"Rescuers working at a cave site in northern Thailand have brought four more boys out of the flooded cave system Monday, according to a witness working with the rescue team, leaving four boys and their coach still inside." That's good, because more rain is coming.
"There's new evidence to support a decades-old strategy for preventing the tick bites that lead to all sorts of nasty diseases, including Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever… The remedy involves spraying your clothing with permethrin — a pesticide that's chemically similar to extracts of the flowering chrysanthemum plant."
Why do we need any food inspectors? "Two hundred twelve people have been infected with an intestinal parasite in four upper Midwest states after reportedly eating pre-packed vegetable trays under the Del Monte Fresh Produce brand, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The trays were purchased at various retailers including Kwik Trip or Kwik Star convenience stores."
"The administration said it was withholding $10.4 billion in the so-called 'risk adjustment' payments (for Obamacare coverage), citing a district court ruling from earlier this year in New Mexico. While the administration says it is required to stop payments because of the court decision, insurers say the move could result in higher premiums for millions of individuals and small businesses."
"British police say a woman in England has died after being exposed to Novichok, the nerve agent that also poisoned a former Russian spy and his daughter there in March." Nerve agents typically don't last long in the environment (you really don't want to poison your own troops as they advance). So it's unlikely that their exposure was from the original attack. This could be someone attempted to dispose of evidence/their excess stock and these people blundered into it's effect area. It could be an attempt to sew confusion (random victim to throw suspicion off of the Russians). Or there was another attack planned and they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. This won't end well in any case.
Oh, and how goes Brexit these day? "The government of British Prime Minister Theresa May has been plunged into turmoil with the resignation of two senior Cabinet ministers in a deep split over her Brexit strategy… The Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, quit on Monday, hours after the resignation late on Sunday night of the minister in charge of Brexit negotiations, David Davis." Still a dumpster fire I see. (Grokked in a roundabout way from Xeni Jardin)
"'The debate, if it continues, will continue without my involvement,' the woman who accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of groping her years ago said in a statement on Friday." Yep, not even Justin Trudeau is going to make it out of this cleanly. Which isn't a bad thing.
"On Friday, dumped out with the least desirable news of the week came word that a lawsuit arguing that Detroit students were being denied an education had been dismissed." Um, no. One of the basic functions of the US Government is the education of the youth. (Grokked from Mary Robinette Kowal)
"But the election of Donald Trump prompted a major backlash because of fears he’d downplay scientific conclusions in his policies. And his picks to lead the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior have been especially troubling to scientists. Those fears have inspired hundreds of scientists nationwide to run in the midterm elections." Women and scientists, and scientists who are women. One, I think it's great more people are getting involved (on all sides). Two, while any help is good, IMHO it should be the parties who are developing the talent, giving practical advice, and supporting local candidates. And while most of these stories focus on the candidates, there are plenty of opportunities for people who want to be involved, want to help their communities, that don't involve elections. Only some of those mean working for candidates. Most of your local governments have many boards and committees whose members are appointed to serve. And their work is also damn important. Politicians need help for both office support and policy support, those are hired positions (if the politician has a budget to do hiring).
"(Janelle) Bynum, who is the only black representative in the Oregon state House, was canvassing in her district ahead of Independence Day, as NPR's Tanya Ballard Brown reported. The lawmaker said she was typing notes in a driveway when a deputy from the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office approached her." Politicking while black. Fortunately the sheriff has a brain. While it's sad that someone called the police on her, the officer handled it well.
"A resolution to encourage breast-feeding was expected to be approved quickly and easily by the hundreds of government delegates who gathered this spring in Geneva for the United Nations-affiliated World Health Assembly… Then the United States delegation, embracing the interests of infant formula manufacturers, upended the deliberations." Heinous fuckery.
How go the Trade Wars? "The American Soybean Association (ASA) said in a statement that soybean farmers 'rely heavily' on exports to China, and said that they lobbied Trump to reconsider the tariffs." It's all fun and games until it's your pocketbook. (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"Tosh, a third-generation farmer who almost always votes Republican, said he’s voting this fall for Blackburn’s Democratic opponent, former Gov. Phil Bredesen, in part because Trump’s trade wars are hurting his family business — a sizable one with some 400 employees and 30,000 pigs. The cost of steel needed for new barns is up, Tosh said, and the expanding pork market stands to suffer under new tariffs." (Grokked from Laura J. Mixon)
"Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was followed to his car Saturday by protesters who hurled both personal insults and political rhetoric at him while he left a Kentucky restaurant." To my fellow resisters, be on point, be critical, don't threaten them personally (unless they're actual Nazis).
"President Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani said Sunday that the president's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, 'should cooperate' with prosecutors, and that if he tells the truth, Trump has nothing to worry about." This is the old "sound confident to sway public opinion" tactic. Considering that Mr. Giuliani sounds a little more sober in these interviews (I've only read the article, I didn't see his performance) as compared to 1 month ago, I really don't believe his protestations. I think he's realized he has his own legal jeopardy here. Also, note how the language has changed and now we're at "'It's our, it's our firm belief, and we think nothing contradicts this, that the president did nothing wrong,' Giuliani said." We're a few weeks away from it being a "it's not my fault" story.
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