In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: Threat of violence] Damn: "Officials closed all Los Angeles Unified School District campuses Tuesday morning after receiving a 'credible threat' of violence involving backpacks and packages left at campuses. Authorities said they plan a search operation of all of the LAUSD's more than 900 schools. The nation's second-largest school district has more than 700,000 students. 'I think it's important to take this precaution based on what has happened recently and what has happened in the past,' LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines said. ...Officials said the threat came in electronic form and was made to numerous but unspecified campuses. As a result, they made the decision to close all campuses for the day. The Los Angeles Police Department and FBI were assisting with the threat investigation, Los Angeles School Police Chief Steve Zipperman said. 'The threat is still being analyzed,' he said. 'We have chosen to close our schools today until we can be sure our campuses are safe.'"

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has promised a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, if she is elected: "Speaking in Brooklyn, New York, Clinton outlined a progressive immigration agenda, vowing to waive application fees associated with naturalization, while repeating calls to expand on President Obama's executive actions and push to create 'a path to full and equal citizenship' for the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the US. 'If you work hard, if you love this country and want nothing more to build a good future for you and your children, we should give you a way to come forward and become a citizen,' she said."

[CN: Police brutality; racism] The jury in the trial of the first officer being tried in the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore is on its second day of deliberations. I am sick with worry; please please please do the right thing.

[CN: Slavery; abuse; exploitation] Fucking hell, this investigation by the AP is incredible and so upsetting: "From Whole Foods to Red Lobster: Stores, restaurants sell shrimp peeled by slaves, AP finds." I'm not even going to excerpt it; just go read the whole thing.

[CN: Violence; misogyny; racism] A white man angry about his credit card being declined by a hotel drove his pickup truck into the hotel lobby, causing extensive damage and nearly hitting two women working at the front desk, who dove out of the way just in time to avoid injury. The manager "told investigators that 'Parsley stated it wasn't his first bad experience with a hotel manager who was also Indian,' according to the incident report. It said Parsley then told the staff that he was going to 'run his truck over them and the property.'" So, white man nearly kills two women because of racism. Just another day in America.

[CN: War on agency] "Attorneys from the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court last week urging it to turn away a case designed to re-criminalize abortion nationwide. ...'Since this Court first recognized constitutional protection for abortion before the point of viability, two generations of Americans have come of age, depending on constitutional protection for their dignity in making reproductive decisions,' the brief notes." If you're a person who can become pregnant, you cannot take your right of bodily autonomy or agency for granted. Just another day in America.

[CN: Corporatocracy] "If you're a business looking for new ways to squeeze money out of your consumers without having to worry about whether doing so is illegal, than you had a very good day in the Supreme Court on Monday. In its first divided decision of the current Supreme Court term, the Court held in DIRECTV v. Imburgia that the satellite television company DIRECTV could effectively immunize itself from many suits claiming that they charged illegal fees, despite the fact that this decision cuts against language in DIRECTV's own contract." The Supreme Court gives more power to corporations to exploit and abuse consumers. Just another day in America.

Tattoo artist Dad updates Mom's tattoo to "fully represent" their transgender son. "Steve created a new portrait of Ace that better captured his son's identity. The pink dress was turned into a blue T-shirt and shorts while the purple flower was transformed into a slingshot. ...Once the new portrait was complete, Steve and Lindsay surprised Ace with the fresh ink. The teen, who came out to his family about a year ago, was over the moon. 'It made me really happy. I didn't realize how much she believed me. It finally fits,' Ace told Global News." Blub. Just another day in America. ♥

Welp: "Climate change is causing a large number of bad things to happen to the planet and this new study, cited on weather.com, says the loss of the weight of the polar ice caps will relieve some of the pressure on the rocks below and allow the rock to rebound towards the surface. And, according to the researchers, this will make the world more round and will allow for the planet's rotation to accelerate, and could even make a difference in the length of our days. Don't be planning new outings to take advantage of the extra time in the day, however. Researchers say it will only be thousandths of a second, and they don't predict the faster spin will have any damaging effects on the planet."

Heads-up (no pun intended) if you use Wen hair products: "Wen is currently embroiled in a class-action lawsuit brought by more than 200 people who claim they lost their hair after using Wen's product. ...The group of mostly women, who hail from multiple states, filed the lawsuit in March after they said they suffered 'severe injuries' to their head and scalp. Some of the women were representing their children, who are minors." Yikes!

Awww: "Dick Van Dyke Celebrates 90th Birthday With 'Mary Poppins' Flash Mob." Adorbz!

Cool: "Dog DNA study reveals the incredible journey of [human]'s best friend."

And finally! Baby Okapi!!! "Zoo Antwerpen's royal resident, Yenthe the Okapi, recently gave birth to a new princess. The new calf, Qira, was born November 15. She weighed in at 24 kg (53 lbs) and was 85 cm (2.7 ft) tall. Antwerp Zoo has a special connection to this beautiful animal. The Zoo is coordinator of the European breeding programme for the Okapi, and the prolific stripes of this endangered species are used in the Zoo's logo."