And another day of the coming storm, threats to democracy, problematic Omicron subvariants, a potential fatal strain of flu, oil cuts, what’s wrong with academia, mental health crisis, wax worm saliva, Velma, and eating earlier in the day comes to a close:
“I just want to be clear that in the moral cosmology of Herschel Walker and Republicans the accusation is that he paid to have his child murdered. I would say a lot of the public reaction shows you that a lot of them don't actually believe abortion is murder. — Chris Hayes
“The Republican downplaying of the Herschel Walker revelations says something significant about their abortion rhetoric -- namely, that they don't even really buy what they're selling.” — Aaron Rupar
Deaths
US: 1,086,685 (+1319)
World: 6,555,411 (+2329)
Cases
US: 98,411,240 (+102,284)
World: 624,918,177 (+642,501)
US midterms: The Trump voters who see a coming storm. Karen and Steve don't want to take up arms. But if Republicans lose in November this elderly Arizona couple say a civil war is coming and, yes, they will fight. They have discussed it between them, and feel that taking up arms is their best option. It was at this point that our conversation grew a little dark and my faith in the strength of American democracy grew a little shaky…The question is why so much mistrust and anger now? Americans have been polarised for decades and this is not the first conspiracy theory to take hold here. But we haven't seen a storming of the US Capitol before, nor so many threats to election officials, nor so much attention paid to trying to change the election rules. The answer, most political observers suggest, is a confluence of events that allowed the election denying conspiracy to spread, thereby weakening the whole system…And in this respect, the dispute over 2020 has shown the American system to be uniquely vulnerable. The US is the only Western democracy where the senior election officials are not civil servants. At the state level, it is the post of secretary of state that runs the election. And that person is elected, as a Democrat or a Republican…So, a man who says the last election was rigged and who also doesn't believe Republicans can lose the state could well end up in charge of running elections. It's not hard to see where this could go. If Finchem, and other candidates like him around the country, change the voting system in ways that make it almost impossible for their side to lose, then, come 2024, Democrats, with some reason, won't trust the results either. They will say they were robbed of victory. It won't be many voting cycles before no one trusts election results here.
Cheney warns Arizona voters that the GOP nominees for governor and secretary of state are a threat to democracy. “If you care about democracy, and you care about the survival of our republic, then you need to understand — we all have to understand — that we cannot give people power who have told us that they will not honor elections,” Cheney, R-Wyo, said at a Wednesday night event held at Arizona State University.
“Actually, the 14th Amendment is for all the people white men excluded from the document when they wrote it. Indeed, the story of America is largely everybody else trying to get the same rights white men have tried to give exclusively to themselves since 1787.” -- Elie Mystal
Biden to storm-ravaged Florida: ‘We’re not going to leave’. President Joe Biden surveyed the devastation of hurricane-ravaged Florida on Wednesday, promising to marshal the power of the federal government to help rebuild as he comforted local residents alongside Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential 2024 foe. Both men declared they were putting politics aside for now. -- We shall see.
Putin signs annexation of Ukrainian regions as losses mount. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the final papers Wednesday to annex four regions of Ukraine while his military struggled to control the new territory that was added in violation of international laws. Ukrainian law enforcement officials, meanwhile, reported discovering more evidence of torture and killings in areas retaken from Russian forces. -- Fuck Putin. What a horrible excuse for a human being.
New Omicron subvariant could be problematic for immunocompromised. Experts worry the subvariant BQ.1.1, which was first detected in Canada last month, could evade a well-known antibody drug and put vulnerable populations particularly at risk if the strain takes off in the fall.
More than 30 million urged to take flu and COVID vaccines to stave off potential 'twindemic'. A potentially fatal strain of flu currently in circulation worldwide could be more of a threat to public health than COVID this winter, a senior government health adviser has warned.
‘It’s not right’: Teen denied vital medication due to abortion ban speaks about her experience. Fourteen-year-old Emma Thompson was denied her medication in Arizona because of the state’s newly approved abortion law, which prohibits abortions except to save the life of the mother. She takes the medication for rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. — This is complete bullshit.
OPEC+ makes big oil cut to boost prices; pump costs may rise. The OPEC+ alliance of oil-exporting countries decided Wednesday to sharply cut production to support sagging oil prices, a move that could deal the struggling global economy another blow and raise politically sensitive pump prices for U.S. drivers just ahead of key national elections. -- OPEC+ doing their best to make sure Democrats don’t win in November. And gas prices here are still at $5 a gallon. WTF?
Appeals court sends DACA case back to lower court to review new Biden rule, temporarily protecting Dreamers. A federal appeals court granted a temporary reprieve Wednesday to hundreds of thousands of young immigrants enrolled in a program allowing them to work and study in the U.S. without fear of being deported, but it’s unclear how long it will last. The ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals directs the lower court judge who found that the decade-old Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was unlawful to take into consideration a new rule issued by the Biden administration. It allows the program to go forward, but only for current DACA recipients known as Dreamers, not new applicants.
Opinion: This fired chemistry professor’s example shows what’s wrong with academia. The basic outline is this: According to an article in the New York Times, Maitland Jones Jr. is one of the nation’s top organic chemistry professors. He was tenured at Princeton, wrote an influential textbook, retired and went on to teach at NYU on an annual contract basis, where he won awards for his teaching. This year, though, he was sacked – after 82 of the 350 students in his course signed a petition because, they said, their low scores demonstrated that his class was too hard...And NYU seems to have given away the game when Marc A. Walters, the director of undergraduate studies in the chemistry department, wrote an email to Jones before his firing. Quoting from that email, the Times said that Walters explained to Jones that a plan allowing students to have their grades reviewed or to withdraw retroactively from his class was a way to “extend a gentle but firm hand to the students and those who pay the tuition bills.” -- Wow.
90% of US adults say mental health is a crisis in the United States. “Perhaps one of the only benefits of the pandemic and the shift that our country has been going through is the increase in our willingness to acknowledge and talk about when we might be struggling or in need of support.”
‘Forever chemicals’ in deer, fish challenge hunters, tourism. Wildlife agencies in the U.S. are finding elevated levels of a class of toxic chemicals in game animals such as deer — and that’s prompting health advisories in some places where hunting and fishing are ways of life and key pieces of the economy.
Nobel Prize for 3 chemists who made molecules ‘click’. Three scientists were jointly awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday for developing a way of “snapping molecules together” that can be used to explore cells, map DNA and design drugs that can target diseases such as cancer more precisely.
New "Scooby-Doo" movie portrays Velma as member of LGBTQ+ community. For the first time, "Scooby-Doo's" Velma Dinkley is officially being portrayed as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. The iconic character, known for her witty intelligence and catchphrase "Jinkies!," is shown crushing on another female character in a scene from the franchise's latest movie, "Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo!"
Wax worm saliva rapidly breaks down plastic bags, scientists discover. Enzymes that rapidly break down plastic bags have been discovered in the saliva of wax worms, which are moth larvae that infest beehives. The enzymes are the first reported to break down polyethylene within hours at room temperature and could lead to cost-effective ways of recycling the plastic.
New research points to health benefits of eating earlier in the day and within a 10-hour window. Eating relatively early may be beneficial for weight loss, and keeping meals within a 10-hour period could improve blood sugar and cholesterol levels, according to two small studies published Tuesday in the journal Cell Metabolism.
Clip Provides First Proof Of Orcas Killing White Sharks. Scientists have published new findings confirming that orcas hunt great white sharks, after the marine mammal was captured on camera killing one of the world's largest sea predators.
Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.
Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.
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