Extra, Extra

Bird Watching: “The national milk supply must be tested for bird flu under a federal order announced Friday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.” (Science-backed health directives… Enjoy them while you can.)

+ Life in Opposite World: Trump lays out sweeping early acts on deportation and January 6 pardons, says Cheney and other members of the January 6 Committee ‘should go to jail.’ Adam Kinzinger, one of those committee members responds: “Let me be clear: we did nothing wrong. The January 6 Committee’s work was driven by facts, the Constitution, and the pursuit of accountability—principles that seem foreign to Trump. If Donald wants to pursue this vindictive fantasy, I say bring it on … We aren’t afraid of the truth, but I suspect you are.”

+ Penny for Your Thoughts: “Prosecutors said Penny acted recklessly and negligently by restraining Neely in a chokehold for so long, even after Neely stopped moving … His defense has said he was acting to protect others from a threat.” Daniel Penny acquitted of criminally negligent homicide after more serious manslaughter charge was dismissed.”

+ Accounting Eras: “On the heels of news that Taylor Swift‘s just-completed Eras Tour grossed more than $2 billion, now it’s being reported that the superstar handed out $197 million of that haul to tour employees as bonuses on top of their regular salaries.”

+ New Normal: PopSci is out with their 37th annual Best of What’s New awards.

+ Hoop Troop: “No stories in my career have sloshed around my head as persistently as those about the Lady Jaguars. I have tried to keep tabs of their lives, mostly through the thin strands and curated footprints of social media. I have thought of the persistent myth that people in the United States can rise above their inherited lot through dedication and hard work. The more clinical truth is that most of us are echoes of our parents, winners and losers of a genetic, economic and even geographic lottery system.” The excellent John Branch tracks down the subjects of a story that has stuck with him over the years. A juvenile court judge had assigned a group of girls to Carroll Academy, where they were placed on the basketball team. NYT (Gift Article): What Ever Happened to the Lady Jaguars?

+ Getting the Picture: Here are the Top 25 News Photos of 2024.