In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today.

Super Typhoon Haiyan, one of strongest storms ever recorded, hit the central Philippines this morning, killing at least three people and sending more than 100,000 people to seek shelter in evacuation centers.

President Obama has personally apologized to people who are losing their healthcare coverage as a result of the Affordable Care Act and says it will be fixed.

[Content Note: Sexual assault] Reports of sexual assault in the US military have "spiked dramatically, rising an unprecedented 46 percent during the last fiscal year, the Pentagon said Thursday. ...It was not immediately clear whether the surge of complaints represented an increase in assaults, an increase in the percentage of people reporting them, or both, according to the Associated Press." Yesterday, Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and "a team of bipartisan lawmakers kicked off a two-week push...to pass the Military Justice Improvement Act (MJIA), an amendment to the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The Act will move the decision of whether to prosecute a crime out of the chain of command and give it to independent military prosecutors."

[CN: Antisemitism] Respondents in a survey by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights of nearly 6,000 Jewish people in eight European Union member states report that "antisemitism is on the rise, with three-quarters of those polled reporting an increase over the last five years and growing fears over online abuse and hate speech."

[CN: Antisemitism; Christian supremacy] In related news: Former President George W. Bush is slated to give a keynote address next week at "the Messianic Jewish Bible Institute, a group that trains people in the United States, Israel, and around the world to convince Jews to accept Jesus as the Messiah. The organization's goal: to 'restore' Israel and the Jews and bring about about the second coming of Christ."

[CN: Gender essentialism] A thirteen-year-old Kansan boy was suspended from school for carrying a purse.

CBS says their Benghazi report was wrong. Whoops.

This is definitely my favorite headline of the day: "Urine-Powered Robot to Acquire Human-Like Heart."

Although this is a close second [CN: home invasion; threats of violence]: "Burglar Invades Old Lady's House Only to Find She's a Competitive Axe-Thrower."