"Five days a week, in the bright early mornings of September and the creeping twilight of February afternoons, Richard Henderson, crossing guard, oversaw those arrivals, holding hands, bumping fists, hollering at traffic, picking up dropped homework. 'My man, Wilder,' he would call out to a 4-year-old boy. 'Spider-Man,' he’d chuckle at the preschooler clutching for dear life a figurine of his favorite superhero. 'Miss Seattle,' he’d address a third-grade girl, a new student from the West Coast who loyally wore a Seahawks cap every day." This is the story of a crossing guard. It's the story of how people from different backgrounds can cross the chasm and find commonality. Yes, it's also about senseless violence and how a man who kept kids safe from the streets was felled by those streets. But it's also about something that, if you spend enough time reading the news and listening to the politicians, you could forget even exists anymore. Human connection. NYT (Gift Article): Farewell, and Thanks, to a Man Who Kept Kids Safe. 2Asking For ItWant to get access to the most accurate appraisal of what a second Trump term would bring? Here's what you do: Ask him. That's what Eric Cortellessa did: "What emerged in two interviews with Trump, and conversations with more than a dozen of his closest advisers and confidants, were the outlines of an imperial presidency that would reshape America and its role in the world. To carry out a deportation operation designed to remove more than 11 million people from the country, Trump told me, he would be willing to build migrant detention camps and deploy the U.S. military, both at the border and inland. He would let red states monitor women’s pregnancies and prosecute those who violate abortion bans. He would, at his personal discretion, withhold funds appropriated by Congress, according to top advisers. He would be willing to fire a U.S. Attorney who doesn’t carry out his order to prosecute someone, breaking with a tradition of independent law enforcement that dates from America’s founding. He is weighing pardons for every one of his supporters accused of attacking the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, more than 800 of whom have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a jury. He might not come to the aid of an attacked ally in Europe or Asia if he felt that country wasn’t paying enough for its own defense. He would gut the U.S. civil service, deploy the National Guard to American cities as he sees fit, close the White House pandemic-preparedness office, and staff his Administration with acolytes who back his false assertion that the 2020 election was stolen." Time: How Far Trump Would Go. "Whether or not he was kidding about bringing a tyrannical end to our 248-year experiment in democracy, I ask him, Don’t you see why many Americans see such talk of dictatorship as contrary to our most cherished principles? Trump says no. Quite the opposite, he insists. 'I think a lot of people like it.'" (Let's hope, come November, we learn that a lot more people don't.) 3Throwing Shade at Tourists"Venice isn’t only sinking, it’s shrinking. In the 1970s, there were about 175,000 residents in Centro Storico, the main island and historic center of Venice. As of last year, that number was below 50,000. What has been growing steadily is tourism, which due to economic and quality-of-life pressure, has been pushing out residents. In fact, there are now more tourist beds in Venice than there are residents. Last year, 20 million people visited, winding their way through its two square miles." So, in an effort to stem (however slightly) the flow of tourists, Venice started charging a 5€ fee to day trippers who want to access the city. Whether the move eases crowding or turns Venice into (more of) a theme park remains to be seen. What is clear is that Venice is merely facing an extreme example of a plague that is confounding cities around the world: Over-tourism. For one pretty amazing illustration of this issue, let's head to Fujikawaguchiko, Japan (but for that town's sake, let's not physically head there). "Known for a number of scenic photo spots that offer a near-perfect shot of Japan’s iconic Mount Fuji, the town on Tuesday began constructing a large black screen on a stretch of a sidewalk to block the view of the mountain. The reason: misbehaving foreign tourists." 4The Bee All End All"I noticed the first bee one afternoon as my dog gleefully chased it around the house. When the pest settled on a window by the stairwell, I swatted it with a cookbook and cleaned up the mess. Five minutes later, another bee buzzed at the same window. Then a third in my kids’ room. When I heard a loud droning coming from inside a wall next to my son’s bed, the ominous situation finally hit me: The house was infested." So you're house has been infested by insects that no one will kill. Who you gonna call? NYT (Gift Article): Honeybees Invaded My House, and No One Would Help. 5Extra, ExtraCheech and Long: "The agency’s move, confirmed to the AP on Tuesday by five people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive regulatory review, clears the last significant regulatory hurdle before the agency’s biggest policy change in more than 50 years can take effect." US drug control agency will move to reclassify marijuana in a historic shift. It's crazy it's taken this long to come to the conclusion that pot is not as dangerous as heroin. 6Bottom of the News"'Hmm, let’s see. How about we continue exploring our fantasies and desires together? We could keep talking about all the naughty things we want to do to each other, or we could take it up a notch and turn those fantasies into reality.' Soon Dan was entering Christian Grey territory: 'How about I fulfill that fantasy of yours where I dominate you completely?'" I Tricked ChatGPT Into Being My Boyfriend. He Got Spicy Real Fast.
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