And another day where ‘It’s only getting worse,’ a secret group pushing anti-trans laws, creepy Pinterest, women are burned out, a judge uses a slavery law, more Americans skip college, and 171 trillion plastic pieces in the ocean comes to a close:
“If Fox viewers wanted facts, they wouldn't be Fox viewers.” — Tea Pain
Multiple dead in Jehovah’s Witness hall shooting in Germany. Shots were fired inside a building used by Jehovah’s Witnesses in the northern German city of Hamburg on Thursday evening, and several people were killed or wounded, police said.
More states are proposing bills targeting LGBTQ rights. ‘It’s only getting worse,’ advocate says. At least 385 bills targeting LGBTQ rights and queer life have been introduced around the country through March 7, according to data compiled by the American Civil Liberties Union. The number of bills has already surpassed last year’s total of 306, according to ACLU data shared with CNN. The proposed bills cover a wide range of policies, including some that seek to restrict transgender people from competing on sports teams or using bathrooms that align with their gender identity, but it appears youth and medical care is a growing legislative focus.
Inside the Secret Working Group That Helped Push Anti-Trans Laws Across the Country. Leaked emails give a glimpse of the religious-right networks behind transgender healthcare bans. The emails demonstrate close collaboration between groups working behind the scenes to push bills banning transgender health care, including ADF—which has defended state-sanctioned sterilization of trans people in Europe—and the ACPeds—which has opposed adoption by gay couples and supported conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth. In recent years, ADF has drafted legislation banning trans children from using school restrooms or playing on school sports teams that align with their gender identity. (Both groups are also staunchly anti-abortion; ADF, which drafted the Mississippi abortion ban at the heart of the case that overturned Roe v. Wade, is currently representing ACPeds in a closely-watched lawsuit to ban an abortion pill, mifepristone, nationally.)
Arkansas Senate OKs transgender bathroom bill that critics call extreme. A bill that would criminalize transgender people using restrooms that match their gender identity won initial approval in the Arkansas Legislature on Tuesday, introducing a restriction critics said would be the most extreme in the country.
Men on Pinterest are creating sex-themed image boards of little girls. The platform makes it easy. Clips Victoria uploaded of herself to Pinterest, such as one in which she cheerfully turns a cartwheel, have been compiled by at least 50 users into their own boards with titles like “young girls,” as well as “Sexy little girls,” “hot,” “delicious,” and “guilty pleasures.” Those boards are filled with dozens, hundreds and sometimes thousands of photos and videos of children...Aggregating individually innocuous images of minors into potentially sexually suggestive collections is a practice experts describe as awful, but in many cases, lawful, meaning platforms have no legal obligation to take action.
Missouri votes against banning children from carrying guns in public. Republican-led legislature rejects measure to prevent minors from carrying firearms in public without adult supervision.
The FCC could choose to act against Rupert Murdoch for Fox News’ election lies, but few expect it to. The media regulator was once more adversarial and had various rules it could enforce, but there’s little in the way of expectations it will act about how Fox News misled viewers about the 2020 election. -- In other words, Fox News will be able to continue lying to the American people. Stop watching that entertainment channel. It’s not news.
Medicaid coverage for new moms gaining support in GOP states. After years of refusing to expand Medicaid benefits for new moms, Republican officials in more than a half-dozen states are now reversing course and trumpeting that coverage as central to their conservative, anti-abortion agenda.
Poll: Many women burned out, feeling dread and struggling with finances. As the world celebrates International Women's Day on Wednesday, there's new cause for concern: More women are feeling dread, worry and burnout and are facing worsening financial pressures, even as inflation continues to ease, new polling shows.
Judge uses a slavery law to rule frozen embryos are property. Frozen human embryos can legally be considered property, or “chattel,” a Virginia judge has ruled, basing his decision in part on a 19th century law governing the treatment of slaves. The preliminary opinion by Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Richard Gardiner – delivered in a long-running dispute between a divorced husband and wife – is being criticized by some for wrongly and unnecessarily delving into a time in Virginia history when it was legally permissible to own human beings.
Jaded with education, more Americans are skipping college. What first looked like a pandemic blip has turned into a crisis. Nationwide, undergraduate college enrollment dropped 8% from 2019 to 2022, with declines even after returning to in-person classes, according to data from the National Student Clearinghouse. The slide in the college-going rate since 2018 is the steepest on record, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists say the impact could be dire. At worst, it could signal a new generation with little faith in the value of a college degree. At minimum, it appears those who passed on college during the pandemic are opting out for good. Predictions that they would enroll after a year or two haven’t borne out. Fewer college graduates could worsen labor shortages in fields from health care to information technology. For those who forgo college, it usually means lower lifetime earnings — 75% less compared with those who get bachelor’s degrees, according to Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce. And when the economy sours, those without degrees are more likely to lose jobs.
Oceans littered with 171 trillion plastic pieces. More than 171 trillion pieces of plastic are now estimated to be floating in the world's oceans, according to scientists. Plastic kills fish and sea animals and takes hundreds of years to break down into less harmless materials. The concentration of plastics in the oceans has increased from 16 trillion pieces in 2005, data suggests.
US safety regulators to investigate Tesla for steering wheels that can fall off. Federal safety regulators are investigating Tesla’s Model Y SUV after at least two instances in which owners said their steering wheels became detached while the vehicle was being driven.
NASA tracks a newly discovered asteroid that has a ‘small chance’ of hitting Earth in 2046. A newly discovered asteroid roughly the size of an Olympic swimming pool has a “small chance” of colliding with Earth in 23 years, with a potential impact on Valentine’s Day in 2046, according to NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office.
Robert Blake, dead at 89.
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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