Linkee-poo Wednesday July 27

James Lovelock, and so it goes.

"The Mega Millions jackpot has crossed the $1 billion threshold. The grand prize in Friday night's drawing will be an estimated $1.02 billion, lottery officials said, though that's certain to grow as more and more tickets are bought as that drawing approaches… The cash option for that pot of gold would be $602.5 million." Oh gods.

"Joni Mitchell's surprise performance at the Newport Folk Festival on Sunday is already becoming the stuff of legend. The unsuspecting crowd roared as the singer-songwriter stepped onto the stage in her first public performance since suffering a debilitating brain aneurysm in 2015."

"Video from Chinese social media shows a bridge in the city of Quanzhou in southern China's Fujian province breaking in half due to high temperatures as a heatwave sweeps across China."

"A tall and narrow stripe of a city more than 105 miles long, teeming with 9 million residents and running entirely on renewable energy — that's the vision Saudi Arabia's leaders have for The Line, part of a "giga-project" that will reshape the kingdom's northwest… Newly revealed design concepts show a futuristic walled city — its open interior is enclosed on both sides by a mirrored façade — stretching from the Red Sea eastward across the desert and into a mountain range." That's, uh, well, something.

"Data wonks with mighty computers are overjoyed. Ordinary consumers, not so much… But so much data is flowing in from insurers — tens of thousands of colossal digital files from a single insurer is not unusual — that it could still be weeks before data firms put it into usable forms for its intended targets: employers, researchers and even patients." If you can't baffle them with bullshit, bury them in data.

"All three siblings were charged for the same service: 'Advanced Life Support Emergency Level 1.' It's code for transportation by a ground ambulance in response to a 911 call, and it can include medical services as simple as an assessment. All three were also charged a mileage fee. Jim and Cynthia were billed for 15 miles; Peggy was billed for 14 miles. But because they rode in separate ambulances, each from a different nearby fire protection district, they were billed three separate amounts…"

"The fast-spreading BA.5 subvariant of Omicron and its close relative BA.4 now make up around 95% of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., according to estimates published Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)… The strains have driven an acceleration this month in the pace of new COVID-19 cases — President Biden among them. Hospital admissions in some regions now eclipse the worst days of the Delta variant wave last year, especially among Americans aged 70 and older."

"This week, an international team of scientists published two extensive, peer-reviewed papers in Science, offering the strongest evidence to date that the COVID-19 pandemic originated in animals at a market in Wuhan, China. Specifically, they conclude that the coronavirus most likely jumped from a caged wild animal into people at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, where a huge COVID-19 outbreak began in December 2019."

"Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Biden, told NPR's All Things Considered Tuesday that, amid early transmission of monkeypox, it's important to understand 'the extent of the spread, how it's spread, what population.' He said it is a virus that medical professionals understand and one that they have available tools to use, unlike in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic."

"The Federal Reserve on Wednesday enacted its second consecutive 0.75 percentage point interest rate increase, taking its benchmark rate to a range of 2.25%-2.5%."

"Covid-19 relief and record-low interest rates boosted many Americans’ finances during the pandemic. That has been especially true for millennials, who have on average built significant wealth… And millennials’ average net worth — defined as total assets minus total liabilities — also increased twofold during the same period, jumping to $127,793 from $62,758, the report found… However, the report finds the average millennial net worth still lags behind older generations, with Gen Xers and baby boomers reaching an average of $647,619 and $1,021,264, respectively." And then the admonition that you should go into more debt.

"Florida’s already crippled home insurance market is taking another hit… WESH 2 News has learned that another company, Bankers Insurance Group, is pulling out of Florida’s home insurance market." The article quickly focuses on the lack of legislation to shield them from litigation, and only briefly mentions that reinsurance for the Florida market is now hella expensive.

"Foret is surveying the lingering damage on a drive to see his insurance agent. He's among tens of thousands of Louisiana homeowners scrambling to find new property insurance in the midst of a new Atlantic hurricane season. Most major companies have quit covering the coast, and now smaller firms are going under after Louisiana was hit with two major hurricanes in the last two years… Foret says the insurance shakeup just exacerbates an already slow-going disaster recovery."

"Signed contracts to purchase existing homes dropped 20% in June compared with the same month a year ago, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday… That is the slowest pace since September 2011, with the exception of the first two months of the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns, when sales plunged briefly and then rebounded sharply."

"The share of Americans who believe colleges and universities have a positive impact on the country has dropped by 14 percentage points since 2020."

"The Senate has passed a major piece of legislation aimed at supporting domestic manufacturing of semiconductor chips that power the nation's smartphones, cars, computers, medical equipment and weapons systems. The bipartisan-backed measure passed by a vote of 64-33."

"Ukrainian forces have attacked the Antonovsky Bridge in occupied Kherson in southern Ukraine, with the army releasing footage appearing to show the bridge being shelled last night. The bridge is a crucial supply route for Russian forces occupying the city."

"An Indiana doctor says she has faced harassment after the story of one of her patients — a 10-year-old Ohio girl who became pregnant as a result of rape — captured the nation's attention as a flashpoint in the debate over abortion rights… She has worried about her own safety and the safety of her family, Bernard said Tuesday in an interview with NPR's Sarah McCammon."

"Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin have released preliminary details of a bill to address climate change, taxes, health care and inflation. The agreement is a major reversal for Democrats who had narrowed their ambitions for the package to addressing looming lapses in the Affordable Care Act and changes to prescription drug prices."

"The House Jan. 6 committee hearings appear to be breaking through in some of this fall’s most competitive congressional districts in key states, though the panel’s work does not appear to be making a major impact on how voters view candidates for Congress and governor."

"Hours after his former No. 2 and possible 2024 primary rival gave a speech outlining a 'road map for conservative leaders,' former President Donald Trump delivered a grim and rambling speech about violent crime in his first appearance in D.C. since he skipped Joe Biden's Inauguration Day ceremony and left the White House in 2021."

"The Justice Department's criminal investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, rioting at the U.S. Capitol, now includes questions for witnesses about the communications of people close to then-President Donald Trump and his reelection campaign, CBS News has confirmed." Tick tock, Garland.

"The heads of the Jan. 6 committee and the House Oversight Committee are calling for a new inspector general to lead the investigation into erased Secret Service text messages related to the Capitol insurrection."