Linkee-poo Three Kings

Barbara Walters, Anita Pointer, Joseph Ratzinger, and a whole lot more, and so it goes.

"Officials in California ordered evacuations in a high-risk coastal area where mudslides killed 23 people in 2018 as a huge storm barreled into the state Wednesday, bringing high winds and rain that threatened widespread flooding and knocked out power to more than 100,000 people."

"Thirteen bison were killed or had to be euthanized after their herd was struck by a semi-truck involved in an accident with two other vehicles on a dark Montana highway just outside Yellowstone National Park, authorities said Friday."

The NPR Books We Love list. I think this is the first year that the list for speculative fiction holds mostly title I haven't at least heard of.

"Alongside the short-story collection 'The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes,' books such as Virginia Woolf’s 'To The Lighthouse,' Ernest Hemingway’s 'Men Without Women,' William Faulkner’s 'Mosquitoes' and Agatha Christie’s 'The Big Four' — an Hercule Poirot mystery — will become public domain as the calendar turns to 2023."

"The number of states that have legalized recreational use of cannabis more than doubled in the last five years. A new study finds that between 2017 and 2021, the number of very young children eating edible forms of marijuana spiked dramatically, with many kids ending up in hospitals." Sigh. Can't wait for next Halloween! But seriously, don't let kids into your stash.

"Players, coaches and football fans are anxiously awaiting updates about Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills player who suffered a cardiac arrest during Monday night's game against the Cincinnati Bengals."

"Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who suffered a cardiac arrest during a Monday game, has shown "substantial" and "remarkable" improvement in the past 24 hours, according to his physicians and team."

"The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday finalized a rule change that broadens availability of abortion pills to many more pharmacies, including large chains and mail-order companies."

"But until recently, neither Alexander nor any of her colleagues in the emergency department at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis had ever performed one of the most common procedures for women of reproductive age — a uterine aspiration (also commonly known as a D&C) or the removal of tissue from the uterus via suction." And it's needed.

"Louisiana's near-total abortion ban, which took effect on Aug. 1, has raised fears among physicians that they could potentially be investigated for treating a miscarriage, since the same treatments are also used for abortion… During those early weeks of pregnancy, Joshua experienced symptoms she hadn't dealt with in her first pregnancy: mild cramping and spotting. Without access to a doctor, though, Joshua felt like she had nowhere to go for answers."

"U.S. job openings slipped in November but remained high, suggesting businesses are still determined to add workers, a blow to the Federal Reserve’s efforts to cool hiring and wage gains."

"Twitter says it will ease up on its 3-year-old ban on political advertising, the latest change by Elon Musk as he tries to pump up revenue after purchasing the social media platform last year." Duck and cover.

"Elon Musk is trying to slash expenses at Twitter as close to zero as possible while his personal wealth shrinks — and this apparently has included falling behind on rent payments at the company’s offices." I'm sure that will work out well.

How goes Brexit? "British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to halve inflation, grow the U.K. economy and stop illegal immigration Wednesday as he set out his Conservative government’s priorities in his first major speech of 2023."

"Grappling with the biggest flood of Cuban migrants in decades, the United States reopened their long-closed legal pathway on Wednesday by resuming all visa services at its embassy in Havana."

"An ancient wooden sarcophagus that was featured at the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences was returned to Egypt after U.S. authorities determined it was looted years ago, Egyptian officials said Monday." And in case you think this is some crime from the past when the rules we different, check out the dates in the article.

"An airline ground crew worker in Montgomery, Ala., died after being 'ingested into the engine' of a parked plane on Saturday, said the National Transportation Safety Board." The fuck?

"Amazon is laying off 18,000 employees, the tech giant said Wednesday, representing the single largest number of jobs cut at a technology company since the industry began aggressively downsizing last year."

"Natural gas storage levels in the European Union stand at nearly 84% and were higher in December than the average amount in reserve 4-6 years ago, the EU’s executive branch said Wednesday, despite Russian attempts to choke off supplies amid its war on Ukraine."

"Duke Energy Corp. executives on Tuesday blamed a convergence of widespread extreme cold, higher than projected demand, malfunctioning plant equipment and the inability to buy power elsewhere for rolling blackouts on Christmas Eve — the first for the company in the Carolinas."

"A Missouri judge has ruled that a pardon from the governor doesn’t mean the St. Louis lawyer and his wife who gained national attention for waving guns at racial injustice protesters in 2020 should get back the weapons they surrendered and fines they paid after guilty pleas last year."

"Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation on Saturday to legalize natural organic reduction, popularly known as human composting, making New York the sixth state in the nation to allow that method of burial."

"According to the federal indictment from the U.S. District Attorney’s Office in Colorado, Hess and Koch would not follow family wishes, and neither discussed nor obtained authorization for Donor Services to transfer descendants' body parts to third parties… Hess and Koch offered to cremate bodies and provide the remains to families for $1,000 or more. Many of those cremations didn’t occur… They would instead sell remains of the deceased and deliver fake cremains to their loved ones."

"More than 30 graves at a historic Christian cemetery in Jerusalem were found toppled and vandalized, the diocese said Wednesday, jolting the Christian minority in the contested city."

"Last month, the U.S. Justice Department filed a motion to intervene in the legal wrangling over the fate of the child, arguing that Mast’s adoption should never have been granted. The government has said Mast’s attempts to take the child directly conflicted with a U.S. foreign policy decision to reunite the orphan with her Afghan family. They asked that the case be moved from a rural Virginia court to federal court, but were denied by Presiding Circuit Court Judge Richard E. Moore."

"Even in wealthy, developed nations with advanced technologies, heavy machinery and readily available protective equipment, mining can be a dangerous and sometimes deadly job. In Afghanistan, where much of the coal is mined by hand, every descent into the bowels of this mountain is a gamble." And it's mostly done by children.

"The Russian military’s top brass came under increasing scrutiny Wednesday as more details emerged of how at least 89 Russian soldiers, and possibly many more, were killed in a Ukrainian artillery attack on a single building." Serious failures of command, discipline, and tactics.

"Two men have been arrested and charged with vandalizing electrical substations in Washington state, attacks that left thousands without power over the holidays, and one suspect told authorities they did it so they could break into a business and steal money, U.S. authorities said Tuesday."

"Nearly 100 years ago, a local government in Southern California took Bruce's Beach away from its Black owners because of the color of their skin. The owners' descendants won a long effort to regain the land — and now they intend to sell it to Los Angeles County for nearly $20 million."

"The Maine Legislature cleared the way for $450 relief checks to help residents struggling with high winter heating costs Wednesday before decamping to the Augusta Civic Center to hear Democratic Gov. Janet Mills outline her priorities for her second term."

"Virginia Thomas, the wife of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, says she regrets sending texts to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows after the 2020 election, telling the House Jan. 6 committee that 'I would take them all back if I could today.'" The non-apology. Note she doesn't apologize for the content, just that she sent the texts.

"The North Carolina Department of Justice will not bring charges against former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows or his wife, Debra, over allegations that they were illegally registered to vote in the state, the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office announced on Friday." Good thing they're white.

"The records show how Trump limited his tax liability by offsetting his income against corporate losses as well as millions of dollars in business expenses, asset depreciation and other deductions… The records also detail Trump’s foreign holdings."

So how goes it with the party who wants to rule, but not govern? "House Republicans flailed through a long second day of fruitless balloting Wednesday, unable to either elect their leader Kevin McCarthy as House speaker or come up with a new strategy to end the political chaos that has tarnished the start of their new majority." While the most politically expedient route would be for the Democrats to negotiate to get 6 more votes for Jeffries, whereas McCarthy would need 17 Democrats now, I doubt either option is being seriously considered by either leadership on the floor.

"A Democrat who promised to govern as an independent was elected speaker of the narrowly divided Pennsylvania House of Representatives in a surprising move Tuesday on the strength of every Democrat and more than a dozen GOP votes."