Extra, Extra

Menace to Society: “A Texas woman was arrested and has been charged with threatening to kill the federal judge overseeing the criminal case against former President Donald Trump in Washington and a member of Congress.” (Trump has been charged with everything except inciting violence; a crime he keeps committing.) Meanwhile, purported names, photos and addresses of Fulton County grand jurors circulate on far-right internet. (These people are in danger because of the rantings and threats of a former president, one still supported by his party. Covering this stuff is repetitive, but until it changes, it bears repeating.)

+ Blind Spots: In the past few days, I’ve seen countless think-pieces on the broader meaning of Michael Oher’s suit against the family that took him in. But here’s the thing: none of the people writing those think-pieces can possibly ascertain the broader meaning of the situation since they haven’t had a chance to find out what’s true and what isn’t. And this is not an isolated trend. WaPo talked with the guy who wrote the book that led to the movie. Author Michael Lewis says only Hollywood cashed in on ‘Blind Side’ success. “Michael Oher should join the writers strike. It’s outrageous how Hollywood accounting works, but the money is not in the Tuohys’ pockets … What I feel really sad about is I watched the whole thing up close … They showered him with resources and love. That he’s suspicious of them is breathtaking. The state of mind one has to be in to do that — I feel sad for him.” Lewis was a childhood friend of Sean Tuohy before writing the book. So don’t write your think-piece on this update either.

+ Making a Siren Call: “A sole official in Maui is tasked with deciding when to pull warning sirens that sound out on Hawaii’s second largest island during emergencies. In the case of blazing wildfires that leveled the historic town of Lahaina and left over 100 dead last week, that official chose not to sound the alarms — a decision he is now defending.” (And his reasoning makes sense.)

+ Times Change: Israel clinches largest-ever defense deal with Germany for $3.5 billion after securing US approval. (And I still don’t buy German cars.) Geopolitics are weird, man.

+ Paper and Fire: The warrant allowing the raid on the Marion County Record has been withdrawn due to ‘insufficient evidence.’ (Something tells me this story isn’t over.)

+ Battery Pact: “In 2019, just two battery factories were operating in the United States with another two under construction. Today there are about 30 battery factories either planned, under construction or operational in the country.” We spend so much time on the crime and the lies and the hate and the strategy, we often miss the actual policy stories. Let’s check in on one. Tracking the EV battery factory construction boom across North America.

+ Soda Jerks: “It uncovered eight WHO panelists involved with assessing safe levels of aspartame consumption who are beverage industry consultants who currently or previously worked with the alleged Coke front group.” WHO aspartame safety panel linked to alleged Coca-Cola front group. (We’ll never get the whole truth on sugar and sugar-substitutes. Just drink water … until we find out that is bad for you.)

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