News Dump

The Amazon lost the equivalent of 8.4 million soccer fields this decade due to deforestation
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/30/world/amazon-deforestation-decade-soccer-fields-trnd/index.html

The bushfires in Australia are so big they're generating their own weather — 'pyrocumulonimbus' thunderstorms that can start more fires
https://www.insider.com/australia-bushfires-generate-pyrocumulonimbus-thunderstorm-clouds-2019-12

Thousands trapped on a beach as Australia wildfires rage
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/30/australia/australia-mallacoota-beach-fire-intl-hnk-scli/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/31/world/australia/fires-red-skies-Mallacoota.html

West Virginia Correctional Cadets who Gave Nazi Salutes Will All Be Fired
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/west-virginia-correctional-cadets-who-gave-nazi-salute-photo-will-n1108656

Trump's State Department launched a full-fledged investigation to find out which employee liked a Chelsea Clinton tweet
https://theweek.com/speedreads/886848/trumps-state-department-reportedly-launched-fullfledged-investigation-find-which-employee-liked-chelsea-clinton-tweet

Officer Admits He Faked Claim About McDonald's Coffee Cup Insult
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/31/us/police-mcdonalds-coffee.html

“If more guns and fewer gun laws made Texas safer, it would be the safest state in the US. Instead, it has high rates of gun suicide and homicide, and is home to 4 of the 10 deadliest mass shootings.” Shannon Watts
https://twitter.com/MomsDemand/status/1212120495077900290

Judge Orders Alex Jones and Infowars to Pay $100,000 in Sandy Hook Legal Fees - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/31/us/Alex-Jones-sandy-hook.html

AT&T touted Worker bonuses after $3 billion Trump Tax Cut. Now it’s Outsourcing Thousands of Jobs.
https://www.salon.com/2019/12/31/att-touted-worker-bonuses-after-3-billion-trump-tax-cut-now-its-outsourcing-thousands-of-jobs/

California’s new building codes will make solar panels the next home appliance
https://qz.com/1772473/california-will-make-solar-panels-the-next-home-appliance/

Trump Ally Corey Lewandowski Says He Won’t Run for U.S. Senate
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-31/trump-ally-lewandowski-says-he-won-t-run-for-u-s-senate

All the cadets pictured giving a Nazi salute will be fired, West Virginia governor says
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/31/us/west-virginia-cadet-nazi-salute-fired-trnd/index.html

Trump signs robo-call bill into law
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/31/politics/trump-signs-robo-call-bill/index.html

Trump Organization fires more undocumented workers — a year after its use of illegal labor was revealed
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-organization-fires-more-undocumented-workers--a-year-after-its-use-of-illegal-labor-was-revealed/2019/12/31/1f03685a-2b7c-11ea-be79-83e793dbcaef_story.html

Kim Jong Un says North Korea "will shift to a shocking actual action to make [the U.S.] pay for the pains sustained by our people"
https://twitter.com/BNONews/status/1212138614945136641

And now: signing off for evening with a wish of a very happy New Year to all readers. May 2020 bring happiness and wellbeing to this troubled republic and to our over-heated world. 2019 was a hard personal year for my family. We look forward to health and renewal ahead!
https://twitter.com/davidfrum/status/1212127838184394752

Escalated tensions across the Middle East now put our diplomats, military, and ultimately our national interests in harm's way. The world needs steady and clear-eyed American leadership—not mood swings, unstable decisions, and policy by tweet.
https://twitter.com/PeteButtigieg/status/1212125697671618563

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says no reason to maintain moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests
https://twitter.com/BNONews/status/1212126341417574402

Someone is poisoning Bornean pygmy elephants in Sabah, East Malaysia. More than 20 elephants have died due to unknown poisoning in the past 2 years and year 2019 ends with yet another death of a 5 year old bull elephant.
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/12/29/2019-ends-with-another-jumbo-death

YEP. THESE PEOPLE ARE HEZBOLLAH AKA ISLAMIC TERRORISTS. NOT INNOCENT IRAQI PROTESTORS. FUCK THE MEDIA'S ANTISEMITISM ALREADY. STOP DEFENDING ISLAMIC TERRORISTS: Lots of photos of militia leaders present at the "protest" at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Seems more and more like a militia attack than a protest.
https://twitter.com/joshrogin/status/1212054047857008640