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Mount Fuji Gets Snowcap After Longest Delay In 130 Years — But It’s Not Official (Maria)
The author writes, “Japan’s Mount Fuji finally got its trademark snowcap early on Wednesday, more than a month after it normally would and after setting a record for the most-delayed snowfall in 130 years. The first snowfall on Mt. Fuji, a UNESCO World Heritage site, could be seen from the southwestern side of the mountain, according to the Shizuoka branch of the Japan Meteorological Agency. But the JMA’s Kofu Local Meteorological Office which … has been in charge of making the announcement since 1984, still could not see the snow due to cloudy weather — meaning it’s not official yet.”
Donald Trump Has Won — And American Democracy Is Now in Grave Danger (Dana)
From Vox: “In nearly every conceivable way, a second Trump administration will likely be more dangerous than the first, a term that ended in over 1 million deaths from Covid-19 and a riot at the Capitol. A predictable crisis — a president consolidating power in his own hands and using it to punish his enemies — looms on the horizon, with many unpredictable crises likely waiting in the wings. Yet as dire as things are, America has reserves it can draw on to withstand the coming assault. Over the course of the country’s long democratic history, it has built up robust systems for checking abuses of power.”
How Can Polls Be Right if Nobody Answers Their Phones? (Russ)
The author writes, “During the 2024 election season, 172 national polls were conducted using methods that The Washington Post deems high-quality. Those surveys wrangled opinions from about 260,000 Americans (or fewer, since some will be duplicates or panels that repeatedly survey the same people). There are 262 million American adults. Penciling that out, you have about a 1 in 1,000 chance of being picked for a high-quality national poll as of late October. Even if we include national presidential polls with lower standards — 538 tracks more than 1,500 of them — you’ll still have about a 99 percent chance of not getting that fateful call.”
German Coalition Government Collapses: Chancellor Scholz Fires Finance Minister (Sean)
The author writes, “The coalition had been at odds for a while, with serious strains on the budget for 2025 and a disappointing performance by the German economy eliciting increasingly different suggestions on how to face and solve the problems. Many coalition lawmakers had hoped that in the aftermath of Donald Trump securing the US presidency once more, internal strife could be put aside to focus on the geopolitical challenges ahead.”
The Y Chromosome Is Disappearing. Is This the End of Men? (Gerry)
From BBC Science Focus: “What could a future free of men look like? We could soon find out. According to recent research, the Y chromosome, the crucial factor that determines if someone is male, is starting to fail. In fact, the Y chromosome has already heavily degenerated and could eventually disappear completely. But what will happen once it’s gone? Will we have a new sex? Or would the male species just suddenly cease to exist?”
Donald Trump’s Latest Violent Fantasy (Laura)
The author writes, “Traditionally, a campaign’s closing argument is supposed to hammer home its main themes. At a rally in Lititz, Pennsylvania, Donald Trump did exactly that — by once again fantasizing about violence against his perceived enemies. Describing how his open-air podium was mostly surrounded by bulletproof glass, the former president noted a gap in that protection, and added: ‘To get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news, and I don’t mind that so much.’ And by ‘fake news,’ he meant the members of the press covering his rally. … But journalists are only some of the many ‘enemies from within’ whom Trump has name-checked at his rallies and on his favored social network.”
An Idaho Health Department Isn’t Allowed To Give COVID-19 Vaccines Anymore. Experts Say It’s a First (DonkeyHotey and Dana)
From the AP: “A regional public health department in Idaho is no longer providing COVID-19 vaccines to residents in six counties after a narrow decision by its board. Southwest District Health appears to be the first in the nation to be restricted from giving COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccinations are an essential function of a public health department. While policymakers in Texas banned health departments from promoting COVID vaccines and Florida’s surgeon general bucked medical consensus to recommend against the vaccine, governmental bodies across the country haven’t blocked the vaccines outright. … The health department’s board voted 4-3 in favor of the ban — despite Southwest’s medical director testifying to the vaccine’s necessity.”
Elon Musk Could Have US Citizenship Revoked If He Lied on Immigration Forms (Reader Jim)
From Wired: “Elon Musk could have his United States citizenship revoked and be exposed to criminal prosecution if he lied to the government as part of the immigration process, according to legal experts. Musk, who was born and raised in South Africa and later emigrated to Canada before eventually settling in the US and becoming a citizen, has spent more than $100 million to support Donald Trump and his nativist presidential campaign, and has personally demonized immigrants. A recent Bloomberg analysis found, for example, that Musk has posted around 1,300 times on X this year about immigration and voter fraud. Many of those posts promote the ‘great replacement’ conspiracy theory, which falsely holds that Democrats seek to replace white voters with unauthorized immigrants whose votes they control, and depicts immigrants as dangerous lawbreakers.”
