"Baltimore Key Bridge collapses after ship collision."
Photos: Baltimore's Key Bridge collapses; search and rescue efforts continue."
"On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will cross North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, completely blocking the face of the Sun. The sky will darken as if it were dawn or dusk."
In the path of totality. For what is happening where on April 8th.
The Great American Eclipse.
"Most of the United States is expected to see warmer-than-average temperatures this spring, federal forecasters say, with dry conditions likely in the West." Here we go again.
"Now, in a new perspective paper in Nature Communications, Plowright and a team of 24 ecologists, infectious disease scientists and policy experts have distilled their collective observations into three recommendations to prevent spillovers and halt epidemics and pandemics before they even start."
"Dreaming of sleep? You could try a 'sleep vacation'." I have questions…
"A growing number of Americans are likewise eager to see more environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional burial and cremation. Human composting is the latest option."
(An older article, but one we missed) Let's check back with Brexit, shall we. "British children who grew up during the years of austerity are falling behind many of their European peers in terms of height, a study has found… GPs in poorer areas of the country have reported a resurgence of Victorian diseases such as rickets and scurvy caused largely, they say, by nutritional deficiencies. NHS data shows that about 700 children a year are admitted to hospital with malnutrition, rickets or scurvy in England." Okay, austerity predates Brexit. "Food experts point out that a diet of cheap junk food makes people simultaneously overweight and undernourished." Really?
"A majority of Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical Tuesday of the idea of a nationwide ban or new limits on mifepristone, the primary drug used for medication abortions... At issue in the case are lower-court rulings that would have rolled back recent Food and Drug Administration decisions to ease access to the mifepristone. A district court had instituted a nationwide ban as well."
"Consumers may also bear some of the blame for the use of pesticides. One example, Pritts said, is that growers have had to use pesticides on their apples to keep them free of spots and blemishes, because otherwise shoppers wouldn't buy them." Side eye intensifies.
“'Holy mackerel,' wrote John Swez, Duke Energy’s director for generation dispatch, in a recently released company email about losses from the old coal plants subsidized by House Bill 6, Ohio’s coal and nuclear bailout law. Critics say that and other emails show utilities knew the coal plants were run in a way that increased their losses and the resulting costs to consumers... 'Holy mackerel' can also apply to other developments in Ohio’s ongoing corruption scandal. Among other things..." And in other news I've been engaged in fighting anti-solar people on NextDoor. Apparently a landowner in a nearby community wants to install a solar "farm" on their land. The people fighting against it sound an awful lot like my interactions with First Energy. The 2 links they've shared to "prove" their position that solar energy installations are harmful to the environment and health were easily debunked as corporate propaganda. But of course that hasn't moved them off their position. If they're still checking this blog, I suggest they read this article and understand they're carrying these companies' water for them. Also note that those coal plants, which supply Ohio's baseline power, are neither profitable or maintained properly despite how much FE and AEP are sucking out of our economy because of Issue 6. '
"Plastic producers have known for more than 30 years that recycling is not an economically or technically feasible plastic waste management solution. That has not stopped them from promoting it, according to a new report… 'The companies lied,' said Richard Wiles, president of fossil-fuel accountability advocacy group the Center for Climate Integrity (CCI), which published the report. 'It’s time to hold them accountable for the damage they’ve caused.'" I know, weird, right?
"Immigrant children as young as 14 were found working illegally amid dangerous heavy equipment at a Tennessee firm that makes parts for lawn mowers sold by John Deere and other companies, according to Labor Department officials."
"As government officials debate how to handle the influx of new arrivals, the Girl Scouts — whose Troop 6000 has served kids who live in the shelter system since 2017 — are quietly welcoming hundreds of the city’s youngest new residents with the support of donations. Most of the girls have fled dire conditions in South and Central America and endured an arduous journey to the U.S."
"The California Labor Commissioner’s Office ordered Rafael Rivas’ RDV Construction Inc. and RVR General Construction Inc. to pay $16.2 million for defrauding more than 1,100 workers in Southern California. But the agency, which issued the citations for back wages and penalties in 2018 and 2019, had recovered just 2% as of last month, according to a department spokesman."
"The report found that some large firms “accelerated and distorted” the effects of supply chain snarls, including by pressuring suppliers to favor them over competitors. Food and beverage retailers also posted strong profits during the height of the pandemic and continue to do so today, casting doubt on assertions that higher grocery prices are simply moving in lock step with retailers’ own rising costs, the authors argued." This is my shocked face.
"Children who displayed aggressive behaviour at school, such as bullying or temper outbursts, are likely to earn more money in middle age, according to a five-decade study that upends the maxim that bullies do not prosper."
"Big changes are coming to the way people buy and sell houses in the United States. The National Association of Realtors settled a lawsuit last week that could up-end the way real estate agents are paid, doing away with the traditional agent's commission of 5-6%. That's prompting a reckoning for buyers, sellers and real estate agents. Here are six things to know."
"A union that’s organizing Waffle House workers filed a petition with the Labor Department on Monday, asking federal officials to investigate the iconic chain’s policy of deducting mandatory meal costs from workers’ paychecks… Waffle House takes at least $3 for each on-shift meal out of workers’ pay, whether they end up eating it or not, according to the petition from the Union of Southern Service Workers. The USSW called it 'especially alarming' since many workers are paid a tipped sub-minimum wage 'as low as $2.90 per hour,' not including gratuities."
"What are the new rules for tipping?,,, Businesses that never seemed to ask for a tip before — like grocery stores, self-checkout machines and fast food restaurants — are now asking for one these days." I've got an idea. We don't have a subminimum wage. We reform billing to remove all fees and tips and quote the actual price. "... It allows restaurants to get more money to workers while still keeping their prices low, says Sean Jung, a professor at Boston University's School of Hospitality Administration." Here's the thing, they're not keeping their prices low if you have to tip. Just like baggage fees and extra fuel fees and "touch tone dialing" fees and all the rest. That's a part of the price. How it's broken out is bullshit. Pay your workers a living wage and if you can't, maybe you shouldn't be in business. And Square Space is taking a piece of the tip? Whelp it's back to all cash tipping for me again. This reminds me of several years ago it came out that some Ohio restaurants were deducting the meal's swipe fees from workers tips (and also skimming, especially in a "shared tips" establishment).
"Israel says Hamas's rejection of a current proposal for a Gaza truce deal with Israel shows the 'damage' done by the UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire."
"A core tension in Israeli society has grown more urgent since the Hamas attack on Israel last October: Whether to draft the ultra-Orthodox into military service." Welp, that's one way to end the conflict.
"The controversial decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in a year-old project to develop a new fighter jet together with Italy and the U.K., but it’s also part of a move to build up Japan’s arms industry and bolster its role in global affairs."
"A federal judge on Monday threw out a lawsuit by Elon Musk’s X that had targeted a watchdog group for its critical reports about hate speech on the social media platform… In a blistering 52-page order, the judge blasted X’s case as plainly punitive rather than about protecting the platform’s security and legal rights.' The champion of "free speech" is a lying douche canoe?
"Wenhold was among the last to speak. She looked to her left where her fellow representatives were sitting in a row. There was Scott Freeman, the board vice president, who had answered her many questions about the district’s budget process. There was Karen Beerer, a former teacher, who had helped her understand how the school system chose curriculums. And there was LeBlanc, whom she was still trying to figure out… This was a version of American democracy that bore little resemblance to the horror show that Green and Barton described each day on their podcast." Not sure it's a true or full conversion, but yes, if you come to the table ready to help and learn, you tend to find out that what a lot of uninvolved people told you was incorrect. The difference here between what happened in other nearby school districts is that the person who wanted to "bring change" actually could listen.
"New FBI data confirms previous indications that crime in the U.S. declined significantly in 2023, continuing a post-pandemic trend and belying widespread perceptions that crime is rising."
"Bailey, who is campaigning to keep his seat, said last week that he is investigating possible violations of the state’s human rights laws by the Hazelwood School District, after a March 8 fight left a girl hospitalized with severe head injuries." Racists gonna be racist.
"In a stunning decision announced just weeks before he was scheduled to face a jury, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has reached a deal with prosecutors to have the felony securities fraud charges against him dropped and his trial canceled."
"Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has filed a motion to remove Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., as House speaker."
"Susquehanna founder and TikTok investor Jeff Yass has avoided $1 billion in taxes while largely escaping public scrutiny. He’s now pouring his money into campaigns to cut taxes and support election deniers… Gregg Polsky, a University of Georgia law professor and former corporate tax lawyer who was retained by ProPublica to review Susquehanna’s tax records, said the tax agency may have more to scrutinize. The strategies revealed in Yass’ records, he said, were 'very suspicious and suggestive of potential abuse that should be examined by the IRS.'"
"A judge on Tuesday imposed a limited gag order on Donald Trump ahead of his criminal hush money trial in New York... Trump’s statements about various figures involved in the case “were threatening, inflammatory [and] denigrating,” Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan said in a court order." This is my shocked face.
"For the Trump campaign, Jan. 6, 2021 is not a moment of national shame but of celebration... To political scientists, that's been puzzling." Only for those who aren't paying attention. Trump is not concerned about the vote because it's his intention to steal the election. They've been working on the strategy for 4 years, getting people elected and appointed to oversee the next election. They learned from their failures in 2020.
"Trump's social media venture soared as much as 59% in its trading debut on Tuesday delivering a potential windfall of billions of dollars to the former president's net worth... Trading in Trump Media and Technology Group, the company behind the Truth Social app, was so frantic that it was briefly halted at one point. It's trading under the stock symbol DJT, or short for Donald J. Trump." Yeah, talk to me April 30.
"Former President Donald Trump is bringing together church and state in a gilded package for his latest venture, a $60 'God Bless The USA' Bible complete with copies of the nation's founding documents." He's now a Bible salesman. There are few cons older than selling Bibles at inflated prices.
"NBC's newest contributor hire is earning backlash — even from the network's own talent... Ronna McDaniel, the former chair of the Republican National Committee, has been hired by the news network, according to a statement from Carrie Budoff Brown, NBC News' Senior Vice President of Politics." There are a lot of calls to fire her. I disagree. She should be on every show, and the host and producers should fact check her on the air. This would continue to demonstrate the perfidity of the GOP. Of course that will be met with cries of censorship and "cancel culture."
"NBC News cut ties Tuesday with former Republican National Committee chief Ronna McDaniel less than a week after hiring her as an on-air political contributor, a decision that came following a furious protest by some of its journalists and commentators." And here it comes.
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