NOAA hurricane hunters flying aboard a P-3 Orion aircraft ("Kermit") are monitoring Hurricane Melissa as most aircraft steer clear. The storm poses a catastrophic threat to Jamaica and Haiti.
The crew are among the many federal workers working without pay during the US government shutdown.
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Apple settles with Brazil's regulator to allow alternative app stores; report: Apple will charge a 5% fee for alt app stores and 15% on App Store linkouts (Hartley Charlton/MacRumors)
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/12/24/new-app-store-fee-structure-in-brazil/<…
Cowboys Star CeeDee Lamb Makes Feelings Clear on Dropped Passes https://heavy.com/sports/nfl/dallas-cowboys/ceedee-lamb-feelings-clear-dropoped-passes/?adt_ei=[email]
Historic #LickObservatory closes to public following significant wind damage: https://news.ucsc.edu/2025/12/historic-lick-observatory-closes-to-public-following-significant-wind-damage/ - early on Thursday, Dec. 25, severe winds gusting up to 183 km/h tore loose half of the shutter on the 140-year old 36-inch Great Refractor dome; no one was injured.
Kelce emotional after season finale at Arrowhead https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47415957/emotional-travis-kelce-praises-chiefs-possible-arrowhead-last-game
Just finished round 1 of #Thanksgiving cooking.
I have extremely mixed feelings these days about a holiday founded on genocide (seriously, official Thanksgiving #1 was "hooray we killed these natives, let's celebrate" which is deeply ironic/horrific given that the whitewashed origin story also did happen years earlier). But I'm a big fan of cooking and feasting, so that's what I focus on.
I'm vegetarian so no turkey.
I made "chiraji sushi" in my heavily bastardized personal style, as well as vegetarian stuffing. Both were pretty successful, although I truly regret forgetting to put nuts in the stuffing. I ended up using "smoky chipotle" flavor "better than bouillon" for the stuffing soup base, which pairs surprisingly well with the chopped persimmons. I tried doing microwave -> pan fry -> bake for the potatoes and carrots, and while they turned out good, they weren't as amazing as I'd hoped for.
The sushi (with stir-fried carrots, onions, mushrooms, and peas, plus fried tofu chunks and fresh cucumber and canned corn) turned out excellent.
Now I just need to decide what to have thirds of.
QB Smith apologizes for obscene gesture to fans https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47111694/raiders-geno-smith-apologizes-obscene-gesture-fans
Tracking every NFL trade before the deadline: McCreary to the Rams https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46306378/2025-nfl-trade-deadline-updates-latest-news-deals
Jerry skeptical Dallas is '1 player away on defense' https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/46740452/cowboys-jerry-jones-willing-deal-trade-deadline-not-convinced-one-move-help-defense