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Polybius

Polybius's Journal
Polybius's Journal
July 2, 2021

Sha'Carri Richardson, a Track Sensation, Tests Positive for Marijuana

Source: NY Times

The American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, who was set for a star turn at the Tokyo Olympics this month, could miss the Games after testing positive for marijuana.

Richardson, 21, won the women’s 100-meter race at the U.S. track and field trials in Oregon last month, but her positive test automatically invalidated her result in that marquee event.

The United States Anti-Doping Agency announced the positive test result Friday morning, and said Richardson had accepted a suspension of one month, starting on June 28. That could clear her in time to run in the 4x100 meter relay that takes place later in the Games — if she is named to the U.S. team.

In an interview with NBC on Friday, Richardson blamed the positive test on her use of marijuana as a way to cope with the unexpected death of her biological mother while she was in Oregon for the Olympic trials. Richardson, who was raised by her grandmother, said she learned about the death from a reporter during an interview and called it triggering and “definitely nerve-shocking.”



Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/01/sports/olympics/shacarri-richardson-suspended-marijuana.html



June 26, 2021

UFO Report Says 'Unidentified Aerial Phenomena' Defy Worldly Explanation

Source: WSJ

WASHINGTON—U.S. intelligence officials reviewing dozens of reports of mysterious flying objects found 18 in which the objects displayed no visible propulsion or appeared to use technology beyond the known capabilities of the U.S. or its adversaries, according to an intelligence report released Friday.

The reports of “unidentified aerial phenomena” weren’t offered as evidence of alien activity on Earth, though that prospect wasn’t definitively ruled out.

“We have no clear indications that there is any nonterrestrial explanation,” a U.S. official said. Instead, officials said greater technological understanding may be required to determine what was behind many of the unexplained cases.

“Some of those could require some scientific advances on our part to allow us to better understand what it is that we’re observing,” another official said. “It’s clear that we need to improve our capacity to further analyze remaining observations.”


Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/ufo-report-cites-unidentified-aerial-phenomena-that-defy-worldly-explanation-u-s-official-says-11624653953?mod=itp_wsj&yptr=yahoo

June 23, 2021

So Eric Adams is ahead by about 9 points for NYC Mayor

With rank-choice voting, does anyone have a realistic chance of over-taking him?

June 23, 2021

NYC mayor's race: Curtis Sliwa wins Republican nomination

Source: Pix11

NEW YORK — Mayoral contender Curtis Sliwa won the Republican primary on Tuesday in the race to replace Bill de Blasio.

Sliwa beat businessman Fernando Mateo. He’ll face off against the winner of the Democratic Primary and any additional third-party candidates in the general election on Nov. 2.

For years, Sliwa has been known as head of the Guardian Angels, an anti-crime group. He’s said he’ll bring back stop and frisk and a plainclothes anti-crime unit, which was disbanded in June of 2020. Sliwa’s also called for greater police presence on subways and buses.

Sliwa credited his supporters in a victory speech, especially the Staten Island Republican Party, who endorsed him early on in the primary. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani stood at Sliwa’s side for the speech, whom Sliwa also thanked. Giuliani at times received raucous applause from the crowd.

Read more: https://pix11.com/news/politics/new-york-elections/nyc-mayors-race-curtis-sliwa-wins-republican-nomination/



June 23, 2021

Where can I see live election results for NYC Mayor?

Not NY Times please, can’t get in there for some reason.

June 21, 2021

De Blasio trashes 'opportunistic' alliance between NYC mayoral candidates Andrew Yang and Kathryn Ga

De Blasio trashes ‘opportunistic’ alliance between NYC mayoral candidates Andrew Yang and Kathryn Garcia

Mayor de Blasio Monday derided as “opportunistic” the 11th-hour alliance between NYC mayoral candidates Andrew Yang and Kathryn Garcia.

With just hours to go before polls open Tuesday, de Blasio noted that the ranked-choice voting system is designed to help supporters of two candidates who broadly share “similar views and a similar vision” to vote for both of them.

Hizzoner said the Garcia/Yang alliance appears to be more like a political marriage of convenience.

“This one strikes me as an odd couple situation and a little more opportunistic,” de Blasio said. “These are two people who don’t seem to share a lot of positions.”

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/nyc-elections-2021/ny-nyc-de-blasio-yang-garcia-adams-20210621-rq47b3q7nbdabl25oamct5j3li-story.html
June 21, 2021

The Supreme Court Just Overhauled the U.S. Patent Regime. Here's What It Means.

Source: Reuters

The U.S. Supreme Court reined in the power of patent judges on Monday, finding the lack of ability to review their decisions inconsistent with their status as “inferior officers” under the Constitution.

Written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the ruling spells an overhaul of the U.S. patent regime. The majority ruling finds that the decisions of some 250 administrative patent judges will have to be reviewable by the director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office in order to pass constitutional muster under the Appointments Clause.

As Chief Justice Roberts noted in the ruling, a single patent ruling can have multibillion-dollar ripples.

The ruling drew a scathing dissent by Justice Clarence Thomas, who found uncommon company with the court’s left flank: Steven Breyer, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor.


Read more: https://lawandcrime.com/supreme-court/the-supreme-court-just-overhauled-the-u-s-patent-regime-heres-what-it-means/?utm_source=mostpopular



Interesting how Thomas sided with the liberals...
June 21, 2021

Are there any hot-button Supreme Court decisions coming this final week before recess?

Most of the decisions coming lately have been pretty mild and unconfrontational, many of which were unanimous. One exception was Obamacare being saved. Any others?

June 15, 2021

DOJ asks Supreme Court to reinstate death sentence for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

Source: ABC News

The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to reinstate the death penalty for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Tsarnaev was sentenced to death in May 2015 for the April 15, 2013, bombing that killed three.

However, a federal appeals court overturned the death sentencing last summer, ruling the trial judge failed to adequately question prospective jurors about if they had been biased by hearing about the case before the trial started.

The federal appeals court "improperly vacated the capital sentences recommended by the jury in one of the most important terrorism prosecutions in our Nation's history," the Justice Department argued Tuesday, claiming that a prospective juror's prior exposure to a case doesn't mean they can't be impartial.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/doj-asks-supreme-court-reinstate-death-sentence-boston/story?id=78289381



June 14, 2021

McConnell: "Highly unlikely" he would allow Biden to fill Supreme Court vacancy in 2024

Source: Yahoo News

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday that it is "highly unlikely" a Supreme Court nominee picked by Biden would be confirmed in 2024 if Republicans take control of the Senate.

What they're saying: Hewitt asked if McConnell would block Biden from filling a 2024 Supreme Court vacancy as he blocked Obama from replacing the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

"Well, I think in the middle of a presidential election, if you have a Senate of the opposite party of the president, you have to go back to the 1880s to find the last time a vacancy was filled," McConnell said.

"So I think it’s highly unlikely. In fact, no, I don’t think either party if it controlled, if it were different from the president, would confirm a Supreme Court nominee in the middle of an election. What was different in 2020 was we were of the same party as the president."

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/mcconnell-highly-unlikely-allow-biden-155825838.html

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