In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: Terrorism; death] "French police have shot dead a man who was apparently trying to attack a police station on the anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attacks. The suspect was carrying a meat cleaver and wearing a dummy suicide vest. Minutes earlier, President Francois Hollande had praised police in a speech commemorating the January 2015 Paris killings." Fuck.

[CN: Privacy] Heads-up if you're a Time Warner Cable customer: "Time Warner Cable Inc said on Wednesday up to 320,000 customers may have had their email passwords stolen. The company said email and password details were likely gathered either through malware downloaded during phishing attacks or indirectly through data breaches of other companies that stored Time Warner Cable's customer information, including email addresses. ...Time Warner Cable spokesman said it was recently notified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that some customers' email addresses including account passwords 'may have been compromised.' The company said it is sending emails and direct mail correspondence to encourage customers to update their email passwords as a precaution."

On Tuesday, I noted that Hillary Clinton had unveiled her plan "to Support Children, Youth, and Adults Living with Autism and their Families," and hoped to hear some responses to her plan from people on the spectrum. In the Guardian, Sara Luterman who is "a left-leaning 20-something" with autism, writes that Clinton "just made disability history. For the first time, a mainstream political candidate prioritized the rights and opinions of autistic people by embracing policies that autistic advocates and activists have rallied around for years. ...It isn't just the shift in emphasis that I applaud, but the language itself. The extreme, pathological language that usually surrounds autism is almost totally absent from Clinton's proposal. ...She doesn't talk about combating autism. Instead, she provides concrete ways to improve the lives of autistic Americans. I am delighted. ...[I]n promising to help support and preserve the rights of people whose humanity is rarely acknowledged, she has proposed something more progressive than many, if not all, of her opponents' policies." I highly recommend reading the whole thing.

[CN: Moving gif at link] In other Clinton news: "Clinton signs 'I love you; thank you' to Ron and Annette Loader, who are both deaf, on the ropeline."

[CN: Birtherism] And in decidedly less thrilling news from the campaign trail: John McCain gets in on the Cruz Birtherism game. Oh.

[CN: Workforce reduction] Damn: "Major layoffs will be coming to Yahoo as part of its planned reorganization to get its business back on track. The company is working on a plan to cut at least 10% of its workforce, said sources familiar with the situation. The cuts would reduce Yahoo's headcount by more than a thousand employees and could begin as early as this month, the sources said."

[CN: Anti-migrantism; sexual violence; disablism] ICE is a fucking nightmare: "The nationwide raids against Central American families January 2 carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may have been performed illegally, advocates say. Yale Law School's Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization, along with 150 organizations, served notice in a letter Tuesday to Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and Attorney General Loretta Lynch that 'a substantial portion' of the Central American refugees targeted in the immigration raids and many of those in removal proceedings before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) are disabled, as defined under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Advocates say in the letter that 'a very high proportion of the Central American mothers and children now targeted for ICE raids have survived sexual assault or other forms of extreme violence and have mourned the loss of close family members to particularized violence.' These families, as a result of these raids, 'will suffer the inevitable consequences of exposure to this trauma.' The letter continues, 'Mothers and children who witnessed and survived arrest, torture, and murder of family members, and attempts on their own lives, will be grossly re-traumatized by ICE raids.'" I hate ICE and their heinous raids so much.

[CN: Sexual violence; rape culture] "Ten women on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Bill Gothard, who for decades was a major force in the conservative Christian homeschooling movement, charging him and leaders in his ministry with sexual abuse, harassment, and cover-up. Gothard, who urged Christians to shun things like short skirts and rock music, is accused of raping a woman. ...Gothard, 81, resigned from the ministry in 2014 after more than 30 women had alleged that he had molested and sexually harassed women he worked with, including some who were minors." As you may recall, the Duggars are major Gothard devotees.

[CN: Violence; disablism; Christian Supremacy] "A Kentucky woman was arrested on accusations she beat a disabled man with his metal cane until it broke, because he said he didn't believe in God, WDRB reports. Laura Reid, 49, was visiting the victim in his home, and at one point she asked him if he believed in God, police told the station. The man jokingly replied he didn't. Reid became so enraged by his answer that she allegedly picked up his metal cane and beat him over the head and body. She then robbed him. ...The man was forced to crawl to a local gas station in order to seek help, where paramedics took him to a nearby hospital. He suffered serious injuries, including a concussion, a broken arm, multiple bruises, cuts, and abrasions." Just like Jesus would do.

"Here's the bad news: You didn't win the monster Powerball jackpot Wednesday night. The good news: Neither did anyone else. That means the jackpot will roll over to an estimated $675 million—the largest lottery prize in U.S. history, according to Texas Lottery spokesperson Kelly Cripe—when it's drawn again Saturday night." Ughhhh the lottery: Ruiner of lives!

This is why Tom Hardy should be your internet boyfriend.

DAVID BOWIE DAVID BOWIE DAVID BOWIE! Also: DAVID BOWIE!

And finally! Self-described "crazy dog lady" and animal photographer Alex Cearns photographs smiling dogs and obviously the photos are THE BEST.