"On February 20, 1962, astronaut John H. Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth during the three-orbit Mercury-Atlas 6 mission, aboard the spacecraft he named Friendship 7."
"As the new Lord of the Rings series gears up for its September launch on Amazon, the company finds itself navigating treacherous, if familiar, waters and has already triggered a fierce debate over race by introducing characters of color into JRR Tolkien’s fantasy world." More like Lord of the Eyeroll, amIright? I guess too many of Tolkien's fans are wed to the idea of the Southrons being the only "swarthy" people in Middle-Earth. It's hard to take these white-supremacists seriously. It's a story that includes dragons, elves, dwarves, hobbits, orcs, various demi-god like races and characters, and you're upset a few non-white people show up?
"Historically, Black cowboys have been largely forgotten when it comes to pop culture depictions of old-time cowboy culture — think John Wayne or the Marlboro Man. In reality, Black cowboys have always been an important part of cowboy history, as some estimates suggest that as many as 1 in 4 cowboys were Black."
"Midwestern soil is fertile because it typically freezes in the wintertime, halting microbes and other organisms that break down organic matter. But as winters get warmer, soils remain unfrozen for longer periods of time and begin to lose nutrient value… Warmer winters also mean precipitation is more likely to fall as rain rather than snow, which can quickly saturate the ground and create muddy conditions, said Dennis Todey, director of the USDA Midwest Climate Hub in Ames, Iowa."
"A highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected for the first time in a backyard flock in Maine."
"An estimated 10 million men and boys have a diagnosed eating disorder - about a third of all reported cases, according to the National Eating Disorder Association. Yet because the condition is largely seen as a women’s health problem, men often struggle to find help."
"While the study found eating raw veggies could protect against heart disease, cooked vegetables did not. Any benefit went away when researchers factored in lifestyle factors such as physical activity, educational level, smoking, drinking, fruit intake, red and processed meat consumption, and use of mineral and vitamin supplements… 'Instead, our analyses show that the seemingly protective effect of vegetable intake against (cardio-vascular disease) risk is very likely to be accounted for by bias ... related to differences in socioeconomic situation and lifestyle,' Feng said." Well, maybe.
"So some states have picked up the banner and are creating their own public option plans. But they, too, are facing formidable opposition from the health care establishment, which is resisting the pressure to reduce costs on the back end so that consumers can pay less… Washington state, in its second year of offering the nation's first public option health insurance plan, has learned an important lesson: If you want hospitals to participate, you're probably going to have to force them."
"As the omicron surge continues to decline in the U.S., infectious disease experts are keeping a close eye on an even more contagious version of the variant that could once again foil the nation's hopes of getting back to normal… The virus, known as BA.2, is a strain of the highly contagious omicron variant that appears to spread even more easily — about 30% more easily."
"One person was killed and five other people were injured when an armed resident confronted protesters outside his home in Portland, Oregon, late Saturday… Police said some of the protesters were also armed, although they didn't make clear whether gunfire erupted from both sides of the confrontation."
"The liquidation market has more than doubled since 2008, reaching a whopping $644 billion in 2020, according to data from Colorado State University… But in 2021, a record 16.6% of all merchandise sold was returned, up from 10.6% in 2020, according to the National Retail Federation. For online purchases, the average rate of return was even higher, at 20.8%, up from 18% in 2020. Processing a return can cost retailers up to 66% of an item’s original price, according to returns solution company Optoro."
"Legendary investor Carl Icahn is known for his aggressive campaigns to shake up Corporate America. Now, he's leveraging his reputation to tackle an issue close to his heart: the welfare of pigs… McDonald's (MCD) said Sunday that Icahn had nominated two new directors to its board. The move 'relates to a narrow issue regarding the company's pork commitment,' the fast food chain said in a statement."
"The U.S. has intelligence that Russian commanders have received orders to proceed with an invasion of Ukraine, with commanders on the ground making specific plans for how they would maneuver in their sectors of the battlefield, a U.S. official told CBS News."
"The Russians and their proxies have used digital technology on the battlefield not only to assist artillery in rapidly acquiring and engaging targets, but also to disrupt communications and wage psychological warfare, like sending threatening text messages to soldiers. Beyond the front lines, Russian efforts have knocked out government websites and spread damaging disinformation in towns and cities across the country. Digital warfare has threatened more of Ukrainian society since 2021 than traditional munitions."
"Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison has accused China of shining a laser at one of its surveillance planes, referring to the incident as an 'act of intimidation'… Morrison told media on Monday that his government had not received an explanation from China over the incident that took place on February 17, which Australia considered 'dangerous and reckless'."
"America is growing more geographically polarized — red ZIP codes are getting redder and blue ZIP codes are becoming bluer. People appear to be sorting."
"Donald Trump’s Truth Social app has launched on Apple’s App Store today. Things don’t appear to be going very smoothly, however… Many of those downloading the app have been unable to use it, due to a variety of error messages when attempting to register an account." This makes it, what, their 3rd or 4th attempt at a social media site? (Grokked from John)
"Carone is one of a large cohort of pro-Trump Republican conspiracy theorists and election deniers running for public office this fall in Michigan, where his baseless claims about a stolen election continue to roil the political landscape… Among those candidates, Carone might be the best known nationally. In an affidavit from November 10, 2020 — six days after the AP called Michigan for Joe Biden — she alleged that some ballots were counted 4 or 5 times; that more than 100,000 ballots were then 'found' after vans dropped off food for the poll workers; that poll workers were filling out ballots on behalf of voters; and that her managers, who were responsible for overseeing the voting site where she was present and submitting the data, were incompetent… Carone, who was a Dominion Voting Systems contractor, failed to provide any proof for these claims."
"Fox News contributor Sara Carter has walked back her entirely fictitious claim about a woman dying after being trampled by a Canadian authority on horseback amid ongoing trucker-led protests… While the claim wasn’t accurate, the tweet was red-meat for her over 1.3 million conservative Twitter followers, who quickly amplified the baseless death as evidence of Canadian government wrongdoing."
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