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Powerful Teamsters Union Skips Presidential Endorsement (Maria)
The authors write, “The International Brotherhood of Teamsters declined to issue a presidential endorsement on Wednesday, according to a statement from the union. The powerful labor union is deeply connected to working class voters in battleground states who could be crucial to the outcome of November’s election. It cited a lack of consensus among its million-plus members, and the non-endorsement is a sizable blow for Vice President Kamala Harris given the Biden administration’s unabashed union loyalty during his term.”
America’s Racist, Xenophobic, and Highly Specific Fear of Haiti (Laura)
From The Intercept: “Among the earliest instances of anti-Haitian sentiments in the U.S. came from slaveholding states in the American south in the early 1800s, said Willie Mack, a professor at the University of Missouri who studies race and immigration. After enslaved Haitians led a rebellion in 1791 against the French and won independence, American slaveholders feared they would invade and free enslaved Africans in the U.S. In 1822, South Carolina passed a law that prohibited Black sailors from disembarking from ships that docked in the state’s ports out of fear that they would mingle with enslaved people and spread word about Haiti, perhaps sparking another rebellion.”
Woman Who Accused Haitian Migrants of Taking Her Cat, Miss Sassy, Finds Pet in Basement (Mili)
The author writes, “A Springfield, Ohio, Trump supporter who blamed her Haitian neighbors for stealing her cat recently discovered that the missing pet had been hiding in her basement the entire time. Anna Kilgore filed a police report in late August, claiming they had stolen and eaten her cat, Miss Sassy. The case gained national attention after her accusations.”
FTC Says Social Networks’ Data Privacy, Safety Policies Are ‘Woefully Inadequate’ (DonkeyHotey)
From The Hill: “Top social media and video streaming companies are facing new scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which released a report Thursday morning accusing the platforms of vastly violating users’ privacy and failing to provide safeguards for kids and teens. The 129-page report found that several social media and video streaming platforms carried out practices in the last four years that ‘did not consistently’ prioritize consumers’ privacy.”
Every Single Member of the Board Just Resigned From DNA Tester 23andMe (Sean)
The author writes, “Following a monthslong battle over CEO Anne Wojcicki’s plans to take 23andMe private, all seven independent members of its board resigned en masse Tuesday. The move is almost certainly the final nail in the coffin for the embattled company known for its mail-order DNA-testing kit.”
The Miraculous Resurrection of Notre-Dame (Dana)
From GQ: “In 2019, a fire nearly destroyed the crown jewel of France — and the nation set a breakneck five-year deadline to bring it back from the ashes. This is the story of how an army of artisans turned back centuries to restore Notre-Dame by hand, and wound up reviving something even greater than the cathedral itself.”
A Bewildered Seal Found Itself in the Mouth of a Humpback Whale (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “It’s a good thing seals aren’t on a humpback whale’s menu. A photograph by a whale-watching naturalist captured a seemingly bewildered seal in the mouth of a humpback whale after the giant marine mammal accidentally gulped it last Thursday in the waters off Anacortes, Washington. … A photograph by Brooke Casanova shows the seal, which presumably was also hunting the fish, emerging from the bottom of the whale’s mouth. McKeen recorded a phone video where the seal is getting flushed out.”
