Linkee-poo darkness has a hunger that's insatiable

Sacheen Littlefeather and Loretta Lynn, and so it goes.

"WINTER FOLKLORE IN COSTUMES - A thread Europe loves its folk festivals and Charles Fréger has lovingly photographed the most striking winter folk costumes - a delight to behold." A twitter thread of photos. (Grokked from Gwenda Bond)

"The extreme heat that obliterated temperature records in the Pacific Northwest in 2021 will likely occur just once every 10,000 years… Researchers from UCLA used multiple climate models to determine that the extraordinary heat disaster last year was a highly improbable event, even in the age of climate change. Previous studies suggested that the deadly heat wave, which killed about 800 people, had a probability of near zero." And yet…

"The Central Valley almond growers had two wells go dry this summer. Two of her adult children are now getting water from a new well the family drilled after the old one went dry last year. She’s even supplying water to a neighbor whose well dried up." Approaching Day Zero.

"Tumours of various types of cancer contain different species of microscopic or single-celled fungus, and investigating the species that are present might one day be useful for diagnosing cancer or predicting its course, according to two studies published in Cell on 29 September. 'It’s fascinating to look at fungi in the setting of cancer,' says Ami Bhatt, a microbiome specialist at Stanford University in California. But she cautions that the studies only suggest that there is an association between fungal species and certain cancers—they do not show whether or not the fungi are directly responsible for cancer progression."

So, how is the NFL doing with that "players suffering multiple head-traumas is an important issue" thing going? "The NFL Players Association has fired the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant who evaluated Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa after he stumbled off the field against Buffalo last weekend, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Saturday."

"More than 1 million Minnesotans have qualified for bonus checks to frontline workers to recognize their work during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the payments will be for less than $500, the governor’s office announced Monday."

How goes Brexit? "The British government on Monday dropped plans to cut income tax for top earners, part of a package of unfunded cuts unveiled only days ago that sparked turmoil on financial markets and sent the pound to record lows." Not that they don't want to make the cut, but it's become "a distraction."

"A day after an inconclusive presidential election, Brazil is now bracing for a frantic four-week campaign ahead of a runoff vote that will pit leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva against Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right incumbent president."

"Sweden has sent a vessel capable of 'advanced diving missions” to the Baltic Sea area where ruptured undersea pipelines had leaked natural gas for days, the Swedish navy said Monday."

"Europe faces “unprecedented risks” to its natural gas supplies this winter after Russia cut off most pipeline shipments and could wind up competing with Asia for already scarce and expensive liquid gas that comes by ship, the International Energy Agency said."

"A Ukrainian counteroffensive that already has reclaimed thousands of miles is breaking through Russian lines in the southern Kherson region recently subject to annexation by Moscow, Kremlin-aligned officials said Monday."

"The first time the Russian soldiers caught him, they tossed him bound and blindfolded into a trench covered with wooden boards for days on end… Then they beat him, over and over: Legs, arms, a hammer to the knees, all accompanied by furious diatribes against Ukraine. Before they let him go, they took away his passport and Ukrainian military ID — all he had to prove his existence — and made sure he knew exactly how worthless his life was."

"Japan urged residents to take shelter early Tuesday morning after North Korea fired a ballistic missile without warning over the country for the first time in five years, in a major and potentially dangerous escalation of recent weapons tests by the Kim Jong Un regime."

"The antipathy many conservatives feel toward President Biden's student debt relief plan, which the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office recently estimated will cost roughly $400 billion, is as vivid as many borrowers' enthusiasm for it." Over 30 years. Possibly. Look, any forecast more than 6 years out is not much better than guess work. Just as a comparison, that $400 billion over 30 years is just over half of the Pentagon's budget request for next year alone.

"They're among the more than 1.2 million people who struggled to put food on the table at some point last year in the Washington, D.C. region. That's a third of the population living in and around the capital of one of the richest nations on Earth… Nationwide, more than 33 million people, including five million children, are food insecure, according to the USDA. No community is spared, with rural areas, families with children and communities of color disproportionately affected."

"Police in Oklahoma said Monday they have found two more gunshot victims who were wounded in a shooting at a Oklahoma high school football homecoming game."

"Lawyer for LAPD officer killed during training exercise by other cops says dead cop was investigating a gang rape by four cops at least one of whom was there when he was beaten to death." Called it.

Oh look, it's voter fraud… "But when I asked the Alabama Department of Finance, which administers employee IDs, that department said it had never issued him one, nor was Wahl on the list of employees, past and present, in Zeigler’s office… As it turns out, Wahl made the ID, he says, with Zeigler’s permission… And now, the state’s top election official, Secretary of State John Merrill, says that badge is not a valid voter ID." Wait, no, another Republican. Never mind.

From July, but… "(Ohio) State Rep. Jean Schmidt, a Clermont County Republican, said during a radio interview this week that she would entertain a debate about outlawing birth control in the wake of the United States Supreme Court overturning constitutional protections for abortion."

"Government prosecutors in the case of Tom Barrack on Thursday read aloud hundreds of emails and texts sent by the former Trump fundraiser, who is on trial at a federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, for allegedly illegally lobbying on behalf of the United Arab Emirates."

"One of two Texas brothers who authorities say opened fire on a group of migrants getting water near the U.S.-Mexico border, killing one and injuring another, was warden at a detention facility with a history of abuse allegations."

"Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and four other members of the far-right group tried to change history and disrupt the peaceful transfer of power on Jan. 6, 2021, prosecutor Jeffrey Nestler told jurors hearing the first seditious conspiracy trial to result from the assault on the U.S. Capitol last year… 'They concocted a plan for an armed rebellion to shatter a bedrock of American democracy,' Nestler said."

"Herschel Walker, who has vehemently opposed abortion rights as the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Georgia, paid for an abortion for his girlfriend in 2009, according to a new report published late Monday. The candidate called the accusation a 'flat-out lie' and said he would sue."

"The man eventually was able to vote, but the incident was one of several Risku cited from the May primary that made her worry about a wave of newly aggressive poll watchers. Many have spent the past two years steeped in lies about the accuracy of the 2020 election."