Melanie

Let's cherish those around us and share love and hope. May you reap the joy and happiness of this special night, and may your heart be filled with serenity and joy. 🎉🎁🎅🎄

Can you guess the snowiest place on Earth? Dig into the snow data and take a virtual trip to the snowiest places on the planet.

Where is the snowiest place on Earth? Snow enthusiasts have been discussing it for a long time, but there’s no consensus.

A mini Hearst Castle hides in plain sight in the East Bay The Berkeley City Club opened in 1930. Designed by Julia Morgan, back then it was the Berkeley Women's City Club, though it's also called the "Little Castle."

The little-known treasure hides in plain sight on the edge of UC Berkeley’s campus and although the six-story wonder has earned many titles since opening in 1930, it affectionately goes by the “Little Castle.”

A front page for the ages.

BREAKING: The biggest banks are planning to sue the Federal Reserve over the annual bank stress tests, per CNBC.

The Fed's stress test is an annual ritual that forces banks to maintain adequate cushions for bad loans and dictates the size of share repurchases and dividends.

Who controls Greenland, and why does Trump want to buy it? The Arctic island is not for sale, its own government and that of Denmark continue to emphasize.

Since his first term, President-elect Donald Trump has insisted that the U.S. should purchase Greenland — despite repeated denials by top officials in Greenland and Denmark, of which the island is an autonomous territory, that it would ever be for sale at any price.

I’m ashamed of what I said about Blake Lively. Her allegations should shock us all | Laura Snapes A complaint filed by the actor against her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni paints a disturbing picture – and suggests the public is far too easily fooled “She’s really giving throwback oblivious mean girl, it’s kind of amazing.” “Omg her saying…

I’m ashamed of what I said about Blake Lively. Her allegations should shock us all | Laura Snapes

Major international crisis ‘much more likely’ in Trump’s second term, says his ex-national security adviser John Bolton delivers scathing critique of Trump’s lack of knowledge or coherent strategy: ‘I’m very worried’ A major international crisis is “much more likely” in Donald Trump’s second term given the president-elect’s “inability to focus” on foreign…

Major international crisis ‘much more likely’ in Trump’s second term, says his ex-national security adviser

Preservation group sues Whittier over plan to raze more than 100 trees The lawsuit marks the latest flashpoint in a heated battle over more than 80 ficus trees slated to be ripped out in an effort to revitalize a commercial district.

A lawsuit has given new life to a fight to save Whittier's expansive ficus canopy.

The suit claims the city violated CEQA when it opted to raze more than 100 trees as part of a business district refresh, pointing to possible loss of shade and carbon sequestration. www.latimes.com/environment/...

The campaign that removed the President of Harvard was about DEI, not plagiarism Is there a difference between covering the culture wars and participating in them?

4. This piece was published at the end of 2023, but found most of its readership in Jan of 2024 when Chris Rufo was able to co-opt media outlets into pushing for Gay’s resignation. It presaged the rapid collapse of support for DEI across institutions.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-campai...

An improvised line in ‘Elf’ almost got cut, and now it’s gone viral | CNN Thanks to meme culture, a whole new generation is enjoying the beloved 2003 holiday movie, “Elf.”

An improvised line in "Elf" almost got cut, and now it’s gone viral – and a whole new generation is enjoying the beloved 2003 holiday movie

They Thought They Were Nearly Done With Student Loans, but Then Came Trump A signature piece of the Biden administration’s effort to reduce the $1.6 trillion student-loan burden is now in limbo, hitting public-service workers especially.

Borrowers promised a lighter burden on $1.6 trillion in student-loan debt by Biden’s now-halted SAVE program worry their loans will follow them into the next administration

Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni and a Smear Campaign After ‘It Ends With Us’ Private messages detail an alleged campaign to tarnish Blake Lively after she accused Justin Baldoni of misconduct on the set of “It Ends With Us.”

A character assassin funded by Scooter Braun ruins the reputations and careers of women and the media goes along with it… every time.

Is he psychologically twisted?

RFK Jr’s former running mate Nicole Shanahan is very disappointed in Trump’s Sec of Ag pick because she was vocal when they dropped out that they wanted a regenerative farmer, but instead got a Trump PAC mega-donor. “What is her connection to Ag? She did 4-H as a child.”

Amazon hit by Teamsters strikes during holiday rush The coordinated strikes ahead of Christmas are the largest by a union against Amazon, the country’s second-largest private employer.

The Teamsters are launching strikes against seven Amazon warehouses Thursday, in the union’s biggest provocation yet against the nation’s second-largest private employer, threatening to delay some package delivery during the busy Christmas season.

NEWS: My legislation to reauthorize the North American Wetlands Conservation Act is headed to the President's desk!

This bill will improve access to clean drinking water, bolster our outdoor rec economy, & protect wildlife & their habitats for future generations.

Hope the bill can be passed smoothly.

Everything will be normalized in the absence of an aggressive scorched earth counteroffensive by the Democrats.

We’re less than 48 hours out from a government shutdown and the GOP can’t even hold their coalition for a half day to pass a budget.

This is what’s up👇

This was by design. After Brown v. Board, folks in southern states opened private and religious schools for white students to attend without having to sit next to anyone brown-skinned as they learn. Then states divested in public schools to keep the inequities going.

Alzheimer's disease‐associated CD83(+) microglia are linked with increased immunoglobulin G4 and human cytomegalovirus in the gut, vagal nerve, and brain INTRODUCTION While there may be microbial contributions to Alzheimer's disease (AD), findings have been inconclusive. We recently reported an AD-associated CD83(+) microglia subtype associated with ...

The potential role of CMV and the gut-brain axis in Alzheimer's disease
alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
open-access

Trump, Egged On by Musk, Condemns Spending Deal, Raising Fears of Government Shutdown The president-elect weighed in against the huge spending package after Elon Musk had spent the day warning Republicans not to support it. The blowup left the compromise on life support.

Threatening to shut down the government is a reckless and destructive tactic. Just the risk causes huge wastes of time for our government because workers have to set aside their usual work to prepare for a shutdown.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/18/us/politics/trump-musk-spending-bill.html?smid=…

'What happened there?': the best of the amazing world of sport 2024 – video 2024 saw everything from impressive new records to total flops with animals interrupting events, athletes fighting and competitors slipping up (literally). Here is a look back at some of the most entertaining moments 2024 had to offer Continue reading...

'What happened there?': the best of the amazing world of sport 2024 – video

They control the discourse in this country.

I don't know why, but most politicians don't care about the safety of children.

How many victims did he rape?

This is too bad. When will school violence stop?

It's so funny.🤣🤣