In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: Terrorism; death] In the London Review of Books, Seymour Hersh charges that many details of the United States government's official account of the killing of Osama bin Laden are not true: "The major US source for the account that follows is a retired senior intelligence official who was knowledgeable about the initial intelligence about bin Laden's presence in Abbottabad. He also was privy to many aspects of the Seals' training for the raid, and to the various after-action reports. Two other US sources, who had access to corroborating information, have been longtime consultants to the Special Operations Command. I also received information from inside Pakistan about widespread dismay among the senior ISI and military leadership—echoed later by Durrani—over Obama's decision to go public immediately with news of bin Laden's death. The White House did not respond to requests for comment." The entire thing, unfortunately, sounds pretty par for the course for US foreign policy public relations.

[CN: Worker exploitation; class warfare] Still all the nope on the planet for this: "To Barack Obama, the Trans-Pacific pact will increase trade, strengthen protections for Asian workers and aid international relations. But opponents of the most important trade deal in a generation—including unions, but also left-leaning Democrats such as Elizabeth Warren—are worried about the impact it will have on US jobs. ...Irked by Warren's criticisms of the deal Obama chided his long-time ally for being a 'politician' who was making 'arguments' that 'don't stand the test of fact and scrutiny.'"

[CN: Extreme weather; death] Storms continue to barrage parts of the US plains: "At least two people were killed in Arkansas and another 10 unaccounted for in Texas after a series of tornadoes hit the Great Plains states overnight, flattening buildings and injuring dozens, local officials said on Monday." How's everyone in those parts of the country doing?

[CN: Misogyny] Tara Culp-Ressler on the issue of misogyny in seeking medical care: "When Gender Stereotypes Become a Serious Hazard to Women's Health." And, of course, women who are fat or trans*, women of color and women with disabilities, all face exponential barriers to getting healthcare providers to listen to us, to take us seriously, to treat our actual systems.

"The Clock Is Ticking and Republicans Still Have No Serious Obamacare Alternative." I'm shocked—SHOCKED, I tell you!

Are you a major Mulderhead or a super Scullybutt? Then you will probably be very excited to hear that The X-Files revival will officially debut on January 24, 2016!

American Idol has announced that next season, its 15th, will be its last. Sad trombone! "That trombone wasn't sitting in the pocket!"—Harry Connick, Jr.

This is what the sunset looks like on Mars. Cool!

And finally: Dave Meinert rescued a puppy, who he named Pegasus, from a backyard breeder who has lots of health problems, but: "Rather than focus on the negative, I wanted a way to document her good days of good health and celebrate them. I set about taking a picture of her growing up every day not knowing how long it would last. The result is a pretty amazing time-lapse that spanned half a year as she grew from a week 4 week old puppy to a 7 month old teenager." Aww. ♥