Monday, September 17th, 2018

1

Brett Tu?

The no holds barred battle between the Kavs and the Kavanauts took an unexpected turn as the woman who accused Brett Kavanaugh of a sexual assault during their high school years has dropped her anonymity. Christine Blasey Ford told her story to WaPo over the weekend ("I thought he might inadvertently kill me"), and is willing to testify before Congress. Kavanaugh also has indicated a willingness to speak to the committee and insists there is no truth to claims: "I have never done anything like what the accuser describes — to her or to anyone. Because this never happened, I had no idea who was making this accusation until she identified herself yesterday."

+ Susan Collins: "Professor Ford and Judge Kavanaugh should both testify under oath before the Judiciary Committee." As the Dems try to delay the vote and the GOP tries to move things along, here's the latest on the Kavanaugh confirmation.

+ With this accusation, the MeToo movement has collided head-on with the future of women's rights in America. Garrett Epps in The Atlantic: The Subtext of Kavanaugh's Nomination Bursts Into the Open. "The gendered subtext of this moment is, not to put too fine a point on it, war—war to the knife—over the future of women's autonomy in American society."

2

Sprinting for Two Hours

"The 33-year-old Kipchoge, who is 5 foot 6 and weighs 115 pounds, had run 26 straight, blazingly fast, 4-minute and 38-second miles. I've always said of world-class marathon times like this that if I didn't know it could be done, I wouldn't believe it was possible to run that fast for that long." A New World Marathon Record Almost Defies Description.

3

Banks Shot

"There are no roads ... that are leading into Wilmington [N.C.] that are passable because of the flooding." NPR: Florence Death Toll Rises To 23 As Rivers Continue To Flood.

+ Aerial photos reveal the devastation left by Florence.

+ Miners and their families were buried by a landslide in one of the worst disasters related to Typhoon Mangkhut. Here's a compilation of videos showing the incredible power of 2018's Strongest Storm. Wow.

4

Strawberry Preserves?

"People who live blocks apart can have very different expectations in how long they'll live because of the conditions in which people are living. That represents uneven opportunity for people, particularly children, to have long lives." Location is everything. Nowhere is that adage more true than in Stilwell, Oklahoma, where residents face the lowest life expectancy in America (56 years). From WaPo: The Strawberry Capital of the World is the early death capital of the US.

5

Dodge, Ram

The New Yorker's Paige Williams on Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump's Battering Ram: "Sanders had also shown an uncanny ability to adopt the voice of the person she was representing: Boozman was gentlemanly and never ranted, and so she had modulated her tone in public appearances. With Trump, she would need a more bombastic approach."

6

Smoke and Mirrors

"Brands destroy product as a way to maintain exclusivity through scarcity, but the precise details of who is doing it and why are not commonly publicized. Every now and then, though, bits of information will trickle out." Vox: Why fashion brands destroy billions' worth of their own merchandise every year.

7

Coke and Weed

"Coca-Cola says it's monitoring the nascent industry and is interested in drinks infused with CBD -- the non-psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that treats pain but doesn't get you high." Bloomberg: Coca-Cola Is Eyeing the Cannabis Market. (It's ironic that these days, people are probably more worried about the health costs of Coca Cola than cannabis.)

+ Here's a look back at 130 years of Coke taglines. A few of them make more sense now; particularly: Have a Coke and a Smile, You Can't Beat the Feeling, Open Happiness, and, of course, Enjoy.

8

Escape Atrocity

"He produced a gun in response and grabbed hold of her shirt. She managed to jump out of the truck and into the night, her shirt torn from her body. He fled, and she found a state trooper fueling up nearby." A woman's daring escape from a Border Patrol agent helped reveal a serial killer.

9

Time To Filter Out All Caps

"The Federal Emergency Management Agency on Sept. 20 will conduct the first test of a national wireless alert system that allows the president to send text messages directly to a majority of mobile-phone users in the US." (Yes! I finally have an answer for my son when he asks why he can't have a phone...)

10

Bottom of the News

"According to a new report from Divorce Online, a UK site offering information and services to people who are uncoupling, 200 divorce petitions filed in the UK since the start of this year cited Fortnite as a reason for the separation." Quartz: Fortnite helped cause 5% of UK divorces this year. (For me, the key was to only play Fortnite during the many hours my wife was playing Zelda. Love conquers all...)

+ Vontae Davis retired from the NFL during halftime of a game. (In fairness, it was a Bills game...)

+ A British Cave Rescuer Is Officially Suing Elon Musk For Calling Him A Pedophile. (There are thousands of people who will read this headline and think, "I hope this doesn't delay my Model 3.")

+ Over the weekend, we were cleaning out our garage when my wife grabbed our daughter's art work from school and said, "Let's throw this away before she comes downstairs and notices." Five minutes later, my daughter saw us cleaning the garage and said, "Don't throw away any of my art." We felt guilt for a second. But only a second. Thankfully, The Atlantic validated our move: Throw Your Children's Art Away.