It’s time once again for news and views that you can peruse! It’s time for another Weekly Reader! As always, if you have something that you want to share, drop a link in the comments section.
The Blast Effect (from The Washington Post–Warning! The visuals in this article are disturbing. Read with caution!): “The carnage is rarely visible to the public. Crime scene photos are considered too gruesome to publish and often kept confidential. News accounts rely on antiseptic descriptions from law enforcement officials and medical examiners who, in some cases, have said remains were so unrecognizable that they could be identified only through DNA samples.”
High egg prices send profits at largest US producer soaring more than 700% (from CNN): “Cal-Maine Foods, the largest egg producer in the United States, reported revenue doubled and profit surged 718% last quarter because of sharply higher egg prices.”
Wisconsin school bans Miley Cyrus-Dolly Parton duet from class concert (from NPR): “Wisconsin school boards races, including in Waukesha, have become increasingly partisan in recent years. Republicans saw big gains across the state’s school board races in 2022 and have used the positions to challenge policies from rules about transgender kids to COVID-19 restrictions.”
‘Under His Wings’: Leaked Emails Reveal an Anti-Trans ‘Holy War’ (from Vice News): “These missives are part of a trove of leaked emails between South Dakota GOP Rep. Fred Deutsch, anti-trans lobbyists, and other state lawmakers about anti-trans policies that are filled with language so deeply religious that, at times, the communications read like scripts from The Handmaid’s Tale. It’s the language, one expert told VICE News, of Christian nationalists who believe they’re engaging in a holy war.”
Florida, abortion refuge in US south, poised to pass six-week ban (from The Guardian): “Dr Robyn Schickler, the chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood of south-west and central Florida, says she often sees out-of-state patients forced to go to great lengths to get the reproductive healthcare they need. She recalled a patient in her early 20s who came in from Texas to Orlando last year around 13 weeks pregnant.”
A 1,500 pound great white shark named ‘Breton’ is currently swimming off the coast of North Carolina (from CNN): “And Breton has company: Several other great white sharks being tracked by OCEARCH have also reached the North Carolina coast. Simon and Jekyll, both 8-foot long male white sharks, pinged near the Pamlico Sound Saturday.”
Truth Social Was Hijacked To Get #DeSantis2024 Trending (from Vice News): “Within hours, the #DeSantis2024 hashtag appeared on the Truth Social trending pane. By 4 pm on Tuesday afternoon it was at the top of the trending section, overtaking pro-Trump hashtags like #PrayforTrump, Trump2024 and #IStandWithTrump.”
Non-Existent Vaccine Microchips Could Soon Be Banned in Missouri (from Gizmodo): “Language in the measure would ban public schools along with state and local governments from requiring any mRNA vaccination—including the covid-19 shot. The proposed legislation would also require all private employers to allow for broad exceptions to vaccine mandates. Effectively, anyone who wrote a letter to their employer asking to be exempted from vaccination would have to be allowed to skip it, per the bill. This would include healthcare workers, those who work in assisted living communities around the particularly vulnerable—literally, anyone and everyone.”
A Pro-Trump Social Network Wants to Corner the Anti-Vax ‘Jizz Market’ (from Rolling Stone): “Gettr, a struggling right-wing social media company, is looking to create a marketplace for men who won’t take the Covid vaccines to sell their sperm.”
The Strongest Evidence Yet That an Animal Started the Pandemic (from The Atlantic): “This week, an international team of virologists, genomicists, and evolutionary biologists may have finally found crucial data to help fill that knowledge gap. A new analysis of genetic sequences collected from the market shows that raccoon dogs being illegally sold at the venue could have been carrying and possibly shedding the virus at the end of 2019.”
The Real Origins of the Religious Right (from Politico): “But the abortion myth quickly collapses under historical scrutiny. In fact, it wasn’t until 1979—a full six years after Roe—that evangelical leaders, at the behest of conservative activist Paul Weyrich, seized on abortion not for moral reasons, but as a rallying-cry to deny President Jimmy Carter a second term. Why? Because the anti-abortion crusade was more palatable than the religious right’s real motive: protecting segregated schools. So much for the new abolitionism.”
An Interview With the School Board Chair Who Forced Out a Principal After Michelangelo’s David Was Shown in Class (from Slate): “Parents choose this school because they want a certain kind of education. We’re not gonna have courses from the College Board. We’re not gonna teach 1619 or CRT crap. I know they do all that up in Virginia. The rights of parents, that trumps the rights of kids. Teachers are the experts? Teachers have all the knowledge? Are you kidding me? I know lots of teachers that are very good, but to suggest they are the authorities, you’re on better drugs than me.”
Most trans adults say transitioning made them more satisfied with their lives (from the Washington Post): “Most trans adults say they knew when they were young that their gender identity was different from the sex they were assigned at birth. About a third (32 percent) say they began to understand their own gender identity when they were 10 or younger, and another third (34 percent) realized it between the ages of 11 and 17.”
Cops Sue Afroman for ‘Emotional Distress’ After He Made Music Videos of Botched Raid (from Vice): “The complaint claims that the police officers have been “subjected to ridicule” by members of the public who have seen some of Afroman’s posts. The episode has allegedly “made it more difficult and even more dangerous” for them to carry out their official duties, the complaint adds. Some of that activity has included anonymous death threats, it says.”
That’s all for this edition, but don’t worry! I’ll be back again with more reading materials for you to devour! Until then, have a great rest of your week and happy reading!
Iacon East 