In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: Illness] Jeb Bush isn't even running for president yet, and I am already FURIOUS AT HIM: "[President Barack Obama's initial response to Ebola] looked very incompetent to begin with, and that fueled fears that may not be justified." Fuck you. Incompetent hell. The President has been on top of this shit like whoa, giving detailed statements (including yesterday's address) and explaining to people that they don't need to panic and exactly why. I honestly don't even know what President Obama could have done better than he has. Shut up, Jeb Bush.

[CN: Sexual violence; abduction] Gregory Lewis, a suspect in a "serial rape spree" which stretched from Massachusetts to Oregon, has been arrested in New York after a weeks-long manhunt. Lewis "has been accused of raping a 13-year-old girl in Massachusetts and a string of rapes, kidnappings, and robberies of female escorts in North Carolina, Colorado and Oregon." Gee, maybe it wasn't a good idea to order someone accused of raping a child to stay under house arrest with a GPS ankle bracelet, which he simply cut off before skipping town.

[CN: Natural disaster] In Hawaii, a lava flow from the Kilauea volcano in Pahoa has slowly been creeping toward residences, some of which have been in families for generations. It has now reached buildings in town, burning at least one building so far. "Pahoa residents have had weeks to prepare for what has been described as a slow-motion disaster. Most have either already left or are prepared to go." So sad. Although I'm glad no one is hurt, I'm so sorry for the people losing their homes to the lava.

[CN: Natural disaster] In Sri Lanka, about 100 people are feared dead after a landslide following heavy monsoon rains. Dozens of homes were destroyed, and continuing bad weather is hampering rescue operations. So awful. Maybe it's just my perception, but it seems like there have been a lot more massive, deadly landslides in the past year. Which I suppose is probably the result of heavier rains due to climate change.

[CN: Sexual violence] In April, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) "emailed its nearly 11,000 graduate and undergraduate students a survey on campus sexual assault" and the results of the survey have found that one in six women at MIT "have experienced some form of sexual assault, but only 5 percent have reported it." Damn. Naturally, one of the proposed solutions to this will be mandatory reporting, instead of fundamental changes that make it safe and purposeful for women to report.

Fuck: A 13-story unpersoned rocket destined for the International Space Station and filled with "about 5,000 pounds of supplies and experiments" exploded immediately after liftoff yesterday. Luckily, no one was injured.

Whooooooooooooooops! "Hackers thought to be working for the Russian government breached the unclassified White House computer networks in recent weeks, sources said, resulting in temporary disruptions to some services while cybersecurity teams worked to contain the intrusion. White House officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said that the intruders did not damage any of the systems and that, to date, there is no evidence the classified network was hacked." Hahahaha like they'd tell us if it had been!

Here is a story about Hillary Clinton talking about women's issues. I like to hear that candidates are talking about women's issues!

Would you love to ride in "a windowless plane that nonetheless allows passengers to see what's going on outside," which basically means a plane that has no walls? I bet if you are afraid of heights, you would not love it. I would totally pretend I was Wonder Woman in my invisible jet!

And finally! Good news: Española Galapagos giant tortoises, which had dwindled to only 15 (!) in number in 1963, are now back around 1,000 in number, thanks to decades-long conservation efforts. Yayayayayayay!