“For many, the sight of a handcuffed Keffe D being marched into court was a stunning breakthrough in one of the most enduring murder mysteries in hip-hop and American celebrity. But for the people who have followed the case since that chaotic, bloody scene in Las Vegas that night, Davis’ arrest is a resolution that’s several decades too late. After all, the case could have been wrapped up by the end of 1996.
“Six months later, we can see that the effects of leaving Twitter have been negligible. A memo circulated to NPR staff says traffic has dropped by only a single percentage point as a result of leaving Twitter, now officially renamed X, though traffic from the platform was small already and accounted for just under two percent of traffic before the posting stopped.”
Fruit fly genetics are fascinating.
“The U.S. Senate is working on a bill to prevent the use of artificial intelligence to steal appearances or voices of singers, actors and other artists for profit.”
“Just as Netflix is getting out of one business with the closure of its DVD rentals, it looks like it’s getting into the physical realm in a different way. Bloomberg reports that the streamer is planning to launch new retail destinations — dubbed Netflix House — that will offer not only things to buy but also food and other experiences themed after whatever is hot on Netflix at the moment. There aren’t a lot of specifics right now, such as where these permanent spaces might eventually open, but the first locations are expected to launch in the US in 2025.”
A Suits spinoff is in the works, for those of you that are into that sort of thing.
RIP, Suzanne Somers, actor and entrepreneur, best known for her role on Three’s Company.
RIP, Piper Laurie, Oscar-nominated actor best known for The Hustler and Carrie.
RIP, Phyllis Coates, the first actor to portray Lois Lane on television.
“The Giants have formally interviewed assistant coach Alyssa Nakken for their managerial opening, the club confirmed on Sunday. […] Nakken, 33, is believed to be the first woman to interview for a managerial position in the Majors, adding to her trailblazing legacy with the Giants.”
“But you’d really think one Speaker wrestling molestation scandal would be enough for House Republicans. I mean, really? What are the odds?”
“In a new initiative announced on October 3, the US Fish & Wildlife Service is working with the nonprofit Revive & Restore and other partners to create a “genetic library” of the country’s endangered species—before it’s too late.”
“The details of the alleged assaults are stomach-churning, but the lawsuit also portrays Tim Ballard as akin to a cult leader: paranoid, narcissistic, and prone to delusions of grandeur.”
“Amazon has quietly rolled out support for passkeys as it becomes the latest tech giant to join the passwordless future. But you still might have to hold onto your Amazon password for a little while longer.” (NB: “Passkeys” refers to biometric authentication, like face or fingerprint ID.)
“Sex. He’s talking about sex. And while I cannot speak for everyone, this was also the first thing that occurred to me and to almost everyone else in my church youth group and private Christian school classes whenever we were assured that the imminent return of Christ, Rapture, and destruction of the universe was sure to occur within, at the most, the next decade. We thought about how this meant that none of us would ever get to have sex.”
“Hey, Scholastic, Maybe You Could NOT Help Out The Censors?”
RIP, Joanna Merlin, actor and casting director best known for originating the role of Tzeitel in the Broadway musical Fiddler On The Roof.
“Lawyer Sidney Powell pleaded guilty to reduced charges Thursday over efforts to overturn Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election in Georgia, becoming the second defendant in the sprawling case to reach a deal with prosecutors.”
“With the proliferation of photos/footage, satellite imagery and map data, forensic video/image analysis and geolocation (~OSINT) has clearly been a key news gathering technique for several years now. A key news gathering technique *completely absent from most newsrooms*.
Obviously not every journalist should be an OSINT specialist, just as not every journalist is a specialist in combing through financial accounts, or scraping websites, or doing undercover investigations. But any large news org should have *some* OSINT specialists.”
RIP, Burt Young, actor best known for playing Paulie in the “Rocky” movies.
“With the guilty plea and cooperation deal Georgia prosecutors struck on Thursday with Team Trump attorney Sidney Powell, Chesebro’s plea deal should be viewed as an earthquake in the case against Trump.”
“Rather, I start with this portrait to emphasize the extreme asymmetry of the conflict now unfolding in Gaza: the truly deranged nature of Hamas’s decision to initiate a war against the region’s preeminent military power—and to do so in a fashion of almost unimaginable brutality that necessarily brings the full weight of Israeli military power against a territory, teeming with civilians, which the militia cannot possibly hope to defend; the impossibility of an effective Israeli military operation in Gaza without horrifying civilian death and destruction; and the concurrent impossibility of refraining from conducting such an operation given the extreme proximity of these two populations across this line and the need to prevent similar atrocities in the future. These are the conditions against which we have to consider the strategy, law, and morality of Israeli military operations in Gaza”.
Nice to see Kuff’s presumed tilt on the hottest current international issue. I suggest to his readers the likes of Mondoweiss for better information on the current Israel-Gaza actions and better framing on the backstory as well.