Open Thread - Do The Math, Rush!

After a weekend in which conspiracy theorist Alex Jones warned that his media company faced an imminent shutdown by the federal government because of his bankruptcy cases, a judge on Monday allowed Jones to keep operating for the next two weeks while it is decided whether his assets should be liquidated. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Both Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, filed for bankruptcy reorganization after he lost two lawsuits and was ordered to pay $1.5 billion to relatives of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

If you’ve ever struggled to find a public bathroom in New York City, “Ur In Luck.” Mayor Eric Adams just announced that the city is embarking on a new effort to expand access to public bathrooms across all five boroughs. Adams launched the project, called “Ur In Luck,” on Monday. Over the next five years, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) will build 46 new restrooms and renovate 36 existing ones, according to the city’s press release. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “Part of making New York City a more livable city is tackling the little things—the things we don’t think about until we need them,” Adams said in the press release.

You might think you know what to expect from a documentary series called Ren Faire, but you are almost certainly wrong. From Spellbound and the crossword chronicle Wordplay to Trekkies and the live action role-playing doc Darkon, the Y2K era set the template for offbeat, warmhearted nonfiction films about nerdy subcultures.

A company that bred beagles for medical research agreed Monday to pay a record $35 million as part of a criminal plea admitting it neglected thousands of dogs at its breeding facility in rural Virginia. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Prosecutors said the penalties amount to the largest ever levied in an animal-welfare case. The plea deal also bars the company that operated the facility, Envigo RMS, as well as parent company Inotiv, from breeding or selling dogs in the future. The federal investigation of Envigo drew national attention in May 2022 when federal authorities conducted a search of the breeding facility in Cumberland County, Virginia, and found nearly 450 animals in acute distress. The company later agreed to relinquish all 4,000 beagles at the facility, which were sent around the country for adoption. U.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Ellen Broidy, the architect behind the first-ever pride event in New York City, still remembers feeling terrified moments before the Christopher Street Liberation Day March was set to begin on June 28, 1970. “We had no idea whether the people who were on their fire escapes, at their windows, or lining the sidewalks were there to cheer us on, or there to harm us,” Broidy, 78, recalls about the march that would later become known as the first pride event.

Baton Rouge, La. — A person found guilty of a sex crime against a child in Louisiana could soon be ordered to undergo surgical castration, in addition to prison time. Louisiana lawmakers gave final approval to a bill Monday that would allow judges the option to sentence someone to surgical castration after the person has been convicted of certain aggravated sex crimes — including rape, incest and molestation — against a child younger than 13.