WTF-Beta

Scary.

Relentless, deadly heat is tightening its grip on Europe, with temperature records expected to not just fall but be obliterated this week. Scientists warn this extreme heat is a huge problem for Europe and a wake up call to a new reality.

Europe is the planet’s fastest-warming continent, heating at around two to three times the global average, yet it’s woefully underprepared. Its infrastructure was not built for extreme heat; when temperatures spike, rail tracks buckle, power cables break, homes turn into heat traps, and thousands die.

This week is yet another brutal reminder that European heat is becoming both more severe and more frequent. It marks the second record-breaking heat wave in two straight months, with the potential for national all-time temperature records to be broken before Europe even reaches July, typically its hottest month.

“This isn’t the new norm at all; this is the foothills of absolute catastrophe,” said Hugh Montgomery, professor of intensive care medicine at University College London.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/23/climate/europe-heat-wave-france-uk-spain

Bee

Tulsi Gabbard, her guru and the mysterious messages that helped shape her political career

I obtained hundreds of confidential memos detailing politics and policy guidance for Gabbard from her years in Congress, then embarked on a quest to identify who was behind them.

Pretty interesting piece in WaPo.

https://archive.is/PdFnZ

The Senate for the first time approved a war powers resolution Tuesday seeking to block U.S. military action against Iran, as lawmakers warily watch President Donald Trump’s efforts to resolve a conflict that the administration launched on its own and now needs Congress to fund.

It was the 10th time the Senate has tried to stop the war, and the outcome, on a vote of 50-48, was a stunning turnaround from past efforts. While the resolution is largely symbolic, and does not carry the full force of law, it reflects the growing concerns from a number of Republican lawmakers in both the House and Senate over both the war and the deal Trump struck with Iran to end it. The House approved the resolution earlier this month.

https://apnews.com/article/senate-iran-war-powers-resolution-trump-7462a9a561103f531d995aac91f9fc96

Sable

A study on Covid vaccines that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s acting director blocked from publication came out Tuesday in a different journal.

The findings show that Covid vaccines reduced the likelihood of severe illness by about half among adults last fall and winter. The study was originally scheduled to be released in March in the CDC’s flagship scientific publication, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Instead, it was published in JAMA Network Open, a highly regarded, peer-reviewed journal from the American Medical Association.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/study-covid-vaccines-acting-cdc-director-blocked-published-rcna351174

Pop

Pony

Table

Musical

Conservative media often direct a lot of ire at the “mainstream press” for getting it wrong — and they are often right. But it is only fair to acknowledge that conservative media get it wrong, too.

And when it comes to President Trump’s disastrous attempt this year at playing war chief, a whole lot of conservatives got it wrong, this author included.

The largest, most powerful, and best-funded military in the history of the world, despite inflicting massive destruction and suffering minimal casualties, was somehow defeated by a shipping channel. Our British cousins must be having flashbacks to the Suez Canal.

https://thehill.com/national-security/5930898-iran-strait-hormuz-us-surrender/

Happy Father's Day to the WTF dads!

A proposal to honorarily rename the street in Chicago where Trump Tower is located to “Barack Hussein Obama Way" was introduced at city council this week.

The proposal was introduced by 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly on Wednesday, the eve of the grand opening of the Obama Presidential Center in the city's Jackson Park neighborhood -- an event President Trump was not invited to.

If approved, the ordinance would honorarily rename the east side of North Wabash Avenue between East Kinzie Street and East Wacker Drive to “Barack Hussein Obama Way."

Plus, an honorary street sign marking the designation would also be put up right outside Trump Tower, located at 401 N. Wabash Ave., and on the Wabash Avenue Bridge, according to the proposed ordinance.

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/trump-tower-in-chicago-could-soon-be-located-on-barack-hussein-obama-way/3951459/

Aye

“We’ve cleaned, renovated, and beautified over 45 Monuments and Memorials, 28 Statues, and 22 Fountains in Washington, DC,” Trump wrote in a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform on Friday night. “However, we’ve had some real problems with Vandalism at the beautiful Reflecting Pool, which sits between The Washington Monument and The Lincoln Memorial.”

He noted that “86 47” was recently etched onto a vast patch of grass nearby – “86” is frequently used across the restaurant industry to mean “stop” or to get rid of something, while Trump is the 47th president of the US – and claimed some people had “also done everything possible to hurt the inside surface” of the pool painted as part of the recent renovation.

“No different than the chemicals that were used on the National Mall, they used something similar in the Reflecting Pool to try to destroy and demean our beautiful work,” Trump alleged, again without evidence.

Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor who ran against Trump and JD Vance as the running mate of Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Found an imaginary problem, said only they could fix it, didn’t listen to experts, hired buddies who grifted millions, failed miserably, bragged how great it went. The entire Trump presidency in a nutshell.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/20/trump-reflecting-pool-renovation-vandalism

Scientists discuss the algae. Interesting point:

Christova said last month's renovations may have affected the balance of nutrients in the pool, potentially accelerating the algae blooms. Goodale similarly views the resurfacing as one of several contributing factors.

"The new, darker interior surface is going to absorb more sunlight," Goodale says. "It is going to result in water that's warmer, and that ultimately is going to lead to more prolific algae growth."

https://www.npr.org/2026/06/19/nx-s1-5863044/dc-reflecting-pool-algae-green-trump

Old friends.

It's tomorrow (Friday), and I had it on my calendar to start a birthday thread. I saw that she mentioned in another thread that it's a milestone birthday (one divisible evenly by 10)!

Let's start the celebration early!!!