Santa Clara University Professor Unpacks the Surrealness of Being Racially Profiled on Campus

The interaction eventually drew more campus police—four cars in total, she said—who followed Fuentes back to Morgan’s doorstep. There, officers questioned Morgan and asked her to show her campus ID to prove that she was, in fact, a Santa Clara professor—despite her answering the door in a designated faculty housing building. “I wasn’t surprised that it was happening to me,” Morgan told The Root over the phone earlier this week. (Full disclosure: Morgan and I have been acquainted for several years.) “It all just felt very surreal because you never wake up thinking, Today’s the day it’s going to happen.” She described the officer being very aggressive to her, demanding proof that she belonged on campus and in her own home. It wasn’t until her husband, who is white, got involved that the officer’s demeanor toward her changed, she says. Morgan thinks what defused the situation, ultimately, was the presence of five neighbors—all of whom were white—standing by, observing her interaction with the campus officers and vouching for her. Morgan’s husband did most of the talking with the officers, she noted, because he was aware his race and gender made him safer and more credible in the eye

Source: Santa Clara University Professor Unpacks the Surrealness of Being Racially Profiled on Campus

Nashville Police Officers Decommissioned After Botched Raid

Besides the fact that the officers broke their way into a home where their suspect no longer lived and ended up pointing guns at an innocent family, there’s also the issue that they were doing all of this to catch a teenager suspected of a nonviolent crime.

“There’s just no reason for a property crime,” Drake said at a press conference Wednesday evening. “If we’re not looking for a violent felon, someone that’s dangerous to our community, we can pull back. One thing that I’ve talked about, at least for the last month, is: de-escalate, de-escalate, de-escalate. And, in this particular situation, we didn’t de-escalate. We actually escalated, in my opinion. We could have prevented this.”

Source: Nashville Police Officers Decommissioned After Botched Raid

QAnon explained: the antisemitic conspiracy theory gaining traction around the world | US news | The Guardian

There are many, many threads of the QAnon narrative, all as far-fetched and evidence-free as the rest, including subplots that focus on John F Kennedy Jr being alive (he isn’t), the Rothschild family controlling all the banks (they don’t) and children being sold through the website of the furniture retailer Wayfair (they aren’t). Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, George Soros, Bill Gates, Tom Hanks, Oprah Winfrey, Chrissy Teigen and Pope Francis are just some of the people whom QAnon followers have cast as villains in their alternative reality.

QAnon also has its roots in much older antisemitic conspiracy theories. The idea of the all-powerful, world-ruling cabal comes straight out of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a fake document purporting to expose a Jewish plot to control the world that was used throughout the 20th century to justify antisemitism. Another QAnon canard – the idea that members of the cabal extract the chemical adrenochrome from the blood of their child victims and ingest it to extend their lives – is a modern remix of the age-old antisemitic blood libel.

In general, QAnon appears to be most popular among older Republicans and evangelical Christians. There are subcultures within QAnon for people who approach studying Q drops in a manner similar to Bible study.

Source: QAnon explained: the antisemitic conspiracy theory gaining traction around the world | US news | The Guardian

Billy Graham’s granddaughter: Evangelical leaders are failing us by supporting Trump | TheHill

“Jesus said repeatedly to defend the poor and show kindness and compassion to those in need. Our president continues to perpetuate an us-versus-them narrative, yet almost all of our church leaders say nothing,” she wrote.

Duford also wrote that the silence from church leaders shows that marginalized communities are “no longer valued by individuals claiming to uphold the values my grandfather taught.”

She specifically noted Trump walking through Lafayette Square to St. John’s Church in Washington, D.C., after tear gas was used on peaceful protesters in front of the White House.

“He held a Bible, something so sacred to all of us, yet he treated that Bible with a callousness that would offend anyone intimately familiar with the words inside it,” Duford wrote. “He believed that action would honor him and only him. However, the church, designed to honor God, said nothing.”

Source: Billy Graham’s granddaughter: Evangelical leaders are failing us by supporting Trump | TheHill

Officials connect Sturgis Motorcycle Rally to coronavirus cases in eight states | TheHill

Reports emerged last week confirming several cases in connection with the 10-day motorcycle gathering — 103 in total so far.

In addition to North and South Dakota, states seeing COVID-19 cases linked to the Sturgis event include Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Montana, Wyoming and Washington.

Kris Ehresmann, the Minnesota Department of Health’s infectious disease division director, said during a call with news outlets that the department expects more cases associated with Sturgis.

“Thousands of people attended that event, and so it’s very likely that we will see more transmission,” she added.

 

Source: Officials connect Sturgis Motorcycle Rally to coronavirus cases in eight states | TheHill

Sydney salons stockpiling recycled human hair to help clean Mauritius oil spill – ABC News

UTS’s Megan Murray said recycled hair was a cost-effective process to clean up oil spills.

“The external cuticle structures of hair combined with the fine fibres and high surface area make it a very efficient material at holding crude oil,” Dr Murray said.

Current methods of cleaning up contamination disasters use synthetics to absorb oil but is often expensive and generates excess waste, she said.

Paul Frasca, founder of Sustainable Salons, said his business had stockpiled 28 tonnes of human hair from salons across Australia and New Zealand in case of an oil spill on the Great Barrier Reef.

The group is poised to donate 10 tonnes of hair booms once negotiations with the Mauritian Government are finalised.

Source: Sydney salons stockpiling recycled human hair to help clean Mauritius oil spill – ABC News

The Mountains Where Manna Flows From Trees – Gastro Obscura

For centuries, scholars have debated the origins of manna, the mysterious, edible substance that the Bible describes God providing for the Israelites during their travels through the desert. But in Pollina, a region in the Madonie mountains of Sicily, there is no question about it: Manna is the sap of a narrow-leaf ash tree called fraxinus angustifolia. In August, the creamy white substance is collected and used as a sweetener. Though its cultivation is limited to a tiny swath of land and a handful of producers, Gelardi is fighting to save this ancient tradition, and has been ever since he brought it back from oblivion 40 years ago.

Source: The Mountains Where Manna Flows From Trees – Gastro Obscura

FDA chief pushes back on Trump: No ‘deep state’ blocking coronavirus vaccine | TheHill

In the same interview with Reuters, Hahn denied any political considerations factored into the FDA authorizing the use of convalescent plasma from recovered patients as a coronavirus treatment, which Trump announced Sunday evening.

Hahn did, however, concede that Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, as well as National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins, had questioned whether the data was sufficient to authorize the treatment.

“Previously when we did have a discussion with them, they were concerned that the data might not be robust enough. That’s why we did the validation … to provide further confirmation,” Hahn said.

 

Source: FDA chief pushes back on Trump: No ‘deep state’ blocking coronavirus vaccine | TheHill