Thursday, June 11th, 2015

1

Crude Awakening

The international economic forces are many and the political gamesmanship is complex. But for folks working on oil drilling rigs, the results are stark and simple. Oil got cheap. Times got hard. WaPo's Jim Tankersley on the plunge in oil prices and fading hope. "Four years ago, Gillham stumbled upon what is more or less an economic lottery ticket for an American man whose education stopped after high school ... The crash in global oil prices late last year, with oil prices plunging from nearly $110 to about $45 for a barrel of West Texas crude, burned that lottery ticket." This is part of the broader story of how Saudi Arabia's oil pricing strategy is having a big impact on everything from SUV sales to alternative energy efforts.

2

Gerd Mentality

Researchers at Stanford used data mining to reveal "evidence that a common group of heartburn medications taken by millions of people is associated with a greater risk of heart attacks."

3

Law and Border

With the help of Bloodhounds, law enforcement officials near the NY/Vermont border believe they're closing in on the two prisoners who escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility earlier this week. Buzzfeed has the latest on the escape and the chase.

+ "She thought it was love." Officials believe prison employee Joyce Mitchell provided assistance to the escapees, and was supposed to be the getaway driver until she came down with a "case of the nerves."

+ "You know he has escaped before. He has a genius IQ. I can't believe they let this happen." From The Buffalo News, an escaped killer's son shares memories of his notorious father. I'm sure there are easier ways to get your child to think you're a genius (although I can't think of any offhand).

4

Going Down

Californians with a sinking feeling could be experiencing more than a reaction to Steph Curry's three-point shooting percentage in the NBA Finals. Groundwater currently supplies 60 percent of the drought-stricken state's water. And the more we suck, the more we sink. From the Center for Investigative Reporting: California is sinking -- and fast. (It's gotten to the point where Californians who strike oil are upset they didn't find water.)

5

These Kids Today

"Shrapnel wedged into his spine, paralyzing him from the chest down. Flames 'cooked off' his left arm, the one with the Los Angeles Dodgers tattoo, and it would have to be amputated at the shoulder." Students at Lancaster High School were moved by the story of a paralyzed vet named Jerral Hancock; so moved that they crowdfunded a bunch of money and now they're building him a new house. That's what I call class.

6

Make Him an Offer He Can’t Peruse

"In a way, the sorts of headlines that Vinnie wrote anticipated the headlines we now see on the Internet." The New Yorker's John Cassidy on Vinnie Musetto, the godfather of clickbait. Musetto's most famous headline was Headless Body In Topless Bar, which today translates as You won't believe the new app Kim Kardashian has on her Apple Watch.

7

Don’t Tase Me Bro

"What do we make of a syndrome that seems to occur almost unerringly when a police officer is choking, hog-tying, or stunning with a Taser someone with a mental illness or drug addiction." The excellent Dahlia Lithwick on excited delirium, the cause of death often listed when a suspect dies in custody.

+ Seth Stoughton in Harvard Law Review: "Though adopted with the best of intentions, the warrior concept has created substantial obstacles to improving police/community relations. In short, law enforcement has developed a warrior problem."

8

Ad Libs

The Economist on the increasingly common habit of blocking internet ads, especially on mobile devices. (I enjoyed this article with an ice cold Bud Light).

+ The problem facing publishers is about to get a lot bigger. From Neiman Lab: The next version of Safari will let users block ads on iPhones and iPads.

9

Fancy Feast

"An image problem that may have started as a dark spot on an otherwise promising career has now metastasized into a nasty network of tumors that could derail it entirely -- some would say it already has." Iggy Azalea recently had two singles that occupied the top two spots on the Billboard charts. But since then, her career arc has been ass backwards. Soraya Nadia McDonald with a detailed breakdown of Iggy Azalea's demise.

10

Bottom of the News

Ever notice that the trip back home always seems to go by faster? Science tries to explain why. (At a certain age, everything seems to go by faster.)

+ From IBM to Facebook, brands have long tied their destinies to the color blue. But is blue all its cracked up to be?

+ With only a few sections left to demolish, here's a great photographic look back at the life and times of Candlestick Park. (Don't forget a coat.)

+ A baby Koala wouldn't let go of her mom during surgery.

+ The top 100 most iconic movie quotes of all time. (And don't call me Shirley...)