(The Sun/Tomorrow’s Papers Today)
Today’s freakout news seems to be that either eating tasty things, or at the very least reading about them, causes cancer. Twitter reacted as you might expect.
https://twitter.com/anthonypainter/status/658913141443710976
https://twitter.com/TheFix/status/658622561715122176
https://twitter.com/TheDiLLon1/status/658622398967738368
https://twitter.com/theyearofelan/status/658882838037704704
https://twitter.com/LosFelizDaycare/status/658888148584263680
and, of course..
***
WORLD
More fallout – constitutional and otherwise – is expected today from the Lords’ reversal last night of the government’s plans to reform tax credits.
In Afghanistan, the death toll is rising from a 7.5 magnitude earthquake.
Authorities are investigating why a whale-watching boat capsized off the coast of British Columbia, killing five passengers. One person is still missing.
In the US, the debt ceiling apparently isn’t the contentious issue it was last time a government shutdown loomed.
In presidential politics, here’s “How Trump upended the story line” – Anand Giridharadas writes at the New York Times:
In the face of Republican near-consensus on the free market, Mr. Trump says, in his own way, that government can play a unique role in writing the rules of the marketplace and restraining the market when it fails people.
Such ideas have grown unfashionable in our market-venerating era. A cool new utilitarianism has gained currency: If a million people lose $50,000-a-year jobs through trade, but 100 million save $501 a year by buying cheaper Chinese stuff — the surplus of which they spend on other things, in that way generating more jobs — the market consensus tells us we are better off.
But pain is not transferable. One hundred savers at Walmart and one laid-off worker may cancel themselves out on a balance sheet, but in politics they are additive. Mr. Trump has, in his own way, understood that. Win or lose, that understanding could endure.
And in today’s ‘you couldn’t make it up’ news…
***
BUSINESS
with Shell still to come.
UK GDP figures show slow growth…
https://twitter.com/Birdyword/status/658939899299676160
A 15-year old boy was questioned – and subsequently bailed – in Northern Ireland in connection with the Talk Talk security breach. Meanwhile, the network said customers would have to prove that losses were directly related to the breach if they wanted to terminate their contract without a fee.
***
MEDIA
***
CULTURE
Ricky Gervais will host January’s Golden Globe awards.
***
SPORTS
The deadline passed for nominations to FIFA’s top job, with eight candidates set to compete to succeed Sepp Blatter. Former players Zico and Ramon Vega didn’t get the required nominations. Tokyo Sexwale says he did. FIFA will ratify the candidate list in 10 days.
In the NFL’s latest audience-building exercise…
The Overnight Note 