Negotiated as part of this year’s state budget and signed into law Sunday, more than 80,000 retired public sector workers will receive cost-of-living increases to their pension plans.

Just in: South Carolina's governor says he is appointing Darline Graham Nordone to finish the term of her late brother. Top Republicans, including President Trump, have coalesced around the pick.

Hey! This the amazing Veronica Esposito, looking for trans people who'd be willing to chat about stockpiling medication for an upcoming Assigned Media story. Please share and reply to her if you'd be willing to be interviewed.

@puffiny.bsky.social how goes life with the new puppy??

Its been a long time since I spun yarn on my wheel. Can anyone point me to spinning people to follow? All the people I used to follow have stopped using social media. (I still talk to many of them just not on SM)

All right, time for a flower break, and this one comes with a bumblebee.

ICE and/or police murdered someone this morning in Biddeford, Maine. From the statements I’ve seen from local activists, I *think* the victim was a young Black man. You may already know Black immigrants are the largest non-white immigrant demo in Maine. A protest is already under way.

Reggie is just a starving, lonely boy who's never been given any attention.

You are still an artist even if you aren't currently making anything right now. Absolutely. Lovely man.

As crews continue working to contain these fires, keep an eye out for evacuation orders and follow local guidance. Grateful to all those stepping into harm’s way to protect our neighbors. www.fox9.com/news/red-fla...

No one should have to give up their elder pet just because the landlords failed to keep up their rental property. Can you swing a few quid in here? www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding...

The Tyrannosaurus rex fossil known as "Gus" will go up for auction on Tuesday. It's not the first time dinosaur bones have been sold to the highest bidder. n.pr/4yxLKTM

Babies who don’t get the vitamin K shot are 81x more likely to develop a type of uncontrollable bleeding than those who do. But no federal or state agencies track refusal rates or subsequent bleeding. Following ProPublica’s report, two lawmakers are demanding CDC action.

Though it comes more than a week past due, the agreement in Harrisburg marks an improvement from last year’s monthslong impasse over the state budget. Details of the contents of the overall budget deal were not immediately available on Saturday.

A GE Appliances plant in rural northwest Georgia was short hundreds of workers amid COVID-19. A flexible work option where some workers can sign up for shifts through an app has eased the pain.

*pinches bridge of nose, eyes closed, takes a deep breath* so do we have ANY idea how many living US Senators there are right now?

“We believe the interpretation of some of these rules is unjust to queer communities and creative spaces,” a message on the bar’s Instagram said.

My husband: comes in humming, waking me up. After a minute I blearily squint at him. Him: idk it's like you don't even want to know that Lindsey Graham died! Me: Lindsey Graham??? (This slowly registers) Is Mitch McConnell even in this thing?

Farmers in Senegal are welcoming fish into their rice paddies. The hope is they'll fertilize the crop, be a source of food ... and eat the snails that carry parasitic worms.

ICE is rapidly expanding its surveillance capabilities. The agency has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on vehicles equipped to support cell-site simulators, also known as fake cellphone towers.

The cost to ship pins has skyrocketed because USPS is now counting 1-4oz packages as 12-15.99 oz packages. This is a 36-44% increase for us. It’s gonna add up fast for everybody who sells pins, acrylics, etc.

The Orange Rejection

Monday is the deadline for public comment! The Heritage Foundation has been mobilizing its members to leave comments in favor of the rule change, so every unique comment matters (don’t use a form letter or copy/paste—similar comments are batched and treated as one).

Good morning. Nothing to see here, just the possible end of American scientific research as we know it. open.substack.com/pub/danieldr...

the bread is $13.50 and all the circuses are subscription based

$1 billion of your taxpayer money went toward retrofitting a luxury jet Donald Trump received from Qatar— And it's still not even safe for him to fly home in. The American people paid seven figures for a flying national security risk. What a waste.

Today, the federal government finalized a major change to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to remove vital habitat protections for endangered species.

At the Calgary Stampede, the starting gun is fired in the fight over Alberta separation

UNSOLICITED CHICK PICS

I did not know this & I have a new life ambition

Discworld QOTD, from Wintersmith "'You're not being very sensible about this.' 'Oh, really? Well, I've been sensible all day! I've been sensible for years! I think I'm owed five minutes of being really unreasonably angry, don't you?'"

New nightmare unlocked

As I recall, there were 7 foodborne illnesses tracked in 2023-2024, then staff, funding, and lab support were cut, forcing FDA and CDC to focus on only….3? (Also, if you terrify and deport the skilled fieldworkers who tend and harvest your food, guess what happens to quality control?)

Meet Count Binface: the challenger from another planet taking on Nigel Farage as questions over the Reform UK leader's finances overshadow his election comeback. n.pr/44n6foc

If you've never seen this, you are in for a treat. Sound on.

The Walt Whitman Bridge and Betsy Ross Bridge will remain open for vehicle traffic.

IMPORTANT: Two websites for US food access. Please spread the word. This is a great, easy to use site to find free food near you:

In a column for SCOTUSblog, Sen. Chris Coons, David Beier, and Ray Brescia contend that "the Roberts Supreme Court is systematically stripping away power from Congress, the directly elected representatives of the people."

LOUDER

Sending an after hours email to an early morning *surpise* meeting does not make me happy Bob

Peco and its worker's union reached a tentative agreement on a new contract late Monday, ending the first strike in the company’s history on its third day.

Today’s task of the evening: give a cat his eardrops. So now my texts sound like a hitman’s: “got him trying to run upstairs”. It’s for your own good, you silly dude.

🧶 Behold, the amount of sock #knitting it took for Belgium to dispatch the US.

A girl and her dog, or, if you prefer, a girl and her human.

On a whim, Kevin and I are rewatching Prince of Thieves. Alan Rickman continues to deliver one of the all time great villain performances. Kevin Costner is also there.

Finished @sarahgailey.bsky.social new book, it's just great, although tough read. The research they did on cults must have been extensive (and disturbing). I was genuinely emotionally uncomfortable living in these people's skins. But they got me into their skins! bookshop.org/p/books/make...

Sue and I no longer have cable and we don't really subscribe to peacock to watch the tour de france. But we found a free way to watch the highlights and the review of the podium shows (30 mins each) which brings back the feelings we love about TdF.

To whoever needs to know this.... Cheese is a complete protein