At 83, Olympic champion and author of The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care Benjamin Spock climbed over a fence at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and was arrested for protesting the launch of a Trident 2 missile. At 91, Hulda Crooks climbed Mt. Fuji and, for the 23rd time, Mt. Whitney.   read more

If you want to put some excitement into your wedding celebration, hire Donald Trump to speak! No size too small—and he promises to mention the names of the bride and groom at least once.   read more

Donald Trump ordered his current lawyers to present an unusual defense of the various crimes he is accused of committing: incitement to riot and insurrection, obstruction of justice, financial fraud and lying on his tax returns and more. Trump says that as soon as he became the Republican candidate for president, Antifa and Black Lives Matter infiltrated his brain and caused him to say things he didn’t believe.   read more

In a series of tweets, Trump said, “I’m sorry I didn’t act sooner and I’m sorry that I’ve pushed to open up the country before the pandemic is under control. As you know, I’ve added my name to the stimulus checks that Americans have received. Now I’ve asked to add my name to the death certificates of all Americans who die of the coronavirus from now on.”   read more

With a face as straight as Ken Starr’s, Trump asked Palestinians to adopt laws “protecting against financial and political corruption.” He did this while standing next to Benjamin Netanyahu, who, that same day, had been indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three different cases of corruption.   read more

President Donald Trump has issued an executive order banning the use of Arabic numerals by the federal government and replacing all numbers with Roman numerals. In a live television interview with campaign advisor Sean Hannity, Trump argued that it’s necessary to stop the infiltration of American life by Muslim culture and Sharia law. His reelection campaign will now be known as Trump MMXX. His MAGA caps will be rebranded as Make America GVIII Again.   read more

Responding to stagnating ratings and changing demographics, Fox News has announced several changes to its lineup. The morning show “Fox and Friends” will now be renamed “Trump and Friends.” Tucker Carlson, Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham will host a new show called “Clickbait” in which they will compete to see whose outrageous statements can earn the most mentions by non-Fox News media.   read more

Psychiatric illness, mood disorders and lack of social support are recognized risk factors for suicide. Some studies show that increased elevation may enhance psychological problems, such as panic attacks, and that altitude is a significant risk factor for depressive symptoms and suicide. It's now shown that Americans in higher-altitude counties are at a higher risk for suicide. In Utah, the average geographic altitude is about 6,000 feet, and the rate of suicide is 70% higher than average.   read more

In Alabama’s runoff election for the GOP nomination for a U.S. Senate seat, Luther Strange may have the crowning endorsement of President Trump, but Roy Moore seemed to have support from beyond the grave. On Monday night, Moore’s campaign deleted an endorsement on its website from conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, after it became apparent that Schlafly died last year at the age of 92. The two candidates have sought endorsements outside of Alabama to win over GOP voters.   read more

Our idea about what it takes to regulate panhandling intelligently: Encourage “successful panhandling,” which brings together willing donors and willing solicitors; and discourage “unsuccessful panhandling,” which targets people who don’t even want to see solicitations, let alone give money to someone asking for help on the sidewalk. What’s wrong with most anti-panhandling ordinances is that they try to ban or discourage both kinds instead of promoting the former and discouraging the latter.   read more

Jarlstrom sued the Portland suburb, claiming it programmed its yellow lights to be so brief that drivers didn’t have time to make it through an intersection before they turned red, putting drivers in danger. After the judge tossed his suit, a state agency launched a two-year investigation of Jarlstrom, then fined him $500 for publicly critiquing the mathematical formulas behind traffic light cameras without an engineering license. Jarlstrom calls that a prohibition on free speech.   read more

A "staggering" number of town residents have been arrested based on a “hunch” or “feeling” that they were involved in criminal activity. Police strip-searched individuals suspected of committing crimes, placed them in cells without beds, toilets, or showers, and denied them communication with loved ones for days at a time. Citizens were “commonly detained for 72 hours or more without being provided an opportunity to contest their arrest and detention,” said the Justice Department report.   read more

There were 2,054 transportation-related episodes that resulted in fatalities, accounting for about 42 percent of all workplace deaths. As a result, 745 drivers of heavy and tractor-trailer trucks died because of injuries at work last year, more than any other major civilian occupation. Falls, slips and trips made up the next most common major cause of workplace fatalities, resulting in 800 deaths last year. Men accounted for all but 7 percent of the total workplace deaths in 2015.   read more

The pollsters offered up five options for most annoying word or phrase: "Whatever," ''No offense, but," ''Ya know, right," ''I can't even" and "huge." "No offense, but" is second with 20 percent. In third place is, "You know, right," which is irksome to 14 percent of people, tied with "I can't even." ''Huge" grates on the nerves of 8 percent. "Whatever" is losing some steam, though. Last year it topped the list at 43 percent.   read more

Guiding Santa’s sleigh isn’t the only thing Rudolph and his reindeer friends are responsible for: they also play an important role in slowing down climate change. A team of researchers discovered that grazing reindeer reduce the abundance of tundra shrubs, which increases the level of surface albedo – solar energy reflected by Earth back into space. “The effect reindeer grazing can have on albedo and energy balances is potentially large enough to be regionally important,” said Mariska te Beest.   read more

The judge allowed the young people to amend their complaint and move ahead with their constitutional claims "so as to have their day in court," Judge Hill wrote. "The Court takes this action due to the emergent need for coordinated science based action by the State of Washington to address climate change before efforts to do so are too costly and too late." The petitioners can now go to court and argue that the state has violated their rights under the state constitution.   read more