuse Hunter Biden of personal financial gain.

Hunter Biden told ABC News last month that he didn't make any money from that work.

Trump has continued to attack him however. 

'The Bidens caught rich while America was robbed,' Trump said. 

And then he brought up his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, who run the Trump Organization. 

'Could you imagine if I did what he did? Could you imagine if Don Jr. or Eric Trump walked out of China while I was, let's say, vice president or president. Let's say they walked out of China with $1.5 billion. Do you think the press would say, it is unsubstantiated? No, let me just tell you something, these people, not all of them but these people are very dishonest people, okay? Very, very dishonest people,' he said as the crowd booed.

The president also slammed last week's vote in the House that approved a resolution outlining the impeachment process going forward.

'With last week's vote, the far left has declared war on American democracy itself,' he said of the vote that passed largely on party lines. 'In the face of these attacks, Republicans are the most unified that I have ever seen. And I've been watching them. I've been a big part of them for a long time.'

He added: 'And the Democrats have never witnessed anything like it. And they know they will not win in 2020. So let's see what we can do to win, but that's not working too well. You will see. The American people are fed up with Democrat lies, hoaxes, slander, the Democrats outrageous conduct has created an angry majority that will vote the do-nothing Democrats the hill out of office soon.'

He charged his political rivals with trying to rip the country apart.

'The Democrats are trying to tear our country apart. First, Democrats engineer the Russian hoax,' he charged.

Then he added in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. 'Then they did the Mueller scam, you remember that,' he added.

He went on to add: 'I don't know Tulsi Gabbard, but Hillary Clinton said Tulsi Gabbard is a Russian agent. I don't know Jill Stein. ... But Jill Stein was an agent of Russia also. These people are crazy.'

Hillary Clinton, in an interview, claimed Russians were grooming a Democrat to play a third-party spoiler role in the 2020 election and implied it was Gabbard, which Gabbard has denied. Clinton charged Stein played a similar role in the 2016 election. 

But it was Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Adam Schiff, who is leading the impeachment inquiry, who got the biggest boos from the crowd. 

'Now, corrupt politician Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff, they are corrupt,' President Trump said one of several attacks on the Democrats leading the investigation into him.

'Nancy ought to stop wasting time, go back to her district in San Francisco, help the homeless, get rid of the drugs, get rid of the needles that are lying all over the streets, and the things that are washing into the oceans through the storm sewer systems,' he added. 

The crowd ate up his words - cheering him on loudly.   

‘Even on a Monday night is there anything cooler than being at a Trump rally,' he asked them. 

Twice protesters were removed from the crowd as supporters booed them out. 

‘Get ‘em out. Be gentle. Every time I say get them out I get sued. So be very gentle. I don’t want to get sued. He’s going home to mom,' Trump said of one as he ordered security to remove them. 

Trump is in Kentucky to campaign for Republican Gov. Matt Bevin's re-election - one of three Republicans the president is trying to see put in the governor's mansion, along with candidates in Mississippi and Louisiana.

He entered to his usual song of 'Proud to be An American' - this time sung live by singer Lee Greenwood. The crowd was reeved up, shouting 'USA' and jumping up an down as Trump took the stage.  

Before the rally began, Bevin and several Kentucky lawmakers entered the Rupp Arena to a rousing round of applause and cheers. Bevin was joined by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senator Rand Paul and other Kentucky Republicans. White House counselor Kellyanne Conway also sat with them. The group posed for selfies and signed signs for spectators. 

Trump praised McConnell for all the judges he's confirmed to the bench.

And McConnell got a lot of cheers when Trump mentioned his name.

With McConnell’s help ‘we got 167 judges to follow the constitution as needed,’ Trump said.

'My motto is leave no vacancy behind,' McConnell said to laughs when Trump brought him on stage.  The two men shared an awkward hug.

Trump returned McConnell's support by slamming Amy McGrath, the Democrat running against McConnell in next year's Senate election.

The president campaigned against McGrath last year when she challenged Republican Rep. Andy Barr in a close contest where Barr prevailed. 

'She said to herself, you know I failed in Congress now let's go for the Senate,' he aid of McGrath.

'She wasn't too happy with me last year. We came in and we did a job on her. And this is going to be easy,' Trump bragged of 2020. 

Trump is on a rally the base tour ahead of several critical gubernatorial elections. 

'Tomorrow the people of Kentucky will head to the polls and you will vote to re-elect your terrific Republican Governor Matt Bevin. You will send a signal to the rest of the country and the world when you do that,' he told the cheering the crowd. 

He joked that Kentucky should support Bevin even if he was a pain in the a**.

'He's such a pain in the a**, but that's what you want!,' Trump told the crowd.

The president was in Mississippi on Friday and will be in Louisiana on Wednesday as part of his 2019 election push. 

Republicans in Kentucky hope Trump's presence here can boost Bevin in Tuesday's election, where he faces Democrat Andy Beshear, who is the state's attorney general and the son of a former governor. 

Trump won Kentucky by 30 points in 2016. 

Vice President Mike Pence campaigned with Bevin on Friday. 

Polls show the race is in a dead heat with Bevin in a tougher than expected re-election contest in the heavy red state.

But he's proven unpopular in his policies. Republicans have rallied to his side. 

'Tomorrow, Kentucky has a chance to send the radical Democrats a message,' Trump told the crowd. 'You will vote to reject the Democrats extremism, socialism, and corruption. And you will vote to reelect Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin, who has done a great job.'

The president talked up Bevin's accomplishments and invited him on stage.   

'Matt is a veteran,' Trump said. 'He's a patriot. He's done it all. He's been a very, very successful business leader. He put his whole life at stake to help his state in the job. He has done is incredible under his leadership. Kentucky has created over 57,000 new jobs. But I helped. We work together. Now, it is difficult, have to say, you know, but it's okay, here, look. He is such a pain when he needs something for Kentucky like money, like aid, like he wants me to call one of the many manufacturers now that were coming into Kentucky. Could you call the head of some company in Japan, please? Matt, do I have to do it? Please, please. But isn't that what you want in a governor?,' Trump said. 

The president also attacked Bevin's Democratic rival, Andy Beshear.

'Beshear supported crooked Hillary Clinton, and he is funded by the pro-abortion lobby and open border fanatics. Open borders, let everybody pour right in. Let them all pour right in. Beshear wants to bring sanctuary cities to Kentucky. Think of that one,' he said. 

Kentucky, Mississippi, Louisiana and Virginia are hold the first elections since Democrats launched their impeachment inquiry into President Trump.

The results will be watched for as a test of Trump's political power heading into his 2020 re-election campaign. 

Trump carried all but Virginia - which he lost to Hillary Clinton by 5 points - in 2016.  

Bevin is one of the more unpopular governors in the country but he has closely aligned himself to Trump.

In Virginia, Democrats are fighting to win control of the state Senate and House of Delegates, which are narrowly held by Republicans. Former Vice President Joe Biden was in the state over the weekend to rally the party faithful. 

Mississippi is looking to replace its outgoing Republican governor. GOP Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves is the favorite to win but he's being challenged by state Attorney General Jim Hood, a popular Democrat. 

Republicans are trying to win back Louisiana's gubernatorial mansion from the Deep South's only Democratic governor, John Bel Edwards, in a Nov. 16 run-off election.

Trump was in Mississippi on Friday for his first campaign rally since the House voted last week on a resolution outlining the impeachment process going forward.

'Yesterday's vote by the radical Democrats is an attack on democracy itself,' he said of the resolution, which passed largely on party lines. 

He and other Republicans have argued Democrats are trying to overturn the results of the 2016 election with their impeachment inquiry.

'The Democrats voted to potentially nullify the votes of 63 million Americans, disgracing themselves and bringing shame upon the House of Representatives,' Trump said. 'Make no mistake they are coming after the Republican Party and me because I'm fighting for you.'  

The impeachment inquiry began when a whistleblower flagged Trump's July 25 call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky where he asked the Ukraine to look into allegations that Joe Biden, as vice president, quashed a Ukrainian investigation into Burisma, where Biden's son Hunter served on the board from 2014 until earlier this year, and used the threat of withholding U.S. foreign aid. 

Biden has denied any wrongdoing and no charges have been filed against either Biden.

Trump also has denied any wrong doing and said his call with Zelensky was 'perfect.' 

Everything we know about the universe may be WRONG after new evidence suggests it is curved and not flat as previously believed

For years scientists have believed our universe was as flat as a piece of paper, but new evidence has suggested it is curved like a giant inflated balloon.

A recent study analyzed data from the cosmic microwave background, the faint echo of the Big Bang, and discovered gravity seems to bend the microwaves.

These findings point towards a closed universe – the idea that if you travel far enough into space, you will loop back around to where you started.

A recent study analyzed data from the cosmic microwave background, the faint echo of the Big Bang, and discovered gravity seems to bend the microwaves. These findings point towards a closed universe – if you travel far enough into space, you will loop back to where you started

In the paper, published in Nature Astronomy, researchers noted the 2018 Plant Legacy release that confirmed the presence of 'gravitational lensing' in cosmic microwave background (CMB), which suggests its microwaves bend.

The CMB is the oldest thing found in the universe and it is made up of ambient microware light.

'A closed Universe can provide a physical explanation for this effect, with the Planck cosmic microwave background spectra now preferring a positive curvature at more than the 99% confidence level,' reads the study.

These findings contradict years of 'conventional wisdom and other studies based on the same CMB data set', Live Science reported.

And the theory of a flat universe may actually be 'mask[ing] a cosmological crisis where disparate observed properties of the Universe appear to be mutually inconsistent', the authors write.

Sapienza University of Rome cosmologist Alessandro Melchiorri, who is involved in the recent study, explained to Live Science that the closed-universe model would raise a range of problems for the field of physics.

'I don't want to say that I believe in a closed universe,' he told Live Science.

'I'm a little bit more neutral. I'd say, let's wait on the data and what the new data will say.

'What I believe is that there's a discrepancy now, that we have to be careful and try to find what is producing this discrepancy.'

Although the 2018 Plant Legacy release is confirming the closed universe with 99.8 percent accuracy, the researchers still noted that 'future measurements are needed to clarify whether the observed discordances are due to undetected systematics, or to new physics or simply are a statistical fluctuation'.

These findings come just a month after new calculations had suggested that the universe could be a couple billion years younger than scientists now estimate, and even younger than suggested by two other calculations published this year that trimmed hundreds of millions of years from the age of the cosmos.

In the paper, published in Nature Astronomy, researchers noted the 2018 Plant Legacy release that confirmed the presence of 'gravitational lensing' in cosmic microwave background (CMB), which suggests its microwaves bend

The huge swings in scientists' estimates - even this new calculation could be off by billions of years - reflect different approaches to the tricky problem of figuring the universe's real age.

The generally accepted age of the universe is 13.7 billion years, based on a Hubble Constant of 70.

However, Inh Jee, of the Max Plank Institute in Germany, lead author of the study in Thursday's journal Science, and his team came up with a Hubble Constant of 82.4, which would put the age of the universe at around 11.4 billion years.

Jee used a concept called gravitational lensing - where gravity warps light and makes far away objects look closer.

Arnold Schwarzenegger goes cycling with his 'friend and hero' Greta Thunberg: Terminator goes on a ride around Santa Monica with the teen climate change crusader after he lent her his Tesla

Greta Thunberg can certainly count Arnold Schwarzenegger among her growing list of celebrity fans after the pair went biking together and the actor lent the teenage activist his electric car.  

The action star and former California Governor posted pictures of their meeting to his Instagram page, showing the pair on a bike ride around Santa Monica and meeting his daughter Christina. 

He wrote: 'It was fantastic to see my friend and one of my heroes @gretathunberg last week and go on a bike ride around Santa Monica together and I was so pumped to introduce her to my daughter Christina. Keep inspiring, Greta!'

Their day out comes after the 16-year-old also met with Leonardo DiCaprio. 

In May Greta opened the 2019 Austrian World Summit of non-profit environmental organisation R20 Regions of Climate Action, set up by vegan Arnie in 2011.

Backed by the United Nations, R20 is a coalition of governments, international organisations and private companies that implement green infrastructure in cities.  

Arnold Schwarzenegger went on a bike ride around Santa Monica with teen Greta Thunberg

Oscar winning actor Leo - who has been widely criticized for his use of private jets despite his interest in environmental causes - said it was an 'honor' to speak with the climate activist, posting an image of the two of them together on Friday.

In an Instagram post the actor said he hopes Greta's message is 'a wake up call to world leaders', adding that the schoolgirl makes him 'optimistic about what the future holds'.  

Thunberg had made it half-way from Sweden to Chile by boat, train and electric car when next month's UN climate summit was unexpectedly scrapped and moved to Spain. 

'As #COP25 has officially been moved from Santiago to Madrid I'll need some help,' Thunberg tweeted from Los Angeles. 'It turns out I've traveled half around the world, the wrong way:)'

'Now I need to find a way to cross the Atlantic in November... If anyone could help me find transport I would be so grateful,' said the teen, who refuses to fly because of the carbon emissions involved.

Thunberg's highly publicized journey has so far involved crossing on a zero-emission sailboat from the coast of England to New York, traveling overland through North America by train and in a Tesla  borrowed from Schwarzenegger. 

She was one of around 25,000 delegates expected in Santiago for the United Nations climate summit, until Chile pulled out as host this week due to deadly anti-government protests.

The United Nations announced Friday that COP 25 will finally take place in Madrid, on the original scheduled dates of December 2-13.

The Swedish teen activist Thunberg rose to prominence last year after she started spending her Fridays outside Sweden's parliament, holding a sign reading 'School strike for climate.'

Students across the world began emulating her campaign, leading to organized school walkouts and the rise of the 'Fridays for Future' movement which targets government action on climate change.

She recently met with Ellen DeGeneres, telling the TV host it would be 'a waste of time' meeting with Donald Trump.

Ellen described Greta as 'real and raw' during filming for her show in California last Friday.