Keeping up with the news is hard. So hard, in fact, that we’ve decided to save you the hassle by rounding up the most significant, unusual, or just plain old mind-blowing stories each week.

This week, the phrase “spoke too soon” is the one that probably applies best to the news. You may recall last week’s column opened with us saying how it had been a blissfully dull week, with no major attacks. No sooner had we filed the dang thing than a mass killing in Kashmir threatened to send nuclear-armed India and Pakistan spiraling into war. More on this brewing crisis below, alongside all the other important stuff that happened this week.

10 A Terrorist Attack Pushed India-Pakistan Tensions To Boiling Point

A mountainous region in the Himalayas, Kashmir is a beautiful slice of Asia that also happens to be one of the biggest potential triggers for a nuclear war. Partially administered by both India and Pakistan, and wholly claimed by both, it’s a troubled place where unrest is common, and violence is never far from the surface.

Last Thursday, after this column had been written, that violence came erupting out. A suicide bomber attacked a convoy of India’s security forces, detonating a car bomb that killed 40. The attack was claimed by Pakistani militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed. It was the deadliest attack in Kashmir in decades.

Bad as this was, what comes next could be even worse. India believes Jaish-e-Mohammed is linked to Pakistan’s intelligence services. There’s now a real chance that these two nuclear-armed states could go to war.^[1]

So far, India has only implemented economic sanctions against Pakistan. Still, military options are said to be on the table, and even a limited military strike against Jaish-e-Mohammed could trigger countermeasures and spark a conflagration.

9 16 US States Sued To Stop Trump’s Border Wall

Late last week, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency to redirect federal funds and build his border wall. This week, the fallout from that announcement blanketed the news, in the form of 16 US states suing the White House.^[2]

Trump’s national emergency declaration was always going to be controversial. Controversial on the left because Democrats see the wall as a monument to racism. Controversial on the right because building the wall will eat up a ton of federal funds and involve eminent domain land purchases, all of which smacks of the sort of big government project many Republicans did not sign on for.

Now, the battle moves to the US courts, courtesy of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Virginia, and Michigan. If the decision goes to the Supreme Court, it could set a precedent for the use of executive power for decades to come.

8 Brexit Began To Rip Apart The UK’s Main Political Parties

Ah, Brexit. The gift that keeps on giving like a recurring bout of malaria. With barely a month to go until the UK exits the European Union and no Brexit deal in sight, the tensions in Westminster are starting to reach breaking point.

On Monday, they finally made a crack in the opposition Labour Party. Seven MPs, including former leadership contender Chuka Umunna, split from the party over Jeremy Corbyn’s handling of Brexit and a recent anti-Semitism scandal. They aligned themselves to something called the Independent Group, a brand-new, moderate political entity that didn’t exist last week. One day later, an eighth Labour MP joined them. Shortly after that, three MPs defected from the ruling Conservative Party, saying Theresa May was in thrall to Brexit extremists.

The Independent Group is now the joint fourth-largest force in the UK Parliament, behind the Conservatives, Labour, and the Scottish National Party and equal with the Liberal Democrats.^[3]

In a 650-seat House, 11 doesn’t add up to very much, but it’s what this could mean for the future that’s important. Already, there’s talk of yet more Conservatives defecting. Should it look like Britain is really about to go over the Brexit cliff-edge, the Independent Group might become much bigger.

7 A Wave Of Anti-Semitism Swept France

France is home to the single largest Jewish community outside of Israel and the US. Sadly, there are some who don’t see this as something to be proud of, and their numbers are apparently growing. This week, a wave of anti-Semitic incidents across the country prompted tens of thousands to take to the streets in protest.^[4]

The attacks were the standard litany of hate that unfortunately goes with this territory. In Alsace, a Jewish cemetery was vandalized with swastikas. The German word for “Jew” was spray-painted on a bakery. A synagogue was shot at with an air rifle. More swastikas were painted on pictures of a Holocaust survivor in Paris. A tree planted to commemorate a Jewish man tortured to death was chopped down.

Perhaps most disturbingly, this anti-Semitism seems to have found a home in the yellow vest protest movement. On the weekend, a gang of yellow vests surrounded a prominent Jewish philosopher and peppered him with verbal abuse.

6 A Prominent Actor Was Charged With Faking His Homophobic Attack

So, this was a scandal few of us saw coming. Way back on January 29, Empire star Jussie Smollett was hospitalized, saying he’d been the victim of a racist and homophobic attack that had included a noose being tied around his neck. It was the sort of awful story that’s sadly all too common, only Smollett’s version came with a twist.

This Thursday, Smollett was formally arrested by the Chicago police. The reason? It’s now believed that he orchestrated his own attack for reasons that remain totally unclear.^[5]

It’s said that Smollett knew his two attackers and may have paid them to assault him. On top of that, he’s been charged with sending a threatening letter to the studio where Empire is filmed. Smollett vehemently denies all charges.

5 North Carolina’s 9th District Voter Fraud Case Got Even Bigger

Remember the 2018 midterms? After all the dust settled, the House races were left with a puzzling postscript. North Carolina’s 9th district race remained uncertified, despite the Republican candidate, Mark Harris, winning by 905 votes.

This was because credible allegations of voter fraud began to swirl not long after. Harris, it was alleged, had used a firm to go around various towns and collect absentee ballots by hand. This is already illegal under NC law, but then came accusations that Harris’s operatives had gone further by potentially “misplacing” or agreeing to pick up and then not picking up absentee votes for Democrat Dan McCready. There’s even been talk that Harris’s people may have filled in absentee voter ballots themselves.

On Monday, the executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections laid out the state’s evidence that voter fraud did take place. While far from conclusive, it certainly looks plausible. It was enough that the five members of the election board unanimously ordered a new election on Thursday afternoon.^[6]

4 A Bangladesh Fire Killed Around 80 People

Chawkbazar is a centuries-old district in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, that houses just about everything from residential homes, to shops, to businesses storing propane in super-unsafe conditions. That last item is exactly why you’re reading about it right now. Late Wednesday night, a fire broke out in Chawkbazar. In no time at all, it had killed somewhere in the region of 80 people.^[7]

Buildings in Chawkbazar are built insanely close, with mere inches separating them. It’s this that allowed the fire to spread with such speed. After a minibus caught fire outside a chemical shop, it caused an explosion that set half the district ablaze. By Thursday morning, 78 had been confirmed killed, with many more still missing.

Dhaka is no stranger to devastating fires. A 2010 fire that killed over 100 people was similarly blamed on the storage of dangerous chemicals in residential areas. It’s just a shame that no lessons were learned.

3 Bernie Sanders Unveiled His 2020 Presidential Bid

In the febrile atmosphere of 2016, it briefly looked like both major parties were going to have a populist outsider running as their candidate: Donald Trump for the Republicans and Bernie Sanders for the Democrats.

Clearly, this didn’t happen. Hillary locked down Southern Democrats’ votes and, with a little help from the anti-Bernie DNC, first sealed the nomination and then went down in flames in the election. Ever since, many Democrats have wondered, “Could he have done it? Could Bernie have beaten Trump?”

Well, they may soon have an answer. On Tuesday, the Democratic Socialist from Vermont announced he was running for the Democratic nomination again. Less than 24 hours later, he’d already raised over $5.9 million in donations.^[8]

Sanders is a known quantity with a fervent fan base and amazing fundraising prowess. Should he get the nomination, he could also do well in the Midwest states Trump won in 2016. However, Bernie’s also getting challenged from the left this time, something he definitely didn’t have to worry about in 2016.

2 The Supreme Court Slapped Down Civil Forfeiture

Civil asset forfeiture has long been one of the craziest things that a supposedly pro-individual rights country like the US allows to happen. In short, state and local governments can seize your stuff if they think you’ve committed a crime. In some cases, this has meant states grabbing everything they can get their hands on, even when the crime in question has been on the petty side, or even if the suspect has never been proven guilty.

The basic unfairness of all this still hasn’t gone away, but it’s gotten a little more palatable. This week, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling that civil asset forfeiture was covered by the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause, which prevents governments or corporations issuing disproportionate fines.^[9] From now on, anytime the state seizes your stuff, they will have to go to court to explain why they did so and why it was fair.

Some of the abuses of civil asset forfeiture have been jaw-dropping. The plaintiff in this case had been fined $1,200 for selling $225 of heroin but also had his $42,000 Land Rover seized. The Rover had been bought using his dad’s life insurance policy, not drug money.

1 A Shocking Attack Derailed Nigeria’s Elections

Last Friday, Nigeria’s government made a surprise announcement. They were delaying the country’s elections by one week due to violence. When asked why, they pointed to an attack on a Muslim minority community in Kaduna state earlier in the week.

At first, the attack was reported as having killed scores. By last Friday, the number had climbed to 66. On Tuesday, we got a final body count that was shocking. Over 130 people had been killed in the assault, making it equal in death toll to the horrific 2015 Paris attacks. According to the state governor, the attack had been intended to “wipe out certain communities.”^[10]

Last October, violence in the region led to the deaths of 55 people, mainly from the local Christian communities. This latest attack, which hit two villages at once, was apparently revenge-driven.

If that’s the case, it’s certainly upped the ante. With 130 dead, it seems the region of Kaduna could now be trapped in a cycle of bitter ethnic violence.

Keeping up with the news is hard. So hard, in fact, that we’ve decided to save you the hassle by rounding up the most significant, unusual, or just plain old mind-blowing stories each week.

This week, the main story exploding the news waves seemed to be the terrible, horrible, no good week Donald Trump has been having. The House voted to rebuke him, his Vietnam summit with Kim fell way short of expectations, and Michael Cohen delivered testimony that amounted to several hours of sustained (and possibly deserved) character assassination. But fear not, those who hate politics! There were other stories out there, too. Exactly seven of them, to be precise.

10 The Second Trump-Kim Summit Ended In Failure

“Sometimes you have to walk.” That was Donald Trump’s take on the dramatic damp-squib ending to his second round of talks with North Korea’s Kim. (Can a damp squib be dramatic? Discuss.) Taking place in Vietnam and billed as being the diplomatic event of the year, the talks instead broke down, leaving the entire North Korea peace process in disarray.^[1]

So what happened? How did the success of 2018’s Singapore summit become the failure of Vietnam’s? Well, the simple explanation is that US and DPRK expectations were simply too far apart. The North wanted to give up little in return for a lot, and the US wanted Pyongyang to denuclearize faster than Kim was willing to give on.

This won’t mean a return to the bellicose rhetoric of 2017. Both sides remain committed to the process, despite this huge setback.

9 The House Voted To Block Trump’s Emergency Declaration

And so we continue on with the demolition derby that was Trump’s week. Back home, the Democrat-controlled House was giving him problems, too. You may remember that Trump recently declared a national emergency to fund his controversial border wall. Well, the House has now voted to block that declaration.^[2]

Thirteen Republicans joined forces with every single darn Democrat to deliver the rebuke, a blow for the president. The Senate is now required by law to take up the vote, and signs are that they may follow in the House’s footsteps. Three Republican senators have indicated that they will vote in favor of the rebuke. Only a single additional GOP senator is required to flip to shoot down Trump’s declaration.

If that happens, things will get complicated. Trump can veto the bill, meaning Congress will have to vote again. This time, a two-thirds majority in both chambers would be required to actually halt the declaration. It’s unlikely to happen, but you never know.

8 Cardinal Pell Was Found Guilty Of Abuse

Cardinal Pell was once known as the third most important man in the Vatican. Today, he has a new reputation: as the highest-ranking Catholic priest to ever be convicted of child abuse. On Tuesday, it was revealed that Pell had been found guilty of abusing two young boys in Melbourne in 1996. Cardinal Pell will now appeal the sentence.^[3]

Pell was actually found guilty in December, but a worldwide gag order meant that no media outlets could comment on the verdict until this week, lest they prejudice a separate trial which has since collapsed. However, it’s worth pointing out that some (though not all) experts believe Pell’s appeal has a relatively high chance of succeeding. We’ll know for sure in the next few months.

7 R. Kelly Was Arrested For Abuse

Last Friday, R. Kelly was forced to do something campaigners have been dreaming of for years. He turned himself in to Chicago police and was arrested on charges of sexual abuse. After spending the weekend in a cell, the R&B legend was released under a $1 million bail.^[4]

The allegations against Kelly span back to 1988 and include things that have been brought up in public time and time before. They range from the infamous (the abuse of 14-year-old girls) to the, frankly, ridiculous. In one case, Kelly is alleged to have abused an underage girl who sought out his autograph during his 2008 trial for sexually abusing an underage girl.

There are also vicious accusations of misogyny, including Kelly pleasuring himself in front of a woman and then repeatedly spitting in her face when she refused to give him oral sex. If true, the charges will see Kelly go away for a very long time.

6 Japan Suffered Its Worst Measles Outbreak In A Decade

Wow. Who could have predicted that sparking a panic about the measles vaccine would result in an actual measles outbreak? Well, that’s exactly what is currently happening in Japan. This week, it was revealed that the Asian nation is in the grip of its worst measles outbreak in a decade. Many of the cases can be traced back to a single anti-vaxxer cult, Kyusei Shinkyo.^[5]

In one of those head-slapping moments that would be hilarious if it weren’t so simultaneously tragic, many of those currently affected by the outbreak are people who attended a Kyusei Shinkyo seminar on why they shouldn’t vaccinate. Unlike many other anti-vaxxer groups, though, Kyusei Shinkyo has since apologized and removed misleading testimonies from its website.

Unfortunate as it is, the Japanese outbreak is a stark reminder that peddling nonsense conspiracy theories can harm people out in the real world.

5 Pakistan Shot Down An Indian Jet

Remember last week how we told you about tensions rising between India and Pakistan? This week, the temperature got even hotter. Following Indian attacks in the Pakistan-administered part of Kashmir, Pakistan responded midweek by shooting down two Indian fighter jets. The incident is the worst confrontation between the two nuclear nations in years.^[6]

The current flare-up started when a suicide bomber killed around 40 Indian security personnel. India believes the bomber was working with Pakistani intelligence services, a claim Islamabad denies. India subsequently fired artillery at Pakistan-administered territory, an action Pakistan claims killed six civilians.

And now this. With two fighter jets downed, India may well feel under pressure to respond with even more force. The idea of another India-Pakistan war has the potential to cause huge bloodshed.

4 The UN Told The UK To Hand The Chagos Islands Back To Mauritius

Way back when, as the UK was in the process of ending its colonies in Mauritius, London struck a deal with the local authorities. The deal separated the Chagos Islands from Mauritius proper and kept them under Britain’s control.

This would already be controversial enough, but what happened next really blew the issue up. Britain evicted all the Chagos Islanders from their homeland, dumped them on Mauritius, and refused any right of return. They then handed over one of the islands to the US, which maintains a military base there. The evicted Chagos Islanders, meanwhile, are treated like second-class citizens in their new homes.

This week, the UN ruled that the UK had breached the rights of Chagos Islanders back in 1965. The UK was told—albeit in a nonbinding way—to get the heck off the islands and hand them back over.^[7]

While it seems unlikely London will comply, the ruling is still a blow to Britain’s international standing. It’s also a welcome boost to the Chagos Islanders’ campaign to right this historic injustice.

3 Israeli Politics Split Into Insane New Factions

Although we didn’t cover it at the time, last Wednesday, Benjamin Netanyahu shocked many in Israel by announcing an alliance with a right-wing extremist party for the upcoming election. Barely had the dust settled on that announcement when the main rivals to Bibi’s bid dropped a bombshell of their own. They were now going to run against Netanyahu on a joint ticket to try and lock his extremist new faction out of power.

Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid are polling second and third, currently. Together, they are a hair ahead of Netanyahu. The new alliance is projected to win as many as ten seats more than Netanyahu’s Likud, although it should be noted that Netanyahu often does well in elections when he’s the seeming underdog.

Still, it was a major shakeup of Israeli politics and a clear sign that Netanyahu will go to almost any length to save his political skin. We’ll see what happens now that Israel’s attorney general has announced that Netanyahu is to be indicted on corruption charges.^[8]

2 The UK Edged Closer To A Second Brexit Referendum

Yep, it’s another Brexit story. Yep, you’re probably gonna be seeing a whole lot more of these over the next few weeks. With only a month left until the UK breaks with the EU and no exit deal yet agreed on, things are starting to smack of desperation in London, which may be why the opposition Labour Party finally broke with over two years’ worth of policy on Thursday to announce that they would be backing a second referendum, commonly called a “people’s vote.”^[9]

Clearly, as the opposition party, Labour cannot make a second referendum government policy. But with a potential cliff-edge Brexit nearing, MPs are starting to panic, and anything seems possible. Already, a motion to take the “no deal” concept off the table has been approved, meaning the government could soon find itself in an impossible position.

If a second referendum does take place, polls suggest it will be as close as the last one, which was won by Leave 51.9 percent to 48.1 percent. Labour activists will be hoping that this time, the figures are reversed.

1 Michael Cohen Testified Before Congress

And we’re finally back with Trump’s awful week. Just as things were fizzling with Kim in Vietnam, former advisor Michael Cohen was sitting down before Congress to dish the dirt on the president. Almost everything he said was as incendiary as a stockpile of napalm.

From the beginning, Cohen set out his stall. He called Trump a liar, a cheat, and a racist, before going on to accuse him of having knowledge about Donald Trump Jr.’s attempts to collude with Wikileaks and Russia during the 2016 campaign, alongside knowledge of a controversial Trump Tower project taking place in Moscow during the same.

But by far the biggest bombshell was when Cohen revealed what he claimed was evidence that Trump had directed him to pay adult film actress Stormy Daniels hush money. The hush money is considered to have been a campaign finance violation—one Cohen has already been charged with—and could implicate the president in illegal activity.^[10]

Of course, Cohen has lied to Congress before, so there’s no reason to assume he’s definitely telling the truth now. Still, if there really is “no smoke without fire,” Trump is currently walking at the center of a swirl of noxious black fumes that could soon engulf his presidency.

Thanks to years of studying the insides of people every chance we get, we have a pretty good grasp on the functions of almost all of our body parts. The brain, however, seems to get more mysterious the more we try to study it. Because of its complexity, it’s no surprise that studying it (as well as the nervous system) is a full-fledged scientific field on its own, namely neuroscience.

As our scientific tools get better and we get a deeper insight into the inner workings of the most important part of the body, we realize that it’s capable of much more than we previously thought. Here are ten of the most mind-blowing things you had no idea the human brain can do.

10 Sense Earth’s Magnetic Field

The ability to sense the Earth’s magnetic field has been extensively found and studied among animals. From birds to marine mammals to insects, many of them use the field to navigate, though this ability has always been assumed to be absent in human beings. After all, if we had that, why did we bother with the whole navigation thing in the past?

As it turns out, we might just have it, though not to the level of other animals. In a recent study, researchers put 84 participants in a Faraday cage, which is just a fancy name for a box without any electromagnetic disturbance. They created an artificial magnetic field and gradually changed its orientation and then observed the reaction in the brain. To their surprise, there was a definite reaction in the sections of the brain that deal with sensory stimuli.^[1]

The participants couldn’t consciously feel anything, and the reaction was limited to changes in magnetic orientation that would be found in nature. (The brain didn’t react when the magnetic field pointed upward.) It suggests that this possible sense only works in response to the Earth’s magnetic field and isn’t an all-purpose magnetic sensor.

9 Natural Alarm Clock

We all know someone who claims to have a natural alarm clock that wakes them up exactly when they need to. “I don’t need an alarm; I am an alarm,” they’d say casually, before you proceed to shut them down with research on how that’s not possible. If you actually look into it, though, you’d realize that they aren’t kidding. The natural body alarm clock is quite real and is as good—if not better—than any alarm money can buy.

Provided that you have a regular sleeping schedule you stick to, as most of us who have jobs do, the inbuilt alarm clock of the body is quite effective at waking you up before the stipulated time. As per research, it works due to stress hormones released by the brain a few hours before your wake-up time.^[2] They allow you to gradually wake up without being abruptly interrupted by the real alarm clock, indicating that the brain subconsciously hates alarms as much as us.

You don’t need to do anything special to activate it other than sticking to a set schedule, either. This is why routine officegoers often find themselves waking up minutes before the alarm is set to go off.

8 Listen And Learn During Sleep

We understand sleep as a time of partial shutdown for the brain. We certainly don’t expect the brain to have any of its regular abilities while we’re sleeping, especially the ones that allow it to encode learned information on the basis of sensory cues.

Surprisingly, the brain is capable of doing exactly that, as long as it happens during the REM phase. In a study published in Nature Communications, they put 20 volunteers to sleep and played acoustic patterns at them in all stages of their sleep. They were then asked to identify the same patterns when they woke up.

They found that the subjects could identify the sound patterns heard during the REM phase but didn’t recognize the ones from other, deeper phases of sleep.^[3] Now, it certainly doesn’t mean that you can study for your tests while you sleep, but it disproves the previously held notion that the brain is unable to pick up new information when it’s sleeping.

7 Learn Piano With Imaginary Practice

It’s common knowledge that in order to train your brain to get good at something, you have to practice it. Whether it’s learning a new language or handling romantic rejection, there are no shortcuts to grinding it out. There definitely are, though, if you’re talking about learning how to play the piano. Apparently (and bafflingly), according to science at least, simply imagining practicing the piano does the same thing to your brain as actually doing it.

Take, for example, a study by Nobel laureate Santiago Ramon y Cajal, who dedicated his life to understanding the impact of mental practice on the brain. Back in 1904, he taught basic piano lessons to two groups of subjects who had no previous experience with the instrument. While one group was taught on the actual piano, the other was just told how to move their fingers and what the notes sound like. At the end of it, he found that both the groups had learned to play the sequence they were taught at a similar skill level.

In the 1990s, the same study was replicated by other researchers, except with additional tools to map the changes in the brain. To their surprise, they found that the imaginary practice had the same impact on the brain as the real thing.^[4]

6 Instantly (And Accurately) Judge Someone’s Character

No matter how nonjudgmental we claim to be, when we meet someone for the first time, we inadvertently make a mental impression of them based on just visual cues. Do they look rich? What’s wrong with their fashion sense? Are those scars criminal in nature? While you’re busy doing that, though, the brain would have already had made a subconscious profile of the person, and a much more accurate one, too.

Research shows that the brain is scarily fast at making up judgements about other people, taking about 0.1 seconds for the whole process.^[5] More importantly, its judgements turn out to be right, whether it’s about their sexuality, competence at the workplace, or political affiliation. It’s when you start to think on your own and override your brain’s judgements that they turn into stereotypes that are often inaccurate. The cues that the brain notes are also impossible to fake.

5 Autopilot Mode

On especially hectic workdays, we all wonder if there’s a way to put ourselves on auto mode. How awesome would it be to just zone out and let your body take over? Other than your full attention, it already has all the parts needed to complete the job.

You’d be surprised to know, then, that the brain doesn’t just have an autopilot mode of its own, but it’s much better at a given task than the active part of the brain. Studies have found that once you get good at something, the brain relegates the processing of that task to a separate brain region called default mode network (DMN), which deals with subconscious processing.

In one of those studies, 28 subjects were asked to play a card game that required a bit of learning and monitored their brain activity. Things went as expected at first, though when they got sufficiently good at the game, it got shifted from the active regions to the DMN. Their responses became faster and much more accurate, too.^[6] It’s the reason why some tasks—like playing an instrument—are more difficult to do when you consciously think about them, though only if you know how to play that instrument (obviously).

It’s not something unheard-of, as we already use that part of the brain for regular stuff like unlocking our car or tying our shoelaces. The study was the first time it had been shown to work for more complicated tasks.

4 Predict The Future

The interaction between the eyes and the brain has been a topic of interest among neuroscientists for quite some time now, and not just for fun’s sake. Properly mapping out the pathways between our eyes and how the brain processes that information can help millions of people suffering from a variety of diseases. It would also give us more of an insight into how the visual processing part of the brain actually works.

While there will be some time before it’s completely understood, we’ve made some key discoveries in the past few years, one of them being the brain’s ability to predict the immediate future.

In a study, researchers found that because of the delay in the information from the eye to the brain, it forms its own predictions of what’s going to happen next, which get more accurate with age. It bases it on previous behavior (like the known trajectory of a ball) and does it before we can consciously figure it out.^[7] So, in essence, we’re always slightly looking into the future, which helps us avoid injury or death by subconsciously predicting potentially threatening events.

3 360-Degree Awareness

It has been speculated—in horror movies as well as real life—that people have a “sixth sense” when it comes to knowing if someone is watching them from behind. You’re supposed to feel uneasy, start sweating, and feel the hair on the back of your neck stand up. It’s thought of as a vestigial sense from our hunter-gatherer days, though it’s absolutely not. The actual reason it happens is that we’re perfectly able to observe all 360 degrees of our surroundings.

If the eyes seem to be limited by the scope of their field of vision compared to other animals, it’s because the brain doesn’t need to be able to look behind. It has other, better means of making a full-scale 3-D model of our surroundings. Studies have found that our sense of hearing is quite accurate at detecting even the slightest shift in our surroundings, especially the parts we can’t see.^[8] That, combined with our other senses, provide the brain with a largely accurate “view” of all 360 degrees of what’s around us.

2 Build Muscles Just By Thinking About Exercise

It’s summer already (at least for our Northern Hemisphere readers), which means that once again, many of us were unable to get that perfect summer body we had promised ourselves when the year started. It’s largely because of the understandable reason that being fit requires you to work out, which is definitely not easy to do.

Apparently, however, you can do it just by thinking about working out, at least when it comes to building muscles. In a study by researchers at Ohio University, they wrapped the wrists of 29 volunteers in surgical casts. They then asked half of them to think about focusing on exercising their wrists for 11 minutes a day, five times a week. At the end of it, they found that the half that did the imaginary exercise developed muscles twice as strong as the other half, even if they did the same amount of actual exercise—none.^[9]

It’s not just this study, either. Many previous studies have indicated that you can increase the physical strength of your muscles by the power of the mind alone. Can you get six-pack abs by this method, then? Well, you’ll never know until you try!

1 Falsely Convince Itself Of Having Committed A Serious Crime

One of the most complex and mysterious parts of the brain is how it deals with memories. Despite decades of research and case studies, we still only have pieces of the puzzle. We don’t even know exactly which parts of the brain are responsible for storing and retrieving memories, let alone understanding how the brain processes them.

A big part of that mystery is false memories: things that never happened but that you clearly remember. While we’ve known about the brain’s ability to do this for a while, that’s only the beginning of it. We’re not just talking about convincing yourself about borrowed money that never happened but serious stuff like theft or even murder. In one study, 70 percent of subjects were falsely made to believe that they committed crimes like theft or assault with weapon by basic memory-retrieval techniques in interviews.^[10] Of course, there have also been cases where someone was incarcerated for a crime they confessed to despite having an alibi.

We still don’t quite understand why—or even how—the brain is so good at fooling even itself. Theories suggest that it may be because of its propensity toward filling up gaps in the recollection process, even if it’s filling them with inaccurate information.

You can check out Himanshu’s stuff at Cracked and Screen Rant, get in touch with him for writing gigs, or just say hello to him on Twitter.

How much time do you spend thinking about atoms? Probably not that much since you can’t see them and most of us have no real reason to ponder them in any great detail outside of a science class. But the atomic world is endlessly fascinating and the idea that everything, everywhere is made of atoms is really an undersold aspect of reality. Tiny, little atoms just group together and, depending how they’re grouped, can make everything from distant nebulas to tacos to Taylor Swift. And the atoms in all of them are very similar. Wild stuff. Let’s check out some more!

10. A Human Hair is About 500,000 Atoms Across

If you’re describing something that’s preposterously small, you might use the idiom “a hair’s breadth” which literally means the width of a hair. Hairs are pretty narrow, after all, so it’s a decent comparison. But hair is narrow in a relative way, like compared to a rope or your arm. Compared to atoms? Not so much.

The average human hair is 500,000 atoms across. In 2004, researchers developed the first microscope able to clearly view things at a resolution of 0.6 angstroms. Angstroms are the smallest wavelength of light and your hair is 500,000 times bigger. That’s because the average atom is one angstrom in diameter. Depending on the hair, it may be 300,000 to 1 million atoms across. 

9. There Are More Atoms in a Human Body Than Stars in the Universe

If a hair has about a half million atoms just to get across it, what does the human body hold? Short answer: a lot. The human body has more atoms than the entire universe has stars. Look at you, being all bigger than the universe. Not bad. 

Ironically, most of your atoms are carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen. That’s about 96% of you and the rest is things like calcium, magnesium, copper, gold, and several others. But in terms of sheer numbers, what does that even mean? How many stars are in the universe?

That’s something we have to speculate about because we can’t see the entire universe. However, thanks to what we have seen we can do some math and come up with an estimate. The number we’ve settled on is about 200 billion trillion. That number is so ludicrous it may as well just say 200 squidillion because your brain really can’t conceive what it means beyond “a lot.”

One estimate for a more precise number of atoms in the human body is 10^27. That’s 1 octillion. Others have said you may have up to 6.5 octillion. Because your atoms come and go over your lifetime – you breathe them in and out, you ingest and excrete them constantly, it’s been suggested every one of us contains atoms that have been in every human that ever lived and one atom from every breath every human has ever taken. Nice.

8. An Atom is Many Thousands of Times Bigger Than its Own Nucleus

Because atoms are so small it’s really hard for most of us to put them in perspective or think about them in any meaningful way in our day-to-day lives. Sure, they exist but what difference does that make when you’re busy making dinner or trying to clean up after the dog? Not much.

Still, when you get a chance to put them in perspective, the result can be amazing. For instance, every atom has a nucleus in which you can find protons and neutrons and that’s orbited by electrons. 

As small as atoms are, the nucleus is obviously smaller, but how much? If an atom was as big as a stadium, the nucleus would be handheld. If you need more specifics, two analogies based on different stadiums might help. Football fan? A football stadium-sized atom has a blueberry-sized nucleus. Baseball fame? Now you’re looking at a ping pong ball nucleus. 

In terms of simple difference by the numbers, an atom is about 100,000 times bigger than its own nucleus.

7. It’s Plausible You Share Up to 200 Billion Atoms with William Shakespeare

We said earlier that you share atoms with everyone who has ever lived, so let’s look at that a little more closely. Shakespeare is the common figure used in these speculations regarding whether you could have shared atoms with the bard. Most of you is hydrogen and then oxygen ranks second and yes, you definitely shared air with Shakespeare. But even your carbon may have been bound up within him once. 

Given the journey from being forged in a star, launched in a comet, scattered across the earth, and cycled through potential life forms for millions of years before Shakespeare stumbled upon that carbon atom in a piece of chicken or a sandwich he had one day, it’s arguably a miracle any atom ended up anywhere. And, by the same token, equally plausible it traveled from him to you over the years. 

If you look beyond the carbon, some researchers have speculated you didn’t just share a few atoms with Shakespeare but billions of them. Maybe as much as 200 billion. The air he breathed filled your lungs, his sweat became part of the water you drank, the food you ate, and so on. And Shakespeare, of course, is just one example. Pick anyone from history, literally any human ever, and the result is the same.

6. 98% of Your Atoms Are Replaced Every Year

Being made up of octillions of atoms makes you a very busy person on an atomic level, but there’s even more action going on than it seems at first. Your atoms are far from static and they are constantly coming and going. It’s not just the air you breathe, it’s everything.

Your body is constantly building new cells. You slough off dead skin and the layers renew. You grow new hair. You sweat, you urinate, you excrete. You are always losing and rebuilding yourself. You make new blood, new bones, everything, constantly, your whole life. You renew yourself so much that every single year you replace 98% of your atoms. Even half of your carbon atoms, like the ones in your bones, are replaced every couple of months. 

This cycle of replacing and rebuilding is what allows us all to be connected atomically to folks like Shakespeare. If you’re made of six octillion atoms and you replace 98% a year, that’s 5.88 octillion atoms every year of your life, the same as everyone else. That means you need to take in a new 5.88 octillion over the course of every year and those are obviously coming, in part, from everyone else. 

5. Weight Loss Happens When You Exhale Carbon Atoms

As big as the weight loss industry is, there’s not a lot of time devoted to the science of what losing weight even means. You hear plenty about burning calories through exercise and diet and all that good stuff, but what does that actually mean? To lose weight you have to lose mass, where does that mass go when you exercise? Atoms, and a lot of them, need to physically be removed from your body.

When you lose weight, it comes out of your face holes. Working out breaks down the bonds between the atoms that make up fat molecules. But on an atomic level, it all needs to go somewhere. Part of this is done through breathing as the fat molecules are converted to carbon dioxide which you breathe out during the process of exercising. So your personal trainer was right when they said you need to remember to breathe properly because that’s actually how the fat is escaping. 

Fat is stored in your body as triglycerides which are, like almost all of you, hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon. One-fifth of them are converted to water, which you can sweat or urinate out, and four-fifths become CO2.

Losing 10 lbs means that about 1.6 pounds was turned into water, and you can gain that back pretty easily by rehydrating yourself. But 8.4 pounds are going to be exhaled and the only way to gain that back is through replacing the carbon, which requires you to eat or drink enough to build the fat up again. 

4. Only Half of the Atoms in Your Body Come From this Galaxy

We’re still not done with the atoms in your body yet. They may have been in everyone else in the world at some point, but that’s just the world. The universe is vast and your atoms weren’t born on earth.

Not only are all the atoms in your body not from Earth, they’re not from this solar system or even this galaxy. About half of the atoms that make up every one of us came to the Milky Way from some other galaxy. You’ve already traveled further through space than any Captain in Starfleet history. 

Supernovas expel incredible amounts of matter into space and those atoms get pulled into neighboring galaxies as they spread. Some of that made it to our galaxy, our solar system, our planet, and eventually into you. 

3. Graphene is One Atom Thick and Incredibly Versatile

Up to this point, we’ve been very focused on huge numbers of atoms, so why not look in the other direction and appreciate graphene for a moment? You may have heard the word before as it’s been a darling of science news for at least a decade. People have written articles about the possibilities of making all kinds of things out of graphene but what does that have to do with atoms?

Graphene can construct things that are thinner than anything you could imagine. You can make something out of graphene that is one atom thick. In 2008, researchers made a graphene balloon that was strong enough to hold gasses despite being only one atom thick. Knowing how many atoms are in a human hair, and how strong a human hair is, this is pretty close to unbelievable when you try to picture it.

One-atom thick sheets of graphene have been touted as the supermaterial of the future. Stronger than diamond, more conductive than gold, they’re poised to become the supermaterial of tomorrow for computer chips, building materials, and more. The problem is the process of making and using graphene is time-consuming and expensive. But one day it won’t be and then we’ll see what one atom of carbon can do. 

2. The Estimated Number of Atoms in the Universe is a Number You’ve Never Heard Of

We’ve covered some big numbers already so let’s go for the biggest number of all. We compared atoms in the human body to stars in the universe and that got us somewhere preposterous with the octillion figure. So what about atoms in the entire universe?

This is wildly speculative math, but that’s part of the fun. Based on what we know about the number of galaxies in the universe and atoms that make up a galaxy we can do some fancy extrapolations and come up with an answer that is so absurd there’s almost no way to guess if we’re just making these words up without Googling it.

Based on estimates of the known universe, which is not the entire universe, it’s been proposed that there are between ten quadrillion vigintillion and one-hundred thousand quadrillion vigintillion atoms. What the heck is a vigintillion, anyway? If you’re more of a numbers person that’s 10^78 to 10^82 atoms. So yeah, a one with 82 zeroes. Who even bothered to name that?

1. All of Humanity Could be Reduced to the Size of a Sugar Cube If We Removed the Empty Space in Atoms

Let’s say a guy weighs 200 lbs, and he’s 6’2”. We know he may be made up of 6 octillion atoms. Seems like a small space in which to fit those atoms but remember that each atom is also full of nothing. We noted earlier that an atom holds a nucleus, but the atom is 100,000 times bigger than the nucleus. And there’s also space between every atom in a molecule and between all the molecules that make up matter. Matter, as dense as any given bit of it may seem, is full of nothing.

There are 8 billion people in the world right now and each one, made of their octillions of cells, is full of vast emptiness. There’s so much emptiness in your atoms that if we removed it all, if we were somehow able to squish atoms down to remove every bit of that space we could fit the entire human race into the space of a single sugar cube.

You wouldn’t want to try to lift that sugar cube of humanity because it would still have the same weight as all of mankind, it’d just be super dense material. It’s all thanks to matter being 99.9999999% empty. In relative terms, we’re wisps, light as air and barely there.

How much memory do you have on your phone? An iPhone can have anywhere from a “bare bones” 64 GB to as much as a terabyte. Do you have an external hard drive for your gaming console? If so, it’s probably got at least a terabyte or two, right? And to think, if you bought a computer in 1995 it probably had around 12 MB of RAM and a hard drive of between 500 MB and a whole gigabyte. Memory has come a long way, and it offers a lot.

Dropbox currently offers you a terabyte of storage and translates that into practical terms. One terabyte is good for about 250 full movies. Or as much as 6.5 million pages of text. So with that in mind, let’s look at some memory figures. 

10. The Human Mind May Be Able to Store Petabytes of Data

Computer memory is most easily likened to our own memories, that’s why we use the same word. Your brain can hold information and so can a computer hard drive. It’s only natural to want to compare the two.

While a computer hard drive is pretty compact, it’s not like your brain is a vast expanse of material, either. But it has to be able to hold everything you can ever know. Everything you’ve experienced is in there, all the people you’ve met, things you’ve learned, recipes you’ve mastered, stupid movie quotes, random song lyrics, it’s all in there. So how much memory does a brain hold?

No one can say with accuracy exactly how much data your brain holds because, of course, your brain doesn’t work exactly like a computer. But it’s close enough that we can have some fun speculating, especially if you’re a computational neuroscientist and this is how you literally consider brain function.

Guesses for how much data a human brain can store range from a paltry one terabyte to a staggering 2.5 petabytes. We haven’t touched on petabytes yet and they are what come after terabytes. If a terabyte is 250 movies, and a petabyte is 1,000 terabytes, and a petabyte can hold 250,000 movies. Of course, you need to multiply that by 2.5 so it’s 625,000 full movies worth of storage. Or 16,250,000,000 pages of text. Decide for yourself if your brain can manage that. 

A few years after those initial estimates, researchers tried to narrow the range down and suggested a human brain could handle about one petabyte of information. To give that some non-movie context, that was about the size of all the information available on the internet in 2016 when the data was presented. 

9. You’d Need Unbelievable Space to Store a Yottabyte

A petabyte sounds big as hell if it’s all the internet or the equivalent of a lifetime of knowledge all crammed in the meatball inside your skull but it’s not the end of the line by any means. Numbers don’t end and the metric system dares not stop at peta, oh no. Have you ever heard of a yottabyte?

Yottabytes are well beyond petabytes. After petabyte comes exabyte, and then zettabyte, and then yottabytes. It’s the largest size that has been acknowledged so far by the International System of Units and represents one quadrillion gigabytes. 

Data has to exist somewhere and if there was a yottabyte worth of data in the world, which there isn’t, you’d have to put it on hard drives. Those hard drives, to accommodate that information, would cover a space of both Delaware and Rhode Island. You’d need a full million data centers to handle it all. 

8. 278,000 Petabytes of Traffic Flowed Through the Internet Per Month in 2021

Any time you’re online streaming content, reading social media posts, or doing whatever it is you do, have you ever wondered how many other people are doing the same thing? Or, more specifically, have you ever wondered how much information is flowing through those internet tubes all the time? The short answer is that it’s a lot.

Global internet traffic, which is all the internet activity in the world, in a given month, was estimated to be about 278,108 petabytes per month in 2021. In 2016 it was only 96,054. Elsewhere, it was predicted in 2022 that global traffic would surpass a more modest 150.7 exabytes per month in 2023, or 150,700 petabytes. 

7. It Would Take 500,000 Terabytes of Data to Map a Mouse’s Brain

We touched on how much info your brain might be able to store in it, but what if we wanted to map your brain? That’s a little more complex a question to answer than you might think. Mapping your brain means understanding all the neurons, all the synapses, all those hundreds of billions of connections that are needed to make it work the way it works. To map all of that would take a hell of a lot of time and data. 

Neuroscientists would love to map a human brain but it’s a tall order. It’s been estimated that, aside from the complexity of just pulling such a thing off, storing the information mapped would require about 1.3 billion terabytes of storage space. 

To at least broach the idea of mapping a human brain, researchers have looked at a smaller scale. Mouse brains are not as complex as humans though make no mistake they are still incredibly complicated. But mapping a mouse brain would take a lot less, at least.

Researchers are starting their task with a section of mouse brain, a tiny 10-square-millimeter segment. They expect mapping that small bit will take 10,000 terabytes of data. They’d need 50 times more, or 500,000 terabytes, for the full mouse brain. 

If the plan works as expected, all the data will show exactly how the brain works, and how all of those neurons function together to create a living, working brain.

6. In 1980, a 1 GB Hard Drive Weighed Over 500 Pounds

In your lifetime you have probably noticed how technology gets smaller as it gets more efficient. A desktop computer in the 80s barely had a fraction of the computer power that the phone you keep in your pocket holds. Memory condenses as technology improves and we can get a lot in a small space, something that keeps getting better and better with each passing year. Many people alive today have no idea what it was like forty years ago.

In 1980, IBM created a one GB hard drive. Today, a storage drive that only holds one gigabyte of data is all but useless to most people. You can store a good amount of text there, or some sound files, but you can’t fit a movie in a space that small and they haven’t made smartphones with so little memory in years. Amazon will sell you 50 one GB flash drives for just over $75, though. 

That one GB drive, when it debuted, cost $40,000. It weighed 550 pounds and was the size of a typical refrigerator. One of those 50 you can buy on Amazon will fit on your keychain. And, for the cost of the one from the 80s, you can buy over 26,600 of them. 

5. Data on Star Trek Has Less Storage Capacity Than Modern Supercomputers

When it comes to computers vs brains, artificial intelligence has to fit into the mix somewhere. And not the fake AI we have now which is just glorified text modeling, real AI. A computer that is alive and can think. So fiction, basically. Like Commander Data from Star Trek.

On the show, Data is essentially a computer in the form of a man that is capable of independent thought and understanding. He is self aware and, early in the show’s run, an episode establishes that he is alive, sentient, and not property. 

While establishing Data’s bona fides, his specs are also listed. The show was actually careful to not address a lot of specific technology about Data, especially later on, because the writers knew that what they thought was futuristic would quickly become outdated. But they still took the time to let us know Data’s storage capacity is 800 quadrillion bits. That sounds mildly impressive, but that breaks down to around 100,000 terabytes or 100 petabytes. 

100 petabytes is still remarkable, and it’s better than whatever device you’re looking at this on, but it’s not super futuristic anymore like it was back when that episode aired in 1989. The supercomputer called Aurora, which exists right here in the present, has a capacity of 220 petabytes. It’s already surpassed Data, it just hasn’t achieved sentience yet. That we know of. 

4. The Fastest Internet Ever Recorded Was More Than 7 Million Times Faster Than Average

Memory is important for any computer but so is speed. Who cares if you can store 1,000 movies if you have dial-up internet? Hey, remember dial-up? Speed is key to transmitting large amounts of data. In the US, the average internet speed is 219 Mbps download and 24 Mbps upload. 25 is considered fast, at least by the FCC, and basic is between three and 8. 

You may think 25 is not fast at all and you’re right, it’s not. It’s not even close. The fastest internet ever recorded was 319. And that wasn’t Mbps or even a basically unheard-of Gbps which you can only get with some good quality fiber service. That was Tbps—319 terabits per second. 

Japanese researchers broke the speed record in 2021 with a cutting-edge four-core optical cable. It’s so fast that, if you had it at home, you could download 80,000 movies in one second.

3. Frontier is the Most Powerful Computer Ever Built

We’ve covered a lot about memory, storage capacity, and even mentioned one supercomputer. But what is the best of all the supercomputers and what can it do? That would be Frontier, the current (but possibly replaced by the time you stumble on this list) most powerful supercomputer in history. It will always have a place in history as being the first exascale computer ever built. That means it can perform over one quintillion operations per second.

How does it do so much? It weighs nearly 270 tons, uses over 40,000 processors, and consumes more power than 15,000 houses.

2. Synthetic DNA Could Have 215 Petabytes of Storage Per Gram

As our ability to create more efficient storage increases, so too does the innovation in how it’s made. In recent years, the idea of using synthetic DNA as data storage has become more prevalent, in a theoretical sense. DNA holds all the information that makes up living things, after all, and it does so in microscopic packages. Lots of info, tiny space. It’s what computer dreams are made of.

If we could make synthetic DNA storage, it’s been estimated we could store as much as 215 petabytes of information in just a single gram of the stuff. 

As cool as it sounds, there are a couple of major drawbacks. One is that it takes a lot of time to read and write information to DNA storage. As in hours. No one wants to wait hours to save a file. But worse than that is cost. MIT once estimated that storing a single petabyte of data to DNA storage would cost about $1 trillion. 

1. Everything Ever Spoken Would Fill 5 Exabytes

We use outlandish examples of what data or memory represents to try to make it understandable. No one knows what a terabyte is when you just say terabyte. It’s a concept. But if you say it represents 250 movies, that makes it easier to relate to. Because you’re playing with ideas and concepts that represent big, monumental things, you can have some fun with it. You can get bigger.

How much memory would you need to record everything you have ever said in your life? It’s got to be a lot, right? But that’s still not big enough. What if we wanted to document everything anyone has ever said? Every word spoken in every language by every person who ever lived in the history of our species. How much would that be?  Best guess is 5 exabytes.

About 117 billion people have lived throughout history. At least one writer calculated that the average person, in their life, will speak 860.3 million words. Do the math on that and it’s a lot of words.

In today’s hyperfast political environment, keeping on top of the news can seem a Herculean task. So why not let us do the hard work for you? Every Friday, we rounds up the most essential stories from the week, from the world-changing, to the shocking, to the inspiring.

SEE ALSO: 10 Mind-Blowing Things That Happened Last Week (11/15/19)

In this second week of our rebooted, renamed news column, the airwaves once again found themselves groaning under the weight of the dreaded I-word. Yep, impeachment was big news again, as it probably will continue to be for the foreseeable future. You can scroll down to the bottom to find out just what shenanigans were happening on Capitol Hill. But first, we’re gonna be discussing the continuing protests in Hong Kong, Israel’s continuing inability to form a government, and the bizarre way rich and powerful idiots continue to defend Jeffery Epstein in car crash TV interviews. Ready to gracefully dive into the Olympic-sized swimming pool of news? Let’s go.

10 Israel Once Again Failed to Form a Government

Are you a Brit tearing their hair out at the endless paralysis and repeat elections Brexit is causing? Just be glad you’re not an Israeli voter! Back in April, an early election failed to return a workable government. So a snap election was called for September. That, too, failed to produce a clear winner.

After incumbent PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempts to cobble together a coalition broke down, the baton was passed to Benny Gantz, the leader of the Blue and White alliance, and holder of the most seats in the Knesset. He was given three weeks under Israeli law to form a government. Late Wednesday night, that time limit expired. Although the next attempt goes to the Knesset, it seems unlikely that will result in a government. Israel is almost certainly headed for its third election within twelve months.

But will another election solve anything? Israeli politics is so fractured, and so many parties are refusing to work with other parties, that its hard to see how the math could work. Things have further been complicated by Israel’s attorney general last night finally charging Netanyahu with bribery and corruption.^[1]

9 Prince Andrew Gave a Car Crash Interview on Jeffery Epstein

You all know Jeffrey Epstein, the hyper-connected billionaire sex trafficker and child abuser who committed suicide after his recent arrest (or did he? See below). But nobody apparently knew him like Britain’s Prince Andrew. After criticism for his connections to Epstein – including allegedly sleeping with a minor Epstein trafficked for him – the Prince finally sat down for a BBC interview to try and clear his name. To call it a car crash would be to do a disservice to freeway pileups.

At the bare minimum, you’d expect a guy who’d been super close friends with a convicted sex offender to offer a heartfelt apology to Epstein’s victims. Prince Andrew didn’t even do that. Instead, he dodged questions about why he attended Epstein’s 2010 release party; told the interviewer that his main fault was being too honorable towards his friends; claimed he couldn’t have had sex with an underage girl because he was eating pizza at the time; and declared an injury from the Falklands War meant he was incapable of sweating.

The backlash was as swift as it was predictable. Charities and companies severed ties with the Prince, who was withdrawn from his official palace duties.^[2]

8We Discovered the FBI are Investigating Epstein’s Death as a “Criminal Enterprise”

Sticking with the rich and powerful’s favorite sex offender for a moment, this was also the week we learned the FBI are now investigating Epstein’s death as the result of a possible “criminal enterprise”. The statement came courtesy of Bureau of Prisons Director Kathleen Hawk Sawyer, who was testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Although she also said she had no evidence Epstein’s death was “was anything other than a suicide,” it was still a clear sign that not everyone is satisfied with the official narrative.

The story goes like this: on the night of August 9, Epstein was left alone in his cell. The guards were meant to check on him every thirty minutes, but instead apparently fell asleep. Epstein wasn’t monitored for three hours, during which time the cameras outside his cell malfunctioned. He was found dead the next morning, in what was later ruled a suicide.

Epstein was a guy connected to many, many powerful people. And not just Prince Andrew powerful. He was friends with both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton. Perhaps unsurprisingly, quite a few people now think he was murdered to keep him from spilling the beans. We’ll see what the FBI investigation concludes.^[3]

7 Sweden Dropped its Rape Case into Julian Assange

In 2012, Julian Assange fled into the Ecuadorian embassy in London to escape a Swedish arrest warrant for rape. At the time, Assange claimed he was afraid complying with the warrant would end with him being extradited to America for leaking classified government material. This April, his time in the embassy ended unceremoniously when Ecuador dropped his protections and he was dragged out by London police.

Since then, Assange has been sitting in a London jail, serving 50 weeks for breaching bail conditions, both the Swedish and American extradition orders hanging over him. This week, Sweden abruptly dropped their charges against Assange. While that sounds like good news for the Wikileaks co-founder, it also means he might wind up in a US court even sooner than anticipated.

When dropping the case, Swedish prosecutors were very clear that they still believe Assange committed the crime, and that it’s only the deterioration of evidence over time that makes the case not worth pursuing.^[4]

6 Malta Finally Arrested the Alleged Mastermind Behind a Journalist’s Murder

On October 16, 2017, Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia got inside her car and started driving. Seconds later, an explosion engulfed the vehicle. At the time of her death, Galizia had been uncovering corruption within both the Maltese government and business communities.

The car bomb that killed Galizia triggered outrage in Malta, but a slow response from the police. Authorities were accused of dragging their feet, lest someone powerful be implicated in Galizia’s murder. Finally, after intense international pressure, the assassination’s so-called “middleman” was arrested. He was offered immunity from prosecution in return for naming the mastermind. It seems likely he took it. This week prominent businessman Yorgen Fenech was arrested on his luxury yacht. We may know soon if he ordered the hit.

Fenech owns 17 Black, a company Galizia had accused of facilitating bribes to Maltese politicians. His arrest echoes the fate of Slovak businessman Marián Ko?ner, who was recently charged with ordering the notorious 2018 murder of journalist Jan Kuciak. Both men deny the allegations.^[5]

5 Bolivia Plunged Further into Chaos

Just last week, we told you how Bolivia’s indigenous leftwing leader, Evo Morales, had fled the country following mass protests over recent election irregularities. But rather than calm things down, his exit only seems to have fanned the flames. Bolivia has spent the last week in a state of chaos, as Morales supporters have blocked roads and clashed with police. At time of writing, the death toll of the protests stands at 31, with the unrest showing no signs of abating.

Morales’ supporters claim the president’s removal was part of a right wing coup orchestrated by the opposition. While this conveniently overlooks Morales apparently rigging recent elections, it’s worth noting that the interim government has already overstepped its bounds. Under Bolivian law, the interim government is just there to call fresh elections and ensure they’re properly run. Instead, president Jeanine Anez has taken a chopper to Bolivia’s foreign policy and purged many of Morales’ appointees. No-one is playing fair, it seems.

Bolivia is now facing chronic shortages due to roadblocks, and the potential for the situation to deteriorate. Things haven’t been helped by Morales repeatedly hinting he’ll return from exile to lead his supporters.^[6]

4 Hong Kong Also Plunged Further into Chaos

Another week, another flotilla of bad news from Hong Kong. After months of pro-democracy protests paralyzing the territory, things escalated to dangerous new heights as the weekend. On Sunday, protestors barricaded themselves inside Hong Kong Polytechnic University. When police tried to clear them, they responded with petrol bombs. So the police unleashed teargas and rubber bullets and laid siege to the campus. At time of writing, the siege is still ongoing.

The siege is the most dramatic incident in a half-year of dramatic incidents. Protestors who tried to escape the University have been beaten back with water cannons, leading to insane scenes like dozens of students trying to abseil 8 meters from a bridge onto a glass-strewn road where motorbikes waited to speed them away. Others have attempted to crawl out through sewers. Most, however, have been caught by the police. 400 have been arrested. They face charges of rioting and 10 years in prison.

At the heart of the standoff is the protestors’ fear of police, who they accuse of brutality and torture. This means simply surrendering isn’t seen as an option. With only a few dozen students still holding out inside the university, it’s only a matter of time before the siege is broken.^[7]

3 Iran’s Plunge Redefined Notions of Chaos

“Is it just me, or is it getting crazier out there?” So says Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker in the smash hit film of the same name. Perhaps one of the reasons the film has been such a smash is because we can all relate: it really does seem to be getting crazier. As protests continued to shake Bolivia, Hong Kong, and Chile (see last week), yet another country found itself paralyzed by demonstrations. After the government hiked fuel prices, Iran exploded. Just as in other countries, the authorities’ response soon turned dangerous.

Almost from the moment the protests ignited last Friday, Tehran shut down the internet and sent armed soldiers out onto the streets. While the combined death toll of the protests in Bolivia (31), Chile (19), and Hong Kong (2 – excluding suicides) is comfortably under 60, in Iran it has already exceeded 100. Groups like Amnesty claim Iranian authorities have fired live rounds indiscriminately into crowds in the worst Iranian crackdown since 2008.

Tehran has now claimed “victory” against the protestors, but it’s a Pyrrhic victory at best. The scale of violence this week in Iran shows that a) people are MEGA pissed, b) the authorities are scared, and c) the Iranian regime may not last much longer.^[8]

2 Roger Stone was Convicted of Lying to Congress

Remember the Mueller investigation? Remember how it was all meant to be a big “nothingburger”? Well, the fallout from it is still ongoing, and still taking down plenty of people. Last Friday, it was the turn of former Trump advisor Roger Stone. Stone stood accused of lying to Congress, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice, pretty much all of it relating to Wikileaks’ publishing of sensitive Democrat emails during the 2016 election. After two days’ deliberation, a jury convicted him on all counts. He now faces years in prison.

During the 2016 campaign, it came to Stone’s attention that Wikileaks had compromising emails from the Democrat party. He attempted to coordinate with the website to find out when they would be releasing them, and then subsequently lied about it before the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee in September, 2017. It’s further been alleged that his reason for lying was to protect Trump.

The trial itself was a huge embarrassment for the president. Former Trump deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates testified under oath that Trump and Stone had discussed the Wikileaks emails on the phone – something the president has denied under oath.^[9]

1 Yet Another Bombshell Blew Up the Impeachment Inquiry

And so here we are again, at the big story of the 2019 fall-winter season: impeachment. Just last week, we told you about William Taylor’s bombshell testimony that Trump was overheard demanding a quid pro quo from Ukraine, with military aid being withheld until Kyiv opened an investigation into Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden’s son.

This week, another rhetorical artillery shell landed in the form of testimony from Gordon Sondland, the former hotelier and Trump friend turned US ambassador to the EU. In answer to the question “was there a quid pro quo?” Sondland responded: “As I testified previously, with regard to the requested White House call and White House meeting, the answer is yes.” He then went on to implicate numerous officials, including Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, vice president Mike Pence, and secretary of state, Mike Pompeo. Per Sondland: “everyone was in the loop. It was no secret.”

As bombshells go, they don’t come bigger or shellier than that. In Sondland’s telling, everyone around Trump was quietly colluding to let the president’s reelection prospects dictate foreign policy. Worryingly for the president, this testimony isn’t coming from a nevertrumper or a disgruntled careerist ambassador, but one of his handpicked Washington outsiders. If things keep going on like this, expect to see more impeachment stuff occupying the #1 spot.^[10]

In today’s hyperfast political environment, keeping on top of the news can seem a Herculean task. So why not let us do the hard work for you? Every Friday, we rounds up the most essential stories from the week, from the world-changing, to the shocking, to the inspiring.

This being Thanksgiving week, a significant chunk of this week’s news was viewed through a haze of turkey, alcohol, and/or blistering family arguments. But while America pigged out and remembered the past, the rest of the world kept right on careening toward the precipice marked “the future”. There were political earthquakes in Israel, actual earthquakes in the Balkans, and the possibility of the world’s newest nation being founded in the Pacific Ocean. Let’s do this thing.

10 Israel’s Prime Minister was Charged with Bribery

We briefly touched on this in last week’s column, but it’s such a huge story that it should probably get it’s own entry. So here it is. Last Thursday, Israel’s Attorney General announced he had reached a decision regarding the three pending cases against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for fraud, corruption, and bribery. “With a heavy heart,” he was going to officially charge the PM in all three cases. Netanyahu is now the first sitting PM in Israeli history to be accused of bribery.

To say Netanyahu reacted maturely would be to tell a lie so brazen even Keyser Soze would balk at it. The 70-year old claimed a coup was underway, attacked the integrity of the Israeli justice system, and tried to ignite a populist backlash against the rule of law. Hey, what else would you expect from a guy who reportedly tried to spark a war with Gaza this September in order to delay elections?

Netanyahu is a consummate political survivor who has weathered storms before. But are the winds finally shifting? On Sunday, his Likud Party announced a contest to replace him as leader, while one of his own former ministers has said he should step down. Are we witnessing the end of the Bibi era?^[1]

9 Malta’s Government Teetered Towards Collapse

Within a four month period two years ago, the EU was shocked by the brazen murder of two anti-corruption journalists. In Malta, a car bomb killed blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia in October, 2017. The following February, Slovak investigative reporter Jan Kuciak was executed by gunshot in his home.

But while the two murders shared outward similarities (mafia links, the possible involvement of businessmen and politicians), the reactions were very different. In Slovakia, mass protests collapsed the government and led to an ongoing wave of arrests and anti-corruption purges at the highest levels. In Malta… nothing. The tainted government limped on, and PM Joseph Muscat even allowed – and participated in – a lawsuit against Caruana Galizia’s relatives for the “smears” she published. For a long time, it really seemed like accountability in Malta was falling behind a former Communist state.

Until now. In the aftermath of businessman Yorgen Fenech’s arrest last week, Maltese society has exploded. Three ministers linked to Fenech have been forced to resign from the government. There have been protests. The leader of the opposition has claimed Muscat’s government has been “hijacked by a criminal organization.” It could be we’re witnessing the first dominoes starting to topple.^[2]

8Albania Suffered its Biggest Earthquake in Decades

One of the poorest nations in Europe, Albania also has the bad luck to sit atop a notorious faultline, where the Eurasian and African plates meet. In the early hours of Tuesday morning, these two issues combined to create disaster. At 4am, a 6.4 magnitude quake hit just outside the capital, Tirana, and near the second city of Durres. Buildings collapsed. Homes were leveled. At time of writing, the death toll from the quake’s destruction has hit over 30, with hundreds injured.

Bad as the quake itself was, rescue efforts were hampered by the state of Albania’s economy. Though not as backward as it was under the Communist regime of Enver Hoxha, Albania is poor. Within Europe, only Moldova and Ukraine could claim to be poorer. As such, the quake completely overwhelmed Albania’s emergency responders, exacerbating the situation.

Thankfully, the nation’s neighbors have chipped in, with Greece and Italy donating funds and search and rescue teams. Still, the quake is easily Albania’s biggest natural disaster in decades.^[3]

7 Bougainville Voted on Whether to Become the World’s Newest Nation

A small-ish island off the coast of Papua New Guinea (PNG), Bougainville is an obscure region within an already obscure country. But it may soon have a hefty claim to fame. Last Friday, a two week process started whereby the island’s citizens will choose whether to secede from PNG. If, as seems likely, a “yes” vote is returned, Bougainville will become the world’s newest country.

Relations between PNG and Bougainville have been strained for a long time. In the 1990s, the two fought a civil war that killed as many as ten percent of Bougainville’s population. In 2001 a peace deal was finally agreed on the basis that PNG would allow a referendum on independence. After nearly two decades of foot-dragging, that referendum has finally arrived.

The challenges for the vote are legion. Bougainville is almost totally rural, with no island-wide communication network, and a population with a literacy rate of roughly 50 percent. As a result, staging the vote has involved years of preparation, treks by officials to remote villages, and interactive plays explaining the entire process of voting to villagers. Additionally, should the vote pass, there is no time limit to implementing the result. Experts have warned PNG could dither a decade before letting Bougainville leave.^[4]

6 Samoa’s Deadly Measles Outbreak was Traced to Anti-Vaxxers

When the measles vaccine was first introduced in 1963, it was a literal lifesaver. Hundreds – mostly children – died each year in the US alone. After the vaccine appeared, mortality rates plummeted 80 percent. For people at the time who’d lost a loved one to measles, the idea that, one day, people would choose not to take this preventative miracle would’ve seemed absurd.

Yet, here we are in late 2019, and yet another measles outbreak has been traced back to the insane cult of anti-vax. This time, it’s Samoa in the crossfire, where nearly 40 have died in the latest outbreak. 35 of those dead were children below the age of 4. Note to anti-vaxxers: when your propaganda starts literally killing children, it’s probably time to stop.

The Samoa outbreak started back in October, but it’s really hit the headlines this week as the tiny nation’s resources reached breaking point. Amazingly, soulless husks masquerading as social media influencers are continuing to target the country with anti-vaccine propaganda. Stay classy, guys.^[5]

5 The New EU Commission Finally Formed

Like so much about the EU, the job of the commission is one that’s little understood outside political circles, and likely cared about even less. But its significance cannot be overstated. The European Commission is effectively the cabinet of the EU. It runs the continent on a day to day basis, proposing legislation, and making sure that legislation is respected in member states. It’s a body that influences the lives of 513 million people (451 million when – if – the UK finally leaves), and it’s just undergone a major change.

Following EU elections back in May, the term of the Commission headed by Jean Claude Juncker came to a close. After much wrangling in the fractured parliament, compromise candidate Ursula von der Leyen was chosen to replace him. This Wednesday – again, after much wrangling – Von der Leven’s team for the Commission was finally voted through. She will take up her new position formally on December 1.

The hard work begins almost immediately. The EU is having to deal with the loss of 13 percent of its population and its third largest economy as Brexit forges ahead. On top of that, the continent is more split than ever with the rise of the far-right on one hand, and hardcore leftwing parties on the other. How Von der Leven handles these challenges will set the future course of the world’s largest trading bloc.^[6]

4 The UK Opposition Accused the Government of Selling the NHS

The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is one of those peculiarly British institutions that everyone moans about, while simultaneously being ready to man the barricades and die for. Founded in the wake of WWII by the Labour government to provide free healthcare for the nation, it has remained largely under national ownership even as privatization has broken up nearly every other government monopoly.

But could all that change? As part of the ongoing UK election campaign, the Labour party revealed a leaked dossier this week that purported to show the NHS was on the table in post-Brexit trade talks with the US. It’s the sort of claim that could potentially blow the race wide open.

The documents relate to drug pricing and patents, a worrying trend to be sure, but not quite the fire sale the Labour Party sold it as. Still, with the NHS being a classic motivating factor for British voters, the claim could damage the Tories more than you’d expect. At least, Labour will hope that’s the case. Jeremy Corbyn’s leftwing party is currently trailing Boris Johnson’s Conservatives by anywhere between 11 and 19 points. At this stage, they’ll need a major upset to win. But, hey, the past few years have been all about major election upsets.^[7]

3Australia Accused China of Trying to Install a Spy in its Parliament

On Sunday, Wang Liqiang sat down for an interview with Australian journalists. Over the next hour, he proceeded to unfurl a lurid tale of espionage, bribery, extortion, and possible murder that wouldn’t seem out of place in a late night thriller. According to Liqiang, he’s a former worker for Chinese intelligence who was intimately involved in a plot to embed a spy within Australia’s parliament. There was even a candidate: luxury car dealer Bo “Nick” Zhao, who was found dead in a motel room in March.

The plan was apparently for Zhao to become a candidate for the Liberal Party, use Chinese funds to make an impact, and then get elected into Parliament. This would be easier than it perhaps seems. According to security analysts, newly-elected MPs aren’t screened in such a way that would pick up spy connections. Infiltrating Australia’s parliament would be worryingly easy.

In response, Chinese media released a video purporting to show Wang Liqiang confessing in court to committing fraud in 2016, and claimed the man was an unemployed fantasist. It remains to be seen who is telling the truth.^[8]

2Iraq’s Unrest Turned Deadly (Again)

Chile. Hong Kong. Iran. Bolivia. Lebanon. The list of places experiencing mass protests against their governments seems to be growing ever longer, with more and more nations being shaken by political tremors.

This week, Iraq rejoined the list. After intense protests in October resulted in the deaths of 149 people, violence returned to the streets on Wednesday. In Najaf, protestors torched the Iranian consulate, with those inside only just managing to escape. The following day, separate protests in Nasiriya flew out of control, resulting in a minimum of 13 killed by security forces. The violence may presage an even bigger flare up.

Like many across the planet, those in Iraq are demonstrating for less corruption and better living conditions. And, like many governments across the planet, Iraq’s has responded with force. People have been beaten, injured by tear gas cannisters, and fired at with live rounds. Although Prime Minister Abdul Mahdi has offered to resign, no replacement who can command a majority in parliament has been found.^[9]

1 Impeachment Star Witness was Accused of Harassment

Another week, another twist in the ongoing saga of Donald Trump’s impeachment. Just last week, former US ambassador to the EU, Gordon Sondland, was in the news for dropping a bombshell about Trump’s alleged quid pro quo with Ukraine over investigating Joe Biden’s son. This week, it’s Sondland himself who is news.

On Wednesday, the magazine Portland Monthly published tales from three women who accused Sondland of harassing them. The accusations range from the one-time hotelier exposing himself, to retaliating against them professionally when they refused to sleep with him.

To call this story complicated would be to underestimate all the conflicting motivations and counterclaims flying back and forth. One of the named women in the story is the owner of the magazine doing the reporting, although she has said she did not interfere editorially. Perhaps as a result of this, Sondland has declared the entire thing is a politically-motivated hit job, designed to discredit by association his damaging testimony against Trump.

So, is this all a rightwing smear campaign? Or is Sondland the one cynically using liberal dislike of Trump to shield himself from the consequences of being a predator? Coming at the nexus of several movements in US politics – the impeachment proceedings, #MeToo, the #MeToo backlash, the Democratic primary – the story is perhaps the most-2019 thing we’ve yet covered. One thing’s for sure: whatever the truth, people will likely choose what they want to believe and tune everything else out.^[10]

In today’s hyperfast political environment, keeping on top of the news can seem a Herculean task. So we have been doing the hard work for you. Every Friday for two years, we rounded up the most essential stories from the week, from the world-changing, to the shocking, to the inspiring.

The week that took us into December got off to a tragic start when a terrorist attacked people with a knife on London Bridge, killing two. While the UK was in mourning, other stories were busy rocking the rest of the world. In France, the nation once again prepared for paralysis as Macron once again pushed unpopular reforms through. In Germany, there were fresh political convulsions, while political shenanigans in the US continued to rumble on. Are you ready to have your news-perceiving organ comprehensively blown for the last time? Wait . . . last time? Yup! An explanation follows the news. Read on.

10 Terrorism Returned to London Bridge

In June, 2017, armed attackers plowed a van into a crowd of people on London Bridge, before getting out and proceeding to stab dozens of bystanders. 8 people died in the carnage, while nearly 50 were injured.

We mention this, because last Friday, grim echoes of this event reverberated across the British capital. At around 14:00 local time, Usman Khan entered a building at the corner of the bridge and stabbed five people before being tackled by members of the public, and subsequently shot dead by police. Two of his victims later died of their wounds.

Khan’s identity is significant, as he’d previously been jailed for plotting to attack the London Stock Exchange in 2012, only to be released last year. In light of his attack, the UK is now conducting an urgent review into the 74 people convicted of terrorism offenses who are now outside jail.

Depressingly, Prime Minister Boris Johnson used the attack to try and make electoral hay, blaming the opposition Labour Party for Khan’s release. Labour has not been in power for 9 years – plenty of time, you’d think, for Johnson’s ruling Conservatives to repeal any laws they did not agree with.^[1]

9 Ohio’s Legislature Produced an Impossibly Strict Abortion Bill

An ectopic pregnancy is an unfortunate biological screw-up whereby a fertilized egg will not implant in a woman’s uterus, but in her fallopian tube instead. At that point, the pregnancy becomes completely unviable, with the added bonus that it can severely injure or even kill the woman.

That’s the grim background you need to know for the new bill introduced in Ohio. As reported last Friday, it’s a strict anti-abortion bill, with one side-helping of utter insanity. According to the bill, doctors would be under a legal obligation to try and re-implant ectopic pregnancies in the uterus.

Those who failed to do so would face charges of murder. Now might be a good time to mention that this procedure does not exist, and is likely impossible with current medical technology.

To be fair, the bill stands no chance of becoming law. Even if it passes in Ohio, it would fall before the courts, which routinely rule such bills unconstitutional. Still, it’s a chilling look at the zeal that has gripped the extreme wing of the pro-life movement. If Roe V. Wade is overturned, expect to see more of this fanaticism.^[2]

8 Germany’s Junior Ruling Party Elected Shocking New Leaders

Normally, German politics is about as interesting as watching paint that isn’t just drying, but has already dried and is now in a state of seemingly permanent stasis. “Safe, predictable, boring”, that’s been the mantra of post-war Germany. Then Saturday came along, and suddenly all that paint didn’t look quite so dry anymore. The junior partner in the ruling coalition, the SPD, announced the results of their leadership election. Rather than a safe pair of hands, the members had picked the candidates most likely to dynamite the government.

Norbert Walter-Borjans and Saskia Esken are the very definition of obscure. What makes them stand out is their willingness to torpedo their coalition with Angela Merkel’s CDU. Walter-Borjans ran on a platform of committing to more public spending, saying they’d be willing to pull the plug on the government if the CDU said no. Were that to happen, Berlin would be sent into a tailspin.

Notably, the pair beat current Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, seen as an old-school pragmatist who was widely expected to win. It may be that the shocks that have upended politics elsewhere are finally reaching Germany’s governing parties.^[3]

7 France Erupted in Protest (Again)

Is there anyone left in France that Macron hasn’t driven onto the streets at some point or another? Since he came to power, the populist centrist has faced down waves of strikes and protests, mostly notably the Yellow Vest movement that erupted a little over a year ago.

While things have calmed down since the heady days of late 2018, there’s still time for more paralysis. On Thursday, France’s public sector workers went on strike to protest pension reform. The result was the biggest such protest since 1995.

Hundreds of thousands have now taken to the streets, with many train and bus services grinding to a halt. Even the Eiffel Tower was closed down. At the same time, most teachers, health workers, firefighters, and many air traffic controllers are joining the strikes. Basically, the country is frozen, and may stay that way for some time.

Still, this isn’t the first time Macron has faced down mass protests. Each time he seems to survive. The smart money is he’ll survive these protests, too, but in today’s volatile environment, who can tell?^[4]

6 Elon Musk’s Defamation Trial Began

One of the weirdest side-effects of Twitter has been how it can take what would normally be a feel-good story about, say, a bunch of Thai boys being rescued from an underwater cave, and turn it into a depressing news-slog. Case in point: the Elon Musk “pedo guy” tweet that resulted in a defamation trial starting this week.

Back in 2018, a teenage Thai soccer team were trapped in a cave that had flooded and in danger of drowning. The rescue operation gripped the world, including Elon Musk. At some point, the SpaceX and Tesla entrepreneur decided to build a sub that could rescue the boys. It didn’t work, and the boys were rescued manually. In the aftermath, rescue diver Vernon Unsworth said Musk should “stick his submarine where it hurts”. In return, Musk took to Twitter to call Unsworth a “pedo guy”.

As a result, Musk is now on trial for defaming Unsworth. What’s amazing about this case is that it actually got so far. Musk is a billionaire. He could have settled out of court with Unsworth thousands of times over. And its not like Unsworth has actually been accused of pedophilia and Musk is taking a stand to expose him. But here we are.^[5]

5 Sudan Began Creeping Toward Democracy (Maybe)

If someone ever tells you protest doesn’t work, tell them to take a good, long look at the recent history of Sudan. A hardline Islamic dictatorship for decades, Sudan suddenly exploded in protests last December against the ruling party. Despite a brutal crackdown, the protests continued and, over 2019, a crazy story unfolded.

In April, long-term dictator Omar al-Bashir was deposed in a coup. In August, the transitional ruling junta began handing power to civilian administrators. And now this. Last Friday, it was reported that the civilian administration approved a law dissolving the ruling party. At the same time, laws regulating women’s dress and movements, and other aspects of Sharia Law, began to be scrubbed from the statute books. It could be that Sudan is finally on the path to democracy.

Still, there’s a long way to go yet. Free elections will need to be held, and Khartoum will need to avoid a repeat of Egypt; where the deposal of one dictator led first to a hardline Islamist civilian government, and then another dictator. But there may be light at the end of the tunnel.^[6]

4 The UK’s NHS Election Leak Was Possibly Traced to Russia

So, this is an unexpected one. Last week, we briefly touched on secret documents brandished by Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn ahead of the UK’s general election, claiming the NHS was for sale in secret post-Brexit trade talks with the US. Given the sensitivity over Britain’s National Health Service, it was a potentially election-changing moment. But it may have been something else, too.

This week, researchers at Oxford University, the Atlantic Council think tank, and Graphika analytics firm claimed to have traced the origins of the leak to something known as Secondary Infektion, an election-disrupting outfit working from Russia that’s thought to be aligned with the Kremlin. While no-one is accusing Corbyn of being in cahoots with Moscow, it now seems possible that his bombshell documents were part of a covert Russian campaign to disrupt Britain’s elections.

It might seem counterintuitive that the Kremlin would give secret help to the Labour Party, especially since far-right populist Boris Johnson would seem more like Putin’s type. But that’s assuming Putin has a direct agenda for electing certain people, rather than simply sowing chaos in nations he perceives as his enemies.^[7]

3 Malaysia’s Former PM went on Trial for Corruption

Back in 2015, a British journalist was quietly handed a sheaf of documents. Inside were some explosive revelations. The then-Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak, had been siphoning off billions from a national development fund known as 1MDB. It was possibly the biggest fraud in history, and triggered an investigation by Malaysia’s anti-corruption agency. When they appeared to get close to Najib’s fraud, he fired everyone investigating him, and appointed a new attorney-general who promptly cleared him.

But the case wouldn’t go away. In the 2018 election, a former PM declared he would run against Najib on the promise of investigating the 1MDB case. The May vote resulted in Najib’s ruling party losing power for the first time since 1957. In the aftermath, Najib was arrested.

This week, the former PM finally took the stand to defend himself at a sprawling corruption trial. While Najib continues to blame a financier who is currently in hiding, the charges are serious. If convicted on even one count, he could face 20 years in prison.^[8]

2 A US Sailor Killed Two at Pearl Harbor

In the run up to December 7, Pearl Harbor usually appears in the news only to memorialize those killed in the Japanese strike in 1941; the deadliest attack on Americans prior to 9/11. This year, though, Pearl Harbor appeared in the news thanks to a much more modern tragedy. On Wednesday afternoon, a US sailor took a gun into the Naval facility and shot three civilian contractors. He then turned the gun on himself.

This appears to be the first shooting at a US Naval Facility since 2015, and the first in a long time committed by a serviceman. The most striking comparison is likely with the Fort Hood military base shooting in 2014 (not be confused with the much deadlier 2009 shooting at the same facility), in which an enraged soldier killed three other people before committing suicide. At time of writing, the Pearl Harbor shooter’s motive hasn’t been uncovered.

Aside from anything, the incident shows just how acute the problem of mass shootings has become in the USA. In mid-November, it was calculated that there had been more mass shootings in 2019 than there had been days. The events at Pearl Harbor add another number to that grim tally.^[9]

1 Impeachment Rumbled On

Remember how at a certain time in the late 90s every single news show contained at least one image of Bill Clinton looking gaunt and gray as the impeachment sharks circled? Well, we’re basically at that stage now with Trump. As such, you can probably expect this story to sit at the #1 spot until it either resolves itself or we all die of politics fatigue. Pick your poison.

Anyway, impeachment news this week came in a one-two punch against the president. On Tuesday, Democrats released their 300-page impeachment report, which they said contained clear evidence that Trump actively sought foreign interference in the 2020 election. With the proceedings now moved from the investigation phase to the judging phase, this was followed by a panel of constitutional experts testifying on whether the president committed an impeachable offense. Rather predictably, the three experts chosen by the Democrats said “yes”, while the expert chosen by the Republicans said “no”. Quelle surprise.

At this stage, opinions on impeachment seem to be set along party lines, so don’t expect any great shifts. The likeliest outcome is now: Trump gets impeached, the trial moves to the Senate, the Senate acquits Trump. All that remains to be seen is the timing.^[10]

+ The End Of The News

[From JFrater]: This news roundup marks the end of an era (since May 2017 in fact)! It is the final weekly news round up that will be presenting for the foreseeable future as we move towards a more general lineup of lists as we did during our early years. We seem to have reached a point in societal division where news is impossible to present without choosing sides and causing anguish for half of the readership.

You are either for or against impeachment. You are either a climate change alarmist or denier. You are pro or anti vaccination. You are in favor of, or against, the worldwide political protests. It is exhausting to be honest. Neither side will budge on their views no matter how reasonable the debate—so why debate at all? Let’s leave the news reporting to fake news sites (Fox News or CNN depending on which half of our splintered society you are in).

I would like to thank Morris for the years of news updates but also for the general lists which were always excellent and enjoyed by all. I hope we will see some non-news content in the future from him.

It’s likely COVID-19 will be what the year 2020 will be best known for once it comes time to write the history books, but the virus isn’t the only thing going on in the world right now.

10 Serious Problems With How We Get The News

Despite running rampant through the news media almost as quickly as it infects the world, plenty of interesting things have been happening behind the scenes.

Unfortunately, most barely get a mention these days, and you might not be aware of these crazy news items that have been suppressed by COVID-19 coverage.

10 Korean Police Release Identity Of Man Behind “Nth Room” Sex Crime Case

On March 24th, Korean police released the name of the main suspect involved in the “nth chatroom” sex crime case as 24-year-old Cho Ju-bin, a volunteer at an orphanage and editor of his college newspaper. The case revolved around a Telegram chat room called “nth chatroom,” where he operated under the username “doctor.” Cho stands accused of tricking 74 people into sending him nude pictures, which he used for blackmail. Sixteen of those were children. Cho’s arrest the previous week resulted in 18 additional arrests.

Cho volunteered at the local orphanage for more than two years and was even featured on an online media outfit, where he was quoted as saying, “I started volunteer work after completing my compulsory military service. I wanted to help others because I received help from many people.” A petition has circulated with the hope of releasing the identities of all 260,000 users of the chatroom, and police are on the lookout for the alleged creator of “nth chatroom,” known as “gat gat” on Telegram.^[1]

9 Egypt & Ethiopia Close To War Over An Ethiopian Dam Being Built On The Nile

Tensions in Northern Africa are on the rise over the construction of a dam across the Nile River, and it may push Ethiopia and Egypt to war. The Grand Renaissance Dam is a point of pride for Ethiopia, but for Egypt, the dam represents a potential loss of control over one of the most significant rivers in the world. The major point of contention is the filling of the dam’s reservoir, which is expected to disrupt the river’s flow downstream.

Egypt has been tied to the river for millennia, and a disruption to the river’s flow could drastically hurt the country’s economy and reduce its primary water source, from which the nation consumes 90% of its potable water. The reservoir’s capacity is 74 billion cubic meters, and filling it in six years, as Ethiopia plans, would disrupt Egypt’s use of the Nile, making the dam a contentious issue. Egypt has proposed a plan to fill the reservoir over a period of between 12 and 21 years, but Ethiopia’s Water Minister Seleshi Bekele said, “That is not acceptable on any measurement.”^[2]

8 Missing Kentucky Teen’s Remains Found After A Decade

Paige Johnson was just 17-years-old when she went missing after party in September 2010. The Kentucky teen was missing for a decade, leaving her family with no idea as to her whereabouts of the young woman. At the time of her disappearance, Paige had a daughter who has grown up without knowing her mother. On Sunday, Clermont County, Ohio Sherrif’s Office was contacted by someone who believed they had found human remains in the woods outside of Williamsburg Township. Sadly, the remains have since been confirmed as belonging to Paige.

Donna Johnson, Paige’s mother, was heartbroken and happy at hearing the news. “I’ve been wanting to bring my baby home for so long. This is a day I was worried I would go to my grave without ever getting this day.” Paige’s remains were identified through her dental records, though the coroner’s office was not able to determine a cause of death. Paige’s remains were located about 1.5 miles from the last place she was seen, and investigators continue to work to determine what happened to the young woman.^[3]

7 Missing Former FBI Agent May Have Died In Iran

Back in 2007, a former FBI agent named Robert Levinson went missing in Iran. While Iran has never confirmed that the country was involved in Levinson’s disappearance, there has been a great deal of evidence released over the years that suggest the government in Tehran knows far more than it has let on. Six years after Levinson went missing, his family released photographs of him with a long beard, orange jumpsuit, and chains. In the pictures, he is holding a sign, one of which read, “This is the result of 30 years serving for USA.”

While his family has been fighting for his return for the past 13 years, news of Levinson has been sparse as the years ticked on. On March 25th, the news changed, and it appears that Levinson “may have passed away some time ago,” as U.S. intelligence officials reported. Hearing the news, the Levinson family released a statement, where they wrote that “We recently received information from U.S. officials that has led both them and us to conclude that our wonderful husband and father died while in Iranian custody.”^[4]

6 Christchurch Mosque Shooter Unexpectedly Pleaded Guilty

During Friday Prayer on March 15th, 2019, Australian Brenton Tarrant stormed into the Al Noor Mosque and the Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand, where he killed 51 people and injured 49 more. A year later, Tarrant was set to stand trial, but on March 26th, he shocked the world by changing his “not guilty” plea to “guilty.” By changing his plea, he saved his victims and their families from a long, drawn-out trial. Tarrant was scheduled to stand trial in June after denying the charges, and his change in plea shocked New Zealand and the rest of the world.

Tarrant pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder, and one count of committing a terrorist act. The court has set a date in May for establishing a sentencing date. Unfortunately, the current lockdown due to COVID-19 prohibits the court from acting sooner. Judge Justice Cameron Mander said, “There is no intention to sentence the defendant before the court returns to its normal operations and at a time when the victims and their families can attend court in person.” New Zealand has no death penalty and has concurrent prison sentences. Tarrant will be required under law to receive a minimum of 10 years in Jail for his actions.^[5]

10 Mind-Blowing Things That Happened This Week, And A Good Bye to The News . . . For Now

5 Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Turned White

The U.S. Government believed that the largest and most widespread bleaching event ever recorded has hit Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The Reef has suffered two previous mass bleaching events in the last five years. Coral bleaching is a phenomenon that occurs when corals are stressed by rapid changes in temperature, nutrition, or light. Most often, they are the result of temperature fluctuations, and that appears to be the culprit in this case. When they are stressed, corals expel symbiotic algae from within their tissues, and this causes them to turn white.

Coral bleaching doesn’t mean the coral itself is dead, as they can survive a bleaching event. They are stressed far more than they are under ideal conditions, and this makes them more susceptible to dying when other factors are present. Essentially, coral bleaching makes coral reefs incredibly vulnerable, and often result in large die-offs when they occur. The bleaching was observed by Coral Reef Watch, which noted that the event was not as damaging as previous bleachings, but covered a far larger area than ever recorded.^[6]

4 A Lost Continent Was Found Beneath Canada

We’re all taught in school that there are seven continents on the planet, and while that’s true today, it wasn’t always like that. Over billions of years, the surface of the Earth has shifted and changed as the tectonic plates moved. This has resulted in the creation and destruction of continents, but it’s not every day scientists find evidence of a new continent sitting right below an existing one. A “lost continent” was discovered lurking beneath Canada, and the way researchers were able to confirm this was through an interesting source: diamonds.

Diamonds form deep in the Earth’s mantle and are found in a type of volcanic rock called kimberlite. As the magma rushes to the Earth’s surface, it catches diamonds and brings them close to the surface. A diamond mine in Canada collected samples of diamonds and kimberlite that showed a chemical match to an ancient continent formed nearly three billion years ago. That continent broke up around 150 million years ago, but a portion of it remains under the North American continent. The discovery also determined that the continent was 10% larger than previously believed.^[7]

3 U.S. Stock Market Has Biggest Gain Since 1933

The stock market has taken a significant plunge with the spread of COVID-19, and all the gains made since President Trump took office, also known as the “Trump Bump,” have been lost. The market may be fickle, but fortunately, it never stays down forever. Stocks rise and fall all the time, and a significant drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average will eventually return to positive stock territory. Amidst the crisis, it appears that is happening, as the DJIA had the largest single-day gain in its history on March 24th.

After plummeting for days, a stimulus bill being drafted in the U.S. Senate pushed investors to stop selling and buy. When the market closed the previous day, the DJIA was at 18,308.42. When it closed on the 24th, it had surged to 20,704.91, which is a positive change of +2,112.98, or 11.37%. The DJIA hasn’t seen a gain like that since March 15th, 1933, and that was due to the passing of the Emergency Banking Act on March 9th of that year (part of Roosevelt’s New Deal). It’s likely the Trump Bump will rebuild itself as the crisis winds down, and this single-day gain may represent a change in favor of that hopeful inevitability.^[8]

2 Netanyahu’s Government Is In Turmoil After Ally Resigns

Benjamin Netanyahu has had a tough time forming a government, which has stymied his ability to govern Israel, and the news of an ally’s resignation is going to make that even harder for the embattled Prime Minister. The PM is already under fire for corruption and a trial over charges he accepted expensive gifts from wealthy friends, committed fraud, and breach of trust looms. Despite these troubles, Netanyahu has held onto power, but the likelihood of that continuing has taken a hit following the announcement that Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein is resigning his position.

The resignation of a powerful member of Netanyahu’s Likud Party, who held the role of Speaker of the Parliament, will open the door for Netanyahu’s opposition to push for his downfall in the Israeli Parliament. The resignation may not be the final nail in the Prime Minister’s political coffin, as Edelstein defied a Supreme Court order requiring a vote for his successor. The lack of a vote provides a new obstacle for the opposition to overcome in its bid to topple Netanyahu from power. Eliad Shraga, chairman of the non-profit Movement for Quality Government in Israel, commented on the resignation and lack of a vote, saying, “This is a black day for democracy.”^[9]

1 Comet 2/2019 Atlas Y4 Is Approaching

It may not have a catchy or easily recalled name like the Hale-Bopp comet that appeared brightly to the naked eye back in 1997, but that’s not stopping Comet 2/2019 Atlas Y4 from making a similar pass of the Earth in May. Fortunately, the stellar snowball has been given the simpler name of “Atlas,” so you won’t have to run out into the night, point up to the sky and say, “Look at Comet 2/2019 Atlas Y4!” The comet was first discovered on December 28th, 2019, in Hawaii, and is the second-brightest comet visible to the naked eye in the night sky.

The last time a similarly bright comet made a close pass to the Earth, many saw it as a sign that the end of times was coming. The infamous Heavens Gate cult saw the coming of the Hale-Bopp comet as a spacecraft they could only hitch a ride on after committing mass suicide. In total, 39 members killed themselves in a San Diego, California suburb, wearing Nikes. Hopefully, a similar fate won’t befall any curious onlookers who should take comfort in knowing that the last time Atlas came close enough to Earth for it to be visible to the naked eye was 6,000 years ago, and the world clearly didn’t end when that happened.

But, it doesn’t go without noticing that we are currently experiencing storms, pestilence, fires, plagues of locusts, and now heavenly signs. Perhaps the end is nigh after all!^[10]

10 Ways The World Could End Today

A day doesn’t go by without some news hitting us about COVID-19, but that’s not the only thing happening in the world. This week, there were plenty of stories that received little to no coverage as a result of the ongoing crisis — even if the stories only sprung up because of it.

That’s not to say the crisis doesn’t deserve the airtime it’s getting, but there’s more to life than an apocalyptic pandemic that’s sweeping across the globe.

These are the stories that should have been bigger news this week — or, they would have were the world not collectively freaking out right now. Of course, Wuhan flu looms on many of these stories, but the virus can’t get all the attention.

10The WHO Hung Up On Journalist Asking About Taiwan

Taiwan is a tricky place where international relations are concerned. Mainland China claims the small island nation as one of its territories. It is formally known as the Republic of China, but the country is not a member of the United Nations, and the People’s Republic of China refuses to establish (or continue) diplomatic relations with any country that recognizes it. This point of contention is a big deal for pretty much any country interested in working with China, and it’s a problem for organizations like the WHO.^[1]

On March 28th, a journalist with Hong Kong broadcaster RTHK was speaking with Bruce Aylward, an official from WHO who led a mission to Wuhan, China (later praising the communist state for its action against the Wuhan virus). The question was, “Will the WHO reconsider Taiwan’s membership?” This was met with a feigned attempt to appear not to have heard what was being asked, followed by a request to move on to another question. Shortly after this, Aylward hung up on the journalist. After the incident went viral following the Twitter post above, the WHO issued a statement, clarifying that employees have no say as to which nations can become a member. Additionally, the statement praised Taiwan for its low infection numbers and indicated the WHO has a point of contact in the country.

It has, nevertheless, added to the numerous controversies facing the WHO since the elevation of Tedros Adhanom (a member of the socialist Ethiopian terrorist organization known as the “Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front”) as its head in 2017. He is also the first non-doctor appointed. Even an official of the Japanese government has stated that the organization should be renamed the “Chinese Health Organization” due to its pro-Chinese stance.^[2]

9 Prime Minister Viktor Orban Of Hungary Officially Becomes Dictator

Viktor Orban, the Prime Minister of Hungary, has been granted an unprecedented level of power to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The new authorities granted the PM may make his job easier in protecting his citizens, but critics warn of serious consequences in the granting of open-end rules. The fear is that the populist PM will retain those powers, and that will result in the death of the Hungarian democracy. It’s happened before, and there’s a good chance it could happen again. The Roman Senate did something similar by recognizing Julius Caesar as Dictator for Life, and Germany did the same with the passage of the Enabling Act of 1933, which helped the Socialists take over Germany.^[3]

The law passed in Hungary extends the state of emergency declared on March 11th for an indefinite period. It also suspends Parliament and introduces jail terms of up to five years for anyone who is caught intentionally spreading misinformation (CNN will be scurrying to get out of Hungary right now!) that makes it difficult for the government to respond to the pandemic. The law effectively suspends the rest of the government and places Orban into a dictatorial position, where he has the power to run things without anyone standing in his way.

One of the first acts he has undertaken in his new role as absolute leader is to strip the notion of “gender” from all laws and replace it with “sex at birth”, causing an outcry from the transgender lobby (ironically largely funded by Hungarian expat George Soros), and calls for Hungary to be expelled from the European Union.^[4]

8 Belarus President Believes COVID-19 Is A “Psychosis,” Leaves Country Open

While the Hungarian PM is ramping up his power to fight COVID-19, Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Belarus, stands firm in his insistence that the global response seen in other countries is the product of “psychosis.” Because of this, Belarus has done virtually nothing to prevent the infection of its people, and it stands as one of the only nations on the planet where professional sports haven’t been canceled. When it comes to sports, Lukashenko was out and about in Minsk playing amateur hockey, where he gave a quick interview about his response to COVID-19.^[5]

“It is better to die on your feet than live on your knees! …I don’t understand. There is no virus here. This (arena) is a refrigerator, it is the best thing for your health. Sport, especially on ice, is better than any antiviral medication, it is the real thing.” Lukashenko is keeping businesses open and isn’t enforcing any of the suggested measures the World Health Organization have called for to stem the spread of the virus. He added that Belarusians “do not suffer the same psychosis as those in Western Europe.” The country hasn’t been spared from infection, with the first case having appeared in Minsk on February 28th.^[6]

7 Man Intentionally Derailed A Train To Hit A Hospital Ship

On April 1st, Eduardo Moreno (a California train engineer) intentionally drove his locomotive at full speed with the intention of jumping off the tracks, so he could slam into the USNS Mercy, a Naval hospital vessel docked at the Los Angeles Port. Moreno has been charged with train-wrecking following two police interviews, where he allegedly admitted to committing the crime. “Moreno stated that he thought the USNS Mercy was suspicious and did not believe ‘the ship is what they say it’s for.’”^[7]

Moreno further expressed his belief that the vessel was potentially linked to a government takeover, and had nothing to do with the treatment of patients not related to COVID-19 infections in Los Angeles. A California Highway Patrol officer witnessed the wreck, describing how he saw “the train smash into a concrete barrier at the end of the track, smash into a steel barrier, smash into a chain-link fence, slide through a parking lot, slide across another lot filled with gravel, and smash into a second chain-link fence.” The train stopped 250 yards before it could come in contact with the ship. Train-wrecking carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison.

6 ‘Rick and Morty’ Is Coming Back — Or Is It?

Fans of the hit series Rick and Morty got two animated treats related to the series’ return this week, with one indicating the five episodes remaining in the season would begin airing on May 3rd. The trailer came days after an animated short of the characters in an anime format, and while any news is often well-received by fans, more than a few noticed the trailer was released on April Fool’s Day. Series co-creators, Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, are well-known to enjoy the occasional April Fool’s Day prank, leaving some fans dubious.

One fan on Chinese-owned website Reddit commented in a post, where they wrote that “Normally I’d be skeptical but remember when they released the first episode of season 3 on April 1st and let people stream it for free all day on their website?” Other fans noted the likelihood of creating a complete trailer just to tease fans was unlikely. Regardless, any news of Rick and Morty is a bright spot of hope in a year that’s been more than a little horrible thus far.^[8]

5 US Unemployment Rate Doubles To Highest Numbers In History

Last week’s jobless numbers broke records with a spike of people claiming unemployment in the United States to 3.3 million. Those numbers were expected, as more and more people are left without a job to go to, thanks to various’ stay at home’ orders across the nation. The numbers released on April 2nd covered claims sent in between March 21-28 blew past the previous week with a total of 6.6 million. Additionally, the previous week’s numbers were adjusted up by 24,000, making the two-week increases in jobless claims total nearly 10 million new filers.

The significant increase in numbers was caused primarily by the COVID-19 crisis, but also due to many economists’ concerns that the country had entered into a recession as the virus began to take hold. Daniel Zhai, a senior economist at Glassdoor, said, “Four years of job gains have evaporated in the span of two weeks.” The numbers are concerning, but many new filers are able to do so as a result of the recently-passed $2 trillion economic stimulus package, which expanded unemployment benefits to Americans meeting certain conditions. The largest jobless claims for a single week prior to this one was 695,000 in 1982.^[9]

4 Pakistani Court Overturns Conviction Of Killing Of Daniel Pearl

In 2002, a Pakistani court found that Ahmed Omar Sheikh, a British-born militant, was guilty of kidnapping and murdering American journalist Daniel Pearl. On April 2nd, another Pakistani court overturned that conviction, which resulted in a death sentence that had yet to be carried out. Pearl was working for the Wall Street Journal in 2002 when he was abducted by a Pakistani group with links to al Qaeda. Pearl, like many other westerners captured around that time, was beheaded in a propaganda video made by the group.^[10]

The court also overturned the convictions of three other men found guilty in the original trial. Mr. Sheikh’s sentence was reduced to seven years for kidnapping but found that there wasn’t enough evidence to maintain the conviction for murder. Because he and the other three men, Fahad Saleem, Syed Salman Saqib and Sheikh Muhammad Adil, had already served 18 years of a (now) seven year sentence, they are all expected to go free soon, though the court has yet to release a detailed ruling. There has been some doubt as to the men’s role in the killing since a 2011 report cast doubt on the extent of their involvement.^[11]

3 Prince Charles Will Foot The Bill For Henry & Rachel’s Security Costs

Henry Windsor and his wife Rachel (pictured above in wax) recently abdicated their royal titles and all access to public funds, effectively becoming commoners like the rest of us. They are currently spending their days in Los Angeles, where they require expensive, round-the-clock security (for reasons unknown). On March 29th, President Trump made it clear the United States Of America wasn’t going to cover their security costs in a Tweet, where he wrote, “I am a great friend and admirer of the Queen & the United Kingdom. It was reported that Harry and Meghan, who left the Kingdom, would reside permanently in Canada. Now they have left Canada for the U.S. however, the U.S. will not pay for their security protection. They must pay!” The United States stopped giving its citizen’s money to the British crown in 1776 and it doesn’t intend to resume the practice in 2020.^[12]

On April 2nd, Prince Charles has “agreed to pay a private contribution” to ensure his youngest son and daughter-in-law are protected, though his contribution may only cover half of their needed £4 million ($5 million) in security costs. The Tweet may have been premature, as the Duke and Duchess said they had no plans to ask the U.S. for assistance. A spokesman reported that “Privately funded security arrangements have been made.” The couple is expected to remain in L.A., though they initially planned to settle in Canada.

Oh . . . and if you are wondering why we called them Henry and Rachel, it’s because Harry is the affectionate name given to the former Prince Henry by the royal family, and Rachel Markle goes by her middle name of Meghan. How’s that for mind-blowing news?^[13]

2 Marvel Announces Social Justice Superheroes

As the Chinese coronavirus crushes stock markets and damages world economies, it’s having another impact many people may not be aware of: it’s killing the comic book industry. Fortunately, Marvel, DC, and other publishers are halting the production of print and digital books during the crisis, and hopefully, that will save the direct market from collapsing. In the meantime, Marvel announced some rather interesting new characters to debut in the near future, and they all appear to be social justice warriors where sexuality and gender identity are concerned.

The new roster of heroes includes Snowflake, Safespace, Screentime, B-Negative, and Trailblazer. The latter has a “magic backpack” with an infinite dimension held within, and she’s fat, which is a first for the publisher. Screentime has the ability to be continuously connected to the Internet due to an experimental gas. Snowflake is a “non-binary” who goes by the pronouns they and them. It has the power to create snowflake-shaped shurikens. Safeplace is all about defense from meanies and scary words. These additions to the New Warriors are clearly meant to be more “inclusive”, so it will be interesting to see how they are received by fans once the publisher begins releasing new content. All indications so far, are that it is yet another virtue signalling disaster about to unfold.^[14]

Considering that the US total box office take for the last week was $5,179 (not a typo) down from 204 million dollars for the same period last year, companies like Marvel may need to start rethinking just how much money they are willing or able to lose to continue pushing propaganda that a tiny, but incredibly loud (and screechy), minority are clamoring for.^[15]

1 Plague Bells Ring Again

In a move straight out of a plague drama set during the Middle Ages while it was ravaged by the Black Death, the Swiss city of Lausanne is ringing the plague alarm bell (made in 1518) in the Cathedral of Lausanne nightly. The bell is manually rung for three minutes after the watchman calls the hour from the four corners of the belfry. The clang of the tolling bell floating out across Lake Geneva should give us all pause to think and consider our own dead (not just from plague or pestilence).^[16]

Not wanting to be outdone by 16th century technology, the owners of the Empire State building announced: “Starting tonight through the COVID-19 battle, our signature white lights will be replaced by the heartbeat of America with a white and red siren in the mast for heroic emergency workers on the front line of the fight,” the Empire State Building tweeted. Unfortunately though, the result is a dystopian vision that could be the central icon of any post-apocalyptic film. The light appears to spin like an ambulance light. And I’m sure I don’t even need to mention its frightening resemblance to the Eye of Sauron.^[17]