Friday News Bites: Canadian Election Results, SCIENCE! + More

Hello, unicorns. Why, yes, I do rather enjoy using “SCIENCE!” in a headline rather than typing it like a reasonable person. By the way, did you know that October 22 is International All Caps Day? WHY YES IT IS. That said, let’s shout about this week’s news, shall we?

Canada’s national election results are in, and they now have a Liberal majority government. This means that Conservative party Prime Minister Stephen Harper is out, and Liberal party leader Justin Trudeau is in.

Here’s a breakdown of what will happen next in Canadian government.

U.S. Politics

Asshole pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli (who you may remember dramatically raised the price of AIDS medication just because he could) tried to parlay his donation to the Bernie Sanders campaign into a meeting with the candidate. Sanders instead donated the money to an AIDS charity and refused any further contact from Shkreli. 

Shkreli then had a bit of a tantrum.

https://twitter.com/Schwartzesque/status/655864131682217984

Sanders also met with Sandra Bland’s mother, Geneva Reed-Veal, yet did not turn it into a publicity stunt. How novel. Take notes, other politicians.

And on a more fun note: He also met with Christopher Lloyd — AKA DOC BROWN on Back To The Future Day. The two crossed paths during a taping for Jimmy Kimmel Live.

And now some notes on Democrats not running for President:

• Jim Webb has dropped out of the Democratic primary, though he’s dancing around the idea of an independent run. So he’s not not running, I suppose.
• Vice President Joe Biden officially announced he’s not running either, saying that it was too late to mount a campaign and that he is still mourning the death of his son, Beau.
• Here’s a good post on how Biden acted as President Obama’s “conscience” when it came to LGBTQ issues.

And here’s some analysis on the amount of work that could be done by raising taxes for the top 1% income bracket.

In Other News:

TSA will no longer call the presence of transgender people’s existing genitalia an “anomoly,” after several trans passengers complained of their treatment during airport security screenings.

France has added “gender neutral” as an option on legal documents, making it the first time a European court has made such a decision. Precedent!

Washington D.C. has proposed a 16-week paid family leave plan, which would make it the best of such plans in the nation.

Martese Johnson, the University of Virginia student beaten by Alcoholic and Beverage Control police earlier this year, has filed a lawsuit against the state agency:

In March, video of Johnson’s violent arrest went viral, leading to protests from students and members of the university community. The video, which begins with Johnson already on the ground, clearly shows ABC agents pinning him down while he screams “I go to UVA! I go to UVA! You fucking racists! How did this happen?!?” The agents suspected Johnson of having a fake ID, though the ID was, in fact, not fake.

SCIENCE!

A new study suggests that same-sex parents spend more dedicated time with their children than opposite-sex parents do. The Independent reports: “Difference most stark in families with two mothers, where parents spend 40%  longer on child-focused activities.”

Scientists are exploring how “designer antibodies” can help rid a person of the AIDS virus. Just don’t let Martin Shkreli get his hands on the treatment, I guess.

A possible optical illusion caused a floating city to appear in the sky above China. Or you could believe the conspiracy theories about secret government projects. Either or.

Mythbusters announced that their next season will be their last. They are the Discovery channel’s longest running show.

In Entertainment:

Norwegians apparently use the word “texas” (lowercase) as slang for “crazy.” My one Norwegian friend confirms this as being true since the 70s, starting around the same time Gunsmoke was a popular show there.

Warner Bros. and Netflix are in negotiations to bring back Gilmore Girls for a limited run. If my reaction to this seems muted, I really only saw a few episodes of the last season. (Please don’t throw things at me, ha.)

Hey, speaking of the aforementioned Back to the Future Day, this made me giggle:

Daniel Craig, now doing interviews for his presumably last Bond flick, Spectre, is unapologetically calling the character a misogynist. Among other things. Even though I like Bond films, he is totally right. (What? I own a Bad Feminist shirt. Leave me be.)

Even though I don’t know why anyone thinks remaking Rocky Horror Picture Show is a good idea in the first place, I do admit that I am intrigued by the casting of Laverne Cox as Dr. Frank-n-Furter.

And finally, here’s the story of a bowtie-wearing duck who drinks pints at a pub and gets in fights with dogs.  England!

Until next time, friends.