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“Beyond the battle between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, voters are deciding tens of thousands of offices and ballot measures,” writes @taniel for @bolts. He’s created a guide with at least one non-federal election for every state, broken down by states and issues. It’s essential reading for every U.S. voter this year.

https://boltsmag.org/whats-on-the-ballot/your-guide-to-the-elections-in-november-2024/

What does far-right government look like in America? We don’t need to guess. @ProPublica reports on Tim O’Hare, a county judge who has pursued an ultra-conservative agenda in Tarrant County, Texas, which voted for Beto O’Rourke in 2018 and Joe Biden in 2020. Glen Whitley, O’Hare’s predecessor, says O’Hare has implanted an “us vs. them” ideology that has increasingly been mainstreamed on the right.

https://www.propublica.org/article/tarrant-county-judge-tim-ohare-far-right

Journalist @w7voa is a must-follow for fediverse folk who are interested in news. This week, he shared many stories, including this one from nonprofit, nonpartisan site NOTUS about the upcoming election. “Nearly a sixth of Donald Trump’s fake electors are back as his 2024 electors in key swing states,” wrote Jose Pagliery and @byrontau. “Several others are still in positions of political power across the country — despite criminal indictments and other efforts to hold them accountable.”

https://www.notus.org/trump-2024/fake-electors-2024-state-officials

Two scientists from Massachusetts won this year’s Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine. Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun were honored for their discovery of microRNA — research that is having profound effects on our understanding of how cells and organisms work. @gbhnews wrote about the scientists’ responses to their prize. “The surprises are what keep you young in science,” Ruvkun said. “And so I am constantly surprised. And my ignorance is bliss.”

https://www.wgbh.org/news/local/2024-10-07/pay-attention-to-revolutions-mass-scientists-win-nobel-prize-in-medicine-for-discovery-of-microrna

Judy-Lynn del Rey edited works by Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov and Philip K. Dick, snagged the novelization rights to “Star Wars” and founded the Del Rey Books publishing imprint that breathed new life into the fantasy genre. Overlooked for years, she’s now the subject of a PBS documentary and this @TheConversationUS article by Dennis Wilson Wise.

https://theconversation.com/the-woman-who-revolutionized-the-fantasy-genre-is-finally-getting-her-due-240198

#Books @bookstodon #Fantasy #SciFi #Documentary #Newstodon #NewstodonFriday #FollowFriday

The Karen people came from Myanmar to India in the 1920s, brought by the British administration to work on forest-clearing in the Andamans. They maintain their connection to their homeland via ngapi, a dried-shrimp condiment that they make from tiny acetes shrimp. Here, @hakaimagazine tells the story of how it’s made, the cultural significance, and why their tradition is at risk.

https://hakaimagazine.com/videos-visuals/the-salty-sun-dried-shrimp-paste-that-tastes-of-home/

Our @NewsDesk shared this @NewsLitProject Magazine dedicated to hurricane misinformation, which has been proliferating, with the help of Donald Trump, Elon Musk and others. Follow it in the fediverse here: @hurricane-misinformation-NewsLitProject

And finally, it would frankly be remiss of us not to share this slightly older story that our @ArtPhotosDesk unearthed from @arstechnica. It’s about a Michigan kid’s winning design for an “I Voted” sticker that may end up being distributed to voters throughout the state, and features a werewolf clawing off his shirt. It certainly made us howl (see what we did there?).

https://arstechnica.com/culture/2024/09/internet-picks-werewolf-clawing-off-its-own-shirt-as-new-michigan-i-voted-sticker/