Linkee-poo you got to let me know, should I stay or should I go

"A series of explosions early Friday tore through a Philadelphia gasoline refinery, the East Coast’s largest, sending shock waves for miles and raining debris on nearby neighborhoods, just as the busy summer driving season was beginning." Three-dollars-a-gallon gas later…

"'People were more likely to return a wallet when it contained a higher amount of money,' Cohn says. 'At first we almost couldn't believe it and told him to triple the amount of money in the wallet. But yet again we found the same puzzling finding.'"

"Vaping may or may not be healthier than smoking conventional cigarettes, but a recent incident involving a teenage boy, in which an exploding e-cigarette blew out several of his teeth and cracked open his jaw, is a serious cause for concern." But they're totally safe. I mean, it wasn't like he got cancer or something.

"A Russian scientist says he wants to create more genetically modified babies, flouting international objections that such a step would be premature, unethical and irresponsible… Rebrikov wants to create babies from embryos whose DNA he would edit to protect the resulting children from HIV. Rebrikov would edit a gene called CCR5 to replicate a naturally occurring variation that protects people from HIV." That's exactly what the Chinese doctor did. What was it about "no" you didn't understand?

"As NASA talks up its Artemis Program to return humans to the Moon by the year 2024, a new report from the US Government Accountability Office raises questions about the space agency's ability to build the spacecraft and rockets intended to carry out that mission." Rhut rho.

"Car makers are launching a last-second drive to challenge a proposal by California Gov. Gavin Newsom that would close a set of business tax benefits that collectively would raise about $1.4 billion a year for the state… Newsom’s plan would eliminate the car makers’ tax break by bringing California’s tax code into partial conformity with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the 2017 federal tax overhaul that President Donald Trump signed."

"The parent company of Kraftmaid Cabinetry in Middlefield and Orwell announced this week that the company is being sold." Of local interest as this could seriously disrupt the tax base of my town.

"The nation's top coal mine safety regulator told members of Congress on Thursday that existing safety regulations are sufficient to protect miners from toxic dust, despite calls for change amid an epidemic of advanced black lung disease among coal miners in Appalachia." Who needs regulation anyway? I mean, are you going to believe the guy who says everything is okay or the hundreds of miners dying from black lung?

"A Jesuit high school in Indiana can no longer call itself 'Catholic' because it employs a teacher engaged in a same-sex marriage, the Archbishop of Indianapolis says… Archbishop Charles Thompson's decree, dated June 21, means that Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis will no longer be recognized or identified as a Catholic institution within the archdiocese."

"The war crimes trial of Navy SEAL Chief Edward Gallagher took a dramatic turn Thursday when a lead prosecution witness — another SEAL who has been granted immunity to testify — confessed that he was the actual killer of a 17-year-old ISIS prisoner." I think the knife in the kids neck had something to do with it. I can't wait for the next turn of events as the medic realizes that such an admission precludes any licensure in the civilian medical field. "The prosecution accused Scott of being untruthful and said he fabricated the new version of events because he is a friend of Gallagher's. When asked about his opinion of his former superior, Scott responded saying he likes him 'and that he didn't want him to go away for the rest of his life…'". But it's not the only war crime Gallagher has been charged with. And I think the selfie Gallagher took shows all the intent needed here.

"A legal team that recently interviewed over 60 children at a Border Patrol station in Texas says a traumatic and dangerous situation is unfolding for some 250 infants, children and teens locked up for up to 27 days without adequate food, water and sanitation." In case you haven't seen it, there's an argument online about whether we should call these places concentration camps or something else. They're concentration camps. The fit every definition of that.

"Oregon Gov. Kate Brown deployed the state police Thursday to try to round up Republican lawmakers who fled the Capitol in an attempt to block a vote on a landmark climate plan that would be the second of its kind in the nation."

"Iran’s Revolutionary Guard shot down a U.S. surveillance drone Thursday in the Strait of Hormuz, marking the first time the Islamic Republic directly attacked the American military amid tensions over Tehran’s unraveling nuclear deal with world powers." More information on the where, when, and how. Just in general, most first reports are wrong. It generally takes a week or so to get the whole story.

"The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday evening issued an emergency order that bars U.S. aircraft from an overwater area of Iranian airspace amid increased U.S./Iran tensions, according to Reuters."

"President Trump confirmed that he approved a strike on Iran on Thursday after it shot down a U.S. drone but called off the operation after the initial moves were underway. Trump said he canceled the attack after being told 150 Iranians would likely be killed." When the military presents options for the president, they already have the projected casualties figures. They include them in their briefing (normally, again for this president our intelligence agencies have practically created comic books for his briefing). My guess is either the Joint Chiefs finally got through the noise in his head after the meeting, or it actually was Putin's announcement. Look, when you decide to pull the gun out, you have to have already made the choice to fire it. This is just bully tactics, taking a stomping step toward someone with your fists raised trying to intimidate them. States don't act like schoolyard bullies.

"But throughout her marathon testimony, Hicks did not answer many questions related to her time in the Trump administration. Two White House lawyers were present during the testimony and often interjected with a quick 'objection' to lawmakers' questions… In total, 155 questions went unanswered." Again, immunity from testifying is not a real thing. The president must invoke executive privilege, but he knows that's a dangerous path that could be overruled. And having a lawyer say, "objection" is something that only happens before a judge.

"Vice President Mike Pence will attend a kickoff event next Tuesday in Miami for 'Latinos for Trump,' a campaign effort to engage Latino voters ahead of the 2020 election." The president send the most white person in his administration to get Latino support.

"Trump sat for his first Spanish-language television interview with Telemundo, during which anchor José Díaz-Balart noted that there are some Latino voters who 'fear' the president's rhetoric on immigration and his threat to deport 'millions of people.'… 'They want me to do it. They’re here illegally,' Trump said… 'Mr. President, they do not,' Díaz-Balart responded… 'They do,' Trump reiterated."