December 19, 2016

In case you need to a reason to watch Jeopardy!, the story of Cindy Stowell—who went on the show with Stage 4 colon cancer, and died before she could see her episodes air—is moving and inspiring. / jeopardy.com, The A.V. Club

“I still have a sour taste in my mouth about the National Parks Service. They didn’t take care of me.” How public land agencies fail their female employees after sexual harassment: Exceedingly complex disciplinary and investigatory procedures, a culture of machismo, and reticence on the part of those in charge. / High Country News

An Alabama district attorney uses “pretrial diversion”—an option to direct people toward community service instead of prison, that often comes with exorbitant fees—to pad his office’s coffers at the expense of his county’s black residents. / The New York Times

“Louisiana is an example of one of the crowning achievements of the bail industry and their control over local and state politics.” In Louisiana, bond money funds judges, prosecutors, sheriffs, and public defenders. The state will see many battles in the war against monetary bail. / The Guardian

Scientists across the federal government are “guerilla archiving” public government data crucial to the survival of mankind should President Trump wake up feeling grumpy one day and shut down the NOAA. / The Washington Post

Don’t show this to your kids (or risk the challenge of trying to make it yourself): An elaborate goth gingerbread castle, complete with candy glass windows. / FOOD

Southern California senior citizen Doris Payne, whose career as a jewel thief stretches across seven decades and three continents, was arrested again last week at an Atlanta mall for lifting a $2,000 diamond necklace. / Los Angeles Times, ajc.com

In 1971, Rutgers professor Ruth Bader Ginsburg noticed that her alma mater’s fundraising office forgot it had women alumni, too. / Columbia Law School

Offshore documents obtained by Süddeutche Zeitung (recently of the Panama Papers) reveal Trump’s Secretary of State pick Rex Tillerson (who sounds like a villain from Dallas?) / sueddeutsche.de

“No one can be sure, but it’s nice to think we could have changed the course of American history.” A dispatch from Veles, Macedonia, home to hundreds of “fake news” Facebook scam websites. / Financial Times

As CEO of the WWE, Linda McMahon was known for crushing small businesses. / HuffPost

“As governor, he accepted more than $14.3 million in campaign cash from energy and natural resource interests, according to the National Institute on Money and State Politics. To join Trump’s Cabinet, Perry must comply with laws seeking to prevent financial conflicts of interest.” A breakdown of Rick Perry’s long, mixed history of energy policies as Texas governor. / Texas Tribune

From The Intercept, a roadmap, courtesy of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, for how Trump can destroy the environment. / The Intercept

The Hanging, a three-part documentary series, examines the 2014 lynching of a 17-year-old black boy—ruled a suicide by authorities—in a small, rural North Carolina town for the apparent crime of being in a relationship with a white woman. / unctv.org

“It’s the West Virginia disease. You don’t even know you’ve started and you’re already spiraling down.” From Eli Saslow, whose byline should garner an automatic click by now: Profiles of a West Virginia family orphaned by the opioid epidemic. / The Washington Post

In case you need some laughs during the holidays, 50 comedians name their favorite comedy movies. / The Guardian

The special session called by the North Carolina legislature last Wednesday began innocently enough, under the pretext of passing emergency disaster relief. But the ruse was quickly abandoned, and the Republican legislature, which will serve under a Democratic governor starting next month, passed a raft of hyper-partisan legislation. / Slate, ABC News

“North Carolina has learned plenty these last four years the damage that can be done when one party—any party—accumulates too much power.” A plea for outgoing Governor McCrory to show some moderation and reverse his crap legacy by vetoing the special session’s bills. / Charlotte Observer

In response to the Republicans’ power grab, more than 34 people were arrested in protests in Raleigh. / Slate

One subject of the power grab: Republicans are trying to cement their power over county election boards statewide by divvying up control between parties. / newsobserver.com

North Carolina and Maryland are subject to some of the nation’s most intense gerrymandering. To the point that Carolina may not have had any competitive districts this season, stifling political compromise and innovation. / thewesterncarolinajournalist.com

If the Carolina Coup is only an incident isolated to a legislature embittered by a close gubernatorial loss and emboldened by extreme gerrymandering, it’s sufficiently horrible. As Jamelle Bouie put it, the last time the state “used the power of the state to protect itself from the voters of the stats,” white tribalism became a de facto strategy throughout the South. / Slate

“The country is already watching, so let Moore ram his bills through a half-empty chamber, let Representative Paul Stam go on tangents about the seventeenth century to half-asleep Republicans, and—most important—let the entire country see how authoritarian North Carolina has become.” The only question now: Who will respond to this flagrant abuse of power? / Indy Week