Extra, Extra

Debt Bondage: ” Debt limit talks came to an abrupt standstill Friday after Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said it’s time to ‘pause’ negotiations, and a White House official acknowledged there are “real differences” that are making talks difficult.” (The entire world economy depends on some House GOP quacks. This is why you don’t negotiate the debt ceiling.)

+ Baby Milo: “Now, he was haunted by the sound of Milo gasping for air and the sight of his body struggling to ward off a death that had been inevitable for three long months. ‘To me it’s just pure torture … the law has created torture.'” WaPo (Gift Article) with one story of a family living under Florida’s abortion law. The Short Life of Baby Milo.

+ Accounting Blessings: “It also could free up more money for critical weapons as Ukraine is on the verge of a much anticipated counteroffensive — which will require as much military aid as they can get.” $3 billion accounting error means Pentagon can send more weapons to Ukraine.

+ Assad But True: It turns out that the worst part about cancel culture is that it’s impossible to cancel Bashar al-Assad. Bashar al-Assad tells Arab League he hopes his return marks new era of peace.

+ Sink and Swim: “The scholars first estimated the cumulative weight of New York’s buildings to be 1.68 trillion pounds, and then calculated the downward pressure these buildings exert on the mixture of clay, sand, and slit that make up most of the ground beneath the city’s streets.” New York City May Be Sinking Under the Weight of Its Skyscrapers.

+ Parking Break: I asked ChatGPT to contest my parking ticket. What followed was a thing of beauty.