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Friday, January 30th, 2026 05:00 am
Friday, January 30th, 2026 09:39 am
Interesting development here, and it's very strange. Honestly, I'm having a hard time understanding it.
The murder happened in 2024. Mangione allegedly shot down the CEO of UnitedHealthcare while he was walking into a shareholders meeting (IIRC). It takes some time to develop a case, and they especially want to get it right in a very high profile murder case such as this one. The case wasn't finished and presented to the grand jury during Biden's term, so it came to Pam Bondi's group to finish it up, get the indictment (maybe the indictment happened during Biden's term, I don't remember) and take it to court.
And it would appear that Bondi's group screwed up.
Mangione was charged with two counts of stalking, a weapons offense and murder through the use of a firearm. And, according to the judge, the Federal stalking charges are incompatible with the weapons offense and the murder charge, and she had to dismiss them. Thus he is no longer eligible for the Federal death penalty.
From the Australian News article: "US District Judge Margaret M. Garnett in Manhattan said she dismissed the federal murder and weapons charges because they were legally incompatible with the two counts of stalking Mr Mangione faces."
From USA Today, which helps further clarify things: "U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi instructed the Justice Department to pursue the death penalty against Mangione last year. At the time, defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo said in a statement that the federal charges were brought by a "lawless Justice Department" that made a "political" decision to pursue death.
In the order dismissing charges, Garnett wrote that the murder through the use of a firearm and weapons charges required the element that the murder was committed "during and in relation to" another federal crime that is considered a "crime of violence."
Those charges were made on the basis of the stalking charges, which Garnett ruled did not fit the legal definition of a "crime of violence," noting that the legal standard was counterintuitive to the average person."
He will still face murder charges in the State of New York, which, having dealt with organized crime and gang violence for a very long time, is quite good at building solid cases and getting convictions. That trial has not been scheduled, apparently they decided to let the Federal trial resolve first. New York State does not have a death penalty: their Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional in 2004, in 2007 the State Legislature passed a law formally banning it. So it looks like life without parole is the longest sentence he could receive, whether it would be served in NY or at a federal pen would be a question yet to be resolved.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-31/luigi-mangione-murder-weapons-charges-dropped/106290600
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/01/30/luigi-mangione-murder-charge-death-penalty/88430898007/
The murder happened in 2024. Mangione allegedly shot down the CEO of UnitedHealthcare while he was walking into a shareholders meeting (IIRC). It takes some time to develop a case, and they especially want to get it right in a very high profile murder case such as this one. The case wasn't finished and presented to the grand jury during Biden's term, so it came to Pam Bondi's group to finish it up, get the indictment (maybe the indictment happened during Biden's term, I don't remember) and take it to court.
And it would appear that Bondi's group screwed up.
Mangione was charged with two counts of stalking, a weapons offense and murder through the use of a firearm. And, according to the judge, the Federal stalking charges are incompatible with the weapons offense and the murder charge, and she had to dismiss them. Thus he is no longer eligible for the Federal death penalty.
From the Australian News article: "US District Judge Margaret M. Garnett in Manhattan said she dismissed the federal murder and weapons charges because they were legally incompatible with the two counts of stalking Mr Mangione faces."
From USA Today, which helps further clarify things: "U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi instructed the Justice Department to pursue the death penalty against Mangione last year. At the time, defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo said in a statement that the federal charges were brought by a "lawless Justice Department" that made a "political" decision to pursue death.
In the order dismissing charges, Garnett wrote that the murder through the use of a firearm and weapons charges required the element that the murder was committed "during and in relation to" another federal crime that is considered a "crime of violence."
Those charges were made on the basis of the stalking charges, which Garnett ruled did not fit the legal definition of a "crime of violence," noting that the legal standard was counterintuitive to the average person."
He will still face murder charges in the State of New York, which, having dealt with organized crime and gang violence for a very long time, is quite good at building solid cases and getting convictions. That trial has not been scheduled, apparently they decided to let the Federal trial resolve first. New York State does not have a death penalty: their Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional in 2004, in 2007 the State Legislature passed a law formally banning it. So it looks like life without parole is the longest sentence he could receive, whether it would be served in NY or at a federal pen would be a question yet to be resolved.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-31/luigi-mangione-murder-weapons-charges-dropped/106290600
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/01/30/luigi-mangione-murder-charge-death-penalty/88430898007/
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Friday, January 30th, 2026 08:00 am
The post The Campaign: Running, p01 appeared first on Ctrl+Alt+Del Comic.
Friday, January 30th, 2026 06:04 am
NGC 2442: Galaxy in Volans
Thursday, January 29th, 2026 10:59 am
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Thursday, January 29th, 2026 12:04 am
Wednesday, January 28th, 2026 09:36 pm
Wednesday, January 28th, 2026 09:19 pm
Ran into a post on Quora where a guy wrote a Mandelbrot generator in 20 lines of code - HTML/JSON! Someone in the replies posted this song.
https://qr.ae/pCxSS8
https://qr.ae/pCxSS8
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Wednesday, January 28th, 2026 10:05 pm
...and am keeping busy.
I used to do long-form writing reasonably well.
I used to do long-form writing reasonably well.
Wednesday, January 28th, 2026 05:00 am
Wednesday, January 28th, 2026 06:08 am
Rising over a frozen valley in the
Tuesday, January 27th, 2026 11:22 am
Tuesday, January 27th, 2026 03:39 pm
Challenge #6
Top 10 Challenge. Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it.
Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so. Also, feel free to entice engagement by giving us a preview of what your post covers.
( That got long, lol... )
And that's my top ten fandoms! What are yours?
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Tuesday, January 27th, 2026 05:14 am
Can you see nebulas in other galaxies?
Monday, January 26th, 2026 08:48 pm
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Monday, January 26th, 2026 05:00 am
Monday, January 26th, 2026 10:46 am
GitHub is software mainly intended for programmers and developers as a software repository. Very useful stuff, very widely-used. And now about to get a lot more expensive for large teams.
Microsoft bought GitHub a few years back, and a month ago, announced that it would start charging people who ran it on their own hardware $0.002 per minute charge for "self-hosted runners executing jobs on private GitHub repositories. At the same time, GitHub noted in a Tuesday blog post that it's lowering the prices of GitHub-hosted runners beginning January 1, under a scheme it calls "simpler pricing and a better experience for GitHub Actions." Self-hosted runner usage on public repositories will remain free, we note." This was to go into effect in March.
One person contacted noted that they had run the numbers and it would cost them $3,500 a month on top of their normal monthly fee for using GitHub.
There was a large hue and cry, and pretty much the same day Microsoft announced that they were rescinding the charge.
HOWEVER, as The Register article points out about the later MS announcement, "We note that GitHub didn’t say it won’t ever go forward with charging for self-hosted runners, only that it’s postponing the change. As one commenter on the community thread pointed out, that means charging for self-hosted runners may be a foregone conclusion."
The Slashdot article lists many completely free, open-source alternatives to GitHub and I expect people are making migration plans as we speak.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/17/github_charge_dev_own_hardware/
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/12/17/2042247/github-is-going-to-start-charging-you-for-using-your-own-hardware
Microsoft bought GitHub a few years back, and a month ago, announced that it would start charging people who ran it on their own hardware $0.002 per minute charge for "self-hosted runners executing jobs on private GitHub repositories. At the same time, GitHub noted in a Tuesday blog post that it's lowering the prices of GitHub-hosted runners beginning January 1, under a scheme it calls "simpler pricing and a better experience for GitHub Actions." Self-hosted runner usage on public repositories will remain free, we note." This was to go into effect in March.
One person contacted noted that they had run the numbers and it would cost them $3,500 a month on top of their normal monthly fee for using GitHub.
There was a large hue and cry, and pretty much the same day Microsoft announced that they were rescinding the charge.
HOWEVER, as The Register article points out about the later MS announcement, "We note that GitHub didn’t say it won’t ever go forward with charging for self-hosted runners, only that it’s postponing the change. As one commenter on the community thread pointed out, that means charging for self-hosted runners may be a foregone conclusion."
The Slashdot article lists many completely free, open-source alternatives to GitHub and I expect people are making migration plans as we speak.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/17/github_charge_dev_own_hardware/
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/12/17/2042247/github-is-going-to-start-charging-you-for-using-your-own-hardware
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Monday, January 26th, 2026 10:32 am
I'm not going to bother talking about the nominees. There was a point in time where I had a minimal interest in that, but not anymore. Most of the Best Picture nominees never show at my local theater, and my theatrical movie watching has really declined over recent years.
The thing that I find interesting is that in two years, we'll have the last broadcast on broadcast television. It is estimated that ABC/Disney paid over $100,000,000 for last years broadcast, and were looking for lower fees as viewer numbers have been declining. With the broadcast going streaming, there's no time limit: as the article says, the broadcast could be six hours long with Mr. Beast hosting.
It will be mildly interesting to see what kind of viewership numbers YouTube/Google can pull. Most people with streaming can pull it up on the same TV with which they watched it on ABC, but now they can easily view it in more countries than ABC/Disney was able to reach. And people can probably watch it more easily on devices while at work.
But I still don't really care.
https://variety.com/2025/film/news/oscars-youtube-2029-1236610989/
https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/12/17/210247/the-oscars-will-abandon-broadcast-tv-for-youtube-in-2029
The thing that I find interesting is that in two years, we'll have the last broadcast on broadcast television. It is estimated that ABC/Disney paid over $100,000,000 for last years broadcast, and were looking for lower fees as viewer numbers have been declining. With the broadcast going streaming, there's no time limit: as the article says, the broadcast could be six hours long with Mr. Beast hosting.
It will be mildly interesting to see what kind of viewership numbers YouTube/Google can pull. Most people with streaming can pull it up on the same TV with which they watched it on ABC, but now they can easily view it in more countries than ABC/Disney was able to reach. And people can probably watch it more easily on devices while at work.
But I still don't really care.
https://variety.com/2025/film/news/oscars-youtube-2029-1236610989/
https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/12/17/210247/the-oscars-will-abandon-broadcast-tv-for-youtube-in-2029
Tags:
Monday, January 26th, 2026 08:42 pm
Challenge #5
In your own space, create a list of at least three things you'd love to receive, a wishlist of sorts. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it and include a link to your wishlist if you feel comfortable doing so.
Here are my (fannish) wishes for this year!
1. For fandom to be a source of joy for everyone, not just me. May your fannish experiences be what you want, or need, them to be, and may they bring only good things into your life.
2. Recs for a certain kind of HP fic. Back in the day, before HBP released, there was a specific kind of fic that was almost standard - Harry gets training from competent adults, the DA plays a big part, the Houses come together, there's all kinds of fun magic and worldbuilding. I'd love recs for fics like this, with the following DNWs: Snape being portrayed in a positive light or having a large role, Weasley, Hermione, or Fleur bashing, pureblood supremacist apologia, Muggles rules wix drool nonsense, the WW being terribly sexist/backwards.
3. Relatedly, I'd love some Viktor/Hermione fic, either recs or written. No Weasley or Harry bashing, please, and I'd love fics where Viktor is smart. (Because he is, in canon! He speaks at least three languages and does some pretty advanced Transfiguration!)
4. I have fallen in love with the Electra McDonnell cozy thriller series by Ashley Weaver, and I would LOVE Electra/Ramsey fics. Just no kidfic, please!
5. This is an utter longshot, but hey, asking for the N3 extras got me a link, so. Does anyone have the complete prompt list, or even a partial one, for the numb3rs100 community? I do not relish the thought of scrolling through the entire community so I can note down the prompts manually.
6. This wishlist is mostly fic, I swear. If any Austen fans are around, I'd love some Jane Bennet/Colonel Fitzwilliam fic. Just no Bingley bashing, please.
7. Finally, and this is another longshot - if there are any fontmakers out there, I'd love an (English) font that is visually influnced by the Tamil script. All the India-influenced fonts I've seen use the Devanagiri script, because of course all Indians speak Hindi /rolls eyes/. One of my favourite fictional characters ever is Tamilian, and I'd love to have a font that reflects her heritage, and mine.
Monday, January 26th, 2026 03:15 pm
Monday, January 26th, 2026 08:00 am
I probably watched that clip of Cyclops ripping off his visor twenty times in a row. For me that imagery connected to so many feelings… reading X-Men comics growing up, Cyclops being my favorite, the 90’s cartoon, wishing Marsden’s Cyclops had gotten justice, knowing that when Scott rips off his visor like that it’s usually […]
The post Prerequisites appeared first on Ctrl+Alt+Del Comic.
Monday, January 26th, 2026 06:39 am
This moon is doomed.
Sunday, January 25th, 2026 11:26 am
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Sunday, January 25th, 2026 09:06 pm
In previous years, I would fall off the posting wagon for a week, then two weeks, then months and more. I'm determined not to do that this time, so have an update on what I've been up to before I slowly catch up on ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
snowflake_challenge over the course of the next week!
- The weekend of the 17th/18th was my city's major literary fest. I only went to three panels (one with a Supreme Court judge, one with a historian who is the grandson of two major Independence-era politicians, one with the author of a legal handbook for women) since the others weren't really my jam, but I enjoyed all three.
- I got bookses! Defying the Odds (about Dalit entrepreneurs), Reclaiming Bharat (about the unexpected rebuke India delivered to Modi in the 2024 election), The Lion of Naushera (about a little-known Muslim hero of the 1947 war with Pakistan), One Way To Love (a contemporary romance about a young Indian Muslim couple), Engineering A Nation (about M. Visvesvaraya, a pioneering colonial-era engineer and administrator), and Swadeshi Steam (about one man's effort to create an Indian-owned shipping company and break the British monopoly on maritime trade).
- The fest was also on Sunday, but I did not go (I regret this, in retrospect) because I needed to prepare for a trip.
- What was this trip for, you ask? To attend the wedding of my dad's cousin's son. I have never met this dude, or his bride, in my life. But because I'm Indian (and because Stepmum had the sense to stay home with the dogs so Dad had a free plus one), and also because that branch of the family is LOADED, I was invited. (Seriously, y'all, this wedding was nuts. Three days at a five-star resort, accomodations all paid for; we just had to get our butts there.)
- This was a fancy enough wedding each event (welcome dinner, haldi ceremony, sangeet, muhurtam (actual ceremony), and reception came with dress codes. With specific colours. Luckily, I could use clothes I aready owned for the sangeet, muhurtam, and reception, and I found a cheap burgundy flapper dress for the welcome dinner and a yellow kurta for the haldi, the latter of which I got many compliments on ^_^
- The wedding was as fun as an event I have zero personal stake in could be. The bride's family is North Indian, so while the ceremony itself was as traditionally Tamil Brahmin as could be, there was also a baraat and a sangeet, which were fun to look at from the sidelines. The ceremony itself I can only presume was lovely, since the same thing happened as most Tamil weddings I've been to - we couldn't actually see jack on account of all the photographers/videographers/idiots with phones. I wish they'd done what a buddy did and had TV screens up so we could actually SEE S and S getting married. The reception was a lot of fun, too - some great speeches, and the MCs were hilarious.
- Getting to see family was lovely, even if Favourite Cousin S and her husband couldn't make it. I did get to spend time with dad's-sister Aunt S and dad's-cousin Aunt S, and no-longer-tiny Cousin S, which was great, and get to reassure various members of Dad's family of my continued good health. I also got to talk to various family members about the diaspora experience, which provided fodder for Amita fic, so that was nice, lol.
- The food, sadly, was kind of disappointing, because who has a destination wedding in Goa and serves practically no Goan food? My family, apparently. (Okay, in fairness, Tamil Brahmins are strict vegetarians so I don't know if they could have been convinced that anything Goan, which is famous for its fish and pork, was vegetarian even if it was.) That said, the food they did serve was excellent, as befits a Taj hotel. The best part was aloo paratha for breakfast, especially since they had a different Goan curry each morning to eat it with. No Goan food at lunch or dinner, alas.
- The actual wedding feast was catered by the ne plus ultra of traditional wedding caterers that the family bussed in all the way from Chennai. (They would have flown them in, but aviation is a shitshow right now and cooking implements are HEAVY.) No naan and butter chicken here - we were served a traditional Iyengar elai saapadu, on a plantain leaf. Yes, I stuffed my face.
- A big difference between Indian, or at least Tamil, weddings, and Western ones? There are also gifts FROM the host family to the guests. Being a family member means I got a sari (a gorgeous green silk one I have to find an excuse to wear). All guests also got something called a 'bakshanam' - basically, a hamper of sweets and savouries to take home with them - as well as a couple more standard favours. Given that my poor carryon suitcase was already full, this presented an interesting packing dilemma, lol. Thankfully I'd taken a collapsible duffel with, so it was all manageable.
- I left on Tuesday, came home late Friday, and spent the weekend being a giant lump. Love my family, but that was entirely too many people and too much time walking on grass in high heels, lol.
Aaaand that was my week. Hopefully all y'all's was less nuts.
snowflake_challenge over the course of the next week!- The weekend of the 17th/18th was my city's major literary fest. I only went to three panels (one with a Supreme Court judge, one with a historian who is the grandson of two major Independence-era politicians, one with the author of a legal handbook for women) since the others weren't really my jam, but I enjoyed all three.
- I got bookses! Defying the Odds (about Dalit entrepreneurs), Reclaiming Bharat (about the unexpected rebuke India delivered to Modi in the 2024 election), The Lion of Naushera (about a little-known Muslim hero of the 1947 war with Pakistan), One Way To Love (a contemporary romance about a young Indian Muslim couple), Engineering A Nation (about M. Visvesvaraya, a pioneering colonial-era engineer and administrator), and Swadeshi Steam (about one man's effort to create an Indian-owned shipping company and break the British monopoly on maritime trade).
- The fest was also on Sunday, but I did not go (I regret this, in retrospect) because I needed to prepare for a trip.
- What was this trip for, you ask? To attend the wedding of my dad's cousin's son. I have never met this dude, or his bride, in my life. But because I'm Indian (and because Stepmum had the sense to stay home with the dogs so Dad had a free plus one), and also because that branch of the family is LOADED, I was invited. (Seriously, y'all, this wedding was nuts. Three days at a five-star resort, accomodations all paid for; we just had to get our butts there.)
- This was a fancy enough wedding each event (welcome dinner, haldi ceremony, sangeet, muhurtam (actual ceremony), and reception came with dress codes. With specific colours. Luckily, I could use clothes I aready owned for the sangeet, muhurtam, and reception, and I found a cheap burgundy flapper dress for the welcome dinner and a yellow kurta for the haldi, the latter of which I got many compliments on ^_^
- The wedding was as fun as an event I have zero personal stake in could be. The bride's family is North Indian, so while the ceremony itself was as traditionally Tamil Brahmin as could be, there was also a baraat and a sangeet, which were fun to look at from the sidelines. The ceremony itself I can only presume was lovely, since the same thing happened as most Tamil weddings I've been to - we couldn't actually see jack on account of all the photographers/videographers/idiots with phones. I wish they'd done what a buddy did and had TV screens up so we could actually SEE S and S getting married. The reception was a lot of fun, too - some great speeches, and the MCs were hilarious.
- Getting to see family was lovely, even if Favourite Cousin S and her husband couldn't make it. I did get to spend time with dad's-sister Aunt S and dad's-cousin Aunt S, and no-longer-tiny Cousin S, which was great, and get to reassure various members of Dad's family of my continued good health. I also got to talk to various family members about the diaspora experience, which provided fodder for Amita fic, so that was nice, lol.
- The food, sadly, was kind of disappointing, because who has a destination wedding in Goa and serves practically no Goan food? My family, apparently. (Okay, in fairness, Tamil Brahmins are strict vegetarians so I don't know if they could have been convinced that anything Goan, which is famous for its fish and pork, was vegetarian even if it was.) That said, the food they did serve was excellent, as befits a Taj hotel. The best part was aloo paratha for breakfast, especially since they had a different Goan curry each morning to eat it with. No Goan food at lunch or dinner, alas.
- The actual wedding feast was catered by the ne plus ultra of traditional wedding caterers that the family bussed in all the way from Chennai. (They would have flown them in, but aviation is a shitshow right now and cooking implements are HEAVY.) No naan and butter chicken here - we were served a traditional Iyengar elai saapadu, on a plantain leaf. Yes, I stuffed my face.
- A big difference between Indian, or at least Tamil, weddings, and Western ones? There are also gifts FROM the host family to the guests. Being a family member means I got a sari (a gorgeous green silk one I have to find an excuse to wear). All guests also got something called a 'bakshanam' - basically, a hamper of sweets and savouries to take home with them - as well as a couple more standard favours. Given that my poor carryon suitcase was already full, this presented an interesting packing dilemma, lol. Thankfully I'd taken a collapsible duffel with, so it was all manageable.
- I left on Tuesday, came home late Friday, and spent the weekend being a giant lump. Love my family, but that was entirely too many people and too much time walking on grass in high heels, lol.
Aaaand that was my week. Hopefully all y'all's was less nuts.
Sunday, January 25th, 2026 06:04 am
NGC 1333 is seen in visible light as a
Sunday, January 25th, 2026 06:04 am
Earthset from Orion
Saturday, January 24th, 2026 02:37 pm
On the first day of the current administration, an executive order was announced terminating the participation of the USA in the WHO. This was broadly denounced as an incredibly stupid move. Aside from coordinating a global response to pandemics, outbreaks, the studies thereof, it has annual meetings to try to formulate the annual flu vaccines - said meeting happens next month.
The reason why? A certain person doesn't think the world did a good job with its Covid-19 response. This was at the same time that said person postulated that drinking bleach and exposing your innards to UV light would be a good cure, not to mention the other quack cures he put forth that directly led to deaths of people in the USA and perhaps elsewhere in the world.
From the article: "While the United States is walking away from the organization, a senior official with the Department of Health and Human Services told reporters on Thursday that the Trump administration was considering some type of narrow, limited engagement with W.H.O. global networks that track infectious diseases, including influenza."
and "On Thursday, the administration said that all U.S. government funding to the organization had been terminated, and that all assigned federal employees and contractors had been recalled from its Geneva headquarters and its offices worldwide.
The up-in-the-air status of the flu vaccine is just one of countless global health matters that are left hanging in the balance by the United States’ withdrawal. Global health experts are deeply concerned that if a novel bug similar to the coronavirus emerges, a lack of international coordination will lead to death and disaster." Good thing that novel bugs never happen!
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/us/politics/united-states-withdraws-world-health-organization.html?unlocked_article_code=1.GlA.ey5P.2X66jrh_mNPI&smid=url-share
https://science.slashdot.org/story/26/01/23/1226253/us-formally-withdraws-from-who
The Slashdot story has an interesting discussion on population and farming. You probably ought to set the right filter slider to exclude -1 rated comments.
That was Thursday. On Friday, the State of California formally joined the WHO. Governor Gavin travelled to the Davos conference in Switzerland and was scheduled to speak, but the State Department quashed that. He met with the Director-General of the WHO and his office issued a statement:
“As President Trump withdraws the United States from the World Health Organization, California is stepping up under Governor Gavin Newsom — becoming the first, and currently the only, state to join the WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network (GOARN), strengthening public health preparedness and rapid response coordination,” Newsom’s office said in a statement.
...
“The Trump administration’s withdrawal from WHO is a reckless decision that will hurt all Californians and Americans,” Newsom said in a statement. “California will not bear witness to the chaos this decision will bring. We will continue to foster partnerships across the globe and remain at the forefront of public health preparedness, including through our membership as the only state in WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network.”
Go, Gavin! Here's hoping that other states will step up and join the WHO and flip a massive bird to the Feds. I would probably die laughing if all 50 states plus the territories joined up!
Gavin has also been instrumental in forming a "coalition of states in launching both the West Coast Health Alliance and the Governors Public Health Alliance to lead public health policies that diverge from that of the White House."
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5703447-who-gavin-newsom-california/
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/01/23/2350246/california-becomes-first-state-to-join-who-disease-network-after-us-exit
The reason why? A certain person doesn't think the world did a good job with its Covid-19 response. This was at the same time that said person postulated that drinking bleach and exposing your innards to UV light would be a good cure, not to mention the other quack cures he put forth that directly led to deaths of people in the USA and perhaps elsewhere in the world.
From the article: "While the United States is walking away from the organization, a senior official with the Department of Health and Human Services told reporters on Thursday that the Trump administration was considering some type of narrow, limited engagement with W.H.O. global networks that track infectious diseases, including influenza."
and "On Thursday, the administration said that all U.S. government funding to the organization had been terminated, and that all assigned federal employees and contractors had been recalled from its Geneva headquarters and its offices worldwide.
The up-in-the-air status of the flu vaccine is just one of countless global health matters that are left hanging in the balance by the United States’ withdrawal. Global health experts are deeply concerned that if a novel bug similar to the coronavirus emerges, a lack of international coordination will lead to death and disaster." Good thing that novel bugs never happen!
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/us/politics/united-states-withdraws-world-health-organization.html?unlocked_article_code=1.GlA.ey5P.2X66jrh_mNPI&smid=url-share
https://science.slashdot.org/story/26/01/23/1226253/us-formally-withdraws-from-who
The Slashdot story has an interesting discussion on population and farming. You probably ought to set the right filter slider to exclude -1 rated comments.
That was Thursday. On Friday, the State of California formally joined the WHO. Governor Gavin travelled to the Davos conference in Switzerland and was scheduled to speak, but the State Department quashed that. He met with the Director-General of the WHO and his office issued a statement:
“As President Trump withdraws the United States from the World Health Organization, California is stepping up under Governor Gavin Newsom — becoming the first, and currently the only, state to join the WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network (GOARN), strengthening public health preparedness and rapid response coordination,” Newsom’s office said in a statement.
...
“The Trump administration’s withdrawal from WHO is a reckless decision that will hurt all Californians and Americans,” Newsom said in a statement. “California will not bear witness to the chaos this decision will bring. We will continue to foster partnerships across the globe and remain at the forefront of public health preparedness, including through our membership as the only state in WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network.”
Go, Gavin! Here's hoping that other states will step up and join the WHO and flip a massive bird to the Feds. I would probably die laughing if all 50 states plus the territories joined up!
Gavin has also been instrumental in forming a "coalition of states in launching both the West Coast Health Alliance and the Governors Public Health Alliance to lead public health policies that diverge from that of the White House."
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5703447-who-gavin-newsom-california/
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/01/23/2350246/california-becomes-first-state-to-join-who-disease-network-after-us-exit
Tags:
Saturday, January 24th, 2026 06:25 am
Very faint planetary nebula Abell 7 is about 1,800 light-years distant.
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 09:04 pm
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 05:00 am
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 04:47 pm
AO3 Link | To Heal With Trust (200 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Birds of Prey, Outsiders
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Roy Harper & Dinah Lance
Characters: Roy Harper, Dinah Lance
Additional Tags: Double Drabble, +Modern Age (1986-Present), Post-Crisis
Summary:
"Slow and easy, yes, just like that. I have your head, just let your body float," Dinah said, confident and reassuring all in one.
Roy closed his eyes, his body already feeling less sore as he followed her instructions. When she'd shown up, thrown Ollie out, and told him to stay clear, Roy hadn't known what to expect. Now, living with her, Lian occupied by Oracle and Dinah's teammates, he knew he was in the best possible hands to recover.
The hot tub was set just warm enough to pull his muscles loose, salt-tanged for buoyancy, and she had him. She'd never let him fall under, while his body just floated, easing the stress of his physical therapy away. She pushed when they did it, but not so hard as to build injuries, and then… she always took care of him after.
He wasn't going to fail her, or his baby girl, by wallowing in the fear of the near-fatal shots. He would trust her, as he always had, letting her guide him. When he went back out there, he'd be as strong as he'd ever been.
It was just like when she put him back together from the drugs.
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Birds of Prey, Outsiders
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Roy Harper & Dinah Lance
Characters: Roy Harper, Dinah Lance
Additional Tags: Double Drabble, +Modern Age (1986-Present), Post-Crisis
Summary:
Dinah came to manage his recovery from the gunshots.
To Heal With Trust
"Slow and easy, yes, just like that. I have your head, just let your body float," Dinah said, confident and reassuring all in one.
Roy closed his eyes, his body already feeling less sore as he followed her instructions. When she'd shown up, thrown Ollie out, and told him to stay clear, Roy hadn't known what to expect. Now, living with her, Lian occupied by Oracle and Dinah's teammates, he knew he was in the best possible hands to recover.
The hot tub was set just warm enough to pull his muscles loose, salt-tanged for buoyancy, and she had him. She'd never let him fall under, while his body just floated, easing the stress of his physical therapy away. She pushed when they did it, but not so hard as to build injuries, and then… she always took care of him after.
He wasn't going to fail her, or his baby girl, by wallowing in the fear of the near-fatal shots. He would trust her, as he always had, letting her guide him. When he went back out there, he'd be as strong as he'd ever been.
It was just like when she put him back together from the drugs.
Tags:
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 01:04 pm
На крыльях соблазна (154 words) by WTF Furry Anthro and Xeno 2026
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Gargoyles (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Goliath/Elisa Maza
Characters: Goliath (Gargoyles), Elisa Maza
Additional Tags: Translation, Перевод на русский | Translation in Russian, Fandom Kombat, Winter Temporary Fandom Kombat 2026, Don’t copy to another site, Slice of Life, This Work Is Stolen If Not On AO3, Работа Украдена Если Не На АО3
Summary:
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Gargoyles (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Goliath/Elisa Maza
Characters: Goliath (Gargoyles), Elisa Maza
Additional Tags: Translation, Перевод на русский | Translation in Russian, Fandom Kombat, Winter Temporary Fandom Kombat 2026, Don’t copy to another site, Slice of Life, This Work Is Stolen If Not On AO3, Работа Украдена Если Не На АО3
Summary:
Элиза пользуется тем, что Голиаф слишком много думает.
Tags:
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 07:13 am
Friday, January 23rd, 2026 05:47 am
The silhouette of an intriguing
Thursday, January 22nd, 2026 09:20 pm
~ Dreams of Her Own - https://archiveofourown.org/works/71432751 - Sequel prompts from ![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ukiacatdragon - Eilistraee, the shroud of Lolth, Corellon, Arvandor's overwhleming goodness, plotting to nullify Lolth's plots via Sharr, the raid being brought up, Tall Ones finding Ellifain early, closure for drow and elf child, quest - 1,027 words
~ HLH shortcuts sequel - https://archiveofourown.org/works/74116516 - Joe and Rachel meet in Seacouver - 0 words
~10trueloves - 3/10 written
~genprompt_bingo 0/5 written (Line Only)
GenPrompt Fills:
~ A Moment of Understanding / Clarity - Commander Appo comes face to face with Atin (includes a horrific flashback to Ashla's death from Appo's POV)
~ Teenagers - Continue https://archiveofourown.org/works/12124011 - Rex and Ahsoka with Hera and Chopper
~ Telepathy - Long Distance Phone Calls in the Force: "You left me/He wanted me dead/I would have protected you/But could you really" / "It hurts/You always hurt, couldn't he get you better healing/There wasn't much of me left/He all but owns a master cloning world and you're stuck like that? Your benefits package sucks"
~ Freestyle Crossovers - Jurassic Park/X-Men crossover (late request for More Joy Day)
~ A Test of Worthiness - OPEN
~ Ahsoka the Daughter whispering guidance through time in Anakin's head. Starting inAotC TPM. Includes:
Okay no wonder some said I was just like you (her reaction to the reckless deal in TPM)
Hey Skykid, what's a guy with all the power thinking to make a point of having time for you? (Comics of the Padawan years)
Oh kriff he's so young (first meeting of Anakin and Rex)
I am SO shiny (Ahsoka arriving)
~ Fulcrum and Rex time travel to before Anakin runs to Mace.
~ Fulcrum accidentally pulls Anakin to Malachor in That Fight.
ukiacatdragon - Eilistraee, the shroud of Lolth, Corellon, Arvandor's overwhleming goodness, plotting to nullify Lolth's plots via Sharr, the raid being brought up, Tall Ones finding Ellifain early, closure for drow and elf child, quest - 1,027 words~ HLH shortcuts sequel - https://archiveofourown.org/works/74116516 - Joe and Rachel meet in Seacouver - 0 words
~
10trueloves - 3/10 written ~
genprompt_bingo 0/5 written (Line Only)Random Plot Bunnies to Hold Over
GenPrompt Fills:
~ A Moment of Understanding / Clarity - Commander Appo comes face to face with Atin (includes a horrific flashback to Ashla's death from Appo's POV)
~ Teenagers - Continue https://archiveofourown.org/works/12124011 - Rex and Ahsoka with Hera and Chopper
~ Telepathy - Long Distance Phone Calls in the Force: "You left me/He wanted me dead/I would have protected you/But could you really" / "It hurts/You always hurt, couldn't he get you better healing/There wasn't much of me left/He all but owns a master cloning world and you're stuck like that? Your benefits package sucks"
~ Freestyle Crossovers - Jurassic Park/X-Men crossover (late request for More Joy Day)
~ A Test of Worthiness - OPEN
~ Ahsoka the Daughter whispering guidance through time in Anakin's head. Starting in
Okay no wonder some said I was just like you (her reaction to the reckless deal in TPM)
Hey Skykid, what's a guy with all the power thinking to make a point of having time for you? (Comics of the Padawan years)
Oh kriff he's so young (first meeting of Anakin and Rex)
I am SO shiny (Ahsoka arriving)
~ Fulcrum and Rex time travel to before Anakin runs to Mace.
~ Fulcrum accidentally pulls Anakin to Malachor in That Fight.
Tags:
Saturday, January 24th, 2026 05:21 pm
AO3 Link | Fly Boys and Pretty Birds (300 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Justice League (Franchise)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Dinah Lance & Hal Jordan
Characters: Hal Jordan, Dinah Lance
Additional Tags: [JLA: Year One - 1998], +Modern Age (1986-Present), Post-Crisis, Triple Drabble
Summary:
"So, do your own ears ring when you cut loose with that Cry of yours?" Hal asked with a rakish grin over the shared milkshake. He knew good and well that, despite her attempt to show off a maturity, she was all but jailbait for him.
He couldn't help himself, watching the way Dinah's lips wrapped around the straw, her eyes on him the whole while.
"Not unless it's amplified and directed back at me; found that out the hard way," she admitted. "I get white-noise effect, protecting me from it."
"Probably for the best; it's damned effective. The way you pushed Grundy — whoa, hey, what is it?"
"Reminded me too much of how I don't know the limits," she admitted, having lost her playful gamine look at the reminder. "It's not like I've had the ability to truly test it all that much in a controlled environment."
"How's a flight test range sound for setting that up?" Hal challenged. "We've got plenty of junk that you can demolish, I can get that kid Kord to come monitor with his doodads and spectra-whatevers?"
She lit back up, before giving him the most suspicious look he'd seen on her yet. "Hal, are you doing this to get something, or…"
"Scout's honor — yes I was one — that I want my teammate comfortable with her power." He then laughed a little. "The dates are completely separate from that. I like to earn a lady's graces the old-fashioned way."
She smiled at him. "Well, I do like the jacket, and you are rather handsome," she teased him. "Maybe my graces, as you put it, are within reach."
Hal smiled. "We'll just see how you feel after the movie." He had the feeling this friendship was going to last, even if that's all it was.
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Justice League (Franchise)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Dinah Lance & Hal Jordan
Characters: Hal Jordan, Dinah Lance
Additional Tags: [JLA: Year One - 1998], +Modern Age (1986-Present), Post-Crisis, Triple Drabble
Summary:
It's a date, kind of a get to know each other thing.
Fly Boys and Pretty Birds
"So, do your own ears ring when you cut loose with that Cry of yours?" Hal asked with a rakish grin over the shared milkshake. He knew good and well that, despite her attempt to show off a maturity, she was all but jailbait for him.
He couldn't help himself, watching the way Dinah's lips wrapped around the straw, her eyes on him the whole while.
"Not unless it's amplified and directed back at me; found that out the hard way," she admitted. "I get white-noise effect, protecting me from it."
"Probably for the best; it's damned effective. The way you pushed Grundy — whoa, hey, what is it?"
"Reminded me too much of how I don't know the limits," she admitted, having lost her playful gamine look at the reminder. "It's not like I've had the ability to truly test it all that much in a controlled environment."
"How's a flight test range sound for setting that up?" Hal challenged. "We've got plenty of junk that you can demolish, I can get that kid Kord to come monitor with his doodads and spectra-whatevers?"
She lit back up, before giving him the most suspicious look he'd seen on her yet. "Hal, are you doing this to get something, or…"
"Scout's honor — yes I was one — that I want my teammate comfortable with her power." He then laughed a little. "The dates are completely separate from that. I like to earn a lady's graces the old-fashioned way."
She smiled at him. "Well, I do like the jacket, and you are rather handsome," she teased him. "Maybe my graces, as you put it, are within reach."
Hal smiled. "We'll just see how you feel after the movie." He had the feeling this friendship was going to last, even if that's all it was.
Thursday, January 22nd, 2026 08:38 pm
AO3 Link | Shelter in Danger (500 words) by Merfilly
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: DC Comics (General), Marvel Comics (General)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Dinah Lance/Erik Lensherr
Characters: Dinah Lance, Erik Lehnsherr
Additional Tags: Crossover, +Modern Age (1986-Present)
Summary:
When Dinah Lance found herself catapulted into another dimension, it wasn't all that shocking. She's been tossed through time, sent to other worlds, and even touched alternate versions of her own world. To wake up in a world that was completely unlike her own as far as people and problems went, but still an Earth wasn't that hard to come to terms with.
No, the thing that shocked her was finding an older white-haired man with a harder sense of justice than she usually took for herself that stirred her emotions so strongly. Similarities to another man of her own world may have set the stage for growing closer, but it was Erik's ability to debate with her, to see her as a capable fighter in her own right, and his old-fashioned manners that sealed her doom.
There was just something irresistible in a man that opened doors for her but didn't think she needed to be in the kitchen for Dinah Lance.
She'd given her word that she would help defend this small island refuge. She wanted no part of his retaliatory strikes, but the people who were just trying to live their lives were under her protection. As Erik — Magneto currently — was deflecting the heavy artillery back into the attackers, Black Canary was ably working defense against the ground assault with his other combatants.
She had no idea how many amphibious vehicles she grounded permanently, how many people in deep-water gear were shoved back off the beach, but eventually Magneto gathered up all of the remaining debris from the assault and threw it out to join the artificial reef off his coastline. While he did that, she acquired one of her protein-gels, slaking a need for energy and liquid at once before seeing if she needed to help with injured.
Magneto landed beside her moments later, his hand going to the small of her back. She wasn't thinking about the likely human cost of the assault; mutants were feared and hunted here, and that force had come with the intent to kill or enslave from all she had managed to dig up.
"Your voice, my dear, is devastating. And yet you espouse more peaceful notions than I," he said with grim satisfaction over the results she'd gotten.
"I learned to modulate it over the years, so I get the effect I want," she said, shifting just slightly closer, her voice dipping into flirting tones.
"Hmm, and what effect do you wish now?" he asked, matching her tone, as that strong hand on her lower back shifted more to her hip and upper ass.
"The ability to be somewhere private and less clothed, of course," she told him.
He laughed, deep and throaty. "Oh, I like that direct approach." He guided her toward his own room, leaving the aftermath to his lieutenants. Dinah was more than happy with that choice, hoping if she distracted him long enough, he'd choose some other way than direct assault on the attacking nation.
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: DC Comics (General), Marvel Comics (General)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Dinah Lance/Erik Lensherr
Characters: Dinah Lance, Erik Lehnsherr
Additional Tags: Crossover, +Modern Age (1986-Present)
Summary:
While trapped in a different universe, Dinah falls for another older man
Shelter in Danger
When Dinah Lance found herself catapulted into another dimension, it wasn't all that shocking. She's been tossed through time, sent to other worlds, and even touched alternate versions of her own world. To wake up in a world that was completely unlike her own as far as people and problems went, but still an Earth wasn't that hard to come to terms with.
No, the thing that shocked her was finding an older white-haired man with a harder sense of justice than she usually took for herself that stirred her emotions so strongly. Similarities to another man of her own world may have set the stage for growing closer, but it was Erik's ability to debate with her, to see her as a capable fighter in her own right, and his old-fashioned manners that sealed her doom.
There was just something irresistible in a man that opened doors for her but didn't think she needed to be in the kitchen for Dinah Lance.
She'd given her word that she would help defend this small island refuge. She wanted no part of his retaliatory strikes, but the people who were just trying to live their lives were under her protection. As Erik — Magneto currently — was deflecting the heavy artillery back into the attackers, Black Canary was ably working defense against the ground assault with his other combatants.
She had no idea how many amphibious vehicles she grounded permanently, how many people in deep-water gear were shoved back off the beach, but eventually Magneto gathered up all of the remaining debris from the assault and threw it out to join the artificial reef off his coastline. While he did that, she acquired one of her protein-gels, slaking a need for energy and liquid at once before seeing if she needed to help with injured.
Magneto landed beside her moments later, his hand going to the small of her back. She wasn't thinking about the likely human cost of the assault; mutants were feared and hunted here, and that force had come with the intent to kill or enslave from all she had managed to dig up.
"Your voice, my dear, is devastating. And yet you espouse more peaceful notions than I," he said with grim satisfaction over the results she'd gotten.
"I learned to modulate it over the years, so I get the effect I want," she said, shifting just slightly closer, her voice dipping into flirting tones.
"Hmm, and what effect do you wish now?" he asked, matching her tone, as that strong hand on her lower back shifted more to her hip and upper ass.
"The ability to be somewhere private and less clothed, of course," she told him.
He laughed, deep and throaty. "Oh, I like that direct approach." He guided her toward his own room, leaving the aftermath to his lieutenants. Dinah was more than happy with that choice, hoping if she distracted him long enough, he'd choose some other way than direct assault on the attacking nation.
Thursday, January 22nd, 2026 03:35 pm
50-65 F? - One layer with a jacket.
35-50 F? - Double pants, jacket, hat and gloves.
20-35 g? - Double layers, jacket, hat, gloves, winter boots.
Below 20 F? - Double layers, jacket, hat, DOUBLE GLOVES, Utility Work Suit, winter boots.
And yes, I will wear that at any temp below 20, into the negatives, as witnessed by previous winters. And, since the wind USUALLY dies at night, it's actually not so bad to walk late, unless there's slippery ice on the road.
35-50 F? - Double pants, jacket, hat and gloves.
20-35 g? - Double layers, jacket, hat, gloves, winter boots.
Below 20 F? - Double layers, jacket, hat, DOUBLE GLOVES, Utility Work Suit, winter boots.
And yes, I will wear that at any temp below 20, into the negatives, as witnessed by previous winters. And, since the wind USUALLY dies at night, it's actually not so bad to walk late, unless there's slippery ice on the road.
Tags:
Thursday, January 22nd, 2026 06:11 am
Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1365 from Webb
Wednesday, January 21st, 2026 10:59 pm
Wednesday, January 21st, 2026 05:00 am
Wednesday, January 21st, 2026 06:45 am
The strangest moon in the
Tuesday, January 20th, 2026 08:53 am
Tuesday, January 20th, 2026 05:59 am
What powers this unusual nebula?