Open Season

Coming in Hot, Weekend Whats, Feel Good Friday

It's hardly a new thing that a hurricane is striking Florida and having a massive impact there and in neighboring states during hurricane season. The timing and location of these storms can be chalked up to bad luck. But the intensity is another matter. That's related to our ever-warming seas. These storms are coming in hot, and sadly, the forecast calls for more of the same. Marina Koren in The Atlantic (Gift Article): America’s Hurricane Luck Is Running Out. "Climate change isn’t to blame for where a hurricane touches down, or if it does at all. But Helene’s strength is a different kind of bad luck—a variety that we humans inadvertently engineered. Many of the hurricanes that do reach land these days are more intense because of oceans warmed by climate change. Decades ago, Helene might have become a medium-size storm—still destructive, but not a beast. This hurricane is a sign of America’s relentless hurricane seasons to come."

+ "Helene made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region Thursday night as a massive Category 4 hurricane -- the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the Big Bend on record. Helene has since weakened to a tropical storm and is now pushing through Georgia and the Carolinas, bringing catastrophic rainfall and life-threatening flash flooding as the storm moves toward Tennessee." ABC: Hurricane Helene live updates: 34 dead across the South. Here's the latest from CNN and The Guardian.

2

Bibi Gunning

"Just imagine if terrorists turned El Paso and San Diego into ghost towns ... How long would the American government tolerate that? Yet Israel has been tolerating this intolerable situation for almost a year. Well, I’ve come here today to say: Enough is enough." As the US and other allies call for a ceasefire, Netanyahu (who the US says was part of the ceasefire coordination) vows that Israel will keep ‘degrading Hezbollah’ until its objectives are met. Degrading Hezbollah is a worthy goal, but will associated efforts come at the expense of degrading Israel's relationship with America and other allies?

+ Two notable things about this moment. One, America's limited ability to reign in Bibi. And two, Iran's reluctance to get involved. WaPo: Hezbollah is pounded by Israel, but key ally Iran is reluctant to intervene. "Iran’s focus on engagement and its hesitance to intervene on the ground demonstrate the limited military options available to reestablish deterrence with Israel after a year of heightened hostilities in the region, analysts and diplomats say."

+ "Hezbollah, which alone among Lebanon’s militias kept its arms following the conclusion of that country’s civil war, has always claimed that its belligerence is necessary to protect Lebanon. But Hezbollah’s actions since—which have almost always been in the service of its own political needs, or those of its ungrateful Iranian sponsors—have brought nothing but pain for all Lebanese, and particularly for the downtrodden Lebanese it claims to represent." The Atlantic (Gift Article): Nasrallah’s Folly.

+ Meanwhile, "several large explosions have rocked the Lebanese capital of Beirut as the IDF said it had struck Hezbollah’s headquarters. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was the target." (It would be surprising if Hezbollah leaders were spending time at Hezbollah HQ these days.)

3

Long Story Shark

"Its hulking frame is covered by sandpaper skin. Its fins, stunted, sit awkwardly along its sides. And its eyes, perpetually cloudy, are often host to wormlike parasites that dangle as the shark slowly roams the depths of the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans. But looks aside, the species has a surprising capacity: It can live for as long as about 400 years. Now, an international team of scientists from Europe and the United States has mapped the genome of the Greenland shark, offering scientists an opportunity to glean the secret to the shark’s outstanding longevity." NYT(Gift Article): This Shark Lives 400 Years. Its DNA May Explain Why. "Researchers identified a network of 81 genes that were found only in Greenland sharks and are known to play a role in DNA repair." (You know it's only a matter of time before tech bros are living in Shark Mode.)

4

Weekend Whats

What to Comedy: Kristen Bell and Adam Brody star in the fun Netflix series, Nobody Wants This, about the relationship between the host of a sexually charged podcast and a rabbi.

+ What to Drama: Industry on Max gives off some Succession vibes as it follows "a group of young bankers as they forge their identities within the pressure cooker environment and sex and drug-fueled blitz of international bank Pierpoint & Co’s London office." It's one of the rare shows that gets better with each season.

+ What to Book: Rumaan Alam, author of Leave the World Behind, is back with Entitlement.

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Extra, Extra

Concept of a Surrender Plan: "We’re going to work very much with both parties to try and get this settled and get it worked out." Yes, Donald Trump has a concept of a plan for how to "negotiate a Ukraine-Russia deal 'that's good for both sides." In this case, both sides refers to Putin and Trump. Just look at what Zelensky is forced to endure during the press conference that followed the meeting. What a terrible shame that we allowed this awful imbecile to represent us on the world stage and what an immeasurable tragedy that he's got a chance to return to the White House. Seriously, here he is bragging about his very good relationship with Putin while standing next to Zelensky.

+ Political Hack: "The Justice Department unsealed criminal charges Friday against three Iranian operatives suspected of hacking Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and disseminating stolen information to media organizations." (Something tells me this won't be described as a hoax.)

+ Adam's Apple: "I am not guilty, your honor." New York City Mayor Eric Adams pleads not guilty to taking bribes and illegal campaign contributions. (In retrospect, he would have been a lot more at home as a Supreme Court justice...)

+ Child Wife: "Underage marriage is illegal in South Sudan yet so commonplace it rarely attracts attention. But the case of Athiak Dau Riak, whose mother says she is only 14, has gone viral, polarizing her family and the country." A teenage bride wed for a record price: the ‘marriage competition’ that divided a nation. (Ever notice that a lot of "cultural traditions" involved old men being able to have sex with young girls?)

+ Maggie: "Maggie Smith, the two-time Oscar and four-time Emmy winner whose work in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and Downton Abbey — plus everything before and after — made her one of the most formidable British actors of all time, died Friday. She was 89."

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Feel Good Friday

"She posted a 17-second video with the text: SHE DESERVED THE PURSE with the sound of a woman exhaling, in the hopes that maybe it would resonate with other mothers. Her video has since gone viral with more than 20 million views. It also has inspired people to hide money in diaper boxes and formula containers to allow a mom who is struggling to buy something for herself." Moms nationwide are leaving gift cards in diaper boxes. Here’s why.

+ "Dauwalter does not have a coach or a strict training plan. She’s never been on Strava and doesn’t plan races far ahead of time. She runs in long shorts and baggy clothes because, she says, they are more comfortable. She eats candy while training and drinks beer afterwards, because that’s what makes her the most happy." ‘I’m motivated by the puzzle’: how Courtney Dauwalter became ultrarunning’s GOAT.

+ "Endurance athlete Neil Agius climbed a beach ladder unaided at Għar Lapsi at 9.40pm on Monday, completing a world record 140km non-stop swim, around Malta, Gozo and Comino."

+ Woman, 79, fell while hiking. A stranger carried her for hours on his back.

+ Provo woman donates kidney to stranger met while hiking in Utah County. (I've got to hike more. Seems like there are nice people in those hills.)