In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: Terrorism; abduction; sexual abuse; misogyny] Marking a year since Boko Haram abducted more than 200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok in northeast Nigeria, Amnesty International has released a comprehensive report detailing the breadth of the group's terror campaign in the region: "The human rights organization has issued a new report alleging that since January of last year, Boko Haram has abducted at least 2,000 women and girls, forcing them into slavery or the military, and has killed approximately 5,500 civilians. The grim accounting appear in the 90-page report, "'Our Job Is to Shoot, Slaughter and Kill': Boko Haram's Reign of Terror in Northeast Nigeria." It's based on 200 witness accounts, including interviews with nearly 30 women and girls who escaped from Boko Haram. 'The abduction of 276 girls from Chibok was just one case amongst many,' said Daniel Eyre, Amnesty International's Nigeria researcher. 'What our report shows is that many of these girls and women have been tortured. They've been raped. Forced into marriage with Boko Haram members. And some have even been trained as fighters by Boko Haram. Now these are war crimes and crimes against humanity and we're calling for them to be investigated.'"

[CN: Homophobia; war on agency; Christian Supremacy] Oh my god lolsob: "Today the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, IEDC, announced it hired a global PR firm, Porter Novelli, to help build a publicity plan that will reach people nationally and show that Indiana is a welcoming place to live, work, and visit. The IEDC is responsible for growing businesses in the state and attracting new ones to Indiana. After a recent PR nightmare in the state the IEDC accelerated plans to strengthen the Hoosier Hospitality image." Hey, here's an idea: How about the state legislature stop passing retrofuck legislation that attempts to turn Indiana into a Conservative Christian theocracy, stops restricting abortion rights, stops denying basic rights to queer people, stops attempting to destroy our public education system, and robustly funds the social safety net? You know, actually be a legislature of a state so welcoming that no PR campaign is required to convince anyone.

Good grief! "An Alaska Airlines plane declared an emergency and made a priority landing in Seattle after taking off with a worker trapped in the cargo hold. The pilot of flight 448, bound for Los Angeles, was alerted by the sound of banging 'from beneath the aircraft,' an Alaska Airlines statement said. Once back on the ground, the baggage handler emerged from the pressurised hold, saying he had fallen asleep. He 'appeared OK' but went to hospital as a precaution, the airline said." He's apparently fine, and has now gone home. Presumably to finish that nap.

Here's a cool update from our old pal Philae: "Scientists said Tuesday that measurements made by the European space probe Philae, which landed on comet 67P in November, show the comet's core isn't magnetized. The findings add to scientists' understanding of how comets and even planets formed, because some astrophysicists had theorized that magnetism might have been responsible for aligning and then binding together rocks into larger boulders. ...The findings are part of a wealth of scientific results obtained by scientists analyzing data collected by the Philae lander and its mother ship Rosetta, which is flying alongside the comet on its elliptical orbit around the sun."

Bill Kristol is a clown person: "Prompted by host [of ABC's This Week] George Stephanopoulous to name 'the most promising Republican candidate not in the race yet,'...frequent panelist and Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol tossed out the name of former Vice President Dick Cheney. ...'If they get to nominate Hillary Clinton, why don't we get to nominate Dick Cheney? I mean, he has a much…he has a much better record,' Kristol said as the entire panel burst into laughter."

Speaking of cool Republican presidential candidates: Republican Ohio Governor John Kasich says he's "seriously considering" running for president. He's terrible, so that sounds about right.

Are you excited about Marvel's new superhero movie Ant-Man? If you don't even know, here is the trailer so you can figure out if you're excited! I am pretty pumped about a superhero whose superpower is crawling all up on that infinitesimal smudge of peanut butter you left on the counter, thus alerting you to its presence!

Guitar Hero is back with "a brand new controller with a refreshed interface, designed to more closely resemble real guitar playing. The game will ship with a wide array of licensed tracks, and will also allow players to access extra songs—and to indulge in online multiplayer competitions—through a new Guitar Hero TV service, billed by publisher Activision as 'the world's first playable live music video network.'" Sounds fun! I was more into Rock Band than Guitar Hero (and I was super into Rock Band), but I'm pretty excited to give this a try.

And finally! A tiny kitten conquers the stairs like a boss! Aww lol.