The Typhus Rats of Los Angeles

The Typhus Rats of Los Angeles

Rats have been with us since the beginning. For thousands of years, wherever humans settled land, built cities, or crossed oceans, rats were never far behind, constructing a civilization of their own beneath our feet.

In Los Angeles County (L.A.), rats abound. You may see only an occasional rat dart across an alley or root through a restaurant dumpster, but make no mistake: they are everywhere, from Skid Row to Koreatown, from Boyle Heights to Santa Monica. They are always nearby, even if sometimes out of sight: scurrying in storm drains, walls, crawl spaces, and alleyways.

Share

Experimental US weapon test blamed for crashing medical plane and killing four Americans

Experimental US weapon test blamed for crashing medical plane and killing four Americans

A US military GPS-jamming exercise has been linked to a medevac plane crash that killed four people in the mountains of New Mexico.

The twin-engine Beechcraft King Air was flying from Roswell to Ruidoso in early May to collect a patient when its pilots suddenly lost access to their modern navigation systems.

It was a clear, nearly moonless night, leaving the crew with few visual references as they flew over the dark and sparsely populated landscape.

Share

Female cyclists accused of ‘faking larger bra size’ at Tour de France Femmes

Female cyclists accused of ‘faking larger bra size’ at Tour de France Femmes

A row has broken out at the Tour de France Femmes following allegations that some riders are artificially exaggerating their bust size to gain a “bra booster” aerodynamic advantage for Tuesday’s time trial.

According to WielerFlits, a leading cycling news platform in the Netherlands and Belgium, “several” women’s WorldTour teams have raised concerns that riders are padding their bras to “fake” a larger cup size.

Share

Police investigated journalist who tried to expose Cambridge professor

Police investigated journalist who tried to expose Cambridge professor

Scotland Yard investigated a journalist trying to expose a plagiarism row and told him to stop asking a Cambridge professor questions.

Jack Grove, a reporter for Times Higher Education (THE), was accused of harassment after he emailed a series of questions to Prof Jason Arday about his academic record. Mr Grove said officers told him to stop contacting the professor because his “mental health” had been affected by the questions.

Prof Arday also hired the law firm Carter-Ruck, which suggested in a letter to THE that its “apparent attack” on him “may be… racially motivated”.

Share

Canadian who slapped U.S. teen to be deported

Canadian who slapped U.S. teen to be deported

Sometimes, you can get a little too “Elbows Up.”

Kaitlyn Tracey, 33, the Canadian mega-wokie who attacked an American teen girl decked out in pro-Trump gear on July 3 on a New Jersey boardwalk, will be deported back to Canada. A Texas immigration judge ordered Tracey to go home on Tuesday, after she entered a guilty plea to misdemeanor simple assault — part of a deal she made after she was arrested for her involvement in a caught-on-camera fracas with four teens.

What did we do wrong?

Share

Freeland crosses Beijing’s red lines with Taiwan speech

Freeland crosses Beijing’s red lines with Taiwan speech

OTTAWA — Former deputy PM Chrystia Freeland raised a few eyebrows and likely blood pressure in Beijing on Tuesday, delivering the keynote speech at a high-level security forum in Taiwan.

Speaking at the Ketagalan Forum in the Taiwanese capital of Taipei, Freeland drew direct parallels between Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine and the growing threat China poses to Taiwan — crossing several of Beijing’s absolute diplomatic red lines in the process.


Freeland have it in for Carney?

Share

Haitians eye Canada as U.S. ‘temporary protected status’ ends

Haitians eye Canada as U.S. ‘temporary protected status’ ends

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Many Haitians in the United States, having fled environmental disasters, political upheaval, and gang violence at home, are living in fear again, this time in their adopted country.

Nearly 300,000 Haitians have had Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a relief program established by former U.S. president Barack Obama that provided work authorization, protection from deportation and travel documentation to eligible foreigners whose home countries were deemed unsafe.

Share