Trump is alone at the top, Medical Mistakes, And a Tree Grows in the Tenderloin
Cruz has dropped out. Kasich is suspending his campaign. And with that, America is assured of at least one more season of television’s biggest hit: Trump. Season one of the show was panned by GOP insiders, party activists, deep-pocketed donors, and billions of words in millions of think-pieces. But nothing could temper the viewer support for Trump’s highest-rated episodes like, Oh, They’ll Pay For That Wall, Little Marco Goes Home, Chris Christie’s Stockholm Syndrome Eyes, Small Hands Can Change the World, Low Energy Jeb and the Missing $130 Million, and the special two-part Ramadan special: Guess Who’s Not Coming to Dinner.” Also renewed for the Summer, Pundit: The show where experts who have been wildly wrong about every aspect of this election will tell you what to expect next.
+ The Atlantic: “Where were you the night Donald Trump killed the Republican Party as we knew it? Trump was right where he belonged: in the gilt-draped skyscraper with his name on it, Trump Tower in Manhattan, basking in the glory of his final, definitive victory.”
+ Ironically, Trump may have gotten his key surge when party insiders threatened to give the nomination to a candidate with fewer votes. Of course, that’s just a guess. No one knows anything about campaigns anymore.
Whoops, My Bad
Researchers at Johns Hopkins are calling on “the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to immediately add medical errors to its annual list reporting the top causes of death.” If they do that, those errors could rank as the third leading cause of death in the U.S.
+ Maybe dangerous prescriptions should also be on the list. According to a report, Prince died one day before a scheduled meeting with opioid addiction specialist. And physicians are increasingly concerned about rise in Imodium overdoses. This is how loperamide got swept up in America’s opioid epidemic.
A Tree Grows in the Tenderloin
I need your help. I am on the board of 826 Valencia and we’re raising some money to complete our amazing new center. We transformed a corner liquor store notorious for drug trafficking and criminal activity into a magical space for kids to think, learn and write in San Francisco’s Tenderloin. There’s now an indoor treehouse where there was once a malt liquor display. Help us provide services to more than 2,000 kids in the neighborhood with the last bit of money we need to finish the project. (And now you can have double the impact because the fine folks at Twitter will match your donations up to $20k.)
+ Why should you pull out your credit card? Three reasons. First, it’s an excellent and proven program serving a population in need. Second, I spend four hours a day on NextDraft, and I only ask for the occasional favor in return. Third, 826 Valencia was co-founded by the talented and tireless Dave Eggers. And frankly, I’m sick of the offline genius novelists getting all the cred. Let Eggers and the rest of the 826 crew feel my power and the online force of the NextDraft community. (But of course, it’s mostly about the kids.)
The Night Watch
Early to bed, early to rise. But not necessarily early to graduate. A new study indicates that students at the top colleges get about the same amount of sleep as their counterparts, but they tend to stay up until about 1 AM.
Take 2 and Call Me In the Morning
“Human feces floated in saline solution in a mortar, on a marbled countertop, in a dimly lit kitchen in Burlingame, California. A bottle of ethyl alcohol, an electronic scale, test tubes, and a stack of well-worn pots and pans lay nearby … This heralded the beginning of Zayner’s bacterial makeover.” From The Verge: Josiah Zayner’s gut was making his life hell — so he embarked on an extreme DIY fecal transplant. All this stuff about the microbiome can seem a little gross. But what we’re learning is remarkable.
Wine Spectators
“The Oaks’ residents are hard-core alcoholics. They line up to get what most people would consider the very last thing they need: an hourly mug of alcohol.” Tina Rosenberg on the shelter that gives wine to alcoholics.
Meet the Parent
The Daily Beast’s Olivia Messer with a pretty amazing story (including audio) of a dad who set out to trap his daughter’s molester. “Cops said it could take months to build a case against Brandon Moore’s friend for sexually abusing his daughter. The retired Marine took the law into his own hands.”
A Bustle in Your Hedgerow
“Malofiy, like many his age, grew up with Led Zeppelin posters tacked to his bedroom wall. That teen adulation has since dissipated, due to what he says is a lack of originality. “They’re the greatest cover band of all history.” Bloomberg on the the bar-brawling lawyer who might just take down Led Zeppelin.
Mine Craft
My son and his classmates are doing an overnight field trip to California’s gold country. What they’ll find there is that times have changed. While there are still a few folks who pan for gold, they do it for entirely different reasons than their forbearers. The want to be popular on YouTube. From The Guardian: California gold miners seek a different type of glitter: celebrity.
Bottom of the News
Adult coloring books have seen an increase in demand over the past few years. So, predictably, the tech industry is looking to get in on the action. Can your colored pencils and paper coloring books hold off a slew of apps? (This story somehow seems to provide a perfect reflection of this era.)
+ NYT: India’s Answer to Global Warming: Cows That Belch Less. (See? Now will you stop worrying?)
