You might be surprised by the answer to the quintessential American question, You want fries with that? An increasing number of people are saying no. Restaurant prices are increasing more than grocery store prices these days, and that's putting pressure on fast food outlets. The less often we go to those, the fewer fries we eat. Even some of the bargain meal deals often only include a small fries. That might seem like small potatoes to you, but it's a big deal if you're in the fry business. "Lamb Weston, the largest producer of french fries in North America and a major supplier to fast-food chains, restaurants and grocery stores, is closing a production plant in Washington state. The company announced last week that it would lay off nearly 400 employees, or 4% of its workforce, and temporarily cut production lines in response to slowing customer demand." America’s french fry king sounds an alarm. (I wonder if some aspect of this is related to the rise of Ozempic use. Fries are one of the foods experts advise you to avoid when taking that drug.) 2Milton Whirl"In a way, Milton is exactly the type of storm that scientists have been warning could happen; Michael Wehner, a climate scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, in California, called it shocking but not surprising. “One of the things we know is that, in a warmer world, the most intense storms are more intense,” he told me. Milton might have been a significant hurricane regardless, but every aspect of the storm that could have been dialed up has been." The Atlantic (Gift Article): Milton Is the Hurricane That Scientists Were Dreading. 3Agent Orange"As the coronavirus tore through the world in 2020, and the United States and other countries confronted a shortage of tests designed to detect the illness, then-President Donald Trump secretly sent coveted tests to Russian President Vladimir Putin for his personal use." WaPo (Gift Article) on Trump's dictator love and American betrayals, while in office, and after, as detailed in Bob Woodward's latest book. Trump secretly sent covid tests to Putin during 2020 shortage, new book says. An "unnamed Trump aide cited in the book indicated that the GOP standard-bearer may have spoken to Putin as many as seven times since Trump left the White House in 2021." (Trump is a dream Russian asset. Every day, he finds new ways to betray America. And yet, his enablers persist.) 4Yard StickAnthony Fauci has spent a career going places where infectious diseases are. Where did he get his worst one? (No, not Fox News.) In his own backyard. NYT (Gift Article): A Mosquito in My Backyard Made Me the Sickest I’ve Ever Been. 5Extra, ExtraIf the Suit Fits: "More than a dozen states and the District of Columbia filed lawsuits against TikTok on Tuesday, alleging the popular short-form video app is harming youth mental health by designing its platform to be addictive to kids." (Meanwhile, all the politicians pushing for these lawsuits are trying to go viral on TikTok.) 6Bottom of the News"A Dutch museum had to pick artwork out of the bin after a member of staff thought that the display was leftover rubbish." In fairness to the staff member, the artwork consisted of two empty beer cans. (Looking back, I think I may have been an art major in college.)
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