The Weekly Town Crier (04/30/21)

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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 (04/23/21)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (04/23/21).

We’ll Miss You:

Read “R.I.P. Felix Silla, Actor Who Played Cousin Itt on The Addams Family Dead at 84” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “World reacts to death of Chad President Idriss Deby” at Al Jazeera.

Read ‘Ole Anthony, longtime critic of prosperity gospel televangelists and head of Trinity Foundation, dies at 82” at Religion News Service.

Read “Walter Mondale, former US vice-president and celebrated liberal, dies aged 93” at The Guardian.

Read “Jim Steinman, bombastic hitmaker for Meat Loaf and Celine Dion, dies at 73” at Los Angeles Times.

Read ‘Bay City Rollers frontman Les McKeown, dead at 65” at Brooklyn Vegan.

Read “Rapper Shock G Of Digital Underground Dies at 57” at WBLS.

Religion and Stuff:

Read “Liberty University Sues Jerry Falwell Jr. for $10 Million” at New York Times. “he lawsuit claims that Mr. Falwell, the university’s former president, withheld scandalous and potentially damaging information.”

  • Read “Apparently Jerry Falwell Jr.’s pool boy has a “cache of compromising photos” he’s willing to leak” at Queerty.

Read “The Greatest Christian Novel” at First Things.

Read “Meet Mercy Haub: The 16-year-old cancer survivor and preacher’s kid who inspired Ellen” at Religion News Service.

Read “Biden reverses course on refugee cap after faith groups express outrage” at Religion News Service.

Read “America Without God” at The Atlantic. “As religious faith has declined, ideological intensity has risen. Will the quest for redemption through politics doom the American idea?”

Read “D.C. Pastor Used $3.5 Million in Fraudulent PPP Loans to Buy Himself a Tesla, FBI Says” at Daily Beast.

Read “Dostoyevsky, Just After His Death Sentence Was Repealed, on the Meaning of Life” at Brain Pickings.

Read “Religious unaffiliation is growing in the US. Why isn’t it in Congress?” at Religion News Service.

Read “Sex discrimination suit against Florida church tests ‘ministerial exception’ rulings” at Religion News Service. “A woman’s lawsuit alleging gender discrimination may reconcile unanswered questions about the so-called ministerial exception.”

Read “The Splintering of the Evangelical Soul” at Christianity Today. “Why we’re coming apart, and how we might come together again.”

Read “Why Defining Gossip Matters in the Church’s Response to Abuse” at Christianity Today.

Read “Christian peacemaking and the role of forgiveness” at Christian Century. “Seeking justice is critical. Is it enough?”

Read “General Baptist pastor who criticized wives’ weight ‘deeply sorry’ for sermon” at Religion News Service. “‘In the sermon, I made insensitive remarks about women and made statements deemed unbiblical,’ said Pastor Stewart-Allen Clark in a statement.”

Read “Margie Zacharias Breaks Silence, Defends Ravi” at Roys Report.

Read “White Evangelical Racism: An Interview with Anthea Butler” at Religion and Politics.

Read “Remembering Prince: A Pop Music Priest in a Secular World” at Christianity Today.

Read “Religious Identities and the Race Against the Virus: Engaging Faith Communities on COVID-19 Vaccination” at PRRI.

Read “AI unlocks ancient Dead Sea Scrolls mystery” at BBC.

Read “Algerian scholar gets three years in jail for ‘offending Islam’” at Al Jazeera.

Read “Amy Coney Barrett was a “paid speaker 5 times, starting in 2011, at the Blackstone Legal Fellowship, a summer program established to inspire a ‘distinctly Christian worldview in every area of law...’ at Washington Post.

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

Read “Officer in George Floyd case found guilty of murder” at NME.

  • Read “Chauvin being held in solitary confinement for his own safety” at The Hill.

Read “Maybe America Is Racist” at The Root.

Read “Justice Dept. sues Trump ally Roger Stone for unpaid taxes” at The Hill.

Read “Ethics committee finds probable cause in sexual misconduct allegation against Idaho lawmaker” at The Hill.

Read “Freedom Caucus member condemns GOP group pushing 'Anglo-Saxon political traditions'“ at The Hill.

Read “Florida woman charged for allegedly threatening to kill Kamala Harris” at AZ Family.

Read “13 investigations, no court-martials: Here's how the US Navy and Marine Corps quietly discharged white supremacists” at Yahoo.

Read the opinion piece “GOP's new 'America First Caucus' follows in some blatantly white nationalist footsteps” at MSNBC. “The ‘America First Caucus’ continues the country’s long history of white nationalism.”

Read “Mass Shooting In Austin Leaves At Least Three Dead” at News and Guts.

Read “Most Americans want to end lifetime Supreme Court appointments for justices” at NBC News.

Read “A National Policy Blueprint To End White Supremacist Violence” at Center For American Progress.

Read “Indiana's Red Flag Law Was Designed To Prevent Mass Shootings Like The FedEx Facility Rampage. Prosecutors Never Tried To Use It” at Buzzfeed News.

Read “Virginia governor signs bill legalizing marijuana possession” at The Hill.

Read “Ben Carson defends op-ed arguing racial equity is 'another kind of racism'“ at The Hill.

Read “I’m Actually Glad Nancy Pelosi Thanked George Floyd for “Sacrificing” Himself” at Slate.

Read “Governments That Are Occupying Land Are Criminalizing Indigenous Peoples for Occupying Land” at Vice.

Read “Florida Supreme Court rules against effort to legalize recreational marijuana” at The Hill.

Read “US Supreme Court rejects limits on life sentences for juveniles” at The HIll.

  • Read “Brett Kavanaugh Rules Children Deserve Life In Prison With No Chance of Parole” at Vanity Fair. “Kavanaugh, who said it was absurd to judge him based on who he was in high school, thinks children convicted of crimes should die in prison.”

  • Read “Sotomayor blasts Kavanaugh's decision on juvenile life sentences” at The Hill.

Read “State Foster Care Agencies Take Millions Of Dollars Owed To Children In Their Care” at NPR.

This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // Insurrectionists // and/or weird Confederacy stuff):

Read “Heavy metal guitarist with ties to Oath Keepers is first US Capitol rioter to plead guilty” at CNN.

Read “The Radicalization of Kevin Greeson” at Pro Publica. “How one man went from attending President Barack Obama’s inauguration to dying in the mob protesting Donald Trump’s election loss during the Capitol insurrection.”

Watch “American Insurrection” at PBS Frontline. “Over the last three years, FRONTLINE has collaborated with ProPublica to investigate the rise of extremism in America. In the aftermath of the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, FRONTLINE, ProPublica and Berkeley Journalism’s Investigative Reporting Program team up to examine how far-right extremist groups have evolved in the wake of the deadly 2017 Charlottesville rally — and the threat they pose today.”

Read “Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls Off America First Caucus Following Backlash” at Forbes.

Read “Oath Keepers: How a militia group mobilized in plain sight for the assault on the Capitol” at 60 Minutes.

Read “The Hybridity of Rural Fascism” at Society for Cultural Anthropology. “The community praised patriarchy as God-ordained, employing apocalyptic language to decry what they saw as the Marxist LGBTQ+ agenda disrupting traditional Christian family values in America.”

Read “Capitol Police officer allegedly told units to only monitor for 'anti-Trump' protesters on Jan. 6” at The Hill.

Read “Jan. 6 commission must focus only on insurrection” at The HIll.

Read “17 Requests for Backup in 78 Minutes” at Washington Post.

Read “Kevin McCarthy Says Capitol Riot Commission Should Look At Unrelated Riots’ at Huff Post. “The top House Republican doesn’t want too much focus on that time Donald Trump and his supporters tried to overturn the 2020 election.”

This Week In Protest-Related News:

Read “How the G.O.P. Is Creating Harsher Penalties for Protesters” at New York Times.

Read ‘GOP Lawmakers in Iowa and Oklahoma Pass Anti-Protest Bills” at Democracy Now.

This Week With The Police:

Read “US police and public officials donated to Kyle Rittenhouse, data breach reveals” at The Guardian. “That donation also carried a comment, reading: ‘God bless. Thank you for your courage. Keep your head up. You’ve done nothing wrong.’” “Officers and officials also donated to fundraisers for far-right activists and fellow officers accused of shooting black Americans.”

  • Read “The Fraternal Order of White Supremacy” at North Star. “Murderer Kyle Rittenhouse is being financially supported by various law enforcement agencies. It's the latest in several cases in which systemic racism protects boots-on-the-grounds supremacists.”

Read “A pair of 'pro-police' GOP bills in Missouri draw scrutiny from free speech advocates” at Yahoo.

Read “Detroit police restrained man and beat him for 2 minutes after he tried to help protesters, lawsuit claims” at Yahoo.

Read “Colorado police accused of injuring elderly woman with dementia during arrest” at NBC News.

Read “Man accused of throwing bleach in NYPD officer's face, hurling Molotov cocktail at others” at The Hill.

Read “Louisville officer punches protester during arrest” at Chron.

Read “Fear and Paranoia in American Policing” at Slate. “Everything around police officers tells them that they should be scared.”

Read “No convictions for St Louis officers who beat Black undercover colleague at protest” at Guardian. “Officer Luther Hall, who was recording criminal activity during protests, required multiple surgeries after the attack.”

Read “Chris Cuomo: Police reform won't happen until 'white people's kids start getting killed'“ at The Hill.

Read “Florida Sheriff Tells People Moving to State Not to 'Vote the Stupid Way You Did Up North'“ at Newsweek.

Read “‘Defund the Police’ Actually Means Defunding the Police” at Vice.

Read “The police officer who fatally shot 13-year-old Adam Toledo was listed as a victim on an incident report. One law-enforcement expert said it's 'an old cop trick meant to muddy the murky waters.'“ at Yahoo.

Read “'I'm also a police officer': Arizona deputy uses racial slur, pleads for release after being pulled over for DUI” at Yahoo.

Read “Bravery of witnesses made the difference in Chauvin trial” at MSNBC.

  • Read “Police across U.S. respond to Derek Chauvin trial: 'Our American way of policing is on trial'“ at NBC News. “While some officers see the trial as an example of a rogue officer being held accountable, others see it as a sign that the country has turned against them.”

Read “Columbus Police release body cam footage of officer shooting, killing girl, 16” at NBCi.

  • Read “Columbus cop shouts "blue lives matter" at the scene of deadly police shooting of Ohio teen” at Salon.

Read “Cops Killed a Black Man in North Carolina. Protesters Are Demanding Answers” at Vice.

Read “One of America's most popular police trainers is teaching officers how to kill” at Insider. (NOTE: Article from 2020 but highly relevant today).

Read “Most officers never fire their guns. But some kill multiple people — and are still on the job” at NBC News. “In Seattle, one officer's multiple deadly encounters offer a window into this little understood corner of American policing.”

Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings

Read “Arizona Supreme Court hears case about legality of education tax” at KTAR. “Reformist initiatives like '8 Can't Wait' have already failed. Here's what you need to know about defunding and abolishing the police.”

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read “The Grief Crisis Is Coming” at New York Times.

Read “A Vaccine Is Not a Personality” at Slate. “The memes and merch inspired by Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson are not helping the fight against COVID.”

Read “Pfizer Says COVID-19 Booster Vaccines Likely Needed Within a Year” at Democracy Now.

Read ‘India Reports Record 217,000 New Cases as Millions Gather for World’s Largest Pilgrimage” at Democracy Now.

Read “Coronavirus: 'Double mutant' Covid variant found in India” at BBC.

Read “Proud Boy charged in Capitol riot gets coronavirus while jailed” at The Hill.

Read “3 million COVID-19 deaths recorded around the world” at ABC News.

Read “The Pandemic Proved That Our Toilets Are Crap” at Wired.

Read “Has outdoor masking turned into 'meaningless political theater'?” at The Week.

Read “More Than Half Of U.S. Adults Have Gotten At Least One COVID-19 Vaccine Dose” at NPR.

Read “Ted Nugent tests positive for COVID-19 after claiming outbreak is 'not a real pandemic'“ at ABC 15.

Read “New Data Shows How Much COVID-19 Has Disrupted Life For The Youngest Americans” at Huff Post.

Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology):

Read “Apple reinstates Parler app, stands by initial ban” at NBC News.

Read “‘No One Was Driving’ Tesla in Crash That Killed Two People, Police Say” at Vice.

Read “The United States of Weed” at Rolling Stone. “Curious about the status of cannabis? Here’s where legalization stands, state by state.”

Read “Gretchen Carlson Says the 'Pain' of Being Body Shamed 'Stays with You for Life'“ at People.

Read “What Is Triller Fight Club, Snoop Dogg's Weird Celebrity Boxing League?” at Vice.

Read “Mike Lindell's new social platform crashes — and MyPillow guy didn't even notice” at Salon.

Read “Company Behind Krysten Sinema’s F*** Off’ Ring To Donate All Proceeds To Fight For Increased Minimum Wage” at Independent.

Read “Influencer Boxing Is the Circus-Sport America Deserves” at Vice.

Read “Right-Wing Trend of Buying or Not Buying Things to Own the Libs Reaches Nadir With Accidental Boycott of Semen” at Slate.

Internationalities:

Read “Raul Castro to Stand Down as Head of Cuba’s Communist Party” at Bloomberg.

Read ‘China posts record economic growth after plunge 12 months ago” at Al Jazeera.

Read “Harvard’s Digital Giza Project Lets You Access the Largest Online Archive on the Egyptian Pyramids (Including a 3D Giza Tour)” at Open Culture.

Read “At least 97 injured in Egypt as train derails” at CNN.

Read “Afghans who fled to Turkey are worried — and hopeful — about the prospect of peace at home” at The World.

Read “Biden Preparing to Declare That Atrocities Against Armenia Were Genocide” at New York Times.

Read “UK Parliament declares China's treatment of Uighurs a genocide” at The Hill.

Read “The Thrilling Collapse of the European Super League” at Slate.

Politics And Sucheries:

Read “Greta Thunberg will testify in Congress on Earth Day” at The Hill.

Read “GOP Reps. Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene were the only 'no' votes on a bill reauthorizing the National Marrow Donor Program” at Business Insider.

Read “Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert Invent Reasons to Vote Against Bone Marrow Bill” at Daily Beast.

Read “Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls Off America First Caucus Following Backlash” at Forbes.

Read “Kinzinger Says GOPers Who Join Nativist Caucus Should Be Stripped Of Committees” at Talking Points Memo.

Read “House rejects GOP resolution to censure Waters” at The Hill.

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read “How Josh Hawley and Marjorie Taylor Greene Juiced Their Fundraising Numbers” at Pro Publica.

Read “The Postal Service is running a 'covert operations program' that monitors Americans' social media posts” at Yahoo.

Music-Related News and Such:

Read “The world’s biggest music companies are scrambling to sign African artists” at Quartz Africa.

Read “Sun Ra’s musical poetry — and how it began in Chicago — captured in new gallery exhibit” at Chicago Tribune.

Read “Apple Music, in Contrast With Rival Spotify, Says It Pays a Penny-Per-Stream Average” at Pitchfork.

Read “This Youtube Channel Has Been Uploading J Dilla Rarities for Months” at Okay Player.

Read “Gillian Welch Talks Tom Jones, John Prine and John Steinbeck” at Relix.

Read “Van Morrison Confirms First-Ever Livestream Special” at Jambase.

Read “Man 'stalking' Taylor Swift arrested in New York” at BBC.

Read “Mt. Westmore (Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, E-40, Too $hort) Deliver Debut Performance at Triller Fight Club” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “Star Songwriter Ali Tamposi Sells Catalog to New Female-Focused Music Fund” at Rolling Stone.

Read “The Mountain Goats Announce New Album Dark in Here, Share New Song “Mobile'“ at Pitchfork.

Read “Ryley Walker – ‘Course In Fable’” at Ears to Feed.

Read “Morrissey Says He’d Sue The Simpsons for Slander, But “It Requires More Funding Than I Could Possibly Muster” at Consequence of Sound. “I've had enough horror thrown at me that would kill off a herd of bison"

  • Read “The Simpsons Releases Morrissey Episode Music Video” at Den of Geek.

Read “South by Southwest Stake Is Sold to Owner of Rolling Stone in Effort to Keep Festival Alive” at Wall Street Journal.

Read “Frank “Poncho” Sampedro :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview” at Aquarium Drunkard.

Read “Kurt Vile Signs With Legendary Jazz Label Verve Records” at Pitchfork.

Read “Igloo Launches Beatles Yellow Submarine-Inspired Collection of Coolers” at Rolling Stone.

Read “Don Cherry on creativity and “the mysticism of sound” at Vinyl Factory.

Read the story behind “Here Comes The Flood, by Robert Fripp and Peter Gabriel” at Music Afficianado.

Read “Louis Armstrong Plays Trumpet at the Egyptian Pyramids; Dizzy Gillespie Charms a Snake in Pakistan” at Open Culture. “During the Cold War, the United States made the case for the American way of life by sending its best ambassadors abroad — jazz musicians.”

Read “Eric Andre Says He Was Racially Profiled at Atlanta Airport” at Pitchfork.

Read “Chvrches share powerful video for new single ‘He Said She Said’” at NME.

Read “The Best and Most Misunderstood of Green Day, According to Billie Joe Armstrong” at Vulture.

Read “Yo La Tengo’s ‘I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One’ Set A Benchmark In Indie Rock” at Treble.

Read “Cardi B snaps back after GOP congressman blames her for “the moral decline of America" at Salon.

Read “I Get Around: The Oral History of 2Pac’s Digital Underground Years” at Rolling Stone.

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Read “Sharon Osbourne gives Bill Maher first interview since leaving 'The Talk': 'I’m angry. I’m hurt.'“ at USA Today.

Read “‘Community’ Star Yvette Nicole Brown Says Reunion Movie ‘Is Coming’” at Variety.

Read “The MCU's Relationship With the Military, From Iron Man to Captain Marvel” at CBR.

Read “Tom Hopper Gives an Update on ‘The Umbrella Academy’ Season 3 Filming: “We've Got a Long Way to Go” at Collider.

Read “You may have to actually pay for Apple TV Plus to watch Ted Lasso’s second season” at The Verge.

Read “LeVar Burton Will Fly Twice As High As Jeopardy!’s Next Guest Host” at Vulture.

Read ‘Disney to Get Online, TV Access to Sony Films After Netflix” at Bloomberg.

Read “Major Update on 'Stranger Things' Season 4 Premiere Date” at Pop Culture.

Read ‘The CW Released The First Official Photo From The Live-Action "Powerpuff Girls" After Their Costumes Caused Controversy” at Buzzfeed News. “The cartoon-accurate dresses are nowhere in sight.”

Read “Jonah Hill was going to star in ‘Transformers’ but Seth Rogen made him turn it down” at NME.

Books/Reading/Authors

Browse “The Golden Guide to Hallucinogenic Plants: Discover the 1977 Illustrated Guide Created by Harvard’s Groundbreaking Ethnobotanist Richard Evan Schultes” at Open Culture.

Read “A Beautiful 1897 Illustrated Book Shows How Flowers Become Art Nouveau Designs” at Open Culture.

Read “Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s place in San Francisco literary history” at Datebook.

Read “The Faulty Lines in Voddie Baucham’s “Thought Line” at Bradley Mason.

Read “Tsundoku,” the Japanese Word for the New Books That Pile Up on Our Shelves, Should Enter the English Language” at Open Culture.

Science/Animals/Nature/Environment/Etc.:

Read “Pentagon confirms legitimacy of Navy pilot's unidentified aerial phenomena video” at The Hill.

Read “NASA selects SpaceX to land first woman, next man on Moon” at 12 News.

Read “How America’s most endangered cat could help save Florida” at National Geographic.

Read “A Song of Spider Silk” at The Scientist. “Scientists from MIT reveal the hidden music in spiderwebs.”

Read “Mars Perseverance rover successfully inhaled carbon dioxide and exhaled oxygen” at Boing Boing.

Misc. Oddities:

Read “Why a Vancouver Cemetery Is Planting Squash, Kale, and Corn” at Gastro Obscura.

Read “What about those flying pyramids?” at Mystery Wire. “Former Pentagon UFO investigator responds to questions about leaked images.”

Local:

Read “Governor signs tribal gaming compact, legalizes sports gambling in Arizona” at Cronkite News.

Read “SanTan Brewing closes its Phoenix taproom and restaurant” at ABC 15.

Read “Supporters Of Changes To AZ Voting Laws Pushing To Move Them Forward” at KJZZ.

Read ‘Ducey to station troops on the border” at AZ Capitol Times.

Read “Arizona Is Rolling Back Voting Rights, and Kyrsten Sinema Is Refusing to Stop It” at Mother Jones.

Read “Arizona governor vetoes strict sex education legislation” at NBC News.

The Weekly Town Crier (02/19/21)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (02/19/21).



We’ll Miss You (?):

Read “Chick Corea, Jazz Keyboardist and Innovator, Dies at 79” at New York Times.

Read “Influential jazz drummer Milford Graves has passed away at 79” at NME.

Read “Charles Boyer, Disney Legend and Master Illustrator, Passes Away” at Disney Information Station.

Read “Died: Carman, Christian Showman Who Topped Charts with Triumphant Faith” at Christianity Today.

Read “Rush Limbaugh, conservative media icon, dead at 70 following battle with cancer” at CNN.

Read “U-Roy, Reggae and Dancehall Innovator, Dies at 78” at Pitchfork.

Read “Prince Markie Dee, The Fat Boys Rapper, Dies at 52” at Spin.

Religion and Stuff:

Read “Getting serious (and precise) about Christian nationalism” at Religion News Service.

Read “The Real Origins of the Religious Right” at Politico. “They’ll tell you it was abortion. Sorry, the historical record’s clear: It was segregation.”

Read “Christian Prophets Are on the Rise. What Happens When They’re Wrong?” at New York Times.

Read ‘On the Biblical and Historical Doctrine of the Trinity: A Response to Wayne Grudem” at Logos Academic.

Read “L.A. church to host indoor conference of 3,000 attendees, despite public health order” at Los Angeles Times.

  • Read “John MacArthur’s Grace Community church postpones event after health officials balk” at Religion News Service.

Read/Listen to “Ravi Zacharias Pressured Me to Get an Abortion” at Roys Report.

  • Read “You Are One Step Away from Complete and Total Insanity'“ by David French. “The inside story of how Ravi Zacharias’s ministry concealed and enabled his abuse.”

  • Read “How should we respond to the Ravi Zacharias scandal?” at Christian Post.

  • Read “Enraged by Ravi (Part 1): The wreckage of Ravi Zacharias” by Russell Moore.

Read “Biden relaunches faith-based White House office” at The Hill.

  • Read “Moore welcomes White House faith-based office” at Baptist Press.

Read “Love The Sinner, Hate The Sin? A Look At Bigotry From The Pulpit” at Armchair Philosopher.

Read “Will religious progressives have real political impact?” at New Catholic Reporter.

Read “When religion was present — and notably absent — at the impeachment trial” at Religion News Service.

Read “Celebrating Ash Wednesday in a pandemic? There’s an app for that” at Religion News Service. “Catholic prayer and meditation app Hallow also has taken the day's most visible tradition online with an 'AshTag' filter on both Facebook and Instagram.”

 

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

Read “ND House passes bill barring trans youth from teams that match their gender identity” at The Hill.

Read “Violence against elderly Asian Americans in the Bay Area is rising” at SF Gate.

  • Read “A Year of Anti-Asian Violence” at Slate.

Read “Judge denies request to increase Kyle Rittenhouse's bail, won't allow prosecutors to see new address” at NBC News.

Read “White House press aide suspended for threatening Politico reporter” at The Hill.

Read “Rep. Cori Bush Demands Answers on Treatment of BLM Protesters vs. Trump Insurrectionists” at Rolling Stone. “We couldn’t scale a wall to try to get in — we would have been shot down off of that wall.”

Read ‘Biden calls for 'commonsense gun law reforms' on anniversary of Parkland shooting” at The Hill.

Read Juveniles Part Of A Huge Increase In Carjackings Across The Country” at NPR.

ReadGeorgia state bar sends disciplinary complaint to pro-Trump lawyer Lin Wood” at The Hill.

Read “As Biden Reopens ACA Enrollment, Are You Eligible To Sign Up Or Switch Health Plans?” at NPR.

Read “Georgia GOP legislator introduces bill to increase penalties for crimes committed during protests” at The Hill.

Read ‘Push For Greater Arizona Prison Oversight Led By Formerly Incarcerated People, Families” at KJZZ.

Read “Arizona bill would charge those who sell, share drugs linked to overdoses with murder” at AZ Central.

Read “South Carolina governor signs bill banning most abortions” at The Hill.

Read “New Zealand Will Offer Free Sanitary Products At Schools To Fight Period Poverty” at NPR.

This week in traitorous, white-supremacist Confederate monuments (and/or Columbus monuments // and/or other “American monuments” // and/or weird Confederacy stuff):

Read “Trump 'made no attempt' to reach the National Guard to help overwhelmed Capitol Police, Rep. Castro says” at Yahoo.

Read “Nikki Haley breaks with Trump: 'We shouldn't have followed him'“ at MSN.

Read “Mark Finchem cleared of 82 ethics complaints related to the Jan. 6 riot” at AZ Mirror.

Read “Six people who guarded Roger Stone entered Capitol during attack” at The Hill.

Read “FBI Informant Panic Is Ruining Friendships All Over the Far Right” at Daily Beast.

Read “The last straw’: the US families ending love affair with grocery chain after Capitol riot” at The Guardian. “Families are boycotting Publix after a member of founding family donated $300,000 to the Donald Trump rally that preceded January’s deadly Capitol attack.”

Read “Pelosi says 9/11-style commission to investigate Capitol breach is 'next step'“ at The Hill.

Read “New Video Appears to Show Iced Earth’s Jon Schaffer Charging at Officers During Capitol Insurrection” at Consequence of Sound. “The metal guitarist faces six federal charges for his role in the January 6th riot.”

Read “Department of Homeland Security Confirms Neo-Nazi Leader Used to Work For It” at Vice. “The leader of terror group the Base once worked for an agency tasked with coordinating the U.S. government’s counterterrorism efforts.”

Read “Two Infamous White Nationalists Still Have a Platform for Their Podcast Somehow” at Vice. “The MMA fighters, one Russian and one American, are dispensing 'real world' advice on starting hate groups, on a podcast hosted by a San Francisco-based platform. Anti-extremism groups are calling for it to be taken down.”

Read “Federal prosecutors investigated Proud Boys ties to Roger Stone in 2019 case” at The Hill.

This Week With The Police:

Read “The Troubling New Practice of Police Livestreaming Protests” at Slate.

Read “Police pepper-spray 9-year-old Black girl; New video captures her distressed wait for EMTs” at ABC 7.

Read “LAPD Investigating Valentine-Like Post of George Floyd: “You Take My Breath Away” at Slate.

Read “What It Looks Like When the New York City Police Commissioner Has “Unchecked Power” Over Officer Discipline” at Pro Publica.

Read ‘Why Were Portland Police Guarding a Dumpster of Discarded Food?” at Vice. “People tried to salvage the perishable food a grocery story was throwing away during a power outage. Then the cops arrived.”

Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings

Read “Fauci: Stimulus bill needs to be passed for schools to reopen” at The Hill.

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read “ICE has no plan to vaccinate 13,860 immigrants in its custody against COVID-19. Here's how one of the US's most at-risk groups is falling through the cracks” at Business Insider.

Read “D.C.-Area Churches Encourage Community To Have ‘Faith In The Vaccine’” at Sojourners.

Read “How billions in pandemic aid was swindled by con artists and crime syndicates” at NBC News.

Read “Rep. Lesko: Hispanic people are 'very good workers' — but shouldn't get vaccines” at American Independent.

Read “The Vaccine Had to Be Used. He Used It. He Was Fired.” at New York Times.

Read ‘I wouldn’t be complaining.’ Gov. DeSantis threatens to pull coronavirus vaccine from communities that criticize distribution” at Sun Sentinel.

Miscellany Cultural Items (and some Technology):

Read “Kevin Hart’s personal shopper has been charged with stealing $1million from the actor” at NME.

Read “Is the GameStop saga a sign of a stock market bubble?” at MarketPlace.

Read “The Four-Sentence Philosophy Paper” at Daily Nous. “Some philosophy professors have been assigning their students four-sentence papers to write.”

Read “Myth debunked: Blowing in your Nintendo games never actually fixed anything” at Geek Wire.

Read ‘The Last Duel Took Place in France in 1967, and It’s Caught on Film” at Open Culture.

Read “The Real Origins of the Religious Right” at Politico. “They’ll tell you it was abortion. Sorry, the historical record’s clear: It was segregation.”

Read “The fight over Larry King's estate centers around a handwritten will” at Los Angeles Times.

Read “Ford says it will go all-electric in Europe by 2030” at The Verge.

Read “Facebook Blocks News In Australia Over Government Plan To Force Payment To Publishers” at NPR.

Read “Why Do We Ever Play the National Anthem at Sports Games?” at Slate. “The Dallas Mavericks’ failed attempt to cancel it begs the question of why we do this in the first place.”

Read “2 million Texas households without power as massive winter storm drives demand for electricity” at Texas Tribune.

  • Read “No, frozen wind turbines aren’t the main culprit for Texas’ power outages” at Texas Tribune.

  • Read “Texas grid got crushed because its operators didn’t see the need to prepare for cold weather” at Washington Post.

  • Read “Texas Mayor Resigns After Fallout From Facebook Post Telling Town to 'Get Off Your A**' During Blackout” at Second Nexus.

  • Read “Beto: ‘We are nearing a failed state in Texas’ thanks to GOP leadership” at MSNBC.

  • Read “Texas Is a Failed State” at Discourse.

  • Read “Sen. Ted Cruz confirms he flew to Mexico as Texas grapples with power outages caused by severe weather” at Washington Post.

Internationalities:

Read “New Ebola outbreak declared in Guinea” at The Hill.

Read “Indian Climate Activist Arrested After Sharing Information on Supporting Farmworkers’ Protest” at Democracy Now.

Read “Federal prosecutors charge three North Korean hackers accused of conspiring to steal more than $1.3 billion” at CNN.

Read “DR Congo's mysterious metal monolith destroyed by mob” at BBC.

Politics And Sucheries:

Read ‘Anti-Trump Republicans Are in Talks to Form a Center Right Third Party and People Are So Here for It” at Second Nexus.

Read “Adam Kinzinger’s Lonely Mission” at New York Times. “Censured by his party and shunned by family members, Mr. Kinzinger, a six-term Illinois congressman, is pressing Republicans to leave Donald Trump behind — and risking his career doing so.”

Read “62 percent say third political party is needed in US” at The Hill.

Read “Joe Biden: 'I will not make that happen': Biden declines Democrats' call to cancel $50K in student debt” at NBC News. “Biden said he was prepared to cancel $10,000 in debt and the interest but anything more than that would require congressional action.”

Read “Joy Reid: Rush Limbaugh hardened ‘rural white listeners and weaponized white male grievance’” at MSNBC.

Read “The Real Origins of the Religious Right” at Politico. “They’ll tell you it was abortion. Sorry, the historical record’s clear: It was segregation.”

Read “Is It Time for the Republican Party to Split Apart?” by David French. “It's far from likely, but the Whig Party's demise in the 1850s could serve as precedent.”

Read “More people say Greene representative of Republican Party than Cheney” at The Hill.

Read “How History Will Remember Trump” at Slate. “Trump will be judged for a myriad of sins, but not all will be remembered.”

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read “Opinion: How Rush Limbaugh made the Trump presidency possible” at Washington Post.

Read “Donald Trump reportedly called Mark Zuckerberg and asked him to make changes to the panel that's now responsible for reviewing Trump's ban from the platform” at Yahoo.

Read “Senate acquits Trump in historic second impeachment trial over Capitol riot” at USA Today.

Read “Watch Senators Laugh at Trump Lawyer During Impeachment Trial” at Slate.

Read “Graham's call with Georgia's secretary of State will be investigated: report” at The Hill.

Read “Louisiana GOP votes to censure Cassidy over impeachment vote” at The Hill.

Read “Party leaders rip Republicans who voted to convict Trump” at Politico.

Read “Raskin: Trump found guilty in 'the court of public opinion and the court of history'“ at NBC News. “The lead House impeachment manager called the vote a "dramatic success in historical terms."

Read “No Regrets': House Managers Defend Their Decision Not To Call Witnesses” at NPR.

Read “Trump's actions during the Capitol riot put Pence in danger — and national security at risk” at MSNBC.

Read “Lin Wood Doxed Georgia Officials to Hundreds of Thousands of QAnon Supporters” at Vice. “The pro-Trump lawyer asked an ‘Army of Patriots’ on Telegram to dig up dirt on officials who will decide whether he is disbarred or not.”

Read “US sells $200m in weapons to Egypt despite human rights abuses” at Al Jazeera.”The $197m sale of Raytheon-made Rolling Airframe Missiles was requested by the Egyptian navy to improve coastal defences.”

Read “Josh Hawley dipped into campaign funds to help bankroll family trip to Universal Studios” at Salon.

Music-Related News and Such:

Read “When Chick Corea and Jazz-Fusion Acts Were Rock Stars” at Rolling Stone.

Read “Ex-Nirvana Members Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear Still Jam Together” at Spin.

Read “A New Generation Pushes Nashville to Address Racism in Its Ranks” at New York Times. “A small contingent of country artists and industry players have been speaking up in a business that likes to shut down dissent.”

Read “European festivals speak out on their return as Dutch government set date and allow trials” at NME. "We have to have an outlook that there will be events this summer. They will be safe and we can work with extra restrictions, but we can do that"

Read “Taylor Swift’s Rerecorded Album Releases Begin With ‘Fearless’ in April” at New York Times.

Read “Feed My Frankenstein: Alice Cooper Isn’t Slowing Down” at Spin. “50 years into his career, Cooper still wants more.”

Read “Nothing Is Flattening Music Like TikTok” at Vulture.

Read “Messin’ With the Hook: Our 1986 John Lee Hooker Feature” at Spin.

Read “Glorious Mistakes: A Conversation With Mogwai” at Treble.

Read ‘Springsteen ‘Visibly Swaying’ Before Drunken-Driving Arrest, Police Say” at New York Times.

Read “Pharrell Williams Cleared of Perjury Charges in “Blurred Lines” Lawsuit” at Okay Player.

Read “Streaming Services Pay $424 Million in Unmatched Royalties to Mechanical Licensing Collective” at Pitchfork.

Read “Chuck Johnson’s Ode to What’s Been Lost in California’s Fires” at New York Times.

Read ‘British musicians warn of devastating impact of new Brexit rules” at PRI.

Read “We’ve Got A File On You: Craig Finn” at Stereogum.

Read “Chris Cornell’s Wife Vicky Cornell Sues Soundgarden Over Proposed Buyout Offer” at Pitchfork.

Read “De La Soul Will Fight to “Save Their Music” in the Latest Episode of ‘Teen Titans GO!’” at Okay Player.

Listen: “Bill Mackay and Nathan Bowles - I See God” at Folk Radio.

Read “Haim on Their Lifelong Love of Joni Mitchell” at Rolling Stone.

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Read ‘‘WandaVision’ Breaks Into Nielsen Top 10 Streaming Rankings” at Variety.

Read “Gina Carano, Ben Shapiro Team Up for Film After ‘Mandalorian’ Firing” at Variety.

Read “Dave Chappelle on why Chappelle's Show is back on Netflix: "I got my name back"“ at AV Club.

Read “Chris Harrison: Bachelor host to step aside over racism row” at BBC.

Read “David Boreanaz joins chorus of Buffy cast supporting Charisma Carpenter after Joss Whedon allegations” at AV Club.

Read “You can now stay at Buffalo Bill’s house from ‘Silence Of The Lambs’” at NME. “The house inhabited by Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs is now open for overnight stays.”

Read “Tim Burton is making a live-action Addams Family spinoff about Wednesday for Netflix” at The Verge.

Read “‘Paddington 3’ Officially in the Works” at Variety.

Read “Danny Elfman Reuniting with Sam Raimi for Doctor Strange 2 Score” at Consequence of Sound.

Books/Reading/Authors

Read about “The Instagram Account Sharing The Most Beautiful Libraries In The World” at The Mind Circle.

The Weekly Town Crier (10/09/20)

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All the week's news that's fit to cry about (10/09/20).

We’ll Miss You:

Read “Helen Reddy Dies at 78; Sang ‘I Am Woman’” at New York Times. ”The Australian-born singer’s first No. 1 hit became a feminist anthem and propelled her to international stardom.”

Read “Eddie Van Halen Dead at 65” at TMZ.

Religion and Stuff:

Read “QAnon Is Going After Members of Congress Now” at Slate. “It’s not every day,” says Rep. Tom Malinowski, “that the fake and likely nonexistent guru of a conspiracy-mongering cult personally attacks you.”

  • Read “Facebook bans QAnon across its platforms” at NBC News. “The change is a significant escalation over its previous actions targeting QAnon and one of the broadest rules the social media giant has put in place in its history.” Facebook "will remove Facebook Pages, Groups and Instagram accounts for representing QAnon" like any other militarized social movement, militia or terror group.

  • Read “QAnon leaders look to rebrand after tech crack downs” at NBC News. “The shift in tactics comes the same week as Twitter released new data stating that their ban on QAnon-related accounts was severely limiting the reach of the conspiracy theory.”

Read “Stop telling Black people to pray for Donald Trump” at Religion News Service. "Refusing to pray for our anti-Black oppressor-in-chief is logical, human and prophetic."

Read “Justices Thomas, Alito Blast Supreme Court Decision On Same-Sex Marriage Rights” at NPR.

Watch “Why Do People Join Cults? An Animated Primer Explains” at Open Culture.

Listen to “Faith in the modern world” at BBC. “Marilynne Robinson and Rowan Williams discuss faith and humanity with Andrew Marr.”

Read “Four years ago, Donald Trump’s infamous brag about sexually assaulting women made the news. I wrote this then and, sadly, these words are still needed today: Call Out Locker Room Talk for the Sin That It Is” by Karen Swallow Prior at Christianity Today (from 2016).

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

Read “The Turmoil Over ‘Black Lives Matter’ and Political Speech at Coinbase” at Wired. “The CEO of the cryptocurrency pioneer declared political discussions out of bounds—then gave employees a week to agree or leave.”

Read “DOJ Frees Federal Prosecutors To Take Steps That Could Interfere With Elections, Weakening Long-Standing Policy” at Huff Post. “The Justice Department created an exception to a decadeslong policy meant to prevent prosecutors from taking overt investigative steps that might affect the outcome of the vote.”

This Week In Protest-Related News:

Read “Fannie Lou Hamer’s Dauntless Fight for Black Americans’ Right to Vote” at Smithsonian. “The activist did not learn about her right to vote until she was 44, but once she did, she vigorously fought for black voting rights.”

Read “We just want to go home’” at Chicago Reader. “CPD’s violent response to a student-led protest downtown and what it says about this moment in our history”

This Week With The Police:

Read “NYPD Threatens Disciplinary Action For Officers Who Don’t Wear Face Masks” at New York CBS.

Read “MCSO deputy admits to having sex with domestic violence victim” at AZ Family.

Read “Four Austin Women Reported Their Sexual Assaults. But Police and Prosecutors Failed To Hold The Perpetrators Accountable” at The Appeal. “While a debate over defunding the police rages in Austin, a new lawsuit reminds its residents that assault cases in the city are routinely ignored.”

Read “Trump’s Favorite Texas Sheriff Faces Re-Election Amid a Spike in Deaths at His Jail” at Texas Observer. “Conservative media have turned Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn into a right-wing celebrity despite a long list of scandals on his watch.”

Read “Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin Is Released On $1 Million Bond” at NPR.

Education and The Learnings // School Re-Openings

Read “The Students Left Behind by Remote Learning” at Pro Publica.

Your Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

Read “White House wanted to keep Hope Hicks's positive COVID-19 test private” at The Hill.

  • Read “Nine people in President Trump’s inner circle test positive for coronavirus” at Yahoo.

  • Read “Chris Christie is the latest in Trump circle to get virus” at Yahoo.

  • Read “They want to kiss": Trump appears to blame troops and cops for spreading virus to his inner circle” at Yahoo.

  • Read “China's President and other leaders react to Trump coronavirus diagnosis” at MSNBC.

  • Read “Drugmaker says White House doctor described Trump treatment inaccurately” at NBC News.

  • Read “Dozens Of Secret Service Agents Get COVID During Trump’s Travels” at KHN.

  • Read “Covering a cover-up in real time” at Axios. “What is the actual state of President Trump's health?”

  • Read “Trump returns to comparing COVID-19 to the flu: 'We have learned to live with it'“ at Yahoo.

  • Read "GOP Sen. John Cornyn Criticizes Trump On COVID-19: 'A Lesson To All Of Us' at Yahoo.

Read “GOP Sen. Ron Johnson Went to Oktoberfest Party While Awaiting COVID-19 Test Results” at Daily Beast.

Read “Fearing 2nd Wave, N.Y.C. Will Adopt Restrictions in Hard-Hit Areas” at New York Times. ““Today, unfortunately, is not a day for celebration,” the mayor said of rising virus rates. His plan would affect 20 neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens.”

Read “US Department of Transportation rejected mask mandate on public transportation” at The Hill. “A spokesperson said the department has sufficient mandates already in place.”

Read “White House not contact tracing Rose Garden event considered possible 'superspreader'“ at The Hill.

Read “Senior Pentagon leadership quarantining after exposure to coronavirus” at CNN.

Miscellany Cultural Items:

Read “Everything to know about the Melania Trump secret recordings” at Yahoo.

Read “The Ultra-Rich Are Using Giant Home Loans to Access Cheap Credit” at Bloomberg. “JPMorgan has issued a $42.5 million loan on a New York penthouse owned by a Russian billionaire’s family.”

Read “Regal Movie Chain Will Close All 536 U.S. Theaters On Thursday” at NPR.

Read “Former MLB player Charles Haeger, suspected in ex-girlfriend's killing, found dead at Grand Canyon” at NBC News.

Read “The Thought Leaders Issue: Mariah Carey” at V Magazine. “The singer talks identity politics, Black Lives Matter, and health care access.” "We’ve been socialized to believe that poverty is a personal failure rather than our systems failing us."

Internationalities:

Read “When the US Became a Rogue State in the Middle East” at Lit Hub. “Noam Chomsky on War with Iran, Both Covert and Overt.” “The US is alone in its ability to impose sanctions. That is a bipartisan consensus freely exercised for many years."

Read “'Zero tolerance' of abuse in aid sector failing to have an impact, MPs told” at The Telegraph. “Governments must do more to stamp out 'culture of impunity' that has allowed peacekeepers to escape punishment for sexual abuse.”

Read “Golden Dawn guilty verdicts celebrated across Greece” at The Guardian. “Ex-leader and MPs found guilty after biggest trial of fascists since Nuremberg.”

Read “How a Chinese company took control of an entire nation’s electrical grid” at PRI. “In the past decade or so, China, via its vast network of state-run companies, has brought a development blitz to Laos.”

Politics And Sucheries:

Read “The definitive case for ending the filibuster” at Vox. “Every argument for the filibuster, considered and debunked.”

Read “Judge blocks ‘unlawful’ plan to end Census Monday; Arizona still lags” at Cronkite News.

Read “More than 1K alumni from Amy Coney Barrett's undergrad college sign letter of concern” at The Hill.

Read “We binge-watched 15 hours of Amy Barrett's speeches. Here’s what we learned about her judicial philosophy” at USA Today.

Read “Viral Post Overstates Effect of Trump’s Order on Preexisting Conditions” at Fact Check.

Read “Pence demands plexiglass dividers not be near him at debate” at Raw Story.

Read “Visionary and Pragmatic'—A Black Feminist Guide to Electoral Politics” at Scalawag Magazine.

This Week In Political Corruption:

Read “Texas governor limits election drop boxes to one per county in sprawling state” at CNN.

Read “How John Roberts Quietly Made It Harder to Vote” at Slate. “The Roberts Court has been rewriting the rules of our democracy via the shadow docket.”

Read “In big states, tiny counties, Trump attacking voting rules” at Associated Press. “It’s clearly based on a strategy to disrupt the election as much as possible. You’re seeing a broad-based, generalized strategy to suppress the vote by the Republican Party.” Barry Richard, who represented George W. Bush in the 2000 Florida recount.”

Read “John McAfee, tech mogul and presidential candidate, arrested on suspicion of tax evasion” at Los Angeles Times.

Read “We need to take away children.” Jeff Sessions and top Justice Department officials pushed hard for migrant family separations in 2018, a watchdog found” at New York Times.

Read “Trump Lashes Out at His Cabinet With Calls to Indict Political Rivals” at New York Times. “Most politicians can handle losing a race, but they really don’t want to be embarrassed. When a loss seems inevitable, people who want a future in politics start looking out for their own interests,”

Music-Related News and Such:

Read “The War on Drugs Detail New Live Album” at Spin.

Read “On following the idea” at The Creative Independent. “Musician Phil Elverum on parenting in a pandemic, expressing universal truths through personal details, and finding the beauty in uncertainty.”

Read “Phoebe Bridgers launches her own record label, ‘Saddest Factory’” at Brooklyn Vegan.

Read “Listening Post: Sun Ra Arkestra” at Dusted.

Radiohead’s Kid A turns 20:

  • Read “Kid A Turns 20” at Stereogum.

  • Read “Kid A Reaches Adulthood: Radiohead’s Mesmerizing Fourth Record Turns 20” at Spin.

  • Read "Between the Grooves of Radiohead's 'Kid A'“ at PopMatters.

  • Read “20 Years Ago, Radiohead's 'Kid A' Changed The Way Albums Were Marketed” at Billboard.

Read “Thurston Moore on the Obscure Sonic Youth Songs He Loves the Most” at Vulture.

Read “Sinéad O’Connor Returns With Powerful Cover of Mahalia Jackson’s ‘Trouble of the World’” at Spin.

Read “And The Heat Goes On: Talking Heads' Remain In Light At 40” at Quietus.

Read “The story of grunge in 15 classic albums” at NME. “From Neil Young to Nirvana and their juggernaut anthem 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', along with the post-grunge that followed, the genre has a knotty history.”

Read “Mdou Moctar signs to Matador, shares “Chrismiten” at Brooklyn Vegan.

Read “The (Mostly) True Story of Vanilla Ice, Hip-Hop, and the American Dream” at The Ringer.

Movies/TV/Video Games/Etc.:

Read “Ever Wonder How The Big Bird Costume Worked?”Ever Wonder How The Big Bird Costume Worked?” at The Mind Circle.

Read “Tom DeLonge directing coming of age sci-fi film with “blink-era dick jokes, skateboarding culture, UFOs” at Brooklyn Vegan.

Books/Reading/Authors

Browse “11 Women Horror Writers You Need to Read” at Mental Floss.

Browse “24 Dystopian Books That Will Suck You In And Make You Think” at Buzzfeed.

Read “A Sneak Peek of Margaret Atwood's Poem, Blackberries” at Waterstones.

Design/Artsy Things:

Read “Joy As Resistance” at Vulture. “Artist collective the Wide Awakes takes NYC this weekend. Why we’re marching.”

Food Cultures:

Read “The Court Case That Killed the ‘Ladies Menu’” at Gastro Obscura. “Upscale restaurants once listed prices only for men.”

Read “It's Not Goodbye, But Not Good Either: Ruby Tuesday Declares Bankruptcy” at NPR.

The Weekly Town Crier (05/22/20)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (05/22/20).

Read “Jorge Santana (of Malo and brother of Carlos), RIP” at Brooklyn Vegan.

Read “Fred Willard, Comic Actor Who Thrived in Ensembles, Dies at 86” at New York Times.

Read “Ravi Zacharias Dies of Cancer The famous apologist was 74” at Christianity Today.

Read “Carlos Santana's brother, guitarist Jorge Santana, dead at 68” at Fox News.

Read “Al Mohler, Southern Baptist leader, says he was ‘stupid’ to defend slavery in 1998 CNN interview” at Religion News Service.

Read “When States Don't Talk with Churches about Covid Timetables, Tensions Increase” at Christianity Today.

Read “Despite Bad News, Evangelical Philosophy Is Flourishing” at Christianity Today.

Read “‘Laudato Si’’ was not enough. The Vatican needs to prioritize climate change” at America Magazine.

Read “Churches obsessed with their right to reopen are missing the point Genuine Christian faith is larger than the US Constitution” at Christian Century.

Read “We’re all monks now” at America Magazine.

Read “At New York hospital, a friar watches over those dying: ‘The miracle is to let go’” at Washington Post.

Read “Jane Roe’s Deathbed Confession: Anti-Abortion Conversion ‘All an Act’ Paid for by the Christian Right” at Daily Beast.

Read “Writer Anne Rice: 'Today I Quit Being A Christian'“ at NPR.

Read “'Sleeping While Black': Louisville Police Kill Unarmed Black Woman” at NPR. #BreonnaTaylor

Read “Ahmaud Arbery’s lynching begs America to respond What would it take to stop seeing neighbors as intruders and threats?” at Christian Century. #AhmaudArbery

Read “Meet The Woman Who Led Denmark to Cut Food Waste By 25% in 5 Years Selina Juul isn’t a politician. But she’s leading Denmark’s food waste revolution” at Global Citizen.

Read “Hacker Group Leaks Confidential Lady Gaga Files, Threatens to Next Take Down Donald Trump” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “After My Wife Died I Was Consumed by Both Grief and Paperwork. We Must Work Together to Change the Medical System” at Time.

Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

  • Read “Obama team left pandemic playbook for Trump administration, officials confirm” at PBS News Hour.

  • Read “Replace Trump And Bolster The CDC, A Leading Medical Journal Urges” at NPR.

  • Read “Defying all odds, the world's last Blockbuster thinks it can outlast the pandemic” at AV Club.

  • Read “Michigan Coronavirus Cases Jump By Over 1,000 As Armed Anti-Lockdown Protesters Shut Down Capitol.”

  • Read “'A Lot To Be Hopeful For': Crisis Seen As Historic, Not Another Great Depression” at NPR.

  • Read “The Pandemic as God’s Judgment Does the biblical pattern of disaster and discipline with a call to repent apply to COVID-19?” at Christianity Today.

  • Read “'Us Vs. Them' In A Pandemic: Researchers Warn Divisions Could Get Dangerous” at NPR.

  • Read “Coronavirus Brings Beer Drinkers Back to Bud Light Craft brewers face a reckoning as Americans opt for value and familiarity with brands like Miller Lite and Coors Light” at Wall Street Journal.

  • Read/Watch “US coronavirus death toll passes 90,000 but influential model lowers its prediction” at CNN.

  • Read the AZ Central opinion piece: “State won't name nursing homes where seniors are dying because it's .... bad publicity?”

  • Read “Where Do White Evangelicals Get Their Coronavirus News? The White House While most agree with the response from public health officials, confidence in the Trump administration outweighs the news media” at Christianity Today.

  • Read “Reports: Inexperience and cronyism slowed Kushner-led efforts to procure medical supplies” at CNN. “The volunteer group was also told to prioritize leads from "VIPs," including political allies, conservative journalists and associates of Trump, outlets reported.”

  • Read “Trump threatens to halt WHO funding, review U.S. membership” at Reuters.

  • Read “Covid-19 lockdowns could drop carbon emissions to their lowest level since World War II. But the change may be temporary” at CNN.

  • Read “Aiming for novelty in coronavirus coverage, journalists end up sensationalizing the trivial and untrue” at The Conversation.

  • Read “Pakistan Is Giving Tree-Planting Jobs to Workers Unemployed Due to COVID-19” Global Citizen.

  • Read “U.S. Could Have Saved 36,000 Lives If Social Distancing Started 1 Week Earlier: Study” at NPR.

Read “Send Nudes": A New Study Shows How Often Boys Pressure Girls For Explicit Photos” at A Mighty Girl.

Read “Social, Political Animals: Embodied Learning and the Limits of Online Education” at Public Discourse.

Read “Tell Me How This Is Not Terrorism People with firearms forced the civil government of the state of Michigan to shut itself down” at Esquire.

Read “Trump, Unveiling Space Force Flag, Touts What He Calls New 'Super-Duper Missile' at NPR.

As we move into campaign season, let’s not forget:

  • Read “How Donald Trump Shifted Kids-Cancer Charity Money Into His Business” at Forbes (from 2017).

Read “The Prophecies of Q American conspiracy theories are entering a dangerous new phase.” at The Atlantic.

Read “Democrats Bet Health Care Will Deliver 2020 Victories” at NPR. “"Democrats are betting that Americans will vote for the party of health care over the party of drinking bleach.

Read “Trump says administration will continue legal fight to eliminate Obamacare” at CNN.

Read “Trump wants payroll tax holiday to mitigate coronavirus economic pain” at Reuters.

Read “Texas mayor says women can't pray at city council meetings in email to fellow councilmember” at WFAA.

Read “Monopoly was invented to demonstrate the evils of capitalism” at Aeon.

Read “Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2 remaster soundtrack revealed - and it's missing a few classics” at EuroGamer.

Read “Live Nation to trial socially distanced shows in New Zealand” at NME.

Read “This Is What America’s First Socially Distanced Concert Looked Like” at Stereogum.

Read “Jeff Tweedy, Sharon Van Etten Join Daniel Johnston-Inspired Mental-Health Initiative Hi, How Are You Project asks people to spread awareness of mental health by simply asking others ‘Hi, how are you?’ at Rolling Stone.

Read “Dirty Projectors’ David Longstreth Reflects on ‘Workingman’s Dead’” at Relix.

Read “Americana ‘Wunderkind’ Sammy Brue Opens Up About Balancing Fame And Youth” at American Songwriter.

Read “Neil Young’s Lost 1975 Album ‘Homegrown’ To Be Released in June” at Relix.

Read “The Complicated Legacy of Joy Division’s Ian Curtis We honor the life of the tortured frontman by living and enduring as long as possible” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “Jason Molina's 'Eight Gates' To Get A Posthumous Release In August” at NPR.

Read “Massive Attack's 3D raises £106,000 for Bristol food banks with art print fire sale” at The Guardian.

Read “Wu-Tang Clan Selling “Protect Ya Hands” Sanitizer For every purchase, a bottle will be donated to a homeless shelter in Canada” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “He Thinks He is Pink Floyd”: Roger Waters Calls Out David Gilmour Over Use of Pink Floyd Website” Jambands.

Read “A 3,350-Song Playlist of Music from Haruki Murakami’s Personal Record Collection” at Open Culture.

Read “How the Coronavirus Is Affecting America’s Vinyl Record Industry” at Pitchfork

Read “Grab a book. It’s good for your health. That’s one good thing about sheltering in place” about Christian Century.

Watch “Missouri Penguins Enjoy 'Morning Of Fine Art' At Local Museum” at NPR.

Read “Antidepressant Microbes In Soil: How Dirt Makes You Happy” Gardening Know How.

Read “Are Creative People Crazier? Yes, being "a little bit" bipolar or schizophrenic is linked to creativity” at Psychology Today.

Read “Peyton Manning, Drew Holcomb and others launch top-shelf Tennessee bourbon whiskey” at Tennesean.

Read “Ducey Asks Businesses To Self-Police On Safety Protocols” at KJZZ.

Read “From the Grand Canyon to Stevie Nicks, here are 130 reasons why The Republic loves Arizona” at AZ Central.

The Weekly Town Crier (05/15/20)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (05/15/20).





Read “Died: Darrin Patrick, Who Used His Fall and Restoration to Help Struggling Pastors” at Christianity Today.

Read “Betty Wright, Iconic R&B Singer, Dead at 66” at Pitchfork.

Read “Little Richard, Founding Father of Rock Who Broke Musical Barriers, Dead at 87” at Rolling Stone.

Read “R.I.P. Andre Harrell, Hip-Hop Mogul and Founder of Uptown Records Dies at 57” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “Jerry Stiller, Comedian With Enduring Appeal, Is Dead at 92” at New York Times.

Read “'Double Rainbow Guy' Paul Vasquez has died” at CNN.

Read “Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy duo dies of coronavirus” at CNN.

Read “Largest Christian Radio Company Faces Financial Crisis Due to Coronavirus Downturn Salem Media makes cuts as more churches and ministries pull spending during the pandemic” at Christianity Today.

Read “Germany Just Banned Conversion Therapy for Minors” at New Now Next.

Read “Nearly 2000 former DOJ officials call for AG Barr to resign over Flynn case” at ABC News.

Read “White Man Who Wore KKK Hood to Store Won't Face Charges” at The Root.

Read “Ahmaud Arbery died for the indefensible principle of white control” at Religion News Service.

  • Read “Ahmaud Arbery and the Trauma of Being a Black Runner” at Christianity Today.

Read/Watch“High school senior, mother say large group of armed people, including off-duty deputy, terrorized them in their home” at WCET.

Read “Trump Believes Giving Black Voters Access to Voting Is Stealing the Election” at The Root.

Read “Breonna Taylor’s Life Mattered The young EMT didn’t need to be a hero. She just needed to be alive” at Rolling Stone.

Read “Senate Votes to Allow FBI to Monitor Browsing History Without a Warrant Federal agencies no longer need probable cause to access your online browsing data” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “The many failures revealed by the Afghanistan Papers US officials have been lying about the war since it started. Why don’t we care?” at Christianity Today.

Weekly Coronavirus Roundup:

  • Read “Trump says doing too much coronavirus testing makes the US 'look bad' as he pushes for the country to reopen” at Business Insider.

  • Read “White House Rejects C.D.C.’s Coronavirus Reopening Plan” at New York Times.

  • Read “Costco’s Mask Requirement Reminds Businesses The Customer Is Not Always Right” at Forbes.

  • Read “Americans widely oppose reopening most businesses, despite easing of restrictions in some states, Post-U. Md. poll finds” at Washington Post.

  • Read “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: The Perils of Hollywood’s Reckless Social Media Posts” at Hollywood Reporter.

  • Read/watch “Trump administration cuts funding for coronavirus researcher, jeopardizing possible COVID-19 cure” at CBS News.

  • Read “CEOs, Farm Bureau President Told To Remove Face Masks Before Meeting With Mike Pence” at Huff Post.

  • Read “The U.S. is exporting Covid-19 to Latin America. We should instead be working with our neighbors” at America Magazine.

  • Read “Trump won't wear a mask in public because he's afraid he might look ridiculous and it will harm his reelection chances, report says” at Business Insider.

  • Read “Unreleased White House report shows coronavirus rates spiking in heartland communities” at NBC News.

  • Read "Dr. Anthony Fauci Said Reopening The Country Early Could Lead To Avoidable "Suffering And Death" at Buzzfeed News.

  • Read “Coronavirus cases are on the rise in Texas and other states that reopened early, former FDA chief says” at CNBC.

  • Read/Watch “Doctors Without Borders dispatches team to the Navajo Nation” at CBS News.

  • Read “Cancel The Rent’ at The New Yorker. “If our government can spend trillions of dollars to bail corporations out of a worsening economic situation, then there is no reason why that same gesture cannot be extended to poor and working-class families.“

  • Read “Bill Gates on how to fight future pandemics The coronavirus will hasten three big medical breakthroughs. That is just a start” at The Economist.

  • Read “COVID-19 and The Mark of the Beast” at The Logos Academic Blog.

  • Read “Americans more worried about reopening too quickly than not opening quickly enough, survey says” at USA Today.

  • Read “Heavily Armed Protesters Gather Again At Michigan Capitol To Decry Stay-At-Home Order” at NPR.

  • Read “Thousands of Americans Have Become Socialists Since March The Democratic Socialists of America have an estimated 10,000 new members—growth that organizers attribute, in part, to the coronavirus pandemic” at The Atlantic.

  • Read “Trump Feared Testing Too Many People for Virus Would Spook Stock Markets, Says Report” at Daily Beast.

Read “Liberty University Dumps Its Philosophy Department” at The Way of Improvement.

Read “One For The History Books: 14.7% Unemployment, 20.5 Million Jobs Wiped Away” at NPR.

Read “Fight Over Vote-By-Mail Is ‘Spiritual Battle’ For ‘Control of the Free World,’ Says True the Vote Leader” at Right Wing Watch.

Read “Trump says Washington, DC, will never be a state — because of all the Democrats” at New York Post.

Read “Court Allows Emoluments Case Against Trump Over D.C. Hotel To Proceed” at NPR.

Read “After FBI Warrant, Sen. Richard Burr Steps Down As Intelligence Chairman” at News and Guts.

Read “QAnon Is More Important Than You Think: The Prophecies of Q. American conspiracy theories are entering a dangerous new phase” at The Atlantic.

Browse “Deaf People Show How To Swear In Sign Language, And It’s Shamefully Entertaining” at Design Your Trust.

Read “Live Nation Planning to Resume Concerts at “Full Scale” Beginning in 2021 In the short term, the concert promoter will experiment with fan-less or reduced-capacity shows” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “Supreme Launches Daniel Johnston Clothing Line” at Pitchfork.

Read “Brian May taken to hospital after tearing buttock muscles while gardening” at The Guardian.

Read “Nirvana, Siouxsie and the Banshees, David Bowie and Hundreds More Peel Sessions Hit YouTube” at Flood.

Read “Coachella Radius Clause Lawsuit Dismissal Reversed Oregon-based promoter Soul'd Out Productions can now re-file their anti-trust suit in U.S. District Court” at Pitchfork.

Read “Jason Isbell Discusses New Album ‘Reunions’ On ‘CBS This Morning’” at JamBase.

Read “Laurie Anderson and Michael Stipe on Music, Art and New Chapters “You’ve got to fall on your face to sit at the table,” says the erstwhile R.E.M. frontman” at New York Times.

Read “'I found the roots of electronic music in a cupboard!': the tale of India's lost techno pioneers” at The Guardian.

Read “My Cymbals Were Melting”: Bill Kreutzmann Joins Carrie Fisher, Ad-Rock and Nick Offerman in ‘Have A Good Trip’ Which Debuts Today” at Relix.

Read “Listen to Iggy Pop Read a Bedtime Story About His Dog” at Pitchfork.

See “Salvador Dalí’s Illustrations for The Bible (1963)” at Open Culture.

Read “Original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater Games Getting Re-Released for PS4, XBOX One, and PC” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “An ASU researcher is working on a virus that's harmless to humans, but kills cancer cells” at AZ Central.

Read “Stanford scientists created a sound so loud it instantly boils water” at CNet.

See “Musician who loves danger invents a flame-throwing trombone” at Classic FM.

Read “Arizona Schools Plan For The Possibility Buildings May Not Open This Fall” at KJZZ.

The Weekly Town Crier (05/01/20)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (05/01/20).

Read “BREAKING: Fela's Ex-drummer, Tony Allen, Dies In France” at Sahara Reporters.

Read “Knock Knock. It's Weird Evangelical Twitter. Online, millennial Christians embrace the absurd” at Christianity Today.

Read “Can Staying Home Help Us Regain a Sense of Place? How rediscovering creation around us can deepen our connection with God” at Christianity Today.

Read “America's billionaires have become even richer since Donald Trump became president, and it says a lot about the country's record-high wealth gap” at Business Insider.

Read “Microsoft Word now flags double spaces as errors, ending the great space debate” at The Verge.

Read Pentagon Officially Publishes Tom DeLonge’s UFO Videos Confirming what DeLonge's known since Enema of the State -- that "Aliens Exist" at Consequence of Sound.

Read “'This is no damn hobby': the 'gangsta gardener' transforming Los Angeles” at The Guardian.

Read “The Great Gatsby and Catch-22 among classic books banned from Alaska classrooms Works from Maya Angelou, Joseph Heller, Tim O'Brien, Ralph Ellison and F Scott Fitzgerald erased from curriculum” at The Independent.

Read “Land O’Lakes quietly gets rid of iconic Indian maiden mascot” at Minnesota Reformer.

Read “We are living in an apocalypse” by David Dark at American Magazine.

Your Weekly Coronavirus News Roundup:

  • Read “Tom Cotton: Ban Chinese students from learning science so they can’t ‘steal’ coronavirus vaccine” at Raw Story.

  • Read “Miami goes seven weeks without a homicide for first time since 1957” at CBS News.

  • Read the opinion piece “Lysol and UV Rays: Running A Pandemic Like A Reality TV Show” at Empty Wheel.

  • Read “Tennessee Restaurants Reopen As State Sees Biggest 1-Day Jump In COVID-19 Cases” at NPR.

  • Read “How Some Phoenix Record Labels Are Surviving the Coronavirus” at Phoenix New Times.

  • Read “States Warn That Workers Will Lose Unemployment If They Refuse To Return To Jobs” at The Intellectualist.

  • Read/Watch “The dangerous global flood of misinformation surrounding COVID-19” at PBS News Hour.

  • Read “How Are Rich People Getting Richer During the Coronavirus Pandemic? Jeff Bezos has reportedly made another $25 billion since the beginning of the year” at GQ.

  • Read/Listen to “Grief is Everywhere in the Age of COVID-19” at WNYC.

  • Read “King Crimson’s Robert Fripp Launches “Music for Quiet Moments” Quarantine Series” at Consequence of Sound.

  • Read “THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS 'I Am Mourning The Loss': Two-Thirds Of Artists Report They're Now Unemployed” at NPR.

    • BUY MUSIC, SUPPORT ARTISTS (Listen to music. Love Your Neighbor): Beginning this Friday, May 01, Bandcamp will again waive their revenue share for everything sold. Until otherwise stated, they will be doing this on the first Friday of each month. Please use these chances to support artists during this difficult time.

Read/Listen to “How Will Chief Justice And Supreme Court Conservative Majority Affect 2020 Election?” at NPR. “Chief Justice John Roberts has worked hard to persuade the public that the Supreme Court justices are fair-minded legal umpires — not politicians in robes. But that image was tarnished by the Court's decision on Wisconsin's election earlier this month.”

Read “Here are the largest public companies taking payroll loans meant for small businesses” at MSNBC.

  • Read “U.S. Citizens Married To Immigrants Are Blocked From Getting Stimulus Checks” at Yahoo.

Read “Trump’s History With the Word Sarcasm Is Littered with Excuses and Ignorance When Trump uses the sarcasm excuse, it’s because he knows he’s gone too far but can’t bring himself to admit it” at Rolling Stone.

Read “Nancy Pelosi Endorses Joe Biden: “The Personification Of Hope And Courage, Values, Authenticity And Integrity” at News and Guts.

Read “Hillary Clinton Endorses Joe Biden” at News and Guts.

Browse the 2017 piece “11 Warning Signs of Gaslighting Gaslighting is a manipulation tactic used to gain power. And it works too well” at Psychology Today.

Read “I Love Phish Concerts, and I Can’t Wait for Them to Come Back”: Trey Anastasio Speaks About Quarantine, Tour Plans and ‘Sigma Oasis’ in New Interview” at Jambands.

Watch “Post Malone Performs Nirvana Covers With Travis Barker” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “Quarantine Creativity Interview Series: Ethan Miller” at Savage Henry.

Read “Library of Congress Launches Open-Source Hip-Hop Sampling Tool Producers will have access to the library's vast audio collection, which dates back more than a hundred years” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “This Is Heartbreaking For Us": Amoeba Music's Original Hollywood Location Permanently Closed” at Okay Player.

Read “Tori Amos Believes the Muses Can Help A conversation about music, politics, and what you learn about America from being on the road” at New Yorker.

Read “How Do You Sell Concert Tees Without Concerts? Merch Companies Are Up Against a Wall “I was thinking this is a bulletproof business,” says one of many merch execs who have lost their biggest revenue stream” at Rolling Stone.

Read “PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, More Sign Letter Calling for Creative Industry Funding From UK Government” at Pitchfork.

Read “It Has to Be About Need :: The Mysteries of Lucinda Williams’ Good Souls Better Angels” at Aquarium Drunkard.

  • Read “Lucinda Williams on the Music That Made Her The venerable singer-songwriter talks about the artists and albums that have meant the most to her—Sade, Audioslave, Tricky—five years at a time” at Pitchfork.

Read “Live Nation Updates Ticket Refund Policy” at Jambands.

Read “Stephen Malkmus on Traditional Techniques :: We’re Just Going To Wing It” at Aquarium Drunkard.

Read “Charlie Parker's Story to Be Told in Graphic Novel 'Chasin' the Bird' at The Hollywood Reporter.

Read “European Cities Launch Drive-In Concert Series With Great Success” at Live For Live Music.

Read “Watch Fiona Apple Give a Rare TV Interview on Democracy Now!” at Pitchfork.

BUY MUSIC, SUPPORT ARTISTS (Listen to music. Love Your Neighbor): Beginning this Friday, May 01, Bandcamp will again waive their revenue share for everything sold. Until otherwise stated, they will be doing this on the first Friday of each month. Please use these chances to support artists during this difficult time.

Read “For this year only, movies that had to go streaming will still be eligible for Oscars” at AV Club.

Read “AMC Theatres Refuses to Show Universal Films Following VOD Release of Trolls World Tour Universal seemed to imply that the commercial success of Trolls was proof that VOD was the way of the future” at Consequence of Sound

Read “Museums are sharing their creepiest objects in apparent attempt to digitize ancient curses” at AV Club.

Read “In Thailand, Funeral Cookbooks Preserve Recipes and Memories Though their origins are tragic, the books provide invaluable inspiration” at Atlas Obscura.

The Weekly Town Crier (04/10/20)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (04/10/20)

Read “John Prine 1946 – 2020” at JamBase.

Read “Hal Willner, Music Producer and ‘SNL’ Veteran, Dies at 64” at Variety.

Read “Mort Drucker, Master of the Mad Caricature, Is Dead at 91” at New York Times.

Coronavirus Weekly Roundup:Education:

  • Read: “I’ve Spent 27 Years in Solitary Confinement. Here Are Some Tips on Making the Best Use of Time Alone” at Mother Jones.

  • Read “Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp admits he just learned asymptomatic people can spread coronavirus” at NBC News.

  • Read “Liberty University student tests positive for Covid-19 after Falwell reopens campus Nearly a dozen students showed symptoms of coronavirus after Jerry Falwell Jr defied calls for closures and invited them to return” at The Guardian.

  • Read “As coronavirus death rates multiply, these monks are giving away caskets” at Religion News Service.

  • Read “The coronavirus pandemic is exposing the myth of self-reliance The people we deem invisible are holding us together right now” at Christian Century.

  • Read “Fox News Is Preparing to Be Sued Over Coronavirus Misinformation Polls show that Trish Regan, Sean Hannity, and others successfully bamboozled viewers about coronavirus. Now, Fox is reportedly lawyering up for a potential legal backlash” at Vanity Fair.

Read “President Obama & Marilynne Robinson: A Conversation in Iowa” at The New York Review of Books.

Read “Sen. Elizabeth Warren Calls For National Voting Overhaul” at NPR. “Sen. Elizabeth Warren is unveiling a plan that includes $4 billion in new elections funding and that would require 30 days of early voting and a mail-in ballot to be sent to every registered voter in the country.”

Read “Bernie Sanders drops out of the 2020 race, clearing Joe Biden's path to the Democratic nomination” at CNN.

Read “Everybody Loses: Tiger King, Greek Tragedy, and Spectacle as Entertainment” at Christ and Pop Culture.

Read “Why Do We Even Listen to New Music? Our brains reward us for seeking out what we already know. So why should we reach to listen to something we don’t?” at Pitchfork.

Listen to Henry Rollins’ 4-Hour Radio Show The Cool Quarantine” at Pitchfork.

Read “When I Get To Heaven”: A Candid Conversation with John Prine” at Relix.

The Weekly Town Crier (04/03/20)

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All the week’s news that’s fit to cry about (04/03/20).

Read “Remembering Doug Clark, a mysterious icon of the Phoenix punk music underground” at AZ Central.

Read “Ellis Marsalis, New Orleans jazz piano legend hospitalized with coronavirus symptoms, dies” at Nola.

Read “R.I.P. Bill Withers, “Lean on Me” and “Lovely Day” Singer, Dies at 81 The legendary crooner passed away from heart complications” at Consequence of Sound.

Read “Fountains of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger Dead at 52 From COVID-19” at PitchforkI.

Consider “Should Christians Participate in Boycotts?” with Alan Noble at Christian Research Institute.

Coronavirus Weekly Roundup:Education:

  • Read “A coronavirus outbreak in jails or prisons could turn into a nightmare Experts warn prisons and jails aren’t ready for a pandemic — and that could hurt everyone else too” at Vox.

  • Read “Rodney Howard-Browne, Megachurch Pastor Who Flouted Virus Rules, Arrested” at The Daily Beast.

  • Read “Liberty University Brings Back Its Students, and Coronavirus Fears, Too The decision by the school’s president, Jerry Falwell Jr., to partly reopen his evangelical university enraged residents of Lynchburg, Va. Then students started getting sick” at the New York Times.

  • Read “Hobby Lobby Closes Stores, Slashes Salaries Following 'God Is in Control' Remarks and Social Media Has Thoughts” at PopCulture.

  • Read “Over 1,200 people attend Louisiana church service, defying coronavirus ban: "We will continue" at CBS News.

  • Read “Roy Moore, ex-Alabama chief justice, to aid Central church defying coronavirus order” at The Advocate.

  • Read “Some evangelicals deny the coronavirus threat. It’s because they love tough guys. White evangelical conservatives don’t take the novel coronavirus seriously because they believe in a muscular Christianity” at Washington Post.

  • Read “Christianity Offers No Answers About the Coronavirus. It's Not Supposed To” at Time

  • Read “John Prine Hospitalized With COVID-19 Symptoms” at Jambands.

  • Read “I'm a Doctor Recovering From COVID-19. I Can't Get Over the Government's Callousness for Human Life” at Time.

  • Read “General Electric Workers Launch Protest, Demand to Make Ventilators GE workers who normally make jet engines say their facilities are sitting idle while the country faces a dire ventilator shortage” at Vice.

  • Read “Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey issues statewide stay-at-home order” at KTAR.

  • Read “ Honeywell Hiring 500 in Phoenix to Make Millions of N-95 Masks Each Month” at Phoenix.gov.

  • Read “Netflix's Tiger King star Joe Exotic hospitalised after contracting coronavirus in prison” at The Mirror.

  • Read “Brian Kemp Is What You Get When Allegiance to Trump Is All That Matters Georgia’s Republican governor announced his reversal on social distancing policies with a stunning admission” at The Esquire.

  • Read “Florida officials: Arrested pastor not exonerated by new order listing religious services as ‘essential’ at Religion News Service.

Read “Bernie Sanders says he’s staying in the presidential race. Many Democrats fear a reprise of their 2016 defeat” at Washington Post.

Read “Last Call: Neal Casal and the Dangerous Thing We’re Afraid to Talk About” at Premier Guitar.

Read “Robert Plant interview: my life after Led Zeppelin. It's been a long time since Robert Plant fronted the biggest band in the world, and now, at 71, he’s enjoying the fourth decade of a successful solo career” at Louder Sound.

Read “The My Generation: An Oral History Of Myspace Music Myspace changed the way we discovered music and fell apart after conquering the world” at Stereogum.

Read “Miles Davis’ ‘Bitches Brew’ At 50” at Tidal.

Check out “Stevie Wonder :: @ The Rainbow Theatre — London, 01/31/74” at Aquarium Drunkard.

Listen and Download “Herbie Hancock & the Headhunters :: 1974 – Bremen, Germany” at Aquarium Drunkard.

Read “Chuck D Says Flavor Flav’s Public Enemy Firing Was a Hoax to Promote New Album” at Pitchfork.

Read “Hasbro releases every episode of 80’s G.I. Joe animated series on YouTube” at Arrow In The Head.

Read “You Can Now Binge-Watch Every Single Episode of The French Chef with Julia Child” at Taste Of Home.

See “20+ People Who Discovered Their Art History Doppelgängers at Museums” at My Modern Net.

See “Incredibly Realistic Paintings Look Like They’re Wrapped in Plastic Film” at My Modern Net.

See “Museum Asks People To Recreate Paintings With Stuff They Can Find at Home, Here Are The Results” at Sad and Useless.

Read “Gannett, publisher of The Arizona Republic, announces unpaid furloughs” at AZ Central.

Read “Arizona arts telethon has tons of content for all ages. Here's how to stream it this week” at AZ Central.