And another day of challenging MO’s abortion ban, DeSantis rejecting African American studies, NZ’s Jacinda Ardern steps down, tech bosses facing jail for not keeping kids safe, -80ºF, antibiotic resistant gonorrhea, and ‘dragons’ breath’ comes to a close:
“Hell is empty and all the devils are here.” — William Shakespeare
Covid Deaths
US: 1,128,330
World: 6,739,397
Covid Cases
US: 103,808,542
World: 672,538,648
Religious leaders sue to block Missouri’s abortion ban. A group of religious leaders who support abortion rights filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging Missouri’s abortion ban, saying lawmakers openly invoked their religious beliefs while drafting the measure and thereby imposed those beliefs on others who don’t share them.
DeSantis administration rejects proposed AP African American Studies class in Florida high schools. The administration of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is blocking a new Advanced Placement course for high school students on African American studies. In a January 12 letter to the College Board, the nonprofit organization that oversees AP coursework, the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Articulation said the course is “inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value.” -- DeSantis is a fascist.
DeSantis seeks transgender university students' health care information. The Florida governor sent a survey to state universities requesting the number of students who sought or received gender-affirming treatment. -- As I said: DeSantis is a fascist.
“DeSantis banning AP African American Studies is a reminder of that old quote -- White privilege is when your history is the curriculum and every other history is an elective.” -- Qasim Rashid, Esq.
Florida can punish local officials for restricting guns, top state court rules. Florida can punish local governments and officials that try to pass gun restrictions that are tougher than state laws, Florida's top court affirmed on Thursday.
New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern, an icon to many, to step down. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who became a global icon of the left and exemplified a new style of leadership, said Thursday that she would leave office. Just 37 when she became leader, Ardern was praised around the world for her handling of the nation’s worst-ever mass shooting and the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic. But she faced mounting political pressures at home and a level of vitriol from some that hadn’t been experienced by previous New Zealand leaders. Still, her announcement came as a shock throughout the nation of 5 million people.
Covid-19 killed fewer people in the US in 2022, but early data suggests it was still a leading cause of death. Covid-19 has killed more than 1 million people in the United States since the start of the pandemic, and life expectancy has been cut by nearly 2.5 years since 2020.
Tech bosses face jail if children not kept safe online after UK Commons deal. Under the proposed changes, senior managers at tech firms will be criminally liable for repeated breaches of their duty of care to children and could face up to two years in jail. The government is expected to target bosses who ignore enforcement notices from Ofcom, the communications regulator, in relation to breaches of their child safety duties, which include protecting children from harmful content such as material promoting self-harm and eating disorders.
T-Mobile says data on 37 million customers stolen. The U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile said Thursday that an unidentified malicious intruder breached its network in late November and stole data on 37 million customers, including addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth.
As water dries up in Arizona community, residents use rainwater to flush toilets and plastic plates to avoid dishwashing. Some residents in an affluent Arizona community are using rainwater to flush toilets and plastic plates to avoid washing dishes and buying gym memberships to shower after their water supply was cut off Jan. 1 because of extreme drought conditions in the West.
It’s now minus 80°F in the world’s coldest city. Yakutsk, the capital city of Russia’s Sakha Republic in eastern Siberia, is widely identified as being one of the coldest places in the world. Large parts of Russia are currently experiencing record low temperatures and Yakutsk is seeing an abnormally long cold snap.
First cases of gonorrhea resistant to several classes of antibiotics identified in the U.S. Public health officials says they have found two cases of gonorrhea that appear to have reduced susceptibility to every kind of antibiotic available to treat them. It’s the first time strains of gonorrhea this resistant to antibiotics have been identified in the United States.
Mexico imposes one of world's strictest anti-smoking laws. One of the World’s strictest anti-tobacco laws has been imposed in Mexico, setting in force a total ban on smoking in public places, including hotels, beaches and parks. The new law, which is part of the country's General Law for Tobacco Control reform, came into force on Sunday. It will also see the total ban on the promotion, advertising and sponsorship of tobacco products. The sale and use of e-cigarettes and vapes are also due to face new restrictions.
Warning issued over ‘dragon’s breath’ viral video trend. Indonesia is warning people against consuming liquid nitrogen after more than 20 children were harmed eating a street snack known as “dragon’s breath” that’s at the center of a dangerous new viral video trend. The children suffered burns to their skin, severe stomach pains and food poisoning after consuming the colorful candies, according to Indonesia’s Ministry of Health, which is urging parents, teachers and local health authorities to be vigilant. The candies are dipped in liquid nitrogen to create a vapor effect when eaten. They are popular with children, dozens of whom have uploaded clips to short-form video app TikTok showing them blowing the fumes out of their mouths, noses and ears. One video showing the preparation of the snack by a street vendor has been viewed close to 10 million times.
Flavored cannabis marketing is criticized for targeting kids. For decades, health advocates have chided the tobacco industry for marketing harmful nicotine products to children, resulting in more cities and states, like New York, outlawing flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. Now as cannabis shops proliferate across the country, the same concerns are growing over the packaging and marketing of flavored cannabis that critics say could entice children to partake of products labeled “mad mango,” “loud lemon” and “peach dream.”
What is ChatGPT? AI technology sends schools scrambling to preserve learning. A user types in a question and ChatGPT spits back out an easily understandable answer in an essay format. Although a huge advancement in the technology field, educators and school systems must grapple with the new tool and the challenges it introduces.
AI tools can create new images, but who is the real artist? The images generated by tools such as DALL-E, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion can be weird and otherworldly but also increasingly realistic and customizable — ask for a “peacock owl in the style of Van Gogh” and they can churn out something that might look similar to what you imagined. But while Van Gogh and other long-dead master painters aren’t complaining, some living artists and photographers are starting to fight back against the AI software companies creating images derived from their works.
Alec Baldwin to be charged with manslaughter in set shooting. Actor Alec Baldwin and a weapons specialist will be charged with involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on a New Mexico movie set, prosecutors announced Thursday, citing a “criminal disregard for safety.”
RIP David Crosby. He was 81.
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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