- The Democrats are looking to borrow a page from the Republicans' tactical playbook by getting dark money to fund influencers. It's an understandable move, but it shows just how rotten the American political system has gotten when they have to stoop to that level. In any case, it's probably too late now; the US is going to need some pretty serious upheaval in order to get rid of the current regime. Once fascists get elected, it's almost impossible to get rid of them by democratic means, and getting that country back on track is probably going to require breaking a lot of eggs.
- While the fact that China is still building coal plants is definitely not good, the overall rate at which the country is decarbonizing appears to outweigh the impact of those plants. This is somewhat reassuring if true, though not enough to prevent a lot of awfulness. For instance, if the world doesn't decarbonize quickly, a tipping point could be passed in the next few decades that would make a shutdown of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) inevitable within another century or two; the consequences of that would be catastrophic and wide ranging.
- After the Annals of Internal Medicine published a Danish study that found no link between the small amounts of aluminum in vaccines and chronic diseases in children, US Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. demanded that the study be retracted. The journal is standing firm for now, though as they're based in the US it's possible that they'll be forced to knuckle under eventually.
- The Quebec government plans to introduce a bill that would ban prayer in public places such as streets and parks. They are prepared to use the notwithstanding clause if necessary. It probably will be necessary, especially given that such a law is almost certain to hit certain religious groups (i.e. Muslims) harder than others.
- Southwest Airlines will be requiring passengers who don't fit into a single airline seat to pay for a second seat. They do say they will refund the cost of the second seat if the plane isn't full at the time of departure. Nonetheless it's a touchy subject; there's probably no way to make everyone comfortable here, and it will have the effect of making it harder and more expensive for some people to fly compared to others. That said, flying is a privilege rather than a right, but the nastiness of some of the folks on this Reddit thread is uncalled for.
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