In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: Terrorism; religious extremism; displacement; drowning; death] I honestly can't even begin to fathom what it is like to live as a target of Boko Haram: "The number of villagers massacred by Boko Haram jihadists in a remote village in northeastern Nigeria rose to 160 on Wednesday, according to locals, amid official denials over the attack. Residents of Kukuwa-Gari in Yobe State described how more than 150 of their relatives and neighbours drowned in a river fleeing militants who opened fire on the village on Thursday last week, while another eight were shot dead." Director of Defence Information Colonel Rabe Abubakar says locals' account is "untrue," possibly because: "The villagers' count of the dead in Kukuwa-Gari would constitute the largest loss of life in any single Boko Haram attack since President Muhammadu Buhari swept to power on May 29, vowing to crush the insurgency."

[CN: Rape culture; child sex abuse] The Duggars are absolutely shameless: "The Duggar family is reportedly pitching a new show to the TLC Network about providing Christian counseling to victims of childhood sexual abuse. ...A source close to the Duggars told Star magazine that Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are desperate to keep some form of reality TV revenue coming in to support their outsized brood. 'The family can't afford to not have the show—it is their main source of income, and with a family of that size, without it they're in enormous trouble,' said the family friend. 'They know they have to at least pretend to be sorry about what happened, and now they want a spin-off where Jim Bob and Michelle would give advice to abuse victims—even though they're in denial about their culpability in Josh's crimes.'" Obviously a "family friend" who would admit the Duggars are "in denial" about their accountability probably isn't much of a friend, but I frankly have little doubt about the veracity of this tale, given that the Duggars are already participating in TLC's garbage special on childhood sexual abuse.

[CN: Rape culture; child exploitation] Former Subway spokesperson Jared Fogle "has agreed to plead guilty to allegations that he paid for sex acts with minors and received child abuse images that he knew had been secretly produced by the former director of his charitable foundation, federal prosecutors said in court documents released on Wednesday." This fucking guy. And Subway never heard a whisper about this until a month ago when agents raided his home? Bullshit.

[CN: Misogynoir; abuse; descriptions of violence] Dee Barnes, the journalist of whom Dr. Dre was convicted of assaulting in 1991, pens a terrific piece after viewing Straight Outta Compton: "Here's What's Missing from Straight Outta Compton: Me and the Other Women Dr. Dre Beat Up." Powerful stuff.

RIP Yvonne Craig: "Yvonne Craig began her theatrical career as the youngest member of The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and toured for three years when she was accidentally discovered by John Ford's son Patrick and cast for the lead in the movie The Young Land. This was quickly followed by many years of film and television including two movies with Elvis Presley (It Happened at the World's Fair and Kissin Cousins). However, she is probably best known for originating the role as Batgirl in the 1966 TV series of Batman."

So sweet: "Hailey Dawson was born without a fully formed right hand due to a genetic condition called Poland syndrome... But the die-hard Orioles fan was able to get a special treat to throw out the first pitch after students from the University of Nevada Las Vegas created a specially designed prosthetic hand for Hailey. The hand was printed on a 3-D printer and custom made in orange and black to reflect Hailey's love for all things Orioles." Hailey got to throw "to her favorite All-Star player Manny Machado across the plate."

Lolsob forever: "Fox News wants to know if Hillary Clinton is her own 'worst enemy.' Fox News. Fox. News."

Um. "US health officials have closed a portion of Yosemite National Park after it emerged that a second tourist might have contracted plague. Authorities believe the disease, which is treatable with antibiotics, was spread by squirrels and fleas. The tourist's camp site—the Tuolumne Meadows Campground—will be closed until Friday as workers treat the area with insecticide." Blech.

Neat! "Until now, the general consensus was that hummingbirds used capillary action to sip tiny bursts of nectar. Capillary action is a force you can observe by putting a long, thin tube in a glass of water: The water will travel up through the narrow space without any suction. Scientists thought that the long, narrow grooves they saw on hummingbird tongues accomplished the same feat. In a study published Wednesday in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, researchers uncovered the truth: Their tongues work like tiny mechanical pumps."

And finally! "Endangered Wallaby Joeys Emerge at Taronga Zoo." Oh mah gawd. THE CUTE!!!