Linkee-poo over the river and through the woods and down the ravine, through the encampment, and then crashing into the lake

"On October 25, 2020, Sinbad suffered an ischemic stroke as a result of a blood clot that traveled from his heart to his brain." Oh fuck. Just a note, this is a fundraiser to help cover his medical costs (of which this line is just the first in a series of bad turns). As many of you know, comedians are a favorite of mine for studying wordplay and dialog, and Sinbad is a master. And frankly I can't hear a kid say, "Momma, momma," without counting because of him. "After you hit 12, just back on up." (Grokked from Chang)

NPR's 2022 book list.

"NASA's Orion capsule reached the moon Monday, whipping around the far side and buzzing the lunar surface on its way to a record-breaking orbit with test dummies sitting in for astronauts."

"NASA’s Orion capsule entered an orbit stretching tens of thousands of miles around the moon Friday, as it neared the halfway mark of its test flight."

"Ryan Mackey quietly sang a sacred Cherokee verse as he pulled a handful of tobacco out of a zip-close bag. Reaching over a barbed wire fence, he scattered the leaves onto the pasture where a growing herd of bison — popularly known as American buffalo — grazed in northeastern Oklahoma."

"Up to 2.4 million trees would be cut down as part of a project to prevent major wildfires in a federally protected New Jersey forest heralded as a unique environmental treasure."

"Conservationists have notified U.S. wildlife officials that they will sue over delinquent decisions related to protections for two rare fish species that are threatened by groundwater pumping in the drought-stricken West."

"Hundreds of activists, among them Greta Thunberg, marched through the Swedish capital to a court Friday to file a lawsuit against the Swedish state for what they say is insufficient climate action."

"Newly released federal audits reveal widespread overcharges and other errors in payments to Medicare Advantage health plans, with some plans overbilling the government more than $1,000 per patient a year on average." Say, which party set up this scheme anyway?

"That connection between extreme weather and climate change has never been clearer, thanks to an area of science known as extreme-event attribution. It allows scientists to describe exactly how much worse a specific flood, heat wave, hurricane or drought is because of human-caused global warming… But that science is largely missing from public weather forecasts that millions of people in the U.S. rely on."

"The European Union and the United States are treading precariously close to a major trans-Atlantic trade dispute at a time when the two Western giants want to show unity in the face of challenges from Russia and China."

"There are many like Yoo in South Korea who have chosen either not to have children or not to marry. Other advanced countries have similar trends, but South Korea’s demographic crisis is much worse."

"Silver Peak, halfway between Reno and Las Vegas, may not resemble most people's mental image of a mine. But for decades it's been the sole domestic producer of lithium in the United States. Now the small mine is in the process of doubling its output, and facing new rivals, as part of a massive global phenomenon that's reshaping multiple industries."

"Elon Musk says he has a tentative timeframe to once again roll out his new paid verification system for Twitter… 'Sorry for the delay, we're tentatively launching Verified on Friday next week,' the embattled new CEO wrote in a tweet early Friday."

"New Twitter owner Elon Musk said Thursday that he is granting 'amnesty' for suspended accounts, which online safety experts predict will spur a rise in harassment, hate speech and misinformation." Won't that be fun.

"Half of Twitter's top 100 advertisers appear to no longer be advertising on the website. A report from Media Matters for America states that these 50 advertisers have spent almost $2 billion on Twitter ads since 2020 and more than $750 million just in 2022."

"Fears that the collapse of FTX will lead to more destruction in the crypto industry are hitting almost every investor in the United States, from individuals to major Wall Street firms, with many wondering if another cryptocurrency trading platform called Genesis will fall next."

"The first of several ships that will serve as floating terminals to receive liquefied natural gas imports in Germany arrived Wednesday off the Baltic Sea port of Mukran."

"These days, more than 90% of Afghans don't have enough food to eat, according to the WFP and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction — and the hardships families endured last year feel insurmountable this year… 'When we talk to people at our distribution sites, everybody tells us, "Last winter was difficult, but we have no idea how we will get through the coming winter,"' says Philippe Kropf, the WFP's Kabul-based spokesperson."

"A federal appeals court has revived a wrongful death claim against Walmart by the family of a Black man who was fatally shot by a white police officer inside an Ohio store after picking up a pellet rifle from a shelf."

"Officials in Chesapeake, Va., confirmed in a statement that the Walmart supervisor who fatally shot six coworkers inside the store on Tuesday left a note in his phone in which he described being harassed."

"A growing list of Oregon sheriffs are telling their constituents they won’t enforce voter-approved gun restrictions despite not yet knowing how some aspects of the law will work and not having a clear role in enforcing others… In a Nov. 9 Facebook post, Linn County Sheriff Michelle Duncan said Measure 114, which 50.7% of voters approved the day before, is a terrible law for gun owners, crime victims and public safety. The measure would require a permit to buy a firearm and ban magazines holding more than 10 rounds."

"Mexican prosecutors have filed charges against a U.S. woman suspected of killing another American seen being beaten in a viral video."

"The Biden administration is extending its student loan repayment pause — which was set to expire at the end of the year — into 2023 while its promise of federal relief remains hung up in court."

"State-level law enforcement units created after the 2020 presidential election to investigate voter fraud are looking into scattered complaints more than two weeks after the midterms but have provided no indication of systemic problems." But that really wasn't the point of these new law enforcement groups, was it.

"Kari Lake, the defeated Republican candidate for Arizona governor, has filed a public records lawsuit demanding Maricopa County hand over a variety of documents related to the election."

"On Wednesday, Murkowski defeated fellow Republican Kelly Tshibaka, who was backed by Trump, to win her fourth term in office. Murkowski won the ranked choice election with 54% of the vote with help from independents and Democrats."

Linkee-poo Sunday Nov 20

Robert Clary and Greg Bear, so it goes.

"Residents in western New York are digging out after a massive winter storm passed though the region, dropping more than 6 feet of snow in some areas."

"Locus Magazine is delighted to announce our first annual crowdfunding campaign!"

A twitter thread on ebooks and libraries and the heinous fuckery surrounding the issue. I think I posted a link to the Planet Money podcast before, but here it is again. Libraries are not the problem, but publishers will try to make it about them. Remember that the main publishers had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to the e-book platform.

"New baby pictures of the universe, taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, show that galaxies started forming faster and earlier than expected."

"U.S. regulators approved a plan Thursday to demolish four dams on a California river and open up hundreds of miles of salmon habitat that would be the largest dam removal and river restoration project in the world when it goes forward."

Just in case you though viruses are only a human problem… "Plant pathogens that are spreading disease in the lettuce fields of the Salinas Valley are leading to a nationwide lettuce shortage and higher prices at the supermarket… At Nob Hill in Salinas, a head of lettuce was being sold for more than $4 on Monday." Good thing we haven't totally centralized our vegetable supply sources to only 2 places… oh, wait.

"A measles outbreak in Ohio has swiftly expanded, spreading to seven childcare facilities and one school, all with unvaccinated children, according to local health officials. The outbreak highlights the risk of the highly contagious but vaccine-preventable disease mushrooming amid slipping vaccination rates."

"But one by one, different monoclonal treatments have lost their efficacy against new variants of the coronavirus. The rise of Paxlovid antiviral pills earlier this year, further dented their appeal."

"The Justice Department is now negotiating the terms of a consent decree with Philips, underscoring the deep concern about what the company knew — or should have known — before millions of people received devices that many believe caused devastating illnesses. A decree would most likely require the company to document the steps it would take to prevent such a failure in the future… Doug Shiffler, a retired tech executive in Utah, is one of hundreds of people suing the company. His wife began using the device in 2018, when there were no public warnings of possible problems with the machines, and developed a persistent cough." Dear DoJ, you aren't going far enough here.

"Results from Macy’s, Kohl’s and Gap on Thursday further underscored the cloudy picture for U.S. retailers heading into the start of the holiday season… A day after Target reported a sharp drop in quarterly profits, it’s clear that inflation-hit shoppers in the last few weeks were waiting for deals and not willing to pay full price for purchases they could put off. The big question will be if U.S. consumers will spend more freely in the coming weeks."

"Twitter saw a fresh exodus of employees on Thursday as the company hit a deadline set by billionaire owner Elon Musk for remaining staff to commit to being 'extremely hardcore' or leave the company."

"The man who had to clean up the mess at Enron says the situation at FTX is even worse, describing what he calls a 'complete failure' of corporate control." Crypto firm was a scam? Well knock me over with a feather.

"At least five people were killed and 18 others wounded after a gunman opened fire on a LGBTQ club called Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Police said a suspect is in custody."

I'm not sure if I posted this when it came out, but the Throughline podcast with… "It has been nearly twenty years since 9/11 and during that time much of the media coverage and government attention has been directed at the threat of radical Islamist terrorism. Yet, during that time, it has been domestic terrorism from armed, mostly white American men, that has posed the biggest threat. This week, the rise of the modern white power movement." Stochastic terrorism and "lone wolf" attacks aren't an unfortunate by product of the hate machine, it's the goal.

"A week after Kentucky voters rejected an anti-abortion ballot measure, the state’s Supreme Court on Tuesday weighed the constitutionality of a statewide ban approved by lawmakers in a case that seems destined to become a defining moment for abortion rights in the state."

"Russia's systematic and repeated attacks on Ukraine's energy and heating infrastructure — the latest of which involved the heaviest missile strikes in a nearly nine-month war — have led to regular power outages in some of the country's largest cities."

"A Missouri judge ruled that a state agency previously led by Republican Josh Hawley broke public record laws on purpose to help his U.S. Senate campaign… Cole County Presiding Judge Jon Beetem on Monday fined the Attorney General’s Office $12,000 and attorney fees, the maximum penalty for violating what’s known as the Sunshine Law."

"In Ohio, some students had to cast provisional ballots because poll workers wouldn’t accept university-issued utility bills as proof of residency, in violation of state law. Ohio is one of the seven states that refuses to accept any student IDs as voter identification."

"Speaker Nancy Pelosi — who shattered the "marble ceiling" to become the first woman to lead the U.S. House — announced Thursday she will step down from party leadership."

"Attorney General Merrick Garland said he's charged former Justice Department prosecutor Jack Smith with overseeing two major Justice Department investigations concerning former-President Donald Trump to best serve the public interest."

Linkee-poo Wednesday Nov 16

"The predawn sky over Florida's space coast lit up early Wednesday morning as NASA's new 322-foot-tall moon rocket roared off its launch pad with a few mannequins — but no astronauts — strapped into a crew capsule… This white, bell-shaped capsule, called Orion, has now embarked on a 25-day test flight that will take it around the moon and back. The approximately 1.2-million-mile trip will bring NASA one step closer to achieving its goal of returning humans to the lunar surface."

"The Space Force’s mysterious X-37B spaceplane landed back on Earth after spending a record-breaking two and a half years (908 days) in orbit. It landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, November 12th at 5:22AM ET, marking its sixth successful mission so far."v "Poland's president said Wednesday that it appears a missile that landed just inside the country's border was from Ukraine in what he called an 'unfortunate accident.'"

"A volcano is likely erupting deep beneath the Pacific Ocean in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, but scientists don’t know for sure because it’s so inaccessible… All indications are that the Ahyi Seamount began erupting in mid-October, the U.S. Geological Survey said Monday. The Northern Marianas are about 3,800 miles (6,115 kilometers) west of Honolulu."

"Art restorers have embarked on a project to digitally unveil what was once a nude painting by Italian baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi, one of the most prominent female artists from the period… The Allegory of Inclination, as the 1616 work is titled, originally depicted a nude female figure. But about 70 years later, the nudity was concealed with another painter's addition — to adhere to the moral sensibilities of the male-dominated art world."

"They arrived at University Hospitals TriPoint Medical Center in Painesville, Ohio, at around 6 a.m. Medical staff there did her bloodwork and an ultrasound – again, there was no heartbeat. To check how much blood she had lost, they measured her hemoglobin level – Zielke says they told her she hadn't lost enough for it to be of concern yet." Fuck. This is criminal neglect, IMHO. And I have so many thoughts on this, including TriPoints nickname, but I don't feel I can share them here. We have guidelines, they are published on our intranet site, this doctor neglected to follow them. But not stated in this article, our ED doctors are not UH employees. And no, this isn't the only problem that setup causes.

"It has taken years of experimentation by a crew of biologists, biochemists and engineers to turn that concept into a product ready to eat. Now the company is awaiting a greenlight from the Food and Drug Administration to begin selling its first cultivated meat products, including a chicken fillet."

"Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg Monday announced that the department is assessing fines totaling $7.5 million against six airlines, and the DOT is ordering those airlines to pay $600 million in refunds to hundreds of thousands of customers who had been denied them."

"More than 24,000 tech workers across 72 companies have been laid off this month, adding to a total of 120,000 tech jobs lost this year, according to layoffs.fyi, which tracks job cuts in the tech industry. It's safe to say a reckoning is underway, even as each company is grappling with its own challenges."

"President Joe Biden was set to try to cajole the world’s largest economies to further isolate Russia diplomatically and economically over its invasion of Ukraine despite a souring global outlook that has tested other nations’ resolve."

"As a result, in some places teachers and administrators — already facing long hours and low pay — now find themselves under additional pressure from politicians, parents and even their own school districts. It all comes as many schools are losing qualified teachers and waging an uphill battle to improve flagging test scores."

"Conservative groups that sought to get hundreds of 'parents’ rights' activists elected to local school boards largely fell short in last week’s midterm elections, notching notable wins in some Republican strongholds but failing to gain a groundswell of support among moderate voters."

"All six school board members endorsed by Gov. Ron DeSantis won their runoffs Tuesday, results that deliver the Republican governor a total of 24 wins out of 30 local education candidates he backed this year."

"Arizona voters have approved an initiative to extend cheaper in-state college tuition to some non-citizen students, cheering supporters who hope the measure’s passage Monday will help spark momentum for wider immigration reform in Congress."

"Voting has ended, and most winners have been declared… But even after all states finish counting and reviewing the votes, the 2022 midterm general elections are not officially over until the results are certified… That largely ceremonial step in the election process that turns unofficial results into official ones had generally not garnered much attention until the 2020 election."

"Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday called for state authorities to investigate the administration of the midterm election in Harris County, where multiple polling locations opened late on Election Day and some ran out of ballot paper, causing delays for voters and prompting a judge to keep voting centers open later than planned." I wonder if the result "the state fucked up the election" will be an acceptable result.

"As Arizona election deniers get more and more bad news, protesters at an election office demanded 'the military step in' and redo the election, claimed Jan. 6 rioters are being 'tortured in cages,' and more." Whackaloon quotient sky-high.

"About 27% of voters between the ages of 18-29 cast a ballot in the midterm election this year, according to an early estimate from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University, also known as CIRCLE." Which is a record.

"After days of ballot counting, Arizona Democrat Katie Hobbs has been elected governor in a hotly-contested race against election-denying Republican Kari Lake, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, according to a race call by The Associated Press."

"Josh Shapiro, the Democratic governor-elect of Pennsylvania, will take office with a decisive mandate from voters, who overwhelmingly rejected a Republican drive to pare back abortion rights and voting laws in the premier battleground state… Shapiro, the state’s two-term attorney general, scored a massive 14 percentage point win over Republican rival Doug Mastriano in last week’s midterm election, smashed state campaign finance records and became the first candidate since 1966 to succeed a governor of the same party in Pennsylvania."

"Documents released by the House Oversight and Reform Committee show extravagant spending from foreign leaders at former President Donald Trump's luxury hotel in Washington, D.C., which the committee says could have violated his oath of office by distorting U.S. foreign policy for personal financial gain."

"Donald Trump, who tried to overthrow the results of the 2020 presidential election and inspired a deadly riot at the Capitol in a desperate attempt to keep himself in power, announced he is running again for president in 2024." And that's how you write the news story.

Linkee-poo Sunday Nov 13

Kevin Conroy, Gallagher, and so it goes.

"But if the planet heats up beyond 1.5 degrees, the impacts don't get just slightly worse. Scientists warn that abrupt changes could be set off, with devastating impacts around the world… If countries, including the United States, follow through on current promises to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the latest estimates suggest that Earth's temperature will still top out around 2.8 degrees Celsius of warming."

"Over the past two years, the nine-year teaching veteran was growing alarmed with the Republican-controlled Oklahoma Legislature’s increasing efforts to restrict access to books in public schools. In her classroom, she covered some bookshelves with red butcher tape and labeled them 'Books the state doesn’t want you to read.' She gave students a QR code link to the Brooklyn Public Library, which provides access to a variety of banned books."

"Across the county, librarians are fighting to keep libraries open and books on the shelves. On this week’s (On the Media) show, hear what the American Library Association is doing to stand up to unprecedented challenges, and what a suit against the Internet Archive could mean for the future of e-books. Plus, how the legend of the ancient Library of Alexandria continues to inspire utopian projects today."

The Planet Money podcast with… "In 2019, a group of librarians (quietly) stormed the offices of a major book publisher, Macmillan. They carried boxes stuffed with petitions. They'd collected thousands of signatures, and now, they wanted to deliver them in person. Their goal: to put an end to a controversial policy known as "windowing." It would prohibit libraries from loaning out more than one copy of a new e-book in the first 8 weeks after its release, leading to long wait times for bestsellers. Librarians saw this as a threat to their mission to freely share knowledge with the public."

"Union members at HarperCollins, one of the largest publishers in the country, started an indefinite strike today. Workers and supporters gathered outside the company's New York City offices this morning to make their demands… The action comes after a drawn out negotiation process, with workers asking for higher wages, stronger commitments to diversifying staff and better family leave. The approximately 250 unionized workers are represented by UAW 2110, and include people in design, marketing, publicity and sales. These employees have been working without a contract since April."

"Stocks surged in their biggest rally in two years on Thursday, after a better-than-expected inflation report showed that the galloping price increases that consumers have endured all year are beginning to slow."

"On Saturday, AI image service Midjourney began alpha testing version 4 ("v4") of its text-to-image synthesis model, which is available for subscribers on its Discord server. The new model provides more detail than previously available on the service, inspiring some AI artists to remark that v4 almost makes it 'too easy' to get high-quality results from simple prompts." Well I'm sure glad the AI scientists are working hard at improving their work and not engaged in base level marketing disguised as journalism.

"Few people outside computer programmers or engineers had heard of the social network Mastodon before Elon Musk bought Twitter… Now, Twitter users queasy about changes the eccentric billionaire is making are signing up for Mastodon accounts in droves. Mastodon reached a million users earlier this week, up from under 400,000 before Musk closed the Twitter deal on Oct. 27."

Why should we have to take all these classes that don't really apply to our majors (shout the mostly business major class). Sigh. "KFC has apologised for a push notification sent out via its app inviting German customers to celebrate the anniversary of the Nazi Kristallnacht pogrom against Jews by ordering fried chicken and cheese."

"Israel’s president officially tapped former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a government on Sunday, opening the door for the likely return to power of the long-serving leader after a one-year hiatus. With Netanyahu comes what’s expected to be Israel’s most right-wing coalition ever." Here we go again.

"A former FBI agent and families of eight victims killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting are set to receive an additional half a billion dollars in damages from Infowars host Alex Jones, a Connecticut judge ruled Thursday."

"Tommy Bryant was charged with third-degree assault after striking mayor Wayman Newton in the parking lot of Tarrant city hall in a Monday night incident witnessed by multiple people, including the police chief, reported TMZ… Witnesses say Bryant used racial slurs during the incident, which came after he challenged the mayor, who is Black, to step down during a heated exchange during the City Council meeting."

"Democrats kept control of the Senate on Saturday, repelling Republican efforts to retake the chamber and making it harder for them to thwart President Joe Biden’s agenda. The fate of the House was still uncertain as the GOP struggled to pull together a slim majority there."

"Under Georgia’s 2021 election law, there will be only four weeks before the runoff — with Thanksgiving in the middle. Many Georgians will be offered only five weekdays of early in-person voting beginning Nov. 28. And June’s primary runoffs showed time for mail ballots to be received and returned can be very tight."

There has to be a morning after

"Razor-thin margins around the country left control of Congress still undetermined Wednesday, but Democrats showed surprising strength in the midterm election, topping Republicans in a series of competitive races and defying expectations that high inflation and President Joe Biden’s low approval ratings would drag his party to key defeats."

Not good, but not as bad as it could have been. Here in the Ohio wasteland, the GOP swept most statewide offices. And JD Vance is in the Senate. Gods help us all.

Linkee-poo Monday Nov 7

Go and vote, if you haven't already.

"In North America and around the globe, 50 UNESCO World Heritage sites are home to glaciers. A new study warns that glaciers in a third of them will disappear by 2050 due to carbon emissions warming the planet… The other two-thirds can still be saved — but only if global temperatures don't exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial times, UNESCO says."

"Cannon is getting help to finance this climate-friendly way of farming, which costs him thousands of dollars for additional machinery and seed, from the kinds of companies that ultimately buy his product. Footing the bill in his case is PepsiCo and Unilever, which own food brands ranging from Lay's and Gatorade to Hellman's and Ben & Jerry's."

"But now something remarkable has happened. The fish has come back to the lakes of Medio Jurua. The story of how involves people of different backgrounds cooperating on many levels — a vision of what’s possible that veterans of the Amazon say they’ve seen nowhere else across the vast region."

"When put to the test, bees have proved over and over again that they've got a lot more to offer than pollinating, making honey and being fiercely loyal to a queen. The industrious insects can count and alter their behavior when things seem difficult, and now some scientists say there's proof they also like to play."

"As climate change impacts the production of prized saffron in Indian-controlled Kashmir, scientists are shifting to a largely new technique for growing one of the world’s most expensive spices in the Himalayan region: indoor cultivation."

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued new guidance for clinicians on how and when to prescribe opioids for pain. Released Thursday, this revamps the agency's 2016 recommendations which some doctors and patients have criticized for promoting a culture of austerity around opioids." This is what, the third revision to the 2016 rules?

"Applications for jobless benefits fell slightly last week with the U.S. job market remaining resilient in the face of rising interest rates and persistent inflation."

"The FBI said Thursday that it had received credible information about a 'broad' threat to synagogues in New Jersey, a warning that prompted some municipalities to send extra police officers to guard houses of worship."

"Saudi Arabia has shared intelligence with American officials that suggests Iran could be preparing for an imminent attack on the kingdom, three U.S. officials said Tuesday." Look at the price of gas. Gee, would like to help, but, you know. Hey, why don't you call your friend Vlad. What do you mean he supports Iran? Well, I guess you shouldn't have sided with him over oil production quotas.

"There was one problem: neither soldier had ever fired an NLAW. So, as the tanks approached, they hid amongst some trees and looked up a YouTube video on how to do so. They took their positions, prepared the missiles."

"What happened that day in Bucha was what Russian soldiers on intercepted phone conversations called 'zachistka' — cleansing. The Russians hunted people on lists prepared by their intelligence services and went door to door to identify potential threats. Those who didn’t pass this filtration, including volunteer fighters and civilians suspected of assisting Ukrainian troops, were tortured and executed, surveillance video, audio intercepts and interviews show."

"As Russians seized parts of eastern and southern Ukraine, civilian administrators and others, including nuclear power plant workers, say they have been abducted, threatened or beaten to force their cooperation — something that legal and human rights experts say may constitute a war crime."

"Now that two of the warring parties in Ethiopia have signed a landmark peace deal, the world is watching to see if it will truly mean the end of one of the world's deadliest conflicts… The deal was struck Wednesday as the war neared the two-year mark since fighting erupted in the Tigray region, in the early hours of Nov. 4, 2020. The fighting has killed hundreds of thousands of people, uprooted millions from their homes and devastated one of Africa's biggest economies."

"A Manhattan judge said Thursday he will appoint an independent monitor 'to ensure there is no further fraud' at former President Donald Trump’s company, restricting its ability to freely make deals, sell assets and change its corporate structure."

"President Joe Biden took off on a personal final-days campaign sprint Thursday that reflects the Democrats’ major concerns before next week’s midterm elections, appealing to New Mexico voters to defeat “reckless and irresponsible” Republicans and reelect Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham."

Linkee-poo Thursday Nov3

Vote like democracy depends on it, because it does.

"The event description sells itself: 'the greatest masquerade on earth, hosted at the largest Masonic Temple in the world.'… Theatre Bizarre has not always called the Detroit Masonic Temple home, but it's hard to imagine it happening anywhere else. As one of the most storied buildings in Detroit, featuring a seemingly endless collection of rooms, hallways, and hiding places, the setting seems perfect for hosting an evening of unexpected delights and terrors."

"While coal's devastating contribution to climate change has been well documented, it has also left a long and painful legacy in communities where it's mined. A joint investigation by Bloomberg News and NPR found that Alpha is one of several large U.S. coal companies that used the same playbook. They transferred old mines in need of cleanup to smaller operators with meager financial resources, raising the risk that taxpayers, rather than industry, will eventually be stuck with the cost."

"So much has been lost over time that residents have voted twice to relocate. But Shishmaref remains in the same place. The relocation is too costly. In this Inupiat village of 600 residents live mostly off subsistence hunting of seals, fishing and berry picking. Some fear that if they move, they’d lose that traditional way of life that they’ve carried on from their ancestors."

"The answer is yes, according to a new paper in Nature Communications presenting evidence that many species thought to be mute do in fact vocalize — and the researchers caught it on tape." It's amazing what you find when you just look.

"Just after news leaked in May that the Supreme Court planned to overturn Roe v. Wade, Liz Lebrón and her colleagues noticed something unusual: a spike in false and misleading information on abortion being shared in Spanish on social media."

"The drug that killed her daughter was rare a decade ago, but fentanyl and other lab-produced synthetic opioids now are driving an overdose crisis deadlier than any the U.S. has ever seen. Last year, overdoses from all drugs claimed more than 100,000 lives for the first time, and the deaths this year have remained at nearly the same level — more than gun and auto deaths combined."

"'Long COVID is destroying lives. It is actively destroying lives. And right now, there is no known cure for long COVID,' Dr. David Putrino says… Meanwhile, researchers who’ve spent decades studying Chronic Fatigue Syndrome also known as ME/CFS, are saying, 'We can help.'"

"The analysis found the average student lost more than half a school year of learning in math and nearly a quarter of a school year in reading – with some district averages slipping by more than double those amounts, or worse… Online learning played a major role, but students lost significant ground even where they returned quickly to schoolhouses, especially in math scores in low-income communities."

"The unusually high number of RSV infections so early in the year are already pushing hospitals to capacity. In normal years, RSV sends thousands of children to the hospital over fall and winter, but for the second year in a row experts have seen an unprecedented spike in the number of cases beginning during the summer months." And many are treating RSV as "not serious" because it's not COVID. But then we're also seeing a decrease in the proper use of PPE with COVID patients as well.

"Bernal says that, through marketing and advertising, state-run lotteries have no regulation to their 'predatory practices' that affect low-income communities — which are made up of primarily Black and brown people."

"Time is running out if you're hoping to book a relatively inexpensive flight over the holidays. Airlines say that demand is sky high and, as a result, airfares are soaring." What coming recession?

"Inflation hit a new record in the 19 countries that use the euro currency, fueled by out-of-control prices for natural gas and electricity due to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Economic growth also slowed ahead of what economists fear is a looming recession, largely as a result of those higher prices sapping Europeans’ ability to spend."

"Across the board, government bonds are giving investors the best payouts seen in years: 4%, 5%, 6%. This is far better than the return you'll get on the stock market right now (the S&P 500 is down nearly 20% so far this year), though still not enough to keep up with inflation."

"New York will require employers as of Nov. 1 to disclose 'a good faith salary range for every job, promotion, and transfer opportunity advertised,' according to the city’s Commission on Human Rights… Similar salary transparency laws are being adopted by a small but growing number of cities and states across the country in an effort to address pay disparities for women and people of color."

"Biden in brief remarks criticized major oil companies for making record-setting profits while refusing to help lower prices at the pump for the American people. The president suggested he will look to Congress to levy tax penalties on oil tax companies if they don’t begin to invest some of their profits in lowering costs for American consumers. The president issued the warning just days before the Nov. 8 midterm elections." A windfall tax is certainly justified at this time.

"The Federal Reserve ordered another big boost in interest rates on Wednesday, and warned that rates will have to go even higher to bring stubbornly high inflation under control." If inflation is being driven by profiteering (as it's starting to look like), higher interest rates won't affect this.

"The Justice Department has arrested 21 people suspected of belonging to a theft ring that made millions of dollars from stolen catalytic converters, the car parts that have increasingly become targets across the country."

"In a dystopian nightmare come to life, the Cambodian government has given Chinese crime syndicates free rein to bring in tens of thousands of foreign men and women who — according to human rights organizations and their own accounts — are held captive to work in crowded cyber scam mills."

"A massive barrage of Russian strikes Monday morning hit critical infrastructure in Kyiv, Kharkiv and other cities, leaving residents without water and power supplies. The strikes appear to be retaliation for what Moscow alleged was a Ukrainian attack on its Black Sea Fleet over the weekend. Russia suspended a Ukraine grain export deal last week that has helped keep world food prices down."

"A small number of U.S. military forces inside Ukraine have recently begun doing onsite inspections to ensure that Ukrainian troops are properly accounting for the Western-provided weapons they receive, a senior U.S. defense official told Pentagon reporters Monday."

"Afghan special forces soldiers who fought alongside American troops and then fled to Iran after the chaotic U.S. withdrawal last year are now being recruited by the Russian military to fight in Ukraine, three former Afghan generals told The Associated Press." Oh look, it's our broken promises coming back to bite us. Again.

"United States Capitol Police security cameras installed at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco residence recorded the break-in to her home early last Friday morning, according to a source familiar with the investigation." So much for the conspiracy theories. Unfortunately the truth is not a cure for the lies, because the content of the lie is not the thrust of the lie.

"Voters in five states, including four that are among the most conservative in the country, are deciding on whether to legalize recreational marijuana this election. If passed in each state, Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota would join 19 other states and the District of Columbia where cannabis has already been legalized for personal use."

"He won by a razor-thin margin over an opponent who refuses to concede. He'll take over a deeply polarized country with a troubled economy. And while some Brazilians are hopeful he can put the country back on track, others view him as a crook… Despite engineering a stunning political comeback by winning the presidency in Sunday's runoff election over far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva could face a short honeymoon — and a long four years in office."

"Florida motorists can expect to pay more at the pump as the state’s month-long gas tax 'holiday' ends… The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas Monday stood at $3.29, about a dime cheaper than at the start of October. But the AAA auto club said that likely will change quickly when the state’s 25.3-cent-a-gallon gas tax returns Tuesday, after being suspended in October by lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis."

"Now Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, is on trial for criminal tax fraud — on the hook for what prosecutors say was a 15-year scheme by his most trusted lieutenant to avoid paying taxes on those fringe benefits."

"Another pro-MAGA activist has been outed as a Chinese spy, according to the Washington Post… Just as Elon Musk is taking over Twitter, the company uncovered three China-based operatives pretending to be influencers in American politics as part of an effort to polarize Americans ahead of the 2022 midterm elections."

"The New Hampshire dynamic reflects the emboldened GOP’s increasing confidence in candidates who party leaders believed were essentially unelectable — or at least seriously flawed — just weeks or months ago. But heading into the final full week of the 2022 midterms, Republican leaders are betting that anti-Democratic political headwinds will supersede what Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell himself called 'candidate quality' issues in his own party."

"Yesterday, the State of Minnesota Campaign Finance Board determined that there is prima facie evidence that Jim Schultz’s campaign violated campaign finance laws by illegally coordinating with the independent expenditure group Minnesota for Freedom… This determination resulted from a complaint filed by the DFL Party alleging that Schultz’s campaign and Minnesota for Freedom both bought ads using Steve Syckes as an agent, which is expressly prohibited by Minnesota campaign finance law."

"Ahead of Election Day in the high-stakes 2022 midterm elections, right-wing groups have spent tens of millions of dollars on anti-transgender ads in battleground states… America First Legal, an organization launched by former Donald Trump aide Stephen Miller, is behind many of the political ads targeting transgender kids that have run in at least 25 states."

"What Burden said that day in May 2021 was a violation of a long-standing federal law barring churches and nonprofits from directly or indirectly participating in political campaigns, tax law experts told ProPublica and The Texas Tribune. Although the provision was mostly uncontroversial for decades after it passed in 1954, it has become a target for both evangelical churches and former President Donald Trump, who vowed to eliminate it."