"'The Souq El Blat is the heartbeat of the medina,' proclaims Mourad Boughanmi, a medicinal herb seller in this historic quarter of Tunis. Indeed, for centuries, its herbs have sustained the bodies of people living here. Bundles of wild thyme, sage, poppy, garlic and eucalyptus have lined the walls of this shadowy souq for at least 700 years." (Grokked from Teri Windling)
"Rio de Janeiro state's government has confirmed 94 deaths from floods and mudslides that swept away homes and cars in the city of Petropolis. But even as families prepared to bury their dead, it was unclear Thursday how many bodies remained trapped in the mud."
"Four major oil companies aren't taking concrete steps to live up to their pledges to transition to clean energy, new research has found… The study, published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One, found that Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP and Shell used terms like 'climate,' 'low-carbon' and 'transition' more frequently in recent annual reports and devised strategies around decarbonization. But their actions on clean energy were mostly pledges and the companies remain financially reliant on fossil fuels." Well, see, they're scheduling the meeting to talk about the meeting where they'll propose the conference that will probably launch their new initiative. Or at least outline a possible future path.
"The parents accused of abducting a six-year-old girl who was found in a stairwell earlier this week took her while her sister was at school, police said… Paislee Shultis was found alive in a sealed area under a wooden staircase of her grandfather's home in Saugerties, New York, on Tuesday."
"The remains of a miniboat launched by New Hampshire middle schoolers have been discovered by a sixth-grade student in Norway, 462 days and more than 8,300 miles later."
"Dozens of papers have examined the lingering mental health effects of COVID-19, but many have measured conditions such as depression and brain fog only a few months after infection. Now, a giant new study shows people who contracted COVID-19 faced substantially higher risks of neuropsychiatric ailments 1 year later, including brain fog, depression, and substance use disorders. The report, based on millions of people who used the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health system early in the pandemic, is published today in The BMJ."
"Due to 'recent trends and regulatory guidance,' Disney said its California and Florida resorts will begin easing health and safety protocols. Disney World and Disneyland do not require proof of vaccination to enter… However, the company said that guests who are not fully vaccinated must continue to wear their face coverings in all indoor locations, such as indoor attractions and theaters." Good luck with that.
"Tesla CEO Elon Musk accused the Securities and Exchange Commission of harassment in a calculated effort to “chill” his right to free speech in its oversight of his communications with shareholders as part of a 2018 agreement that settled civil securities charges against the billionaire." No, Elon, as the CEO of your company you have to control yourself. You have to behave and not defraud your investors. It's called "being an adult."
"Walmart Chief Financial Officer Brett Biggs said shoppers aren’t trading down to cheaper brands, buying smaller packs or skipping over discretionary items — but said they are paying attention to rising prices… 'We haven’t seen any marked changes at this point in how they’re shopping,' he said in a Thursday interview with CNBC. But, he added, 'we do know, we’ve seen and we heard through our own studies that people are certainly focused on inflation and they’re seeing that in their daily lives.'"
"New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and the state's NAACP chapter are expressing concern about police officers' response to a fight between two teenagers at a local mall. In video captured of the fight, two officers are seen pinning down and handcuffing a Black teenager while the other teenager sat and watched from a nearby couch, CBS New York reports."
Who is white? "The federal government officially categorizes people with origins in Lebanon, Iran, Egypt and other countries in the MENA region as white… But that racial identity has not matched the discrimination in housing, at work and through other parts of daily life that many say they have faced."
"The Pensacola Police Department says it has launched an internal affairs investigation after parents say a child was hurt while in police custody following last week's police-involved shooting."
"Cross-examination of Tou Thao got tense Wednesday as the ex-officer snapped at the prosecutor for asking why he didn't tell Derek Chauvin to get off George Floyd's neck and back during the 9 minutes and 29 seconds… 'I think I would trust a 19-year veteran to figure it out,' Thao said on the stand."
"Officials from the U.S. and NATO say they have not seen a major withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine's borders, despite the announcement this week by President Vladimir Putin that Russian military officials had ordered some troops to return to their home bases." This is my shocked face.
"Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a dramatic appearance at the United Nations, shared a grim assessment Thursday of what Russian forces could do to Ukraine if the Kremlin launched an invasion… 'We don’t know precisely how things will play out. But here’s what the world could expect to see unfold. In fact, it’s unfolding right now,' Blinken began in his address to the UN Security Council." Bang a gong.
"U.S. President Joe Biden warned Thursday that Russia could still invade Ukraine within days and Russia expelled the No. 2 diplomat at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, as tensions flared anew in the worst East-West standoff in decades."
"A showdown appeared to be shaping up in Ottawa's nearly three-week siege by truckers protesting the country's COVID-19 restrictions as police in the capital warned drivers on Wednesday to leave immediately or risk arrest… The big rigs parked outside Parliament represented the movement's last stronghold after demonstrators abandoned their sole remaining truck blockade along the U.S. border."
"Nearly 16,000 federal student loan borrowers who were misled by for-profit colleges will have $415 million in debts erased, according to the U.S. Department of Education. These borrowers — who attended DeVry University, ITT Technical Institute and other schools — will receive relief through a legal provision known as borrower defense, which promises loan relief for defrauded borrowers."
"The party’s brand is so toxic in the small towns 100 miles northeast of Pittsburgh that some liberals have removed bumper stickers and yard signs and refuse to acknowledge their party affiliation publicly. These Democrats are used to being outnumbered by the local Republican majority, but as their numbers continue to dwindle, the few that remain are feeling increasingly isolated and unwelcome in their own communities." It's not the party's brand that is toxic, it's the behavior of conservatives.
"To listen to conservative media over the past five days, you would think there was now smoking gun evidence that Hillary Clinton's campaign was guilty of illegally spying on Donald Trump." They call some outlets "mainstream media", but Fox, Newsmax, OANN and the rest could be called the "misinformation media."
"Former U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke misused his position to advance a development project in his Montana hometown and failed to disclose details of his involvement when questioned by ethics officials, a federal investigation has found." Until people are prosecuted or punished for violating the rules, this will continue.
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