San Mateo County California becomes 1st in US to declare loneliness as health emergency (abc7news.com)
Millions of LGBTQ Americans have religious trauma. Psychiatrists want to help (www.nbcnews.com)
Some mental health experts are advocating for religious trauma to be considered an official disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
Activist who led ouster of Harvard president linked to ‘scientific racism’ journal (www.theguardian.com)
Christopher Rufo recommends a newsletter to his readers that has published several supporters of discredited genetics theory
Joe Biden Is Arming Greece So Greece Can Arm Ukraine—And Pro-Russia Republicans Can’t Stop Him (www.forbes.com)
As the Republican Party’s blockade of aid to Ukraine drags into its fourth month, the U.S. government under Pres. Joe Biden has found a clever new way to give Ukraine’s forces the weapons and ammunition they need to defend their country....
Oklahoma gas pipeline explodes, shooting flames 500 feet into the air (www.cbsnews.com)
A gas pipeline exploded in an Oklahoma town near the Texas border overnight, creating a glow that could “be seen for miles,” local fire officials said Wednesday....
Taylor Swift AI images prompt US bill to tackle nonconsensual, sexual deepfakes (www.theguardian.com)
A bipartisan group of US senators introduced a bill Tuesday that would criminalize the spread of nonconsensual, sexualized images generated by artificial intelligence. The measure comes in direct response to the proliferation of pornographic AI-made images of Taylor Swift on X, formerly Twitter, in recent days....
Grant program for Black women comes under tough questioning in key anti-DEI lawsuit (apnews.com)
A small venture capital firm faced tough questions from conservative judges Wednesday as it defended a grant program for Black women-owned businesses in a lawsuit that has become emblematic of a growing legal backlash against corporate diversity programs.
The Onion Staff's Union Avoids Strike, Reaches Tentative Agreement With G/O Media (deadline.com)
Startup news site The Messenger shutters less than a year after its launch (www.nbcnews.com)
The news outlet promised to provide “thorough, objective, non-partisan, and timely news coverage” in a time of bias and misinformation when it launched in May....
A Drug Test Cost a D.E.A. Agent His Job. He Sued, and Got It Back. (www.nytimes.com)
Archived at web.archive.org/…/cannabis-dea-drug-test.html
U.S. Department of Energy: $31 Million to Improve Enhanced Geothermal Systems and Advance Thermal Energy Storage (cleantechnica.com)
Under Ken Paxton, Texas’ Elite Civil Medicaid Fraud Unit Is Falling Apart (www.propublica.org)
After the chief of the attorney general’s Civil Medicaid Fraud Division was forced out last year, two-thirds of attorneys have quit the unit, leaving it at its smallest size since Paxton took office....
Judge dismisses Disney’s lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies | CNN Business (www.cnn.com)
Stolen Jackie Robinson statue found burned, dismantled in trash can: The search for the perpetrators remains active, Wichita police said (abcnews.go.com)
A statue of baseball legend Jackie Robinson stolen from a Kansas park was found dismantled and burned in a trash can fire Tuesday morning in what authorities called a “disgraceful” act, as the search for the perpetrators continues....
House passes an expanded child tax credit bill and sends it to the Senate (www.nbcnews.com)
It’s unclear whether the bill can pass the Senate, where some members want changes and GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley said he’s worried it would make President Joe Biden “look good.”...
Indiana Lawmakers Trying to Kill Historic Suit Seeking Gun Industry Accountability (www.propublica.org)
Archived at web.archive.org/…/indiana-guns-gary-lawsuit-gunma…
$960 Million in Funding to Boost Transportation Electrification, EV Charging, & Battery Innovation (cleantechnica.com)
Activists renew push to repeal Kentucky's near-total abortion ban (apnews.com)
Abortion rights supporters mounted another push Wednesday to restore abortion access in Kentucky, but the Democratic lawmaker sponsoring the legislation acknowledged the odds are overwhelmingly against them in the Republican-dominated legislature....
Texas' standoff with the feds in Eagle Pass is igniting calls for secession and fears of violence (www.texastribune.org)
The calls for Texas to defend itself and defy the federal government have set fire to a long-simmering fight over states’ rights, emboldening right-wing figures....
Some IRS employees still access TikTok despite ban on government devices | TechCrunch (techcrunch.com)
In key election year, prisoners with felonies seek right to vote in Massachusetts (www.wgbh.org)
Archived at web.archive.org/…/in-key-election-year-prisoners-…
Current and former DHS officials grumble about Biden's talk of shutting down the border (www.nbcnews.com)
One of the two former officials said Biden is sending a political message but not one that is based in logistical reality....
U.S. Will Pay to Add Solar Panels to Hospitals, Schools After Disasters (www.nytimes.com)
The federal government plans to reimburse state and local governments that rebuild damaged public buildings to be more energy resilient....
NYC Mayor Adams Loses Showdown Over 2 Criminal Justice Bills (www.nytimes.com)
Police officers will be required to record the race, age and gender of most people they stop and solitary confinement will be banned in New York City jails after the City Council overrode Mayor Eric Adams’s veto of two criminal justice bills on Tuesday....
Newly released recordings reveal what officers said after Tyre Nichols' fatal beating (www.npr.org)
As they walked away, Mills told the lieutenant he believed the parents “know more than what they are saying” and seemed suspicious because they didn’t open their screen door. Then he said, “I just hope … he just needs to make it, that’s all. He needs to make it. He ain’t looking too good.”
