AMUSING, INTERESTING, OUTRAGEOUS, or PROFOUND
- The Lord works in mysterious ways.
• Former minister sentenced to 20 years for sexually abusing 2 young children (archived link)
• At Good News International Church, hundreds of members died in a cult massacre that haunts survivors (archived link)
• Pennsylvanie church leader arrested for repeated sexual assaults on young girl (archived link)
• Nearly 40 children in India drown during Hindu festival
• MAGA pastor prays for God to smite Kamala Harris
• Survivors outraged as convicted sex-offender Bishop found living at a church in Los Angeles (archived link)
• New York Catholic diocese agrees to pay $323m to child sexual abuse survivors
• Quebec Catholic monks face class actions over decades of alleged sexual abuse
• 11 survivors sue diocese over alleged abuse by priests
• Right-wing pastor claims to have healed a man who almost died from voting Democratic
• Church leader charged with sexual abuse after allegedly giving naked massages to multiple boys
• Former police chaplain accused of raping young child hundreds of times (archived link)
- Remember that DNA you gave 23andMe?www.theatlantic.com Remember That DNA You Gave 23andMe?
The company is in trouble, and anyone who has spit into one of the company’s test tubes should be concerned.
(archived link)
- Trump says he'll seek criminal charges against Google if re-elected president, because search results unfairly favor Kamala Harris and display negative stories about himwww.theguardian.com Trump vows to seek criminal charges against Google if re-elected president
Ex-president complains search results unfairly favor Kamala Harris and display negative stories about him
- Vance to talk at tour hosted by ‘prophet’ who thinks Harris practices witchcraftwww.theguardian.com Vance to talk at tour hosted by ‘prophet’ who thinks Harris practices witchcraft
Trump’s running mate will speak at Lance Wallnau’s event in campaign’s latest link to extremist Christian right
- In Alabama, prison guards accused of violence and misconduct carry out secretive executionsboltsmag.org In Alabama, Prison Guards Accused of Violence and Misconduct Carry Out Secretive Executions
As the state keeps details around the death penalty hidden, an investigation into its execution team raises questions about how incarcerated people are treated in their final moments.
- As death rate surges, Texas asks Supreme Court to let it keep denying care to pregnant womenwww.rollingstone.com As Death Rate Surges, Texas Asks Supreme Court to Let It Keep Denying Care to Pregnant Women
As maternal mortality spikes, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton charges ahead with an effort to prevent doctors from providing emergency care.
(archived link)
- OpenAI looks to shift away from fake nonprofit roots and convert itself to for-profit companyapnews.com OpenAI looks to shift away from nonprofit roots and convert itself to for-profit company
OpenAI’s history as a nonprofit research institute that also sells commercial products like ChatGPT may be coming to an end as the San Francisco company looks to more fully convert itself into a for-profit corporation accountable to shareholders.
(archived link)
- Pollen allergies drove woolly mammoths to extinction, study claimswww.livescience.com Pollen allergies drove woolly mammoths to extinction, study claims
A boom in vegetation at the end of the last ice age may have created so much pollen, it blocked mammoths' sense of smell. A new study suggests this drove the beasts to extinction, but not everyone agrees.
(archived link)
- Trump says he'll use federal forces to invade U.S. cities over immigration policynewrepublic.com Trump’s Unhinged Threat to U.S. Cities Should Terrify You
Donald Trump is now threatening to use federal forces to invade U.S. cities over immigration policy.
(archived link)
- Trump-appointed judge lets over 8,000 Catholic employers deny worker protections for abortion and fertility careapnews.com Judge lets over 8,000 Catholic employers deny worker protections for abortion and fertility care
A federal judge is allowing more than 8,000 Catholic employers nationwide to reject government regulations that protect workers seeking abortions and fertility care.
(archived link)
- Hilton, Marriott and Chipotle bankroll climate opposition, despite green claimswww.bloomberg.com Hilton, Marriott and Chipotle Bankroll Climate Opposition, Despite Green Claims
The companies belong to industry trade groups that are opposing pivotal legislation to cut greenhouse gas emissions in Colorado.
(archived link)
- RFK Jr's ballot chicanery is sooo obviously disingenuous bullshitwww.rollingstone.com RFK Jr.'s Ballot Chicanery Is Getting Ridiculous
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has filed several legal challenges in key swing states to secure the removal of his name from November presidential ballots.
(archived link)
- Florida Gov DeSantis bans sex ed classes from mentioning anatomy and contraceptiveswww.lgbtqnation.com Ron DeSantis bans Florida's sex ed classes from mentioning anatomy & contraceptives - LGBTQ Nation
All districts are now required to promote abstinence, exclude consent, and remove any pictures of reproductive organs.
- Freedom from Religion Foundation: "Your body belongs to you — not the church, not the state."ffrfaction.org FFRF Action Fund grants support for 11 pro-abortion state referenda - FFRF Action Fund
“Your Body Belongs to You — Not the Church, Not the State,” reads a new billboard placed by FFRF Action Fund in the Orlando, Fla., area in support of
- Trump says people who criticize Supreme Court justices should be jailedwww.rollingstone.com Trump Says People Who Criticize Supreme Court Justices Should Be Jailed
Donald Trump, who earlier this month threatened to jail his political opponents, said people who criticize SCOTUS should be jailed.
(archived link)
- Hundreds of pregnant women were prosecuted the year after Roe v. Wade fellwww.rollingstone.com Hundreds of Pregnant Women Prosecuted The Year After Roe v. Wade Fell
At least 210 women faced pregnancy-related charges in the year after the Supreme Court ended the federal right to an abortion, a new report finds.
(archived link)
- Scientists have finally worked out how to save earth from a huge asteroidwww.vice.com Scientists Have Finally Worked Out How to Save Earth from a Huge Asteroid
For decades, everyone from sci-fi writers to defense specialists and Hollywood directors have hypothesized about how best to save the planet should it ever come face to face with a massive asteroid. Now, they might finally have their answer. According to a new proof-of-concept study published by sci...
(archived link)
- Green stooge Jill Stein paid $100,000 to a Republican consulting firm led by a suspected January 6 rioterwww.salon.com Jill Stein paid $100,000 to a Republican consulting firm led by a suspected January 6 rioter
The Green Party leader has hired a GOP consulting firm and worked with Trump-affiliated lawyers
(archived link)
- US public schools banned 10,000 books in most recent academic yearwww.theguardian.com US public schools banned 10,000 books in most recent academic year
Survey by PEN America suggests bans nearly tripled nationwide from previous year’s figure
- It's unclear who paid Melania Trump $237,500 for a campaign speechwww.cnn.com Melania Trump was paid for a rare appearance at a political event. It’s not clear who cut the unusual six-figure check | CNN Politics
Melania Trump has barely been seen on the campaign trail this year. One of the few times she has appeared at a political event, she’s received a six-figure paycheck – a highly unusual move for the spouse of a candidate.
- Attention Kmart shoppers: The last full-size Kmart in the mainland United States is closingwww.cnn.com Attention Kmart shoppers: The last full-size Kmart in the mainland United States is closing | CNN Business
Kmart, once one of America’s leading discount retailers, is closing its last full-size store in the mainland United States.
- Ohio residents flock to Springfield’s Haitian restaurants: ‘They are family’www.theguardian.com Ohio residents flock to Springfield’s Haitian restaurants: ‘They are family’
Locals support and volunteer at Haitian-owned businesses to stand against Trump and Vance’s anti-immigrant lies
- "Unsanctioned" memorial to the homeless dead is painted overwww.pressdemocrat.com Why was a memorial to people who died homeless erased in Santa Rosa?
A “middle ground“ was sought, but did not materialize, as officials say the unauthorized memorial grew beyond its temporary bounds.
(archived link)
- *The New York Times* is washed
(archived link)
- Dead people
Being old, death gets my attention, so I read the obituaries. This is a collection of recent obits, mostly of people whose work touched my life, because I want to say thanks (or maybe give 'em a final fuck you).
There’ll be a roundup like this occasionally, until I’m on the list myself.
• Isabellas A’more-Carlos shot and killed (archived link)
• Nakiyyah Blue shot and killed (archived link)
• Hank Bradford comedy writer, The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson
• John A. Clements baby saver (archived link)
• Michael Dick forgotten person (archived link)
• Dusko Doder journalist, slandered by Time magazine (archived link)
• Dan Evans former governor of Washington
• David Graham voice of the Daleks, Doctor Who
• Daryl Hediger in county jail
• Earkavion Lee shot and killed (archived link)
• Candi Miller woman (archived link)
• Mercury Morris footballer, Miami Dolphins (archived link)
• Michel Siffre chronobiology (archived link)
Previously dead
- The price is Reich at MeinPillow — $14.88 sale is "a disturbing wink at Nazis"www.alternet.org New MyPillow ad includes a 'disturbing wink at Nazis': historian
Far-right election denier Mike Lindell's MyPillow is now being advertised at a significant discount. One historian is pointing out that the pillow's new price is a reference to a prominent neo-Nazi rallying cry.On the social media platform Bluesky, Willamette University history professor Seth Cotlar...
(archived link)
- Light has been seen leaving an atom cloud before it enteredwww.newscientist.com Light has been seen leaving an atom cloud before it entered
Particles of light can spend "negative time" passing through a cloud of extremely cold atoms – without breaking the laws of physics
- Holocaust survivor marks 80th birthday with protest outside Israeli prisonwww.theguardian.com Holocaust survivor marks 80th birthday with protest outside Israeli prison
Prof Veronika Cohen holds vigil with friends to draw attention to poor treatment of Palestinian prisoners
- Ballistic armor for school kidswww.nytimes.com Bulletproofing America’s Classrooms
Ballistic armor companies are marketing protective products designed for the military to parents and schools. Some people see the items as unsettling but prudent; others find them infuriating.
(archived link)
- The star-making machine that created 'Donald Trump'
(archived link)
- Ignoring the climate emergency
• Potential for global heating to end humanity 'dangerously underexplored'
• An unusual shift in the weather has turned the Sahara green
• Tuvaluans prepare for life in Australia as rising tides swallow their country
• Rapid intensification of Hurricane Francine is a sign of a hotter world
• Barcelona and Majorca will shift to a desert-like climate by 2050, new drought study warns (archived link)
• Portugal declares a state of calamity as wildfires rage out of control
• Gulf Stream collapse would throw tropical monsoons into chaos for at least 100 years, study finds (archived link)
• Thanks to ongoing deforestation, more than half of Brazil is wracked by drought (archived link)
• New study reveals link between heatwaves and dementia
• New study suggests major climate reports may be underestimating drought risks
• Drought leaves Amazon basin rivers at all-time low
• Oregon wildfires are shattering records this year (archived link)
• The Gulf Coast is sinking, making hurricanes like Francine even more dangerous
• Extreme heat due to climate crisis puts people at greater risk of kidney disease
• Extreme weather to hit 70% of humans in next 20 years, study warns (archived link)
But there's still money to be made, so la-de-da, la-de-da...
- US health system ranks last compared with peer nations, report findswww.theguardian.com US health system ranks last compared with peer nations, report finds
Despite Americans paying nearly double that of other nations, the US fares poorly in list of 10 countries
- "I'm Rick Steves, and I love to travel" … on public transitwww.seattletimes.com Rick Steves launches video series on WA ‘cool places’ reachable by public transit
Travel writer Rick Steves, known for his European explorations, has shared some brief video guides to spots much closer to home.
(archived link)
- Wikimedia Foundation successfully slaps down another SLAPP suit, but more protection is needed globallywww.techdirt.com The Wikimedia Foundation Successfully Sees Off Another SLAPP Suit, But More Protection Is Needed Globally
Wikipedia seems such an essential and benign aspect of the online world that it is hard to understand why people would want to attack it in the courts. But it is nonetheless subject to lawsuits tha…
- Trump calls for government shutdown unless Congress makes it harder for Americans to votewww.rollingstone.com Trump Calls for Govt. Shutdown Unless Congress Makes It Harder for Americans to Vote
Donald Trump encouraged Republicans to shut down the government if they don't secure passage of the SAVE Act.
(archived link)