In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: Police brutality; death; racism] An important update on the John Crawford case: Not only is the police account falling apart, but the primary witness account is falling apart, too.

[CN: Police brutality; death; racism] And in Utah, authorities "have altered their account of how a 22-year-old black man was killed by police, after an attorney for the man's family alleged that he was shot repeatedly from behind by officers while running away. The authorities also said that the two police officers involved in the shooting of Darrien Hunt last Wednesday had not yet been interviewed about the incident. The attorney for Hunt's family described this delay as 'almost incomprehensible.'"

[CN: Illness] The US will send 3,000 troops to Africa, at a cost of possibly $750 million over the next six months, in order to lead and facilitate Operation United Assistance. "The general will head a regional command based in Liberia that will help oversee and coordinate U.S. and international relief efforts while a new, separate regional staging base will help accelerate transportation of urgently needed equipment, supplies and personnel."

The FBI has announced "the completion of its new facial recognition system, making operational a program that civil rights groups have warned risks turning millions of citizens with no criminal record into suspects. ...Mug shots will be combined with non-criminal facial images taken from employment records and background check databases, technology news website The Verge reported Monday. That means someone with no criminal history could be implicated as a suspect in a crime if an image of his or her face happens to be in the database, [civil liberties watchdog Electronic Frontier Foundation] warned. Compounding that risk is the apparent ineffectiveness of the system, with some in the industry saying the image matching system has a low rate of success, according to The Verge report. The FBI [says the system] is meant to provide a list of candidates—saying that if the true candidate exists in the system, it will appear in the top 50 candidates returned by the system 85 percent of the time, according to documents obtained by the EFF. 'This means that many people will be presented as suspects for crimes they didn't commit,' EFF said."

[CN: Domestic violence] Give him all the cookies: "NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sent a letter Monday to teams and staff announcing the appointment of four women to shape the league's policies on intimate partner violence. Following the release of a video showing Ray Rice's attack on his now wife, and the revelation that law enforcement had sent the video to NFL during their investigation earlier this year, advocacy organizations as well as some politicians have called for Goodell's resignation. ...Despite calls for his resignation, Goodell has said he's not going anywhere, and on Monday announced the creation of several new positions to improve the league's handling of domestic violence." Listen, I am glad that four women who are legit experts have been hired to "advise the league on how to create policies that effectively address sexual assault and domestic violence," but I find it really obnoxious that Goodell is using those women as human shields against meaningful accountability for his catastrophic failures.

[CN: War on agency] Fuck: Missouri Legislators Pass 72-Hour Abortion Waiting Period Law. "Missouri legislators voted late last night to triple the state's current 24-hour waiting period to 72 hours, with no exceptions for rape or incest. Governor Jay Nixon previously vetoed the bill in July, calling it 'extreme and disrespectful.' Missouri's House voted 117-44 to override the veto, and then the Senate used a procedural move to stop a Democratic filibuster of the bill and vote 23-7 to complete the veto override Wednesday."

[CN: Rape culture] Rush Limbaugh continues to be a reprehensible dirtbag: "'How many of you guys in your own experience with women have learned that 'no' means 'yes' if you know how to spot it?' he asked on 'The Rush Limbaugh Show' Monday. ...Limbaugh then read off Ohio State University's definition of consent, which outlines how two people should behave once they have decided to engage in a sexual relationship. It states that you and your partner must agree to engage in the activity every step of the way, including agreeing on 'why' you are doing so. But that just sucks all the fun out of it, Limbaugh said. 'Agreeing on the 'why' takes all the romance out of everything!' he said." If sexytalk during sexytimes "sucks all the fun out of it" for you, I'm pretty sure you're doing it wrong.

Are you so excited about the possibility of Mike Huckabee running for president yet again? I bet you are. He's terrific.

If you are a fan of the Bourne movie series, then you are in luck, because "Universal Pictures has begun making deals with Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass to reunite for their third film in The Bourne Identity series." (The first film in the franchise was directed by Doug Liman.)

Here are some fun pictures of a large-spotted genet riding around on the backs of buffalo and a white rhinoceros. Adorbz!

And finally: Here is video of a giant manta ray approaching divers off Costa Rica, seeking help to disentangle it from part of a fishing net. Extraordinary.