In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: Sexual assault] Bill Cosby will go to trial for "an accusation that he intoxicated and sexually assaulted a Temple University employee more than 12 years ago in his Pennsylvania home. The ruling in Pennsylvania district court sets in motion one of the biggest trials of the decade, in which the actor and comedian faces up to 10 years in prison." I take up space in solidarity with his victims.

A new analysis of census data by Pew Research Center has found: "In 2014, for the first time in more than 130 years, adults [in the US] ages 18 to 34 were slightly more likely to be living in their parents' home than they were to be living with a spouse or partner in their own household." Welp.

[CN: Violent misogyny; stalking] Fucking hell: "A Japanese pop star is in a critical condition after being repeatedly stabbed by a fan as she was waiting to perform at a concert venue in Tokyo. Mayu Tomita, 20, received nearly two dozen wounds to her neck and chest. Police arrested Tomohiro Iwazaki, 27, at the scene. He is reported to have said he was angry because Ms Tomita returned a gift he had sent her. The singer had reportedly complained to police about the fan last month. Japanese media says she contacted police after Mr Iwazaki started posting obsessive comments about her on Twitter and other social media sites. When police arrested him after the attack, he is reported to have told them that he ambushed her at the station and asked her about the gift. 'I lost my temper because she didn't clearly answer,' he reportedly said." The culture of violent entitlement. She didn't behave how I wanted her to, so I tried to kill her. I desperately hope that Tomita survives this heinous attack.

"Bernie Sanders calls for recanvass in Kentucky primary." Of course he does.

Bernie Sanders accepted an invitation from Fox News to debate before California's primary. But Hillary Clinton is taking a hard pass. "In a statement issued Monday evening, a spokeswoman for Mrs. Clinton's campaign, Jennifer Palmieri, said Mrs. Clinton's team would contest California while 'turning our attention to the threat a Donald Trump presidency poses. We believe that Hillary Clinton's time is best spent campaigning and meeting directly with voters across California and preparing for a general election campaign that will ensure the White House remains in Democratic hands,' Ms. Palmieri said." Yup. Naturally, Sanders used it as yet another launchpad for an attack on Clinton: "Sanders said in a statement that he was 'disappointed but not surprised' by Mrs. Clinton's 'unwillingness to debate before the largest and most important primary in the presidential nominating process.' He added, 'I hope Secretary Clinton reconsiders her unfortunate decision to back away from her commitment to debate.'" California is not, in fact, the "most important primary in the presidential nominating process," because there is zero chance that Sanders will win by the enormous margin he'd need to even remain competitive.

Here's a cool headline: "Poll: 6 in 10 dislike or hate Trump and Clinton." My thought: Another way of saying that is that 4 in 10 like or admire Clinton. (I don't GAF about Trump.) And 40% seems like it's probably pretty close to average first-term presidential approval ratings. So I go and do some research, and, sure enough: Clinton, at 42% (like or admire) isn't far off the first-term approval ratings of six of the last 12 presidents, all of whom had approval ratings in the 40s. Truman (45), Nixon (49), Ford (47), Carter (45), GWB (49), and Obama (49). But it sure is fun to pretend that she's uniquely unlikeable, isn't it?

This is a really great morale booster for Hillary Clinton supporters by my colleague and friend Peter Daou: "If you are a Hillary supporter who simply wants a better future and can't understand why so much venom is directed at her, it's hard to process all this negativity. So trust me on this. I worked for Hillary for years, I know who she is and how she deals with it. She puts her faith in you. She ignores the pundits and prognosticators. She smiles at the haters. Hillary knows that you've been there for her and that you'll continue to be there for her. She looks past the vitriol and stays focused on what matters. She relies on her own sense of self. She draws on her inner fortitude. She is disciplined; she knows that love and kindness trump hate and fear. That's not just a slogan for her—it's her compass in the storm that always seems to surround her."

[CN: Misogyny] Sam Clovis, the national co-chairman of Donald Trump's presidential campaign, said this on MSNBC about Hillary Clinton: "We essentially are talking about the fact we have a war on women being waged by the Democrats against the Republicans, at least that's the accusation. Yet we have the person who is the lead of that fight on the part of the Democrats is in fact the person who could not control the sexual predation that went on in her own home." It is not a woman's job to control men's "sexual predation." For fuck's sake.

[CN: Homophobia; transphobia] Jeff Zarrillo and Paul Katami remind us that "Trump Is No Moderate on LGBT Issues."

RIP Jeanne Parr. "Pioneering CBS correspondent Jeanne Parr died on Friday. She was 92. ...Parr began her career at a local radio and television station in Madison, Wisconsin, before eventually being spotted by a CBS producer who moved her career to New York. Once in the Big Apple, Parr worked as a weather girl on the Jim Jensen Show before becoming a full-time news correspondent. ...In 1978, she landed her own talk show, The Jeanne Parr Show on CBS." I had no idea that Jeanne Parr was Chris Noth's mother. Wow. My condolences to her family, friends, colleagues, and fans.

"Minnesota Declares May 23 Beyoncé Day." And why not?! "According to the Star Tribune, Beyoncé made local history yesterday not only for the day in her name, but for being the first woman to headline a Twin Cities-area stadium concert. If that doesn't merit your own day, what does?"

"I for one welcome our cephalopod overlords. The number of cephalopods—squid, octopus and other squishy sea aliens—has shot up over the past six decades, even as humanity's influence on the ocean (read: climate change, pollution and overfishing) has caused many marine populations to plummet, according to a study published Monday in Current Biology. In other words, the ocean is becoming a more difficult place to live—and all of that empty space means everything is coming up octopus." Fascinating.

And finally! "This students who created this video were all offered jobs at Disney Animation and Pixar because of this amazing little film. Written and directed by Jacob Frey, based on a comic strip by Fabio Coala, it tells a a very special story." Maybe grab the tissues. I'm just saying.