Linkee-poo Wednesday May 5

"An Antarctic glacier larger than the UK is at risk of breaking up after scientists discovered more warm water flowing underneath it than previously thought… The fate of Thwaites – nicknamed the doomsday glacier – and the massive west Antarctic ice sheet it supports are the biggest unknown factors in future global sea level rise." Insert dramatic music here.

"A rare glimpse of a star before it exploded in a fiery supernova looks nothing like astronomers expected, a new study suggests… Images from the Hubble Space Telescope reveal that a relatively cool, puffy star ended its life in a hydrogen-free supernova. Until now, supernovas without hydrogen were thought to originate only from extremely hot, compact stars."

Round and round she goes… "A huge piece of space junk is about to make an uncontrolled re-entry back into Earth's atmosphere, threatening to drop debris on a number of cities around the world in the coming days. It's leftover from China's first module for its new Tianhe space station — and no one knows where it will land." And where she lands, nobody knows.

"President Biden on Tuesday is set to announce new steps to reach rural Americans in the push to get as many people as possible vaccinated for the coronavirus, a White House official tells NPR. This emphasis comes as rural hospitals are raising alarms about the pace of vaccination — even among their own employees… The Biden administration is moving into a new phase of its vaccination campaign, one where it knows doctors and health care professionals are often more persuasive than the government." Meet the people where they are.

"President Joe Biden's new benchmark in the fight against COVID-19 -- ensuring 70% of American adults to get at least one shot by July 4 -- seems to be a tacit acknowledgement of what scientists have been saying now for months: Eradicating the virus that causes COVID-19 might not be possible. But if enough Americans get some protection, it'll become manageable." As someone working in healthcare I can tell you, this is not manageable. The disease? Sure. We could probably manage that. But the effects it has on healthcare workers, facing another year of this is enough to drive most of us over the brink. We have a chance to stop it. We should take that chance.

"With India experiencing a devastating second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, questions are being asked about how the country — which is home to the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer — got to this tragic point."

"Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin who was convicted last month of murdering George Floyd filed court documents for a new trial on Tuesday… His attorney, Eric Nelson, petitioned the court, alleging that Chauvin's constitutional rights were violated when Judge Peter Cahill refused to change the venue of the trial, and that the pretrial publicity deprived the officer of a fair trial." This is so standard I would guess there is a form letter for it.

"India’s foreign minister on Wednesday said he had been made aware of positive Covid cases among the country’s delegation to the G-7 summit in the U.K., prompting his entire team to self-isolate."

"Once Europe's biggest problem, Napoleon Bonaparte is still posing a dilemma for France, 200 years after his death in exile on the Atlantic island of St Helena."

"More than two dozen Chinese military jets, including bombers, ripped through the sky above Taiwan one Monday last month… The record incursion into Taiwan's air defense identification zone was the latest move to heighten fears about what critics say has been Beijing's increasingly brazen behavior in the South China Sea."

"Part of the issue is that a Trump administration halt on those visas expired just about a month ago, so processing got off to a late start. And on top of that, the work at U.S. embassies and consulates is still 'severely' slow, because of pandemic restrictions, according to a State Department official, and J-1 and H-2B visas are at the bottom of the priority list." Repairing the damage of the Trump administration is going to take decades. And while it is NPR, notice that the interview twice as many business owners as they do actual employees.

"A Florida high school student who is accused of working with her mother to rig a homecoming election is being charged as an adult, a prosecutor said."

"The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a case involving sentencing disparities between people found guilty of possessing crack cocaine and those possessing powdered forms, and whether recent changes in federal law should apply retroactively to those given long prison terms for small amounts of crack."

"One of President Joe Biden’s campaign proposals was a $15,000 incentive to help first-time homebuyers achieve the American Dream. His Democratic party allies have taken that proposal and are running with it… Lawmakers recently introduced a pair of bills that could result in as much as $25,000 in down payment assistance and a new tax credit of up to $15,000." Good luck finding a house, though. Prices are already ballooning, with this every house will see a $25,000 bump in price from the get go.

"A federal judge has ruled that former Attorney General William Barr was 'disingenuous' about the process behind his decision to issue a memo clearing then-President Trump on obstruction of justice charges… At issue is a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking, among other things, a Justice Department memo that Barr said helped guide his decision to declare that the evidence described in special counsel Robert Mueller's report on his investigation into Trump did not support a charge of obstruction, even leaving aside the policy against indicting a sitting president."

"Rep. Liz Cheney's days as the No. 3 in House GOP leadership appear to be numbered, with speculation growing about her replacement and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy contending she has failed to do her job in driving the party's message to take back the majority… Cheney has grown increasingly isolated within her conference amid her feud with former President Donald Trump, a battle that intensified after she was one of just 10 Republicans who backed his impeachment on a charge of inciting the January 6 insurrection and as she's called out his lie that he actually won the 2020 election."

"(Liz Cheney is) also not afraid of former President Donald Trump, nor is she afraid of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. Cheney has repeatedly called the Jan. 6 insurrection 'a threat to democracy' — a surprisingly controversial statement given what all of America witnessed on live television." I think they meant to say the statement being controversial is a surprise given we have the thing on video.

"Facebook was justified in its decision to suspend then-President Donald Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the company's Oversight Board said on Wednesday."