"Scaffolding in a niche of the Vatican Museums’ Round Hall conceal from view the work of restorers who are removing centuries of grime from the largest known bronze statue of the ancient world: the gilded Hercules Mastai Righetti."
"In a 7-2 vote on Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Andy Warhol infringed on photographer Lynn Goldsmith's copyright when he created a series of silk screen images based on a photograph Goldsmith shot of the late musician Prince in 1981."
"The Mastcam-Z instrument aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover recently collected 152 images while looking deep into Belva Crater, a large impact crater within the far larger Jezero Crater. Stitched into a dramatic mosaic, the results are not only eye-catching, but also provide the rover’s science team some deep insights into the interior of Jezero."
"Temperatures are expected to be warmest relative to average in the country’s midsection from June through August with risks for cooler weather on the East and West coasts, according to the latest outlook from The Weather Company, an IBM Business, and Atmospheric G2… But the fly in this forecast ointment may be a cooler start to summer – particularly in the Southwest and possibly into the South."
"A BP subsidiary will pay a $40 million penalty and install technology to control releases of benzene and other contaminants at its Whiting oil refinery on the Indiana shoreline of Lake Michigan, Biden administration officials said Wednesday."
"The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a nearly $11 billion investment on Tuesday to help bring affordable clean energy to rural communities throughout the country… Rural electric cooperatives, renewable energy companies and electric utilities will be able to apply for funding through two programs, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said during a media briefing on Monday."
"The Biden administration on Wednesday announced $251 million for carbon capture and storage projects in seven states, aiming to reducing reduce planet-warming pollution from power plants and other industrial facilities."
"But fewer haddock will be caught in New England this year after regulators cut fishing quotas. A recent scientific assessment found that the Gulf of Maine haddock stock declined unexpectedly, and that meant the catch quotas for the fish were unsustainably high, federal fishing managers said."
"Griffiths told me the results were astonishing. Not only did (psilocybin) reduce anxiety and depression in patients, for some of them it unlocked a spiritual experience… Now, Griffiths is looking at all this from the other side. In early 2022, he was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. Doctors think he only has a few months to live. I had an incredible conversation with this world-renowned scientist and healer about how he is coming to grips with his own mortality, and the mystery of what comes next."
"But many experts say these officers aren't experiencing fentanyl or opioid overdoses… 'This has never happened,' said Dr. Ryan Marino, a toxicologist and emergency room physician who studies addiction at Case Western Reserve University. 'There has never been an overdose through skin contact or accidentally inhaling fentanyl.'" Funny that. It doesn't mean these officers don't need help or are not actually feeling an affect, but it's not fentanyl.
"With new and used cars still painfully expensive, Ryan Holdsworth says he plans to keep his 9-year-old Chevy Cruze for at least four more years. Limiting his car payments and his overall debt is a bigger priority for him than having a new vehicle."
"The next big potential risk to the U.S. economy may be lurking in corporate towers across the country's downtown districts… With many people still working from home, companies are cutting back on so much office space that it threatens to unleash even more headwinds for the U.S. economy." Or, and just hear me out here, we could redevelop that space into affordable apartment complexes. Alternatively, the could lower rents which would draw back actual offices (as compared to cubical farms).
"Retail sales increased 0.4% in April compared with March, when sales decreased 0.7%. That is the first retail sales increase since January, when unusually warm weather and a big jump in Social Security benefits juiced spending."
"More than a year after launching an effort to unionize, dancers at a topless dive bar in Los Angeles are close to becoming the only unionized group of strippers in the U.S.… Lawyers representing the owners of the Star Garden Topless Dive Bar have withdrawn all election challenges and have agreed to recognize the union, organizers said on Tuesday."
"Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are pushing to keep AM radio in the nation’s cars… A bipartisan group in Congress has introduced the “AM for Every Vehicle Act.” The bill calls on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to require automakers to keep AM radio in new cars at no additional cost." *cough*Salem Media*cough* In case you need reminded, the On the Media Podcast series "The Divided Dial."
"(A) federal investigation found that three Kentucky-based McDonald’s franchises illegally employed at least 305 children, including some as young as 10 years old. The three franchises — Bauer Food LLC, Archways Richwood LLC, and Bell Restaurant Group I LLC — operate 62 stores across Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, and Ohio."
"Russia’s hypersonic missiles have taken a dual hit this week from Patriots fired by Ukraine and 'patriots' arrested at home… Once touted as unstoppable, the program now faces growing domestic fallout from treason charges against three scientists who worked on the technology, just as Kyiv claims its U.S.-supplied air defense systems have been able to shoot many of the missiles down." Well, someone has to pay for their failure. Although, if I understand it correctly, Russia's hypersonic weapons are ballistic missiles and only achieve their speed very high in the atmosphere (where it's easy), but then look like most other ballistic missiles as they slow down in the thicker air when they get close to their target. Patriot, while not designed as an anti-ballistic system, has shown it can function very well as one.
"The Pentagon has overestimated the value of the weapons it has sent to Ukraine by at least $3 billion — an accounting error that could be a boon for the war effort because it will allow the Defense Department to send more weapons now without asking Congress for more money." Well, isn't that convenient.
"The Ukraine Black Sea grain deal has been extended for two more months, in what U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hailed as 'good news for the world,' a day before Russia could have quit the pact over obstacles to its grain and fertiliser exports."
"A dozen poor countries are facing economic instability and even collapse under the weight of hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign loans, much of them from the world’s biggest and most unforgiving government lender, China." You say that like that wasn't the actual plan. See, then China will forgive, or refinance, if only those governments would, maybe, give China the property they developed, or favorable trade rights, or ownership of ports… Welcome to Belt and Road.
"An investigation led by Republican Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, has sent doctors at an Austin hospital into a panic, causing all the physicians in its adolescent medicine department to depart… Earlier this week, Dell Children’s clinic, which provides gender-affirming care for trans children, announced to parents that they would need to find new providers for their children in transition."
More guns make us safer… "Matthew Davis, 32, admonished Angel Gomez, 20, for being disorderly in the parking lot of the Keene, Texas, restaurant at about 9:40 p.m. last Saturday. A physical altercation ensued, then the juvenile suspect, who is unnamed because they are (12), allegedly shot Davis multiple times from the back seat of Gomez's vehicle, the Keene Police Department said… Davis was transported to the hospital, where he died."
You should keep a gun to protect yourself… "A Mexican woman who killed a man defending herself when he attacked and raped her in 2021 was sentenced to more than six years in prison, a decision her legal defense called 'discriminatory' and vowed to appeal Tuesday."
"A Florida teacher is under investigation by the state's Department of Education after she showed her students a Disney movie that features a gay character… Jenna Barbee, who teaches fifth grade in the Hernando County School District, says a student's mother lodged a complaint with education officials after Barbee showed the film Strange World in her classroom."
"Disney on Thursday upped the ante in its battle with Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, and it cost his state 2,000 white-collar jobs… Disney is scrapping plans to build a $1 billion office complex in Florida, citing 'changing business conditions,' according to a memo provided by a Disney spokesperson."
"Two staff members at Rep. Gerry Connolly's district office in Fairfax, Va., were attacked Monday by a person armed with a baseball bat, according to a statement released by the Democratic lawmaker."
"The report Monday from special counsel John Durham represents the long-awaited culmination of an investigation that Trump and allies had claimed would expose massive wrongdoing by law enforcement and intelligence officials. Instead, Durham’s investigation delivered underwhelming results, with prosecutors securing a guilty plea from a little-known FBI employee but losing the only two criminal cases they took to trial."
"Deegan, who will be the city’s first female mayor, is also only the second Democrat elected mayor in Jacksonville in the past three decades. She framed herself as a voice of opposition who will clean up what she asserts is a widely viewed culture of corruption in city government and bring in those who have historically been “left behind” when it comes to economic development. Her priorities are infrastructure, public health and small business."
"Minnesota Democratic Party leaders met in a closed executive session over Zoom on Thursday evening to discuss a rule change that would permanently ban people involved in violence from party activities, just days after chaos broke out during a weekend convention to endorse a candidate for a Minneapolis City Council race."
"A group of longtime Republican operatives is launching a super PAC supporting the expected presidential campaign of former Vice President Mike Pence… The move is the strongest signal yet that Pence is planning to officially challenge former President Donald Trump for the GOP nomination. Pence has been signaling his plan for months with campaign-style trips to early voting states including Iowa and New Hampshire." Or, it's just another grift and/or way to transfer generational wealth without tax liabilities.
"A man who spent a night in jail for smacking Rudy Giuliani on the back and calling him a “scumbag” is suing him and several New York City police officers for false arrest and defamation."
"A woman who says she worked as an off-the-books employee for Rudy Giuliani during his stint as Donald Trump’s personal lawyer alleges in court papers that the former New York City mayor coerced her into sex and owes her nearly $2 million in unpaid wages." And supposedly there are tapes.
"The lawsuit seeks $2.4 million from the fake electors and their attorneys, alleging they were part of a conspiracy by Trump and his allies to overturn his loss in the 2020 presidential race. It also seeks to disqualify the Republicans from ever serving as electors again."
"Computer engineers and tech-inclined political scientists have warned for years that cheap, powerful artificial intelligence tools would soon allow anyone to create fake images, video and audio that was realistic enough to fool voters and perhaps sway an election." But now the technology has matured, and our collective ability to shift through the bullshit has been diminished.
"An independent candidate defeated a longtime Republican office holder to become the first elected Black mayor in Colorado Springs, Colorado’s second largest with a history of being a conservative stronghold."
"The FBI disclosed to the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that two of the scheduled witnesses — Marcus Allen and Steve Friend — had their security clearances revoked earlier this month, according to a letter from Christopher Dunham, the acting assistant director of the FBI." The hypocrisy of the GOP would be funny if it weren't so deadly.
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