Extra, Extra

Cloud Atlas: It’s been hot for the last two years. Too hot for even most normal climate change explanations. Less cloud cover could explain it. Now, if only we could explain the less cloud cover. WaPo (Gift Article): Scientists have a new explanation for the last two years of record heat.

+ Doc Pay: “The first lady’s cut is more than 70% of the $40 million, according to people familiar with the matter. And they’re still looking for more: Melania’s agent has been trying to sell ‘sponsorships’ for the film—starting at $10 million—to prominent CEOs and billionaires who were at the inauguration.” Amazon is paying a ridiculous amount for a Melania documentary (more than 10x some of the other bids). This is par for the new course. WSJ (Gift Article): How the Trumps Turned an Election Victory Into a Cash Bonanza.

+ Auto Zone: The world’s a stage. Or at least a showroom. “Used-car brokers in West Africa know what models their customers will snap up, so they call US-based thieves to beef up inventory of highly desirable models.” When a car is stolen in the US, there’s a good chance that the thief is a teenager, and that the vehicle will end up in western Africa. Bloomberg (Gift Article): Grand Theft Auto: Real Life.

+ Story’s Hard to Swallow: “Experts say it’s just not possible for a whale to swallow something as large as a person. While their mouths are massive — as wide as 10 feet — their throats are much smaller, roughly the size of a human fist.” In other words, not big enough for a kayak. But that fact does nothing to detract from this unreal story. Did a whale swallow a kayaker? The truth behind the viral video. (I deleted about 17 obscene swallow references for this story. It could be a sign of personal growth. Of course, I also mean personal growth as an obscene reference, so maybe not…)