I opened a pack and got a legendary card. Even better, the pack had come from completing a Neutral quest, by far the easiest of the daily quests.

I’ve slowly built up a decent deck, at least by Silver League standards. Every splinter except Life, my nemesis. It’ll be at least a few months until I have the CP necessary to battle in Gold, so I’ve got plenty of time to finally work on Life.

Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, and Debt:

Warning: Smartphone text prediction guesses crypto hodler’s seed phrase

U.S. Treasury Now Sees $26 Billion Paydown in Debt This Quarter

Um, since the debt is more than $30 trillion, that represents less than one-tenth of one percent. Yay? And what happens to the ability to pay off debt when interest rates go up yet again?

Coronavirus News, Analysis, and Opinion:

Their virus symptoms were minor. Then they had long Covid.

Naomi Judd’s death spotlights a national mental health crisis worsened by COVID-19

China COVID hard line eats into everything from Teslas to tacos

Politics:

Ivanka Trump’s Testimony Was Helpful

Said Chairman Bennie Thompson: “There were questions asked about what was she doing at the time that the insurrection was occurring at the Capitol, and she told us. She was asked certain questions about her awareness of what her father was doing. She told us.”

Special Grand Jury Selected for Trump Probe

A judge on Monday selected nearly two-dozen Fulton County residents — neighbors, co-workers, fellow MARTA riders — who will help prosecutors determine whether former President Donald Trump and his allies unlawfully tried to meddle in Georgia’s 2020 elections.

Former Philadelphia police officer charged with murder in death of 12-year-old

Ex-NYPD officer guilty of assaulting police officer at US Capitol riot

Thomas Webster, who claimed he was defending himself when he swung a metal flagpole at police and tackled one to the ground, choking him by his chin strap, was convicted by a jury on all six charges after roughly two hours of deliberations.
The 56-year-old ex-NYPD officer and former Marine faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for the assault of DC officer Noah Rathbun. Webster is the fourth January 6 rioter to be convicted by a jury and the first to be convicted by a jury in a police assault case from the insurrection.

The only thing wrong with this otherwise great piece by @EdwardGLuce is that it underestimates the danger. This is now the most dangerous crisis of the nuclear age bar none. To navigate it successfully we need to do three things. A🧵https://t.co/jpRnywImp1

— Ian Kearns (@IanKearns_) May 1, 2022

Connecticut Moves to Protect Abortion Rights

The Connecticut bill, which Gov. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, has said he intends to sign, would expand the field of people who can perform certain types of abortions beyond doctors, to include nurse-midwives, physician assistants and other medical professionals.
And in what lawmakers said could be a model for other states seeking to safeguard abortion rights, the law would also shield abortion providers and patients from lawsuits initiated by states that have banned or plan to ban abortion, even outside their own borders.

Trump Organization Accused of Hiding Witness

Antiabortion Movement Pivots to Nationwide Ban

Leading antiabortion groups and their allies in Congress have been meeting behind the scenes to plan a national strategy that would kick in if the Supreme Court rolls back abortion rights this summer, including a push for a strict nationwide ban on the procedure if Republicans retake power in Washington.
The effort, activists say, is designed to bring a fight that has been playing out largely in the courts and state legislatures to the national political stage — rallying conservatives around the issue in the midterms and pressuring potential 2024 GOP presidential candidates to take a stand.

For decades now, these folks have been saying that abortion policy was rightfully in the purview of the individual states. Were they lying then or are they lying now?

Russian troops stole $5M worth of farm vehicles from a John Deere dealership, which remotely locked the thieves out of the equipment.

Mexico Won’t Run Rail Link Through Texas

The Mexican government said it intends to shift long-range plans to build a trade railway connection worth billions of dollars from Texas to New Mexico in the wake of Gov. Greg Abbott’s stepped-up border inspections last month, which were widely criticized as being financially damaging and may now leave a lasting impact on relations between Texas and its No. 1 trading partner.

Israel condemns Russian foreign minister’s “unforgivable” Hitler remarks

Will Trump Face a Legal Reckoning in Georgia?

We understand that after the Mueller investigation and two impeachments, the prospect of Mr. Trump actually facing accountability may be viewed with skepticism. Most recently, he seems to have avoided charges by the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg.
But Ms. Willis, a Democrat, has a demonstrated record of courage and of conviction. She has taken on — and convicted — a politically powerful group, Atlanta’s teachers, as the lead prosecutor in the city’s teacher cheating scandal.
And she is playing with a strong hand in this investigation. The evidentiary record of Mr. Trump’s postelection efforts in Georgia is compelling.

Alleged Nebraska Groper Gets Trump Rally … And Newly Named Accuser

Want to contact CIA from Russia? Agency points to darknet

Romney Wears Disguise to Hide from Trump Supporters

Serendipity:

Amid Hopes and Fears, a Plastics Boom in Appalachia Is On Hold

The rise of fracking in Appalachia has fed visions of turning the Ohio River Valley into a petrochemical and plastics hub. But overproduction of plastic, opposition to natural gas pipelines, and public concern about rampant plastic waste are upending those plans.

Disruptive kindergartners are likely to be bullied later in elementary school

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