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‘Lost Winter’: January and February Shattered Heat Records, Alarming Scientists (Maria)
The author writes, “The winter of 2023-2024 was unusually sparse in snow, ice and cold, and scientists know the reason why: it was the hottest winter on record. Month-to-month temperatures have been getting broken so consistently over the past few months that the media has started referring to the 2023-2024 winter as the ‘lost winter.’ Indeed, a number of scientists suggested that this so-called ‘lost winter’ may not be at all unusual in the future if humans do not address climate change.”
The Trump Effort to Infiltrate Voting Systems Was Worse Than We Knew (Reader Pat)
From Slate: “In an Atlanta courtroom in January, a judge heard testimony about a brazen plot by Trump supporters to unlawfully access and obtain copies of Georgia’s voting system software in Coffee County in support of Donald Trump’s effort to steal the 2020 presidential election. The evidence presented also revealed that there were efforts to gain access in at least three other Georgia counties, and that Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger did exactly nothing to investigate the Coffee software heist, or the other reported attempts, even though there was ample evidence that something improper had gone on. This evidence was not presented in the course of the Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ now-imperiled RICO suit against Trump and his alleged co-conspirators, but in the long-standing civil litigation Curling v. Raffensperger.”
RNC’s New Election Integrity Counsel Christina Bobb Pushed False 2020 Wisconsin False Claims (Al)
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “The Republican National Committee has hired an attorney to work in its legal unit focused on elections who has falsely claimed Wisconsin’s 2020 election to be ‘fraudulent’ and publicly pressured state GOP leaders to act on baseless conspiracy theories. Christina Bobb, a former reporter for the conservative One America News Network and attorney for the Trump campaign, was hired by RNC officials in recent days as the senior counsel on election integrity. The hiring was announced after the RNC merged with the Trump campaign as Trump secured the GOP presidential nomination.”
Inside a Secret Society of Prominent Right-Wing Christian Men Prepping for a ‘National Divorce’ (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “A secret, men-only right-wing society with members in influential positions around the country is on a crusade: to recruit a Christian government that will form after the right achieves regime change in the United States, potentially via a ‘national divorce.’ It sounds like the stuff of fantasy, but it’s real. The group is called the Society for American Civic Renewal (the acronym is pronounced ‘sacker’ by its members). It is open to new recruits, provided you meet a few criteria: you are male, a ‘trinitarian’ Christian, heterosexual, an ‘un-hyphenated American,’ and can answer questions about Trump, the Republican Party, and Christian Nationalism in the right way. One chapter leader wrote to a prospective member that the group aimed to ‘secure a future for Christian families.’”
Protest Erupts in Eastern Cuba Amid Blackouts, Food Shortages (Reader Jim)
The author writes, “Hundreds in Cuba’s second-largest city, Santiago, engaged in a rare public protest on Sunday, according to social media and official reports, prompting Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel to call for dialogue in an ‘atmosphere of tranquility and peace.’ Protesters in Santiago took to the streets with chants of ‘power and food,’ according to videos posted on social media, as blackouts in places extended for 18 hours or more a day, jeopardizing frozen food and ratcheting up tensions on the island.”
You’re Not Crazy. Spring Is Getting Earlier. Find Out How It’s Changed in Your Town. (Gerry)
The author writes, “As global warming nudges temperatures higher, memories of the past offer an informal account of how the seasons have changed. A formal account comes from the USA National Phenology Network — phenology is the study of seasonal change — which reports the annual appearance of spring’s first leaves in the contiguous United States since 1981. Spring is trending earlier across a vast U-shaped area of land stretching from coast to coast, according to … analysis of their data.”
Meet the Beekeeper Who Calmed Tennis Star Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells (Dana)
From the Los Angeles Times: “When Lance Davis got the call to go to Indian Wells Tennis Garden to deal with a beehive, he thought it might be in the parking lot like one he’d handled five days earlier. But this one was different. On Thursday, in the middle of the Stadium 1 court, as the No. 2 player in the world Carlos Alcaraz battled against sixth-ranked Alexander Zverev, about 3,500 bees swarmed the court and landed on the spider camera filming the match. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, we are surrounded with bees here,’ said the match’s referee, Mohamed Lahyani, before pausing play for about two hours.”
From Our Archives
Despite EPA’s Partial Ban, Advocates Say More Action Is Needed on Asbestos
April 7, 2022: “The famously dangerous carcinogen is outlawed in almost 70 countries, but a first attempt to follow suit in the US was overturned in 1991. The EPA’s new rule would ban only the most commonly used type, chrysotile asbestos.”
