Overnight News Digest: All the news I can cobble together in 5 minutes

I was deep in data and citations for a local recall campaign for my no-good lying cruel scum city council member and forgot I was subbing for annetteboardman tonight. Here’s a collection of stories I nabbed on the fly. 

More bad news from Texas

Did you know that there’s ANOTHER utility bill tax coming your way?

It’s another #AbbottTax pic.twitter.com/fj8LLvd4yz

— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) December 17, 2021

Hopeful news from the Black Hills

Tribal leaders from 12 Plains Native nations conferred in the Black Hills with Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.
Several leaders brought up the longstanding issue of the stolen Black Hills, the sacred Paha Sapa of the Oceti Sakowin tribes. https://t.co/9I3GTKqXv7

— UAINE (ndnviewpoint) (@mahtowin1) December 18, 2021

Another local fight I’m involved in — the RW Supervisors gerrymandered themselves more power because the tide has turned Democratic, vote-wise

Referendum petition begins circulation in #ButteCounty, where an adopted redistricting map has added to political turmoil. https://t.co/3hFQkEFXkf#FairMapsAct #redistricting pic.twitter.com/9cTWM3A2MO

— ChicoSol.org (@ChicoSolNews) December 18, 2021

Light is already tricky and we don’t know the half of it

Photons could be ‘split’ in two to create a weird new form of light https://t.co/ZndI1S2p07

— New Scientist (@newscientist) December 18, 2021

Is Europe really doing better with immigration?

An extremely informative Q&A about what's going on with immigration in Europe—and what the continent can and can't teach the US https://t.co/11YOziUPOR

— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) December 18, 2021

Robots are the plastic of the 2020s

An invasive fish wreaks havoc on native animals — so scientists built a robot predator to scare it away. It’s “their worst nightmare,” one researcher said.  https://t.co/0d4RRVBkFb

— NYT Science (@NYTScience) December 18, 2021

A machine can't love our children, but our children might love them. https://t.co/hkU6CiHpRq

— WIRED (@WIRED) December 18, 2021

we already knew this but now it’s official

The Trump admin. engaged in “deliberate efforts” to undermine the US response to the coronavirus pandemic for political purposes, congressional report concludes. https://t.co/xk578yFJVl

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) December 18, 2021

biden is doing what he can to overcome that undermining

Court rules Biden’s vaccine mandate for large employers can take effect https://t.co/KZzLynnNcn

— The Guardian (@guardian) December 18, 2021