The Weekly Town Crier (07/23/21)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (07/23/21).

We’ll Miss You:

Read “Rapper Biz Markie dies” at The Hill.

Read “Byron Berline, Master of the Bluegrass Fiddle, Dies at 77” at New York Times.

Religion and Stuff:Human Rights/Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:

Read “Sikhs, finding religious freedom on the road, take outsize role in American trucking” at Religious News Service.

Read “John Piper’s Successor Latest to Resign as Allegations of Abusive Leadership Mount at Bethlehem Baptist” at Roys Report.

Read “Why God is still the best scientific theory to explain our life on Earth” at New York Post.

Read “Despite white Christianity’s role in Capitol assault, some signs of hope and change” at Religion News Service.

Read “Is evangelical Christianity a religious movement, or is it something else?” at Current.

Read “The Six Way Fracturing of Evangelicalism” at Mere Orthodoxy.

Read “House panel rejects SBC-backed Hyde Amendment” at Baptist Press.

Read “Women’s Search for Women Leaders in the Early Church” at Daily JSTOR. “Some nineteenth-century women writers argued that the first Christians included women who were close to Paul—and maybe apostles themselves.”

Read “David Platt’s dreams for McLean Bible Church sour as members file lawsuit over elder vote” at Religion News Service. “Platt, the best-selling author of ‘Radical’ and beloved Bible preacher, finds his church facing controversy over critical race theory.”

Read “12 Women File Lawsuit vs Liberty U for Unsafe Environment, “Enabling On-Campus Rapes”” at Roys Report.

Read “Florida Youth Pastor Arrested 3rd Time for Video Voyeurism” at Roys Report.

Read “Among Mormon Women, Frank Talk About Sacred Underclothes” at New York Times. ““People are scared to be brutally honest, to say: ‘This isn’t working for me. It isn’t bringing me closer to Christ, it’s giving me U.T.I.s.’” Interesting story on Mormon women pushing for changes to their (often itchy, non breathable) holy undergarments:”

Read “Sanctifying the Status Quo: A Response to Reverend Kevin DeYoung” at Front Porch.

  • Read “Distinctively Christian? An Additional Response to Reverend Kevin DeYoung” at Front Porch.

Read “White Christian America built a faith-based safety net. What happens when it’s gone?” at Religion News Service.

Read “Evangelical' Prof’s ‘Biblical Comma’ Tweet Exposes Paradox of ‘Respectable’ Evangelical Anti-Intellectualism” at Religion Dispatches.

Read “UMC edges toward historic split over LGBTQ inclusion. This church showed the way.” at Religion News Service. “Community of Hope was founded in 1993 as an outreach to ‘people on the margin,’ including LGBTQ people and people living with HIV/AIDS, according to its former pastor.”

Read “Catholic priest who wants to prevent Biden from receiving communion resigns in sex scandal” at Boing Boing.

Read “In-Laws of Mark Driscoll’s Children & Key Pastor: ‘Cultic’ Church Is Dividing Families” at Roys Report.

  • Read “Postcards from Phoenix: When Church Divides a Family” at Warren Throckmorton.

Read “Former Pastor at Florida Megachurch Charged with Grooming & Sexually Molesting Young Girl” at Roys Report.

Human Rights/Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:

Read “Federal judge declares DACA program illegal, but halts only new applications” at NBC News.

Read “Biden administration invites UN experts on racism to visit U.S. in bid to combat racial injustice”

Read “Voting Rights Activists Are Planning a Selma-Style March in Texas” at Vice.

Read “Alabama city leader won't quit after using racial slur” at Yahoo.

Read “Harvey Weinstein, Convicted Rapist, Claims He Didn't Rape Anyone in LA’” at Vice. “On Wednesday, Weinstein pleaded not guilty to 11 sexual assault charges.”

Read “Texas Starts Jailing Immigrants on State Charges After Crossing U.S. Border” at Democracy Now.

Read “U.S. Won’t Seek Death Penalty in 7 Cases, Signaling a Shift Under Biden” at New York Times.

Read “Mississippi's attorney general asks Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade” at The Hill.

Read “Giuliani being investigated over Turkish lobbying” at ABC News.

This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // Insurrectionists // and/or weird Confederacy stuff):

Read “Two men charged in alleged scheme to attack Democratic headquarters in Sacramento inspired by Trump defeat, DOJ says” at CNN.

Read “Father and son police officers charged with joining Proud Boys at Capitol riot” at The Hill.

Read “Garland bars prosecutors from seizing reporters' records” at Yahoo.

Read “Anti-Jewish manifesto found on California man arrested with ammo, high-powered weapons” at Forward.

Read “Men accused of Whitmer kidnapping plot say FBI set them up” at The Hill.

Read “Prosecutors say 'incel' planned mass shooting of sorority members on Ohio college campus” at The Hill.

Read “Pelosi Says Jan. 6 Panel To Move Ahead Without GOP’s Choices” at Huff Post.

  • Read “In Trump’s Jan. 6 recast, attackers become martyrs, heroes” at Associated Press.

This Week In Protest-Related News:

Read “Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio pleads guilty in Black Lives Matter banner burning” at AZ Central.

This Week With The Police:

Read “Police officers treat Black and white men differently. You can hear it in their tone of voice” at Los Angeles Times.

Read “The case of the mugshot with the missing tattoos concludes on hopeful note: ‘It’s like hitting the lottery’” at Oregon Live.

Read “Rapid City Police Officer Let Go After Racially Profiling Native Americans” at SDBP.

Read “NYC's Non-Police Mental Health Pilot Increasing Rate of Those Getting Aid, Data Show” at NBC New York.

Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings

Read “What the Author of the Poem “White Privilege” Thinks of a Teacher Getting Fired for Showing It to His Class” at Slate. “I know that it was just a terrible excuse for their discomfort,” said Kyla Jenee Lacey.

Read “Texas “critical race theory” bill limiting teaching of current events signed into law” at Texas Tribune. “Texas is one of a handful of states that have approved legislation that prescribes how teachers discuss current events and prohibits students from receiving credit for participating in civic activities.”

  • Read “Texas Senate Bill Drops Teaching Requirement That Ku Klux Klan Is ‘Morally Wrong’” at Huff Post. “Eliminated requirements also include the writings of Martin Luther King Jr., United Farm Workers leader Cesar Chavez and suffragist Susan B. Anthony.”

Read “California to provide free school meals for all students” at The Hill.

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read “Delta Is Driving a Wedge Through Missouri” at The Atlantic. “For America as a whole, the pandemic might be fading. For some communities, this year will be worse than last.”

Read “Biden says platforms like Facebook are ‘killing people’ with COVID-19 misinformation” at The Verge.

Read “High-Profile COVID-19 Cases Are Disrupting Olympic Rosters And MLB Games” at NPR.

Read “World-renowned St. Jude children's hospital tells employees: Get vaccinated or get fired” at The Blaze.

Read “Music festival in the Netherlands leads to over 1,000 Covid infections” at CNBC.

Read “L.A. residents torn as mask mandate takes effect” at Yahoo.

Read “Federal judge will not block Indiana University's vaccine mandate” at The Hill.

Read “Federal appeals court to consider whether Michigan students can be required to wear masks” at Michigan Radio.

Read “Prisoners Keep Dying of COVID While ‘Compassionate Releases’ Stall in Court” at Vice.

Read “Unvaccinated Trump supporter who spread coronavirus conspiracy theories dies of COVID-19” at Raw Story.

Read the opinion piece: “Fox News' Covid vaccine denials can't go unpunished.”

Read “‘I’m sorry, but it’s too late’ Alabama doctor on treating unvaccinated, dying COVID patients” at AL.com. “One of the last things they do before they’re intubated is beg me for the vaccine. I hold their hand and tell them that I’m sorry, but it’s too late.”

Read “Tokyo hits six-month high in COVID-19 cases one day before Olympics begin” at The Hill.

Read “Guinea withdraws from Olympics, citing COVID-19” at The Hill.

Read “More Variants Are Coming, and the U.S. Isn’t Ready to Track Them” at Bloomberg.

Read “Klobuchar Takes Aim at Online Covid Lies With Section 230 Bill” at Bloomberg. “Senator Amy Klobuchar introduces a bill to make online platforms like Facebook and Twitter legally liable for misinformation about health issues such as Covid-19.”

Read “COVID-19 is surging again in Arizona, ASU disease expert says” at AZ Central.

Read “The New COVID Panic” at Slate. “What vaccinated people should really know about their risk from the delta variant.”

Read “NFL warns teams that COVID-19 outbreaks could lead to forfeits in 2021” at ABC 15.

Read “Under HIPAA Rules, Can Businesses Ask If You Have Been Vaccinated Against COVID-19?” at Snopes. “Where does HIPAA's privacy rule apply?”

Read “More than 1.5 million children lost a primary or secondary caregiver due to the COVID-19 pandemic” at NIH.

Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology):

Read “Dr. Anthony Fauci named 2021 Humanist of the Year” at Religion News Service. “The American Humanist Association awarded the honor to Fauci for embodying humanist values in the global fight against COVID-19.”

Read “Twitter Suspends Marjorie Taylor Greene For COVID Misinformation” at News and Guts.

Read “Deion Sanders Scolds Reporter For Calling Him ‘Deion’ And Walks Away” at Huff Post. “The Jackson State football coach, a Hall of Fame retired pro, griped that the journalist was being “cute.”

Read “The Inevitable Weaponization of App Data Is Here” at Vice.

Read “Mercedes-Benz going all-electric by 2025” at The Hill.

Read “Controversial USPS Plan To Slow The Mail Slammed By Postal Regulator” at Forbes.

Read “Hundreds Demonstrated Against Poverty at Apollo 11 Moon Launch” at Space.

Read “Surprise Jump in Unemployment Claims Shows U.S. Labor Market Churn” at Time.

Read “Female Soldiers Are Getting New Body Armor Designed Just For Them” at NPR.

Read “A Defunct Video Hosting Site Is Flooding Normal Websites With Hardcore Porn” at Vice. “Stories on major news sites like ‘The Washington Post,’ and ‘New York Magazine’ currently have porn embedded in them.”

Internationalities:

Read “U.S. blames China for Microsoft hack” at World.

Read “‘Mom, I Don’t Think I Can Make It’: Inside the Subway Train Flooded by Extreme Rainfall” at Vice. “At least 12 people died in the subway system as a record-breaking rainstorm hit central China.”

Read “US House passes bill to provide 8,000 special visas for Afghans” at Al Jazeera.

Read “Room for 10,000: Inside China’s largest detention center” at Religion News Service. “This site suggests that China still holds and plans to hold vast numbers of Uyghurs and other minorities in detention.”

Politics And Sucheries:

Read “Matt Gaetz’s ‘America First’ Rally Dumped By Third California Venue Hours Before Event” at Huff Post. “In last-ditch attempt, Gaetz asked supporters to join him outside Riverside City Hall to “protest against communism.”

Read “Biden's silence on filibuster strains Democrats' patience” at The Hill.

Read “Tech executives increased political donations amid lobbying push” at The Hill.

Read “American Dental Association Bares Teeth, Extracts Funding for Paul Gosar” at Vice.

Read “Senate Democrats propose requiring women to register for military draft” at Politico.

  • Read “Senate panel votes to make women register for draft” at The Hill.

Read “Sparse Voter-Fraud Cases Undercut Claims of Widespread Abuses” at Bloomberg.

Read “Democrats criticize FBI's handling of tip line in Kavanaugh investigation” at The Hill.

Read “Kyrsten Sinema’s Strategy of Refusing to Do Anything About Anything Is Not Impressing Voters, Poll Says” at Slate. “Arizona offers a natural experiment in whether people would rather see a Democrat hold out for Republican cooperation or just pass stuff they like.”

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read “A false narrative of 74K extra votes in Arizona” at Associated Press.

Read “Elements of Trump's Big Lie sound alarms for students of history” at MSNBC.

Read “Republicans renege on deal with Democrats, strip funding for IRS in gift to rich tax cheats” at Salon.

Read “Trump campaign really did pay fake supporters to attend 2015 campaign launch, aide admits” at MSNBC.

Read “Trump still says the election was rigged (it wasn't)” at MSNBC.

Read “GOP Rep. Cawthorn Claims House Republicans Will ‘Prosecute’ Fauci For Doing His Job” at Huff Post. “We want to prosecute this guy to the full ability of the law,” the North Carolina congressman told a right-wing website.”

Music-Related News and Such:

Read “Britney Spears Posts Fiery, Brutally Honest Response to Critics on Social Media” at Pop Culture.

Read “Yasmin Williams: A New Voice in Fingerstyle Guitar” at Premier Guitar.

Read “Johnny Rotten sued by ex-Sex Pistols members over upcoming miniseries” at Brooklyn Vegan.

  • Read “John Lydon likens contract at heart of Sex Pistols legal dispute to “slavery”” at NME. “Lydon is being sued by his former bandmates after refusing to grant permission for Sex Pistols music to be used in Danny Boyle's 'Pistol'.

Read “Faces are recording their first new music in four decades” at NME.

Read “Def Jam appears to confirm rumours of new Kanye West album after Las Vegas listening event” at NME.

Read “Olympics Opening Ceremony Composer Steps Down And Apologizes For Bullying” at NPR. “Japanese musician Keigo Oyamada, who performs under the name Cornelius, has resigned from the Tokyo Olympics after being criticized on social media for having bullied children with disabilities while he was himself a student.”

Read “Music Was Key Coping Tool During Lockdown, Says Survey” at The Quietus.

Read “‘Woodstock 99’ Documentary Clip: That ‘Mud’? It’s Shit” at Rolling Stone. “HBO’s Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage focuses on infamous music festival.”

Browse Vice’s picks for “16 Essential Albums You May Have Missed in 2021.”

Read “What Will Happen to My Music Library When Spotify Dies?” at Atlantic.

Read “Farm Aid Announces 2021 Lineup With Willie Nelson, Neil Young, & More” at Stereogum.

Read “Remembering the Phoenix rockabilly star behind 'the most important record ever cut here'“ at Arizona Central.

Browse “A Brief History of Philly Psych” at Bandcamp.

Read “Inside Sun Ra’s 1971 trip to Egypt” at Vinyl Factory.

Read “When a loudmouthed DJ tried to kill disco, the homophobic and racist implications were impossible to ignore’ at Timeline.

Read “The Sounds of Struggle” at Boston Review. “Sixty years ago, a pathbreaking jazz album from Max Roach, Abbey Lincoln, and Oscar Brown, Jr., fused politics and art in the fight for Black liberation. Today many Black artists—women at the forefront—are taking similar strides.”

Read “Are You Relivin’ the Years?: How Steely Dan Became a Cult Favorite for Millennials” at The Ringer.

Read “Don Cherry on creativity and “the mysticism of sound” at Vinyl Factory.

Read “Hiss Golden Messenger :: Quietly Blowing It” at Aquarium Drunkard.

Read “From Soldier to Jazz Giant: The Life of Billy Bang” at Bandcamp.

Read “WILLOW's New Pop-Punk Album Comes From Her Mom's Wicked Wisdom” at NPR.

Read “Hyundai Mercury Prize 2021: Full Nominations Announced” at Clash Music.

Read “Yasiin Bey Steps Back From Thelonious Monk Biopic After Estate’s Disapproval” at Rolling Stone. ““I was given every indication by the production company that the family was on board,” rapper-actor says. “I took them at their word, and clearly that wasn’t the case.”

Read “Hall and Oates’ ‘Diddy Woo Wop (I Hear The Voices)’ Is The Most Sinister Kind of Earworm” at Treble.

Read “Eric Clapton Says He Won't Play Venues That Require COVID Vaccines” at NPR.

Read “Whitney Houston’s Hologram Is Coming to Las Vegas” at Rolling Stone.

Read “David Crosby On His New Album 'For Free' & Why His Twitter Account Is Actually Joyful” at Grammy.

Read “Buckcherry’s Josh Todd Wants To Front A Minor Threat Reunion” at Stereogum.

Browse JazzTimes’ picks for “JazzTimes 10: Great Albums of the Loft-Jazz Era.”

Read “Live Nation Offering $20 All-In Tickets to 1,000 Concerts As Part of Return to Live Promotion” at Consequence.

Read “The Roadrunner Director Made a Playlist Full of Anthony Bourdain's Favorite Music” at Esquire.

Read “Disc-go: Should you get rid of your CDs?” at The Guardian. “They’re ugly and they clog up your cupboards. But just like vinyl spun back into fashion, the compact disc could too.”

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Read “HBO apparently gave James Gandolfini $3 million to not do The Office” at AV Club. “The legacy of The Sopranos was apparently worth a lot of money to HBO.”

Read “Nicolas Cage on acting with a pig: "She was very, like many of us, payment-oriented"“ at AV Club. “The actor discusses the upcoming Pig and his love of animals in new interview.”

Read “The Anthony Bourdain documentary gets his #MeToo devotion all wrong” at The Week.

  • Read “Anthony Bourdain documentary sparks backlash for using AI to fake voice” at The Guardian.

  • Read “Why Roadrunner Director Morgan Neville Skipped Interviewing Asia Argento” at Vulture.

Read “Carl Sagan Tells Johnny Carson What’s Wrong with Star Wars: “They’re All White” & There’s a “Large Amount of Human Chauvinism in It” (1978)” at Open Culture.

Read “Dan Harmon still believes in a Community movie, despite the looming philosophical questions it poses” at AV Club. “The sitcom's creator says the "the gears are turning.”

Watch “15 Hours of The Pink Panther for Free” at Open Culture.

Read “When David Bowie Played Andy Warhol in Julian Schnabel’s Film, Basquiat” at Open Culture.

Books/Reading/Authors

Read “Spike Jonze’s Stop Motion Film Hauntingly Animates Paris’ Famed Shakespeare and Company Bookstore” at Open Culture.

Design/Artsy Things:

Read “Jerry Garcia Family Partners With Yellowheart For NFT Collection” at American Songwriter.

Science/Health/Animals/Nature/Environment/Etc.:

Read “Two Rods and a ‘Sixth Sense’: In Drought, Water Witches are Swamped” at New York Times.

Read “Clinical Trial: Cannabis Extracts Effective for Refractory Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea” at NORML.

Read “UFOs over Northeast Michigan skies” at The Alpena News.

Read “No, You Beg Adopting used to be a good thing that good people could do. These days, you’re probably not good enough” at The Cut.

Read “Photo shared of acid-squirting 'land lobster from hell' found in US National Park” at The Hill.

Read “A powerful jet emerges from a black hole in unprecedented detail in new images” at Space.

Read “Bezos: Trip to space 'reinforces my commitment to climate change'“ at The Hill.

Read “US border agents seize 15 giant snails” at BBC.

Read “DeSantis dismisses calls for a red tide state of emergency” at Sun-Sentinel.

Read “Bin There, Done That: Scientists Learn How Cockatoos Learn To Lift Trash Lids” at Huff Post.

Read “Rare and beautiful blanket octopus caught on camera” at The Hill.

Read “Scientists discover 15,000-year-old viruses frozen in glacier ice” at CNET.

Read “Enactment of Adult-Use Marijuana Legalization Associated with Immediate, But Temporary Reductions in Opioid-Related Emergency Room Visits” at NORML.

Food And Drink Cultures:

Read “Meet the Italian Brothers Who Grew the World’s Biggest Cherry” at Gastro Obscura.

Misc. Oddities:

Read ‘The Hilarious History of 'OK'“ at Merriam Webster.

Local:

Read “Few Arizona voter fraud cases undercut Trump's claims” at ABC 15.

Read “Advocates Call For Arizona To Give Federal Funds To Former Foster Care Youth” at KJZZ.

Read “Desert in distress? New study ranks Arizona as worst place to live in 2021” ABC 15.

Read “AZDHS Director Says Arizona School Quarantine Policies Are Appropriate In Some Cases” at KJZZ.

The Weekly Town Crier (07/16/21)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (07/23/21).


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We’ll Miss You:

Read “Paul Orndorff Dies: Wrestling Legend Known As “Mr. Wonderful” Who Fought In 1st WrestleMania Was 71” at Yahoo.

Religion and Stuff:

Read “The Rapid Decline of White evangelical America?” at Washington Post.

  • Read “What is a mainline Christian, anyway?” at Religion News Service.

  • Read “Why It’s Unlikely US Mainline Protestants Outnumber Evangelicals” at Religion Unplugged.

  • Read this 2020 piece “The Power Worshippers: A look inside the American religious right” at Al Jazeera.

Read “QAnon moves into the shadows but movement remains active” at Al Jazeera.

Read “Southern Baptist Convention sparks small COVID-19 cluster in Nashville” at Tennessean.

Read “Santa Fe Church Forgives Entire State of New Mexico Medical Debt” at Episcopal News.

Read “SBC President Ed Litton Announces Task Force to Review Mishandling of Abuse Allegations” at Roys Report.

Read “Family loses appeal in lawsuit over priest’s funeral remarks” at Religion News Service. “A priest who criticized a teenager's suicide during his funeral is protected by the First Amendment.”

Read “Atheist and humanist groups sue Mississippi over state’s ‘In God We Trust’ license plate” at Religion News Service. “The suit says car owners have to choose between displaying the state’s standard license tag, with the words ‘In God We Trust,’ on their vehicles or paying an additional fee to display a special tag of their choice.”

Read the opinion piece: “Why are White Evangelicals embracing an anti-democratic movement? Because they’re panicking” at Washington Post.

Read “Church leaders arrested on sex-related charges involving minors” at Baptist Press.

Read “MAGA Pastor Jackson Lahmeyer Discovers the Downside of QAnon” at Right Wing Watch.

Read “United Methodist Church Seizes Assets of Conservative Georgia Megachurch” at Roys Report.

Human Rights/Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:

Read “Biden administration bars ICE from detaining pregnant or nursing women” at CBS News.

Read “Police investigating child’s death at Maggie’s Farm in Manitou Springs” at KRDO. “Two Colorado parents were arrested and charged with "criminally negligent child abuse resulting in death" after their 4-year-old son unintentionally shot and killed himself while left unattended in a car in Manitou Springs.”

Read “Previous ACLU: Miami Correctional inmates lived in total darkness, frequently shocked” at Okaloosa.com.

Read “Federal court blocks Tennessee's anti-trans bathroom law from going into effect” at Business Insider.

This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // Insurrectionists // and/or weird Confederacy stuff):

Read “White nationalists prep for "physical" altercation with security at Dallas CPAC conference” at Salon.

Read “Charlottesville begins taking down Confederate statues” at CNN.

This Week With The Police:

Read “Officers sue California city over Black Lives Matter mural” at AZ Family.

Read “Cop Accused of Hiding Stepson’s Body in a Hole in the Wall of His Home” at Vice.

Read “All DPS Troopers To Get Body Cameras, But Arizona Limits Release Of Video” at KJZZ.

Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings

Read “Arizona governor signs bill to prohibit critical race theory teaching” at The Hill.

  • Read “What Is Critical Race Theory, and Why Is Everyone Talking About It?” at Columbia.edu.

  • Read “Nikki Haley calls on 'every governor' in US to ban funding for critical race theory in public schools” at Yahoo.

Read “Tears, politics and money: School boards become battle zones” at Associated Press.

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read “Rand Paul, Fellow GOPers Fighting Mask Mandate On Airplanes” at News and Guts.

Read “'Surprising amount of death' will soon occur in these US regions from increased Covid-19 cases, expert says” at CNN.

Read “Canada donating AstraZeneca doses to other countries” at The Hill.

Read “Anti-vaxx nurse dies from COVID-19 in Louisiana” at Raw Story.

Read “Tennessee abandons vaccine outreach to minors — not just for COVID-19” at Tennessean.

Read “Surgeon general warns of dangers of misinformation amid misleading vaccine claims” at CNN.

Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology):

Read “Tobacco group Philip Morris buys maker of inhalers” at Economic Times. “US cigarette giant Philip Morris said Friday that it has agreed to buy Vectura, a UK company making breathing inhalers, as part of a push into healthcare.”

Read the opinion piece “Only the Rich Could Love This Economic Recovery” at New York Times.

Read “Rachael Denhollander: Let's channel our anger over the FBI and Nassar and save the children” at USA Today.

Internationalities:

Read “US sanctions a Chinese facial recognition company with Silicon Valley funding” at The Verge.

Read “Biden Tells Putin Russia Must Crack Down On Cybercriminals” at Huff Post. “U.S. President Joe Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that he must “take action” against criminals within his country.”

Read “Haitian police: Foreign hit squad killed President Moïse” at PRI The World.

Read “UK mom killed hubby with boiling water for allegedly sexually abusing her kids” at New York Post.

Read the opinion piece “Abolish the Olympics” at The New Republic. “They’ve long been a financial boondoggle that ruins lives and enriches the corporate class. This year, they might also spread a deadly Covid variant among a largely unvaccinated population.”

Read “World disgusted by racist abuse toward players” at The Hill.

Read “South Africa Deploys Army to Contain Unrest Over Former President Zuma’s Arrest” at Wall Street Journal.

Politics And Sucheries:

Read “Why Toyota's reversal on Republican financial support matters” at MSNBC News.

Read “Senate Democrats Announce $3.5 Trillion Budget Agreement” at NPR.

Read “Schumer: Marijuana legalization will be a Senate priority” at The Hill.

Read “Democratic Senators Call for Investigation of Tax Avoidance by the Ultrawealthy” at Pro Publica. “Calling ProPublica’s Secret IRS Files series a “bombshell,” Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Sheldon Whitehouse demanded an investigation into how the rich use “legal tax loopholes to avoid paying their fair share of income taxes.”

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read “Dissension in AZGOP as Trump dumps Ducey” at AZ Capitol Times.

Read Greg Abbott Says Fleeing Texas Democrats 'Will Be Arrested' When They Return to State” at Newsweek.

Read “Kremlin papers appear to show Putin’s plot to put Trump in White House” at The Guardian.

Read “USA Today Investigation Links Ducey With Efforts To Extract $100M In Tax Refunds” at KJZZ.

Read ‘Democratic Rep. Beatty arrested while calling for Senate action on voting rights” at Yahoo.

Music-Related News and Such:

Read “The Creative Urge: John Coltrane on Perseverance Against Rejection, the Innovator’s Mindset, and How Hardship Fuels Art” at Brain Pickings.

Read “The Residents Announce 50th Anniversary Tour” at Consequence.

Read “Iggy Pop to Narrate King Tutankhamun Documentary” at Pitchfork.

Read “Grateful Dead’s best album is ‘In the Dark’ – even if Deadheads won't admit it” at Herald-Tribune.

Read “Why Are Independent Artists and Labels Turning Away From Vinyl?” at Pitchfork. “Faced with interminable manufacturing delays, some of music’s DIY players are giving up on the beloved format.”

Read “Heartbreakers Keyboardist Benmont Tench Talks ‘She’s the One,’ Life After Tom Petty” at Rolling Stone.

Read “UK Lawmakers Call for Sweeping Reform to Streaming Payouts” at Pitchfork.

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Read “Hannity tells fans to 'take their sports back' by singing national anthem” at The Hill.

Read “Lea Thompson is volunteering to direct a Howard The Duck reboot” at AV Club.

Read “Rob Schneider Unwilling to Take COVID-19 Vaccine, Is Willing to Shoot People” at Consequence.

Books/Reading/Authors

Read “The battle for the public library” at Current. “It looks like some conservatives are running for local library boards so they can remove books on race and racism from the stacks.”

Science/Animals/Nature/Environment/Etc.:

Read “At least seven states report mosquitoes carrying disease that can paralyze humans” at The Hill.

Read “Meth Pollution in Waterways Turns Trout Into Addicts” at Smithsonian.

Read “Mass bird die-off in eastern US baffles scientists” at Live Science.

Read “EPA: 11,000 facilities illegally discharged pollutants into nearby waters in 2018” at The Hill.

Read “Wobbling’ moon will cause devastating worldwide flooding in 2030’s NASA warns” at Telegraph.

Read “Scientists are tracking the loneliest whale in the world” at The Hill.

Local:

Read “72% of Arizona taxpayers will save less than $45 per year under @dougducey ‘s tax cut. But he repeated again and again that the average taxpayer would save $300. There are two possible explanations: he was being dishonest or he didn’t check the math” at AZ Central.

Read “Phoenix Firefighters Union Asks City To Shutter Two Trails On Extreme Heat Days” at KJZZ.

Read “Arizona Supreme Court halts projected execution dates for 2 inmates” at KTAR.

Read “Arizona flood swept this Prius down a street, caught on video” at Boing Boing.

The Weekly Town Crier (07/09/21)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (07/09/21).

Religion and Stuff:

Read the opinion piece “Patriot games: CRT, Christian nationalism and a battle for the real truth of America” at Religion News Service.

  • Read “Where Were They Radicalized? No Answer Is Complete Without Addressing Evangelical Churches and Schooling” at Religion Dispatches.

Read ‘Breaking the silence: Clergy address pandemic’s surge in domestic violence” at Religion News Service.

Read “Promise Keepers Tried to End Racism 25 Years Ago. It Almost Worked” at Christianity Today. “As new tensions divide the country, the men’s movement leaders wonders what they could have done differently.”

Read “Apocalypse Now And Then: How A Biblical Genre Shapes American Politics” at Religion Dispatches.

Read “The uncomfortable truth about the authoritarian Christian right's role in American politics” at AlterNet.

Read “Franklin bomb scare caused by fake TNT prop used for coal mining-themed church program” at Tennessean.

Read “White mainline Protestants outnumber white evangelicals, while ‘nones’ shrink” at Religion News Service.

Read “NDAs Kept These Christians Silent. Now They’re Speaking Out Against Them” at Christianity Today.

Human Rights/Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:

Read “Lethal Force Against Pipeline Protests? Documents Reveal Shocking South Dakota Plans for National Guard” at Democracy Now.

Read “12 Holdout States Haven't Expanded Medicaid, Leaving 2 Million People In Limbo” at NPR.

Read “At least 150 people fatally shot in more than 400 shootings over the Fourth of July weekend” at CNN.

Read “Tucson to ignore Arizona’s ‘Second Amendment sanctuary’ law” at AZ Capitol Times.

Read “Juan Williams: How the Supreme Court eroded voting rights” at The Hill.

Read “SCOTUS Is Finishing the Job on Financial Disclosure Requirements” at Slate. “Doing bad things in two steps several years apart is becoming something of a strategy for John Roberts.”

Read “Cuomo declares 'state emergency' on gun violence in New York” at The Hill.

Read “ACLU Lawsuit: MCAO ‘coerces’ guilty pleas by fast-tracking cases” at ABC 15.

Read “Trump files suit against Facebook, Twitter and YouTube” at Associated Press.

Read “An MLK Jr. Statue Was Vandalized With Graffiti, Prompting A Hate Crime Investigation” at NPR.

Read “Michigan Judge Refuses to Allow Sidney Powell, Lin Wood, and Other ‘Kraken’ Attorneys to Skip Sanctions Hearing” at Law and Crime.

Read “Ghoulish pall is cast over America by Alabama's plan to gas humans to death” at Montgomery Advertiser.

Read “An Appeals Court Has Suspended Rudy Giuliani's Ability To Practice Law In D.C.” at NPR.

This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // Insurrectionists // and/or weird Confederacy stuff):

Read ‘6 Months After Capitol Assault, Corporate Pledges Fall Flat” at NBC Los Angeles. “6 months later, many of those companies have resumed funneling cash to PACs that benefit the election efforts of lawmakers whether they objected to the election certification or not.”

Read “Covering up the insurrection is the Bigger Lie. And it’s worse.” at MSNBC.

Read “Virginia ‘Bible study’ group was cover for violent militia plans, prosecutors say” at Washington Post.

This Week With The Police:

Read “New video shows altercation between man and New Rochelle detective charged with assault” at Westchester 12 News.

Read “Judge Accepts Nashville Officer’s Voluntary Manslaughter Plea For 2018 Shooting, Leaving Daniel Hambrick’s Family ‘Disgusted’” at WPLN.

Read “Why Cops Are Driving a ‘Game Truck’ Around New York City” at Vice.

Read “Baltimore IG: Police officers allowed to take paid leave and overtime simultaneously” at Baltimore Brew.

Read “Darnella Frazier Filmed George Floyd’s Murder. The Minneapolis Police Just Killed Her Uncle” at Mother Jones.

Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings

Read “Teaching critical race theory isn't happening in classrooms, teachers say in survey” at NBC News.

  • Read “Anti-Critical Race Theory Laws Are Un-American” at New York Times.

  • Read “Former Trump official’s God-and-country nonprofit calls CRT a threat to ‘colorblind society’” at Religion News Service. “Russ Vought, a former Trump official, blames woke pastors for promoting a dangerous and anti-Christian ideology.”

Read “Nikole Hannah-Jones Issues Statement on Decision to Decline Tenure Offer at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and to Accept Knight Chair Appointment at Howard University” at NAACPLDF.

  • Read “Two Iconic American Writers Join Howard University to Create the Center for Journalism and Democracy” at MacArthur Foundation.

Read “How QAnon supporters work to spread ideas via school boards” at MSNBC.

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read “Pandemic Pushes Millions of Small Thai Companies Into Crisis” at Bloomberg.

Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology):

Read “Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Reflect on 75 Years of Marriage” at New York Times.

Read “Wells Fargo tells customers it’s shuttering all personal lines of credit” at CNBC.

Internationalities:

Read “Haiti's president assassinated” at CNN.

  • Read “What Is Happening in Haiti?” at Vice.

Politics And Sucheries:

Read “VP Harris says DNC will pour $25M into voting rights protection” at AZ Mirror.

Read “How Democrats Lost the Courts” at The Atlantic.

Read “DeSantis won't commit to new review of Florida buildings after condo collapse” at The Hill.

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read “Why are Republicans sticking with Trump? Peer pressure—and we’re all susceptible to it.” at American Magazine.

Music-Related News and Such:

Read “Explore Nikhil Banerjee’s music in Meeting Rivers’ latest Indian classical mix” at Vinyl Factory.

Read “Britney Spears’s Conservatorship Nightmare” at New Yorker.

  • Read “Britney Spears: Mother says pop star should be allowed to choose her own lawyer” at BBC.

Read “How Lonnie Smith Found an Unlikely New Collaborator: Iggy Pop” at New York Times.

Read “King Tubby: A Beginner’s Guide To The Prolific Dub Innovator” at Treble.

Browse “M.C. Taylor’s 13 Spiritually Uplifting Songs” at Spirituality and Health.

Read “Vinyl Is More Popular Than Ever. Surprisingly, That's a Problem” at Vice.

Read “Sonic Youth Partner For Premium Running Apparel Collection Modeled By Walter Schreifels” at Stereogum.

Watch “the Chaos of Woodstock 99 Unfold in New Trailer for Upcoming Documentary” at Rolling Stone.

Read “Krist Novoselic on Nevermind’s impact: “So much was going on. And then it all just spectacularly blew up” at Uncut.

Read “MF DOOM Will Be Honored With His Own Street Sign In New York” at Okay Player.

Read “Fender to honour Kurt Cobain and Primal Scream with new guitar collection” at NME.

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Read “On and off stage, Questlove’s Summer Of Soul is an invigorating and inspiring concert film” at AV Club.

Read “Fox News backs away from defending Tucker Carlson after NSA spying claims” at Salon.

  • Read “Tucker Carlson sought Putin interview at time of spying claim” at Axios.

Read “Kyle MacLachlan Cast as Carole Baskin’s Husband in Joe Exotic Series” at The Hollywood Reporter.

Science/Animals/Nature/Environment/Etc.:

Read “What Technology Could Reduce Heat Deaths? Trees.” at New York Times. “At a time when climate change is making heat waves more frequent and more severe, trees are stationary superheroes: They can lower urban temperatures 10 lifesaving degrees, scientists say.”

Read “Radioactive hybrid terror pigs have made themselves a home in Fukushima's exclusion zone” at The Register.

Read “Climate change: The craft brewery using algae to cut emissions” at BBC.

The Weekly Town Crier (06/25/21)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (06/25/21).

We’ll Miss You:

Read “Antivirus pioneer John McAfee found dead in Spanish prison” at Miami Herald.

Religion and Stuff:

Read “Albert Mohler’s darkest hour” at Religion News Service. “In his bid to lead America’s largest denomination, he was his own worst enemy.”

Read “After politically charged debate, bishops vote to draft controversial Communion document” at Religion News Service.

  • Read “Targeting Biden, Catholic Bishops Advance Controversial Communion Plan” at New York Times.

  • Read “AOC, other Catholic Democrats urge bishops against ‘weaponization’ of Communion” at Religion News Service.

  • Read “Biden dismisses Catholic bishops potentially banning him from communion” at The HIll. “That’s a private matter.”

  • Read “Lieu calls Catholic bishops 'hypocrites' for move to deny Biden communion” at The Hill.

  • Read “Weaponizing the wafer: Why San Francisco Archbishop opposes communion for Biden” at San Fransisco Examiner.

Read “Black Mountain pastor makes first court appearance on child sexual offense charges” at WLOS.

  • Read “Members of The Ridge Church defend pastor charged with child sex offenses” at WLOS.

Read “Critical Race Theory, Sex Abuse, and Southern Baptists” at Christianity Today.

  • Read “How Critical Race Theory Overran the Southern Baptist Convention” at NY Mag.

  • Read ‘Christian Opponents of CRT Peddle A Hollow Salvation” at Sojourners.

Read “Under Attack from Fundamentalist Pirates, Evangelical Baptists Refused to Give Up the Ship” by David French. “In Nashville, Evangelicals clashed with toxic fundamentalists—and Evangelicals prevailed.”

  • Read “America’s largest evangelical denomination is at war with itself” at Vox. “Why the Southern Baptist Convention is in turmoil — and why you should care.”

  • Read “When Southern Baptists Share the Gospel with Democrats, You May Get Christian Democrats! Can You Handle That?” at Southern Baptist Voices.

  • Read “Southern Baptist Convention Calls for ‘Immediate Abolition of Abortion Without Exception or Compromise’” at FaithWire.

  • Read “Christian Nationalist Leader Attacks SBC Election, New President” at Roys Report.

Read/Listen to “The Fight Over Evangelicals’ Future” at Slate. “Conservatives are divided. So are their churches.”

Read “‘An excuse for the feast’: Witches celebrate the summer solstice with cakes, mead — and salsa” at Religion News Service. “For many pagans, spirituality is tied to nature, and eating local seasonal foods connects them to the earth and with a specific time and place.”

Read ‘Religion 'ISN'T the secret to happiness': Global study claims atheists are just as happy as those with a faith” at Daily Mail.

Read “Braveheart’s Warped History Keeps Suckering Evangelicals” at Daly Beast. “Mel Gibson’s sadomasochistic fantasy is beloved by evangelical Christians (and William Wallace wannabes like Ted Cruz), who wallow in its exaltation of violent, macho religion.”

Read “How 'Modest Is Hottest' Is Hurting Christian Women” at Christianity Today. “What the phrase communicates about female sexuality and bodies.”

Read “DeSantis gets standing ovation by promising to put on the 'full armor of God' to fight against leftism” at Washington Examiner.

Read “The Nigerian priest saving Igbo deities from the bonfires” at BBC.

Read “Former Megachurch Pastor & Presidential Adviser Kirbyjon Caldwell Enters Prison” at Roys Report.

Read “Whitewashing Evangelical Scripture: The Case of Slavery and Antisemitism in the English Standard Version” at Oxford Academic.

Read “Can a tender-hearted president solve the Southern Baptists’ trust problem?” at Religion News Service. “The nation's largest Protestant denomination is based on voluntary cooperation by more than 40,000 churches. That cooperation is threatened by growing distrust of national leaders.”

Read “My Farewell to Sojourners” by Jim Wallis at Sojourners.

Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:

Read “Much of our slang comes from the Black community. Not acknowledging that perpetuates racism.” at USA Today.

Read “How TV Dramas Informed And Misinformed Perceptions Of The War On Drugs” at NPR.

Read “DOJ warns Missouri officials state can't ignore federal gun laws” at The Hill.

Read “14 Votes Against Juneteenth: A Racist Act In The Halls Of Congress” at The Uprising.

  • Read “As Juneteenth marks the end of slavery, lawmakers turn their focus to forced prison labor” at Washington Post.

Read “North Carolina death row inmate freed after newly discovered evidence” at The Hill.

Read “Connecticut Becomes First State to Provide Free Calls from Prison” at Equal Justice Initiative.

Read ‘DOJ Asks SCOTUS to Reinstate Death Penalty for Boston Marathon Bomber” at Democracy Now.

Read “John Roberts Just Pulled Off His Greatest Judicial Magic Trick” at Slate.

Read “Idaho Republican candidate for governor claims US is under attack from 'invasive species'“ at American Independent.

Read “Jesse Jackson, William Barber arrested protesting filibuster and Manchin” at Religion News Service.

Read “Rudy Giuliani suspended from practicing law in New York state” at AZ Family.

  • Read “With Giuliani’s Law License Suspended, Here Are The Other Trump Lawyers Who May Face Discipline Next” at Forbes.

Read “Parkland parents trick former NRA president into speaking in anti-gun violence video” at Salon. “Empty chairs were placed in a stadium to represent seniors who didn't graduate this year because of gun violence.”

Read “Connecticut Legalizes Recreational Marijuana” at Democracy Now.

This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // Insurrectionists // and/or weird Confederacy stuff):

Read “Tucker Carlson And The Far Right Want To Recast Jan. 6 As A False Flag By The Deep State” at Huff Post.

Read “Charlottesville Neo-Nazi Trial Won’t Move Over Violence Fear” at Bloomberg.

Read “Pelosi announces a select committee will investigate Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob” at Washington Post.

This Week In Protest-Related News:

Read “A Group of White Cops Beat a Black Undercover Officer at a BLM Protest” at Vice.

Read “Portland riots: Police crowd-control team resigns after officer indicted” at BBC.

Read “Charges dismissed against trucker who drove into George Floyd protest” at The Hill.

This Week With The Police:

Read “North Carolina sheriff's office settles for $6M in excessive force lawsuit” at The Hill.

Read “Black students pulled from car by Atlanta police sue city” at NBC. “Video of the May 2020 confrontation — shared widely online — shows officers shouting at the students, firing Tasers at them and dragging them from the car.”

Read “Baltimore May Soon Ban Facial Recognition For Everyone But Cops” at Wired.

Read “The history of the US police” at Al Jazeera. “From slave patrols to the criminalisation of Black communities, racism has been a feature of US policing for centuries.’

Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings

Read “Ted Cruz says critical race theory is as racist as 'Klansmen in white sheets'“ at The Hill.

  • Read “How a Conservative Activist Invented the Conflict Over Critical Race Theory” at New Yorker. “To Christopher Rufo, a term for a school of legal scholarship looked like “the perfect weapon.”

  • Read “'The Tea Party to the 10th power': Trumpworld bets big on critical race theory” at Politico.

  • Read Partisan war over teaching history and racism stokes tensions in U.S. schools” at Reuters.

  • Read “Teachers Say GOP’s Critical Race Theory Bills ‘Whitewash American History’ at Huff Post. “Republicans are pushing laws to prevent teaching about systemic racism and white privilege in schools. Teachers say they just want to teach the truth.”

Read “Why Juneteenth Isn't Taught In Schools — And What That Means For Our Understanding Of Slavery” at WBUR.

Read “Top U.S. military leader: ‘I want to understand White rage. And I’m White.’” at Washington Post.

Read “How the media's helping GOP fuel critical race theory hysteria” at Press Run.

Read “US sees record school shootings since March as students struggle with return from pandemic” at The Hill.

Read “DeSantis signs bill requiring Florida students, professors to register political views with state” at Salon.

Read “Supreme Court Sides With Teen Who Was Punished By School Over Expletive-Laden Snapchat Rant” at Comic Sands.

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read “‘We want them infected’: Trump appointee demanded ‘herd immunity’ strategy, emails reveal” at Politico. “Then-HHS science adviser Paul Alexander called for millions of Americans to be infected as means of fighting Covid-19.”

Read “Unvaccinated Arizonans made up 95% of COVID-19 cases in May” at AZ Mirror.

Read “The Spectacular Failure of the MyPillow Guy’s Mask Operation” at Daily Beast.

Read “More than 150 Houston Methodist employees resign or are fired over COVID vaccine mandate” at Houston Chronicle.

Read “NYC offering in-home vaccinations to all residents” at The Hill.

Read “Jim Bakker, his church settle lawsuit over COVID-19 claims” at Religion News Service.

Read “Nearly all COVID deaths in US are now among unvaccinated” at Associated Press.

Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology):

Read “Lessons from California’s Pot Industry Bailout” at Bloomberg. ‘California’s 15% tax on legal marijuana has pushed consumers to the illicit market, it’s clear that much more has gone wrong with legalization in the state.”

Read “French software engineer may have cracked the Zodiac killer's code” at Boing Boing.

Read “Retail workers are quitting at record rates for higher-paying work: ‘My life isn’t worth a dead-end job’” at Washington Post.

Read “Michael B. Jordan to rename his rum brand after appropriation accusations” at The Hill.

Internationalities:

Read “UN assembly condemns military coup in Myanmar” at The Hill.

Read “Hungary's anti-gay law threatens programming of TV favourites” at Vox.

Politics And Sucheries:

Read “Joe Biden Is Confirming Judges Faster Than Decades Of Past Presidents” at Huff Post.

Read “Biden announces bipartisan deal on infrastructure” at The Hill.

Read “States Have Cut Off Unemployment. So Why Aren’t More People Looking for Jobs?” at Slate.

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read “At Long Last, Donald T$&mp Finally Admits: 'We Didn't Win'“ at Yahoo.

Read “Arizona election audit takes wild turn: Voter data is transported to a "secret" lab in another state” at Salon. “Arizona voter data hits the road, and the location it's being sent to is apparently a secret.”

Read “Led by Trump's old doctor, over a dozen GOP lawmakers demand Biden take a cognitive test” at Salon.

Read “As Gaetz investigation ramps up, feds mount sweeping probe into Central Florida political scene” at Yahoo.

Read “Georgia releases names of over 100K people at risk of having voter registration canceled” at The Hill.

Read “Trump-inspired death threats are terrorizing election workers” at Reuters.

Read “House Republicans Are Still Pushing Trump’s Election Conspiracy Theories” at Slate.

Read “Corporations like Amazon pay big bucks for "union avoidance" — and it all happens in the dark” at Salon.

Read “What would America be like if Trump's coup had succeeded? Suppressing SNL is only the start” at Salon.

Music-Related News and Such:

Read “The Horrors of Bull Island, “the Worst Music Festival of All Time” (1972)” at Open Culture.

Read “Billie Eilish Apologizes for Mouthing Racist Slur in Surfaced Video: “I Am Appalled and Embarrassed at Pitchfork.

Read “A Little Less Lonely: Joni Mitchell’s Blue at 50” at Treble Zine.

Read “Untangling MF DOOM’s Lifelong Struggle With the U.S. Immigration System” at Pitchfork.

Browse Treble’s picks for “The 33 Best Albums of 2021 So Far.

Read “Inner Ear Studios’ Original Location Shutting Down” at Pitchfork.

Read “Go Spelunking in Mark E. Smith’s Mind With This Collection of the Fall Ephemera” at Rolling Stone.

Read “Factory Records co-founder and Joy Division album cover designer Peter Saville honoured with CBE” at Manchester Evening News.

Browse Rolling Stone’s picks for “The 50 Greatest Pop-Punk Albums.”

Read “Britney Spears Has Wanted Out of Her Conservatorship for Years. Why Is She Still in It?” at Vice.

Read/Listen to “Ripley Johnson of Rose City Band” at Petal Motel.

Read “Photos of New York's explosive 80s music scene” at I-D Vice.

Read “Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus Reveals Cancer Diagnosis” at Pitchfork.

Read “Talking Heads’ David Byrne buys $5.5M Toluca Lake mansion” at New York Post.

Read “Winston Marshall Leaves Mumford and Sons After Endorsing Andy Ngo’s Book” at Spin.

Read “Behind the Music Returning to Paramount+ with New Episodes: Watch the Trailer” at Consequence.

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Read “Chris Cuomo calls Fox News a 'disgrace' for not informing viewers that Tucker Carlson shouldn't be taken seriously” at Yahoo.

Read “Diamond and Silk suggest Fox News is racist for dumping them over COVID-19 conspiracies that were also embraced by white hosts like Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity” at Business Insider.

Books/Reading/Authors

Browse “Umberto Eco’s 36 Rules for Writing Well (in English or Italian)” at Open Culture.

Read “Enter an Archive of 6,000 Historical Children’s Books, All Digitized and Free to Read Online” at Open Culture.

Read “What We Can Learn from Studying UFOs” at Scientific American.

Science/Animals/Nature/Environment/Etc.:

Read “New type of ancient human discovered in Israel” at BBC.

Read “The Truth Has Not Always Been Out There” at New York Times.

Food And Drink Cultures:

Read “Pepsi Seeks Trademark for Rockstar-Branded Beer, Hard Seltzer” at Bloomberg.

Read “California man arrested over theft of 42,000lbs of pistachios” at BBC.

Read “The Horrifying Legacy of the Victorian Tapeworm Diet” at Atlas Obscura.

Misc. Oddities:

Read ‘Yes, There Really is a Softball Field at Area 51” at Vice.

Local:

Read “Before she embraced Donald Trump, Kari Lake signed on with Democrats as Barack Obama's fortunes soared” at 12 News.

Read “Lake Mead's decline points to scary water future in West” at The Hill.

Read “New Mattel-inspired theme park finds a home in Glendale” at 12 News.

Read “Flat Tax Exacerbates Inequalities for Households of Color” at AZ Center For Economic Progress.

The Weekly Town Crier (06/11/21)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (07/11/21).






Religion and Stuff:

Read “Russell Moore’s Warnings Should Bring a Reckoning” by David French. “How much more evidence do we need that the church needs reform?”

Read “Godless grifters: How the New Atheists merged with the far right” at Salon. “What once seemed like a bracing intellectual movement has degenerated into a pack of abusive, small-minded bigots.”

Read “A refugee agency rebuilds its pipeline after Trump: ‘We’re starting from scratch’” at Religion News Service.

Read “Keep COVID-19 restrictions during in-person worship, ecumenical guide suggests” at Religion News Service.

Read: “A Chronicle Invesigation: Abuse of Faith” at Houston Chronicle. “In the past 20 years, a disturbing number of Southern Baptists with formal church roles have engaged in sexual misconduct, a new investigation by the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News reveals. They were pastors. Deacons. Youth pastors. They left behind more than 700 victims. Read and hear the stories of those victims, and learn the depths of the crimes and misconduct of the church leaders they trusted.”

Read “PTL! Andrew Garfield, Jessica Chastain to star as Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker in biopic” at Religion News Service.

Read “Biden DOJ updates court filing after LGBTQ advocates blast its stance in religious schools case” at CNN.

Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:

Read “Judge overturns California’s 32-year ban on assault weapons” at Associated Press.

Read “Supreme Court Will Hear Case Of FBI Allegedly Surveilling Some Muslim Californians” at Huff Post.

Read “Why Arizona May Resume Gas Chamber Executions” at KJZZ.

Read “America’s gun obsession is rooted in slavery” at The Guardian.

Read “The Secret IRS Files: Trove of Never-Before-Seen Records Reveal How the Wealthiest Avoid Income Tax” at Pro Publica. “ProPublica has obtained a vast cache of IRS information showing how billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Warren Buffett pay little in income tax compared to their massive wealth — sometimes, even nothing.”

  • Read “Wealthiest Executives Paid Little to Nothing in Federal Income Taxes, Report Says” at New York Times.

Read “Michael Cohen on Trump criminal probe: Everyone in the company lied for Donald” at MSNBC.

Read “America’s Dangerous Obsession With Innocence” at The Atlantic. “Most people on death row are guilty. That doesn’t mean they deserve their fate.”

This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // Insurrectionists // and/or weird Confederacy stuff):

Read “"It's now or never": Bipartisan congressional report finds Capitol police ignored Jan. 6 warnings” at Salon.

This Week With The Police:

Read “Could Brain Training Help Address Police Brutality?” at Wired. “New neuroscience-based technologies aim to improve decisionmaking under pressure. But solving systemic problems will take a lot more than that.”

Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings

Read “Judge orders reinstatement of Virginia teacher who opposed transgender rules” at The Hill.

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read “Fauci calls on China to release medical records of Wuhan researchers” at The Hill.

Read “Washington state to allow free pot with vaccines” at The Hill.

Read “Experts Knew a Pandemic Was Coming. Here’s What They’re Worried About Next” at Politico. “Nine disasters we still aren’t ready for.”

Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology):

Read “Bill Gates' affairs were an open secret, and someone in Melinda's inner circle hired a private investigator before she filed for divorce, report says” at Business Insider.

Read “Why Is Growing Pot So Energy-Intensive?” at Slate. “Federal regulations, budtender preferences, and a weird trick with carbon dioxide.”

Internationalities:

Read “Nigerian gov’t says it ‘indefinitely’ suspends Twitter” at Al Jazeera.

Read “The world has gained a brand new ocean” at CNet. “On World Ocean Day, the Southern Ocean was officially recognized by National Geographic's mapmakers.”

Politics And Sucheries:

Read “There are already 19 QAnon candidates running for Congress in 2022” at Mic.

Read “Bye-bye Miss American Pie — whatever happened to the Republican Party and conservatism?” at The Hill.

Read “Our Welfare Puritanism” at Democracy Journal.

Read “Trump Spawned a New Group of Mega-Donors Who Now Hold Sway Over the GOP’s Future” at Pro Publica.

Read “3 in 10 Republicans believe Trump will be reinstated as president” at The Hill.

Read “Bipartisan Senate group rules out tax hikes on infrastructure” at The Hill.

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read “Iowa GOP advances bills to shorten early voting, restrict absentee ballots” at The Hill.

Read “Arizona's ballot audit could spread to other states. Here's what to know” at AZ Central.

Read “Giuliani Audio Proves Trump’s Team Was Lying About Ukraine” at Rolling Stone. “A new recording confirms that Trump and his allies were full of shit when they claimed “there was no quid pro quo” in Ukraine.”

Read “Joe Manchin Cares More About ‘Bipartisanship’ Than Fighting Jim Crow” at The Nation.

Read “Joe Manchin is opposing big parts of Biden’s agenda as the Koch network pressures him” at CNBC.

Read “OAN correspondent who is covering the Arizona election audit has been aiding the effort since at least December, documents show” at Business Insider.

Music-Related News and Such:

Read “Spotify Facing House Judiciary Committee Probe Over “Discovery Mode”” at Pitchfork.

Read “Reservoir Acquires Iconic Tommy Boy Music, Groundbreaking Hip-Hop Label, for $100 Million” at Variety.

  • Read “De La Soul's Catalogue Could Be Coming To Streaming Services” at Clash Music.

Read “Home Is Where My Record Collection Is” at Apartment Therapy.

Read “Sinead O'Connor Says She Is Retiring From Music” at Clash Music.

Read “Kid Rock Screams Homophobic Slur During Performance at Tennessee Bar” at Consequence.

Read “Foo Fighters to Play Madison Square Garden’s First Full-Capacity Show Since Start of the Pandemic” at Pitchfork.

Read “Moby on Making ‘Reprise’ and ‘Moby Doc,’ His Rise to Fame, and Living Sober” at Ozy.

Read “Dreamers Wait No Longer—An Expanded Crowded House Returns After A Decade Away” at American Songwriter.

  • Read “Neil Finn On Working With His Sons On New Crowded House Album, Canada Memories & Future Of Fleetwood Mac” at ET Canada.

Browse Stereogum’s picks for “The 50 Best Albums Of 2021 So Far.”

Read “Danny Elfman Is Here to Remind Listeners "It's Always Been About Politics"“ at Exclaim.

Read “East Meets West In Anoushka Shankar's Latest Album” at NPR.

Browse “The Strange World Of… Don Cherry” at The Quietus.

Read “Jimmy Eat World’s Zach Lind: Suns are special in ‘The Middle’ of playoff ride” at KTAR.

Read “YouTube Is Poised to Overtake Spotify as Music’s Biggest Bankroller” at Rolling Stone.

Read “Dancing With The Noise: A Conversation with Ben Chasny” at Record Crates United.

Read “The Enduring Appeal of Italian Composers’ Dramatic ‘Library Music’” at New York Times.

Read “Uncovering the Rich History of Spanish Experimental Music” at Bandcamp.

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Read “Enjoy these surreal "One Minute Movies" by The Residents” at Boing Boing.

Read “Carole Baskin to “bring bad guys to justice” in new ITV show” at NME.

Read “Cowboy Bebop Composer Yoko Kanno Returns to Score Netflix’s Live-Action Series” at Consequence.

Read ‘Elizabeth Olsen was “frustrated” watching her ‘WandaVision’ performance” at NME. "I can see my 10-year-old theatre-kid self playing out to the audience.”

Read “Anthony Bourdain Didn’t Just Travel the World, He Let It Speak for Itself” at Variety.

Misc. Oddities:

Read “Those times the US military hoaxed the public about extraterrestrial contact” at Boing Boing.

The Weekly Town Crier (06/04/21)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (06/04/21).





We’ll Miss You:

Read ‘Actor Gavin MacLeod of 'The Love Boat' and 'Mary Tyler Moore' dies at age 90” at CNN.

Read “Patrick Sky, Folk Singer and Bob Dylan Contemporary, Dead at 80” at Rolling Stone.

Read “B.J. Thomas, 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head' singer, dies at age 78” at CNN.

Read “Buddy Van Horn, Clint Eastwood’s Stunt Double and Director, Dies at 92” at Hollywood Reporter.

Religion and Stuff:

Read “Zondervan won't publish ‘God Bless the USA Bible,' says marketing was 'premature' after backlash” at Christian Post.

Watch “The 15 year old that Mark Driscoll targeted for kissing his daughter tells his side” at Youtube.

  • Read “Postcards from Phoenix: When Church Divides a Family”

Read “Kentucky ties to Baptist kids agency at risk over LGBTQ rights” at Religion News Service. “Baptist-affiliated Sunrise Children’s Services is refusing to sign a clause in a new contract with the state that bans discrimination based on sexual orientation.”

Read “‘It is a constituency:’ QAnon embraced by many in the U.S.” at MSNBC.

Read “The Untold Story of Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard’s Secret Pact With Nazi Propagandist Leni Riefenstahl” at Daily Beast.

Read “Exclusive: Sex abuse allegations by Carl Lentz’s former nanny put spotlight on Hillsong culture” at Religion News Service.

Read “Preaching at FBC Dallas, Patterson Denounces “Lynch Mob” Trying to Get Him” at Word and Way.

  • Read “Patterson disputes allegations he improperly took items, used SWBTS’ donor list” at Baptist Press.

Read “Leaked Russell Moore letter blasts SBC conservatives, sheds light on his resignation” at Religion News Service. “In a letter written more than a year before his resignation, Moore explained his troubles with the SBC leadership in bitterly frank terms. Then-President Donald Trump barely makes an appearance.”

  • Read “Russell Moore to ERLC trustees: ‘They want me to live in psychological terror’” at Religion News Service.

Read “I'm a teacher but I serve God first': Virginia teacher refuses to comply with proposed pronoun policy” at NBC News.

Read “Rape Victim Says Liberty University Deceived & Betrayed Her” at Roys Report.

Read “How Is The GOP Adjusting To A Less Religious America?” at NPR.

 

Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:

Read “Latino or Latinx? The Linguistic Debate Over Inclusive Terms” at KJZZ.

Read “Texas State Rep. Moody On Bill That Would Allow Anyone To Carry A Handgun Without A Permit, License” at WBUR.

  • Read “Miami Police Chief Slams Texas Bill That Would Allow Unlicensed Carrying Of Handguns” at Huff Post. “Common sense tells us” that the new gun measure is “ridiculous,” said Art Acevedo, the former Houston police chief.”

Read “The U.S. forced them into internment camps. Here’s how Japanese Americans started over.” at National Geographic.

Read “The Gig Economy’s Business Model Is a Racial Justice Issue” at Vice.

Read “San Jose Gunman Expressed Hate for Co-Workers for Years, Had History of Sexual Violence” at Democracy Now.

Read “One hundred years ago, white mobs burned Tulsa’s Black neighborhood to the ground.” at Wall Street Journal.

  • Read “Tulsa's Greenwood neighborhood found prosperity after the 1921 massacre. Then the highways arrived” at NBC News. “The plot to take it over has happened — it just didn’t happen in 1921,” a researcher said of the once-thriving Greenwood district.”

  • Read “When Our Forefathers Fail” by David French. “On the moral imperative of mourning the Tulsa Race Massacre today.”

  • Read “The job is not done yet": Black Wall Street documentaries detail the massacre & still seek justice” at Salon.

  • Read “Tulsa pastors honor ‘holy ground’ 100 years after massacre” at Associated Press.

Read “Biden leaves Hyde Amendment out of budget” at The Hill.

Read “Roger Stone predicts a Donald Trump criminal indictment is on the horizon” at Salon.

Read “2 dead, 20 injured in mass shooting in Miami” at The Hill.

Read “One-fifth of Americans who bought guns last year were first-time buyers” at The Hill.

Read “Judge approves plea deal of Gaetz associate Joel Greenberg; sentencing set for August” at The HIll.

Read “NFL pledges to halt ‘race-norming,’ review Black claims” at Associated Press.

Read “Giuliani and Prosecutors Agree on Former Judge to Review Seized Materials” at New York Times.

Read “How the Supreme Court has tilted election law to favor the Republican Party” at Los Angeles Times.

This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // Insurrectionists // and/or weird Confederacy stuff):

Read “Jan. 6 defendants continue to struggle as Trump continues to lie” at MSNBC.

Read “DOJ adds four defendants to Oath Keepers conspiracy case” at The Hill.

Read “Former Trump advisor Michael Flynn said the US should have a coup like Myanmar, where the military overthrew the democratically elected government” at Yahoo.

Read “Neo-Nazi Was Behind Walmart Mass Shooting Plot, Group Claims” at Vice. “The Texas man was arrested and police confiscated guns, ammo, and extremist paraphernalia, including a T-shirt featuring the image of the neo-Nazi group that claims he was one of their own.”

This Week In Protest-Related News:

Read “Thousands marched in Phoenix against police brutality a year ago. So, what's changed since?” at 12 News.

This Week With The Police:

Read “Deputy demoted after leaving his K-9 partner in a patrol car, the dog died” at AZ Family.

Read “What If Your Abusive Husband Is A Cop?” at New Yorker.

Read “Phoenix Settles Rape Claim Against Former Police Officer” at KJZZ.

Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings

Read “Oklahoma teacher says summer class canceled due to bill that bans teaching critical race theory” at KOCO.

Read “How Hillary Clinton Went Undercover to Examine Race in Education” at New York Times.

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read “Methodist Hospital employees sue over vaccine requirement, citing violation of Nuremberg Code” at Houston Chronicle.

Read “Costco says free samples and food courts will fully return by June” at USA Today.

Read “Florida rock concert tickets are $18 if you're vaccinated – $1,000 if you're not” at The Hill.

Read “Hat makers distance from Nashville store amid uproar over 'Not Vaccinated' badges” at The Hill.

Read “Vietnam Detects New Highly Transmissible Coronavirus Variant” at Slate.

Read “Anti-vaxxer sheriff's deputy dies from COVID-19 complications shortly after mocking the vaccine on Facebook” at Yahoo.

Read “'Karen' baby name popularity drops over 170 spots in 2020” at The Hill.


Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology):

Read “The Colorado River is facing an alarming water shortage for the first time ever” at The Hill.

Read “U.S. Military Personnel Spilled Nuclear Secrets in Online Flashcards” at Vice.

Read “Homebuyers Squeezed As Western States See Prices Double Or More In Last Decade” at NPR.

Read “Matt Gaetz says $155k to close on yacht with his fiancee ‘went missing’” at Yahoo.

Read “TikTok’s ‘Americancore’ Trend Shows Americans How the Rest of the World Feels at Vice.

Read “American Airlines joins Southwest in delaying return of alcohol sales” at The Hill.

Read “How Would You Feel About a 4-Day Workweek?” at The Nation. “As productivity has soared, time off has not kept pace. It’s time to change that.”

Read “Mental Health Struggles Don't Care About 'Success'“ at Huff Post. “Naomi Osaka is just one of many examples where compassion evaporates the second someone publicly discusses their well-being.”

Read “World No. 1 Ash Barty Withdraws From French Open Due To Hip Injury” at Huff Post.

Internationalities:

Read “NGOs say Biden's proposed military aid to Egypt undermines human rights” at Al-Monitor.

Read “Germany Officially Recognizes It Committed Genocide In Present-Day Namibia” at NPR

ReadUS returns ancient stone carvings to Thailand” at BBC.

Read “Remains of 215 children found at former residential school in British Columbia” at APTN News.

Read ‘AI emotion-detection software tested on Uyghurs” at BBC.

Read “Tiananmen: Hong Kong vigil organiser arrested on 32nd anniversary” at BBC.

Politics And Sucheries:

Read “The six GOP senators who backed Jan. 6 commission bill” at The Hill.

Read “Trump Slams Paul Ryan For Calling End To His Presidency ‘Disgraceful’” at Huff Post. “The ex-president claimed the former House speaker is “a curse to the Republican Party.”

Read “A win for DeSantis? Fla. law fines social media companies for banning candidates” at MSNBC.

Read ‘Fmr. DHS Secretary Napolitano slams GOP Senators for ignoring national security threats” at MSNBC

Read “Alaska: Biden to suspend Trump Arctic drilling leases” at BBC.

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read “Senate Republicans block commission on January 6 insurrection” at CBS News.

  • Read “These 11 senators skipped the Jan. 6 commission vote” at Daily News.

  • Read “Sen. Kyrsten Sinema Won’t Explain Why She No-Showed for the Capitol Riot Commission Vote” at Daily Beast.

Read “Sen. Cruz shares far-right Russian propaganda video to attack U.S. military” at MSNBC.

Read “Texas Republicans finalize bill that would enact stiff new voting restrictions and make it easier to overturn election results” at Washington Post.

Read “DOJ Asks Judge to Dismiss Lawsuits Against Trump for Violent Clearing of Lafayette Square” at Slate.

Read “The RNC's scandal-plagued finance team, four years later” at MSNBC. “Four years ago, the RNC announced its national finance team. How many of the quartet have faced Justice Department investigations? All of them.”

Read “National Review writer 'can attest' to Trump pressing conservatives to say election was 'stolen'“ at The Hill.

Read “Postmaster General DeJoy under investigation for claim he once called ‘outrageous’” at MSNBC.

Music-Related News and Such:

Read “It Came Out of the Sky: Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ‘Willy and the Poor Boys’ at 50” at The Ringer (originally from 2019).

Read “10 big talking points from the posthumous new DMX album ‘Exodus’” at NME.

Read “What Is Asian American Music, Really?” at Pitchfork.

Read “Jeff Tweedy in Conversation with Jeff Tweedy” at Believer.

Read “Man Returns Bob Dylan Album to Library After 48 Years Overdue” at Consequence.

Read “Resistance Songs: Mdou Moctar's Favourite Music” at The Quietus.

Read “Hanson Tap Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen for New Song ‘Don’t Ever Change’” at Rolling Stone.

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Read “Apple Orders ‘The Big Door Prize’ TV Adaptation From ‘Schitt’s Creek’ Producer David West Read” at Variety.

Read “'Rugrats' Reboot: Phil and Lil's Mom Betty Will Be Openly Gay in Paramount+ Show” at Pop Culture.

Read “‘Paddington 2’ Loses Top Movie of All Time Honor Due to New Bad Review” at Hollywood Reporter.

Read “The Healing Power of Lodge 49 How a Short-Lived Show Broke Through My Pandemic Fog” at Vogue.

Read “Universal Reportedly Wants A Fast & Furious And Jurassic World Crossover” at We Got This Covered.

Books/Reading/Authors

Read “A Medieval Book That Opens Six Different Ways, Revealing Six Different Books in One” at Open Culture.

Design/Artsy Things:



Science/Animals/Nature/Environment/Etc.:

Read “UFO whistleblower says Pentagon tried to silence him” at The Hill.

  • Read “UFO filmmaker releases 46-second video allegedly showing swarm of objects hovering near Navy ship” at Yahoo.

  • Read “U.S. Finds No Evidence of Alien Technology in Flying Objects, but Can’t Rule It Out, Either” at New York Times.

Read “Even Creatures in The Deepest Ocean Trench Have Eaten Plastic” at Global Citizen.

Read “It’s really beginning to look like Tom DeLonge can blow the lid off the mystery of UFOs” at A Journal Of Musical Things.

Read “Viral video shows massive shark circling boat in Atlantic Ocean” at 12 News.

Read “China to send 3 astronauts to its new space station in June” at 12 News.

Read “Nasa to launch baby squid to International Space Station” at BBC.

Food And Drink Cultures:



Misc. Oddities:



Local:

Read “Arizona ‘refurbishes’ its gas chamber to prepare for executions, documents reveal” at The Guardian.

Read “Ducey vetoes 22 bills, says nothing will be signed until budget is approved” at AZ Mirror.

Read “‘We should be very worried’: Top Arizona election official sounds alarm over GOP’s war against democracy” at The Independent.

The Weekly Town Crier (05/21/21)

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (05/21/21).





We’ll Miss You:

Read “Charles Grodin, deadpan comic actor known for 'Midnight Run' and 'Beethoven,' dies at 86” at NBC News.

Read “Paul Mooney, 'Bamboozled' and 'Chappelle's Show' actor and comedian, has died” at CNN.

Read “Roger Hawkins, legendary Muscle Shoals drummer, RIP” at Brooklyn Vegan.

Religion and Stuff:

Read the opinion piece: “The debate over women pastors is a Southern Baptist smoke screen” at Religion News Service. “The fiery arguments distract from constructive conversations about entrenched racism, Christian nationalism and sexual abuse.”

Read “Survey: Faith groups showcase media divide” at Religion News Service. “White evangelicals were also the group most likely to say the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump.”

Read “White evangelicals after Trump: What now?White evangelicals after Trump: What now?” at CNN.

Read “A Pennsylvania Lawmaker and the Resurgence of Christian Nationalism” at New Yorker. “How Doug Mastriano’s rise embodies the spread of a movement centered on the belief that God intended America to be a Christian nation.”

Read “Franklin Graham urges evangelicals to get vaccinated before it’s ‘too late’” at Religion News Service.

Read “Mark Driscoll Paid for Honeymoon with Church Funds; Uses Gift Cards to Pay Interns, Former Members Say” at Roys Report.

Read ‘DC Talk’s Kevin Max Is Now ‘Exvangelical,’ Says He’s Been ‘Progressing’ for ‘Decades’ at Faith Wire.

Read “Why grievance studies hoaxer and atheist James Lindsay wants to save Southern Baptists” at Religion News Service. “Much of the recent debate over critical race theory in the Southern Baptist Convention has been driven by an atheist, sword-wielding, former massage therapist best known for writing hoax academic papers.”

Read “If You End Church Mask Mandates, My Family Can’t Be There” at Sojourners.

Read “Russell Moore to Join Christianity Today to Lead New Public Theology Project” at Christianity Today.

Read “The New Republic postpones religion and politics forum. Replaces Eric Metaxas with Peter Wehner” at Current.

Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:

Read “Joel Greenberg, key player in Matt Gaetz sex trafficking probe, agrees to cooperate with feds” at ABC7NY.

  • Read “Former Matt Gaetz associate Joel Greenberg pleads guilty to six federal charges” at CNN.

Read “House passes bill mandating accommodations for pregnant workers” at The Hill.

Read “Black homeowner had a white friend stand in for third appraisal. Her home value doubled” at Cincinnati.com.

Read “Mass shooting insurance in high demand as U.S. emerges from lockdown” at Reuters.

Read “How Black Lives Matter Changed the American Conversation About Israel and Palestine” at Slate. “The surge of attention to the occupation is unimaginable without last year’s protests.”

Read “80% Of Asian Americans Say They Are Discriminated Against” at NPR.

Read “The Supreme Court Just Took a Case That Could End Roe v. Wade’ at Vice.

Read “Trump legal bombshell? 45 'might be implicated' in Giuliani probe” at MSNBC.

  • Read “Trump Organization Probe Becomes Criminal Investigation” at Time. “The investigation "is no longer purely civil in nature" a spokesman for the New York attorney general's office said.”

  • Read “New York AG's office opens criminal probe into Trump Organization” at NBC News.

  • Read “I think Donald Trump is going to flip on all of them’: Michael Cohen on the new NY State criminal investigation into the Trump Organization” at MSNBC.

Read “S.C. governor signs bill requiring death row inmates to choose firing squad or electric chair” at Axios.

Read “Giuliani asks judge to block review of records seized in raid of home, office” at The Hill.

Read “Hundreds of PPP Loans Went to Fake Farms in Absurd Places” at Pro Publica.

Read “‘I have lived through the massacre every day’: Tulsa massacre survivors testify before House committee” at MSNBC.

Read “In a Small Town, a Battle for Racial Justice Confronts a Bloody Past and an Uncertain Future” at Pro Publica. “A frustrated Black Lives Matter activist. A die-hard Confederate loyalist. A sheriff who won’t back down. In a place where protests are restricted and violence feels imminent, many cry: “We don’t want to die no more.”

This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // Insurrectionists // and/or weird Confederacy stuff):

Read “Democrat moves to censure three Republicans for downplaying Jan. 6” at The Hill.

Read “Romney: Capitol riot was 'an insurrection against the Constitution'“ at The Hill.

Read “America’s Deadly Domestic Extremism Worst In 24 Years, Reveals New FBI Report” at Huff Post. “Most extremist killings in 2019 were committed by white supremacists.”

Read “Alleged Capitol Rioter On House Arrest After Killing Mountain Lion” at Huff Post.

Read “Arizona resident photographed with Proud Boys on day of Capitol riot is arrested in Phoenix” at AZ Central.

Read “Threats, videos and a recall: A California militia fuels civic revolt in a red county” at Los Angeles Times.

Read “FBI releases videos of 'horrifying assaults' on officers during Jan. 6 riot” at The Hill.

Read “House Votes To Establish Capitol Riot Commission Over Republican Opposition” at Huff Post.

Read “Trump calls for Jan. 6 commission debate to end 'immediately'“ at The Hill.

Read “Now the "QAnon Shaman" wants to use autism as an excuse: Hell no” at Salon.

This Week In Protest-Related News:

Read “51 Years Later, Brother Of Kent State Victim Reflects On Iconic Photo — And One That Just Emerged” at WBUR.

This Week With The Police:

Read “The Enemy Within” at Rolling Stone. “Race and White Supremacy in American Policing.”

Read “The Ball Was Dropped by All”: How Cops Got More Than $400,000 in Unlawful Sick Day Payouts” at Pro Publica.

Read “Bodycams haven't lived up to promises of exposing police misconduct. One reason: The police decide what to release” at USA Today.

Read “There's a database whose mission is to stop problematic police officers from hopping between departments. But many agencies don't know it exists” at CNN.

Read “Police unions plan to update guidance on defending officers” at The Hill.

Read “Police in Cities Across U.S. Brace for a Violent Summer” at Wall Street Journal.

Read “How US police training compares with the rest of the world” at BBC.

Read “Can Police Be Taught To Intervene When Colleagues Violate Safety Rules? One Professor Says Yes” at WBUR.

Read “Monroe Louisiana Arrests: ‘I’m scared’: AP obtains video of deadly arrest of Black man” at Associated Press.

Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings

Read “Texas GOP Passes Bill To Stop Teachers From Talking About Racism” at Huff Post.

Read “University of California system will no longer consider SAT, ACT scores in admissions process” at The Hill.

Read “Tech Companies Want Schools to Use COVID Relief Money on Surveillance Tools” at Vice.

Read “Arizona schools chief says GOP budget plan takes state in ‘negative direction’” at KTAR.

Read “UNC won’t offer tenure to Nikole Hannah-Jones after wave of conservative criticism” at 19th News. “Despite approval from faculty and the tenure committee, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist will be the first Knight Chair professor at the university to be denied tenure by the board of trustees.”

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read “Ricky Schroder confronts Costco employee over mask requirement in viral video: 'You're just going to listen to their rules?'“ at Yahoo.

Read “Texas governor bans local governments, schools from requiring face masks” at The Hill. (EDITOR’S NOTE: As David Dark sometimes says: “There are so many ways to hate God.”)

Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology):

Read “Meghan McCain Blasts Marjorie Taylor Greene For ‘Behaving Like An Animal’” at Huff Post.

Read “PETA Slams The Offspring For Chimpanzee Strip Club Video With John Stamos” at Stereogum.

Read “Apple locked users into its ecosystem. Tesla wants to do the same with its ‘iPhone on wheels.’” at Washington Post.

Read “We Found Joe Biden’s Secret Venmo. Here’s Why That’s A Privacy Nightmare For Everyone.” at Buzzfeed News.

Read “Nearly two dozen cities are handing out cash with no conditions” at The Hill. “Los Angeles is working on a plan that would offer $1,000 per month to 1,000 families using public funds.”

Read “The IRS Tried to Take on the Ultrawealthy. It Didn’t Go Well.” at Pro Publica.

Read “Chrissy Teigen Is a Cyberbully. Could It Sink Her Career?” at Slate. “The answer is a lot less obvious than you’d think—or is it?”

Read “Naked Homes: Nudist Architecture and Rethinking Domestic Space” at Wolfsonian.

Read “Woman says she accidentally put $26M winning lottery ticket in the washer” at The Hill.

Read “AT&T is reportedly in talks to merge its media business with Discovery” at The Verge.

Read “Long Before Divorce, Bill Gates Had Reputation for Questionable Behavior” at New York Times.

  • Read “Bill Gates's reputation reeling from affairs, 'uncomfortable' workplace behavior and ties to Jeffrey Epstein” at The Hill.

Read “Space Force commander fired after comments made on conservative podcast” at AZ Family.

Read “Your Electric Vehicle Can’t Get There from Here—At Least, Not Without a Charge” at New Yorker. “Why we need to build a national network of charging stations fast.”

Read “Seth Rogen Reveals How Beyonce's Bodyguard 'Humiliated' Him When He Tried to Meet Her” at Pop Culture.

Read “10 Celebrities Who Use Their Influence to Fight Injustice” at Global Citizen.

Read “The Mexican Mountain Town Feeding the International Crystal Market” at Atlas Obscura.

Read “The Sound of Silence: Have We Forgotten How to Be Quiet?” at The Millions.

Internationalities:

Read “Israel pounds Gaza with air raids, shelling” at Al Jazeera.

Read “Israel airstrikes kill 8 children, flatten building housing Associated Press, Al Jazeera offices” at NBC News.

Read the opinion piece: “Israel Doesn’t Have a “Right to Exist” — But Israelis and Palestinians Do” at Jacobin Magazine.

Read “Israel and Palestine: What Will it Take to Stop the Violence?” at Preemptive Love.

Read “Justin Trudeau Caught Using a Fake Apple MacBook” at Vice.

Read “Tayyip Erdogan Accuses Joe Biden of 'Bloody Hands' After Report of $735M Weapons Sale to Israel” at Newsweek.

Politics And Sucheries:

Read “House Democrats moving to censure Rep. Paul Gosar, 2 others for Jan. 6 comments” at AZ Central.

Read “Democratic Congressman Wants To Censure Rep. Gosar, Other Republicans” at KJZZ.

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read “Rep. Matt Gaetz Snorted Cocaine With Escort Who Had ‘No Show’ Gov’t Job” at Daily Beast.

  • Read “Troubles grow for Gaetz as former associate flips” at The Hill.

Read “Deleted video shows Greene taunting Ocasio-Cortez's office in 2019” at The Hill.

  • Read “Investigation: Marjorie Taylor Greene filed homestead exemptions on 2 homes, violating state law” at WSBTV. “A Channel 2 Action News investigation has found that Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and her husband have two active homestead exemptions, which is against Georgia law.”

Read “Man charged with wife’s murder illegally cast her ballot for Trump, officials say: ‘I just thought, give him another vote’ at Washington Post.

Read “Former President Trump Accuses Maricopa County Of Deleting Voter Records; Recorder Responds” at KJZZ.

  • Read “Audit official says he ‘recovered’ files, undercutting claim county officials deleted them” at AZ Mirror.

Read “GOP leaders look to curtail ballot initiatives after red state voters opt for legal weed, expanded Medicaid” at Yahoo.

Read “Georgia Republicans oppose measure condemning Atlanta spa shootings” at Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Read “Feds investigating alleged illegal donations to Collins’ re-election bid” at Axios.

Music-Related News and Such:

Read “Shabaka Hutchings Goes Back to the Future” at Esquire. “The saxophonist and bandleader of Sons of Kemet is the most exciting voice in British jazz.”

Read “Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour Composes a Soundtrack to Arthur C. Clarke’s Documentary Fractals: The Colors of Infinity” at Open Culture.

Read “The Great American Songwriter Mr Bill Callahan Picks His Texas Playlist” at Mr Porter.

Read “David Byrne, Jonathan Demme, and 35 Years of ‘Stop Making Sense’” at The Ringer.

Browse Rolling Stone’s picks for “The 50 Greatest Concerts of the Last 50 Years.”

Read “The Green Album” Turns 20” at Stereogum. “After the release of Pinkerton in 1996, Rivers Cuomo decided that he needed to straighten some things out — so he got braces.”

Browse Vinyl Factory’s picks for “50 of the greatest Trojan Records".

Read “George Clinton, Robert Glasper Headline 2021 Blue Note Jazz Festival” at Okay Player.

Browse Far Out’s picks for “The 6 best songs written about disasters.”

Browse Pitchfork’s picks for “The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time.”

Read “James Taylor announces tour with Jackson Browne and new album” at Rock and Roll Garage.

Read “Guitarist Sin Quirin quits Ministry a year after allegations of sexual relationships with minors” at Brooklyn Vegan.

Read “Punk Rock Priests Offer Up Their ‘Parallel Love’ in Music and Sacrament’ at Christianity Today. “There’s no other band quite like Luxury, the evangelical indie rockers from the ’90s who journeyed through tragedy and faith to Eastern Orthodoxy.”

Read “Apple announces lossless Apple Music is coming in June at no added cost” at The Verge.

Read “A famed folk singer won a presidential pardon after molesting a child. Did he prey on others?” at Union Leader.

Browse Vinyl Factory’s picks for “The essential Yusef Lateef in 10 records.”

Read “Sinead O’Connor Remembers Things Differently” at New York Times.

Read “Marilyn Manson Sued by Former Assistant for Sexual Assault, Battery, and Harassment” at Pitchfork.

Read “Times they are a-changing! Bob Dylan is seen in public for the first time in a DECADE while running errands in LA - just days before this 80th birthday” at Daily Mail.

Read ‘Alanis Morissette Releases Chester Bennington Tribute Song ‘Rest’” at Rolling Stone.

Read “The Future Now: An Interview With Black Monument Ensemble’s Damon Locks” at Ghetto Blaster.

Read “The World Outside of Tropicalia: A Survey of the Psychedelic Sounds of South America” at In Sheep’s Clothing Hi-Fi.

Read “The Guardian talk to The Necks' Tony Buck about improvising and bypassing the brain onstage” at Le Guess Who.

Read “Mdou Moctar’s Songs of Revolution and Love” at Rolling Stone. “The Tuareg guitar hero on his excellent new album and the ongoing fight for freedom and justice in neocolonial Niger.”

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Read “‘Wonder Years’ Reboot Among Four ABC Series Orders for 2021-2022 Broadcast Season” at Variety.

Read “Miley Cyrus Signs Overall Deal With NBCUniversal, Will Develop Programs and Star in Three Specials” at Variety.

Read “Wanna See Keegan-Michael Key and Kenan Thompson Beat Up Statler and Waldorf?” at Slate.

Books/Reading/Authors



Design/Artsy Things:

Read “Compliments of Chicago – Gang Business Cards from the 1970s and 1980s” at Flashback.

Science/Animals/Nature/Environment/Etc.:

Read “When this octopus sees a threat it doesn't put up a fight – it just disappears” at Boing Boing.

Read “Freshly Made Plutonium From Outer Space Found On Ocean Floor” at NPR.

Read “This Moth Is Huge in Australia” at New York Times. “A giant wood moth, the heaviest of all known moths, appeared on the side of a school building in Queensland, Australia, enthralling students who are used to diverse wildlife.”

Read “'Extinct Fossil Fish' Dating Back 420 Million Years Found Alive in Madagascar” at Newsweek.

Read “Why can’t we remember our early childhood?” at Universal Sci.

Read “Explorer Details His 40 Days In French Cave Without Clocks Or Sunlight” at WBUR.

Read “Fungus full of psychedelic drugs could cause Indiana Brood X cicadas' butts to fall off” at Courier Press.

Read “Watch a Navy Pilot Explain His Encounter With a UFO” at Vice.

Read “Leaked Navy video appears to show UFO off California” at Yahoo.

Read “Skinwalker Ranch Owner Reveals UFO Moment That Struck Cow Dead, Made Him Believer” at Pop Culture.

Read “Scientists Shot Tardigrades from a Gun to See If Interplanetary Travel Is Survivable” at Vice.

Food Cultures:

Read “How Crowns & Hops is building a Black-owned craft beer brand — and a community” at Los Angeles Times.

Read “Drinking any amount of alcohol causes damage to the brain, study finds” at AZ Family.

Read “‘Mindfreak’ Magician Criss Angel Dives Into the Restaurant Business in Overton” at Vegas Eater.

Misc. Oddities:



Local:

Read “Roundup: Chino Bandido Has a Food Truck, Tax Day Pizza Deals, and More Food News” at Phoenix New Times.

Read “Chino Bandido opens food truck at new location in Phoenix” at KTAR.

Read “Pointing To Economic Harm, Arizona Communities Call For Border Reopening” at Fronteras Desk.

The Weekly Town Crier (05/07/21)

statue.jpg

All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (05/07/21.






We’ll Miss You:

Read “Nathan Jung, 'Star Trek' and 'The A-Team' Actor, Dead at 74” at Pop Culture.

Read “Paul Oscher, Blues Musician in Muddy Waters’s Band, Dies at 74” at New York Times.

Read “RIP: Bassist Tony Markellis” at Relix.

Read ‘Ed Ward, Rock Historian and Early ‘Rolling Stone’ Editor, Dead at 72” at Rolling Stone.

Religion and Stuff:

 Read “Ravi Zacharias’s Ministry Investigates Claims of Sexual Misconduct at Spas” at Christianity Today.

Read “Faith, Freedom, Fear: Rural America’s Covid Vaccine Skeptics” at New York Times.

Read “Faith, Freedom, Fear: Rural America’s Covid Vaccine Skeptics” at New York Times.

Read “How Eric Metaxas went from Trump despiser to true believer” at Religion News Service. “How a onetime aspiring public intellectual and Trump doubter turned into a true believer in stolen elections.”

Read “The evangelical sexual abuse crisis is the spiritual warfare of our time” by Karen Swallow Prior at Religion News Service.

Read “John Piper: Ravi Zacharias turned 'position of power' into 'neediness and woundedness'“ at Christian Post.

Read “Study: Trauma-Informed Bible Reading Reduces Depression, Anxiety, Anger” at Christianity Today.

Browse the list of “Ministries With an “F” Transparency Grade” at Ministry Watch.

Read ‘As COVID-19 swamps India, decision to allow Kumbh Mela’s crowds is scrutinized” at Religion News Service.

Read “Canadian Pastor Calls Lockdowns “Greatest Threat” to Health in First Day of Trial” at Roys Report.

Read “Inside The Evangelical Beliefs and Practices That Facilitate Abuse In Families Like The Duggars’ at Religion Dispatches.

Read “‘She didn’t deserve to die the way she did,’ says family of cult leader found dead and mummified” at Washington Post.

Read “Russell Moore had a crisis of faith, but it didn’t help him understand ex-evangelicals” at Flux.Community.

Read “LifeSiteNews removed from Facebook for violating COVID-19 misinformation policies” at Religion News Service.

Read “The Lament of the Christian Disney Dad: What Evangelicals Really Hate About ‘Wokeness’ at Disney World’” at Religion Dispatches.

Read “Remembering Marva Dawn, a Saint of Modern Worship” at Christianity Today.

Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:

Read “Tests from 1993 killing reveal another man's DNA other than executed Arkansas inmate” at KATV.

Read “Five people charged after authorities find 97 migrants in Houston home” at The Hill.

Read “Derek Chauvin files motion for new trial in George Floyd case, alleging jury misconduct” at NBC News. “Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, filed the request alleging that the former officer's ability to have a fair trial was affected by pretrial publicity.”

Read “This Board Game Uses Vampires To Fight Anti-Asian Racism” at Huff Post.

Read “Lawyer for separated migrant families 'hopeful' they will soon be reunified, allowed to stay in U.S.” at NBC News.

Read “Josh Duggar Charged On 2 Federal Child Pornography Counts; Pleads “Not Guilty,” Requests Bail” at Deadline.

  • Read “Josh Duggar Hearing: Homeland Security Agent Details Timeline of Child Porn Case” at People.

  • Read “Josh Duggar allowed out of jail while awaiting trial on child porn charges” at Northwest Gazette.

This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // Insurrectionists // and/or weird Confederacy stuff):

Read “New "weapons of mass destruction" charges filed against accused Whitmer kidnap plotters” at Salon.

Read “Canadian chapter of the Proud Boys, designated a terrorist group by the government, says it has ‘dissolved’” at Washington Post.

Read ‘White Nationalism Is Far Worse Than a 'Disease'“ at Wired. “Most analogies for racism as a pathology oversimplify its blight. Better diagnosing it means knowing how to treat it.”

Read ‘Former Neo-Nazi Terror Leader Gets Three-Year Prison Term” at Vice.

Read “Wisconsin National Guard member charged in Capitol riot” at The Hill.

Read “FBI still after 'worst of the worst' in Capitol riot as new arrests come at steady pace” at NBC News.

Read “Lawyer blames 'Foxitis' for his US Capitol riot client's actions, as another defendant derails hearings with profane outbursts” at CNN.

This Week In Protest-Related News:

Read “Federal judge finds that Columbus police ran 'amok' during peaceful protests, restricts uses of force” at NBC News.

This Week With The Police:

Read “Georgia deputy said that beating Black man was 'sweet stress relief,' feds say” at The Hill.

Read “Watch: South Carolina cop harasses a man for being "suspicious" (as in Black)” at Boing Boing.

Read ‘How activists fought Joe Arpaio’s immigration roundups” at High Country News.

Read “Officers no longer at jobs after video showed them laughing at violent arrest of elderly woman” at The Hill.

Read “Recording the Police: What to Know, and How to Stay Safe Doing It” at KQED.

Read “Man killed himself after LAPD officer fired Taser during foot pursuit, officials say” at Los Angeles Times.

Read “Atlanta police officer fired after fatally shooting Rayshard Brooks has been reinstated” at ABC News.

Read “Kansas City officials seek to end jaywalking penalties noting racial disparity in citations” at The Hill.

Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings

Read “College Coach Arrested, Accused of Tricking Student-Athletes Into Sending Nude Photos” at Pop Culture.

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read “The U.S. never had a shot at herd immunity” at Salon. “Hostility to scientific expertise plus rejection of the concept of the common good led to anti-vaxx conservatism.”

Read “Actor Arrested for Ignoring COVID-19 Protocols to Film Movie” at Pop Culture.

Read “Less than half of NYPD cops have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine” at New York Post.

Read “PPP is out of money for most businesses ahead of planned May 31 closure” at AZ Family.

Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology):

Read “US Space Force scientist says military ‘human augmentation’ is necessary in next decade” at Metro.

Read “NPR Turns 50! Its Hosts and Stars Share Their Favorite NPR Moments, Memories and Near-Disasters” at People.

Read “German Gymnasts Cover Their Legs In Stand Against Sexualization” at NPR.

Read “Bill and Melinda Gates announce they are getting divorced” at Associated Press.

Read “‘MDMA cured my alcoholism’: Inside the remarkable ecstasy trial offering an escape from trauma” at The Telegraph.

Read “Verizon sells AOL, Yahoo for $5B” at The Hill.

Read “The FBI is breaking into corporate computers to remove malicious code” at Salon.

Read “Trump hypes new "communications platform": It's a blog — run with Big Tech's help” at Salon.

Read “Account tweeting Trump statements suspended by Twitter” at The HIll.

Read “How Video Games Are Saving Those Who Served” at Wired.

Internationalities:

Read “Mexico City rail overpass collapses onto road, killing at least 23” at Reuters.

Read “Belgian farmer moves border with France by mistake” at AZ Family.

Politics And Sucheries:

Read “Mitt Romney booed at raucous Utah GOP convention as speakers attack the Biden agenda” at Salt Lake Tribune.

Read “Mitch McConnell: 1619, American slavery starting point, not an important date in history” at Louisville Courier-Journal.

Read ‘DOJ slow to resolve Trump-era legal battles” at The Hill.

Read “Biden Raises Refugee Admissions Cap to 62,500” at Wall Street Journal.

Read “TheHill.com Bush: If Republican Party stands for 'white Anglo-Saxon Protestantism, then it's not going to win anything'“ at The Hill.

Read “The first 100 days can define a president. Here’s how the internet saw Biden and Trump” at Los Angeles Times.

Read “Cheney hits 'Trump cult of personality,' says she'll keep speaking out” at The Hill.

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read “Iowa governor signs law allowing landlords to refuse Section 8 vouchers” at The Hill.

Read “Former FBI director represented Russian firm at center of major money-laundering probe” at Business Insider.

Read “Judge orders release of Trump obstruction memo, accuses Barr of deception” at The Hill.

Read “'Do it right or don't do it': Arizona's top elections officer warns of serious problems with ballot recount” at 12 News.

Read “Former Ukrainian prosecutor says he was fired for not investigating Hunter Biden” at The Hill.

Read “Despite GOP rhetoric, there have been fewer than two dozen charged cases of voter fraud since the election” at Washington Post.

Music-Related News and Such:

Read ‘Marilyn Manson Sued for Sexual Assault, Sex Trafficking by ‘Game of Thrones’ Actress Esmé Bianco” at Rolling Stones.

Read “Ex-Cannibal Corpse Guitarist Pat O’Brien Finally Sentenced for Bizarre Headline-Making Incident” at Consequence of Sound. “The metal musician's case involved assault, burglary, a house fire, 80 firearms, and three skulls.”

Read “Young The Giant’s Sameer Gadhia: Rock Music Must Unearth Its Diverse Roots” at Rolling Stone.

Read “Esme Bianco Sues Marilyn Manson for Sexual Assault” at Consequence of Sound. “The Game of Thrones actress also accuses the disgraced rocker of assault and human trafficking.”

Read “Catholic Group Calls for Shutdown of Influential College Radio Station WSOU over “Satanic” Music” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “The Story of the Rolling Stones: A Selection of Documentaries on the Quintessential Rock-and-Roll Band” at Open Culture.

Read “Lucinda Williams Is Recovering From a Stroke” at Consequence.

Listen “to Phife Dawg’s New Posthumous Song “French Kiss Deux” at Pitchfork.

Read “José González Announces Tour With Rufus Wainwright, Shares New “Visions” Video” at Pitchfork.

Read “Over 180 Musicians Protest Spotify’s Speech Monitoring Patent in Open Letter” at Pitchfork.

Read “Bad Brains :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview” at Aquarium Drunkard.

Read “NOFX’s Fat Mike gives a presentation on NFTs–and it’s really good!” at A Journal Of Musical Things.

Browse “10 Unbelievable Performances by Saxophone Virtuoso Rahsaan Roland Kirk” at In Sheep’s Clothing Hi Fi.

Read “Digging in the Mags: Hi-fidelity Illustrations from the 1970s” at In Sheep’s Clothing Hi Fi.

Read “Bruce Springsteen Receives 2021 Woody Guthrie Prize” at Consequence.

Read “Tokyo Flashback: An essential guide to Japanese label PSF Records” at Vinyl Factory.

Read “Los Lobos Detail New Covers Album ‘Native Sons’ & Share Singles” at JamBase.

Read “Willow Smith Reunites and Fronts Mom Jada Pinkett Smith’s Metal Band Wicked Wisdom for Mother’s Day Surprise: Watch” at Consequence.

Read “Sons of Kemet’s Journey of the World of the Artist” at Treble.

Read “Live Nation Weathers Rough Quarter as Concert Business Slowly Rumbles Back to Life” at Variety.

Read “UK vinyl sales surpassed 1 million units in early 2021” at Vinyl Factory.

Read “You Can Buy Six Strands of Kurt Cobain’s Hair at a Music Auction If You’re Into That Sort of Thing” at Spin.

Read “J Mascis :: Transmissions” at Aquarium Drunkard.

Read “Red Hot Chili Peppers Sell Publishing Rights to Song Catalog for $140 million” at Jambands.

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Read “The Strange Bipartisan Appeal of Ted Lasso” at Politico. “It's an apolitical show. So why do politicians keep talking about it?”

Read “Fox Staffers Hate Tucker Carlson But They Say He’ll Never Be Fired” at Politics USA.

Read “What’s A Wrinkle in Time Doing in Ted Lasso?” at Madeleine L’Engle.

Read “You Won’t Live to See the Final Star Wars Movie” at Wired.

Read “George A. Romero’s final zombie film is being finished by his widow” at NME.

Read “Inside Netflix’s Quest to End Scrolling” at Vulture.

Read “New Stranger Things 4 Teaser Reminds Us Eleven Is Not Alone” at Consequence.

Read “‘Tiger King’ Subject Jeff Lowe Reveals Federal Authorities Are Seizing Animals at Joe Exotic’s Former Zoo” at Pop Culture.

Science/Animals/Nature/Environment/Etc.:

Read “The Pentagon Inspector General Is Investigating the Military's UFO Program” at Vice.

The Weekly Town Crier (04/30/21)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (04/30/21).






We’ll Miss You:

Read “Michael Collins, command module pilot on Apollo 11, dies at 90” at 12 News.

Religion and Stuff:

Read “Biden’s Armenian Genocide Stance Pleases Christians, Angers Turkey” at Christianity Today.

Read “Muslim Americans Reflect On Another Ramadan During The Pandemic” at NPR.

Read “Black and Asian Christian leaders discuss role of church in fighting racism” at Religion News Service.

Read “Dave Ramsey’s Bestseller Slips from Top 10 List” at Christianity Today.

Read “Mark Driscoll’s Elderless Church” at Throckmorton. “It should come as little surprise that Mark Driscoll’s new church apparently has solved the elder problem which led to his demise at Mars Hill. Just don’t have any.”

  • Read “A Family is Allegedly Driven From Mark Driscoll’s The Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Arizona” at Wondering Eagle.

Read “Virginia GOP reverses course, will let those with religious obligations cast absentee votes for Saturday convention” at The Hill.

Read “‘If you have eyes, plagiarize’: When borrowing a sermon goes too far” at Religion News Service.

Read “‘Beautiful’ Ramadan returns for Israeli Muslims as restrictions lift” at Religion News Service.

Read “US Catholic bishops may press Biden to stop taking Communion” at Religion News Service. “At issue is a document coming from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Doctrine clarifying the church’s stance on an issue that has repeatedly vexed the bishops.”

Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:

Read “Lindsay Lohan's father arrested for alleged 'patient brokering' in Florida” at The Hill.

Read “Maryland launches review of cases handled by ex-medical chief after Chauvin trial defense” at The Hill.

Read “Montana governor signs bill to protect Second Amendment from federal gun restrictions” at Fox Propaganda Network. “Republicans in the state passed the law amid President Biden’s push for federal gun reform measures.”

Read “NJ Man Charged with Sex Assault after Prior Case Dropped Amid Trooper Protests” at Newsweek. “A New Jersey man is facing new sexual assault charges after a prior case was dropped four years ago amid protests by state police that fueled a corruption probe with far-reaching ramifications, Newsweek has learned.”

Read “Five Myths About Red Flag Laws” at Washington Post.

Read “We all want something done.’ Peace Walk promotes end to gun violence in Lexington” at Lexington Herald Leader.

Read the opinion piece “Why I support reparations — and all conservatives should” at Washington Post.

Read “Erasing The Stain: 15,000 Pardoned Of Marijuana Possession Convictions” at WBHM.

Read “Parents Want Justice for Birth Injuries. Hospitals Want to Strip Them of the Right to Make That Decision” at Pro Publica.

Read “The Department of Homeland Security will undergo an internal review to root out white supremacy and combat extremist ideology in the federal government” at New York Times.

Read “Secret Court Reveals: FBI Hunted for Domestic Terrorists Without a Warrant” at Daily Beast.

Read “3 Indicted On Federal Hate Crime Charges In Ahmaud Arbery Death” at Huff Post.

Read “US Supreme Court hands victory to immigrants facing deportation” at Al Jazeera.

This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // Insurrectionists // and/or weird Confederacy stuff):

Watch ‘American Insurrection’ at PBS Frontline.

This Week In Protest-Related News:

Read “Oklahoma passes law protecting drivers who kill or hurt rioters” at NBC News.

This Week With The Police:

Read “1 Verdict, Then 6 Police Killings Across America in 24 Hours” at NBC Washington. “At least six people were fatally shot by officers across the United States in the 24 hours after jurors reached a verdict in the murder case against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.”

Read “Doorbell video captures police officer punching and throwing teen with autism to the ground” at CBS News.

Read “Yes, Black America Fears the Police. Here’s Why: at Pro Publica.

Read “Newark cops, with reform, didn’t fire a single shot in 2020” at NJ.com. “At the same time, crime is dropping, and police recovered almost 500 illegal guns from the street during the year.”

Read “Deputy Shoots Unarmed Man Repeatedly During 911 Call, Officials Say” at New York Times. “Isaiah Brown was on a cordless phone with an emergency dispatcher when he was shot, his lawyer said. His family said he was in intensive care.”

Read “Virginia deputy gave Black man a ride home, then shot him after 911 call” at NBC News. “Brown had a phone in his hand and was speaking to a dispatcher when he was shot, his law firm said.”

Read the opinion piece “The look in Derek Chauvin's eyes was something worse than hate” at CNN.

Read “Baltimore police commissioner expects Minneapolis PD to be placed under federal consent decree” at The Hill.

Read “Judge rules Andrew Brown Jr. bodycam videos will not be released, but will be disclosed to family” at MSNBC.

  • Read “US judge: no immediate release of video of Andrew Brown shooting” at Al Jazeera.

Read “In North Carolina, a Familiar Pattern After the Police Killing of Andrew Brown Jr.” at Slate.

Read “Bodycam Video Released Of California Man Who Died After Police Knelt On Him” at News and Guts.

Read “Justice Department will investigate Louisville police department in aftermath of Breonna Taylor shooting” at NBC News.

Read “Report: Police treatment of African Americans in the US amounts to crimes against humanity” at PRI’s The World.

Read “The World Recognizes Police Violence Against Black Americans as Crimes Against Humanity.” at The North Star.

Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings

Read “Miami private school won't employ teachers who get the Covid-19 vaccine” at NBC News.

Read “Embattled Florida superintendent pleads not guilty to perjury charge” at The Hill.

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read “How Bill Gates Impeded Global Access to Covid Vaccines” at The New Republic.

Read “U.S. defends restrictions on export of COVID-19 vaccine raw materials amid India's request to lift ban” at The Hindu.

  • Read “U.S. to provide Covid vaccine components, medical supplies to India” at NBC News. “The White House said they will send raw materials required for India to manufacture the Covishield vaccine, as well as therapeutics, rapid diagnostic test kits, ventilators and protective equipment.”

Read “Millions Appear to Be Skipping Second COVID-19 Vaccine Shot in the U.S.” at Slate.

Read “Airline Bans Alaska State Senator For Violating COVID-19 Mask Rules” at Huff Post.

Read “West Virginia will offer $100 savings bonds to young people who get vaccinated” at Axios.

Read “French Biotech Firm Has a Weapon for the Mutation War” at Bloomberg.

Read “Washington state poker night linked to nearly 100 COVID-19 cases” at The HillI.

Please Read “Fauci: Joe Rogan's COVID-19 comments 'incorrect” at The Hill.

Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology):

Read “The Newest Status Symbol for High-Net Worth Homeowners: Trophy Trees” at Wall Street Journal.

Read “82-Year-Old NFL Alum Arrested, Found With Massive Amount of Cocaine” at Pop Culture.

Read “How Capicola Became Gabagool: The Italian New Jersey Accent, Explained” at Atlas Obscura.

Read “Prancer, The 'Haunted Victorian Child' Dog From Viral Ad, Has Been Adopted” at NPR.

Read “When Ayn Rand Collected Social Security & Medicare, After Years of Opposing Benefit Programs” at Open Culture.

Read “The Problem With Apple’s Plan to Stop Facebook’s Data Collection” at Slate.

Read “It Was Just Thrilling': 2 NPR Founders Remember The First Days, 50 Years Ago” at NPR.

Internationalities:

Read “Food pantries for hungry Filipinos get tagged as communist” at Al Jazeera. “People turn against the Duterte administration after a military-led agency accuses volunteers of a popular feeding initiative of being communist sympathisers.”

Read “Erdogan threatens to recognise killings of Native Americans as genocide in response to Armenia resolution” at Independent.

Read 'I Remember Them Screaming': Afghans Detail Alleged Killings By Australian Military” at NPR.

Read “Filipino investigative journalist to receive UN press freedom prize” at UN News.

Read “U.S. Contractors Are Still Helping Maintain Saudi Warplanes Used in Yemen War” at Democracy Now.

Politics And Sucheries:

Read “Caitlyn Jenner announces run for California governor in recall election” at Los Angeles Times.

Read “Democrats warn Waters censure move opens floodgates” at The Hill.

Read “LinkedIn billionaire: Cut off funding for politicians who limit voting rights” at CNN.

Read “Kerry faces calls to step down over leaked Iran tapes” at The Hill.

Read “Newsom recall effort has enough signatures to make ballot” at The Hill.

Read “Biden to pitch sweeping ‘family plan’ in speech to Congress” at Associated Press.

Read “Biden nominates Texas sheriff to lead ICE” at NBC News.

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read “This family thought Biden would stop Trump's wall. Now his administration is plodding along to seize their land” at Business Insider.

Read “Documents Show Trump Officials Skirted Rules to Reward Politically Connected and Untested Firms With Huge Pandemic Contracts” at Pro Publica.

Read “Marjorie Taylor Greene Dragged After Announcing She'll File Resolution To Expel Maxine Waters From Congress” at Comic Sands.

Music-Related News and Such:

Read “DMX's casket borne through streets of New York on a monster truck, which feels right” at AV Club.

Read “Why Boards of Canada’s Music Has the Right to Children Is the Greatest Psychedelic Album of the ’90s” at Pitchfork. “Unlocking the mysteries behind the Scottish electronic duo’s hallucinatory classic, which turns 20 this month.”

Read “25 Greatest Punk Rock Movies of All Time” at Rolling Stone.

Read “Van Morrison Blames ‘Freedom of Speech’ Over Negative Response to Anti-Lockdown Songs” at Spin.

Read “St. Vincent Told Me To Kill This Interview” by Emma Madden.

Read “Ryley Walker “Course In Fable” at Foxy Digitalis.

Read “Relive being in CBGB via this 360 VR tour” at Brooklyn Vegan.

Read “Arts Coverage Commentary: A Conversation with Ted Gioia About New Approaches to Publishing” at Arts Fuse.

Read “Questlove’s Music Trivia Game at Oscars 2021 Ends With Glenn Close Doing “Da Butt” at Pitchfork.

Read “John Lydon Threatens to Sue Danny Boyle Over “Disrespectful” Sex Pistols TV Series” at Consequence of Sound. "They went to the point to hire an actor to play me but what's the actor working on? Certainly not my character"

Read “Charles Mingus’ Instructions For Toilet Training Your Cat, Read by The Wire’s Reg E. Cathey” at Open Culture.

Read “The Art of Japanese Portable Record Players” at In Sheep’s Clothing Hi Fi.

Read “Kurt Cobain’s ‘The Last Session’ Photoshoot Will Be Sold as an NFT” at Rolling Stone.

Read “Foo Fighters, Radiohead, LCD Soundsystem, and More Design Bikes for Fundraiser” at Pitchfork.

Read “Rig Rundown: Yasmin Williams” at Premier Guitar.

Listen: “The Lumineers And Gregory Alan Isakov Cover Each Other's Songs” at NPR.

Read “How Jamaica shaped the creative spirit and evolution of music production” at Vinyl Factory.

Read “A new Hollywood biopic movie detailing the life of late, great Motorhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister – titled, Simply Lemmy is set to begin production early next year and stars American actor, director and narrator Morgan Freeman” at Vintage Heavy Metal.

Read “Julien Baker Triumphs Over Her Inner Demons” at Spin.

Read “Lady Gaga’s Alleged Dognappers Arrested For Attempted Murder And Robbery” at Huff Post.

Read “Bringin’ it Backwards: Interview with The Mother Hips” at American Songwriter.

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Read “Here’s what happens to the extra food in cooking competition shows” at Marketplace.

Read “China censoring reaction to Chloé Zhao's historic Oscar win” at The Hill.

Read “Josh Gad, Isla Fisher to Star in Romantic Comedy Series ‘Wolf Like Me’ at Peacock” at Variety.

Science/Animals/Nature/Environment/Etc.:

Read “Follow-up study finds a single dose of one drug can ease anxiety and depression for five years” at The HIll. “Participants “rated it among the most personally meaningful and spiritually significant experiences of their lives,” according to the study.”

Read “Mars helicopter Ingenuity snapped a fantastic aerial photo of the Perseverance rover” at Boing Boing.

Food Cultures:

Read “The Planet on the Plate: Why Epicurious Left Beef Behind” at Epicurious.

Misc. Oddities:

Read “The Josh Fight is Real and Delightfully Bizarre” at The Big Lead.

Read “Inside the multi-million dollar orgasm cult endorsed by Hollywood” at Cult News 101.

Read “Famed Scots UFO expert returns home after 23 years to crack Bonnybridge 'alien' mystery” at Daily Record.

Local:

Read “Security lapses plague Arizona Senate's election audit at State Fairgrounds” at AZ Family.

  • Read “Experts raise concerns about processes, transparency as election audit begins” at AZ Mirror.

Read “Seller's market in Phoenix real estate is brutal for local buyers” at AZ Family.

The Weekly Town Crier (04/23/21)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (04/23/21).

We’ll Miss You:

Read “R.I.P. Felix Silla, Actor Who Played Cousin Itt on The Addams Family Dead at 84” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “World reacts to death of Chad President Idriss Deby” at Al Jazeera.

Read ‘Ole Anthony, longtime critic of prosperity gospel televangelists and head of Trinity Foundation, dies at 82” at Religion News Service.

Read “Walter Mondale, former US vice-president and celebrated liberal, dies aged 93” at The Guardian.

Read “Jim Steinman, bombastic hitmaker for Meat Loaf and Celine Dion, dies at 73” at Los Angeles Times.

Read ‘Bay City Rollers frontman Les McKeown, dead at 65” at Brooklyn Vegan.

Read “Rapper Shock G Of Digital Underground Dies at 57” at WBLS.

Religion and Stuff:

Read “Liberty University Sues Jerry Falwell Jr. for $10 Million” at New York Times. “he lawsuit claims that Mr. Falwell, the university’s former president, withheld scandalous and potentially damaging information.”

  • Read “Apparently Jerry Falwell Jr.’s pool boy has a “cache of compromising photos” he’s willing to leak” at Queerty.

Read “The Greatest Christian Novel” at First Things.

Read “Meet Mercy Haub: The 16-year-old cancer survivor and preacher’s kid who inspired Ellen” at Religion News Service.

Read “Biden reverses course on refugee cap after faith groups express outrage” at Religion News Service.

Read “America Without God” at The Atlantic. “As religious faith has declined, ideological intensity has risen. Will the quest for redemption through politics doom the American idea?”

Read “D.C. Pastor Used $3.5 Million in Fraudulent PPP Loans to Buy Himself a Tesla, FBI Says” at Daily Beast.

Read “Dostoyevsky, Just After His Death Sentence Was Repealed, on the Meaning of Life” at Brain Pickings.

Read “Religious unaffiliation is growing in the US. Why isn’t it in Congress?” at Religion News Service.

Read “Sex discrimination suit against Florida church tests ‘ministerial exception’ rulings” at Religion News Service. “A woman’s lawsuit alleging gender discrimination may reconcile unanswered questions about the so-called ministerial exception.”

Read “The Splintering of the Evangelical Soul” at Christianity Today. “Why we’re coming apart, and how we might come together again.”

Read “Why Defining Gossip Matters in the Church’s Response to Abuse” at Christianity Today.

Read “Christian peacemaking and the role of forgiveness” at Christian Century. “Seeking justice is critical. Is it enough?”

Read “General Baptist pastor who criticized wives’ weight ‘deeply sorry’ for sermon” at Religion News Service. “‘In the sermon, I made insensitive remarks about women and made statements deemed unbiblical,’ said Pastor Stewart-Allen Clark in a statement.”

Read “Margie Zacharias Breaks Silence, Defends Ravi” at Roys Report.

Read “White Evangelical Racism: An Interview with Anthea Butler” at Religion and Politics.

Read “Remembering Prince: A Pop Music Priest in a Secular World” at Christianity Today.

Read “Religious Identities and the Race Against the Virus: Engaging Faith Communities on COVID-19 Vaccination” at PRRI.

Read “AI unlocks ancient Dead Sea Scrolls mystery” at BBC.

Read “Algerian scholar gets three years in jail for ‘offending Islam’” at Al Jazeera.

Read “Amy Coney Barrett was a “paid speaker 5 times, starting in 2011, at the Blackstone Legal Fellowship, a summer program established to inspire a ‘distinctly Christian worldview in every area of law...’ at Washington Post.

Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:

Read “Officer in George Floyd case found guilty of murder” at NME.

  • Read “Chauvin being held in solitary confinement for his own safety” at The Hill.

Read “Maybe America Is Racist” at The Root.

Read “Justice Dept. sues Trump ally Roger Stone for unpaid taxes” at The Hill.

Read “Ethics committee finds probable cause in sexual misconduct allegation against Idaho lawmaker” at The Hill.

Read “Freedom Caucus member condemns GOP group pushing 'Anglo-Saxon political traditions'“ at The Hill.

Read “Florida woman charged for allegedly threatening to kill Kamala Harris” at AZ Family.

Read “13 investigations, no court-martials: Here's how the US Navy and Marine Corps quietly discharged white supremacists” at Yahoo.

Read the opinion piece “GOP's new 'America First Caucus' follows in some blatantly white nationalist footsteps” at MSNBC. “The ‘America First Caucus’ continues the country’s long history of white nationalism.”

Read “Mass Shooting In Austin Leaves At Least Three Dead” at News and Guts.

Read “Most Americans want to end lifetime Supreme Court appointments for justices” at NBC News.

Read “A National Policy Blueprint To End White Supremacist Violence” at Center For American Progress.

Read “Indiana's Red Flag Law Was Designed To Prevent Mass Shootings Like The FedEx Facility Rampage. Prosecutors Never Tried To Use It” at Buzzfeed News.

Read “Virginia governor signs bill legalizing marijuana possession” at The Hill.

Read “Ben Carson defends op-ed arguing racial equity is 'another kind of racism'“ at The Hill.

Read “I’m Actually Glad Nancy Pelosi Thanked George Floyd for “Sacrificing” Himself” at Slate.

Read “Governments That Are Occupying Land Are Criminalizing Indigenous Peoples for Occupying Land” at Vice.

Read “Florida Supreme Court rules against effort to legalize recreational marijuana” at The Hill.

Read “US Supreme Court rejects limits on life sentences for juveniles” at The HIll.

  • Read “Brett Kavanaugh Rules Children Deserve Life In Prison With No Chance of Parole” at Vanity Fair. “Kavanaugh, who said it was absurd to judge him based on who he was in high school, thinks children convicted of crimes should die in prison.”

  • Read “Sotomayor blasts Kavanaugh's decision on juvenile life sentences” at The Hill.

Read “State Foster Care Agencies Take Millions Of Dollars Owed To Children In Their Care” at NPR.

This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // Insurrectionists // and/or weird Confederacy stuff):

Read “Heavy metal guitarist with ties to Oath Keepers is first US Capitol rioter to plead guilty” at CNN.

Read “The Radicalization of Kevin Greeson” at Pro Publica. “How one man went from attending President Barack Obama’s inauguration to dying in the mob protesting Donald Trump’s election loss during the Capitol insurrection.”

Watch “American Insurrection” at PBS Frontline. “Over the last three years, FRONTLINE has collaborated with ProPublica to investigate the rise of extremism in America. In the aftermath of the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, FRONTLINE, ProPublica and Berkeley Journalism’s Investigative Reporting Program team up to examine how far-right extremist groups have evolved in the wake of the deadly 2017 Charlottesville rally — and the threat they pose today.”

Read “Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls Off America First Caucus Following Backlash” at Forbes.

Read “Oath Keepers: How a militia group mobilized in plain sight for the assault on the Capitol” at 60 Minutes.

Read “The Hybridity of Rural Fascism” at Society for Cultural Anthropology. “The community praised patriarchy as God-ordained, employing apocalyptic language to decry what they saw as the Marxist LGBTQ+ agenda disrupting traditional Christian family values in America.”

Read “Capitol Police officer allegedly told units to only monitor for 'anti-Trump' protesters on Jan. 6” at The Hill.

Read “Jan. 6 commission must focus only on insurrection” at The HIll.

Read “17 Requests for Backup in 78 Minutes” at Washington Post.

Read “Kevin McCarthy Says Capitol Riot Commission Should Look At Unrelated Riots’ at Huff Post. “The top House Republican doesn’t want too much focus on that time Donald Trump and his supporters tried to overturn the 2020 election.”

This Week In Protest-Related News:

Read “How the G.O.P. Is Creating Harsher Penalties for Protesters” at New York Times.

Read ‘GOP Lawmakers in Iowa and Oklahoma Pass Anti-Protest Bills” at Democracy Now.

This Week With The Police:

Read “US police and public officials donated to Kyle Rittenhouse, data breach reveals” at The Guardian. “That donation also carried a comment, reading: ‘God bless. Thank you for your courage. Keep your head up. You’ve done nothing wrong.’” “Officers and officials also donated to fundraisers for far-right activists and fellow officers accused of shooting black Americans.”

  • Read “The Fraternal Order of White Supremacy” at North Star. “Murderer Kyle Rittenhouse is being financially supported by various law enforcement agencies. It's the latest in several cases in which systemic racism protects boots-on-the-grounds supremacists.”

Read “A pair of 'pro-police' GOP bills in Missouri draw scrutiny from free speech advocates” at Yahoo.

Read “Detroit police restrained man and beat him for 2 minutes after he tried to help protesters, lawsuit claims” at Yahoo.

Read “Colorado police accused of injuring elderly woman with dementia during arrest” at NBC News.

Read “Man accused of throwing bleach in NYPD officer's face, hurling Molotov cocktail at others” at The Hill.

Read “Louisville officer punches protester during arrest” at Chron.

Read “Fear and Paranoia in American Policing” at Slate. “Everything around police officers tells them that they should be scared.”

Read “No convictions for St Louis officers who beat Black undercover colleague at protest” at Guardian. “Officer Luther Hall, who was recording criminal activity during protests, required multiple surgeries after the attack.”

Read “Chris Cuomo: Police reform won't happen until 'white people's kids start getting killed'“ at The Hill.

Read “Florida Sheriff Tells People Moving to State Not to 'Vote the Stupid Way You Did Up North'“ at Newsweek.

Read “‘Defund the Police’ Actually Means Defunding the Police” at Vice.

Read “The police officer who fatally shot 13-year-old Adam Toledo was listed as a victim on an incident report. One law-enforcement expert said it's 'an old cop trick meant to muddy the murky waters.'“ at Yahoo.

Read “'I'm also a police officer': Arizona deputy uses racial slur, pleads for release after being pulled over for DUI” at Yahoo.

Read “Bravery of witnesses made the difference in Chauvin trial” at MSNBC.

  • Read “Police across U.S. respond to Derek Chauvin trial: 'Our American way of policing is on trial'“ at NBC News. “While some officers see the trial as an example of a rogue officer being held accountable, others see it as a sign that the country has turned against them.”

Read “Columbus Police release body cam footage of officer shooting, killing girl, 16” at NBCi.

  • Read “Columbus cop shouts "blue lives matter" at the scene of deadly police shooting of Ohio teen” at Salon.

Read “Cops Killed a Black Man in North Carolina. Protesters Are Demanding Answers” at Vice.

Read “One of America's most popular police trainers is teaching officers how to kill” at Insider. (NOTE: Article from 2020 but highly relevant today).

Read “Most officers never fire their guns. But some kill multiple people — and are still on the job” at NBC News. “In Seattle, one officer's multiple deadly encounters offer a window into this little understood corner of American policing.”

Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings

Read “Arizona Supreme Court hears case about legality of education tax” at KTAR. “Reformist initiatives like '8 Can't Wait' have already failed. Here's what you need to know about defunding and abolishing the police.”

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read “The Grief Crisis Is Coming” at New York Times.

Read “A Vaccine Is Not a Personality” at Slate. “The memes and merch inspired by Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson are not helping the fight against COVID.”

Read “Pfizer Says COVID-19 Booster Vaccines Likely Needed Within a Year” at Democracy Now.

Read ‘India Reports Record 217,000 New Cases as Millions Gather for World’s Largest Pilgrimage” at Democracy Now.

Read “Coronavirus: 'Double mutant' Covid variant found in India” at BBC.

Read “Proud Boy charged in Capitol riot gets coronavirus while jailed” at The Hill.

Read “3 million COVID-19 deaths recorded around the world” at ABC News.

Read “The Pandemic Proved That Our Toilets Are Crap” at Wired.

Read “Has outdoor masking turned into 'meaningless political theater'?” at The Week.

Read “More Than Half Of U.S. Adults Have Gotten At Least One COVID-19 Vaccine Dose” at NPR.

Read “Ted Nugent tests positive for COVID-19 after claiming outbreak is 'not a real pandemic'“ at ABC 15.

Read “New Data Shows How Much COVID-19 Has Disrupted Life For The Youngest Americans” at Huff Post.

Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology):

Read “Apple reinstates Parler app, stands by initial ban” at NBC News.

Read “‘No One Was Driving’ Tesla in Crash That Killed Two People, Police Say” at Vice.

Read “The United States of Weed” at Rolling Stone. “Curious about the status of cannabis? Here’s where legalization stands, state by state.”

Read “Gretchen Carlson Says the 'Pain' of Being Body Shamed 'Stays with You for Life'“ at People.

Read “What Is Triller Fight Club, Snoop Dogg's Weird Celebrity Boxing League?” at Vice.

Read “Mike Lindell's new social platform crashes — and MyPillow guy didn't even notice” at Salon.

Read “Company Behind Krysten Sinema’s F*** Off’ Ring To Donate All Proceeds To Fight For Increased Minimum Wage” at Independent.

Read “Influencer Boxing Is the Circus-Sport America Deserves” at Vice.

Read “Right-Wing Trend of Buying or Not Buying Things to Own the Libs Reaches Nadir With Accidental Boycott of Semen” at Slate.

Internationalities:

Read “Raul Castro to Stand Down as Head of Cuba’s Communist Party” at Bloomberg.

Read ‘China posts record economic growth after plunge 12 months ago” at Al Jazeera.

Read “Harvard’s Digital Giza Project Lets You Access the Largest Online Archive on the Egyptian Pyramids (Including a 3D Giza Tour)” at Open Culture.

Read “At least 97 injured in Egypt as train derails” at CNN.

Read “Afghans who fled to Turkey are worried — and hopeful — about the prospect of peace at home” at The World.

Read “Biden Preparing to Declare That Atrocities Against Armenia Were Genocide” at New York Times.

Read “UK Parliament declares China's treatment of Uighurs a genocide” at The Hill.

Read “The Thrilling Collapse of the European Super League” at Slate.

Politics And Sucheries:

Read “Greta Thunberg will testify in Congress on Earth Day” at The Hill.

Read “GOP Reps. Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene were the only 'no' votes on a bill reauthorizing the National Marrow Donor Program” at Business Insider.

Read “Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert Invent Reasons to Vote Against Bone Marrow Bill” at Daily Beast.

Read “Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls Off America First Caucus Following Backlash” at Forbes.

Read “Kinzinger Says GOPers Who Join Nativist Caucus Should Be Stripped Of Committees” at Talking Points Memo.

Read “House rejects GOP resolution to censure Waters” at The Hill.

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read “How Josh Hawley and Marjorie Taylor Greene Juiced Their Fundraising Numbers” at Pro Publica.

Read “The Postal Service is running a 'covert operations program' that monitors Americans' social media posts” at Yahoo.

Music-Related News and Such:

Read “The world’s biggest music companies are scrambling to sign African artists” at Quartz Africa.

Read “Sun Ra’s musical poetry — and how it began in Chicago — captured in new gallery exhibit” at Chicago Tribune.

Read “Apple Music, in Contrast With Rival Spotify, Says It Pays a Penny-Per-Stream Average” at Pitchfork.

Read “This Youtube Channel Has Been Uploading J Dilla Rarities for Months” at Okay Player.

Read “Gillian Welch Talks Tom Jones, John Prine and John Steinbeck” at Relix.

Read “Van Morrison Confirms First-Ever Livestream Special” at Jambase.

Read “Man 'stalking' Taylor Swift arrested in New York” at BBC.

Read “Mt. Westmore (Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, E-40, Too $hort) Deliver Debut Performance at Triller Fight Club” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “Star Songwriter Ali Tamposi Sells Catalog to New Female-Focused Music Fund” at Rolling Stone.

Read “The Mountain Goats Announce New Album Dark in Here, Share New Song “Mobile'“ at Pitchfork.

Read “Ryley Walker – ‘Course In Fable’” at Ears to Feed.

Read “Morrissey Says He’d Sue The Simpsons for Slander, But “It Requires More Funding Than I Could Possibly Muster” at Consequence of Sound. “I've had enough horror thrown at me that would kill off a herd of bison"

  • Read “The Simpsons Releases Morrissey Episode Music Video” at Den of Geek.

Read “South by Southwest Stake Is Sold to Owner of Rolling Stone in Effort to Keep Festival Alive” at Wall Street Journal.

Read “Frank “Poncho” Sampedro :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview” at Aquarium Drunkard.

Read “Kurt Vile Signs With Legendary Jazz Label Verve Records” at Pitchfork.

Read “Igloo Launches Beatles Yellow Submarine-Inspired Collection of Coolers” at Rolling Stone.

Read “Don Cherry on creativity and “the mysticism of sound” at Vinyl Factory.

Read the story behind “Here Comes The Flood, by Robert Fripp and Peter Gabriel” at Music Afficianado.

Read “Louis Armstrong Plays Trumpet at the Egyptian Pyramids; Dizzy Gillespie Charms a Snake in Pakistan” at Open Culture. “During the Cold War, the United States made the case for the American way of life by sending its best ambassadors abroad — jazz musicians.”

Read “Eric Andre Says He Was Racially Profiled at Atlanta Airport” at Pitchfork.

Read “Chvrches share powerful video for new single ‘He Said She Said’” at NME.

Read “The Best and Most Misunderstood of Green Day, According to Billie Joe Armstrong” at Vulture.

Read “Yo La Tengo’s ‘I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One’ Set A Benchmark In Indie Rock” at Treble.

Read “Cardi B snaps back after GOP congressman blames her for “the moral decline of America" at Salon.

Read “I Get Around: The Oral History of 2Pac’s Digital Underground Years” at Rolling Stone.

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Read “Sharon Osbourne gives Bill Maher first interview since leaving 'The Talk': 'I’m angry. I’m hurt.'“ at USA Today.

Read “‘Community’ Star Yvette Nicole Brown Says Reunion Movie ‘Is Coming’” at Variety.

Read “The MCU's Relationship With the Military, From Iron Man to Captain Marvel” at CBR.

Read “Tom Hopper Gives an Update on ‘The Umbrella Academy’ Season 3 Filming: “We've Got a Long Way to Go” at Collider.

Read “You may have to actually pay for Apple TV Plus to watch Ted Lasso’s second season” at The Verge.

Read “LeVar Burton Will Fly Twice As High As Jeopardy!’s Next Guest Host” at Vulture.

Read ‘Disney to Get Online, TV Access to Sony Films After Netflix” at Bloomberg.

Read “Major Update on 'Stranger Things' Season 4 Premiere Date” at Pop Culture.

Read ‘The CW Released The First Official Photo From The Live-Action "Powerpuff Girls" After Their Costumes Caused Controversy” at Buzzfeed News. “The cartoon-accurate dresses are nowhere in sight.”

Read “Jonah Hill was going to star in ‘Transformers’ but Seth Rogen made him turn it down” at NME.

Books/Reading/Authors

Browse “The Golden Guide to Hallucinogenic Plants: Discover the 1977 Illustrated Guide Created by Harvard’s Groundbreaking Ethnobotanist Richard Evan Schultes” at Open Culture.

Read “A Beautiful 1897 Illustrated Book Shows How Flowers Become Art Nouveau Designs” at Open Culture.

Read “Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s place in San Francisco literary history” at Datebook.

Read “The Faulty Lines in Voddie Baucham’s “Thought Line” at Bradley Mason.

Read “Tsundoku,” the Japanese Word for the New Books That Pile Up on Our Shelves, Should Enter the English Language” at Open Culture.

Science/Animals/Nature/Environment/Etc.:

Read “Pentagon confirms legitimacy of Navy pilot's unidentified aerial phenomena video” at The Hill.

Read “NASA selects SpaceX to land first woman, next man on Moon” at 12 News.

Read “How America’s most endangered cat could help save Florida” at National Geographic.

Read “A Song of Spider Silk” at The Scientist. “Scientists from MIT reveal the hidden music in spiderwebs.”

Read “Mars Perseverance rover successfully inhaled carbon dioxide and exhaled oxygen” at Boing Boing.

Misc. Oddities:

Read “Why a Vancouver Cemetery Is Planting Squash, Kale, and Corn” at Gastro Obscura.

Read “What about those flying pyramids?” at Mystery Wire. “Former Pentagon UFO investigator responds to questions about leaked images.”

Local:

Read “Governor signs tribal gaming compact, legalizes sports gambling in Arizona” at Cronkite News.

Read “SanTan Brewing closes its Phoenix taproom and restaurant” at ABC 15.

Read “Supporters Of Changes To AZ Voting Laws Pushing To Move Them Forward” at KJZZ.

Read ‘Ducey to station troops on the border” at AZ Capitol Times.

Read “Arizona Is Rolling Back Voting Rights, and Kyrsten Sinema Is Refusing to Stop It” at Mother Jones.

Read “Arizona governor vetoes strict sex education legislation” at NBC News.

The Weekly Town Crier (04/16/21)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (04/16/21).





We’ll Miss You:

Read “DMX dead at 50, family confirms” at Fox 59.

Read “Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth's longtime consort, will be laid to rest in low-key ceremony” at CNN.

Read “Sonny Simmons, Fiercely Independent Alto Saxophonist, Dies At 87” at NPR.

Religion and Stuff:

Read “Proud Boys and other far-right groups raise millions via Christian funding site” at The Guardian.

Read “Pastor: Lawmakers Making Churches Obey COVID Rules Are “Non-Essential” to God!” at Friendly Atheist.

Read ‘High court halts Calif. virus rules limiting home worship” at Religion News Service.

Read “Former Moody Professor & Author for Desiring God Announces He’s No Longer a Christian” at Roys Report.

Read “Evangelical Pastor Faces Prison Time After Recording Child Changing Her Clothes” at Friendly Atheist.

Read “John Wayne, Jesus, and the Struggle to Define the Christian Man” by David French. “Would the Son of God slide into home with his cleats up?”

Read “Hillsong Shuts Down Dallas Campus Following Reports Pastors Misused Funds” at Roys Report.

Read “New York City's Next Mayor Could Be Decided in the Black Church” at Bloomberg.

Read “A Pastor’s Son Becomes a Critic of Religion on TikTok” at New York Times.

Read “Brazil building new Jesus statue even taller than Rio's Christ the Redeemer” at The Hill.

Read “The Supreme Court Broke Its Own Rules to Radically Redefine Religious Liberty” at Slate. “Even Chief Justice John Roberts dissented from the majority’s unusual move.”

Read “Head of Elite Catholic School Is Fired Over Sexual Misconduct Charges” at New York Times.

Read “Pope Francis asks Minnesota bishop to resign following Vatican probe” at The Hill.

Read the opinion piece “Why Democratic Socialism Isn’t Anti-Christian” at Sojourners.

Read “At online symposium, Pope Francis says religions can eradicate sexual abuse together” at Religion News Service.

Read ‘Why Pastors Should Read Literature” by Karen Swallow Prior at Pastor Theologians.

Read “'The Making Of Biblical Womanhood' Tackles Contradictions In Religious Practice” at NPR.

Read “Orlando sanctuary nurses largest cluster of Florida corals rescued from a devastating disease” at Orlando Sentinel.

Read “Pat Robertson slams policing in America” at MSBNC. "We cannot have a bunch of clowns running around who are underpaid and who really are not the best and brightest, we've got to have the best in there."

Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:

Read “Tucker Carlson, the face of Fox News, just gave his full endorsement to the white nationalist conspiracy theory that has motivated mass shootings” at Media Matters.

Read “Expert Witness Pinpoints the Exact Moment George Floyd Died Under Chauvin’s Weight” at Slate.

  • Read “The claim that drugs killed George Floyd relies on a racist trope” at VOX. “In the Derek Chauvin trial, the defense’s attempt to blame George Floyd’s death on drug use relies on retrograde and racist myths.”

  • Read “Medical Examiner Reaffirms George Floyd Homicide Ruling, Caused by Derek Chauvin’s Restraint” at Democracy Now.

Read “Alabama GOP Senate Candidate Is Extremely Outraged at Affair Allegations Before Being Presented With a 17-Minute Tape” at Slate.

Read “Matt Gaetz Reportedly Sent $900 on Venmo to Indicted Tax Collector Buddy, Who Then Paid Three Young Women for ‘Tuition’ and ‘School’ at Mediaite.

  • Read “Matt Gaetz Now Complains He’s A Victim Of The Deep State” at Huff Post.

  • Read “Indicted Gaetz Associate Is Said to Be Cooperating With Justice Dept.” at New York Times.

Read “Same, but different: Notes on Black Christian solidarity against anti-Asian racism” at Religion News Service.

Read “N.R.A. Chief Takes the Stand, With Cracks in His Armor” at New York Times.

Read “The first Southern state legalizes marijuana — what it means nationally” at The Hill.

Read “President Biden set to further regulate 'ghost guns'“ at PRI. “The Biden administration faces pushback from Republicans as it tries to pass legislation to further regulate "ghost guns" assembled with homemade parts.”

Read “South Dakota GOP Gov. Blasted For Telling Illegal Immigrants To 'Call Me When You're An American'“ at Comic Sands.

Read “Conservative Judges Are Manipulating the History of Eugenics to Overturn Roe v. Wade” at Slate.

Read “Illinois House passes bill mandating Asian American history in schools” at NBC News.

Read “At least 8 dead in shooting at Indianapolis FedEx facility” at The Hill.

This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // and/or weird Confederacy stuff) // Insurrectionists // Far-Right Extremism:

Read “‘Clear the Capitol,’ Pence pleaded, timeline of riot shows” at Associated Press.

Read “Far-Right Extremist Planned to Blow Up Amazon Data Center, Feds Allege” at Variety.

Read “White supremacists plan nationwide rallies on April 11” at The Hill.

Read ‘Huntington Beach braces for yet another demonstration — a White Lives Matter rally on Sunday” at Los Angeles Times.

Read “‘Darn’ Tootin’ It Is!’: Gov. Tate Reeves Again Declares Confederate Heritage Month, SCV Says” at Mississippi Free Press.

Read “Heritage Versus Hate: Assessing Opinions in the Debate over Confederate Monuments and Memorials” at Wiley Public Library. “When it comes to wanting to leave Confederate monuments alone, it’s racial resentment, not southern identity.”

This Week In Protest-Related News:

Read “Protests erupt after death of Daunte Wright, 20-year-old Black man shot by police during traffic stop: What we know” at USA Today.

Read ‘Second night of unrest after fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright outside Minneapolis” at CBS News.

This Week With The Police:

Read “Cops Caught on Video Holding a Black Army Lieutenant at Gunpoint, Then Pepper-Spraying Him” at Vice.

  • Read “Army officer sues police for pepper-spraying him, drawing guns during traffic stop” at The Hill.

Read “Police officer with connection to Proud Boys fired” at The Hill.

Read “Protests erupt after death of Daunte Wright, 20-year-old Black man shot by police during traffic stop: What we know” at USA Today.

  • Read “Minnesota officer meant to draw Taser, not handgun” at Associated Press.

  • Read “Medical examiner declares Daunte Wright death a homicide” at KTSP.

  • Read “Brooklyn Center city manager fired following police shooting of Daunte Wright” at The Hill.

  • Read “Rev. Al Sharpton on the police killing of Daunte Wright: ‘You can die for having expired tags’” at MSNBC.

  • Read “How Could the Police Have Mistaken a Gun for a Taser?” at Yahoo.

  • Read “Brooklyn Center officer in Daunte Wright shooting, police chief submit resignation” at KSTP.

  • Read “The Minnesota officer who killed Daunte Wright will be charged with manslaughter.” at New York Times.

    • Read “Minnesota Police Officer Kimberly Potter Charged with Manslaughter for Shooting Daunte Wright” at Democracy Now.

  • Read “Daunte Wright's death proves a more interracial America can't protect us” at MSNBC.

Read “Cincinnati police raise ‘Blue Lives Matter’ flag outside justice center” at Guardian.

Read “Legal experts on whether police testifying against Derek Chauvin portends real change” at MSNBC.

Read “Bill to give Arizona troopers body cameras would also restrict video release” at ABC 15.

Read “Maryland state trooper fatally shoots 16-year-old after responding to reports of an armed man” at ABC News. “Peyton Ham was allegedly carrying an airsoft gun and a knife.”

Read “Daunte and the Debt Collectors: How the Cops Became Robbers” at The Root.

Read “For years, the Boston Police kept a secret: the union president was an alleged child molester” at Boston Globe.

Read “Video of fatal Chicago police shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo released” at NBC News.

Read “Three Georgia officers injured after suspect opened fire with AK-47 during chase” at The Hill.

Read “Pat Robertson slams policing in America” at MSBNC. "We cannot have a bunch of clowns running around who are underpaid and who really are not the best and brightest, we've got to have the best in there."

Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings

Read “Teen student arrested for having gun at Sandra Day O'Connor High School in north Phoenix” at ABC 15.

Read “One person dead, officer wounded in shooting confrontation at a Tennessee high school, officials say” at Click 2 Houston.

Read “Florida education official tells school districts to make masks optional next year” at The HIll.

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read “You Can’t Trust Anyone’: Russia’s Hidden Covid Toll Is an Open Secret” at New York Times.

Read “Nearly 40% of Marines have declined Covid-19 vaccine” at CNN.

Read “WHO chief laments 'shocking imbalance' in vaccines for poor countries” at The Hill.

Read “Meat-packing plants were the earliest COVID hotspots, but vaccinating workers isn’t easy” at PBS News Hour.

Read “Loneliness, Anxiety and Loss: the Covid Pandemic’s Terrible Toll on Kids” at Wall Street Journal.

Read “Covid vaccine hesitancy among men is its own public health issue” at MSNBC.

Read “Wisconsin Supreme Court rules against restaurant, bar capacity limits” at The Hill.

Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology):

Read “Nike Settles With Lil Nas X 'Satan Shoes' Manufacturer” at Pop Culture.

Read “Under Capitalism, the Deck Is Always Stacked Against Unionizing at Companies Like Amazon” at Jacobin Magazine.

Watch “The Tony Alva Story” at Open Culture.

Read “Nike’s idea of ‘woke’ is to kill the small businesses, in Philly and elsewhere, that made its sneakers popular” at Inquirer.

Read “Staying Home Gave Some Black Women the Chance to Take Care of Their Own Hair” at Slate. “Some aren’t sure they’ll go back to salons at all.”

Read “'You Can't Escape the Gravitational Pull of Jeff Bezos.' How Amazon Won the Preliminary Union Vote in Alabama” at Time.

Read “‘Huge’ Explosion Rocks St. Vincent As Volcano Keeps Erupting” at Huff Post.

Read “Steak-Umm Twitter Beef with Neil DeGrasse Tyson Explained” at HITC.

Read “Meet the Ransomware Gang Behind One of the Biggest Supply Chain Hacks Ever” at Vice.

Read “Apple might not release an iPhone Mini in 2022, analyst predicts” at CNet.

Read “There Will Be No Swearing or Taking God’s Name in Vain on Mike Lindell’s New ‘Free Speech’ Platform” at Right Wing Watch.

Read “A 23-Year-Old Coder Kept QAnon Online When No One Else Would” at Bloomberg.

Internationalities:

Read “What About China?” Is No Defense of American Injustice” at Slate.

Read “Iran Blames Israel for Attack on Nuclear Facility, Vows to Retaliate” at Wall Street Journal.

Read “China sends 25 warplanes into Taiwan's air defense zone, Taipei says” at CNN.

Read “How Biden’s team overrode the brass on Afghanistan” at Politico.

Read “Japan announces it will release treated radioactive water from Fukushima nuclear plant into sea” at South China Morning Press.

Read “Forthcoming Russia sanctions won't include Nord Stream 2” at Politico.

Read “Biden administration sanctions Russia for SolarWinds hack, election interference” at the Hill.

Read “Biden Administration Says Russian Intelligence Obtained Trump Campaign Data” at New York Times.

Read “Intel chiefs sound alarm on China in global threats hearing” at Politico.

Read “Russian Troops Amass on Eastern Border as U.S. and NATO Pledge Support for Ukraine” at Democracy Now.

Read “UK facing garden gnome shortage following the Suez Canal fiasco” at Indy 100.

Politics And Sucheries:

Read ‘The GOP Is Voting Against Its Base” at The Atlantic. “Republicans are making a risky bet by opposing Biden’s infrastructure plan.”

Read “High number of Trump political appointees sought permanent jobs in final year” at NBC News.

Read “Can America's 'Civil Religion' Still Unite The Country?” at WPR.

Read “Dwayne Johnson says he’ll run for President “if this is what the people want”” at NME. “46 per cent of poll respondents would welcome him in the Oval Office.”

Read “Stephanie Murphy: Let Florida voters know which election systems were hacked by Russians” at Orlando Sentinel.

Read “Congressional Black Caucus members post selfie celebrating first WH visit in four years” at The Hill.

Read “Mitt Romney And Kyrsten Sinema Team Up On Bipartisan Bill To Increase Minimum Wage” at Huff Post.

Read “Biden Administration Moves To Undo Trump Abortion Rules For Title X” at NPR.

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read “Republicans Accused Of Election Rigging Conspiracy As Congress Demands DOJ Probe” at Politicus USA.

Read “McConnell versus the First Amendment” at Popular Info.

Read “Gaetz was denied meeting with Trump” at The Hill.

Read “Senate Report: Former Trump Aide Paul Manafort Shared Campaign Info With Russia” at NPR.

Music-Related News and Such:

Read “Prince’s ‘Welcome 2 America,’ an Unreleased Album, Is Due Out in July” at New York Times.

Read “Penn Jillette Tells the Most Amazing David Allan Coe Story” at GQ.

Read “From the Eagle Mall to Terrapin Station: A Skeleton Key to Robert Hunter” at Aquarium Drunkard.

Read “How The Wrecking Crew Secretly Recorded Some of the Biggest Hits of the 1960s & 70s” at Open Culture.

Read “The Spiritual Power of Pharoah Sanders” by Shabaka Hutchingsat Vinyl Factory.

Read “Kelly Clarkson's Onstage Bathroom Disaster Will Forever Change the Way We Think About Trash Cans” at Yahoo.

Browse Bandcamp’s picks for “The Best Albums of Winter 2021.”

Read “Phoebe Bridgers’ Smashed Guitar from SNL Sells for $100k in Auction” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “We All Get To Benefit From Taylor Swift’s Sweet Revenge” at Stereogum.

Read “How Auto-Tune Revolutionized the Sound of Popular Music” at Pitchfork. “An in-depth history of the most important pop innovation of the last 20 years, from Cher’s “Believe” to Kanye West to Migos.”

Read “Madonna Buys The Weeknd's Hidden Hills Estate for $19 Million” at Pop Culture.

Read “Grateful Dead’s ‘Wall of Sound’ Lives Again in Some Dude’s Basement” at Wall Street Journal. “Anthony Coscia spent two months building a working one-sixth replica of the legendary system, to the delight of Deadheads everywhere.”

Read “Liz Phair Details New Album Soberish, Shares New Song” at Pitchfork.

Read “Mudhoney Is No Longer Just the Name of a Band in Seattle: 'This Is Anything But Boring'“ at Billboard. “Seattle Public Utilities announced on Monday (April 12) that it has named its tunnel boring machine after local grunge band Mudhoney after a public vote.”

Read “M.I.A. Launches Fundraiser for Saint Vincent Volcano Relief” at Pitchfork.

Read “CD of the Month: Ryley Walker - "Course In Fable” at WYSO.

Read “Queens of vinyl: 6 female record store owners share the secrets to their success and the struggles that became strengths” at Jumble and Flow. (Featuring Phoenix’s own Kimber Lanning!!)

Read “60 U.S. Music Venues Are Getting ‘Turnkey Livestreaming’ Abilities” at Rolling Stone. “As the live music industry weighs its post-pandemic future, Live Nation and Veeps will outfit venues including The Wiltern, The Fillmore, and House of Blues with livestreaming tech.”

Read “What the Hell Is Spotify’s Tragically Named “Car Thing”?” at Pitchfork.

Read “Morgan Wallen Says He Won’t Play Shows This Summer, Is Still Working on Himself Following Scandal” at Variety.

Read “José González Announces New Album Local Valley, Shares New Song” at Pitchfork.

Read “Inside Sun Ra’s 1971 trip to Egypt” at Vinyl Factory.

Read “Screamers, a Missing Link of Los Angeles Punk, Is Missing No More” at New York Times.

Read “Low Cover Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” at Pitchfork.

Read “Arcade Fire Share New 45-Minute Song for Headspace Meditation App” at Pitchfork.

Read “Alan Vega Left a Robust Vault. The Excavation Begins With a New Album” at New York Times.

Read “Angel Bat Dawid :: Transmissions” at Aquarium Drunkard.

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Read “TV Is Having a Talking-Head Crisis, From Sharon Osbourne to Dr. Oz to Meghan McCain” at Time.

Read “Bill Hader Talks Overcoming Anxiety and ‘Barry’ Season 3 as He Receives USC’s Master of Comedy Award” at Variety.

Read “The Problem With ‘The Problem With Jon Stewart’” at Vice. “Can the beloved former host of ‘The Daily Show’ be relevant in 2021 without copying the work of his former staff?”

Read “Melissa McCarthy, Please Stop Making Bad Movies With Your Husband” at Slate.

Read “ArcLight Cinemas and Pacific Theatres to Close” at The Hollywood Reporter.

Browse “Ronin Roundup” at Burning Shore.

Books/Reading/Authors

Read ‘The Strangest Books in the World: Discover The Madman’s Library, a Captivating Compendium of Peculiar Books​ & Manuscripts’ at Open Culture.

Design/Artsy Things:



Science/Animals/Nature/Environment/Etc.:

Read “4 Gray Whales Found Dead In San Francisco Bay Area In 9 Days” at Huff Post.

Read “How far does light travel in a year?” at Universal-Sci.

Read “When a Mantis Shrimp Fights a Disco Clam, It Meets Its Match” at Wired.

Read “Woman gets pregnant while already pregnant, gives birth to twins” at The Hill.

Read “The Sand Octopus Was Hiding in Plain Sight” at The Atlantic. “And yet it took a 19th-century naturalist, a 21st-century grad student, and some Brazilian fishers to crack the mystery.”

Read “The Carnivore Paradise That Keeps Changing the Story of Human Evolution” at Atlas Obscura. “New research at Dmanisi continues to challenge what we think we know about our deep past.”

Read “Scientists Create Early Embryos That Are Part Human, Part Monkey” at NPR.

Read “How scientists found 'Nemo,' Australia's newest dancing spider” at National Geographic.

Food Cultures:

Read “How India’s ‘Mango Man’ Grew a Tree With 300 Flavors” at Atlas Obscura.

Read “The Sandwich Scandal at the Heart of the World’s Greatest Golfing Event” at Atlas Obscura.

Misc. Oddities:



Local:

Read “Queens of vinyl: 6 female record store owners share the secrets to their success and the struggles that became strengths” at Jumble and Flow. (Featuring Phoenix’s own Kimber Lanning!!)

The Weekly Town Crier (04/09/21)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (04/09/21).







We’ll Miss You:

Read “War Bassist B.B. Dickerson Has Died at 71” at Pitchfork.

Read “Küng, original celebrity theologian and liberal muse, dead at 93” at Crux.

Religion and Stuff:

Read “At second Easter under pandemic rules, Christians glimpse church’s future” at Religion News Service. 

ReadBeth Moore left the SBC after the SBC left women to fend for themselves” at Religion News Service.

  • Read “Beth Moore apologizes for her role in elevating ‘complementarian’ theology that limits women leaders” at Religion News Service. “In an email to Religion News Service, Moore didn’t go quite so far as to say she has entirely abandoned complementarianism. But she no longer sees it as essential.”

Read “White Evangelical Resistance Is Obstacle in Vaccination Effort” at New York Times. “Millions of white evangelical adults in the U.S. do not intend to get vaccinated against Covid-19. Tenets of faith and mistrust of science play a role; so does politics.”

Read “Saudi Arabia to Reopen Mecca Holy Site to “Immunized” Pilgrims” at Democracy Now.

Consider “10 Reasons Why Men Should Not be Ordained for Ministry” with Eugene Cho.

Read “Black and Asian Christian leaders discuss role of church in fighting racism” at Religion News Service.

Read “Is the evangelical view of sex at the root of our sex scandals?” at Religion News Service. “It was not celebrity culture that taught Ravi Zacharias, Carl Lentz and countless other pastors to objectify women. Our evangelical culture primed them for it.”

Read “White Evangelical Racism Has Always Been a Political Power Grab” at Medium. “Anthea Butler explains how racism has been essential to growing the power of white evangelical Christians.”

Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:

Read “A spokesman for Matt Gaetz quits, as the Justice Dept. investigates whether his boss violated sex trafficking laws” at New York Times.

Read “Georgia Law Could Seal Trump's and Rudy's Fate in Election Interference Investigation” at Second Nexus.

Read “Elderly Asian woman stabbed in California while walking dogs” at The Hill.

Read “The myth about smart black kids and “acting white” that won’t die” at Vox. “Nerds come in all colors.”

Read “Virginia Latest to Strike ‘Trans Panic’ Defense of Violent Crime” at Bloomberg Law.

Read “Amazon Admits Drivers Sometimes Have to Pee in Bottles While on the Job” at Slate.

Read “Justices dismiss suit over Trump's blocking of critics on Twitter” at The Hill.

Read “Supreme Court nixes Alex Jones' appeal in Newtown shooting case” at NBC News. “Jones was fighting a Connecticut court sanction in a defamation lawsuit brought by relatives of some of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.”

Read “Utah Will Require Fathers to Help With Pregnancy Bills” at New York Times.

Read “Biden to unveil long-awaited executive action on guns” at Politico.

Read “NRA Chief Wayne LaPierre Faces Grilling During Highly Anticipated Bankruptcy Trial Testimony” at Law and Crime.

This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // and/or weird Confederacy stuff):

Read “Fears of White People Losing Out Permeate Capitol Rioters’ Towns, Study Finds” at New York Times.

This Week With The Police:

Read “U.S. Capitol locked down after a vehicle plows into officers, police say” at Yahoo.

  • Read “Officer dead after suspect rammed car into police at US Capitol barricade” at Yahoo.

Read “Video Of Chicago Police Killing 13-Year-Old Adam Toledo Will Be Released, Agency Says After Public Pressure” at Book Club Chicago.

Read “DA wants to dismiss 90 convictions tied to ex-NYPD detective accused of perjury” at NBC News.

Read “NYPD ‘Goon Squad’ Manual Teaches Officers To Violate Protesters’ Rights” at The Intercept.

Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings

Read “Tennessee lawmaker proposes bill to ban LGBTQ history and issues from state curriculum” at UT Daily Beacon.

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read “White Evangelical Resistance Is Obstacle in Vaccination Effort” at New York Times. “Millions of white evangelical adults in the U.S. do not intend to get vaccinated against Covid-19. Tenets of faith and mistrust of science play a role; so does politics.”

Read “Montana Governor Who Rescinded Mask Mandate Now Has COVID” at Daily Beast.

Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology):

Read “The Cause of Tiger Woods’ Car Wreck Is No Longer a Mystery” at Yahoo.

Read “Amazon apologizes for tweet denying some workers urinate in bottles” at The Hill.

Read “How Adults with ADHD Can "Manufacture" Motivation” at Psychology Today.

Read “California man sues after father dies during taco eating contest” at The Hill.

Read “Pageant winner has title revoked for twerking” at The Hill.

Read “Pfizer CEO says Trump told him vaccine 'will help me' with election” at The Hill.

Internationalities:

Read “MLB signs deal with China's largest tech company” at CNN.

Read “New Zealand raises minimum wage to $20 an hour” at Independent.

Read “Flash floods in Indonesia and Timor Leste kill more than 50” at BBC.

Read “Unrest in Northern Ireland: 27 police officers injured as riots occur in Belfast and Derry” at Independent.ie

Politics And Sucheries:

Read “Stimulus checks and COVID optimism raise Biden's approval rating to highest level yet” at Yahoo.

Read “Laura Ingraham Warns Corporations of 'Wrath of GOP' Over Georgia Voting Law” at Newsweek.

Read “Democrats Look at Lowering Medicare Eligibility Age in Healthcare Package” at Wall Street Journal.

Read “MLB Moves All-Star Game from Atlanta to Protest Georgia Voter Suppression Law” at Democracy Now.

  • Read “Georgia Governor Criticizes MLB For Buying Into Liberal 'Lies' About New Election Law” at NPR. “Major League Baseball announced it would pull this year's All-Star Game and its draft out of Atlanta after Georgia revamped its voting rules. Gov. Brian Kemp says it's an example of "cancel culture."

Read “Arkansas Governor Vetoes Ban On Gender-Affirming Care For Trans Youth” at NPR.

Read “Republicans rediscover their concern for the national debt” at Washington Post.

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read “How Trump Steered Supporters Into Unwitting Donations” at New York Times. “Online donors were guided into weekly recurring contributions. Demands for refunds spiked.”

Read “Trump May Be Gone, but His Biggest Scam Is Still With Us” at Slate.”There’s a frustrating connection between the Derek Chauvin defense and the Matt Gaetz scandal.”

  • Read “NYT: Matt Gaetz said to have sought blanket pardon” at MSNBC.

  • Read “Matt Gaetz Spent 4 Years Sucking Up to Trump — and Trump Just Abandoned Him” at Vice.

  • Read “Congressman Matt Gaetz to speak at conservative women's summit amid federal investigation into sex trafficking allegations” at CBS News.

Read “Republicans trumpet elements of Covid-19 relief bill they voted against” at NBC News.

Read “Former Trump HUD official fined and barred from federal work over Hatch Act violation” at CNN.

Read “Ethics watchdog group accuses Cruz of using campaign funds to promote book” at The Hill.

Music-Related News and Such:

Read “DMX hospitalised and in critical state after suffering overdose” at NME.

Read “Ever wonder why drums sound the same on many of today’s recordings?” at a Journal of Musical Things.

Read “36 of America’s Best Independent Music Venues on Surviving and What’s Next” at Pitchfork.

Read “Paul Simon Sells His Entire Songwriting Catalog to Sony” at New York Times.

Browse Treble’s picks for “The Best Albums of March 2021.”

Read “Tedeschi Trucks Band Postpone Wheels of Soul Tour to 2022” at Relix.

Read “Ryley Walker: 'Going two days sober was impossible since I was a kid” at The Guardian.

Read “The 49 Most Anticipated Albums of Spring 2021: Taylor Swift, Japanese Breakfast, J Balvin, and More” at Pitchfork.

Read “Brandi Carlile Has Always Seen Herself Clearly. Now It’s Our Turn.” at New York Times.

Read “Hugh Masekela: The Politics Of South Africa’s Famed Trumpeter” at U Discover Music.

Read “Page McConnell Announces Ambient Electronic Solo Record ‘Maybe We’re The Visitors,’ Shares First Single” at Relix.

Listen “to Taylor Swift’s New “From the Vault” Song “Mr. Perfectly Fine” at Pitchfork.

Read “Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson to star in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “Despite Quarantine, Beauty Pill Find New Artistic Paths” at Bandcamp.

Read “So the singers of Led Zeppelin and AC/DC went for a walk in the woods…” at A Journal Of Musical Things.

Read “RSD Drops 2021: Lady Gaga, Oneohtrix Point Never, Freddie Gibbs and Madlib, Shrek, and More” at Pitchfork.

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Read “Top CBS Local Station Executives Exit Amid Probe of Racism Allegations” at Variety.

Science/Animals/Nature/Environment/Etc.:

Read “NASA prepares Mars helicopter for first flight on another planet” at The Hill.

Read “Finding From Particle Research Could Break Known Laws of Physics” at New York Times.

Misc. Oddities:

Visit “Cryptozoology & Paranormal Museum Littleton, North Carolina” with Atlas Obscura.

Local:

Read “First Friday Unofficially Reopens On Phoenix's Roosevelt Row” at KJZZ.

The Weekly Town Crier (04/02/21)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about and more (04/02/21).






We’ll Miss You:

Read “Pioneering Synth Designer and Stevie Wonder Producer, Malcolm Cecil, Dead at 84” at Okay Player.

Religion and Stuff:

ReadChurch membership in the U.S. has fallen below the majority for the first time in nearly a century” at Washington Post. 

ReadLIL' NAS X Satanic Panic Publicity Makes Me Long For When Conservative Christians Got Mad At Metal” at Metal Injection. “The rapper's limited release Satanic sneakers and new music video are causing an uproar that used to be reserved for metal acts.”

  • Read “Lil Nas X's 'Satan' shoes that contain drop of human blood sold out in less than a minute” at The Hill.

Read “'Scolded us for being female': Woman says fishing trip prize taken away because she is a woman” at KETV. ““Living in the days of sexual scandals & accusations many pastors including myself, take the personal position that we will not put ourselves in a position that could bring about a false accusation.”

Read “Dozens of Christian students sue the U.S. Education Dept., hoping to pressure Equality Act negotiations.” “Students from across the country allege being ejected, punished and harmed by policies barring LGBTQ relationships and advocacy, and they are fighting back.”

Read “Celebrating Easter on the anniversary of MLK’s death” at Christian Century.

Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:

Read “Biden blasts new Georgia voting laws as civil rights group sue” at Al Jazeera.

Read “In the latest debate on guns, a hobbled NRA takes a backseat” at CNN.

Read “Carmichael Man Facing 19 Felony Weapons Charges After Discovery of Massive Gun Cache, Fake Explosives” at Sacramento CBS Local.

Read “A history of “wokeness” at Vox. “Stay woke: How a Black activist watchword got co-opted in the culture war.”

Read “Derek Chauvin Trial Live Updates: Lawyers Present Case in George Floyd’s Death” at New York Times.

Read “Supreme Court reinstates Tennessee inmate's death sentence” at The Hill.

Read “Arkansas becomes first state to pass bill prohibiting doctors from providing gender-affirming medical care to trans youth” at Business Insider.

Read “George Floyd news: Witness says Derek Chauvin used ‘blood choke’ as Floyd ‘pleaded for his life’” at Independent.

  • Read “Officers didn't let me into the scene': Witness, Off-duty firefighter says she would have given Floyd medical attention” at MSNBC.

Read “Asian woman brutally beaten in suspected hate crime as security guard does nothing to help” at New York Post.

  • Read “YouTube employees upset at company's refusal to remove song considered anti-Asian” at The Hill.

  • Read “Minnesota High Schoolers Stage Walkout After Asian Teen Receives Racist Texts From Classmates” at Comic Sands.

Read “Amazon Security Staff Reported Its Own Hostile Tweets as ‘Suspicious,’ Fearing They’d Been Hacked” at The Intercept. “These tweets are unnecessarily antagonistic (risking Amazon’s brand), and may be a result of unauthorized access,” read an employee help ticket.” Instead, in reality, the order for the bad tweets came directly from big man Bezos.

  • Read “‘She-Wees’ and Plastic Bags: Amazon’s Pee Scandal Is Much Worse for Women” at Vice.

Read “NRA Board Member Upends Bankruptcy With Demand to Probe LaPierre” at Bloomberg.

Read “The Myth of the ‘Underage Woman” at The Atlantic.

Read “Matt Gaetz Is Said to Face Justice Dept. Inquiry Over Sex With an Underage Girl” at New York Times.

  • Read “Gaetz showed lawmakers nude photos of women he claimed to have slept with: report” at The Hill.

  • Read “Justice Dept. Inquiry Into Matt Gaetz Said to Be Focused on Cash Paid to Women” at New York Times.

Read “500 Migrant Kids Crammed Into Plastic ‘Pods’ Meant for 32 People” at Daily Beast.

Read “Revisiting the Black power dream of North Carolina's Soul City” at Facing South.

This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // and/or weird Confederacy stuff):

Read “Capitol riot suspect arrested while wearing 'I Was There' T-shirt” at The Hill.

Read “Charlottesville Can Remove Statues Of Confederate Generals, High Court Rules” at Huff Post.

Read “How Do You Solve A Problem Like The Proud Boys?” at Rantt Media. “Given the challenges law enforcement faces when trying to tackle extremist groups, it's clear that other counter-extremism measures have to be on the table.”

Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings

Read “Biden’s First Big Break With His Allies Is Over School Reopenings” at New York Mag : Intelligencer.

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read “Dr. Deborah Birx says thousands of U.S. Covid deaths were preventable” at MSNBC.

Read “The Pandemic Ignited a Housing Boom—but It’s Different From the Last One” at Wall Street Journal.

Read “The Stunning Art That’s Waging War On COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy And Disinformation” at Huff Post.

Read “I just can't face another surge': Premature reopenings threaten vaccine successes” at MSNBC.

Read “U.K. Government Distributes $553 Million More From Culture Recovery Fund to Arts Organizations” at Variety.

Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology):

Read “Annie's Mac and Cheese is based in the Bay Area, but Annie is not. Here's her story” at SF Gate.

Read ‘Miss me yet?’ Donald Trump tears into Biden and border crisis at Mar-a-Lago wedding” at The Express.

Read “Detroit restaurant warns people who smell like marijuana to not 'even think of stepping inside'“ at The Hill.

Read “A Q&A With the Real Estate Agent Selling This Sexy Funeral Goth House in Baltimore” at Slate.

Read “Can a scammer hypnotize you over the phone? Let’s ask professional hypnotists” at Los Angeles Times.

Read “National Building Museum to reopen with exhibit on gun violence” at The Hill.

Read “Were Rampage’s Monsters Really Based on King Kong, Godzilla, and The Wolf Man?” at Den of Geek. “Before Godzilla vs. King Kong, we spent years pretending Rampage put those legendary monsters on the same screen. However, the true origins of Rampage's monsters are stranger than you think...”

Read “How One of the World’s Largest Container Ships Can Get Stuck in the Suez Canal” at Wall Street Journal.

Politics And Sucheries:

Read “Fox News sued by Dominion Voting Systems over election fraud claims” at NBC News.

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read “Georgia Lawmaker Arrested As Governor Signs Law Overhauling Elections” at NPR.

Read “Graham cites Hurricane Katrina as reason to own AR-15” at The Hill.

Music-Related News and Such:

Read “Rick Nielsen Of Cheap Trick Reviews Cheap Trick’s Biggest Albums” at Uproxx.

Watch “the Weather Station Perform on CBS This Morning” at Pitchfork.

Read “Bob Weir: Saint of Circumstance” at Relix.

  • Read “Dead & Company Confirm Dates for Playing in the Sand 2022” at Relix.

  • Read “Phil Lesh to Perform Socially Distanced Show at Terrapin Crossroads” at Jambands.

Read “The Many Lives of Judee Sill” at Rolling Stone.

Read “Officially Sanctioned ‘Jerry Garcia, Artist’ Documentary To Focus On 1987 Interview” at Live For Live Music.

Read “BTS Discuss Facing Discrimination, Condemn Racism in #StopAsianHate Statement” at Pitchfork.

Read “Sons of Kemet Announce New Album Black to the Future, Share “Hustle” at Consequence of Sound.

Browse Pitchfork’s picks for “30 Great Records You May Have Missed: Winter 2021.”

Read “Benevento/Russo Duo Confirm Relix Studio Full Acoustic Livestream Concert” at Jambase.

Read “Nils Frahm: ‘NFTs are the most disgusting thing on the planet’” at Independent.

Read “Kevin Shields on My Bloody Valentine’s Return: Time Is ‘More Precious’” at New York Times.

Read “Celebrating 15 Years of Musical Eclecticism with Aquarium Drunkard’s Justin Gage” at In Sheep’s Clothing Hi Fi.

Read “Archie Shepp :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview”.

Read “Janis Joplin’s Last TV Performance & Interview: The Dick Cavett Show (1970)” at Open Culture.

Read “Grammy Museum To Honor Blue Note Records For Jazz Appreciation Month” at U Discover Music.

Read “Matt Sweeney Loves “Guitar Playing That You Don’t Understand” at Premier Guitar.

Read “A Quiet Revolution” at Spin. “Indigo Girls' Amy Ray and Emily Saliers on their life in music, activism and friendship.”

Read “Learning to Be OK With the Word ‘Vinyls’” at Variety.

Read “Ryley Walker Explains How He Made His Best Album, ‘Course In Fable’” at Uproxx.

Read “Soundgarden Accuse Vicky Cornell of Locking Band Out of Social Media Accounts” at Consequence of Sound.

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Read “Did you spot them? 'Coming 2 America's best throwbacks to the classic comedy original (Spoilers!)” at USA Today.

Books/Reading/Authors

Read “Howl: illuminating draft of Allen Ginsberg's seminal poem found” at The Guardian. “Early draft of Howl is on sale for $425,000 and ‘allows a look into the mind’ of the influential Beat poet.”

Misc. Oddities:

Read “Who Built the Egyptian Pyramids & How Did They Do It?: New Archeological Evidence Busts Ancient Myths” at Open Culture.

The Weekly Town Crier (03/26/21)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (03/26/21).




We’ll Miss You:

Read “George Segal: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? actor dies aged 87” at BBC.

Read “Jessica Walter Dies: Emmy-Winning ‘Arrested Development’, ‘Archer’ Actress Was 80” at Deadline.

Religion and Stuff:

Read “Church removes Atlanta shooting suspect from membership, urges ‘no blame’ on victims” at Religion News Service.

  • Read “What an Expert on Evangelicals and Sex Says About the Atlanta Shooter's Claim He Had a Sex Addiction” at Time. 

Read “With Beth Moore’s exit, more evangelical women are challenging strict gender norms” at Religion News Service.

Read “Who Owns John MacArthur’s Sermons?” at Roys Report.

Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:

Read “Biden White House Sandbags Staffers, Sidelines Dozens for Pot Use” at Daily Beast.

Read “Maggots, Rape and Yet Five Stars: How U.S. Ratings of Nursing Homes Mislead the Public” at New York Times.

Read “Immigration Is Not a “Crisis” at Slate.

Read “Stop telling women to just keep yourselves safe, without addressing misogyny': How women bear the burden of safety when men can't control themselves” at MSNBC.

Read “College students are falling in love with white supremacy. Rep. Paul Gosar is helping” at MSNBC.

Read “Supreme Court to consider reinstating death sentence for Boston bomber” at The Hill.

Read “Lawyers Who Were Ineligible to Handle Serious Criminal Charges Were Given Thousands of These Cases Anyway” at Pro Publica.

Read “Tennessee Senate passes permitless gun carry bill” at Local Memphis.

Read “Virginia becomes 1st Southern state to abolish death penalty as governor signs law” at NBC News.

This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // and/or weird Confederacy stuff):

Read “This Is War”: Inside the Secret Chat Where Far-Right Extremists Devised Their Post-Capitol Plans” at Pro Publica. “Chats from a private Telegram group obtained by ProPublica show how a suspect tied to the Jan. 6 insurrection tried to organize a self-styled militia. The hidden proliferation of such groups worries experts.”

This Week With The Police:

Read “George Takei: Law enforcement throughout American history has manipulated Asian Americans” at MSNBC.

Read “North Carolina police seize gun in drug bust altered to look like Nerf toy” at The Hill.

Read “In City After City, Police Mishandled Black Lives Matter Protests” at New York Times. “Inquiries into law enforcement’s handling of the George Floyd protests last summer found insufficient training and militarized responses — a widespread failure in policing nationwide.”

Read “The Solution to Violence Against Women Will Never Be 'More Police'“ at Vice.

Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings

Read “US Secretary of Education cancels $1B of student loan debt” at The Hill. “The Department of Education implemented a new strategy focused on helping students defrauded by colleges and universities.”

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read “Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club Partially Closed After Coronavirus Outbreak” at Slate.

Read “Maskless Trump Supporter Who Coughed on Protesters Donates $3k to NAACP Scholarship Fund as Punishment” at Second Nexus.

Read “Michigan pizzeria owner arrested for 'willfully' violating 'public health orders'“ at The Hill.

Read “Miami Beach official recommending curfew through end of spring break” at The Hill.

Read “Working from home is causing breakdowns. Ignoring the problem and blaming the pandemic is no longer an option” at Globe and Mail.

Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology):

Read “Donald Trump is creating his own social media network that will be live in a few months” at AZ Family.

Read “'Sad day for Boulder': Gunman kills 10 at Colorado supermarket, including police officer, in second US mass shooting in a week” at USA Today.

  • Read “Someone Livestreamed the Boulder Shooting. YouTube Isn't Taking It Down.” at Vice.

Read “The People Issue 2021: Author David Dark” at Nashville Scene.

Read ‘The Flawed Premise of Statements Like 'Love Our People Like You Love Our Food'“ at Vice.

Read “Trump Shrugs Off Twitter Ban Because His Press Releases Are 'Much More Elegant' Anyway” at Comic Sands.

Read “Documents Show Amazon Is Aware Drivers Pee In Bottles and Even Defecate en Route, Despite Company Denial” at The Intercept.

Browse “Fabulous Snapshots From A Florida Hair Salon in the 1980s” at Flashbak.

Read “Social Media CEOs Can’t Defend Their Business Model” at Wired

Read “Missing Florida woman rescued after found naked in storm drain” at We Are TV. “The Florida woman says she accidentally got lost in a sewer system while swimming in a canal. She then wandered around in the sewer system for the past 3 weeks before being rescued Tuesday from a storm drain.”

Internationalities:

Read “A Volcano Erupted in Iceland. Björk Was ‘Sooo Excited.’” at New York Times.

Read “Magnitude 6.9 quake rocks northeastern Japan” at The Japan Times.

Read “Afghanistan: The women killed for working at a TV station” at BBC.

Read “Fire At Rohingya Refugee Camp Destroys Hundreds Of Shelters” at HuffPost.

Read “Shipping container crisis could spark another toilet paper shortage” at The Hill.

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read “Russian company 'suspending its investments' in Kentucky project pushed by McConnell” at Raw Story.

Read “Rep. Tom Reed Says He Won’t Run for Re-Election in 2022” at Wall Street Journal.

Read “QAnon Rep. Spouts Conspiracy About Dems Trying To 'Silence' Her After Brief Twitter Suspension” at Comic Sands.

Read “Sidney Powell argues in new court filing that no reasonable people would believe her election fraud claims” at CNN.

Read “Georgia Governor Signs Election Overhaul, Including Changes To Absentee Voting” at NPR.

Music-Related News and Such:

Read “Newport Folk Festival Confirms July 2021 Event” at Jambase.

Browse Treble’s picks for “A History of Alt-Country In 40 Essential Tracks.”

Read “Ringo Starr Says New Beatles Film Brings Back ‘Fun’ “ at Ultimate Classic Rock.

Hear “Radiohead’s "Creep" Played on the Gayageum, a Korean Instrument Dating Back to the 6th Century” at Open Culture.

Read “Slowdive and Flaming Lips Members Form Beachy Head, Announce Debut Album” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “A Point of Congregation :: Daniel Lanois on the Sacred Space of Heavy Sun” at Aquarium Drunkard.

Read “Lemmy’s Ashes Were Placed in Bullets and Given to His Closest Friends” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “A Beginner’s Guide To Can’s Avant-Garde Rock” at Treble.

Read “Loren Connors: A Sound That’s “Almost Not There” at Premier Guitar.

Read/Watch/Listen to “John Fahey :: Live in 1967” at Aquarium Drunkard.

Read “Secretly Group Employees Form Union” at Pitchfork.

Browse “10 Essential Albums Featuring Bass Great Pino Palladino” at Discogs.

Read “Prince’s Ashes to Be Displayed at Paisley Park on 5th Anniversary of His Death” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “Listen to The Very Last Beat J Dilla Ever Made” at Okay Player.

Read “Paul McCartney and Beck Share New Version of “Find My Way” at Pitchfork.

Read “Morgan Wallen Tops Chart for a 10th Week” at New York Times.

Read “Janet Jackson’s Classic ‘Rhythm Nation 1814’ Added To National Recording Registry” at Huff Post.

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Read “Inside COVID-Safe Movie Theaters: Sanitization Foggers, Plexiglass and New Popcorn Rules” at Variety.

Books/Reading/Authors

Browse “Spring books guide: 20 books we can’t wait to read by Brandi Carlile, Seth Rogen and more” at USA Today.

Design/Artsy Things:

Read “Creator who sold NFT house for $500,000: We’ll be ‘living in an augmented reality lifestyle’ soon” at CNBC.

Read “Salvador Dalí & Walt Disney’s Short Animated Film, Destino, Set to the Music of Pink Floyd” at Open Culture.

Food Cultures:

Read “When Life Gave Pennsylvania Spotted Lanternflies, Its Bees Made Spotted Lanternfly Honey” at Atlas Obscura.

Read “Popeyes Plots to Become Global Power” at Bloomberg. “An afterthought until its fried chicken sandwich went viral in 2019, Popeyes is challenging KFC’s supremacy, including its U.K. debut this year.”

Local:

Read “Ducey talks disdain for new education tax, vows fast fix” at Associated Press.

Read “2 Arizona House Measures Allowing Loaded Guns In More Places Head To Full Senate” at KjZZ.

Read “The Museum Club Flagstaff, Arizona” at Atlas Obscura. “This 1930s log cabin began as a taxidermy museum but is now a popular country music venue.”

Read “Texas burger chain wants to open 20 locations in Phoenix” at ABC 15 News.

Read “Five dads open a driveway pizza joint and deliver money for charity” at AZ Central.

Read “Phoenix women turn to Airbnb, making up for income lost during pandemic” at AZ Central.

The Weekly Town Crier (01/29/21)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (01/29/21)


We’ll Miss You:

Read “Hank Aaron, Home Run King Who Defied Racism, Dies at 86” at New York Times.

Read “Larry King, legendary talk show host, dies at 87” at CNN.

Read “Gregory Sierra, ‘Sanford and Son’ and ‘Barney Miller’ actor, dies at 83” at Wish TV.

Read “Cicely Tyson, an Actress Who Shattered Stereotypes, Dies at 96” at New York Times.

Religion and Stuff:

Read “The Disgraced Preacher and the Songwriter” at The Atlantic. “The man who wrote one of the most popular worship songs is linked to the leader of an organization hit with allegations of sexual abuse.”

Read “Five myths about evangelicals” at Washington Post. “They aren’t all conservative.”

Read “COVID-Spreading Preacher: Joe Biden is Promoting an “Anti-Christ Agenda”” at Patheos.

Read “Franklin Graham Defends Former Tennis Star Who Compares LGBTs To Hitler: She’s Quoting Biblical Truth” at Joe My God.

Read “SBC president JD Greear’s church launches inquiry into past actions of Bryan Loritts” at Religion News Service.

Read “SBC pastor calls Vice President Kamala Harris a ‘Jezebel’ two days after inauguration” at Baptist News (EDITOR’S NOTE: If you’ve ever wondered why I no longer affiliate with the SBC, you could start here).

Read “John MacArthur Returns to Pulpit after Apparent, Undisclosed Illness” at Roys Report.

Read “Biden’s first 100 days: What’s not for evangelicals to like?” at Religion News Service.

Read “Jesus Plus Masculinity for America’s Sake: Replying to “Jesus and John Wayne”” at Mere Orthodoxy.

Read “A group of Catholic bishops issues statement condemning bullying of LGBTQ youth” at Religion News Service.

Read “Some Black Southern Baptists Feel Shut Out by White Leaders” at U.S. News.

Read “A Baptist, a Catholic, and a Neo-Pagan Shaman Walk Into a Bar...” by Diana Butler Bass.

Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:

Read ‘Texas Supreme Court Silently Denies Alex Jones All Forms of Relief: Sandy Hook Families and Others Can Now Sue Conspiracy Theorist and InfoWars into the Ground” at Law and Crime.

Read ‘Supreme Court wipes out lower court rulings in Texas abortion battle” at NBC News. “The governor ordered a halt to nonessential medical procedures last year, which the attorney general then said applied to "any type of abortions."

Read “When White Extremism Seeps Into The Mainstream” at NPR.

Read “Biden lifting Trump's transgender military ban” at The Hill.

Read “Judge: Kenosha shooter can’t associate with supremacists” at Associated Press.

Read “Fatal Police Shootings Of Unarmed Black People Reveal Troubling Patterns” at NPR.

Read “States eye allowing concealed carry of guns without a permit” at Associated Press.

Read “It’s about freedom from fear’: Deportations loom despite Biden executive order” at MSNBC.

Read “Biden to order DOJ to end private prison contracts as part of racial equity push” at CNBC.

Read “In major new move, Disney to erase 'negative depictions of native peoples' from famous 'Jungle Cruise' ride” at The Hill.

Read “Lawmakers in 14 states have proposed anti-LGBTQ bills, many of which target trans youth” at CNN.

Read “DHS issues warning on 'violent domestic extremists'“ at PRI.

Read “Leader of Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, Was a Government Informer” at Democracy Now.

Read “South Carolina Senate votes to outlaw most abortions in state” at The Hill.

Read “Poland to implement near-total ban on abortion imminently” at The Guardian.

This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // and/or weird Confederacy stuff):

Read “A Total Failure’: The Proud Boys Now Mock Trump” at New York Times.

Read “U.S. files conspiracy charge against Oath Keeper” at Washington Post.

Read “Supporters’ words may haunt Trump at impeachment trial at Associated Press. “The words of Trump’s supporters who are accused of participating in the deadly U.S. Capitol riot may end up being used against him in his Senate impeachment trial. At least five supporters facing federal charges claim they were taking orders from him.”

Read “Capitol rioter charged with threatening to 'assassinate' Rep. Ocasio-Cortez” at CNN.

Read “Calls grow for 9/11-style panel to probe Capitol attack” at The Hill.

Read “Strange costumes of Capitol rioters echo the early days of the Ku Klux Klan - before the white sheets” at The Conversation.

Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings

Read “AZ Board Of Education Sees Dramatic Increase In Discipline Cases Against Educators” at KJZZ.

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read “A Vaccine Road Trip And what else you need to know today” at New York Times.

Read “Undercounting of Covid-19 deaths is greatest in pro-Trump areas, analysis shows” at Stat News.

Read “Cactus League asks the MLB to delay the start of spring training due to COVID-19” at AZ Family.

Read “California Lifts State Stay-at-Home Order as Virus Spread Slows” at Variety.

Read “Charges still stand against pastor Tony Spell for violating COVID-19 crowd limits” at WJTV.

Read “South Carolina detects first US cases of coronavirus strain first seen in South Africa” at CNN.

Read “America's botched vaccine rollout puts its broken health care system on full display” at MSNBC.

Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology):

Read “Microsoft Files Patent to Create Chatbots That Imitate Dead People” at IGN.

Read “Fauci Refutes Biden Admin Claim that Trump Left ‘No Plan’ for Vaccine Distribution” at Yahoo.

Read Newsweek’s opinion piece: “Student Debt is a Curse Upon America's Future. Biden Must Wipe It Out—All Of It.”

Read “K-Pop Fans Who Hijacked ‘ImpeachBidenNow’ Hashtag May Have Violated Twitter Rules” at Variety.

Read “A look at Michelle Wolf’s most “controversial” WHCD jokes, one year later” at Fast Company.

Read “I Think My Gmail Has Crashed”: The Teacher Who Made Bernie Sanders’ Mittens on Watching Them Go Viral” at Slate.

Read “Mar-a-Lago is a 'sad place' since Trump moved in as members begin quitting” at Raw Story.

Read “Twitter launches 'Birdwatch' community forum to combat misinformation” at CNET.

Read “Budweiser to skip Super Bowl ads, donate to coronavirus vaccination awareness instead” at The Hill.

Read “Robinhood faces backlash from both parties for limiting trades” at The Hill.

Read “Toxic ‘Black Mayonnaise’ Seeps Into Gowanus Bay After Barge Accident” at New York Times.

Read “Healing the Imagination: Art Lessons from James Baldwin” at Image Journal.

Politics And Sucheries:

Read “Dem’s New Bill Aims to Bar QAnon Followers From Security Clearances” at Daily Beast.

Read “Biden replaces controversial White House physician” at CNN.

Read “GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert and husband racked up arrests in home district” a New York Post.

Read “Leahy, not Roberts, to preside over impeachment trial” at The Hill.

Read “Biden wants to unite America. Republicans have a different idea of what that means.” at NBC News. “Republican pleas for unity focus on urging Biden not to take actions that upset their voters. But that's incompatible with the new president's agenda.”

Read “Sarah Huckabee Sanders to Run for Arkansas Governor” at New York Times.

Read “Sen. Sinema Opposes Eliminating the Filibuster, ‘Not Open to Changing Her Mind’” at National Review.

Read “Democrats reintroduce $15 minimum wage bill” at The Hill.

Read “McConnell Relents On Senate Filibuster Stalemate” at NPR.

Read “Senate committee advances Biden's DHS pick despite Republican pushback” at The Hill.

Read “Giuliani election witness who testified at Michigan hearing says she's running for state house seat” at The Hill.

Read “Marjorie Taylor Greene indicated support for executing prominent Democrats in 2018 and 2019 before running for Congress” at CNN.

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read “The Ignominious Deceits of Congressman Cawthorn” at The Nation. “Representative Madison Cawthorn has misled the public about training for the Paralympics, just as he misrepresented his education and business history.”

Read “Kevin McCarthy: ‘Everybody Across This Country’ Is To Blame For Capitol Attack” at Huff Post.

Read “Sen. Tom Cotton campaigned on his "experience as an Army Ranger" — but he didn't have any” at Salon.

Read “Trump Reportedly Pressured DOJ to File Case in Supreme Court to Overturn Election” at Slate.

  • Read “Internal watchdog to investigate whether DOJ officials sought to interfere with 2020 election” at The Hill.

Read “Madison Cawthorn is trying to use ableist stereotypes to exploit America” at MSNBC.

Read “Resurfaced Videos Of QAnon Congresswoman Harassing Parkland Survivor David Hogg Spark Outrage” at Comic Sands.

  • Read “Reporter Tossed Out of Marjorie Taylor Greene's Town Hall by Cops for Trying to Ask Question” at Newsweek.

Read “GOP bill would allow lawmakers to override electoral votes” at Arizona Capitol Times.

Music-Related News and Such:

Read ‘Yasmin Williams puts a fresh spin on finger-style guitar” at Washington Post.

Read “What to Know About Music’s Copyright Gold Rush” at Pitchfork.

Read “The Art of Kinda Fittin’ In: ZZ Top Begins” at Tidal.

Read “Black musicians, led by Alicia Keys, ask Biden to create racial justice commission” at Los Angeles Times.

Read “Lucinda Williams Looks Back on Every Album She’s Ever Made” at Spin.

Read “Venues Offer COVID-19 Vaccine Spaces and Assistance in Open Letter to Biden” at Pitchfork.

Read “Kris Kristofferson Retires from Stage and Screen” at No Depression.

Read “DistroKid Announces New “Upstream” Program to Share Streaming Data With Record Labels” at Pitchfork.

Read “‘Meaningless’ at 20: Jon Brion Looks Back on His Obscure Solo Masterpiece” at Rolling Stone.

Browse “Unlocked Recordings” at the Internet Archive. “Recordings made available under the Music Modernization Act. A reasonable search has been conducted to determine that these items are not commercially available.”

Read “Every Issue of Punk Planet Is Available on the Internet Archive” at Pitchfork.

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Browse Time’s picks for “The 20 Best Anime Series to Watch on Netflix Right Now.”

Books/Reading/Authors

Read “Rolling Stone seeks 'thought leaders' willing to pay $2,000 to write for them” at The Guardian.

Read “He dreamed of creating his own African superhero universe. Now it’s finally paying off.” at Washington Post.

Read “The old gods died” at Abraham Joseph (Substack).

Science/Animals/Nature/Environment/Etc.:

Read “This 392-Year-Old Bonsai Tree Survived the Hiroshima Atomic Blast & Still Flourishes Today: The Power of Resilience” at Open Culture.

Read “Harvard’s top astronomer says our solar system may be teeming with alien technology” at New Statesman.

Food Cultures:

Read “How Orange (the Fruit) Inspired Orange (the Color)” at Atlas Obscura.

Local:

Read “Nearly 4,000 Maricopa, Pima County Republicans Switched Parties Within 1 Week Of U.S. Capitol Insurrection” at KJZZ.

Read “For a local reporter in Arizona, Trump’s collapse in the state was a longer story going back years.” at Slate. “For a longtime local reporter in Arizona, Trump’s collapse in the state was several narratives finally colliding.”

Read “2 Arizona fugitives captured 5 days after prison escape” at KTAR.

The Weekly Town Crier (01/22/21)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (01/22/21)




We’ll Miss You:

Read “Phil Spector Dead at 81” at Pitchfork. “The producer, who was in prison for murder, reportedly died of “natural causes”.

Religion and Stuff:

Read “Is Dave Ramsey’s empire the ‘best place to work in America’? Say no and you’re out” at Religion News Service. “For years, Dave Ramsey has boasted that his company is the best place to work in the country. COVID-19 and a failure by a high-profile leader put that to the test.”

  • Read ‘Full Ramsey Solutions Response” at Religion News Service. “We are horrible people," the financial advice and media company told RNS in a sarcastic email.”

Read ‘Insisting on Healing May be the Death of Us” at Red Letter Christians.

Read "Where Does the South End and Christianity Begin?” by David French. “Understanding the role of shame/honor culture in the roots of Christian rage.”

Read “The Mandalorian’ is an indictment of holy wars, and a celebration of pluralism” at Religion News Service. “Religion is a constant in the galaxy far, far away....”

Read “Why Is It Difficult to Get Christians to Care About the Earth?” at Sojo.net.

Read “QAnon believers grapple with doubt, spin new theories as Trump era ends: 'We all got played'“ at Chron.

  • Read “It’s Over’: Devastated QAnon Believers Grapple With President Joe Biden’s Inauguration” at Huff Post.

Read “In rare rebuke, Cardinal Cupich criticizes USCCB president’s letter to President Biden” at America Magazine.

Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:

Read “Man Arrested in D.C. With Unauthorized Inauguration Credentials, a Loaded Gun, and Lots of Ammo” at Slate.

Read “Biden will sign executive order to reunite migrant families separated at the border” at MSNBC.

Read ‘Two Guard members removed from Biden inauguration over ties to far-right groups” at The HIll.

Read “The 'Racial Caste System' At The U.S. Capitol” at NPR.

Read “Wayfair workers, supporters protest furniture sale to U.S. immigrant camp” at Reuters.

Read “Supreme Court faces bomb threat during Biden's inauguration” at Business Insider.

Read “NRA can’t dodge accountability by moving to Texas: N.Y. AG James” at NY Daily News.

Read “The DEA May Have Botched a Mexican Cartel Case Over Slang for ‘Balls’” at Vice.

Read “House leader calls for FBI investigation into Parler” at The Verge.

This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // Insurrection // and/or weird Confederacy stuff):

Read “The Whole Story In A Single Photo” at The Atlantic. ‘An image from the Capitol captures the distance between who we purport to be and who we have actually been.”

Read ‘Capitol rioters included highly trained ex-military and cops” at Associated Press.

ReadCapitol riots: Police describe a 'medieval battle'“ at BBC.

Read ‘Criminal charges filed against Jenna Ryan, Frisco real estate broker who was part of Capitol mob” at Dallas News.

Read “I think this is a wake-up call”: Seeing a familiar face in the Capitol riot” at Vox. “Some are grappling with the prevalence of extremism in America, after seeing co-workers and fellow churchgoers in the riot.”

Read “Capitol Police intelligence report warned three days before attack that ‘Congress itself’ could be targeted” at Washington Post.

Read “Selfie-Snapping Rioters Leave FBI a Trail of Over 140,000 Images” at Bloomberg.

  • Read “Dating apps are using Capitol images to ban rioters’ accounts” at Washington Post.

Read “Sasse: Capitol rioters 'came dangerously close to starting a bloody constitutional crisis'“ at The Hill.

Read “Pelosi suggests criminal charges for any lawmaker who helped with Capitol riot” at The Hill.

  • Read “Colorado officials pen letter requesting probe into Boebert's actions” at The Hill.

  • Read “Lauren Boebert vowed to shake things up in Congress. She has delivered in her first week” at Colorado Sun.

  • Read “Comms director for gun-toting congresswoman quits” at Axios.

Read the opinion piece “Congress Is Still Littered With Insurrectionists” at Slate. “It’s time to remove the busts of these traitors from Statuary Hall.”

Read “The January 6 insurrection was a last gasp for white supremacy” at MSNBC.

Read “Experts say Trump, Congress members could be targets of Capitol invasion investigation” at MSNBC.

Read “A Former Marine Stormed the Capitol as Part of a Far-Right Militia” at New Yorker.

Read “Online far-right movements fracture in wake of Capitol riot” at NBC News.

Read “Former US attorney general William Barr tells ITV News questioning election legitimacy 'precipitated Capitol riots'“ at ITV.

Read “The Confederate battle flag: Longtime symbol of white insurrection” at Salon.

Read “The FBI is tracing a digital trail to Capitol rioters” at Axios.

Read “Mitch McConnell Says Capitol Rioters Were ‘Provoked’ By Trump” at Huff Post.

Read “MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell Says Bed Bath And Beyond, Kohl’s To Drop His Products; Dominion Voting Systems Threatens To Sue” at Minnesota CBS Local.

Read “An apparent leader of Oath Keepers charged with planning and coordinating breach at US Capitol” at CNN.

Read “Scottsdale Prosecutors Seek to Revoke Baked Alaska's Release Due to Capitol Livestream” at Phoenix New Times.

Read “Nearly 1 In 5 Defendants In Capitol Riot Cases Served In The Military” at NPR.

This Week With The Police:

Read Sheriffs Helped Lead This Insurrection” at Slate. “Sheriffs play a key role in right-wing white supremacist movements.”

Read “The Cops at the Captiol” at The Appeal. “Law enforcement officers from around the country attended and supported last week’s rally in support of President Trump that sparked a riot.” “At least 32 members of law enforcement agencies from 15 states have been identified as having participating in the Jan. 6 pro-Trump rally.”

Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings

Read “Europe’s Schools Are Closing Again on Concerns They Spread Covid-19” at Wall Street Journal. “Countries are abandoning pledges to keep classrooms open as concerns mount over children’s capacity to pass on the virus.”

Read “‘A hack job,’ ‘outright lies’: Trump commission’s ‘1776 Report’ outrages historians” at Washington Post.

  • Read “Biden to rescind 1776 commission via executive order” at CNN.

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read, “Yes, the Pandemic Is Ruining Your Body” at The Atlantic. “Quarantine is turning you into a stiff, hunched-over, itchy, sore, headachy husk.”

Read “Vaccine reserve was already exhausted when Trump administration vowed to release it, dashing hopes of expanded” at Washington Post.

Read ‘COVID-19 exposure on flights is more common than you think. The US doesn't share details, but Canada does” at USA Today.

Read ‘There have now been over two million virus-related deaths worldwide” at New York Times.

Read “Arizona has highest rate of COVID-19 in world, data shows” at ABC 15.

Read “Charles Barkley: Athletes pay more in taxes, 'deserve some preferential treatment' for COVID-19 vaccine” at The Hill.

Read “This Coronavirus Is Unlike Anything in Our Lifetime, and We Have to Stop Comparing It to the Flu” at Pro Publica.

Read “Dallas County axes plan to prioritize vaccinating communities of color after state threatens to slash allocation” at Texas Tribune.

Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology):

Read The Importance, and Incoherence, of Twitter’s Trump Ban” at The New Yorker. ““It’s coherent—and in my view absolutely appropriate—to believe both that (i) the social media companies were right to suspend Trump’s accounts last week; and (ii) the companies’ immense power over public discourse is a problem for democracy.”

Read “NRA files for bankruptcy” at CNN.

Read ‘Biden plans early legislation to offer legal status to 11 million immigrants without it” at Los Angeles Times.

Read “Pepsi, Coca-Cola will not run ads during Super Bowl” at The Hill.

Read ‘‘Guardians’ Star Offers $20,000 Reward in’TRUMP’ Manatee Case” at Huff Post.

Read “Social media has been radicalizing people for years” at Marketplace.

Read “Technologists Use Facial Recognition on Parler Videos” at Vice.

Read “One of President Biden's first orders of business: Following Chrissy Teigen on Twitter” at AV Club.

Internationalities:

Read “Japan Virus Surge Makes Suga More Look Like Short-Term Premier” at Bloomberg.

Read “Saudi Arabia Curbs Death Penalty in Move to Soften Image” at Wall Street Journal.

Read “Joe Biden to Cancel Keystone Pipeline, Another Blow to Canadian Oil Industry” at Vice.

Read “US calls China's abuses of Muslim minorities 'genocide' and 'crimes against humanity” at ABC News.

Politics And Sucheries:

Read “Josh Hawley, who led Senate efforts to overturn the election results, is being targeted by a super PAC” at New York Times.

Read “Conservative Website Admits Its Stories About Dominion Were ‘Completely False’ in Massive Retraction” at Media-ite.

Read “Biden Covid-19 Relief Plan Aims to Ease Poverty, Advance Democratic Priorities” at Wall Street Journal.

  • Read “How Joe Biden’s $1.9 Trillion COVID-19 Relief Proposal Helps Women” at Huff Post.

Read “Three days after President Trump's supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, Rep. Andy Biggs threatened to sue former political rival Joan Greene for defamation in a letter” at AZ Central. “Greene's lawyer said the letter "has all of the strength of a sloppy Kleenex."

Read “Former GOP congressman says he's leaving party: 'This has become a cult'“ (EDITOR’S NOTE: “AMEN”).

Read “Manchin: Removing Hawley, Cruz with 14th Amendment 'should be a consideration'“ at The HIll.

Read “The 15 most notable lies of Donald Trump's presidency” at CNN.

Read “FBI vetting service members ahead of inauguration amid reported fears of insider attack” at NBC News.

Read “Dominion threatens MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell with lawsuit over ‘false and conspiratorial’ claims” at Washington Post.

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read ‘Newly sworn-in GOP senator suggests delaying inauguration” at The Hill.

Read “Limbaugh falsely says Biden didn't win legitimately while reacting to inauguration” at The Hill.

Read “At This Trump-Favored Charity, Financial Reporting Is Questionable and Insiders Are Cashing In” at Pro Publica.

Read “Giuliani associate told ex-CIA officer a Trump pardon would 'cost $2m’” at The Guardian.

Read the opinion piece “What Does Josh Hawley Think He’s Doing?” at Washington Post.

Read “Trump Does His Part in Scandalizing the Presidential Pardon Power” at National Review.

  • Read “Trump commutes 40-year sentence of Clearwater Ponzi scheme operator” at Tampa Bay Times.

  • Read “Joe Exotic says he was ‘too gay’ to be pardoned by Trump” at New York Post.

Music-Related News and Such:

Read “Bruce Springsteen and Foo Fighters to Play at Biden-Harris Inauguration Event” at Pitchfork.

  • Read “Lady Gaga to Sing National Anthem at Biden-Harris Inauguration” at New Now Next.

  • Read “MF DOOM, Kendrick Lamar Highlight Joe Biden Official Inauguration Playlist’ at OkayPlayer.

  • Read “New Radicals Reuniting After 22 Years to Perform at Biden Inauguration Event” at Pitchfork.

Read “Ariel Pink and Tucker Carlson Are Both Parasites” at Vice. “Pink played the victim on Fox News Thursday night, and Carlson gladly let him do it. No one mentioned that Pink is facing allegations of abuse.”

  • Read “Ariel Pink Accused of Sexual Abuse and Misconduct” at Spin.

Read “Marianne Faithfull: 'I was in a dark place. Presumably it was death'“ at The Guardian. “After battling Covid-19 for three weeks in hospital, Faithfull went on to finish her 21st solo album – and possibly her last. She reflects on how she might never sing again, her hatred of being a 60s muse and why she still believes in miracles.”

Read “Dr. Dre Released from Hospital Following Brain Aneurysm Scare” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “Mozart apparently liked to imitate cats. Here’s the tail as we know it” at Classic.fm.

Read “Rough Trade Closing Current Brooklyn Location” at Stereogum.

Read “Gary Numan: 'One of my songs got over a million streams - I got £37'“ at Sky News.

Read “With COVID-19 Transmissions Under Control, New Zealand Hosts 20,000-Person Concert” at Relix.

Read “A Probably Futile Attempt To Figure Out What Happened To Mark Kozelek” at Uproxx.

Read “Trump Pardons Lil Wayne and Kodak Black” at Pitchfork.

Read “Van Morrison to start legal action over Northern Ireland Covid ban on live music” at The Guardian.

Read “An Update From The Wrens On The Most Delayed Indie Album In History” at Uproxx.

  • Read “Charles Bissell Details New Wrens Album And Teases 2021 Release: “Plans Are Afoot”” at Stereogum.

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Read “Historian Dr. Ibram X. Kendi to Produce Three Netflix Projects Based on His Anti-Racism Books” at People.

Read “Ken Burns Says U.S. Has 3 Viruses: COVID-19, White Supremacy And Misinformation” at NPR.

Read “‘The Muppet Show’ Heads To Disney+” at Deadline.

Books/Reading/Authors

Read “Ex-Trump lawyer Cohen to pen foreword for impeachment book” at The Hill.

Read “Why Should You Read Toni Morrison’s Beloved? An Animated Video Makes the Case” at Open Culture.

Read “'Wow, you're awesome': Cooper left speechless by youth poet laureate” at CNN.

Design/Artsy Things:

Read “The most expensive comic art in the world was folded up in a drawer for decades” at Boing Boing.

Read “Wanna buy a Botticelli? The masterpiece coming to auction, and who might nab it” at Los Angeles Times.

Science/Animals/Nature/Environment/Etc.:

Read “Mice may ‘catch’ each other’s pain — and pain relief” at Science News.

Food Cultures:

Read “Oscar Mayer Is Hiring Wienermobile Drivers for Road Trips Across the U.S.” at Thrill List.

Misc. Oddities:

Read “Hanging Pillar of Lepakshi Veerabhadra Temple Lepakshi, India” at Atlas Obscura.

Local:

Read “Bill aims to disallow Sharpies to be used on ballots” at AZ Mirror.

Read “Oatman Ghost Town Oatman, Arizona” at Atlas Obscura. “This Wild West ghost town on Route 66 is filled with wild burros.”

The Weekly Town Crier (01/08/21)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (01/08/21).


We’ll Miss You:

Read “Gerry Marsden of Gerry & the Pacemakers Dead at 78” at Pitchfork.

Religion and Stuff:

Read “Meet Shane Vaughn, Mississippi pastor and star of viral ‘if Trump does not concede’ video” at Religion News Service. “A small-town Mississippi preacher’s video claims President Trump could still win the election.”

Read “The (so-called) "Traditional" Argument is not Traditional” at Christianity Today. “The claim to have a traditional argument ag: women's ordination is far from traditional.” “First, the church’s traditional view is that women were ontologically inferior to men. Second, the church’s traditional view is not that women and men were essentially equal. Third, the view that women and men were essentially equal emerges widespread in the church in about the middle of the Twentieth Century.”

Read ‘Six white men shouldn’t decide Southern Baptist position on race” at Religion News Service. “Last week’s statement from the presidents of six SBC seminaries opposing critical race theory isn’t good for the denomination or evangelism.”

Read “Priesthood of All Professors? Court to Consider ‘Ministerial Exception’ for Gordon College” at Christianity Today. “Decision could impact freedom of faculty, ability of evangelical institutions to hire and fire.”

Read “Biden DHS nominee has ‘refreshing’ meeting with faith groups about immigration, refugees” at Religion News Service. “One attendee described the meeting as 'a 180 degree change from what we've been enduring for the last four years.'

Read “Democrat lawmaker’s gender inclusive ‘amen and awoman’ congressional prayer causes stir” at Independent.

Read ‘Historic Black church in DC sues Proud Boys for destroying Black Lives Matter sign” at Religion News Service. “'We, the descendants of these extraordinary women and men of God, will not allow white supremacist violence to go unchecked by the laws of the land,' said Metropolitan AME pastor the Rev. William H. Lamar IV.”

Read “The SBC, Whiteness, and an Exodus of Black Pastors” by Raymond Chang at Christianity Today.

Read “How the shofar emerged as a weapon of spiritual warfare for some evangelicals” at Religion News Service. “Shofar blowing, as in today's Jericho March, has become commonplace in many political demonstrations far removed from any Jewish or Israel-related themes.”

Read “Taking the white Christian nationalist symbols at the Capitol riot seriously” at Religion News Service. “The attack exposed the comfortable juxtaposition of Christianity and white supremacy.”

Read “Trump’s evangelicals were complicit in the desecration of our democracy” at Washington Post.

Read “Faith groups among those calling for Trump’s impeachment after US Capitol occupation” at Religion News Service. ““The political and religious costs of a tight evangelical alliance with violent bigots and crackpots were easily foreseen. I and many others foresaw and foresaw until our fingers ached at the keyboard.”

Read “We Worship with the Magi, Not MAGA” at Christianity Today.”Epiphany reminds us that faith is not a prop for political power.”

Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:

Read “Indiana law going into effect Jan. 1 will require women to have ultrasound before abortion” at The Hill.

Read “Spying Before Stonewall: How the FBI Secretly Tracked Gay Activists in the 60s” at Vice.

Read “On Kenosha and the difficulty of recognising Nazism in the US” at Al Jazeera. “Nazis have not disappeared. They have simply said they are not Nazis.”

Read “Texas loosens firearm laws hours after the state’s latest mass shooting left five dead” at CNN.

Read “UK judge denies US request to extradite Julian Assange” at CNN.

Read “Kelly Loeffler's new Facebook ad darkens skin of Raphael Warnock, her Black opponent” at Salon.

Read “Illinois teen pleads not guilty in Kenosha protest slayings” at 12 News.

Read “Black Lives Matter in 2021: Where the movement might go” at KCRW.

Read “Ohio governor signs controversial gun bill expanding "stand your ground" right” at CBS News.

Read “Hack of federal agencies 'likely Russian in origin,' U.S. says” at Los Angeles Times.

This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // and/or weird Confederacy//Insurrection stuff):

Read “Madness on Capitol Hill” at Newsweek. “Part insurrection, part happy hour, Trump supporters lost their minds, and I watched a man urinate on the Capitol steps. The nation, ashamed, was left to mourn.”

Read “State capitals come under siege by pro-Trump mobs” at The Hill.

  • Read “State employees told to avoid Arizona Capitol, work from home after certification chaos” at AZ Central.

Read “Arizona Democratic Party Chair: Trump To Blame For Mob At U.S. Capitol” at KJZZ.

Read “The U.S. Capitol was built to inspire awe. But that's all gone now” at Salon. “If those had been Black Lives Matter protesters storming the Capitol, half of them would be dead by now — and the other half would have been tear-gassed, beaten and arrested within minutes.”

Read “Tracking the White Extremists Involved in Insurrection at the Capitol” at The Takeaway.

Read “Police Response to Far-Right Insurrection Draws Comparisons to Last Summer's Black Lives Matter Protests” at The Takeaway. “Black activists and allies were repeatedly targeted by law enforcement, at times with tear gas and physical violence. Though police were present at the Capitol yesterday, far-right insurrectionists faced little resistance from them, as they stormed the building.”

Read “How To Talk To Kids About The Riots At The U.S. Capitol” at NPR.

Read “How To Process A Scary Day For The Nation With Your Kids” at LA-ist.

Read “Antisemites Implicate Jews, Zionists in DC Violence” at Anti Defamation League.

Read “Alabama AG leads nonprofit that helped organize march at Capitol” at Alabama Political Reporter.

This Week In Protest-Related News:

Read “National security law: Mass arrests in Hong Kong 'over primary vote'“ at BBC.

Read “Trump supporters protesting the election begin demonstrating in D.C.” at Washington Post. ‘“I’m going to give everyone three action steps … turn to the person next to you and give them a hug,” one speaker exhorted the crowd. “Someone you don’t know … it’s a mass-spreader event! It’s a mass-spreader event!”

Read “Police: Protesters outside Sen. Josh Hawley’s home were peaceful” at St. Louis Dispatch.

This Week With The Police:

Read “Columbus’ Policing Problem Goes Deeper Than the Shooting of Andre Hill” at Slate.

Read ‘Kenosha: Negligence Claims Filed Against City And County Over Fatal Shootings” at NPR.

Read “2 detectives involved in Breonna Taylor raid are fired” at WLLWT5.

Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings

Read “Simple Justice: Kids Deserve School Choice” at Public Discourse.

Read “Betsy DeVos urges Congress to reject student loan forgiveness in apparent farewell letter” at CBS News.

  • Read “Betsy DeVos resigns as Education Secretary” at The Hill.

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read “Prison Guards Without PPE Are Endangering Lives At Yuma Hospital, Nurses Say” at KJZZ.

Read “Belgian retirement home records 26 COVID-19 deaths after visiting Santa tests positive” at The Hill.

Read “Romney: Lack of comprehensive vaccine distribution plan is 'inexcusable'“ at The Hill.

Read “U.S. Surpasses 20 Million Confirmed Coronavirus Cases” at NPR.

Read “North Korea asks for COVID-19 vaccines from international alliance” at The Hill.

Read (Contradicting the president) “Surgeon General says 'no reason to doubt' COVID-19 death toll number” at The Hill.

Read “Coronavirus latest news: Watch live as Boris Johnson makes announcement on new lockdown rules” at Telegraph.

Read “Federal Data Reveal Which Hospitals Are Dangerously Full This Week. Is Yours?” at NPR.

Read “Georgia's First Reported Case Of COVID-19 Variant Detected In 18-Year-Old” at GPB.

Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology):

Read “The tale of two Americas. The S&P 500 gained more than 16 percent in 2020 in a year of steep job losses and widespread financial pain” at Washington Post.

Read “'Steamrolled Us In Every Direction' : The Year Grief Hit From All Sides” at NPR.

Read “Wall Street minted 56 new billionaires since the pandemic began — but many families are left behind” at NBC News.

Read “One dead, several injured in Texas church shooting” at NBC News.

Read “Sherlock Holmes and the case of toxic masculinity: what is behind the detective’s appeal?” at Salon.

Read “U.S. government checks constituted 40% of farmers’ income in 2020: USDA” at Market Watch (EDITOR’S NOTE: I thought the U.S. was against Socialism?)

Read “Google Workers Publicly Launch Union” at Vice.

Read “Grief’s Anatomy” by Hanif Abdurraqib at The Baffler. “Hope awaits organizers like a trap.”

Read ‘How Memorial Tattoos Can Help With The Grieving Process” at Huff Post. “Remembrance tattoos can aid people dealing with loss in more ways than you might realize, according to mental health experts.”

Read “Exporting the U.S. Shale Boom Has Changed Oil Markets Forever” at Bloomberg.

Read The modern US army: unfit for service?” at The Guardian. “Gone are the days of the all-American army hero. These days, the US military is more like a sanctuary for racists, gang members and the chronically unfit.”

Internationalities:

Read “White House announces $3.7bn aid grant for Puerto Rico” at Al Jazeera.

Read “Protests Erupt Again in Senegal Over COVID-19 Curfew” at Okay Africa.

Politics And Sucheries:

Read “Corporate group urges officials consider Trump's removal 'to preserve democracy'“ at Reuters.

Read “Arizona Republican Party chair Kelli Ward fails (again) to destroy America” at AZ Central.

Read “What we forget about Jimmy Carter's legacy” at CNN.

Read “Trump leaves mark on immigration policy, some of it lasting” at KTAR.

Read “Nancy Pelosi narrowly re-elected as US House speaker” at Al Jazeera.

Read “Fed Returns Money to Treasury for Terminated Emergency Programs” at Bloomberg.

Read ‘We must impeach Trump and bar him from holding office again. Now” at The Guardian.

Read ‘NPR Had The Leaked Trump Tape, Too. Here's What The Newsroom Did With It” at NPR.

Read “After latest failure, Trump legacy to be defined by conduct since election loss” at KTAR.

Read “D.C. Police to contact GOP Rep. Boebert about plans to bring Glock to work” at Politico.

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read “On Tuesday, an offer of hot chocolate to a shivering voter could become a crime” at AJC.

Read “I just want to find 11,780 votes’: In extraordinary hour-long call, Trump pressures Georgia secretary of state to recalculate the vote in his favor” at Washington Post.

  • Read “More Republicans Reject Effort to Disrupt Biden’s Certification” at Bloomberg.

  • Read “Wall Street Journal: GOP Electoral College 'stunt' will hurt US, Republican Party” at The Hill.

  • Read “‘Questioning’ Is Over: All Living Former Defense Secretaries Decry Election Attacks” at Huff Post. “Recounts and audits have been conducted. Appropriate challenges have been addressed by the courts."

    Read “Chip Roy challenges seating of House members from six presidential battleground states” at The Hill.

  • Read ‘Perdue and Loeffler Are Abetting Trump’s Coup Attempt” at Slate. “Their response to the leaked phone call shows how far they’re willing to go.”

  • Read “Judge floats sanctions for attorneys who sought to block Congress from counting electoral votes” at The Hill.

  • Read “Trump pressures Pence to throw out election results — even though he can't” at Politico.

  • Read “Cori Bush introduces legislation to sanction, remove all House members who supported election challenges” at The Hill.

  • Read “Trump publicly acknowledges he won't serve a second term a day after inciting mob” at CNN.

  • Read “Justice Department warns of national security fallout from Capitol Hill insurrection” at Politico.

  • Read “Capitol Attack Leads Democrats to Demand That Trump Leave Office” at New York Times.

  • Read “Maryland company terminates employee who wore badge during Capitol rioting” at The Hill.

  • Read “Jake Angeli: The Psychedelic Guru Who Stormed The Capitol” at Psymposia.

  • Read ‘These Are the Rioters Who Stormed the Nation’s Capitol” at New York Times. “The mob that rampaged the halls of Congress included infamous white supremacists and conspiracy theorists.”

  • Read “Some among America's military allies believe Trump deliberately attempted a coup and may have had help from federal law-enforcement officials” at Business Insider.

Read “GOP leaders in Pa. Senate will refuse to seat Democrat certified by state as winner” at Inquirer.

  • Read “PA Legislature Descends Into Chaos After Republicans Refuse to Seat Certified Democratic State Senate Winner” at Second Nexus.

  • Read “Pa. governor calls GOP refusal to seat Democrat a 'shameful power grab'“ at The Hill.

Read “Sen. David Perdue Sold His Home to a Finance Industry Official Whose Organization Was Lobbying the Senate” at Pro Publica.

Read “Forty Fort man applied for a ballot for his deceased mother, detectives allege” at Citizen’s Voice.

Read “U.S. Capitol In Chaos As Pro-Trump Extremists Breach Building” at NPR.

  • Read “4 people died as Trump supporters occupied Capitol; 1 woman shot by police, 3 in medical emergencies” at WWay.

  • Read “Back In July, Trump Demanded Capitol Protesters Serve 10 Years In Prison” at Huff Post.

Read “If Trump pardons himself now, he’ll be walking into a trap” at Washington Post.

Music-Related News and Such:

Watch “Five minutes of a mushroom playing a synthesizer” at Boing Boing.

Read “Coltrane, Kamasi and the art of looking both directions at once” at VInyl Factory (from 2018).

Read “Radio-Friendly Unit Shifters” at Slate. “Chris Molanphy talks to veteran Billboard analyst Geoff Mayfield about the Billboard charts in the early SoundScan era.”

Read “You will never forget the music you loved as a 14-year-old. Here’s why.” at A Journal Of Musical Things.

Read “Tens of thousands attend New Zealand festivals without having to socially distance” at NME.

Read “Bad Religion reflects on their 40 years in punk rock, from underground to mainstream” at KCRW.

Read “Bruce Springsteen says he has a “big surprise” coming in 2021” at NME.

Read “'The beauty and the tragedy': Gin Blossoms' founder Doug Hopkins' story being told in film” at AZ Central.

Read “Grammy Awards Postponed as Covid-19 Rages in Los Angeles” at New York Times.

Read “Dr. Dre Suffers Brain Aneurysm. In ICU at L.A. Hospital” at TMZ.

Read “Neil Young Sells 50% Stake of Songwriting Catalog to Hipgnosis” at Pitchfork.

Read “What To Do When A New Record Is Skipping” at Discogs.

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Read “How a Fictional Soccer Coach Showed What the World Should Be” by David French. “Ted Lasso and the simple power of forgiveness.”

  • Read “Yes, Ted Lasso Really Is as Delightful as You’ve Heard” at Opus Zine. ‘This endearing Apple TV+ series about an American coaching an English soccer team is one of 2020’s true pop culture highlights.”

Read “Soul Is Pixar at Its Most Unpredictably Weird” at Vulture.

Read “Parents rejoice as Caillou finally meets its long-overdue demise” at AV Club.

Books/Reading/Authors

Browse “Hayao Miyazaki Picks His 50 Favorite Children’s Books” at Open Culture.

Design/Artsy Things:

Read “Inside the U.S. Army’s Warehouse Full of Nazi Art” at New Yorker.

Science/Animals/Nature/Environment/Etc.:

Read “Scientists Are Fighting Fire (Ants) With Wasabi” at Atlas Obscura.

Read ‘The Milky Way is probably full of dead civilizations” at Space.

Read “Earth is whipping around quicker than it has in a half-century” at Live Science.

Food Cultures:

Read “'I'm 72 and I Grow Giant Vegetables'“ at Newsweek.

Misc. Oddities:

Read “10 Secure Places to Wait Out the Zombie Apocalypse” at Atlas Obscura.

Local:

Read “Arizona Drivers Get Extra Year To Renew Licenses” at KJZZ. “Arizona is giving drivers an extra year to renew their licenses to minimize in-person visits to Arizona Motor Vehicle Division offices during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Read “Tonto Forest Begins Thinning Project To Reduce Wildfire Risk” at KJZZ.

Read “As Arizona becomes world hot spot, focus put on governor” at Washington Post.

  • Read “Video taken by Arizona governor's son at packed party prompts criticism of Ducey” at AZ Central.

The Weekly Town Crier (01/01/21)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (01/01/21).

We’ll Miss You:

Read “Guitarist Tony Rice Dead at 69” at Pitchfork.

Read “In Memoriam: Leslie West (1945-2020)” at Jambands.

Read “Pierre Cardin, iconic Space Age fashion designer, dead at 98” at New York Post.

Read “MF DOOM, Elusive Bard of Hip-Hop, Dead at 49” at Rolling Stone.

Religion and Stuff:

Read “From cruise ships to Trump’s hotel, Calvinist Christian nationalism is making moves” at Religion News Service. “Michael O'Fallon argues that America's Judeo-Christian heritage and 'the right of self governance' are under attack by the Open Society Foundation and society at large.”

Read “The Nationalist Roots of White Evangelical Politics” at Dissent. “From its origins, white evangelicalism has been marked by a vision of a Christian America, driven to overcome its perceived enemies.”

Read “The Church Needs Prophets, But It Wants Lawyers” by David French. “It’s time to listen to men and women who tell us what we need to hear.”

Read “RZIM Confirms Ravi Zacharias’s Sexual Misconduct” at Christianity Today.

  • Read “RZIM Branch in UK Calls on U.S. Board to “Reform Radically”” at Roys Report.

Read “Several Black pastors break with the Southern Baptist Convention over a statement on race” at Washington Post.

Read “If You Want to Understand White Evangelicals, Tour a Hobby Lobby Store” at Daily Beast. “The merch illustrates a cultural identity that is clearly Christian but less about loving thy neighbor and more about loving thy guns and a militant white masculine ideal.”

Read “How Jesus became white — and why it’s time to cancel that” at Religion News Service. “Nearly a century later, both ‘Head of Christ’ and criticism of its role in enshrining Jesus as white endure.”

Read “CT’s Top 20 Stories of 2020” at Christianity Today.

Read “Mormon church sued for alleged role in Boy Scouts sex abuse” at KBTX.

Read “The path to enlightenment is an ego trip: Meditation and mindfulness linked to narcissism and feelings of 'spiritual superiority', study finds” at Daily Mail.

Read “There’s no theological education pipeline anymore” by Justo L. González at Christian Century. “It’s been replaced by a thriving irrigation hose.”

Read “Los Angeles activists say Sean Feucht is ‘waging biological warfare’ ahead of homeless outreach events” at Religion News Service. “Activists are holding car caravans on Wednesday and New Year’s Eve to block Christian recording artist Sean Feucht from holding outreach events in two homeless communities in Los Angeles.”

  • Read “Christian Singer Sean Feucht Moves Ahead With New Year's Eve Concerts in LA Despite COVID-19 Rules” at Billboard.

Read “Justin Bieber reportedly studying to be a minister for Hillsong church” at Page Six.

Read “Jericho March plans DC return in the new year to pray Pence will overturn election” at Religion News Service.

Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:

Read “Possible human remains found near Nashville explosion site, police chief says” at CNN.

  • Read “These six Nashville police officers evacuated residents moments before motor home exploded” at CNN.

  • Read “Authorities probing whether Nashville bomber Anthony Warner blew up dogs” at New York Post.

  • Read “Investigators reportedly looking into whether Nashville bombing suspect believed in alien lizards” at Task and Purpose.

  • Read “Nashville Bomber's Girlfriend Warned Police About Him In 2019” at NPR.

Read “The Economy Isn’t Working. That’s Exactly the Plan.” at Common Dreams. “Inequality is reaching feudal proportions, where very few own almost everything, and everyone else is crushed under the wheel of engineered destitution.”

Read “Longtime Anti-Nuclear Activists Face Prison, Again, After Breaking Into Naval Base” at NPR.

Read “A Woman Attacked a 14-Year-Old Black Boy on Video After She Falsely Accused Him of Stealing Her Phone” at Vice.

Read “Ghislaine Maxwell denied $28.5m bail in sex crime case” at BBC.

Read “Religion, Abortion, Guns And Race. Just The Start Of A New Supreme Court Menu” at NPR.

Read “Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signs bill requiring fetal remains be buried or cremated” at Cincinnati.com.

This Week With The Police:

Read “What we know about the fatal shooting of Andre Hill, a Black man, by Columbus police” at Columbia Dispatch.

  • Read “Ohio police officer fired in fatal shooting of Black man” at AP News.

Read “Phoenix police officer said, 'If the mayor defunds the police, I'm going to shoot her'“ at AZ Central.

Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings

Read “Betsy DeVos tells Education Department employees to 'resist' Biden administration, report says” at USA Today.

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read “Covid-19 Aid Bill Remains in Doubt as Congress Braces for Showdown With Trump” at Wall Street Journal.

Read “Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan jailed for 'provoking trouble' with Wuhan reporting” at NBC News.

Read “L.A. County is probing whether a new, more contagious COVID strain is spreading locally” at Los Angeles Times.

Read “Still Disinfecting Surfaces? It Might Not Be Worth It” at NPR.

Read “Small Number of Covid Patients Develop Severe Psychotic Symptoms” at New York Times.

Read “If you want to travel next year, you may need a vaccine passport” at CNN.

Read “COVID-19 is taking a heavy toll in America’s mental health-care deserts” at National Geographic.


Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology and/or “Celebrities”):

Read “Shia LaBeouf to Enter Rehab for Addiction and Psychological Issues” at Consequence of Sound.

Internationalities:

Read “US begins labelling illegal settlement products as 'Made in Israel'“ at Middle East Eye.

Politics And Sucheries:

Read “Growing number of GOP lawmakers back Electoral College challenge” at The Hill.

Read “Senate filibuster designed to oust Mitch McConnell over $2000 survival aid” at Raw Story.

Read “Georgia signature audit finds no fraud in presidential election” at The Hill.

Read “Ossoff slams Loeffler criticism of Warnock: She's 'been campaigning with a Klansman'“ at The Hill.

Read “Graham calls for stand-alone vote on $2K checks” at The Hill.

Read “Biden's Incoming Press Secretary: Briefings Won't Be A Platform For Right-Wing Spin” at NPR.

Read “Republicans Propping Up the Fossil Fuel Industry Is Borderline Socialist” at Slate.

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read “Trump's final days try to turn the military into a political pawn” at The Hill.

Read “GOP lawmaker sues Pence in bid to overturn Biden win” at The Hill.

  • Read “Pence asks judge to toss GOP lawmaker's bid to overturn election results” at The Hill.

Read “Trump Races to Weaken Environmental and Worker Protections, and Implement Other Last-Minute Policies, Before Jan. 20” at Pro Publica.

Read “Sen. Josh Hawley Will Contest the Electoral College Vote Count” at Slate.

Music-Related News and Such:

Browse The Allmusic 2020 Year In Review.

Read “Interview: Jeff Tweedy on Creativity and Catharsis” at Relix.

Read “How Music Persisted During the Pandemic” at Pitchfork. “From Bandcamp Fridays to Verzuz battles, these were our silver linings from a strange, stuck year in music.”

Browse “Lee Ranaldo lists his favorite guitarists of all time” at Brooklyn Vegan.

Read “Vinyl Just Had Its Best Sales Week in History” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “Ticketmaster To Pay $10 Million Fine Following Songkick Legal Dispute” at Relix.

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Read “Nadine Labaki to Star in Arabic ‘Perfect Strangers’ Remake” at Variety.

Design/Artsy Things:

Read “Photographer Crafts Special Camera To Capture Delicate Snowflakes in the Highest Resolution Ever” at My Modern Net.

Science/Animals/Nature/Environment/Etc.:

National Geographic has chosen their favorite photographs of the year:

  • Browse “The best science pictures of 2020.”

  • Browse “our best animal photos of 2020.”

  • Browse “Family Life 2020—in photos.”

Misc. Oddities:

Read “Wanted: albino python thieves in Massachusetts” at Boing Boing.

The Weekly Town Crier (12/25/20)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (12/25/20).




Religion and Stuff:

Read “The Darker Side of Christmas” at Wall Street Journal. “In many times and places, the joyful holiday has been a time for melancholy reflections and ghostly visitations.”

Read “Luter, Greear latest Southern Baptist leaders to weigh in as turmoil over race theory grows” at Religion News Service.

Read “Yule traditions new and old wish good riddance to 2020 at the winter solstice” at Religion News Service.

Read “Members of John MacArthur’s Church Say They’re Being Pressured Not to Report New COVID Outbreak” at Julie Roys.

  • Read “GCC Pastor Accuses Journalist of Lying About Outbreak Reporting” at Church Leaders.

Read “Homeless advocates organize against Sean Feucht’s upcoming outreach in Skid Row” at Religion News Service. “Pastor Stephen ‘Cue’ Jn-Marie said the area’s homeless community doesn’t need ‘people to come in for a photo op.’”

Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:

Read “France charges Epstein ex-associate over sex crime claims” at Al Jazeera.

Read “The Proud Boys are using YouTube to organize violence at Joe Biden’s inauguration” at Daily Dot.

Read “Bar complaint filed against Trump attorneys in Arizona” at 12 News.

Read “The truth in Black and white: An apology from The Kansas City Star” at Kansas City Star. “Today we are telling the story of a powerful local business that has done wrong.”

Read “White Drug Crime? What’s That?” at Ozy. “Justice is not nearly as blind as it should be.”

Read “The Coronavirus Bill is Also ‘The Most Significant Climate Legislation’ Ever” at NY Mag

Read “Militias Are Getting Fired Up About Gun Control Under Biden” at Vice.

This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // and/or weird Confederacy stuff):

Read “Robert E. Lee statue removed from US Capitol” at The Hill.

This Week In Protest-Related News:

Read “Videos Show Boston Police Shove, Pepper-Spray Protesters” at Huff Post.

Read “Far-right protesters storm Oregon Capitol calling for end of COVID-19 restrictions” at The Hill.

This Week With The Police:

Read “Lori Lightfoot Tried To Block Video Of Cops Raiding Wrong Home, Cuffing Naked Woman” at Huff Post.

Read “Texas governor announces proposal to take control of Austin police department” at The Hill.

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read “Texas passes 1 million COVID cases, and experts warn of a surge ‘unlike anything we have seen’” at Dallas News.

Read “Valley healthcare workers say they haven't been able to get appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine” at 12 News.

Read “Wuhan scientist would 'welcome' visit probing lab leak theory” at BBC.

Read “Did Covid Lockdowns Really Clear the Air?” at

Read “Epidemiologists Urge A Cautious Christmas, After Thanksgiving Surge in Some States” at NPR.

Read “Republican club whose maskless conga line went viral responds: Adults have the right to make their own decisions” at The Hill.

Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology):

Read “New virus strain found in Australia for first time” at The Hill.

Read “John Mulaney in rehab for cocaine and alcohol abuse” at Page Six.

Read “The Radical Act of Letting Things Hurt: How (Not) to Help a Friend in Sorrow” at Brain Pickings.

Read “U.S. Household Spending Slipped in November” at Wall Street Journal.

Internationalities:

Read “The U.S. missed its window to prevent Russia's huge cyberattack” at MSNBC.

Politics And Sucheries:

Read “Pence announces that Space Force personnel will be called guardians” at CNN.

Read “GOP senator blocks bill to provide $1,200 stimulus checks” at The Hill.

Read “Barr: No need for special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden, election fraud” at The Hill.

Read “Is Trump Cracking Under the Weight of Losing?” at Politico.

Read “House plans Dec. 28 vote to override Trump's possible defense bill veto” at The Hill.

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read “Michael Flynn tells Newsmax that Georgia runoffs are 'fake elections'“ at The Hill.

Read “Officials increasingly alarmed about Trump’s power grab” AT Axios.

Read “AZ Trump Electors Join Suit To Force County To Comply with Subpoenas for Dominion Voting Machines” at Patriot Project.

Read “Pro-Trump network Newsmax airs 2-minute video admitting it has 'no evidence' of outlandish fraud claims against 2 voting-machine companies” at Business Insider.

Read “5,000-Page Funding Bill Including COVID Relief Also Has Section Detailing Reincarnation of Dalai Lama” at Newsweek.

  • Read “Funding deal includes $696B for Pentagon” at The Hill.

  • Read “Congress to approve $1.375 billion for border wall in 2021” at The Hill.

Read “Trump pardons Blackwater contractors jailed for massacre of Iraq civilians” at Guardian.

Music-Related News and Such:

  • Browse Record Crates United’s picks for “100 Records We Loved in 2020.”

Read “David Byrne tells us why there “probably won’t” be a Talking Heads reunion” at NME. “"There’s a lot of differences that haven’t entirely gone away"

Read “Jackson Browne and Bruce Springsteen Added To Steve Van Zandt’s ‘Stand With Teachers’ Benefit” at American Songwriter.

Read “R. Kelly Has New Date Set for Federal Trial in Chicago” at Pitchfork.

Read “Calexico Connected With Friends on Their First Holiday Album” at Phoenix New Times.

Read BrooklynVegan’s “Top 55 Albums of 2020.”

Read “The Tunnel Reflections on a life in motion by Kevin Morby” at We Present We Transfer.

Read “12-Year-Old DJ Has Equipment Confiscated After School Bathroom Rave” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “Independent Venues, Movie Theaters to Get $15 Billion in Federal Aid” at Pitchfork.

Read “An Interview With Willie Nelson at 87: “I Didn’t Ever Think I’d Get This Old”” at Slate.

Read “Listening to the Joy in James Baldwin’s Record Collection” at Hyperallergic.

Read “Josh Kaufman Launched 2 Indie Supergroups And Worked On 2 Surprise Taylor Swift Albums This Year” at Stereogum.

Read “King Khan and Saba Lou Suing Rihanna for Copyright Infringement” at Pitchfork.

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Read “How Marvel Studios Is Reassembling for 2021 and Beyond” at Variety.

Books/Reading/Authors

Browse Brain Pickings’ picks for their “Favorite Books of 2020.”

The Weekly Town Crier (12/11/20)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (12/11/20).



We’ll Miss You:

Read “Chuck Yeager, 1st to break sound barrier, dead at 97” at KREM.

Read “Howard Wales on Jerry Garcia, ‘Hooteroll?’ and Beyond” at Relix. “On December 7, 2020 keyboard iconoclast Howard Wales passed away. Here is a look back at our 2017 piece on Wales.”

Read “US composer Harold Budd dies aged 84” at The Guardian.

Religion and Stuff:

Read “Senator Manchin, Your Faith Teaches You Better Than This” at The Nation by William J Barber II.

Read “Thomas Jefferson Tried to ‘Fix’ the Bible. He Only Succeeded in Making It Sad.” at Christianity Today.

Read “Southern Baptists Keep Quarreling Over Critical Race Theory” at Christianity Today.

Read “Disgraced Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz might get payoff despite ‘multiple affairs’” at Page Six.

  • Read “The Rise and Fall of Carl Lentz, the Celebrity Pastor of Hillsong Church” at New York Times.

  • Read “The Crisis of Christian Celebrity” by David French at The Dispatch.

  • Read “The sad irony of celebrity pastors” at The Spectator. “Instead of making me want to become more like them, it looks very much as if they want to become more like me.”

  • Read “The Celebrity Pastor Problem Is Every Church’s Struggle” at Christianity Today.

Read “St. John Paul II Did Not Change Catholic Teaching on Capital Punishment: A Reply to E. Christian Brugger” at Public Discourse.

Read “Looted Nazi Art Again Before Supreme Court” at NPR.

Read “Black pastor leads his white North Carolina church toward a fuller reckoning of race” at Religion News Service.

Read “It’s time to end ‘name and shame’ religious freedom policy” at Religion News Service. ”President-elect Biden and his foreign policy aides need to focus on a broader strategy of religious engagement.”

Read “In Which I Stop Saving Myself for Marriage” at Fathom.

Read “Church in The Woodlands where woman was abused will not face repercussions from SBC” at Houston Chronicle.

Read “New Labor Department rule expands religious exemption for federal contractors” at Religion News Service.

Read “The Mandalorian’ is an indictment of holy wars, and a celebration of pluralism” at Religion News Service.

Read “Leonard Cohen on Christianity” by David Dark.

Read “Sacred Tension: Overcoming the Faith Cartel with David Dark” at Stephen Bradford.

Read “The Decline of the Christian Consensus” at National Review.

Read “With vaccines on the horizon, faith leaders could play a crucial role in promoting their use” at Religion News Service.

Legal/Justice and Social Justice and Race or Gender or Sexism-Related Stuff:

Read “The House Just Voted to Decriminalize Weed” at Vice. “In a historic first, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to end the federal ban on cannabis. Senate Republicans are unlikely to take it up.”

  • Read “Matt Gaetz warns GOP that arguments against legalizing marijuana increasingly unpopular” at The Hill.

  • Read ‘Why So High? More Than Half the Cost to Legalize Weed in VA Goes to Police, Report Says.” at Dogwood.

Read “Leader of the Pro-Black ‘NFAC’ Militia Arrested and Charged by Feds” at Vice. “John Fitzgerald Johnson, aka Grand Master Jay, could get up to 20 years for pointing his gun at authorities.”

Read “Gun violence has become a disturbing public health crisis. The Biden administration must step in and immediately do something about it” at Business Insider.

Read “This Is the Case That Could Bring Down Roe v. Wade” at Vice. “Amy Coney Barrett has only been a Supreme Court justice for a few weeks, and she’s already facing a test on abortion.”

Read “14 Fort Hood soldiers fired, suspended over violence at base” at Associated Press.

Read “Michael Flynn judge says pardon doesn’t mean ex-national security adviser is innocent” at Washington Post.

Read “Black Michigan Lawmaker Got Racist Threats for Calling Out Giuliani's Lies” at Vice.

Read “U.S. Justice Department To Investigate Killing Of Casey Goodson Jr.” at WOSU.

Read “DC attorney general sends cease-and-desist letter to DoorDash over premium service” at The Hill.

Read “6 Dark Places Aleister Crowley Performed His Particular Brand of Magick” at Atlas Obscura.

This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // and/or weird Confederacy stuff):

Read “Virginia Military Institute Removes Confederate ‘Stonewall’ Jackson Statue” at Huff Post.

This Week In Protest-Related News:

Read “Hong Kong police arrest 8 activists over anti-government protests” at The Hill.

Read “Portland mayor authorizes ‘all lawful means’ to clear protesters from occupied area on Mississippi Ave.” at Oregon Public Broadcasting.

This Week With The Police:

Read “Law Enforcement Took More Stuff From People Than Burglars Did Last Year” at Washington Post.

Read “Hartford detective demoted, suspended for suggesting bet on first homicide of 2021” at NBC News. “The Hartford police chief said the text "represents an appalling lack of judgment" and "an extreme insensitivity toward our community."

Read “Providing police with military gear does not reduce crime or protect officers” at ABC News.

Read “The Police Have Been Spying on Black Reporters and Activists for Years. I Know Because I’m One of Them” at Pro Publica.

Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings

Read “Paradise Valley Superintendent Dr. Jesse Welsh and his family harassed, threatened over school closures” at ABC 15.

Read “Jill Biden to advocate for debt-free community college as next first lady” at The Hill.

Read “Male Texas teen suspended from school for wearing nail polish” at The Hill.

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read “Oregon doctor's license revoked over refusal to wear mask during pandemic” at NBC News.

Read “Trump announces Rudy Giuliani has Covid” at NBC News.

  • Read “Witness Mellissa Carone says she's not self-quarantining after Giuliani's COVID-19 diagnosis” at The Hill.

  • Read “Giuliani from hospital calls COVID-19 'a curable disease'“ at The Hilli.

Read “Tipped Service Workers Are More Vulnerable Amid Pandemic Harassment Spike” at NPR.

Listen to “Wrecking Public Trust” at The Gist. “Those who downplayed the virus because their brand is contrarianism have greatly damaged our ability to recover.”

Listen to “Anti-Vax Ideas Have Metastasized in 2020” at WNYC.

  • Read “Vaccine opponents rebrand as rollout of Covid-19 shots looms” at Politico.

Read “A whistleblower says the FDA isn’t properly regulating vaccine facilities” at PBS News Hour.

Read/Listen to “Iris Meda Came Out Of Retirement To Teach Nursing. She Died Of COVID-19 After Exposure From Student” at WBUR.

Read ‘Wyoming Governor Issues Statewide Mask Mandate” at Wall Street Journal.

Read ‘Canada preparing to administer COVID-19 vaccine this month” at The Hill.

Read “Arizona legislature shuts down after Giuliani tests positive for coronavirus” at The Hill.

  • Read “'Cowardly' say some Arizona Republicans of their leaders following closure of Legislature” at AZ Central.

Read “Yes, some Americans may be required to get a COVID-19 vaccine but not by the federal government” at USA Today.

Read “How were COVID-19 vaccines made so fast? Scientists had a huge head start” at Los Angeles Times.

Read “How big could a COVID baby bust be?” at Market Place.

Read “Arizona Businesses Navigating Liability Issues Related To COVID-19” at KJZZ.

Read “Ohio club cited for Covid violations after 500 people attend indoor Trey Songz concert” at NBC News.

Read “COVID-19 hospitalizations exploded the week of Nov. 6. They still haven't slowed down” at 12 News.

Read “Pastor Celebrates COVID Outbreak at Church: “THE FAVOR OF GOD IS ON THIS HOUSE!”” at Patheos.

Read “West Wing fears COVID spread after Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis attends WH party” at Axios.

Read “Americans Aren’t Actually Quarantining” at The Atlantic.

Read/Listen to “Boston Reverend Enlists Dr. Fauci To Help Black Community Get Behind COVID-19 Vaccine” at WBUR.

Read “The Danger of Assuming That Family Time Is Dispensable” at The Atlantic. “Americans who are desperate to see their loved ones need advice that goes beyond “Just say no.”

Read “The FDA says Pfizer’s Covid vaccine is safe and effective. But trial participants warn of intense symptoms after second shot” at NBC New York.

Read “'How a picture of my foot became anti-vaccine propaganda'“ at BBC.

Read “'A slap in the face': Yuma hospital fires ER doctor for talking about COVID-19” at AZ Central.

Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology):

Browse “20 Diversion Tactics Highly Manipulative Narcissists, Sociopaths And Psychopaths Use To Silence You” at Thought Catalog.

Read “Chick-fil-A Sues Poultry Suppliers, Alleging Price-Fixing” at Wall Street Journal. “Lawsuit adds one of the U.S. chicken industry’s biggest customers to expanding litigation that alleges long-running collusion among poultry processors.”

Read “Guy Fieri, the Fundraiser of Flavortown” at Bloomberg. “Guy Fieri has raised $21.5 million for unemployed restaurant workers, which means Guy Fieri has done more for unemployed restaurant workers than Congress has in the last 8 months.”

Read “Breakdancing to become an Olympic sport, will debut at Paris in 2024” at Boston Globe.

Read “Uber, After Years of Trying, Is Handing Off Its Self-Driving Car Project” at New York Times.

Read “The FTC is suing Facebook to unwind its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp” at The Verge.

Read “Time Nominates “Racial Justice Movement” As Person Of The Year” at Okay Player.

Read “Disney Increases Layoff Plans to 32,000 Employees in First Half of 2021” at Variety.

Internationalities:

Read “How will US President-elect Biden deal with Iran?” at Al Jazeera.

Read “Iran Says Scientist Was Killed Using Satellite-Controlled Gun” at Bloomberg.

Read “Argentina passes new tax on wealthiest people to pay for cost of coronavirus pandemic” at BBC.

Read “Greek police detain dozens to stop march in memory of slain teen” at Al Jazeera.

Read “Senior Saudi Prince Blasts Israel at Security Conference” at Bloomberg.

Read “Major Jewish Group Joins Fight Against Trump’s Massive Middle East Weapons Sale” at Huff Post.

Read “Mexican president proposes stripping immunity from US agents” at The Hill.

Read “Civilians killed in air strikes in Afghanistan soars by more than 300%” at BBC.

Read “Denmark apologises to children taken from Greenland in a 1950s social experiment” at BBC.

Read “Archaeologists find vast network of Amazon villages laid out like the cosmos” at Live Science.

Politics And Sucheries:

Read “Barr Is Said to Be Weighing Whether to Leave Before Trump’s Term Ends” at New York Times.

Read “Biden will pick California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to lead Health and Human Services” at NBC News.

Read “Biden picks retired general Lloyd Austin to run Pentagon” at Politico.

Read “Trump’s Election Attack Ends December 14—Whether He Knows It or Not” at Wired.

  • Read “Trump's election push causing long-term damage, experts say” at The Hill.

  • Read “Arizona GOP Dragged After Suggesting Trump Will Be 'Inaugurated for His Second Term' on January 20th” at Second Nexus.

Read “Today marks an important Electoral College deadline. Here's why that's bad news for Trump” at USA Today.”

Read “Deficit climbs 25 percent to $430 billion through November” at The Hill.

Read “Biden's Victory Cemented As States Reach Key Electoral College Deadline” at NPR.

Read “Mitch McConnell is destroying the case for Georgia’s GOP senators” at Washington Post.

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read “Pompeo spent over $40,000 in taxpayer funds for State Dept dinners” at The Hill.

Read “Trump Trade Adviser Violated Hatch Act With Biden Attacks, Watchdog Says” at Huff Post.

Read “ER doctor who criticized Trump's actions to be removed from Walter Reed schedule” at CBS News. “Dr. James Phillips, the emergency room physician who publicly criticized President Trump's decision to drive with Secret Service agents to greet supporters while he was hospitalized with COVID-19 in October, has been removed from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center's schedule starting in January, according to sources familiar with the situation.”

Read “Armed Mexicans Were Smuggled In to Guard Border Wall, Whistle-Blowers Say” at New York Times.

Read “Agents raid home of ousted Florida health scientist who accused state of manipulating data” at The Hill.

  • Read “Republican lawyer resigns appointed state post over treatment of data analyst” at Miami Herald.

  • Read “Florida’s justification for raiding COVID data whistleblower Rebekah Jones is looking a little shaky” at The Verge.

This week in the GOP Election Kerfuffle:

  • Read “Election Lawsuits Withdrawn Under Threat Of Sanctions” at KJZZ.

  • Read “Cruz offers to argue Pennsylvania election case before Supreme Court” at The Hill.

  • Read “Texas sues states Biden won in Supreme Court, seeking to delay Electoral College vote” at The Hill.

  • Read “Trump Asked Pennsylvania House Speaker About Overturning His Loss” at New York Times.

  • Read “Hobbs Begins Recovering Taxpayers' Funds From AZGOP For Defending Trump Election Challenges; Gloves Come Off” at AZ Law.

  • Read “US Supreme Court rebuffs attempt to block Biden’s win in Pennsylvania” at Financial Times.

Read “1,500 Attorneys Call On Bar Associations To Condemn Trump Campaign Lawyers” at Huff Post.

Read ‘More voters say pardons for Trump's family would be inappropriate” at The Hill.

Read “After Democrats flip state, Georgia moves to shut down early voting locations ahead of Senate runoff” at Salon.

Read “Trump Roasted For Bragging That 'Bookies' Favoring Him On Election Night Is Proof That He Won” at Comic Sands.

Read “Rush Limbaugh Says Conservative States Are 'Trending Toward Secession' From U.S.” at Newsweek.

Read “The GOP Abandons Democracy” at The Atlantic. “One hundred and six members of Congress, and 18 state attorneys general, are asking the Supreme Court to overturn the election.”

Music-Related News and Such:

2020 Year-End Lists:

  • Browse “Brad's Top 50 Albums of 2020” at Amoeba Music.

  • Browse Bandcamp’s picks for “The Best Soul of 2020.”

  • Browse “Top 30 Metal + Hard Rock Albums of 2020” at Consequence of Sound.

  • Browse Crack’s picks for “The Top Albums of 2020.”

  • BrowseGlide’s 20 Best Albums of 2020.”

  • Browse Ted Goia’s picks for “The One Hundred Best Albums of 2020.”

  • Browse Gorilla Vs. Bear’s Albums of 2020.

  • Browse the New Yorker’s picks for “The Best Music of 2020” (topped by a 2018 album which I can get behind).'

  • Browse the New York Times’ picks for the “Best Albums of 2020.”

  • Browse NPR’s picks for “The 100 Best Songs Of 2020.”

  • Browse NPR’s picks for “The 50 Best Albums Of 2020.”

  • Browse Paste’s picks for “The 50 Best Albums of 2020.”

  • Browse Pitchfork’s picks for “The 30 Best Electronic Music Releases of 2020.”

  • Browse Pitchfork’s picks for “The 100 Best Songs of 2020.”

  • Browse Pitchfork’s picks for “The 50 Best Albums of 2020.”

  • Browse Stereogum’s picks for “The 50 Best Albums Of 2020”.

  • Browse Time’s picks for “The 10 Best Albums of 2020.”

  • Browse Treble’s picks for the “Top 100 Songs of 2020.”

  • Browse Treble’s picks for the “Top 50 Albums of 2020.”

  • Browse Vice’s picks for “The 100 Best Albums of 2020.”

  • Browse Vinyl Factory’s picks for their “favourite vinyl artwork and packaging of 2020.”

  • Browse Yardbarker’s picks for “The 30 best albums of 2020.”

Browse “The 2020 No Depression Guide to Holiday Music That Doesn’t Suck.”

Read “So, How Was Your 2020, Thurston Moore?’ at Rolling Stone. “Former Sonic Youth singer and guitarist reflects on the music, books, TV, and movies that helped him get through this year.”

Browse “The 35 Best Lesser-Known Artists of the Last 35 Years, Picked by 35 Well-Known Artists” at Spin.

Read “The Cultural Impact of the Technics SL-1200 Turntable, Then and Now” at Discogs.

Read “Why You Should Listen to John Fahey’s Christmas Music—Even If You Hate Christmas Music” at Pitchfork.

Read (and listen to) “Frozen Fingers :: An American Primitive Holiday Meditation” at Aquarium Drunkard.

Browse Louder Sound’s picks for “The 50 Greatest Live Albums Ever.”

Read “‘Gimme Shelter’ at 50: How The Rolling Stones Got Conquered By America” at Rolling Stone.

Read “Here’s The Story Of The 1970s Most Forgotten Funk Star” at Okay Player.

Read “Bob Dylan Sells Songwriting Catalog to Universal Music Publishing” at Pitchfork.

  • Read “Wait, Bob Dylan Owned ‘The Weight’? An Explainer” at Rolling Stone. “In selling his own catalog to Universal Music, Dylan also sold the publishing rights of the Band’s first album Music From Big Pink — thanks to a peculiar arrangement that goes back to 1967.”

  • Read “Bob Dylan’s Overlooked Christian Music” at Sojourners.

Read “Sinéad O’Connor Announces Memoir Rememberings” at Pitchfork.

Browse “An introduction to Don Cherry in 10 records” at Vinyl Factory.

Read “Neil Young Drops Lawsuit Against Donald Trump Campaign” at Pitchfork.

Read “Fiona Apple Explains How She Ended Up On Bob Dylan’s New Album And The “Tramp Stamp” She Got For David Blaine” at Stereogum.

Read “Kanye West’s Sunday Service Choir Is Suing Him For $1 Million For Unpaid Wages” at The Jasmine Brand.

Read “Without Music, I Wouldn’t Have Been Able to Navigate My Breakups” at Vice.

Read “Ethan Hawke On How Music Shaped His Film Career” at Pitchfork.

Read “‘Take Five’ Is Impeccable. ‘Time Outtakes’ Shows How Dave Brubeck Made It.” at New York Times.

Read “Fiona Apple on How She Broke Free and Made the Album of the Year” at Pitchfork.

Read “Pharrell Discovered His Synesthesia Listening To A Tribe Called Quest” at Okay Player.

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Read “Why an All-Streaming Movie World Won’t Look Like You Think It Will” at Variety.

Read “Netflix says it won't add disclaimer to 'The Crown'“ at The Hill.

Read “Mario Lopez plays sexy Colonel Sanders in Lifetime movie, because it's 2020” at CNet.

Read “Culture Clash: Warner Bros.’ HBO Max Move Signals New Day in Hollywood” at Variety.

Browse Vulture’s picks for the “Best Movies of 2020.”

Read “John Mulaney and Andy Samberg are your new Chip 'N Dale, we guess” at AV Club.

Read “‘Moana: The Series’ Set for 2023 on Disney Plus” at Variety.

Read “John Lurie Returns to TV in New HBO Series ‘Painting With John’” at Variety.

Books/Reading/Authors

Read “Yes, Roald Dahl was a Jew-hater” at Religion News Service. “The family of the late British novelist and screenwriter has given the Jewish people an early Hanukkah gift: an apology.”

Browse Los Angeles Times’ picks for “The Ten Best Books of 2020.”

Science/Animals/Nature/Environment/Etc.:

Read “What is the largest desert on earth?” at Universal Sci.

Read “Everest Gets an Altitude Adjustment: Nepal and China Agree on Height” at Wall Street Journal.

Read “A New Report Says Microwave Attacks Caused Mystery Illnesses In US Diplomats. Scientists Say That Makes No Sense” at Buzzfeed News.

Read “So You Think You Know Gravity? Let Us Drop Some Knowledge” at Wired.

Read “Former Israeli military leader opens up about contact with "Galactic Federation" of aliens” at Boing Boing.

Misc. Oddities:

Read “Giant Penis Sculpture Disappears from German Mountaintop” at Vice.

Read “Mysterious Monolith Update: Racists Destroy California Monolith, Proclaim Christ Superior to Space Aliens” at Vice.

Read “How a Young Eagle Huntress Kicks Butt at a Kazakh Tradition” at Atlas Obscura.

Local:

Read “Effort To Recall Ducey Gains Unlikely Support From Paul Gosar” at KJZZ.

Read “'Shut the hell up': Arizona GOP at war over Trump's election loss” at MSNBC.

Read “Arizona gets $1.4 million in nationwide settlement with a mortgage servicer” at KTAR.