Extra, Extra
Master at Arms: “First jotted on a yellow legal pad in 1975, it would transform the N.R.A. from a fusty club of sportsmen into a lobbying juggernaut that would enforce elected officials’ allegiance, derail legislation behind the scenes, redefine the legal landscape and deploy ‘all available resources at every level to influence the decision making process.'” NYT (Gift Article): The Secret History of Gun Rights: How Lawmakers Armed the N.R.A. “Over decades, a small group of legislators led by a prominent Democrat pushed the gun lobby to help transform the law, the courts and views on the Second Amendment.”
+ Spit Take: “People with the syndrome can experience symptoms including hives, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, severe stomach pain, difficulty breathing, dizziness and swelling of the lips, throat, tongue or eye lids. Unlike some other food allergies, which occur soon after eating, these reactions hit hours later.” A meat allergy caused by tick spit is getting more common, CDC says.
+ Dough Eyed: “The new data shows that among students with the same test scores, the colleges gave preference to the children of alumni and to recruited athletes, and gave children from private schools higher nonacademic ratings.” NYT Upshot: Study of Elite College Admissions Data Suggests Being Very Rich Is Its Own Qualification.
+ Dropping the Dime on Nickel: Even when it comes to cleaner energy, there’s always a cost and that cost is most high for the poor. Rest of World: As EVs surge, so does nickel mining’s death toll.
+ Worm Whole: “Scientists have discovered a worm that managed to stretch its short life expectancy — by tens of thousands of years. A tiny roundworm was revived after it was frozen in Siberian permafrost 46,000 years ago.” (When scientists we’re reviving him, the worm rolled over and said, “Five more minutes…”)
+ Pee-Wee: “Paul Reubens, the actor best known for portraying Pee-wee Herman, died Sunday night after a private bout of cancer. He was 70.”
+ Click Bait: “If you’ve ever heard someone refer to a TV remote as a ‘clicker,’ it’s because of Robert Adler’s 1956 creation. The elegant Star Trek-esque gadget pioneered a durable, clicky action for controlling gadgets and a simplicity of form that has since been naively abandoned.” The buttons on Zenith’s original ‘clicker’ remote were a mechanical marvel. (When I was a kid we had to walk to the TV to change the channel, uphill, both ways.)
