2026.04.17

[lsanderson]

Another of life's burning questions has been answered:
Scientists Finally Solved The Basque Language Mystery - After 10,000 Years
https://youtu.be/7YxZYqQ2ztM?si=uTauFJSDClw2Js8F

In latest sign of partisan paralysis, Republicans eviscerate bill to fund Medicaid fraud prosecutions
House GOP members said they were reluctant to give Ellison-run state AG’s office continual funding.
by Matthew Blake
https://www.minnpost.com/state-government/2026/04/medicaid-fraud-prosecutions-gop-eviscerate-bill/

Big win for mining as Senate votes to remove moratorium on Boundary Waters watershed
Minnesota Democrat Tina Smith held the Senate floor for hours arguing against the removal of the ban, but GOP senators were unmoved.
by Ana Radelat
https://www.minnpost.com/national/washington/2026/04/big-win-for-mining-as-senate-votes-to-remove-moratorium-on-boundary-waters-watershed/

No more quinoa! New Minnesota State Fair rules set the crop art community abuzz
Alex V. Cipolle
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/04/17/mn-state-fair-crop-art-new-rules

Why did Michelin snub St Paul in its guide to the best restaurants in the Great Lakes region?
Critics warn smaller and immigrant-run restaurants risk being overlooked as city-funded deal shapes dining map
Maya Yang
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/17/michelin-guide-st-paul-minneapolis

‘He’d gaze at the stars and go: I’m gonna be up there one day’: Prince by those who knew him best, 10 years after his death
From lurid pranks and late-night drives, to why playing in the Revolution was like joining the marines – Prince’s friends and collaborators recount their memories of one of the music world’s most majestic and mercurial performers
As told to Dave Simpson
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/apr/17/gaze-stars-gonna-be-up-there-one-day-prince-those-who-knew-him-best-10-years-after-death

ICE’s hiring spree led to influx of recruits with questionable qualifications, investigation shows
Patchy employment records, bankruptcies and allegations of wrongdoing blemish the records of several new recruits
Associated Press
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/17/ice-immigration-agents-backgrounds

‘Popesplaining’ Vance out of depth in argument over whether Iran is a just war
Peter Beaumont
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/17/pope-jd-vance-row-iran-just-war

I thought hell would freeze over before I agreed with the pope. But in a world riven by cruelty, that day has finally come
Rebecca Shaw
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/16/i-thought-hell-would-freeze-over-before-i-agreed-with-the-pope-but-in-a-world-riven-by-cruelty-that-day-has-finally-come?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Newly unsealed records reveal Amazon’s price-fixing tactics, California attorney general claims
Exclusive: A trove of previously redacted documents was filed as part of the tech giant’s anti-trust battle with the state of California. Amazon denies it engages in price-fixing
George Joseph
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/apr/16/amazon-price-fixing-california-lawsuit

Texas immigration court interpreter detained by ICE says ‘they want to make me disappear’
Meenu Batra, the state’s only licensed Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu interpreter, says she was treated ‘like a criminal’
Maanvi Singh
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/16/ice-immigration-court-interpreter-detained

Utah reports more than 600 measles cases as outbreak spreads across US
Data shows 85% of those infected in the state have been not vaccinated against measles as dozens are hospitalized
Marina Dunbar
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/16/utah-measles-cases-outbreak

Weekly quiz: What did Trump say about the Pope? (Paywalled?) (Automagical)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq8wp3gllyjo

A statue of Queen Victoria, memorial trees and a swimming pool: Judi Dench’s garden – in eight poignant items
The storied actor has spent years campaigning to protect green spaces. She invites us into her Surrey sanctuary, where each tree represents a lost loved one
Helena Horton
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/apr/17/judi-dench-garden-eight-poignant-items

Comments

[calimac]

1) What an annoying video. It says it's going to tell us what the science says, and then it goes on and on repeating itself about the linguistic evidence before it finally gets to the science. And if the science says that Basque is a pre-Indo European survival (which was always assumed), the video never says how that connects with the Vasconic hypothesis of a pre-IE language family in Europe.

[lsanderson]

I assume there's not enough left of any of the old European languages for comparison? There's a counterpart video where only the DNA evidence is presented.

[calimac]

It was clear that Vasconic is only a hypothesis. But it sure sounds consistent with the DNA evidence, and if so they should say so.