Aspartame Blame Game: WHO says aspartame causes cancer. Or might, possibly cause cancer. But probably only in large amounts. And the FDA disagrees. And no one is really providing the health data that matters: how does the risk of aspartame compare to the risk of good, old fashioned sugar. It’s all enough to drive you to drink.

+ Helter Shelter: We can play city v city politics, but the truth is that homelessness is on the rise across the country. “Family homelessness in the U.S. is on the rise in an alarming sign of how the increasing cost of goods, the ever-tightening housing supply and the end of most pandemic-era benefits are putting pressure on Americans.” I touched on this topic the other day, including the incredible amount of money California has spent, only to see things get worse. Gimme Shelter.

+ House Goes Ballistic on Defense: The crazy obsessions of the House GOP are impacting real issues. “House Republicans united to narrowly pass major defense policy legislation on Friday that restricts the Pentagon policies on abortion access, medical care for transgender troops and diversity.”

+ The Six is In: ProPublica: Close to 100,000 Voter Registrations Were Challenged in Georgia — Almost All by Just Six Right-Wing Activists.

+ Serial Killer Arrest: “A man arrested in connection with a long-unsolved string of killings on Long Island known as the Gilgo Beach murders has been identified as an architect who has been living for decades across a bay from where the remains of 11 people were found.”

+ Haze Maze: NYT: “Northwestern fired baseball coach Jim Foster on Thursday, just days after the university terminated football coach Pat Fitzgerald in the wake of a burgeoning hazing scandal that’s rocked the Big Ten school.” Willie the Wildcat could be the last one standing.