COLOR ME UNSURPRISED: Benzodiazepine use during pregnancy may raise risk of miscarriage.

BUMMER, THEY’RE FUN: Walmart vendor recalls high-powered magnetic balls due to ingestion hazard.

WESTERN FEMINISTS STRANGELY SILENT: ‘Screams Without Words’: How Hamas Weaponized Sexual Violence on Oct. 7: A Times investigation uncovered new details showing a pattern of rape, mutilation and extreme brutality against women in the attacks on Israel.

A bunch of frat guys holding up numbered cards to rate passing coeds would probably generate more outrage than Hamas has.

WELL, BYE: Google likely to layoff 30,000 employees post new AI innovation.

Related: The Coming “Symbolic Analyst” Meltdown.

MARK RIPPETOE: The Logical Analysis for Starting Strength.

I DON’T THINK AGREEING WITH NHJ HELPS NIKKI HALEY WITH REPUBLICANS: New York Times’ Nikole Hannah-Jones tweets the North didn’t fight to end slavery in Civil War. “Nikole Hannah-Jones frequently posts controversial and inaccurate thoughts on Twitter.”

REGULATORY JIGGERY-POKERY: Gun sales have been blocked for much of December in Hawaii’s largest city.

That’s what the Hawaii Firearms Coalition, a local gun-rights group, claimed in a statement on Wednesday. It said the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) has advised gun purchase or carry permit applicants they won’t process them without a currently-unattainable training certification. And it’s unclear when those permits might become available again.

“It has been brought to our attention from multiple sources that the Honolulu Police Department, under the guidance of Police Chief Logan, is no longer processing ANY firearms permit applications or concealed carry applications until after the new year, and he has the ability to verify or certify instructors,” the group posted on social media. “The department requires all applications submitted after December 18th to provide proof of instruction by a certified/verified instructor before processing their application.

“The problem?????? He hasn’t certified or verified any instructors.”

The Honolulu Police Department did not return multiple calls seeking comment on the situation.

The move comes as Hawaii grapples with the fallout of the Supreme Court’s 2022 New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen decision, which effectively struck down the state’s old gun-carry law and cast doubt on its other gun restrictions. The shutdown of gun license processing is the result of the state’s Bruen-response law. That legislation imposed a slew of new “gun-free zones” and tightened the application requirements for gun licenses.

Alan Beck, a gun-rights lawyer who practices in Hawaii, said the training certification issue is affecting Honolulu as well as other cities and counties throughout the state.

The regulatory scheme should be overturned, and Honolulu should have to pay damages to the people whose constitutional rights were denied.

MAKE THEM PAY: After SCOTUS Affirmative Action Victory, Edward Blum Is Suing Law Firms Over Their Diversity Programs.

JOEL KOTKIN: America is unprepared to fight a war on three fronts: The democratic world is sleepwalking once again towards military disaster.

NOW INCLUDING MAINE: Colorado Bans Trump From Running Over Concerns Usual Election Rigging System Could Fail.

PROGRESSIVISM ALWAYS LEADS TO THE SAME THING: Death by Doctor May Soon Be Available for the Mentally Ill in Canada.

HOMELESSNESS IS MOSTLY A CALIFORNIA PROBLEM: Raw data: Homelessness is down everywhere except California. “I didn’t realize this until I saw it this morning, but if you exclude California homelessness has been steadily declining in the US since 2007. It’s down by a quarter over the past 15 years.”

Related:

The record level of US Homelessness is really a record California (and NY) level alone. If you remove just CA the national change is 37,000 fewer unhoused people since 2007.
Of the top 10 areas that saw the highest increase in homelessness, California areas take 7 of them. pic.twitter.com/LdxtdLcXNE

— Darrell Owens (@IDoTheThinking) December 19, 2023

Hey, if Gavin Newsom manages to become president, it will be an everywhere problem.

COLLUSION: It’s Time to Replace the US China Business Lobby: The Pro-Beijing Advocates of the US Business Community Need to Leave.

MATT TAIBBI: Democracy Dies in Daylight: Eight years ago the Washington Post pledged to save democracy, but now argues we need to be saved from it.

NOT DIFFICULT ENOUGH: Arnold Kling: The Left had a difficult year: Its internal splits were pronounced.

OPEN THREAD: Just do it.

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Japan’s SLIM lander beams moon images home before Jan. 19 landing.

WELL, GOOD: Scientists Destroy 99% of Cancer Cells in The Lab Using Vibrating Molecules.

ALIENS: Scientists Propose New Explanation for “Impossible” Gamma-Ray Burst.

WELL, GOOD: ‘Tummy tuck’ surgery found safe, reliable over 16-year study.

EV UPDATE: What Happens When Your 446-Mile Lucid Air Runs Out of Range? We Didn’t Expect This.

COMBAT MEDIC: The Life-Saving Work That Starts Once You’re Shot.

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: Behind the Shortage Keeping Cancer Patients From Chemo. “The disruption this year in supplies of key chemotherapy drugs has realized the worst fears of patients — and of the broader health system — because some people with aggressive cancers have been unable to get the treatment they need.”

FOLLOW THE SCIENCE: Beef can stimulate muscle protein synthesis more effectively than plant-based proteins, says study.

MAKE THEM PAY: College pays fired conservative professor $185,000 to avoid free speech lawsuit.

There should really be at least one more zero on this amount, though.