USA: "Yes, That ‘Summer Cold’ Really Might Be COVID (Again). What to Know About Bay Area Viral Levels." 🔸COVID-19 levels in Bay Area wastewater are rising again this summer, increasing 136% in July compared with June. Source: archive.md/uaXeC

What's your personal great white whale of an unsolved mystery? The thing you desperately hope is solved before you die because you need to know the answer? Mine is the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum heist. Where the hell are the Rembrandts. I need the full story

Happy Ray Bradbury apocalypse day to all who celebrate.

This just in: more than four thousand sexual assault lawsuits.

Uber’s Strategy for Fighting Sexual Assault Suits: ‘What Were You Wearing?’

The ride-hailing giant promised to handle legal claims “in a way that is best for the survivor.” Its lawyers are pursuing a far more aggressive strategy.

nytimes.com

Susan Collins announcing she'll vote against a controversial nominee is basically the moment it becomes clear that nominee will be confirmed. It means Thune has enough votes to confirm, and thus, Collins gets a pass to look independent.

Who needs a call? Someone, of the millions of strangers in the world, needs a friend My dm remains open, and it costs me nothing to answer the phone to you.

Insurers sometimes deny coverage citing lack of progress, labeling patients’ conditions as chronic. Yet if they do make progress, insurers have also used that to argue patients no longer need treatment. Doctors are left to walk a tightrope. (Published Dec. 2024)

Her Mental Health Treatment Was Helping. That’s Why Insurance Cut Off Her Coverage.

Providers, patients and even some federal judges say progress-based insurance denials harm patients at key moments of mental health treatment.

propublica.org

Wow. Time for some changes, I think.

Game Developer@gamedeveloper.bsky.social · 19h ago

EA is now owned by Saudi Arabia and Donald Trump's son-in-law

In the midst of what is clearly a massive wave of global warming this tracks...

Mark Chadbourn@chadbourn.bsky.social · 17h ago

The UK government is scrapping Net Zero and environmental criteria from procurement rules.

This is rape culture.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 18h ago

TAPPER: Hold on -- hold on, 'cause I'm not done with the list of women who have accused you of violence. Are all three of them lying? REP. MAX MILLER: Yes. And I'm not getting out of the race because in 2016, President Donald J Trump faced the most extreme allegations in the world ...

As @katemanne.bsky.social notes, it's reinforcing male entitlement to female deference. If men wallow in AI porn and bots saying "yes, sir," all day, they may react poorly when real women say no. It could lead to violence. katemanne.substack.com/p/a-culture-...

A Culture Hooked on Generative AI is a Culture that Misses Female Sycophants

And we have missed a central reason why AI is a feminist issue

katemanne.substack.com

If you show up to Bluesky without following anyone, you'll be treated to a series of posts about art, music, and dogs. If you show up to X without following anyone, you'll be bombarded with right-wing conspiracies and white supremacist slop. It's weird which one is seen as a "political bubble"

Please REPOST there are so many Americans that are not aware of these cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. It’s so crucial to create as much awareness as possible.🙏

Peter Morley ♿️@petermorley.bsky.social · 18h ago

I spoke with @deluzio.house.gov regarding the $1 TRILLION Medicaid & MAJOR SNAP cuts that will begin on January 1, 2027 from the BIG UGLY BILL. His POWERFUL response: "people who are eligible are going to lose out...these cuts will take away healthcare & food from people & we gotta repeal it"!

because this asshole so happens to be jewish, i would like to note that, in judaism, it's ethically and morally forbidden to evade taxes because you are robbing the poor of their share in your wealth that god has generously blessed you with so that you may benefit spiritually from helping them.

'viktor shtrum'@viktorshtrum.bsky.social · 22h ago

death penalty

"He left no suicide note, and his death at first mystified his friends and family. But when Chase’s mother gained access to his TikTok account, she found a clue: The algorithm was feeding him videos about suicide.”

Ken Armstrong@bykenarmstrong.bsky.social · 18h ago

If you read only one story today, please make it this one. Paywall is lifted. So is the registration wall. By Olivia Carville for @bloomberg.com @businessweek.bsky.social

Seems newly relevant. Read this book.

Juliette Wade@juliettewade.com · 2y ago

We also have to factor in the utter trauma nurses went through during covid. A friend of mine wrote about her experience: www.amazon.com.au/Year-Nurse-C...

Yeah, I'm totally over-reacting to think these folks would happily throw people in camps.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 18h ago

Sen. Jim Banks refers to American citizens as "the babies of invaders" and compares them to Nazi spies and terrorists

US folks: Today (August 4) is the last day to call your US senator before KOSA and the SCREEN Act go before committee tomorrow! Visit BadInternetBills.com for info and numbers to call. #StopKOSA #SaveSpeech #NodigitalID

🔞OnyxNuva || PLUS 🔞@onyxnuvaplus.bsky.social · 7d ago

#stopKOSA #NoToDigitalID #savespeech Unfortunate news: The markup is real www.commerce.senate.gov/meetings/exe... Significantly fewer shitty bills but not good. Keep calling reps & the CST committee - www.congress.gov/state-legisl... - 5calls.org/issue/age-ve... - badinternetbills.com

I really need the people supposedly in opposition to the Republicans to either meaningfully hold them accountable for their naked power grabs— like remove them from power & possibly prosecute them— or start fighting on the same level as them, & I increasingly don't care which, *Which Is A Bad Thing*

Taniel@taniel.bsky.social · 18h ago

The Missouri SoS dragged out his office's examination of the veto referendum (of the GOP gerrymander) for most of 2026 to ensure he can run out the clock; and finally declared today, on the deadline by which he had to act, that he thinks the veto referendum is entirely unconstitutional.

As the Trump administration strips legal status from hundreds of thousands of Haitians, ICE is targeting them like never before. trib.al/fB0bOaK

ICE Now Forcing Haitian Immigrants to Wear Ankle Monitors

As the Trump administration strips legal status from hundreds of thousands of Haitians, ICE is targeting them like never before.

trib.al

honestly can't stress enough, as a former family law attorney, how depressingly common Max Miller's behavior and words are, right down to the petty fixation on custody procedure and rules when faced with allegations of shocking violence.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 18h ago

Rep. Max Miller: "When I was reported for child abuse of my daughter for a broken collarbone, my daughter was in my ex-wife's care 9 out of the last 11 days and she took her to the emergency room, which is a contempt violation from our shared parenting plan."

4 days left to read and vote for the #HugoAwards! So far I've read everything in the Short Story category and the Novelette category and Poetry category and I'm so impressed with everything in there! (Novellas and Novels I'm only partway through) bsky.app/profile/effi...

Effie Seiberg@effies.bsky.social · 2d ago

Only a few days left to vote for the #HugoAwards! I'd love it if you'd read my nominated short story, "Laser Eyes Ain't Everything". Read it at Diabolical Plots (www.diabolicalplots.com/dp-fiction-1...) or listen to it at Cast of Wonders.

Edison tower caused deadly Eaton fire that devastated Altadena, long-awaited investigation finds

Edison tower caused deadly Eaton fire that devastated Altadena, long-awaited investigation finds

Out-of-service utility infrastructure managed by Southern California Edison started the deadly conflagration in January 2025 that killed 19 people and destroyed much of Altadena, according to firefighters' official investigation.

latimes.com

Love the implication that you can look into a wormhole too

Rob Cruickshank@robcruickshank.bsky.social · 20h ago

I don't think you are going to see much detail on that second object, there.

Congratulations to all the brilliant finalists, and a shout out to @renanbernardo.com , whose story "Prayskin" graces our current issue! locusmag.com/2026/08/2026...

2026 World Fantasy Awards Finalists

The World Fantasy Awards ballot for works published in 2025 has been announced. The awards will be presented during the 2026 World Fantasy Convention, scheduled for October 22-25, 2026 in Oakland C…

locusmag.com

read the full piece here for free: rdcu.be/fxQn1 please. indulge the overthinking spiral. do it :D

Nature Futures@naturefutures.bsky.social · last wk.

This exhibition is like no other you have visited. It is an experience you cannot get anywhere else. It will show you things you’ve never seen. Teach you things you didn’t know you needed to know. It will literally change your mind. #scifi by @priyachand.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/d41...

You could grow a spine and do your damn jobs.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 24h ago

Cornyn: "There's nothing we could do to rein in the president"

Oh wow. Congrats to the finalists. Honored to be included with these authors. Thanks to World Fantasy Con, the judges, @clarkesworldmagazine.com, and @undertow.bsky.social. And thanks to readers who enjoyed and talked about these stories. Really means a lot.

2026 World Fantasy Awards Finalists

The World Fantasy Awards ballot for works published in 2025 has been announced. The awards will be presented during the 2026 World Fantasy Convention, scheduled for October 22-25, 2026 in Oakland C…

locusmag.com

"When I got engaged to Demetrius, I didn't know he was an enchanted Prince who turned into a bird every night. It's not the sort of question you think to ask." - Book 1, An Uncommon Curse Start your week with Curses & Curtains!

Devan Barlow@devanbarlow.bsky.social · last yr.

Want to feel as cozy as Ben in his crochet blanket? Pick up my Curses & Curtains series! Fantasy novels about fairy tales and musical theatre, full of friends working hard to help one another devan-barlow.itch.io books2read.com/u/bzKXBj books2read.com/u/bp1nBW books2read.com/u/bOD2LE #BookSky 💙📚