02/10/23
Good morning! It’s Friday, February 10th. International Cribbage Day
Cribbage is that game that you play… um… with a deck of cards? I think? There’s a board for sure. And you do laps. Or a lap. It’s an oval.
You know what? The point is… it’s international Cribbage Day and that’s all you need to know.
And now, the news.
Earthquake Update
-via CNN
As predicted, the death toll from the earthquake in Turkey and Syria has grown to a truly horrific number. As of this recording, the death toll has surpassed 21,000.
And now, as snow continues to fall in regions that lack water, power, and communications, aid agencies worry about a secondary disaster for survivors who lack shelter and have displaced to outdoor areas.
The volunteer Syria Civil Defense, known at the White Helmets, have been working around the clock since the quake and, on Thursday, warned that the chances of finding survivors was fading.
In Turkey, the Ukrainian State Emergency Service arrived in the country on Thursday. While in Kyiv, people have placed flowers at the Turkish Embassy.
As a reminder, more than 86,000 Ukrainian refugees have fled to Turkey.
Once again I’m linking to a NY Times article that has places you can donate to help those affected by the quake.
Chinese Military Balloon
-via AP News
Let’s talk balloons!
The Chinese spy balloon that was shot down last week was equipped to detect and collect intelligence signals as part of a 40-country military-linked surveillance program.
So, not the BEST balloon.
The information came out because China accused America of being too aggressive by shooting down the balloon, as they claimed the balloon wasn’t for spying. Just normal other balloon stuff. This information refutes China’s claim.
Still, Biden noted that the balloon was not a major breach. However, it’s still a violation of international law and we had the right to shoot down the balloon that came into our air space.
So… we’re gonna be hearing about the balloon for a while, I would assume.
Pence Got Served
-via ABC News
Mike Pence – do you remember him?
Former Veep Mike Pence has been served a subpoena by the special counsel looking into the time that a bunch of people got together at the encouragement and probable planning of Donald Trump and decided to storm the capitol and throw a hissy fit because big big loser Donald Trump did the literal only thing he’s good at and lost the 2020 election.
It’s not clear what information Coach Beard, I mean Jack Smith, is looking to get out of Pence’s testimony.
Probably like – “hey. Did Trump do it?” And also – “Hey. Are you seriously still sticking by Trump even though he literally sent a mob to kill you?” and then, based on that question maybe… “Hey. Have ya heard of therapy?”
This is a breaking story so that’s all the information we have.
Florida Continues to Florida
-Student Athlete Form via NPR
-College Board via NY Times
After an emergency vote on Thursday, Florida high school student athletes will no longer need to answer a question about when their last period was.
Yes, that’s right. Florida did, for a hot minute, require student athletes to write down the date of their last period.
The question was obviously a continued attack on transgender rights in a state that doesn’t want to have anything to do with anyone being transgender. Or having rights, for that matter.
Another word they never want to hear again? Abortion. And having students write down the date of their last period could also lead to learning a student could be pregnant and deducing, from there, whether they had an abortion.
Which I’m sure was a secondary bonus to the people who wrote this rule, forgetting of course – the way that bodies work and that, in high school, particularly with athletes, periods are irregular if not delayed.
Which is likely why the question was deleted. It certainly wasn’t because they realized someone bravely living the most authentic life possible was brave and incredible and inspiring.
How do we know this?
Because the newly changed form replaced the question of “sex” to “sex assigned at birth.”
But don’t worry, Florida isn’t done Florida-ing yet…
Because we also learned on Thursday that, while it was developing the AP African American Studies class, the Florida College Board was in regular contact with Gov DeSantis. A revelation that adds to the controversy over the board, which has often been criticized for creating testing that seems to favor white and affluent students.
Hey. Guess what? The College Board? That’s an elected position.
You registered?
And that’s it. That’s the news.
Hey! So Monday there will be a special episode of the news, and then no episode on Tuesday.
I’ll be back on Wednesday. In the meantime… I have nothing more to say about Cribbage. But I do like the game of Life, and that’s what that little plastic peg in the Cribbage set I saw reminds me of.
It’s also All the News That’s Fit to Print Day. But this is a news podcast, and we will not be celebrating something like that.
So obviously more than newspapers… just kidding, subscribe to your local newspapers and also a few national ones as well. But still… more than all the board games and opinion sections in the world… because you’re a great time with some really solid opinions… I’m proud of you.