Links for you. Science:

“Astounding” number of whales seen feeding in New England waters
How to End the Futile Blame Game Over Failed Long COVID Research (I’m not convinced their explanation is the best one for long COVID acquired before vaccination–many of those cases appear to involve direct system damage, such as the vagus nerve)
Bacteria can maintain rRNA operons solely on plasmids for hundreds of millions of years
The Dark Side of a Clinical Trial
A non-adaptive explanation for macroevolutionary patterns in the evolution of complex multicellularity (interesting hypothesis)
Lice Genes Offer Clues to Ancient Human History
Sex diversity in the 21st century: Concepts, frameworks, and approaches for the future of neuroendocrinology

Other:

CDC: New COVID-19 Hospitalizations Increase. The increase comes after new COVID-19 weekly hospital admissions have mostly been trending downward or remaining stable since early September.
Elon Musk’s Disturbing ‘Truth’: The billionaire affirmed the deadliest anti-Semitic conspiracy theory in recent American history.
IDF publishes footage of what it says is Hamas tunnel at al-Shifa hospital: Israel says opening was discovered beneath floor of a garage within Gaza medical complex’s walls
Israeli and Palestinian Activists Ask Americans to Take Side of Peace: Sally Abed, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, and Alon-Lee Green, a Jewish Israeli, found polarization in America over the war in Gaza. They also found longing for a new approach.
The hidden biases at play in the U.S. Senate. People of color get significantly less representation than White voters. And that’s not the only way the Senate is skewed. (The Washington Post embraces Jamelle Bouie Thought)
Why Trump might not be disqualified until Jan. 6, 2025
Shutdown prep is exhausting Washington. At least the bartenders are happy.
More Than 1 In 10 D.C. Residents Are Housing Insecure, New Report Shows
It’s Official: You Can Use That Word
Ridership is up on the Metro system, but revenue is still down
So much for “small government”: Budget fight reveals GOP main issue is culture war
D.C., your next UberX driver might show up in a taxicab
The Curious Rise of Twitter Power Broker Yashar Ali
No, “the Church” did not kill Joan of Arc, you credulous dullards
11 of the most scathing allegations in the House ethics report about Santos
Annie Altman’s Abuse Allegations Against OpenAI’s Now-Fired CEO Sam Altman Highlight the Need to Prioritize Humanity Over Tech
My Night in an $18 Hotel Room on the F1-Broken, Traffic-Choked Las Vegas Strip: Fear and loathing, sure, and anger too as the Las Vegas Grand Prix wrecks ambiance, access and the economy along the Strip
Is There an Establishment Plan to Repeal Antitrust Laws? The torpedoes from the Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission are exploding, and Wall Street is very angry. Here’s what they are planning if they win in 2024.
Texas lawmaker calls out Gov. Abbott’s school voucher plan as a giveaway to the wealthy
I’m the child of a Holocaust survivor. I know the trauma inflicted on Gaza will last for generations
The surveilled campus: A professor is no longer teaching after criticizing “childish, stupid, homophobic, dumb, racist twits.”
This Child Care Policy Was An Invisible Success We Didn’t Appreciate Until It Was Gone. Virtually nobody seems to recognize what Biden accomplished… and he might even be saddled with the blame for how it all ends.
Advertisers Flee X as Outcry Over Musk’s Endorsement of Antisemitic Post Grows: Disney, Apple, Paramount and Lionsgate halted marketing on X, formerly Twitter, as Elon Musk faced a furor over antisemitic abuse on his social media platform.
Mike Johnson: ‘Depraved’ America Deserves God’s Wrath: Citing the increase in queer youth, Johnson called American culture “dark and depraved” on a call with a Christian nationalist pastor
All The Platitudes That Fit
Cybertruck’s Launch Is Already an Exhausting Joke: It’s the perfect car for Elon Musk.
These Evangelicals Are Cheering the Gaza War as the End of the World