Good morning.
Monday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of sixty-two. Sunrise is 5:38 AM and sunset 8:04 PM, for 14h 25m 46s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 95.1% of its visible disk illuminated. Today is the {tooltip}one hundred eighty-first day.{end-texte}Days since Trump’s election, with 11.9.16 as the first day.{end-tooltip}
Whitewater’s Planning Commission meets at 6:30 PM.
Harry S. Truman is born on this day in 1884. On this day in 1864, the 1st, 15th, 21st, 22nd, 24th and 26th Wisconsin Infantry regiments along with the 1st Wisconsin Cavalry take part in Battle of Rocky Face Ridge, Georgia.
Recommended for reading in full —
Cynthia Littleton reports that Sinclair Sets $3.9 Billion Deal to Acquire Tribune Media: “For Sinclair, the expansion with Tribune will increase its market clout in TV but it will also extend its geographic footprint in a way that is vital to the company’s vision of using the broadcast TV bandwidth of its stations to provide data services and interactivity on a scale designed to compete with wireless and digital media heavyweights. Sinclair chairman David Smith, son of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith, is known for his engineering acumen. He’s long had a vision of revamping the technical architecture of broadcast TV to make local stations more competitive. “Television broadcasting is even more relevant today, especially when it comes to serving our local communities,” Smith said. “Tribune’s stations allow Sinclair to strengthen our commitment to serving local communities and to advance the Next Generation Broadcast Platform. This acquisition will be a turning point for Sinclair, allowing us to better serve our viewers and advertisers while creating value for our shareholders.”
Carolyn Y. Johnson reports that Free-standing ERs offer care without the wait. But patients can still pay $6,800 to treat a cut: “Across 32 states, more than 400 free-standing ERs provide quick and easy access to care. But they also are prompting complaints from a growing number of people who feel burned by hospital-size bills, like $6,856 for a cut that didn’t require a stitch or $4,025 for an antibiotic for a sinus infection. Emergency care requires costly imaging and laboratory equipment and facilities that are open 24 hours a day and staffed round the clock by a physician — and the costs reflect that. Prices for an average free-standing ER visit have grown and are now similar to hospital ERs, but patients with the same diagnosis rack up bills 10 times higher than at an urgent care, according to an analysis of one insurer’s Texas data by Rice University economist Vivian Ho. She found use of the facilities in Texas more than tripled between 2012 and 2015.”
Matt Apuzzo and Emmarie Huetteman report that today a Hearing May Shed Light on What White House Knew About Flynn: “WASHINGTON — Sally Q. Yates, the former acting attorney general, is scheduled to testify at 2:30 p.m. Monday before a Senate subcommittee. Here’s what to watch for:
Her testimony could raise new questions about how President Trump responded to concerns that his first national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, had lied.
Mr. Trump pre-empted the hearing with Twitter posts suggesting that Ms. Yates leaked information to reporters and that the Obama administration was to blame for the troubles surrounding Mr. Flynn.
Ms. Yates can tell a dramatic story — a rarity in congressional hearings — of a brewing crisis in the early days of the Trump administration.
Democrats who hope Ms. Yates will reveal new information about the investigation into Mr. Trump’s campaign and Russia are likely to be disappointed.
James R. Clapper Jr., the former director of national intelligence, is also testifying and is likely to be asked whether he stands by his prior statements on wiretapping.”
Krishnadev Calamur explains What Macron’s Victory in France Means for the European Union: “Three elections across Europe in the past week have given the European Union reasons for joy, optimism, schadenfreude—and also plenty of cause for worry. The joy came from Emmanuel Macron’s victory in Sunday’s second round presidential election in France. Although the independent centrist’s win was never really in doubt, the margin of victory—65 percent versus 35 percent for Marine Le Pen, the candidate of the far right—will buoy an EU that has been buffeted by waves of populism since the 2008 economic crisis, culminating last summer with Brexit, the U.K.’s stunning decision to leave the bloc. The EU establishment had all but publicly endorsed Macron over his rival, who had vowed a Brexit-style referendum should she win; nor did a hack late Friday of documents purportedly from Macron’s campaign—some genuine, others not—derail his campaign….”
Great Big Story looks at Spying on Wildlife With Animal Robots:
Spying on Wildlife With Animal Robots from Great Big Story on Vimeo.
How do you record the most intimate moments in the animal kingdom? If you’re a clever English bloke, you build lookalike “spy creatures.” Filmmaker John Downer has spent much of his life capturing footage of wildlife, but it wasn’t until he and his team created robotic animals with built-in spy cameras that he was able to record rare footage of animal behavior in the wild, essentially from the perspective of the animal. Step inside his workshop to see how his mechanical menagerie spies on nature’s actors.