Saturday, September 7, 2019

Security News This Week: An Unprecedented Cyberattack Hit US Power Utilities

Photograph: Ullstein Bild/Getty Images

Let's not overplay this: There was no blackout, and it's not even clear that it was a specifically targeted attack. But hackers did use firewall vulnerabilities to cause periodic "blind spots" for grid operators in the western US for about 10 hours on March 5. It's the first known time a cyberattack has caused that kind of disruption—which, again, did not affect the actual flow of electricity—at a US power grid company. The incident was originally referenced in a Department of Energy report in April, but only in vague terms. A new North American Electric Reliability Corporation document described it in more detail, including the type of vulnerabilities that let hackers compromise the web portals in question. No need to panic about this incident specifically, but given the extent to which Russia and others continue to probe the power grid, it's an unsettling reminder that weaknesses are out there.

Read more: https://www.wired.com/story/power-grid-cyberattack-facebook-phone-numbers-security-news/

Wisconsin Cannabis Expo

From The Shepherd Express:


Click here to sign up today for our Cannabis Connection email newsletter. You'll be the first to hear when tickets go on sale for the Wisconsin Cannabis Expo and more about the event. Cannabis Connection is your bi-weekly guide to stay informed about the growing availability of legal cannabis products in Milwaukee and what's happening at the state level with respect to Wisconsin's movement towards legalization, what's happening in other states and in the rest of the world.

Read more:  https://shepherdexpress.com/shepherdevents/wicannabisexpo#//

Madison restaurant owner has no plans to change Pho King Good name


Ting Cai Zhou is calling his Vietnamese noodle restaurant Pho King Good and has no intention of changing its name.

A Madison restaurateur who is calling his Vietnamese noodle restaurant Pho King Good has no intention of changing its name after learning it includes words that sound obscene when spoken together.

“He didn’t mean to say a dirty word, that’s not his meaning or his main purpose,” said Shuai Yuan, who translated for his friend Ting Cai Zhou, who speaks little English and owns the proposed restaurant.

Ting insists he had no idea that the name was controversial until a reporter pointed out that “pho” — the popular Vietnamese soup pronounced “fuh” — plus “king” sounds to English speakers like an expletive.

Read more:  https://madison.com/wsj/entertainment/dining/restaurants/madison-restaurant-owner-has-no-plans-to-change-pho-king/article_7916746e-2e5a-577b-989d-5fa687b6de0b.html

Cudahy couple sentenced to prison for extensive child abuse inflicted on 15-year-old daughter

From JSOnline:

Felicia Boon walks the courthouse halls before joining her husband for trial July 23. (Photo: Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Parents from Cudahy were sentenced to prison Friday for the extended abuse and neglect of their 15-year-old daughter at the hands of the couple's other children.

Kevin Boon-Bey, 48, and Felicia Boon, 35, were convicted in July after a jury heard what Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Michael Hanrahan called overwhelming evidence of physical and emotional injuries inflicted on the girl until her rescue by Cudahy police in December.

"Both of you are either in complete and utter denial of reality, under delusion, or still engaged in outright lying and manipulation," Hanrahan said. "Either way it concerns me deeply."

He sentenced Boon, who was portrayed as the intelligent, organized and undisputed leader of the household, to seven years in prison plus five years of supervision on each of three counts, plus three years in prison and three on supervision for a fourth count.

All the sentences are to run concurrently, meaning she'll serve seven years in prison and five on supervision.

Boon-Bey was sentenced to six years in prison and five on supervision. He was found guilty of three counts, the sentences for which were also made concurrent.

Kevin Boon-Bey waits for court to begin at the Milwaukee County Courthouse on July 23. (Photo: Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Deputy District Attorney Matthew Torbenson noted how many people wrote letters in support of the couple and came to the hearings, including to Friday's sentencing. They were "seeking mercy and compassion" that Boon never showed the victim, he said.

He wanted them to know that the evidence at trial wasn't even all of the evidence since two of the three children who imposed the "discipline" on the victim declined to testify.  They are facing their own criminal charges in juvenile court.

The victim read a statement in court Friday. "All this time I'd been thinking I'm the problem, but I'm the victim," she said. "Your opinion no longer matters to me."

She had testified at trial about being locked in an upstairs bedroom where she had to sleep on the floor and use a pail as a toilet. Her half-siblings, ages 15, 14, and 12, burned her with boiling water, zip-tied her hands together and beat her with their fists, a belt and a pole. She once was choked with a cord until she passed out.

Police went to the home in December after getting a call about a girl throwing boiling water on another girl. The officer said the stench of urine and feces that hit him after opening a door to the upstairs was overpowering.

He found the victim in tattered clothes with cuts and bruises to her head and neck, and she said she hadn't eaten or drank in three days.

Boon-Bey and Boon have four younger children who were in the custody of child protective services after their arrests.

Mount Pleasant, Racine ranked as ‘worst driving cities,' police chief calls study ‘suspect'

Pictured here, three vehicles are involved in a crash on Sunnyslope Drive near Mariner Drive in Mount Pleasant on May 31. A study published in late August said that Mount Pleasant is the "worst driving city" in the State of Wisconsin.
RACINE COUNTY — Three of the “worst driving cities” in Wisconsin are located in Racine County.

McDonald's Just Revealed a Surprising New Product That Is a Huge Threat to Chick-fil-A and Popeyes

Getty Images

In case you've been living in a cave on the side of a mountain for the past few months, we are in the middle of a major chicken sandwich war. The two heavy hitters in this war have been Chick-fil-A, which has sold its iconic chicken sandwich since 1964, and Popeyes, which introduced a remarkably popular (and quickly sold out) spicy chicken sandwich of its own last month.

Yesterday, however, fast-food giant McDonald's decided it was time to introduce its own spicy chicken sandwich--hoping to steal some of the thunder from its archrivals Chick-fil-A and Popeyes.

On September 11th, McDonald's will start selling its new Spicy BBQ Chicken Sandwich in restaurants nationwide. According to the company, the star of the show will be a buttermilk crispy chicken fillet on a sesame seed bun with slivered onions, pickles, and a spicy BBQ glaze.

In addition to this new chicken sandwich specifically designed to compete with Chick-fil-A and Popeyes, McDonald's is also introducing Spicy BBQ Glazed Tenders--essentially, a turbocharged chicken nugget.

So, how will McDonald's new spicy chicken sandwich stand up to the sandwiches sold by its rivals?

Four for Fridays!

Good morning everyone I hope you made it through the Holiday weekend. We just stayed here around home we didn't want to deal with all the idiots and traffic. We can deal with it around here instead of traveling. Here are your questions.

1) Have you ever went downtown Racine for the first Friday of the month?

2) If so when was the last time you did?

3) Was it what you expected it to be?

4) What kind of music was playing?

I hope you have a great weekend!

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Review: Heart’s comeback roar echoes through Tacoma Dome during all-star Love Alive tour stop

Heart brought their Love Alive tour to the Tacoma Dome Wednesday. Sisters Nancy, left, and Ann, seen here during a previous tour stop, are playing their first... (Kimberly Adamis, file) More

“Ooh. Barra-cooo-da,” wailed Ann Wilson, an upward inflection on that razor sharp “cooo” sticking like a switchblade on a sticky bar top.

Meanwhile, her sister Nancy Wilson hammered that unmistakable galloping riff, with two other ace guitarists chugging along in unison like three well-oiled pistons powering Heart’s motoring classic, “Barracuda.” As if closing this two-hour joy ride through the Northwest rock greats’ 40-plus-year career — with many scenic detours — with anything else were a serious option. The on-their-feet Tacoma Dome crowd erupted in appreciation after the final downhill churn.

The Seattle-grown rock heroes’ Love Alive tour barreled through Tacoma Dome on Wednesday, marking the Wilson sisters’ first tour together in three years. Family tension put Heart on the shelf after Ann Wilson’s husband, Dean Wetter, allegedly assaulted Nancy Wilson’s then 16-year-old twin sons backstage during a 2016 White River Amphitheatre concert. Wetter eventually pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal that spared him jail time.

There would be no overtly sentimental show of harmony Wednesday on the curtain-lined stage, done up like an elegant ballroom. Really, one of the only gratuitous displays of affection came from a canoodling couple in the crowd during the band’s potent (and more popularized) spin on Toronto’s “What About Love,” which made Tacoma Dome feel like a cozy, glitzy (given the ballroom motif) karaoke bar, listening to someone with way better pipes than your co-worker. If only Tacoma Dome brass would’ve sprung for personal fog machines under each of those roomy new seats it would’ve been ’80s nostalgia heaven.

“Yep, it’s us,” Ann Wilson said with a chuckle after a bewitched “Magic Man” early on. It was the only real acknowledgment of the temporary split, unless we’re to read into their intro music choice of The Pretenders’ “I’ll Stand By You.

As a whole, the Love Alive tour has been a comeback roar, boosted by a rotating cast of equally powerful women rockers in support, including Brandi Carlile and Sheryl Crow on select dates. Wednesday night featured Southern fried vocal dynamo Elle King and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, the latter making for a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer two-for-one. Like Heart, Joan Jett helped kick down the door for women in the hard rock world, and the rock icon hasn’t lost her edge. We half expected the rock ‘n’ roll renegade to unfurl a pack of Reds from her sleeve after an attitude-drenched “Cherry Bomb” lit up the crowd.

Read more:  https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/music/review-hearts-comeback-roar-echoes-through-tacoma-dome-during-all-star-love-alive-tour-stop/

Volkswagen Will Now Convert Classic Beetles To Electric Power Which Is Maybe Even Better Than A New EV Beetle


I knew that even though Volkswagen ended Beetle (including Beetle-dressed Golfs) production in July, they wouldn’t ever really be able to not build some sort of Beetle, and I think this announcement proves that to be correct. VW is partnering with German EV conversion company eClassics to do conversions of classic, air-cooled Beetles into EVs with modern electric drivetrains. The first one they’re showing is a 1973 Super Beetle convertible, and it looks fantastic.


The really interesting part about all of this is how they’re doing the conversions. Unlike other vintage Beetle (and Bus, and Porsche 356, etc.) conversions we’ve seen before from companies like Zelectric that use an electric motor mated to the car’s existing transaxle and batteries placed in existing luggage areas, the VW/eClassic conversion is using the drivetrain from VW’s e-Up! city car
.
From what I can see from VW’s press pictures, it appears that the whole e-Up! transverse drivetrain has been transplanted to the back of the VW chassis, replacing the whole longitudinal transaxle/engine setup

.
It’s a very nice, tidy setup, and the e-Up!’s power pack fits remarkably well in the back of the Beetle. I can see that some extra motor mounts and supports have been added to the rear torsion tube housing, and the frame “horns” that once carried the transaxle have been cut off. New rear shock absorber mounts seem to be added as well.

The drivetrain, being transverse, is a bit shorter than the original transaxle/flat-four setup, so its weight is more focused over the axle line, and as such is less of an “outboard” motor, which will likely improve handling a good bit.

Read more: https://jalopnik.com/volkswagen-will-now-convert-classic-beetles-to-electric-1837900039

A New Study Shows There‘s No Link Between Pubic Grooming and Getting Certain STIs


If you’ve ever heard the urban legend that shaving or waxing your pubic hair could increase your risk of contracting certain STIs, a new study by Ohio State University is here to debunk that myth. The research, released today, found that there’s no link between removing your pubic hair and testing positive for chlamydia and gonorrhea.

The study, led by Jamie Luster, a former graduate student in public health at Ohio State (yas, queen), looked at the self-reported grooming habits of 214 female college students as well as their laboratory-confirmed STI tests. And survey says? There was no connection—not even among those who self-identified as “extreme groomers” who remove all their pubic hair.

“There are multiple theories about why pubic hair grooming could potentially increase the risk of chlamydia and gonorrhea,” explained Luster in an email to Cosmo. “Biologically, grooming may cause micro-trauma in the skin’s barrier, allowing pathogens to more easily enter the body. However, this has not been confirmed or documented for chlamydia and gonorrhea specifically.
That said, Luster highlighted in a press release about her findings that this does not mean the research in this area is conclusive. Instead, her study should be viewed as something that helps color in a better picture of STI contraction and prevention techniques. 

Plus, Luster’s work only looked at chlamydia and gonorrhea. But when it comes to contracting herpes or pubic lice, personal grooming may still be a factor. Notably, your risk for contracting herpes increases if you shave or wax your pubic hair, and your risk for contracting pubic lice decreases if you shave or wax, explains Viselav Tonkovic-Capin, MD, who is board-certified in dermatology and dermatopathology. 

Open Blog - Thursday


A short work week brings the weekend faster.

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my dears!  How are you?  I hope your Labor Day went well.  At least the weather cooperated.  Señor Zanza and I just hung out in the yard.  Junior stopped by with a load of friends looking for free food.  They got what they wanted.  We grilled brats, burgers, and hot dogs.  It was delicious.  I hate to see summer go.  Sigh.  Autumn I can take.  It's winter that I hate.  Only three more months until the s-word becomes a reality.  Yuck.

The Irregular Fantasy Football League starts its season this week.  I can't wait to trounce my competitors, Mr. OrbsCorbs especially.  I'm going to take first place this year - that's my prediction.  The others might just as well not play.  Either way, I'm going to waste them.

Speaking of waste, did you read in the Journal Times about how our Common Council doesn't know what happened to $900,000?  Gee, I wonder why we're looking at a budget shortfall.  They pee away money on consulting firms and other nonsense, then they can't figure out why we're broke.  Idiots and thieves - that's what runs this city.  Mayor Butterball Mason is a lying piece of crap.  $13 million has disappeared into the Machinery Row debacle, and no one will tell us where the money went.  Bunch of crooks.  I'm tempted to put the Zoltar Curse on some of our aldermen, but they're already hobbled.  Clowns and criminals.

The article from Racine County Eye on the 10 worst Wisconsin cities to drive in ranked Mount Pleasant and Racine as number 1 and 2 respectively.  No surprise there.  Anyone who drives in this area already knew it.  We've become a toilet in so many ways.  Heaven help us.

School has started and the school buses on the road just add to the madness.  They've already had two accidents near Red Apple School.  No children were hurt, so that's a blessing.  And Unified has announced that middle school kids have to leave their cell phones in their lockers.  We'll see how that works out.  I think that if a child violates that policy, his/her cell phone should be confiscated.  And smashed.  Oh my!

People who lost their homes to the Foxconn development are still complaining.  Some have been made millionaires.  Would they give the money back to have their homes again?  I wonder.  I don't trust Foxconn.  Time will tell, but I wouldn't be surprised if they don't meet expectations.  The Racine area always gets screwed.

We have the highest (or second or third highest) unemployment rate in the state, but there's a shortage of competent employees.  Perhaps too many people are used to the government supporting them and they don't want to work.  Or they're too stupid to pull it off.  In any case, we have a lot of dead weight in the city.  That starts at the top, Butterball.

I'm sorry to complain so much, but it gets frustrating to watch local government throw away our tax dollars and enrich themselves and friends.  I hear that Mayor Butterball has four or five assistants.  Is that true?  What does he need so much help for?  If he's so incompetent that he can't handle the job, then maybe he should resign.  The taxpayers are fed up with paying so much and getting so little in return.  Butterball always makes an appearance or comment on good news, but he's nowhere to be seen when the poop hits the fan.  What a coward.

That's it, my dears.  I love you all and wish you nothing but the best.  May the bluebird of happiness poop in your coffee.

madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com

Don't forget to be kind and respectful to each other.  Love is the answer to all.  Feel it and show it.  Make me proud.
________________________ 
Please donate: paypal.me/jgmazelis  If you don't like PayPal, send me a note at madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com and I'll send you my street address so you can send a check or money order.  Thank you.

Open Blog - Wednesday


Happy Wednesday to ugly people, too.

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Here Are The Top 10 Worst-Driving Cities In Wisconsin

From Racine County Eye:

Mount Pleasant has seen its share of orange barrels in 2019. (Scott Anderson, Patch Staff )
MOUNT PLEASANT, WI — They say there are only two seasons in Wisconsin: winter and road construction season. It’s true that the typical motorist in Southeastern Wisconsin has seen their share of fender benders, pot holes and detours.

According to QuoteWizard best and worst driver studies Wisconsin typically ranks near the middle of the pack in overall driver quality.

After the results were tallied, Mount Pleasant was rated as the worst-driving community in the state. Superior was the best.

According to Quote Wizard, “Mount Pleasant is in a high traffic spot that makes it a perfect location for incidents. Folks traveling from Milwaukee to Chicago are bound to find themselves in heavy traffic in Mount Pleasant. The combination of traffic and bad drivers in Mount Pleasant puts the city on top as the worst drivers in the state.”

It can be argued that the remote city of Superior had geography on its side. According to Quote Wizard, “Superior takes the top spot as the best drivers. Rightfully so, the city sitting on its namesake lake is so far away from any traffic areas avoiding road incidents.”

To determine overall driver quality in Wisconsin, Quote Wizard ranked the 50-largest cities in the state. The group analyzed more than 49,000 insurance quotes from Wisconsin drivers using QuoteWizard.com and ranked cities by the highest rate of incidents.

Incidents include accidents, speeding tickets, DUIs, and citations.

The 10 Worst

1. Mount Pleasant
2. Racine
3. Franklin
4. Menomonee Falls
5. Germantown
6. Caledonia
7. Mequon
8. Menomonie
9. Oconomowoc
10. Stevens Point

The 10 Best

1. Superior
2. Onalaska
3. Middleton
4. Howard
5. Cudahy
6. Ashwaubenon
7. Green Bay
8. Beloit
9. De Pere
10. Oak Creek

From: https://www.racinecountyeye.com/here-are-the-top-10-worst-driving-cities-in-wisconsin/

Doctors say diet of fries and chips left teen "fussy eater" blind from malnutrition

An English boy who eats nothing but French fries, potato chips and the occasional piece of ham has been left blind due to the extreme vitamin deficiency in his diet, doctors in Britain said in a report published Tuesday. One of the doctors behind the article in the Annals of Internal Medicine personally treated the "fussy eater" from Bristol over the course of three years, and said he was previously healthy and took no medicines.

"His diet was essentially a portion of chips (fries) from the local fish and chip shop every day," the doctor, Denize Atan, told CBS News partner network BBC News. "He also used to snack on crisps (chips) — Pringles — and sometimes slices of white bread and occasional slices of ham, and not really any fruit and vegetables."

Atan said she first treated the boy at the age of 14, when he came in complaining of chronic tiredness. She diagnosed him with anemia and a deficiency in vitamin B12, along with copper, selenium and vitamin D. Atan gave the boy B12 injections and told him he'd have to start eating a more varied diet.

However, due to his "aversion to certain textures of food that he really could not tolerate… chips and crisps were really the only types of food that he wanted and felt that he could eat." 

The boy has what has been diagnosed since 2013 as "Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder" (ARFID). Previously known as Selective Eating Disorder, it can be dismissed by parents as simply being fussy. But the health implications are very real, and they're not limited to vision impairment.

As the doctors behind the article published on Tuesday note, "the risks for poor cardiovascular health, obesity, and cancer associated with junk food" are well known and often discussed, but when a diet heavy in such foods becomes one based entirely on them, the risks mount. The boy in Bristol was left malnourished, in spite of the fact that he ate every day and wasn't hungry.

"He had lost minerals from his bone, which was really quite shocking for a boy of his age," Atan told the BBC.

As for his eyes, he's not completely blind and is still able to walk around on his own because he's retained his peripheral vision. But with "blind spots right in the middle of his vision," Atan said, he will never be able to drive, and "would find it really difficult to read, watch TV or discern faces."

 From: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/british-teenager-went-blind-from-eating-only-fries-and-chips-doctors-say-warning-over-junk-food-caused-malnutrition/

Mag Mile high: Cannabis companies are scouting Michigan Avenue for pot shops

From Chicago Tribune:

The vacant former Apple store at 679 N. Michigan Ave. in Chicago on June 3, 2019. The store is being eyed as a possible location for a retail marijuana business. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

Cannabis companies are eyeing sites on some of the priciest retail streets in Chicago, including the Magnificent Mile, as they get ready to sell recreational marijuana in Illinois. 

Dispensaries have opened in marquee retail spots around the country — like Fifth Avenue in New York and a mile from the Las Vegas strip. Chicago’s turn may be next.

Real estate sources say industry players are scouting locations with heavy foot traffic and alongside well-known retailers, and they’re doing so well before the city develops rules and regulations for cannabis sales, including amending the current zoning requirements.

If dispensaries end up on the Mag Mile, marijuana sales would bring a new definition of “high street”— the term for the world’s top retail streets — at a time when North Michigan Avenue and similar shopping districts around the world are grappling with changes in shopping habits.

Read more:  https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-marijuana-dispensary-michigan-avenue-20190813-t7hf732rs5heza265pu542vzmi-story.html

Getting shot by police a leading cause of death for black men

From The Journal Times.com:


People walk past the site where Freddie Gray was arrested in 2016 in Baltimore.
About 1 in 1,000 black men and boys in America can expect to die at the hands of police, according to a new analysis of deaths involving law enforcement officers. That makes them 2.5 times more likely than white men and boys to die during an encounter with cops.

The analysis also showed that Latino men and boys, black women and girls and Native American men, women and children are also killed by police at higher rates than their white peers. But the vulnerability of black males was particularly striking.

“That 1-in-1,000 number struck us as quite high,” said study leader Frank Edwards, a sociologist at Rutgers University. “That’s better odds of being killed by police than you have of winning a lot of scratch-off lottery games.”

Read more:  https://journaltimes.com/ap/national/getting-shot-by-police-a-leading-cause-of-death-for/article_abf4e829-39bc-5366-9546-c6e144eaf12f.html

RPD: Four people shot in two weekend incidents

From The Journal Times.com:

RACINE — A total of four people were shot and a residence struck by bullets late Friday night into Saturday, Racine police said.

The first incident occurred at 10:24 p.m. Friday, when Racine Police responded to the 1500 block of Geneva Street for a report of three people who had been shot. All three of the gunshot victims’ injuries were nonlife-threatening, Racine Police Lt. David Wohlgemuth said.

Less than an hour later — at 11:08 p.m. Friday — a residence in the 1800 block of Grange Avenue was also struck by gunfire. 

At 1:31 a.m. Saturday, a Racine fficer was flagged down in the 1500 block of Clark Street for a report of shots fired. Police reported that no one was struck in that incident. Wohlgemuth said that three individuals were taken into custody, interviewed and arrested in reference to the incident.

At 2:27 a.m. Saturday, one individual was shot near the area of St. Patrick and Geneva streets. The person’s injury was nonfatal, police said.

“All of these calls are currently being looked into and investigators are running down leads on these cases,” Wohlgemuth said in an email to The Journal Times.

Police said that they were not planning to release more information, including the names of the individuals injured or arrested, as of Saturday evening.

From:  https://journaltimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/rpd-four-people-shot-in-two-weekend-incidents/article_ec1b311e-d47e-58e5-a146-dbca4210e1f3.html#1

Sunday, September 1, 2019

A woman was shot and killed after a minor crash on Milwaukee's north side

From JSOnline:

A 46-year-old woman was fatally shot after confronting a driver following a minor crash on Milwaukee's north side, police said.

The woman was a passenger in the vehicle that got struck about 5:15 p.m. Friday. She got out of the vehicle and exchanged words with the driver, who pulled out a gun and shot her at North 51st Street and West Capitol Drive, police said.

The shooter fled.

Witnesses drove the woman to a hospital, where she died, police said.

Police are searching for the shooter.

No other details were released.

From:  https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2019/08/31/milwaukee-homicide-woman-killed-after-confronting-driver-following-crash/2177481001/

As an Ohio newspaper dies, it's clear subscribers must preserve reporting essential to our democracy

From JSOnline:

A screenshot of the Youngstown Vindicator website. The newspaper published its final edition today. (Photo: Journal Sentinel)

Since the opening words of our republic were declared, in a shout heard round the world, newspapers have held the powerful accountable in every city, county, colony and state.

Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019, marks the end of this era in a city of 65,000, a metropolitan area of more than half a million, the seat of Mahoning County, Ohio.

The Vindicator of Youngstown is finished.
  
“Democracy, as we know it, is about to die in Youngstown,” Joel Kaplan, of Syracuse University’s School of Journalism, told Margaret Sullivan, Washington Post media columnist and former Buffalo News editor.

"No one in that community will be covering, on a regular basis, school board meetings, city council meetings, the cops and the courts,” Kaplan said.



So now it's our job to save enterprises that can't save themselves?

5 dead, 21 wounded in mass shooting in Midland-Odessa, Texas; shooter killed

From JSOnline:

At least five people were killed and 21 injured in Midland-Odessa, Texas, after a routine traffic stop triggered a deadly shooting rampage that ended when the gunman was slain by officers, police said.

The incident began at 3:13 p.m. CDT when an assailant described by authorities only as a white male in his mid-30s driving a gold-colored car was pulled over by a pair of state troopers on Interstate 20 for a traffic violation, the Texas Department of Public Safety said.

Before coming to a stop, the man grabbed a rifle and shot multiple times at the pair of troopers through the rear window, wounding one. He then sped off, shooting at other motorists and passers-by. At one point, he changed to a U.S. Postal Service truck.

Besides the initial trooper who was shot, two others were wounded as well, Texas DPS said, The gunman himself was killed after a chase involving officers from both Midland and Odessa, two cities within miles of each other.

The tragedy shattered an otherwise quiet holiday weekend in West Texas and became the latest mass shooting after others this summer in El Paso, Texas; Dayton, Ohio; and Gilroy, California.