Sunday, October 9, 2022

And another day of sounding alarms, going all in, leaked audio, ‘a time bomb,’ the far-right targeting doctors of trans youth, telemedicine, strippers voting to unionize, porn use and relationship satisfaction, and a micronation in NV comes to a close:

“No one hates Americans like the GOP hates Americans. — Anonymous 

“President Trump and I lost an election in 2020 because of a rigged election. When my coalition of secretary of state candidates get elected, we're gonna fix the whole country and president trump is going to be president again.” — Jim Marchant, NV Secretary of State MAGA Republican nominee

“It is not political to arrest Donald Trump. It is political not to arrest Donald Trump.” -- Jason Overstreet

Deaths

US: 1,087,880

World: 6,561,013

Cases

US: 98,555,072

World: 626,671,750

Nevada Democrats sound alarm as election denier leads secretary of state race. Jim Marchant, the election-denying Republican nominee for secretary of state in Nevada, has so far been outspent and out campaigned by his Democratic opponent. But as the first counties in the state begin to mail out ballots to voters, he has consistently polled ahead of Democrat Cisco Aguilar. -- In all secretary of state races, vote Blue. Republicans are telling us what they plan to do if they gain power. They must be prevented from doing so.

Republicans Are Going All In to Convince You Crime Is Out of Control. They Don’t Have Any Proof. What makes the current election season different from the others is that, unfortunately, as politicians spend heavily to fearmonger about crime, it’s now harder than ever for voters to fact-check their claims—because the most recent crime data collected by the federal government is abysmally incomplete...“In general, the political discussions usually aren’t paying too close attention to what the data actually says.”

MTG goes full-on Nazi. Make sure you and everyone you know are paying attention.

“It’s mind boggling that we live in an America where millions of people support someone [Trump] hell bent on destroying our institutions and democracy. Our only hope is to vote deep blue.” — Ken Olin

In leaked audio, LA City Councilmembers Nury Martinez, Gil Cedillo, and Kevin de León discuss redistricting, are extremely racist. “Fuck that guy… he’s with the Blacks” -- And there’s so much more bad shit from these horrible people. Listen to the audio. It’s on the page. Racism is perpetrated at the highest levels of government.

‘A time bomb’: Anger rising in a hot spot of Iran protests. Led largely by women and youth, they have evolved from spontaneous mass gatherings in central areas to scattered demonstrations in residential areas, schools and universities as activists try to evade an increasingly brutal crackdown.

The latest challenge for Iran’s government? School girls joining protests. As demonstrations convulse the country in the wake of the death in morality police custody of Mahsa Amini, videos on social media reviewed by NBC News show girls in schoolyards and classrooms in Iran standing up to traditional symbols of authority…The Iranian authorities are faced with a dilemma, he said. “It’s a conundrum. It’s very difficult for them to go after 13 to 18-year-olds with lethal force, especially when a majority of them are girls.”

Doctors providing trans care are increasingly being targeted by far-right harassment campaigns on the internet. Before doctors, many of these same conservative online influencers and media figures targeted teachers and librarians, branding them as pedophiles or “groomers” over books, drag shows and Pride events, disrupting the goings-on at schools and libraries across the country. The campaign has increasingly begun targeting individual doctors like Gast. It is a shift that has some health care advocates concerned about similarities to the anti-abortion rhetoric that spurred violence against abortion providers and clinics starting in the 1970s and continuing through recent years.

Telemedicine was made easy during COVID-19. Not any more. That complicates follow-up treatments for some cancer patients. It also can affect other types of care, including mental health therapy and routine doctor check-ins...“If you are under a doctor’s care, and you are in the U.S., it doesn’t make any sense to have geographic restrictions for telemedicine.”

North Hollywood strippers set to vote on joining a union. Strippers at the Star Garden topless dive bar in North Hollywood will soon receive ballots to hold an election for collective bargaining, which may result in the first stripper union in the US in more than a decade.

The world may have a new supercontinent within 200 million to 300 million years as the Pacific Ocean shrinks and closes. “Over the past two billion years, Earth’s continents have collided together to form a supercontinent every 600 million years, known as the supercontinent cycle. This means that the current continents are due to come together again in a couple of hundred of million years’ time.”

Meet President Baugh — the self-proclaimed 'dictator' of a micronation in Nevada you've probably never heard of.

Is There a Link Between Porn Use and Relationship Satisfaction? Actually, No. Importantly, the link between porn use and relationship satisfaction did not depend upon whether the user was a man or a woman, or whether the relationship was same-sex or mixed-sex. While no link emerged between porn use and relationship satisfaction, the researchers did document other associations. For example, on days women used porn (compared to days they didn’t), they were more likely to have partnered sex, regardless of whether they were in a same-sex or mixed-sex relationship. The same was true for men partnered with other men. However, for men partnered with women, they were actually less likely to have partnered sex on days they used porn. Likewise, on days women used porn, both they and their partners reported greater desire for partnered sex. By contrast, on days men used porn, it was unrelated to their own desire for partnered sex, but it was related to their partner reporting lower desire...The fact that no association emerged doesn’t necessarily mean that porn never affects relationship satisfaction, though. Porn might be positive for some, negative for others, and inconsequential for yet others; however, all of these effects might wash each other out if we’re only focused on the overall or average impact.

Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.

Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.

Friday, October 7, 2022

And another day of more documents, warning against ‘crazies,’ early signs of new US Covid surge, Covid death rates by political party, giving students access to abortion pills, microplastics in human breast milk, and Jon Stewart should interview everyone comes to a close:

“We should never live in the kind of dystopian country where any person’s rights vary from state to state.” — Christy Smith

"We can't give the crazies an inch." — Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott

Deaths

US: 1,087,655 (+305)

World: 6,559,360 (+1663)

Cases

US: 98,523,168 (+48,413)

World: 626,084,363 (+536,976)

The Justice Department believes Trump might have more White House documents. The revelation leaves some key questions unanswered, including whether the department has concrete evidence that Trump still holds classified material or it's just a suspicion based on inferences, such as the empty envelopes with classified markings that were seized at Mar-a-Lago or information from the National Archives that it's still missing documents from Trump's presidency. Various court filings from the department have suggested that some presidential records are still missing.

Fox News CEO warned against 'crazies' after 2020 election, Dominion says. Besieged by angry viewers, denounced by then-President Trump, questioned by some of its own stars, Fox News found itself in a near-impossible spot on Election Night 2020 after its election-analysis team announced before any other network that Joe Biden would win the pivotal swing state of Arizona. Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott proved so flummoxed by what ensued that she warned colleagues, "We can't give the crazies an inch." That's according to the account of a lawyer for Dominion Voting Systems, which is seeking $1.6 billion from Fox in a defamation suit over false allegations on the network that the company committed election fraud. A trial date is set for April in Delaware.

Early signs a new U.S. COVID surge could be on its way. The first hint of what could be in store is what's happening in Europe. Infections have been rising in many European countries, including the U.K., France, and Italy.

Covid death rates are higher among Republicans than Democrats, mounting evidence shows. Lower vaccination rates among Republicans could explain the partisan gap, but some researchers say mask use and social distancing were bigger factors.

Ukraine police say bodies of more than 500 civilians found in Kharkiv. The bodies included 226 women and 19 children, Bolvinov added.

Germany wants climate losses put on agenda at UN talks. Germany wants the huge economic damage resulting from global warming to be discussed at this year’s United Nations climate talks, Germany’s foreign minister said Friday.

Appeals court ruling allows Arizona abortions to restart. Abortions can take place again in Arizona, at least for now, after an appeals court on Friday blocked enforcement of a pre-statehood law that almost entirely criminalized the procedure.

Barnard College will give students access to abortion pills next year. Barnard College will give students access to abortion pills next year, officials at the private women’s college in New York City announced Thursday…The decision to offer abortion pills on campus was made “in the event that there is a barrier to access in the future, for any reason," Barnard Dean Leslie Grinage and Chief Health Officer Dr. Marina Catallozzi said in a statement, adding campus providers will be "prepared and trained in the provision of medication abortion by Fall 2023."…"History and research strongly suggest that the Supreme Court’s decision to eliminate the constitutional right to legal abortion will have serious negative consequences for women’s futures," the school said. "The overturning of Roe v. Wade after 50 years will likely decrease college accessibility, result in lower graduation rates, and derail employment trajectories. It is expected that people of color and those with limited incomes will be disproportionately harmed." — Because the point of overturning Roe v. Wade is to control women.

Jon Stewart should interview everyone. 

Uvalde schools suspend entire police force after outrage. Uvalde’s school district suspended its entire police force Friday amid fresh outrage over the hesitant law enforcement response to the gunman who massacred 21 people at Robb Elementary School.

Microplastics found in human breast milk for the first time. Researchers concerned over potential health impacts on babies, who are especially vulnerable to chemical contaminants.

The iconic Easter Island statues have been damaged in a fire, authorities say. The famous statues on Rapa Nui — also known as Easter Island — have suffered "irreparable" damage in a fire, local authorities said.

Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.

Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.

Thursday, October 6, 2022

And another day of nuclear ‘armageddon,’ pardons for marijuana possession, an attack at a Thailand daycare, weaponizing license plate readers, rising rents leading to homelessness, and ‘disrupted maturity’ comes to a close:

“It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.’ — Voltaire

Deaths

US: 1,087,350 (+665)

World: 6,557,697 (+2286)

Cases

US: 98,474,755 (+63,515)

World: 625,547,387 (+629,210)

Biden: Nuclear ‘Armageddon’ risk highest since ’62 crisis. President Joe Biden said Thursday that the risk of nuclear “Armageddon” is at the highest level since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, as Russian officials speak of the possibility of using tactical nuclear weapons after suffering massive setbacks in the eight-month invasion of Ukraine.

Biden pardons thousands for ‘simple possession’ of marijuana. President Joe Biden is pardoning thousands of Americans convicted of “simple possession” of marijuana under federal law, as his administration takes a dramatic step toward decriminalizing the drug and addressing charging practices that disproportionately impact people of color. Biden’s move also covers thousands convicted of the crime in the District of Columbia. He is also calling on governors to issue similar pardons for those convicted of state marijuana offenses, which reflect the vast majority of marijuana possession cases.

CDC to stop reporting daily COVID-19 cases, moving to weekly reports. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will stop reporting daily COVID-19 cases later this month and switch to weekly reports after more than two years of near constant daily updates. — Let’s see how this winter goes.

Former cop attacks Thai day care center, kills at least 36. A former police officer facing a drug charge burst into a day care center Thursday in Thailand, killing dozens of preschoolers and teachers and then shooting more people as he fled. At least 36 people were slain in the deadliest rampage in the nation’s history. The assailant, who was fired earlier this year, took his own life after killing his wife and child at home.

How expanding web of license plate readers could be ‘weaponized’ against abortion. Flock Safety, a rapidly expanding company that sells license plate readers to police and neighborhoods across the US, has an ambitious mission: to eliminate crime…Now, privacy advocates are warning that the extensive surveillance network could be weaponized against people seeking abortions in states that have enacted bans and restrictions on the practice following the US supreme court’s decision to repeal federal abortion protections, including by allowing police to monitor abortion clinics and the vehicles that are seen around it. Technology like Flock’s could be used to “criminalize people seeking reproductive health and further erode people’s ability to move about their daily lives free from being tracked and traced.”

With rents rising fast, Texas homeless shelters see more families seeking help. More than 522,000 Texas renters — or about 8% of the state’s estimated 6.2 million tenants — said they were behind on payments this summer, according to a recent U.S. Census Bureau survey. Of those renters, three out of five feared they would be evicted within two months. In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, about 19% of renters earning less than $50,000 per year said they were behind on rent. Homeless shelters in Texas have seen a corresponding jump in demand.

Wyoming ranch for troubled teens closes following abuse allegations. A rural Wyoming ranch accused of subjecting troubled girls to forced labor and humiliating punishments has notified state regulators it halted operations. The closure of Trinity Teen Solutions comes amid an ongoing criminal investigation and a lawsuit against the ranch, and follows an NBC News investigation last month that revealed a long history of allegations of hard labor and abusive treatment at the for-profit facility offering Christian-based therapy in northwest Wyoming. The facility has denied many of the former residents’ allegations in court filings, and no charges have been filed.

Young adults are now more neurotic, less agreeable, study finds: The pandemic may have ‘disrupted maturity’. In 2021 and 2022, the 30 and younger group experienced a significant increase in neuroticism, which is a tendency to see the world as distressing or unsafe, and a decrease in agreeableness and conscientiousness. They changed more than older study participants. These findings suggest there has been “disrupted maturity” in that cohort.

Lionel Messi confirms Qatar will be his last World Cup. The 35-year-old Argentina star will play in his fifth World Cup but is still seeking his first title at the showpiece tournament.

Judy Tenuta, brash ‘Goddess of Love’ comedian, dies at 72. Tenuta died Thursday afternoon at home in Los Angeles, with her family around her, publicist Roger Neal told The Associated Press. The cause of death was ovarian cancer.

Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.

Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.

Wednesday, October 5, 2022

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.

Tuesday, October 4, 2022

And another day of the Voting Rights Act, Trump asks SCOTUS to intervene, ‘Coco Chow,’ Herschel Walker’s abortion problem, abuse in women’s professional soccer, off-the-books suspensions for kids with disabilities, and a new ‘toy’ of McConnell comes to a close:

“The sad reality is that Satan himself could run as a Republican in a red state and be guaranteed to get at least 45 percent of the vote.” — Aaron Rupar

Deaths

US: 1,085,366

World: 6,553,082

Cases

US: 98,308,956

World: 624,275,676

The Supreme Court’s Conservative Majority Wants to Gut the Voting Rights Act—Again. Now, in Merrill v. Mulligan, the justices appear poised to go further. The court has already refused to strike down partisan gerrymandering; it could soon super-charge racial gerrymandering. Alabama argued before the Court Tuesday that any consideration of race when drawing new districts was itself discriminatory, which would turn the Voting Rights Act on its head. If the Court’s conservative majority adopts this “race-blind” reasoning, it would reverse the very purpose of the law—to eradicate decades of discrimination against Black Americans and other historically disenfranchised minority groups—and stunt representation for communities of color as the US heads toward a majority-minority future.

Trump asks Supreme Court to intervene in Mar-a-Lago dispute. Lawyers for former President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to step into the legal fight over the classified documents seized during an FBI search of his Florida estate, escalating a dispute over the powers of an independent arbiter appointed to inspect the records. The Trump team asked the justices to overturn a lower court ruling and allow the arbiter, called a special master, to review the roughly 100 documents with classification markings that were taken in the Aug. 8 search of Mar-a-Lago.

Who Is “Coco Chow?” How do you even write about Trump’s anti-Asian racism at this point? Does doing so benefit him? I’m not sure. But McConnell and the rest of the GOP seem intent, in fact perfectly well-suited, on extending the very American tradition of ignoring anti-Asian racism.

Herschel Walker paid for girlfriend’s abortion, report says. Herschel Walker, who has vehemently opposed abortion rights as the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Georgia, paid for an abortion for his girlfriend in 2009, according to a new report. The candidate called the accusation a “flat-out lie” and said he would sue.

Investigation finds systemic abuse and misconduct within women’s professional soccer. The report, led by former acting attorney general Sally Q. Yates and released Monday, was based on over 200 interviews and reveals the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) under the US Soccer Federation failed to provide a safe environment for players. “Our investigation has revealed a league (NWSL) in which abuse and misconduct — verbal and emotional abuse and sexual misconduct — had become systemic, spanning multiple teams, coaches, and victims,” the report reads. “Abuse in the NWSL is rooted in a deeper culture in women’s soccer, beginning in youth leagues, that normalizes verbally abusive coaching and blurs boundaries between coaches and players.” The NWSL said Monday it would review the findings.

US women’s national soccer team captain says players are ‘angry’ and want immediate changes following misconduct investigation. “The players are not doing well. We are horrified and heartbroken and frustrated and exhausted. And we are really, really angry. We are angry that it took a third-party investigation.”

Deal back on? Elon Musk gets closer to buying Twitter. The tumultuous saga of Elon Musk’s on-again off-again purchase of Twitter took a turn toward a conclusion Tuesday after the mercurial Tesla CEO proposed to buy the company at the originally agreed-on price of $44 billion.

Oregon to cover health-related climate expenses. Oregon is set to become the first state in the nation to cover climate change expenses for certain low-income patients under its Medicaid program as the normally temperate Pacific Northwest region sees longer heat waves and more intense wildfires.

Kids with disabilities face off-the-books school suspensions. The call was just one of a dozen that Manwell received last fall telling her John couldn’t stay in school because of behaviors she says stemmed from his disability, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Many schools have promised to cut down on suspensions, since kids can’t learn as well when they aren’t in class. But none of these pickups was ever recorded as suspensions, despite the missed class time. The practice is known as informal removal, defined by the U.S. Education Department as an action taken by school staff in response to a child’s behavior that excludes the child for part or all of the school day — or even indefinitely.

How the Supreme Court could change the internet as we know it. The court is poised to hear as many as three cases this term about the legal protections social media companies have used to become industry behemoths.

You may need a Sober October more than you think. Experts explain how to do it right. Studies show that alcohol isn’t good for healthy living. There is no safe amount when it comes to heart health, according to the World Heart Federation. And even moderate drinking reserved for the weekend can have social, emotional and psychological impacts, according to a 2022 study.

Asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs also triggered a global tsunami. The tsunami was powerful enough to create towering waves more than a mile high and scour the ocean floor thousands of miles away from where the asteroid hit, according to the study. It effectively wiped away the sediment record of what happened before the event, as well as during it.

Smacked asteroid’s debris trail more than 6,000 miles long. Scientists expect the tail to get even longer and disperse even more, becoming so tenuous at one point that it’s undetectable.

Mitch McConnell dildo on sale for reproductive rights. It comes in the color "ice," like the senator's soul. The toy costs $80 to represent the 80 percent of Americans who support abortion legality in either certain or all circumstances, according to Gallup. Every penny of these dildo sales will go to abortion funds.

RIP Loretta Lynn. She was 90. 

Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.

Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.