May 8, 2026

33 dead vultures dumped in Great Smoky Mountains spur investigation

An investigation is underway after more than 30 dead vultures were found dumped along a roadway in Great Smoky Mountains National Park last month, according to the National Park Service.

Park officials said rangers discovered 33 dead black vultures along the side of Foothills Parkway West in Tennessee on April 6 at approximately noon local time. The birds were found between Chilhowee and Walland, according to a May 5 park service release.

The black vulture is federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, making it illegal to harm or kill the birds without a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"Dumping of anything in a national park is illegal," park officials said in the release.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/05/07/dead-vultures-great-smoky-mountain-national-park-investigation/89977056007/?tbref=hp

Look, y'all. Vultures may be ugly, but they serve a very useful purpose. As my late Israeli friend, who had made quite a study of them, once said, "Think how bad the world would smell if not for them. Nobody loves a garbageman."

May 8, 2026

As enrollment falls, old schools find new life as apartments

In a once-thriving neighborhood in the southeast part of Atlanta, Lakewood Elementary served families who came to work at the General Motors assembly plant, a sprawling 100-acre landmark that became a path toward economic mobility for entry-level workers. At its height in the late 1970s, the plant employed as many as 5,700 people.

But by the early ‘90s, when Gloria Hawkins-Wynn moved into the community, signs of decline were evident. The last Chevy Caprice rolled off the assembly line in 1990, and a popular antique market at the now-defunct Lakewood Fairgrounds shut down in 2006. The closure of the elementary school two years earlier further contributed to neighborhood blight, turning the abandoned structure into a hotspot for criminal activity.

“We get prostitution. We get drug dealing. We get drive-by shootings,” Hawkins-Wynn told a local news station four years ago. A neighborhood representative, she urged city leaders to turn the eyesore over to a developer.

Former students begged the city to save the school, home to some of their earliest memories: Dick and Jane books, dances in the auditorium, a principal named Mr. Hinkle. Still visible on the school’s deserted playground is a faded map of the United States.

“Please don’t demolish it,” wrote one woman. Walking to Lakewood with her mother, who died when she was 7, is a cherished memory.

Now the old school is one of several in Atlanta slated to become apartments. It’s a transformation that is increasingly taking place across the country as city leaders and developers look to give new life to vacant buildings once bustling with students and teachers, The 74 reports.

https://www.wkow.com/news/as-enrollment-falls-old-schools-find-new-life-as-apartments/article_bfe03335-0a05-5274-9165-61a0a3a14c79.html

In Knoxville, TN, the old Knoxville HS became senior apartments. They are lovely. In Georgetown, KY, the former Catholic girls' school I lived in for the first half of my first travel nursing assignment fell victim to condo developers. Not so nice.

May 8, 2026

Madison dementia care village ditches locked doors for family-style living inspired by Dutch model

Madison non-profit hospice group Agrace will break ground on its dementia village in two weeks, the first of its kind in the country.

The village is modeled after The Hogeweyk Village in the Netherlands.

Right now in the United States — caring for those with cognitive decline means prioritizing safety.

"We sort of warehouse them," said Dr. Zorba Paster, a doctor and former nursing home director. "We put them into a place. We lock the doors so they can't get out."

But that could soon change with the new approach coming to Madison.

"They have almost 190 people that live in their [The Hogeweyk] village," said Lynne Sexton, president and CEO of Agrace. "And we were astonished. We didn't see anybody on oxygen, which is very common as you get closer to the end of life."

https://www.wkow.com/news/madison-dementia-care-village-ditches-locked-doors-for-family-style-living-inspired-by-dutch-model/article_1dc2dde3-f237-4613-9d12-b60e836a6d2f.html

More of these, please!

May 7, 2026

'Not the president's consigliere': Obama slams Trump over DOJ directives

Former President Barack Obama called out President Donald Trump for directing the Department of Justice to prosecute his political opponents and critics, saying the attorney general, who leads the DOJ, isn't the president's "consigliere."

Obama made the comments in an interview that aired on May 5 with Stephen Colbert, who hosts CBS' "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

"The White House shouldn't be able to direct the attorney general to go around prosecuting whoever," Obama said when asked about what powers he believes presidents should not have.

"The idea is that the attorney general is the people's lawyer. It's not the president's consigliere," he added. "Consigliere" is a term for an adviser or counselor to the leader of a criminal organization, such as a Mafia family.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/05/06/obama-decries-trump-colbert-interview/89961790007/?tbref=hp

Shitler probably doesn't even know what "consigliere" means, despite the fact that he acts exactly like a mob boss.

May 7, 2026

Nic on JD in the month of May

May 7, 2026

Police wrongly raided my home. It's not an isolated mistake

Anjanette L. Young

When Chicago police came to my door on Feb. 21, 2019, officers said they were looking for a criminal. Instead, they found me, a social worker, alone in my home, naked as I was changing clothes, believing I was safe.

Even though the warrant listed a man’s name, they forced their way in, handcuffed me while naked and left me standing there – humiliated, exposed and terrified – as they searched every room of my home. I kept asking who they were looking for and why they were there, but my questions were met with silence and indifference.

In that moment, I was not treated as a human being. I was treated as if my dignity did not matter. More than a year later, a police accountability board found that officers committed nearly 100 acts of misconduct during the search of my home.

My story is not just about what happened to me. It is about what can happen to anyone when there is no accountability. Since that terrible night, I’ve dedicated myself to trying to prevent what happened to me from happening to anyone else.

I don’t believe we need to do anything radical to prevent mistakes like this from happening. The U.S. Constitution contains an important safeguard that has been ignored for far too long. If the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case recently appealed to it – Mendenhall v. Denver – warrants would be granted with more care.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2026/05/06/supreme-court-fourth-amendment-warrant-hearsay/89522673007/?tbref=hp

This happens far too often. It's not a certainty that this iteration of the Supremes will stop it, either.

May 6, 2026

Nic on the Voting Rights Act Decision--Good one!

May 6, 2026

Professor's speech praising pro-Palestinian students sparks backlash at University of Michigan

The University of Michigan has issued a formal apology after a history professor lauded pro-Palestinian student protesters in a commencement speech over the weekend.

The remarks — and the ensuing apology — have set off cascading recriminations, with pro-Israel advocates calling to slash the school’s funding as others accuse university officials of bowing to political and donor pressure.

In a speech on Saturday at the universitywide commencement ceremony, Derek R. Peterson, a professor of East African history and outgoing chair of the faculty senate, credited “pro-Palestinian student activists who have over these past two years opened our hearts to the injustice and inhumanity of Israel’s war in Gaza.”

The comments followed Peterson’s praise for Moritz Levi, the first Jewish professor at the University of Michigan, among others who he said had advanced causes of justice through the school’s history.

Within hours, video of the pro-Palestinian portion of Peterson’s speech had widely circulated online, drawing condemnations from Jewish groups, who allege that campus protests against Israel created a hostile environment for some students.

https://apnews.com/article/university-of-michigan-palestinian-protesters-professor-speech-11087e565ad7f6fd9f1413507f2c1857

They, of course, took those remarks out of context. And how about the hostile environment THEY create for some other students, hmmmmmm?

May 4, 2026

Nic on Shitler's May

May 4, 2026

Outside probe needed of DC gala shooting, says ex-Secret Service chief

A former head of the Secret Service has called for outside reviews of the protective agency's handling of the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, citing what he sees as potentially serious missteps that enabled a shooting suspect to breach a security perimeter.

"It's the right thing to do," John Magaw exclusively told USA TODAY in a series of recent interviews since the April 25 event. "You don't want to investigate it yourself. The public won't believe it."

Two other reviews are already underway in the aftermath of the shootout at the sprawling Washington Hilton after an armed suspect sprinted past agents, causing at least one to open fire and get hit in his ballistic vest.

One of those reviews is by the White House, which on April 27 said it will convene the Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security, and the other is by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee has oversight of the Secret Service.

The Secret Service is also conducting its own after-action review of the incident, in which it subdued the alleged gunman, Cole Tomas Allen, and evacuated President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other leaders, a senior law enforcement official familiar with the various investigations told USA TODAY.

But those reviews will not suffice, Magaw said, given a security breach that was serious enough to force a mass evacuation of government leaders and the eventual shutdown of the annual dinner.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/04/29/secret-service-chief-probe-dc-gala-shooting/89840082007/?tbref=hp

He's right, because ANY government review at this point will be seen as compromised at best and completely unbelievable at worst.