Welcome to The Now

 “ Very rarely do you have a film student come in to meet with somebody, to talk to them about what it is that they want to do — and not only talk to them but follow up in really rigorous ways. With Rashad, or with any student, it’s not about talent .” via CT Mirror .   “ This year we’ve seen such a skyrocketing of numbers that indicates how much people are willing to put their lives at risk in order to call attention to these conditions that are ultimately life-threatening for people. People are not willing to give up so easily or to have their spirits broken . ” via Prism Reports .  “ All cocaine produced in a year could fit on just over 1% of a single container ship. Imagine that scattered worldwide across innumerable boats, planes, vehicles, and people. ‘Bombing boats’ to stop drugs isn’t just cruel and illegal—it’s futile. ” via Common Dreams . “ I can’t even speak due to everything we saw. I lost my cousin, I was injured and he was martyred, not from the first ...

  Will Russia allow Turkey to resell a purchase Russian defense system to the Unite Arab Emirates ? Is PEN America prioritizing Zionism over persecuted and censored writers ?  Are more American Jews distancing themselves from the state (read: government actions) of Israel ? Is a foreign spy using Prager U to reconstruct the American education system ? What does the rise of Patriot Front mean for current and previous predominantly Black and Brown cities ?

 Black Agenda Report: To say that Denmark's objection of America's desire to take Greenland is interesting would be an understatement .  Prism Reports: ICE's presence is destroying local businesses .  Mint Press News: Kidnapping foreign leaders is something the United States does . CNBC: Nvidia Director retires at 70 with $26 million "to pursue a new professional opportunity" but "not because of a disagreement with company or any matter related to its operations or policies." CNN & USA Today : The latest shooting in Minneapolis has put the spotlight on 2nd Amendment advocacy.  

 " Look, look, Argentina is fighting for its life, young lady. You don’t know anything about it. You know what that means? They’re fighting for their life. Nothing’s benefiting Argentina. They’re fighting for their life. You understand what that means? They have no money, they have no anything, they’re fighting so hard to survive. If I can help them survive in a free world — I happen to like the president of Argentina, I think he’s trying to do the best he can. But don’t make it sound like they’re doing great. They are dying. "  -- President Trump's response to a reporter asking how bailing out Argentina benefits Americans specifically American farmers . " Experts assembled by the United Nations have detailed Rwanda’s illegal exploitation of Congo’s rare minerals. And now, with global attention focused elsewhere, Rwanda has escalated its aggression — seemingly knowing that no meaningful consequences are likely to follow. " -- Dr. Denis Mukwege of the Congo, who ...

 There's a good chance that the Mega Flotilla will be attacked, as in, "attacked with the intent to destroy" as opposed to, "attacked to inflict psychological harm." The visuals of an international fleet of boats making landfall to distribute baby formula and medicine to a group that has be denied aid of every kind imaginable is not something the government of Israel is willing to accept. Israel wants the world to believe that Palestinians are either all Hamas or supporters of Hamas, and that Hamas itself is pure evil (they are a militant political party once backed by Netanyahu to have a boogey-man/scapegoat, but "evil" is stretching things). They cannot roust Hamas out of the Gaza rubble, their (surviving) troops either don't want to fight anymore or are taking a "third option" to being redeployed, and they are losing the public relations war badly. Sure, the recent ownership changes involving CBS and TikTok will work in the favor of Zi...

Reuters: At least 1,400 believed lost in Afghanistan earthquake . Scheerpost: AIPAC still has a stranglehold on the Democratic Party . CT Mirror: Reduced services and higher costs are on the horizon for CT hospitals in the wake of "The Big Beautiful Bill." Prism Reports: The US State Department halted visas connected to Gaza . Black Agenda Report: The relevance of what happened with Hurricane Katrina .  Associated Press: Is McDonald's starting a price war ?

  BBC : the 30-year-old baby (hint: frozen embryo).  The Hill : President Trump wants a $200 million White House renovation. The Times of Israel : (flashback) AOC's true political origins.  Reuters : Should the CEO of Intel resign because of ties to China?

  CNN : The Big Beautiful Act will cause more food deserts (and job loss) across America. Yahoo! News : Vogue embraces using AI models. NBC News : Lifestyle/health changes may help with Alzheimer's.  Reuters : The US had reached a trade agreement with the European Union, but France's PM thinks it's capitulation.  Associated Press : Bubba Wallace is the first Black driver to win a major race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

  Spain and Portugal experience a massive power outage .  Putin to declare 3-ceasefire to correspond with WWII holiday .  68 reported killed in US strike on Yemen .  Why is the US birth rate so low ? Distrust in the two-party system among young independents is growing .

  R.I.P. to Jeff Baena , writer-director and husband to actress Aubrey Plaza. More about Noushin Faraji , the hairstylist who is suing Fox Sports for "sexual battery" and making Joy Taylor look like an opportunistic hypocrite .  Threats of tariffs from incoming president Trump and the prospect of losing to the opposition party may spell the end of Justin Trudeau's tenure . 

(I know, right? It's been a long time since I posted one of these but I actually found a bunch of interesting news stories) AP: Hurricane Debby smacks Florida . CNN: Preparations are being made to "Trump-proof" the Executive Branch .  Reuters: Protests push the Bangladesh Prime Minister resign and flee the country, leaving the military to form an interim government . AP: Vietnamese billionaire tycoon gets 21 years for defrauding company stockholders .  CNN: A Stanford grad and US Army officer is the new Miss USA .  NBC: Back-to-School sales for 2024 that are worth looking into .  Reuters: As anti-immigrant riots heat up, the new British Prime Minister holds an emergency meeting . 

 Mint Press News: The Western countries who are giving Israel military aid .  CT Mirror: the medicine(s) being used to battle Opioid deaths . CNN: Spotify firing around 1,500 employees .

  US Economy showing more jobs for women, less for black people . Russia says no more grain for Ukraine .  US Soldier facing disciplinary action ( reasons unclear ) flees to North Korea .   Spain fines Apple and Amazon for bully tactics.

The Washington Post's take on before , during and after the Jan 6th event.  Newsweek: Now everyone is talking about how lousy Terry McAuliffe's campaign was. Left Voice: The Center Cannot Hold , indeed.

Apple doesn't want you to be able to fix your own iPhone .   Honeyeaters look for mentors to teach them mating songs. " Evicted and homeless due to the pandemic ." With so many people pushing for opening schools, you'd think there'd be a corresponding push to vaccinate teachers .

For some reason, our military is slow to reac t and losses track of the money they spend . So why are we giving them so much cash?  The "Shock Doctrine" has come to Puerto Rico .  The impact of the upcoming Black Panther movie.  President Trump's lawyer says that he paid off Stormy Daniels . 

Eric Michael Dyson . President can give good advice from time to time. From the Washington Post: Iowans regret their vote for Trump and Democrats refuse to ignore what Obama's economic policies really did . This guy's a terrorist, right ? We should do something, right?

"Mommy; where do terrorists come from ? Naughty pastor . Trump's Yemen operation doesn't go as smoothly as planned . 

Political Jerks, Dummies & Losers Edition One-time endorsed supporter of Scott Brown has the ex-Senator scrambling . The uber-rich CEO who's threatened to fire his employees over voting Democrat? Guess what happened ... Glenn Beck labels Boston bombing victim as a suspect; victim is proven to be a victim and sues Beck; Beck claims victim has tarnished his image .

Miami's wealthy Latino population is growing . Political groups are funding research centers who -get this- somehow miraculously support their views and opinions .