Weather: Yesterday’s weather, while beautiful, sorta pissed me off. I wore jeans out for my big afternoon walk (25,000 steps btw) and I was sweating! And yet, shorts would have felt silly to me. Classic summer-to-fall transition temperature, amiright? Anyway, the weather picks a clearer lane today—summer, baby. Expect clear, sunny skies, and highs in the upper 80s. Shorts weather for sure.
Apalachee High School: In the latest episode of America’s ongoing tragedy, Apalachee High School in Georgia found itself in the spotlight yesterday morning after a shooting rocked the campus. According to CNN, police suspect a 14-year-old boy, who is now in custody, shot and killed two 14-year-old students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, and two teachers, Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie. The shooter also injured eight other students and another teacher. They are all expected to survive.
Who could have seen this coming? The cops. The cops could have seen this coming because the FBI alerted local law enforcement about the suspect’s "online threats to commit a school shooting at an unidentified location and time" in May of 2023. Sheriff's deputies interviewed the student and his father, who said he kept guns in the house. The cops told the schools to keep an eye on him, but could not arrest or “take any additional law enforcement action” because they did not have “probable cause.” Maybe we need better ways to prevent violence than cops!
PAX West: A bunch of nerds (celebratory) got together this weekend at the convention center and it was horny (also celebratory).
Classic Russian interference: A new indictment filed yesterday alleges that Russia secretly funded a media company linked to right-wing talking heads including Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, and Benny Johnson to produce content to sew cultural war divisions in the U.S. so Americans don’t oppose their war in Ukraine too hard.
A family affair: It looks like some of VP nominee Tim Walz’s family will be voting for his competitor, former President Donald Trump, come November. As many Twitter users pointed out, it is very midwest Democrat-coded to have a bunch of Republicans in your extended family. Like, I think my parents would probably vote against me if I ran for President tbh.
I can’t believe this white person has racist family members.. That never happens! https://t.co/SA89RrdHuK
— Kylie Cheung (@kylietcheung) September 4, 2024
In endorsements that actually matter: Okay, so maybe VP nominee Tim Walz has some haters in his family, but former president Donald Trump has much more powerful haters in his party. Former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming endorsed Democratic nominee Kamala Harris over Trump yesterday at an appearance at Duke University. “Because of the danger that Donald Trump poses,” Cheney said, “not only am I not voting for Donald Trump, but I will be voting for Kamala Harris.” Cheney’s just the latest high-profile Republican to cross party lines on Trump. Never-Trump Republicans had plenty of air time at the Democratic convention unlike the anti-genocide contingent of Harris’s own party.
ICYMI: As schools return to session, students, teachers, and other representatives of the 99.8% reminded the voting public earlier this week to support childcare, early education, and school construction by voting “NO” on I–2109 this November. I-2109 would repeal a very modest, very narrow capital gains tax, which only affects the .2% wealthiest households in Washington. The initiative would rob Washington children of more than $5 billion through 2029.
Katy Perry responds: Katy Perry pissed off pop listeners when she released an uninspired track, “WOMAN’S WORLD” that sounded like a reject from the Barbie soundtrack. The tired, one-dimensional feminist messaging landed especially poorly because Perry worked with Dr. Luke, a producer accused of sexually assaulting Kesha in a high-profile, decade-long legal battle they settled last year. In the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, Perry finally addressed the criticism. Well, “addressed” may be a strong word.
Katy Perry addressing why she decided to work with Dr. Luke again on the ‘Call Her Daddy’ podcast:
— Pop Base (@PopBase) September 4, 2024
“Look, I understand that it started a lot of conversations. And he was one of many collaborators that I collaborated with, but the reality is it comes from me. The truth is I wrote… pic.twitter.com/V3fsjome7v
Philadelphi corridor: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sticking to his guns, insisting that Israel keep its iron grip on Gaza’s border with Egypt. His stubbornness over the Philadelphi corridor, a tiny strip of land Israel grabbed in May, is now completely stymying peace talks, which hinge on him agreeing to a full exit from Gaza. Maybe if he focused less on conquering land more on genuine negotiation, he’d have better luck with those hostages.
Polio in Palestine: Polio made a comeback in Gaza last month thanks to a mix of outdated vaccines and disrupted health services, Vox reports. The World Health Organization (WHO) is stepping in with a massive vaccination drive to eradicate the disease—again.
New French Prime Minister just dropped: A two month stalemate just ended as French President Emmanuel Macron named conservative Michel Barnier, the European Union’s former Brexit negotiator, as prime minister.
Think of me when you hear this song, even though I am a Diet Coke girlie.