"Forecasters are warning of treacherous holiday travel and life-threatening cold for much of the nation as an arctic air mass blows into the already-frigid southern United States."
"In reality, they are among six news outlets across Alabama and Florida with financial connections to the consulting firm Matrix LLC, a joint investigation by Floodlight and NPR finds. The firm, based in Montgomery, Alabama, has boasted clients including Alabama Power and another major U.S. utility, Florida Power & Light." “Freedom of the press is limited to those who own one.” - HL Mencken.
"'When a tar sands disaster like this happens, it is worse than a traditional oil spill. Because tar sands is much more difficult, expensive and much more toxic to clean up. We know that this is going to take years,' Kleeb told NPR. She said she's been monitoring oil spills, particularly tar sands spills, for 14 years."
"NASA's InSight lander has probably phoned home for the last time from the planet Mars… The space agency said the spacecraft did not respond to communications from Earth on Sunday, December 18. The lack of communications came as the lander's power-generating capacity has been declining in recent months due to the accumulation of Martian dust on its solar panels. NASA said that it is 'assumed' that InSight has reached the end of its operations but that it will continue to try to contact the lander in the coming days." (Grokked from John)
"The vote is a sign that even in the most conservative parts of California's Central Valley, home to the biggest source of America's fresh produce, attitudes are shifting. Farmers are coming to terms with the fact that their operations will have to change — and in many areas, shrink — to survive chronic drought, depleted aquifers and climate change."
"Germany has handed over 20 Benin Bronzes from its museums to Nigeria, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday, making it the latest European country to return cultural artifacts to their African homeland."
"The enormous cylindrical aquarium was a wonder, the centerpiece of a popular Berlin hotel. But in the early hours of Friday morning, it burst — and soon afterward, Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey said all of the roughly 1,500 fish the aquarium had contained were believed to be dead. Reports later emerged that workers might have been able to rescue some of the animals." Oh the humanity!
"Millions of people who enrolled in Medicaid during the COVID-19 pandemic could start to lose their coverage on April 1 if Congress passes the $1.7 trillion spending package leaders unveiled Tuesday… The legislation will sunset a requirement of the COVID-19 public health emergency that prohibited states from booting people off Medicaid. The Biden administration has been under mounting pressure to declare the public health emergency over, with 25 Republican governors asking the president to end it in a letter on Monday, which cited growing concerns about bloated Medicaid enrollment."
"In September, Relyvrio became only the third drug approved in the U.S. for ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, an incurable neurodegenerative disease that is usually fatal within five years. But patients and physicians who celebrated Relyvrio’s approval several months ago are now contending with the obstacles posed by the U.S. health care system."
"These loopholes have allowed the entire US productive economy to undergo mass consolidation, flying under regulatory radar. This affects industries as diverse as 'hospital beds, magic mushrooms, youth addiction treatment centers, mobile home parks, nursing homes, physicians’ practices, local newspapers, or e-commerce sellers,' but it's at its worst when it comes to services associated with trauma, where you don't shop around." Cory Doctorow on the quiet monopolies that have slowly swallowed much of the US service industry. This is why your bills for your pet care, emergency room doctors, urgent care doctors, funeral homes, etc have all skyrocketed while service has declined.
"Inflation, the curse of our pocketbooks and the Federal Reserve, has hit almost every good in the U.S. But the price of a beloved toy has managed to hover around $1 — for more than 50 years… Hot Wheels are a retail oddity. They remain one of the most affordable toys in the country at a time when inflation is chipping away at savings accounts and compounding credit card debt for many Americans, experts like James Zahn told NPR."
"The new procedures the U.S. Surface Transportation Board approved this week may give shippers a way to resolve rate disputes of less than $4 million in a matter of months instead of years, and at a much lower cost. But the major freight railroads expressed reservations about the new system that would take effect sometime early next year."
"Union Pacific says it will stop imposing temporary limits on certain businesses’ shipments while it reviews the policy that federal regulators and shippers criticized at a hearing last week."
"Elon Musk's $5.7 billion mystery donation in 2021 went to the Musk Foundation, Bloomberg reported on Monday… Earlier this year, it was revealed through a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that the billionaire had given away more than 5 million Tesla shares in November 2021."
"More than half of 17.5 million users who responded to a poll that asked whether billionaire Elon Musk should step down as head of Twitter voted yes when the poll closed on Monday." And now he's floating "I can't find anyone" as well as "it was an exercise to expose the bots." As you say, Elon, Vox Populi, Vox Dei.
"General Motors Co said Tuesday it is recalling 140,000 Chevrolet Bolt EVs in North America because the carpet could catch fire after a crash where a front seat belt pretensioner deploys."
"In a major boost for President Joe Biden’s pledge to eliminate gas-powered vehicles from the sprawling federal fleet, the Postal Service said Tuesday it will sharply increase the number of electric-powered delivery trucks — and will go all-electric for new purchases starting in 2026." Well, finally DeJoy does something right. Remember when he rolled back the purchases of electric vehicles for the Post Office just 2 years ago. IIRC this now delays the original plan by just a year.
"Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers on Tuesday banned female students from attending universities effective immediately in the latest edict cracking down on women’s rights and freedoms." Hey, remember when they said they wouldn't do that. It was like only last year.
"The Taliban have released two Americans held in Afghanistan in what appeared to be a 'goodwill gesture,' State Department spokesman Ned Price said Tuesday… The release was not part of any larger prisoner swap, and no money changed hands, he told reporters."
"Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday inaugurated Germany’s first liquefied natural gas terminal, declaring that the speed with which it was put into service is a signal that Europe’s biggest economy will remain strong."
"Defense officials said Monday that Germany is readying decades-old armored personnel carriers for a key NATO force after the modern vehicles that should have been deployed suffered a mass breakdown." Oopsie.
How do you treat Nazis? "A German court on Tuesday convicted a 97-year-old woman of being an accessory to more than 10,000 murders for her role as a secretary to the SS commander of the Nazis’ Stutthof concentration camp during World War II."
"The US announced this week that it is providing a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine — but experts say that while it will be a valuable addition to the beleaguered country’s air defense, it’s not a cure-all."
"Harvey Weinstein, once one of the most powerful men in Hollywood whose many sex crimes helped ignite the #metoo movement, was convicted of 3 of 7 charges in his second sex crimes trial, this time in Los Angeles. The jury was unable to reach a verdict was on 3 of the charges. The 70-year-old is already serving a 23-year prison sentence for rape and sexual assault in New York."
"A university chancellor has publicly apologized after making a speech at a commencement ceremony in which he mocked Asian languages."
"The U.S. House passed a bill Thursday that would allow Puerto Rico to hold the first-ever binding referendum on whether to become a state or gain some sort of independence, in a last-ditch effort that stands little chance of passing the Senate."
"Congressional leaders unveiled a government-wide $1.7 trillion spending package early Tuesday that includes another large round of aid to Ukraine, a nearly 10% boost in defense spending and roughly $40 billion in emergency spending, mostly to assist communities across the country recovering from drought, hurricanes and other natural disasters."
"Ohio’s attorney general says he laments the pain that ensued after he suggested in a nationally televised interview that an account of a 10-year-old rape victim who sought an abortion in Indiana might have been a fabrication." It was just a misunderstanding. See, when I sought to be a seen as a dick, you all thought I was the dick. So potato/po-TAH-to. See, Yost, a professional would have said, "I can't comment because I haven't fully investigated the matter." Instead you chose to be a partisan hack. And for that, you were correctly pilloried.
"In his quest to rise to House speaker, Kevin McCarthy is charging straight into history — potentially becoming the first nominee in 100 years unable to win the job on a first-round floor vote."
"A leading New York Republican says accusations that GOP Congressman-elect George Santos, R-N.Y., faked much of his biography are 'serious.'… He referred to a story in The New York Times that appears to show key details of Santos' official campaign bio were fabricated."
"Kari Lake… gets her long-sought opportunity to make her case to a judge this week during a two-day trial scheduled to begin on Wednesday. She’ll have a chance to inspect ballots, call witnesses and introduce evidence in a bid to prove she was the rightful winner of the race, which Democrat Katie Hobbs won by just over 17,000 votes."
"Back in August, Florida officials announced they were charging 20 people with alleged voter fraud. It was the first big set of cases investigated by the state's new election crimes unit, which was created at the urging of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis… The statewide prosecutor recently secured one conviction through a plea deal. But at least three other cases so far have been dismissed on procedural grounds. And attorneys representing those who were charged say Florida's cases face a tough road — even if they make it to trial."
"In one of the last acts of the Democratic-led Congress, the House and the Senate are set to pass an overhaul of the Electoral Count Act, the arcane election law that then-President Donald Trump tried to subvert after his 2020 election defeat."
"Speaking at a conference of Orthodox Jews on Friday, Donald Trump did not address a widely criticized private meal he shared last month with a Holocaust-denying white nationalist and a rapper who has spewed antisemitic conspiracies… The former president told the audience he was 'the best ally you’ve ever had.'"
"The IRS failed to pursue mandatory audits of Donald Trump on a timely basis during his presidency, a congressional panel found on Tuesday, raising questions about statements by the former president and leading members of his administration who claimed he could not release his tax filings because of the ongoing reviews."
"On Monday, The Daily Beast reported that former President Donald Trump is accompanied by a former host for the far-right One America News Network (OAN) while he golfs, who follows him around and reads him positive news stories to make him feel better." Whose the snowflake?
"Four months later, that sense of intensity and urgency was missing — at least for now — after the Jan. 6 House committee voted to recommend the Justice Department bring criminal charges against (Trump). Leading Republicans largely avoided the historic criminal referral Monday, while others pressed to weigh in offered muted defenses — or none at all."
"In creating his NFT collection, former President Trump seems to have borrowed images from across the internet, including clothing brands on Amazon and Walmart… However, journalists noticed that at least some of the images for the NFTs relied on photos of clothing you can buy online. For example, an NFT showing Trump wearing a cowboy outfit seems to be based on a duster jacket from Scully Leather, which is sold on Amazon and Walmart." And some of the images include licensing watermarks (which means the image used was a thumbnail downloaded before paying for the image).
"Nearly two years after the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the Democratic-led House committee investigating the attack is set to release its full report Thursday."
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