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Rare Black Moon Will Rise With the Sun Tomorrow. Here’s What to Expect (Maria)

The author writes, “The night sky will play host to an unusual lunar event known as a Black Moon tomorrow. While you won’t see anything unusual — in  fact, you won’t see the moon at all — this event is still exciting because of its rarity…The last seasonal Black Moon happened on May 19, 2023.”

Trump Administration Revokes Biden Era Abortion Rule for Veterans (Sean) 

From The Hill: “The Trump administration revoked a Biden era abortion rule on Friday that allows veterans to receive abortions under their medical package. The Department of Veteran Affairs is reversing a 2022 rule that provided access to abortion counseling and abortions to certain pregnant veterans in addition to VA beneficiaries. ‘We take this action to ensure that VA provides only needed medical services to our nation’s heroes and their families,’ the Department wrote in a scheduled release for the Federal Register. Officials said they were seeking to ensure taxpayer dollars weren’t used to provide pregnancy terminations.”

Homeless and Burning in America’s Hottest City (Laura) 

The author writes, “Phoenix, the hottest city in the United States in the summer, is one of the most extreme examples of a threat that is growing across the country: unrelenting heat…Everyone is affected, but especially the unsheltered. They are highly vulnerable to dehydration and heatstroke. They sustain burns from sleeping on the scorching asphalt. Some get itchy from sweat and scratch themselves, causing infections. Their hearts and kidneys struggle. Their behavior becomes erratic. One study published last year found that in the Las Vegas area, a staggering 49 percent of deaths among homeless people from 2015 to 2022 were attributable to heat.”

Gabbard to Cut ODNI Staff By Nearly 50 Percent (Reader Jim) 

From Politico: “Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Wednesday announced plans to overhaul her office, cutting hundreds of staff and consolidating teams focused on countering malign influence and cyber threats. The move, dubbed ODNI 2.0, is the latest effort by the Trump administration to slim down the federal government, and comes after a wave of top-level departures at the ODNI’s Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center earlier this year…As part of the changes, the agency will trim down the Foreign Malign Influence Center, which collects and analyzes data on foreign influence operations seeking to undermine US democracy.”

DC National Guard Is Being Trained to Carry Pistols Known to Fire at Random (Laryn) 

From 404 Media: “The M-17 is the military variant of the Sig Sauer P320, a handgun famous for accidental discharges. Controversy has swirled around the weapon in gun nerd circles for years as the number of incidents where it fires on its own has stacked up. Multiple shooting ranges won’t allow the P320 on the premises, ICE told its agents to stop using the gun, and a recently leaked 2024 FBI report confirmed it’s prone to fire at random…Unless something changes, the M-17 will soon be on the streets of DC and in the hands of the National Guard as they conduct ‘presence patrols’ on behalf of the Trump administration.”

California Supreme Court Clears Way for Newsom’s Redistricting Plan (Reader Steve) 

The author writes, “Newsom proposed the ballot measure, titled the Election Rigging Response Act, after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott introduced legislation to redraw the state’s House districts and enable Republicans to pick up five seats in next year’s elections. Democrats currently hold 43 of California’s 52 House seats. The governor’s measure, if approved by two-thirds majorities in both the Assembly and state Senate — where Democrats hold more than two-thirds of the seats — would redesign California’s House seats for the rest of this decade in response to changes in Texas or any other state.”