2024.12.05

You just can't buy this kind of free international publicity!
Minnesota
Twenty Minnesota ballots went missing in key race that hinges on 14 votes
Race for state house seat, which will determine whether Republicans win control of chamber, separated by 14 votes
Rachel Leingang in Minneapolis
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/05/minnesota-missing-ballots-house-race

Revealed: Biden lays groundwork to expand immigration jails as Trump readies for office
In the past year, the Biden administration has extended contracts for private sector jails before Trump’s plan for mass deportations
José Olivares in New York
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/05/biden-immigration-jails-trump-mass-deportation-plan

Satanic Temple to offer religious program for elementary school students in Ohio
Move is in response to parental requests for alternative to Christian ‘release time’ religious instruction
Jessica Glenza
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/04/ohio-satanic-temple-elementary-school

Eating dark chocolate regularly could reduce type 2 diabetes risk, study finds
Researchers say risk could be reduced by 21% but connection ‘controversial’
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/dec/04/eating-dark-chocolate-regularly-could-reduce-type-2-diabetes-risk-study-finds

The brain microbiome: could understanding it help prevent dementia?
Long thought to be sterile, our brains are now believed to harbour all sorts of micro-organisms, from bacteria to fungi. How big a part do they play in Alzheimer’s and similar diseases?
Amy Fleming
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/dec/01/the-brain-microbiome-could-understanding-it-help-prevent-dementia