"One of the most important archaeological sites for our understanding of Neanderthals is still disgorging its secrets. A new skeleton has been found in Shanidar Cave in Iraqi Kurdistan, and it's helping reveal how the Neanderthals dealt with their dead."
"More than 1,300 people, almost all in China, have now died from COVID-19 — the newly minted name for the coronavirus disease first identified in Wuhan, China, that has infected more than 55,000 people… Yet according to the World Health Organization, the disease is relatively mild in about 80% of cases, based on preliminary data from China."
"The microbiome of our ancestors might have been more important for human evolution than previously thought, according to a new study published in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. An adaptive gut microbiome could have been critical for human dispersal, allowing our ancestors to survive in new geographic areas."
"Winters are warming faster than other seasons across much of the United States. While that may sound like a welcome change for those bundled in scarves and hats, it's causing a cascade of unpredictable impacts in communities across the country." Welcome to an expanded tick season. Last year in Ohio Lyme disease was a major problem. Also, lower crop yields from disease loss and available water when we don't need it, and not there when we need it. We're boned.
"SpaceX is planning to send up to four private citizens into space to take a trip around Earth sometime at the end of 2021 or in early 2022. The spaceflight company announced an agreement on Tuesday with Space Adventures, a space tourism business that has helped seven different private citizens take trips to (and from) the International Space Station aboard Russia’s Soyuz rocket and spacecraft." Starts counting my pennies. Can't wait to see what the wavier documents read like.
"'We have Ring cameras in our community,' says Police Chief Michael Deal in the voiceover. 'And we understand the value of those cameras in helping us solve crimes.'… But the Winter Park Police Department hasn’t made a single arrest facilitated by footage obtained from Ring cameras since it partnered with the company in April 2018, according to a department spokesman, Lt. Edwin Santos." We have met Big Brother and they are us.
"Ring, Amazon's video doorbell system, has introduced additional steps to the way users log in to their accounts… Users will need to enter a password and unique six-digit code when they first log in to view their security footage or access the Neighbors app… On Tuesday, Ring also said it would pause its data-sharing with third-party firms." The internet of things kinda sucks because there is no built in security.
"A Twitter user who describes himself as a police sergeant in Kingston, Ont., tweeted another photo with the same complaint the next day: 'Did anyone consult with police before designing and manufacturing the new Ontario licence plates? They're virtually unreadable at night.'" Oopsie.
"Two married off-duty police officers have been praised for thwarting an armed robbery during a date at a fast food restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky." Whispers, "they're married to each other."
Fátima. "Mexican police are searching for a woman who was seen on surveillance camera with a seven-year-old girl outside her school on the day she disappeared." Yet here in the US a gunman massacres a class at an elementary school, our president cries, and an entire political establishment shrugs its shoulders and says it can't do anything.
"Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to launch an operation in Syria's Idlib region by the end of the month if Damascus fails to withdraw behind Turkish military positions." It's the escalation dance.
"Let's start with the Trump administration's official estimate of the nationwide impact. The USDA says that as a result of tightening SNAP standards, 40,000 children will lose access to free and low-cost school meals. Hundreds of thousands more will lose free meals but still qualify to eat at a reduced cost. Sullivan says her two high schoolers likely fall into this group… 'That's $252,' she said, 'an annual expense my already overwhelmed budget cannot absorb.'… Advocates are worried about one more big problem: When those 3 million people lose access to SNAP, the children among them will also lose their automatic access to free school meals. Instead, they will have to apply." Cruelty is the program. And yes, making applying for these programs harder is cruel. It will drive people off the programs that help them.
"Nationwide, the homeless population is rising. In many communities, it can feel like an intractable problem. Yet cities like Spokane are starting to show some incremental progress with some prevention programs. Homeless prevention leaders like Garcia say it's important to highlight these — otherwise, the general public, bombarded by so many stories about how bad the crisis is, might start thinking there are no solutions." Funny how criminalizing being homeless and busing them to other cities didn't actually solve the problem, but giving people help navigating the system and providing a safety net actually helps people.
"The Lake County Board of Elections on Friday shot down a complaint the Ohio Republican Party filed the previous day with Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, issuing a statement that said Democratic congressional candidate Hillary O’Connor Mueri did not cast an absentee ballot in Ohio’s 2008 Democratic presidential primary… The GOP does not seem willing to drop the complaint, despite the elections board’s findings. Ohio Republican Party Executive Director Rob Secaur, who filed Thursday’s complaint, issued this statement in response to the statement from Lake County: 'As my complaint states "No person shall vote or attempt to vote more than once at the same election by any means." We look forward to the results of the Attorney General’s investigation into this matter.'" Note the Plain Dealer had previously published the original complaint by the GOP without actually investigating the claim. The GOP playbook exposed in Ohio. They played the PD, and now they will make as much hay as they can with the false story they were able to get published. David Joyce is my congressman, and he's an ignorant asshole. It's time for him and his politics to go. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)
"U.S. Attorney General William Barr is considering resigning over President Donald Trump’s tweets about Justice Department investigations, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters, while the department said he was not leaving." It's all a feint to get the president to stop tweeting in the open. Not that he's going to change how much of a toady he is.
"Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich walked out of federal prison late Tuesday evening and flew back to Chicago after President Donald Trump commuted his sentence." And he's unrepentant because assholes like him never believe it's their own damn fault. He's just hoping you've forgotten what a dick Blagojevich is.
"The federal judge in the Roger Stone case said Tuesday she willl sentence the Republican operative for multiple crimes as scheduled Thursday — but will delay imposing the terms of punishment on the longtime friend of President Donald Trump pending resolution of his request for a new trial." And so begins the long appeal process.
"But Cabrera, a short and stocky Mexican citizen, was charged Tuesday with being an “unregistered foreign agent” for Russia. He is accused of spying on at least one U.S. informant in South Florida, though court filings provided only sketchy details of the allegations." Goddamn foreigners stealing our jobs.
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