The Weekly Town Crier (07/16/21)

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 (06/25/21)

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 (06/18/21)

All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (08/16/21).

We’ll Miss You:

Read “Frank Bonner, 'WKRP in Cincinnati' Star, Dead at 79” at Pop Culture.

Read “Obituary: Egypt’s first freely elected President Mohamed Morsi” at Al Jazeera.

Religion and Stuff:

Read “Racism & Patriarchy: Two Strands of the Same Authoritarian Theology” at Faith, Philosophy and Politics.

Read “Southern Baptists Take Sides Ahead of Nashville Meeting” at Christianity Today.

• Read “Pressure mounts for an independent investigation of SBC Executive Committee handling of abuse” at Religion News Service.

• Read “Russell Moore leaves Southern Baptist leadership, but denomination’s troubles remain” at Religion News Service.

• Read “Leaks Turn Up The Heat In Advance Of Southern Baptists' Nashville Meeting” at Religion Unplugged.

• Read “Southern Baptists are at a Fork in the Road” at Christianity Today. “The SBC will be making choices about how we respond to abuse, race, and more at this watershed convention.”

• Read “Less Fore Moore? If Russell Moore Left The SBC Due To Conscience And Convictions His Next Move Is A Curious One” at Religion Dispatches.

• Read “SBC Polity Gives People in the Pews the Power to Stop Corrupt Leaders” at Christianity Today. “This week at the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting, attendees will ask for change from the top. But regular members also bear responsibility.”

• Read “The Tragedy of Russell Moore” at Religion and Politics.

• Read “Southern Baptists Narrowly Head Off Ultraconservative Takeover” at New York Times. “Ed Litton, a moderate pastor from Alabama, won a high-stakes presidential election with the potential to reshape the future of the country’s largest Protestant denomination.”

• Read “Southern Baptist pastor: Minister accused of abusing a dozen boys never investigated” at Religion News Service.

• Read “Southern Baptists approve task force on abuse, permanently ban pastors who abuse” at Religion News Service.

• Read “This Quote About Pregnant Church From Outgoing SBC President Is Deeply Troubling For Anyone Concerned About Sexual Abuse” at Religion Dispatches.

Read “Atheist Stanford Biologist Robert Sapolsky Explains How Religious Beliefs Reduce Stress” at Open Culture.

Read ““In the Heights” is more Jewish than it seems” at Religion News Service.

Read “Nones’ now as big as evangelicals, Catholics in the US” at Religion News Service.

Read “James MacDonald Continues Tirade; Defends Using Hashtag “#JRgossipsl**” at Roys Report.

Read “Communion ban for pro-choice politicians is an old story, but the stakes have grown” at Religion News Service.

Read “Supreme Court Sides With Catholic Agency In LGBTQ Foster Care Case—But Avoids Major Religious Freedom Questions” at Time.

Read “Care About Religious Liberty? Defend Religious Minorities” at Christianity Today.

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

Read “She bought 47 guns last month. Police are already finding them in shooting investigations” at Star Tribune.

Read “Alabama close to completing nitrogen gas death chamber” at AL.com.

Read “White House Pushes To Jump-Start Civil Rights-Era Cold Cases Board” at Huff Post.

Read “'Abnormal methods': U.S. attorney general says feds will review Arizona's partisan election audit” at 12 News.

Read “Former NSA contractor Reality Winner, jailed for leaking secrets about Russian hacking, released early from prison” at NBC News.

Read “U.S. Military Guns Keep Vanishing, Some Used in Street Crimes” at Associated Press.

Read “Guantánamo Detainees Say Conditions Are Worse Since Biden Became President” at Vice.

Read “The Justice Department Overturns Rules That Limited Asylum For Survivors Of Violence” at NPR.

Read “Court fines baker $500 for refusing to make gender transition cake” at The Hill.

Read “Biden signs bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday” at Los Angeles Times.

• Read “So You Want To Learn About Juneteenth?” at New York Times.

• Read “Everything you need to know about Juneteenth, the new federal holiday” at The HIll.

Read “Firearm purchases to be videotaped under new San Jose law” at The Hill.

Read “Supreme Court Backs Nestle, Cargill on Child-Slavery Suit” at Bloomberg.

Read “After Reparations Study Suggests $151 Million for Each African American, Experts Say Money Alone Isn't Enough” at Time.

Read “St. Louis couple who flashed guns at protesters plead guilty to misdemeanors, forfeit firearms” at NBC 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 “'Traitors Need To Be Executed': 'Stop The Steal' Organizer Indicted In Jan. 6 Conspiracy Case” at Yahoo.

Read “Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, Forceful on Jan. 6, Privately Are in Turmoil” at Wall Street Journal.

Read “Even More Insurrectionists Have Histories Of Violence Against Women” at Huff Post.

Read “Man Pleads Guilty to Shooting Black Girl at Iowa Trump Rally” at NBC Washington. “Michael McKinney, an Army veteran and resident of Saint Charles, Iowa, admitted that he intentionally fired into the girls’ vehicle.”

This Week With The Police:

Read “4 police officers placed on administrative leave after video goes viral” at Yahoo.

Read “LAPD officers got free swag from Ring, some promoted its cameras” at Los Angeles Times. “Ring says it stopped providing maps of its device network to law enforcement in 2019. In response to specific police data requests, consumers can consent to sharing their footage with investigators.”

Read “The Best Bargain in the History of Law Enforcement” — and the High Cost of Not Testing Backlogged Rape Kits” at Pro Publica. “When reporter Catherine Rentz began looking at the criminal histories of men who’d been arrested for rape based on DNA evidence, she found a system that protected serial criminals rather than survivors.”

Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings

Read “Nevada schools reckon with race, triggering polarization” at Associated Press. “A group wants Washoe County teachers to wear body cameras to ensure parents that no "critical race theory" is being taught in classrooms.”

Read “Most Americans don't know where Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls are, new poll finds” at The Hill.

Read “National Geographic adds 5th ocean to world map” at NBC News.

Read “Critical Race Theory Used To Attack Black Arizona School Board Member” at Newsweek. “A champion of equity in education, Lindsay Love planned to attend a conference for school board members in urban districts. But conservatives tried to twist the purpose of the conference claiming it proved the district supported critical race theory” at News One.

• Read “Americans who have heard of critical race theory don’t like it” at The Economist. “But it is a problem of branding, not principle.”

• Read “Critical Race Theory Is a Convenient Target for Conservatives” at Slate.

Read “Education Department says Title IX protections apply to LGBTQ students” at CNN.

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read “AMA: 96% Of Doctors Are Vaccinated Against Covid-19” at Forbes.

Read “Utah reports 413 new cases of COVID-19 — the most in a month” at Salt Lake Tribune.

Read “Ricky Schroder and Anti-Vaxxers Protest Foo Fighters Concert” at Consequence.

Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology):

Read “The Making of a Perfect Celebrity Apology” at Vice. “Saying ‘I’m sorry’ has become its own art form in Hollywood—and for better or worse, it takes a team to make it happen. Some of the biggest names in the business break down how the mea culpa sausage gets made.”

Read “National Parks Are Overcrowded and Closing Their Gates” at Wall Street Journal,

Read “Millions of Americans Are About to Lose Their Homes” at Slate. “When the CDC’s eviction moratorium ends on June 30, what will still-struggling renters do?”

Read “This British Schoolgirl Invented an Amazing Gadget to Fight Food Waste” at Global Citizen.

Read “MSNBC says it won't voluntarily recognize new union effort” at The Hill.

Read “50,000 security disasters waiting to happen: The problem of America's water supplies” at NBC News.

Read “Poll: Majority back blanket student loan forgiveness” at The Hill.

Read “Why American Women Everywhere Are Delaying Motherhood” at New York Times.

Internationalities:

Read “Amnesty International Accuses China of Crimes Against Humanity in Xinjiang” at Democracy Now.

Read “El Salvador Just Made Bitcoin Legal Tender, A World First” at Vice.

Read “Kim Jong-un Decries K-Pop as “Vicious Cancer” in Crackdown Against South Korean Pop Culture” at Consequence.

Read “Concerns grow over China's Taiwan plans” at The Hill.

Read “The US is banning dogs from 113 countries” at The Hill.

Read “5 Views From Belarus On The Country's Political Crisis” at NPR.

Read “China, Russia Biggest Cyber Offenders” at U.S. News.

Read “China successfully launches mission sending astronauts to new space station” at CNN.

Politics And Sucheries:

Read “I’ve never regretted doing it’: Daniel Ellsberg on 50 years since leaking the Pentagon Papers” at The Guardian.

Read “GOP senator introduces constitutional amendment to ban flag burning” at The Hill.

Read “Two more Democrats signal opposition to bipartisan infrastructure deal” at The Hill.

• Read “'A lot' of politicking still to be done on infrastructure deal” at MSNBC.

Read “US supreme court upholds Obamacare after Republicans seek to gut law” at The Guardian.

Read “Kyrsten Sinema Has Toxic White Lady Energy” at Slate. “The Arizona senator’s position on the filibuster does not square with her supposed admiration of John Lewis.”

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read “Matt Gaetz questioned the head of the FBI in Congress despite himself being under investigation by the FBI” at Yahoo.

Read “Donald Trump: I trust Vladimir Putin more than US intelligence” at Yahoo.

Read “Pelosi: Trump DOJ seizure of House Democrats' data ' goes even beyond Richard Nixon'“ at The Hill.

Read “Apple Is Said to Have Turned Over Data on Trump’s White House Counsel in 2018” at New York Times. “The company notified Donald F. McGahn II last month that it had been subpoenaed for his account information three years ago.”

Read “Emails Expose Coordination Between Mitch McConnell and His Wife, Elaine Chao” at Daily Beast.

Read “Majority of Republicans think state reviews will change 2020 outcome: poll” at The Hill.

Music-Related News and Such:

Read “Sony Music to Pay Royalties to Unrecouped Legacy Artists and Producers in Major Policy Change” at Pitchfork.

Read “Van Morrison and Eric Clapton Wonder Why They’re the Only ‘Rebels’ Left in New Duet” at Yahoo.

Read “Check out this remake of a classic Japanese portable record player” at Boing Boing.

• Browse Spin’s picks for “The 30 Best Albums of 2021 (So Far)”.

Browse The Guardian’s picks for “The best albums of 2021 so far.”

Read “The Cure’s Robert Smith thinks the band’s next album will be their last” at NME. “I definitely can't do this again.”

Read “The Money Laundering Case Against The Fugees’ Pras Michél Just Took Another Wild Turn” at Okay Player.

Read “Concert, theater owners call pandemic relief fund efforts a ‘disaster’” at Cronkite News.

Read “David Bowie Recalls the Strange Experience of Inventing the Character Ziggy Stardust (1977)” at Open Culture.

Read “DJ Nile Rodgers Launches Los Angeles Roller-Disco Haven ‘The DiscOasis’” at Variety.

Read “Recording Academy Seeks to Close Deborah Dugan Arbitration Hearing to Public” at Pitchfork.

Read “Bob Dylan Announces His First Streaming Special, ‘Shadow Kingdom,’ for July” at Variety.

Read “Soundgarden And Vicky Cornell Reach Temporary Truce Over Social Media Accounts” at Stereogum.

Read “A Brief History of the Lumpen, the Black Panthers' Revolutionary Funk Band” at KQED.

Read “2021 Polaris Music Prize Long List Is Here” at Polaris Music Prize.

Read “Celebrating Juneteenth And Black Music Month With Classical Classics” at NPR.

Read “Cedric Burnside Grew Up Steeped in Mississippi Blues. Now, He’s Helping to Ensure Its Future” at Rolling Stone.

Read “Here’s How White and Male the Execs of the Music Business Are” at Rolling Stone.

Read “XTC’s Andy Partridge Announces First Volume in ‘My Failed Songwriting Career’ Series” at Rolling Stone.

Read “50 years of Blue: a celebration of the Joni Mitchell masterpiece” at CBC.

Read “Overlooked No More: Jobriath, Openly Gay Glam Rocker in the ’70s” at New York Times. “His space alien persona and theatrical rock music drew comparisons to David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust character. But American audiences seemed unwilling to accept his sexuality.”

Read “Wiz Khalifa Cast As George Clinton In New Movie About Casablanca Records” at Stereogum.

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Read “NBC Halts Production on Ultimate Slip 'N Slide amid Report of 'Explosive Diarrhea' Outbreak on Set” at People.

Read “James Corden gets called out for mocking Filipino cuisine and other Asian dishes” at Los Angeles Times.

Read “'Queer Eye' cast faced 'blatant' hate filming in Texas” at The Hill.

Read “Ted Lasso’s seamless single-cam editing captures the comedy’s collaborative spirit” at AV Club.

Browse Paste’s picks for “The 20 Best TV Shows of 2021 (So Far).”

Books/Reading/Authors

Read “Watch a Never-Before-Aired James Baldwin Interview From 1979” at Esquire.

Design/Artsy Things:

Science/Animals/Nature/Environment/Etc.:

Read “The solar system probably has thousands of captured interstellar asteroids” at Universal-Sci.

Read “Weird ‘Living Fossil’ Fish Lives 100 Years, Pregnant For 5” at Huff Post.

Food And Drink Cultures:

Read “Thieves Find Money That Grows on Trees: ‘Avocados Are the Green Gold’” at Wall Street Journal.

Misc. Oddities:

Read “Massachusetts lobster diver survives being swallowed by whale: 'I was completely inside'“ at Fox Propaganda.

Read “9 Surprisingly Ancient Marvels in Modern California” at Atlas Obscura.

Local:

Read “'Reasonable People Know the Elections Are Over.' Secretary of State Katie Hobbs on Death Threats, Arizona's Election 'Audit', and Running for Governor” at Time.

Read “Native American Artist Recasts Hollywood Sign As 'Indian Land'“ at KJZZ.

Read “'It's just been overwhelming': Mesa wig store targeted by anti-mask group gets outpouring of support” at AZ Central.

Read “Reps. Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar among few who voted against Juneteenth holiday” at AZ Central.

Read “Arizona Will Pay Prisoners $1.50 An Hour To Fight Wildfires” at KJZZ.

Read “Ducey ditches ‘things that matter’ to Arizonans so the rich can be richer” at AZ Mirror.

Read “Fully Vaccinated? No Masks, Social Distancing Required At Most Phoenix City Buildings” at KJZZ.

The Weekly Town Crier (06/11/21)

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 (05/07/21)

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)

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 (03/26/21)

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 (05/08/20

All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (05/08/20).

Read “R.I.P. Sam Lloyd, Scrubs Actor Dies at 56” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “R.I.P. Irrfan Khan, Legendary Indian Actor Dies At 53” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “Kraftwerk Co-Founder Florian Schneider Dead at 73” at Rolling Stone.

Read “Was (Not Was) Singer Sweet Pea Atkinson Dead At 74” at Stereogum.

Read “Barney Ales, Indispensable Motown Executive, Is Dead at 85” at New York Times.

Read “New report finds nonreligious people face stigma and discrimination” at Religion News Service.

Read “How dying churches abuse pastors Gene Fowler examines why traumatized congregations so often attack their leaders.” at Christian Century.

Read “Sudan Makes FGM a Crime in 'New Era' for Women's Rights The crime will be punishable by up to three years in jail” at Global Citizen.

Read “Don’t Look Away: Why Ahmaud Arbery’s Tragedy Must Be Addressed Head On” at Christianity Today.

• Read “Ahmaud Arbery Should Be Alive Convicting his killers is the start. But the family of this modern lynching victim can’t have “justice” in a country with laws that protect white people who kill black people” at Rolling Stone.

Read “An Indianapolis Police Officer Fatally Shot A Black Man Who Reportedly Livestreamed The Encounter On Facebook” at Buzzfeed News.

Read “Why People Cling To Conspiracy Theories Like ‘Plandemic’” at Forbes.

Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

• Read/watch “Protesters Swarm Michigan Capitol Amid Showdown Over Governor's Emergency Powers” at NPR.

• Read “Two Arizona County Sheriffs Are Refusing to Enforce Coronavirus Emergency Orders” at Phoenix New Times.

• Read “White House Denies Congressional Request For Dr. Anthony Fauci's Testimony” at NPR.

• Read “Phoenix airport sees almost 50% drop in number of travelers due to coronavirus” at AZ Central.

• Read “With Trump's Coronavirus Response, U.S. Forfeits Global Leadership Role” at NPR.

• Read “Trump’s Favorability Among White Christians Falls In Double Digits, Particularly In Counties Hit Hardest By Coronavirus, Poll Says” at Newsweek.

• Read “The US just reported its deadliest day for coronavirus patients as states reopen, according to WHO” at CNBC.

• Read “Pope Francis joins Muslim leaders in calling for world day of prayer to end the coronavirus” at American Magazine.

• Read “A new clinical study is investigating whether prayer might make a difference in the outcomes of COVID-19 patients who require intensive care. “We all believe in science, and we also believe in faith,” says the principal investigator” at NPR.

• Read the opinion piece “Donald Trump's four-step plan to reopen the US economy – and why it will be lethal” by Robert Reich at The Guardian.

• Read “Why Conservatives and Liberals Are Not Experiencing the Same Pandemic” at Heterodox: The Blog.

• Read the opinion piece: “We’re Still Living and Dying in the Slaveholders’ Republic The pandemic has brought the latest battle in the long American war over communal well-being” at The Atlantic.

• Read “WHO says it has seen zero evidence to support White House claim that COVID-19 came from Wuhan lab” at Salon.

• Read “A Mexican 'Lucha Libre' Wrestler Is Sewing Masks To Fight Coronavirus” at NPR.

• Read “Coronavirus Lingers in Air of Crowded Spaces, New Study Finds” at Bloomberg.

• Read “Black Bodies Are Devalued And Overlooked In Georgia” at Sojourners.

• Read “Franklin Graham calls for coronavirus quarantine defiance: Only God ‘knows the number of our days’” at Raw Story.

• Read “Ohio lawmaker refuses to wear mask because he says it dishonors God” at NBC News.

• Read “Why Pandemics Are the Perfect Environment for Conspiracy Theories to Flourish” at Snopes.

• Read “Pastors Claim Bill Gates Will Use COVID Vaccines to Impose the Mark of the Beast” at Friendly Atheist.

• Read/Watch “Arizona state health department tells modeling team to stop work” at ABC 15.

• Read “Without Federal Aid, More than 1,000 U.S. Music Venues Are in Danger of Closing” at Rolling Stone.

• Read “40 People Were Arrested on Social Distancing Violations. 35 Were Black” at New York Times.

Read “Joe Walsh Reflects on Kent State Shootings: ‘We Are as Divided Now as We Were Then’ “The solution then, as it is now, is to be able to peacefully assemble and understand each other and accept our differences,” says artist who was a present at the massacre” at Rolling Stone.

• Read “Devo’s Jerry Casale Looks Back at Kent State 50 Years Later: ‘Time Stood Still’ “I saw somebody in charge yelling at these two lines of National Guardsmen and then he made a hand gesture,” says Casale. “That is when they started shooting” at Rolling Stone.

Read “DeVos finalizes regulations that give more rights to those accused of sexual assault on college campuses” at CNN.

Read “Betsy DeVos unveils new Title IX rules: Are they aimed at "silencing survivors"?” at Salon.

Read “Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announces ban on assault-style weapons” at MSN.

Read “Joe Biden denies he sexually assaulted a former Senate aide, calls on National Archives to release complaint if one exists” at Washington Post.

• Read “Obama team fully vetted Biden in 2008 and found no hint of former aide’s allegation” at News and Guts.

Read “How Mitch McConnell Became Trump's Enabler In Chief” at New Yorker.

Read “Retired Republican Senator Jeff Flake will vote for Biden over Trump and says GOP needs 'a sound defeat' in 2020 election” at Yahoo.

Read “DOJ dropping case against former Trump adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying about Russia contact” at AZ Central.

Read “Trump’s Narcissistic Punishment Of Withholding Michigan Aid” at Forbes.

Read “Amanda Palmer announces separation from Neil Gaiman on Patreon” at AV Club.

Read “Quincy Jones Won't Be Awarded $6.9 Million in Royalties on Behalf of Michael Jackson Estate” at Okay Player.

Watch “Rodney Mullen and the First Kickflip Ever” at The Berrics.

Watch “Olympic Channel Investigates Norway’s Ban On Skateboarding In The ‘80's” at The Berrics.

Read “watch hours and hours of early ’80s MTV, complete with commercials Read More: watch hours and hours of early ’80s MTV, complete with commercials” at Brooklyn Vegan.

Read/Listen to “The Triumphant Return of Fiona Apple, Pop Music Renegade” at New York Times.

• Read “What Happens If I Don’t Like Fiona Apple? It seems like everyone in the world loves “Fetch the Bolt Cutters.” So why don’t I? On the isolation of disconnection” at Long Reads.

Read “An interview with the incomparable Jim O'Rourke” at Tone Glow.

Read “Channeling the cosmic imperfections of Sun Ra’s record sleeves” at Vinyl Factory.

Read “Win Butler Reveals Secret Influences Behind Arcade Fire’s ‘Reflektor’ Frontman says additional James Murphy collaborations could be in band’s future: “We have more work to do” at Rolling Stone.

Browse “Pitchfork Staffers Recommend 16 Great Indie Record Stores You Can Support Online”.

Read “Marilyn Manson Wants to Team Up with Brandi Carlile for “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” Duet The Antichrist Superstar "cried so hard" during Carlile's Joni Mitchell tribute” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “Bob Dylan announces new album ‘Rough and Rowdy Ways’, shares single ‘False Prophet’” at NME.

Read “Nicolas Cage will play Joe Exotic the Tiger King in his first TV role, report says” at CNet.

Read “Five Bottles of Whiskey We’re Revisiting During Quarantine” at Paste.