Thursday Jan. 25

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!

We’re pretty stingy with exclamations,
but this page deserves one
Gerrymandering interactive 538
With the click of a button, the reader can see the effect of various redistricting schemes. These maps offer startling proof of the power of gerrymandering.

Chinese fentanyl smugglers preferred route: US Postal Service Stat
Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of fentanyl— and likely more — is pouring into the United States through international mail — and the federal government isn’t equipped to track it or prevent it from happening, according to a nearly yearlong bipartisan Senate investigation.

Flip/flop/flip/flop
Today Trump open to citizenship for “Dreamers”
Tomorrow, who knows?
The Hill

US cries “America First” as other nations make deals
NY Times
As the world’s largest economy and architect of many international organizations and treaties, the United States remains an indispensable partner. But as the global economy gains strength, Europe and countries including Japan and China are forging ahead with deals that do not include the United States.
>> Tourism to US is down, costing $4.6 billion and 40,000 jobs NBC News

No White House ambitions, declares Oprah BBC

Michigan State University
President resigns over doctor sex scandal, says “blame is inevitable.”
Buzz Feed
As Nassar’s legal journey to prison was drawing to a close, more and more negative attention was focused on Michigan State University, and on me,” Simon wrote, while thanking the board for their support.
According to a Detroit News investigation, at least 14 people at Michigan State University received reports about Nassar’s behavior in the 20 years before his arrest. The National Collegiate Athletic Association on Wednesday sent a letter of inquiry into how Michigan State University handled reports of Nassar’s abuse.

Scandal-tinged dude to run National Park Service 
Courthouse News Service
Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke on Wednesday appointed as new National Park Service director the man who allowed the billionaire owner of the Washington Redskins to clear native trees on Park Service land.
Daniel Paul Smith was appointed director of the 417 national parks despite having been formally reprimanded by the Park Service for his role in one of the agency’s more recent scandals: clearing trees on Park Service land so Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder could get a better view of the Potomac from his $10 million mansion.

Zombie viruses buried in the permafrost? NPR
That scare story has been making the rounds.
… Maybe not so much.

Chinese scientists clone monkeys AP/Yahoo
“The barrier of cloning primate species is now overcome,” declared Muming Poo of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai.
In a paper released Wednesday by the journal Cell, he and his colleagues announced that they successfully created two macaques. The female baby monkeys, about 7 and 8 weeks old, are named Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua