On Tuesday, the United States Supreme Court declined an appeal to temporarily suspend the execution of Marcellus Williams, a man whose 2003 murder conviction has been protested by even the local prosecutor who initially tried his case. At 6:10pm local time, the state of Missouri executed him by lethal injection.
“In sorting out my feelings and beliefs, there is, however, one piece of moral ground of which I am absolutely certain: if I were to be murdered I would not want my murderer executed. I would not want my death avenged. Especially by government–which can’t be trusted to control its own bureaucrats or collect taxes equitably or fill a pothole, much less decide which of its citizens to kill.”
At last…Another’s heartbeat
the silhouettes of their bond visible still at the last glow of the sun
they experience each other and the life of the night as it begins to stir
standing there in silence holding hands
no rush to go back inside
there is so much beauty and comfort in being in love and just being…
– amidst sounds of buzzing
chirps
crickets
the pleasant but irregular blowing of the wind
fireflies dancing in step with the light of the moon
how strange it is to become aware of another’s heartbeat but forget one’s own –
finally love.
The NFL is back, which means online sports gambling is surging. Several new academic studies are calling out the industry’s destructive impact on Americans’ finances and health.
Because of the studies’ design, these results reveal what sports gambling causes, not merely what it correlates with. And the numbers they reveal are of course not only numbers but human lives. Sports gambling is addictive; although many people can do just a little of it, some keep playing compulsively, well past the point of no return. This yields not only debt and bankruptcy but emotional instability and even violence. The problems don’t stop there: Gambling addiction has been connected to anxiety, depression, and even suicide.
So these poker sites started hiring the companies that built the bots—as consultants. These consultants were then paid to optimize the behavior of the robots so that human players would be allowed to win just often enough to keep them playing.
In other words: The online poker websites paid the robots’ owners to slow down the rate of siphoning so that the human marks wouldn’t realize they were getting scammed.
We used to be a proper country.
Kamala Harris has not yet announced that she will be appearing on Hot Ones, but she is diversifying her media appearances: this week, she recorded an episode of “All the Smoke,” a basketball podcast hosted by two former members of the Golden State Warriors.
In case you need reminding, podcasts are an increasingly popular vehicle for right-wing commentators. Tim Walz going on Joe Rogan could probably move the needle.
I love when a meme comes full circle. This one goes out to all the readers in DC, the original home of TOTI.
Earlier this month, local outlet PoPville reported on a new bar, Political Pattie’s coming to the U Street Corridor.
After much mockery and even a petition to turn the space into a Chili’s, Pattie’s announced a makeover:
Brat summer is over, but Charli XCX’s Sweat Tour came to New York City on Monday, attended by approximately 100% of gay Twitter.
Even with Lorde (from “Girl, So Confusing”) as a surprise guest, Apple dance creator Kelley Heyer was the one to go viral, with a surprise guest of her own.
EDIT: Thank you to my TikTok correspondent for pointing me to this video, in which Kelley Heyer explains that she and the girl connected and they’re all good and everybody had a great time. 🙂
Francis Ford Coppola’s latest film Megalopolis is coming to theaters later this week, and, well, spoilers ahead from the early screenings. (No, I do not have any idea how this will work at scale.)
Hi. Don’t repost this.
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