"A new U.S. spy satellite launched into space Monday afternoon (April 26) on the mightiest rocket built by the United Launch Alliance (ULA): the massive Delta IV Heavy… The behemoth blasted off at 4:47 p.m. EST (2047 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, carrying the classified NROL-82 satellite into orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)."
"Ingenuity took off early Sunday morning (April 25) on its third and most ambitious Martian mission yet. The 4-lb. (1.8 kilograms) chopper traveled a total of 330 feet (100 meters) laterally, stayed aloft for 80 seconds and reached a maximum speed of about 4.5 mph (7.2 kph), smashing the marks set on its previous two flights." What I haven't heard yet is if Ingenuity has been given extended life missions yet. It has to stay close to Perseverance, but it could do a lot even with that limitation. The main downfall would be mission bandwidth to and from the pair.
Because not everything on Reddit is bad… "Some have called it Josh Fight or the Josh Battle Royale. Others will remember it simply as Josh vs. Josh vs. Josh… No matter the title, hundreds of people who share the first name Josh gathered Saturday in Lincoln, Neb., to vie for the 'right' to their name. Armed with pool noodles, Joshes from across the country met at Air Park, where they brawled as onlookers with other names cheered from the sidelines."
"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Monday it is preparing to restore California's right to set its own vehicle emissions standards, in a widely anticipated reversal of Trump-era policies… The decision, which will take several months to be finalized, reaffirms the Golden State's powerful position as an environmental regulator after the Trump administration had in 2019 sought to remove California's powers to set its own emissions standards."
"The Biden administration says new federal guidelines released Tuesday will allow far more medical practitioners to prescribe buprenorphine, a drug proven to reduce opioid relapses and overdose deaths… The change lowers regulatory hurdles that critics believe sharply limit use of the life-saving medication at a time when drug deaths are surging."
"The effort, described to CNN during in-depth interviews with three of the administration's top Covid advisers and two other White House officials, has allowed the US to go from having one of the worst Covid responses in the world to being a global leader in getting shots in arms. The interviews reveal how the Biden team inherited a pandemic at its zenith with a high demand for vaccines and little supply, along with no long-term plan to vaccinate millions of Americans. The President, at times impatient, pressed his advisers harder on ways to improve the federal government's response to the virus." It's amazing was a competent government can do.
"The United States will release 60 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from drugmaker AstraZeneca to other countries over the next several months, the White House announced Monday." That's a start.
"India put oxygen tankers on special express trains as major hospitals in New Delhi begged on social media on Friday for more supplies to save COVID-19 patients who are struggling to breathe. More than a dozen people died when an oxygen-fed fire ripped through a coronavirus ward in a populous western state."
"The Brazilian health regulator Anvisa on Monday rejected importing the Russian-made Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine requested by state governors battling a deadly second wave of the virus that is battering Latin America's largest nation."
"'Our findings suggest that astrocytes are a pathway through which COVID-19 causes neurological damage,' said Ricardo Costa, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Shreveport and the study’s first author. 'This could explain many of the neurologic symptoms we see in COVID-19 patients, which include loss of sense of smell and taste, disorientation, psychosis, and stroke.'"
What harm could a little disinformation do? "A private school in Miami is warning its staff against getting COVID-19 vaccines and says it's their policy not to employ anyone who has been vaccinated… A letter stating the new guidance was sent to parents of students at the Centner Academy. In the letter, the school discourages teachers and staff from getting COVID-19 vaccines or asks them to wait until the end of the school year… The letter even states that legal action will be taken if staff lie." Seriously, this is third world disinformation campaign shit. People who fall for these obvious lies shouldn't be in education.
A comic on psychic numbing. It can be easy to get lost when the numbers get large, or you see the same tragedy day after day.
"Attorneys representing the family of Andrew Brown Jr. said Monday that North Carolina sheriff's deputies shot the 42-year-old Black man in the back of the head as they were serving a warrant last week. Brown's son, who was allowed to view what the family's attorneys said was 20 seconds of police body camera video, called the shooting in Elizabeth City an execution." And one would think that since this is obviously a redacted video, that they would only show the footage that put the police in the best light.
"This time, the researchers found some surprisingly good news: many millennials made dramatic progress after 2016. 'What we found was pretty substantial: they had made wealth gains of over 80% in just a three year period,' Kent says. By 2019, the typical millennial household had increased its net worth to about $51,000. Millennials are still significantly behind in amassing wealth — about 11 percent, or about $6,400, behind previous generations — but they're way better off than they were just three years before." I appreciate that it's been hard for Millennials, but I'm almost out of patience with this crap. Gen-X had it just as hard, we faced similar setbacks (increased college debt, low opportunities, wages that didn't rise and barely kept up with inflation - hint on the last one, you need to find new jobs to increase your pay, hardly anyone works for the same employer their entire work life anymore). Millennials have it at least a little better because they are actually being recognized as having a rough time. Gen-Xers were told to suck it up and quit being slackers. We were told our problem was we expected everything to be handed to us, that it was our own fault and not the structural issues and boomers not wanting to realize they were getting old. Is it tough? Yes, it fucking is. But Millennials are not the first generation to come through this and I've had about enough of the public and media perception that they are.
"Home price gains continue to outpace expectations, as tight supply and strong demand lead to bidding wars… Nationally, prices in February rose 12% year over year, up from 11.2% in January, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index." Hello new bubble.
"President Biden will require federal contractors to pay their employees a minimum wage of $15 an hour starting March 30, 2022, senior administration officials say — a hike that will benefit a few hundred thousand people and underscore the broader Democratic push to raise the federal pay floor to the same level."
"An NYPD officer, a 43-year-old husband and father of two, was killed early Tuesday when he was struck by a passing vehicle while diverting traffic from a previous fatal crash on the Long Island Expressway in Queens, and an alleged drunk driver is in custody." I wonder if Blue Lives Matter will now join MADD in the crusade to end driving while under the influence? Yeah, I don't really expect that either.
"In a major foray into gun rights, the Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review a case testing how far states may go in regulating whether an individual may carry a gun outside the home."
"Abbott was retweeted by fellow Republican Gov. Brad Little, who said, “Idahoans also have beef with this agenda and for dinner!” The two governors followed in a line of conservative politicians, pundits and news outlets who spent days proudly stating their opposition to a provision of Biden’s climate plan that doesn’t exist." Because they've learned it doesn't matter if it's true or supportable, it only matters if they can make their base upset.
"On a recent episode of his livestreamed show, the 22-year-old extremist Nick Fuentes repeated a formula that has won him a following with some of the youngest members of the far right. He went on an extended, violent and misogynistic rant, only to turn to the camera and add with a smirk, 'Just joking!'" Hint, they're not.
"The Florida state Senate on Monday approved tighter vote-by-mail regulations in a bill that in recent days was made less stringent after neighboring Georgia's new voting restrictions elicited widespread condemnation… A stronger version of the Florida legislation is still under consideration in the state's House of Representatives. The two chambers must approve an identical measure for it to reach Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' desk for signature. Florida's legislative session is scheduled to end Friday."
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