Extra, Extra
Backfire? The Texas gerrymandering move that attempts to pick up five seats for the GOP has been blocked by a federal court and is now headed for SCOTUS. Meanwhile, the GOP is headed to court to try to block the gerrymandering changes that California voters just approved. Given the merits (or lack thereof) of both cases, it’s not unthinkable that Texas will be unable to use their new maps while California’s will stand. Slate (Gift Article): Republicans Are Suing to Kill California’s Pro-Democratic Gerrymander. They Have a Huge Problem.
+ Dust in the Wind: “Poisonous dust falls from the sky over the town of Ogijo, near Lagos, Nigeria. It coats kitchen floors, vegetable gardens, churchyards and schoolyards. The toxic soot billows from crude factories that recycle lead for American companies. With every breath, people inhale invisible lead particles and absorb them into their bloodstream. The metal seeps into their brains, wreaking havoc on their nervous systems. It damages livers and kidneys. Toddlers ingest the dust by crawling across floors, playgrounds and backyards, then putting their hands in their mouths.” A report from the NYT (Gift Article): Recycling Lead for U.S. Car Batteries Is Poisoning People.
+ Iowa You Nothing for This Ride: “Free city buses are relatively rare in the United States. The idea has been getting a new look recently, after Zohran Mamdani won New York City’s mayoral race with a promise to make buses free. However, critics have described the plan as pie in the sky, and Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York recently voiced doubts.” Don’t tell that to Iowa City. Iowa City Made Its Buses Free. Traffic Cleared, and So Did the Air.
+ Breaking Up is Hard to Do: “When the court first looked at this case, the opinions ‘did not even mention the word ‘TikTok.’ On Tuesday, TikTok more or less decided the case.” Casey Newton: The simple test that blew up the FTC’s case against Meta.
+ No Mas Hamas? WSJ (Gift Article): “Hamas’s popularity has edged up among Palestinians in Gaza since the cease-fire, ending a slide during the war and posing a challenge to President Trump’s plan to bring peace to the enclave by disarming the militant group.”
+ Curaçao it Goes: “As the final whistle blew Tuesday, few were rethinking anything about their decision. They had just delivered their country one of its happiest-ever moments.” Curaçao, the smallest nation in World Cup history, just shocked the soccer world.
+ Upright Citizen: “Self-taught in the art of kicking by studying videos on YouTube, Matsuzawa has turned himself into a hero at the University of Hawaii.” The ‘Tokyo Toe’ Learned Football on YouTube. Now He Might Be the Best Kicker in College Football.
