Happy Friday, and despite Rebecca’s worries that I’d forget, here are your TABS!
A gunman in Prague shot up a university building yesterday, killing 14 people and wounding more than 20 in what’s being described as the Czech Republic’s worst mass shooting. The shooter is also dead; he was a 24-year-old student at Charles University, where the shooting rampage occurred; he had several guns with him. Based on evidence found in his home, he’s believed to have also killed another man and his 2-month-old daughter on December 15. The Washington Post notes that the Czech Republic has looser gun laws than most other European countries, but no 2nd Amendment, so hooray for freedom. [AP / WaPo]
Body cam footage shows that, during the December 6 mass shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (3 dead, one wounded), police who arrived on the scene initially mistook the shooter for a bystander and urged him to escape the business school building along with others on the scene. After he left the building, he pulled his gun and was killed in a shootout with police. [AP]
Two stories in and we’re already starting to sound like Simon & Garfunkel’s “7 O’ Clock News / Silent Night,” so let’s find cheerier tabs, OK?
OK, this is pretty normal: Kim Jong Un may have thought the world had forgotten he’s there, so he threatened to launch nuclear missiles on anyone who attacks North Korea, in case anyone was wondering. So okay, nobody attack North Korea, ‘kay? [ABC News]
Oh, hey, the fuckery from the 2020 election just keeps coming! Donald Trump was recorded trying to pressure members of the Wayne County, Michigan, Board of Canvassers not to certify the vote. And Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel was on the November 17, 2020 call, too. [Detroit News]
Sad loser Ron DeSantis said, in an interview with Christian Broadcasting Network aired yesterday, “I would say if I could have one thing change, I wish Trump hadn’t been indicted on any of this stuff.” Not necessarily because he thinks Trump’s been treated unfairly, but because it sucked all the media attention away from Trump’s competitors in the primary. Poor thing. [Politico]
Sen. JD Vance came up with a novel and nonsensical way to handwave away Donald Trump’s Hitlerian comments about immigrants “poisoning the blood of our country”: Obviously, Trump was just talking about all the fentanyl! One tiny problem is that Trump didn’t say boo about fentanyl, but hey, sometimes an Oracle needs interpreting. [John Fugelsang on Xitter]
Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount are talking about a possible merger, because what the world really needs is more monopolistic media. To quote a famous Warner character, we say gif of Bugs Bunny mouthing “NO.” [CNN]
Cool research: EV battery production in the US is expected to meet or possibly exceed demand by 2028. And as new and better battery technology enters the market, that by itself spurs more EV sales. Thanks, Inflation Reduction Act! [Heatmap News]
In a related development: Thanks in part to increasing EV and hybrid sales, the fuel economy of new vehicles in the US set a new record for 2022, according to an EPA report. It was the biggest annual gain in nine years, with average fuel economy at 26 mpg, which is pretty impressive when you consider how popular big dumb pickups and SUVs remain. The EPA forecasts that with EV sales increasing (over a million sold in 2023 so far), the average fuel economy for 2023 will be 26.9. [Reuters / EPA]
Check out this cool funky WaPo article (gift link) about how genetic data from little octopuses found in the Antarctic is giving scientists insights into how the critters survived the melting of the ice shelf 125,000 years ago — the last time the planet was as hot as it is now. Science is so friggin’ cool. [WaPo gift link]
Here is your obligatory Thornton photo. We had a little scare Tuesday when I found a few little spots of blood on the floor and realized that one of his rear claws had grown until it curved around and dug into a toe bean! (He didn’t seem to be in any pain, at least.) Got him to the vet the same day and all is well now.
As I mentioned the last time he was perching on my desk, Thornton seems to like just being near me without necessarily blocking the keyboard. He gets pets and head kisses. Then again, he may also know this angle makes him look all kinds of distinguished. Just as I snapped this, he heard something outside that really got his attention.
Have a good weekend! OMG it’s almost Sacred Baby Festival Day!
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