The most chilling part of JD Vance's statement is not its aggression. It's its calm.

"I want every ICE officer to know that their president, vice president, and the entire administration stand behind them," Vance wrote on social media, responding to public outrage over an Immigration and Customs Enforcement killing that was neither lawful nor justified. — Read the rest

The post When the vice president blesses the killing appeared first on Boing Boing.

On January 7, an ICE agent in Minneapolis shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, a U.S. citizen and mother of three who local officials say was acting as a legal observer during an immigration enforcement operation. According to NBC News, Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has now been cut out of the investigation entirely — blocked from accessing the crime scene, video evidence, and witness interviews. — Read the rest

The post Minnesota officials say they're being blocked from investigating fatal ICE shooting appeared first on Boing Boing.

Alas, not even cats are immune to the crushing yoke of capitalism. What is the world coming to when even our wonderful creatures are forced to get jobs?

At least they look cute doing it. In my continued search for the strangest niches on the Internet (that won't put this website on a watchlist), the Bodega Cats Bluesky account is one of my favorites. — Read the rest

The post Bodega Cats documents the hard-working felines of New York convenience stores appeared first on Boing Boing.

Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell says that the Trump Administration has threatened him with criminal indictment over his testimony to congress last year, a threat he describes as an act of political intimidation. President Trump, who appointed Powell in his first term of office, has been at odds with the Federal Reserve since his return to power: Trump wants interest rates slashed and more control over the Fed. — Read the rest

The post Trump admin threatens Fed Chair Jerome Powell with indictment appeared first on Boing Boing.

A federal court has ruled that California's new congressional maps are legal, dealing a blow to Republicans who hoped the judiciary would undo what voters very deliberately approved at the ballot box. The decision clears the way for districts designed to favor Democrats in the next election. — Read the rest

The post Federal judges confirm California voters knew exactly what they were doing appeared first on Boing Boing.

Our solar system has eight major planets, nine if you believe that Pluto Was Wronged. It also has literally thousands of minor planets, which are also colloquially known as asteroids, many of which reside in the “asteroid belt” between Jupiter and Mars. I learned some time ago that the International Astronomical Union, through its Working Group on Small Bodies Nomenclature, will give some of these minor planets, usually designated by number, an actual name. What kinds of names? Sometimes of geographical locations, sometimes of observatories, sometimes of fictional characters like Spock or Sherlock Holmes, sometimes of scientists (or their family members), and sometimes, just sometimes, they’re named after science fiction authors.

Like minor planet 52692 (1998 FO8), henceforth to be known as “Johnscalzi”:

This little space potato is a Main Belt Asteroid whose orbit is comfortably between Jupiter and Mars, has a diameter of about 10.7 kilometers, and has a “year” of about 5 years, 8 months and 10 days. If I start the clock on a ScalziYear today, it’ll be New ScalziYear’s Day on September 22, 2031. Plan ahead! If you want to look for Johnscalzi, the link above will tell you where it is, more or less, on any given day, but at 10km across and an absolute magnitude of 12.19 (i.e., really really really dim), don’t expect to find it in your binoculars or home telescope. Just know that it there, cruising along in space, doing its little space potato-y thing.

How do I feel about this? My dudes, dudettes and dudeites, I am so unbelievably stoked about this I can’t even tell you. It’s not an exaggeration to say this was something of a life goal, but not a goal that was in my control in any significant way. I suppose it might be possible to buy one’s way into having an asteroid named for you, but I don’t know how to do that, and I wouldn’t even if I did. How much cooler to be tapped on the shoulder by the International Astronomical Union, and to be told, here is a space potato with your name. I can die happier now than I could have a day ago. To be clear, I don’t plan to die anytime soon. But when I do, if they’re shooting remains into space that point, now they will have a place to aim me at.

Also cool: The name of the asteroid that’s in the catalogue next to mine. We geeked out about it on the phone just now. We’re Space Potato Pals!

Anyway, this is how my day is going. It’s pretty great. Highlight of the year so far, for sure.

— JS