Sat: The Most Effective President Since Lyndon Johnson?

Take This WIth a Grain of Salt

Before the Russian invasion, both Bakhmut and Soledar were mining cities. Beneath their streets are over 100 of tunnels driven through an ancient deposit of salt, some of them connecting chambers over 30 meters tall and many times as wide. The beautifully clear crystalline salt is what remains of what was once an inland sea, 250 million years ago, when Ukraine was part of the single vast continent of Pangea. Mining has taken place there since the salt was discovered in the 1880s, often serving as the primary economic engine for the region.

Now the mines beneath the shattered city have stopped producing. But they aren’t exactly empty. That’s because Russia is reportedly using them to store equipment and ammunition.

Multiple videos over the past few days have shown Russian trucks approaching the entrance to the mines. There are reports that this location is becoming a primary supply depot for Russian forces all along the eastern front.

At first glance, this seems like a pretty good idea. After all, Russia has had repeated issues with Ukrainian forces destroying their supply depots. As Ukraine has walked the rungs of effective striking range from HIMARS to GLSDB to Storm Shadow, even equipment held many kilometers from the front is no longer safe. With Russia’s well-established issues around logistics, keeping supply depots hundreds of kilometers back, or breaking them into dozens of smaller sites, has represented a significant problem.

Storing things in the salt mines must seem like a great idea. They’re dry, cool, and out of reach from any possible attack. They were already in use for storing documents before the war, so many areas are easily accessible by vehicles driving slowly along the white corridors of cut salt. And they’re so extensive that even if Ukraine did have a weapon capable of punching through to the tunnels below, they can’t be sure where Russia is storing their gear. So Russia finally has a safe spot to keep their valuables.

Except they don’t. Because while the mines may be extensive, the number of entrances is very limited. A few precision-guided weapons directed at locations like, say, 48.602302N, 38.036391E would mean that all the supplies Russia packed into those tunnels would become inaccessible.

Those supplies would also stay nice, dry, and ready until Ukraine moved into the area and cleared those entrances.

About that Offensive ...

Idaho Wants to Lock 'Em Up

Idaho Governor Brad Little on Wednesday signed a new bill banning travel to help a minor seek an abortion. The new “abortion trafficking” bill would imprison people for 2 to 5 years if they help a minor obtain an abortion across state lines without parental consent.

The law would restrict any kind of interstate travel involving an abortion without parental permission. And while the notion of involving a parent in a child’s decision might seem reasonable, the reality is that some parents would rather their child die, be abused, or live forever in poverty than undergo an abortion.

The broad language in the law could also restrict travel in unanticipated ways. For example, if an aunt or a cousin takes a teenager on a trip, and during that trip she has a miscarriage, they could be prosecuted for getting her appropriate medical care. A teenager who travels with a friend on a vacation, and who then gets an abortion in another state—even if this was not the explicit purpose of the trip—would also run afoul of the law.

It’s the next step in the far right’s attempt to force pregnant people to give birth at all costs—even if it kills them. Abortion restrictions restrict care for people with wanted pregnancies, too. Study after study has shown the harms of these restrictions, ranging from an increase in suicide to a decrease in women’s wages.

Wouldn't It Just Be Easier Not to Teach Kids to Read?

The Good Book is being treated like a bad book in Utah after a parent frustrated by efforts to ban materials from schools convinced a suburban district that some Bible verses were too vulgar or violent for younger children.

And the Book of Mormon could be next.

The 72,000-student Davis School District north of Salt Lake City removed the Bible from its elementary and middle schools while keeping it in high schools after a committee reviewed the scripture in response to a parental complaint. The district has removed other titles, including Sherman Alexie’s “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” and John Green’s “Looking for Alaska,” following a 2022 state law requiring districts to include parents in decisions over what constitutes “sensitive material.”

On Friday, a complaint was submitted about the signature scripture of the predominant faith in Utah, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church. District spokesperson Chris Williams confirmed that someone filed a review request for the Book of Mormon but would not say what reasons were listed. Citing a school board privacy policy, he also would not say whether it was from the same person who complained about the Bible.

How Sad For Rich People. Now They Have to Deal With 'Ozempic Butt' .

Having experienced a meteoric buzz in almost every form of media (especially TikTok) over the last year, semaglutide injections (better known under brand names like Ozempic and Wegovy) are becoming more common than ever before. The prescription drug — which in part, mimics a hormone in the body that helps suppress appetite and may encourage significant weight loss — has also earned a reputation for a myriad of side effects, everything from gastrointestinal distress to the dramatic impact it may have on your appearance. Part of that phenomenon was examined earlier this year when drug users complained of "Ozempic face," where weight loss had prompted saggy, drawn facial skin due to weight loss just weeks into using semaglutide.

Now, more experts and users are raising awareness about the same effect that may occur in other areas of the body, too, including the derrière. The term"Ozempic butt" is becoming more common as some patients didn't intend to experience loose, sagging skin after losing weight.

For those who aren't aware, semaglutide, a drug that belongs to a class of medication called GLP-1 agonists, was initially approved for type 2 diabetes treatment and stimulating the pancreas; it also helps decrease appetite and the movement of food through the gastrointestinal system, which is often how users begin to lose weight. Semaglutide doesn't officially cause skin issues by any means — but weight loss alone can prompt sagging, loose skin, explains David Nazarian, M.D., medical director of MyConciergeMD, a private practice in Beverly Hills.

"When a person loses a significant amount of weight, the skin may not fully bounce back to its original tautness," he adds. "This is more evident if the weight loss occurs more rapidly."