Notebook: Kansas Mauls Schedule Unveiling

The Rock Chalkboard

Kansas announces men’s basketball conference schedule - KU Sports
A new-look Kansas men’s basketball team expected — as usual — to rank among the best in the country will have the chance to prove its Big 12 Conference bona fides beginning in January. Its league schedule for the upcoming year was announced Tuesday morning.

KU women’s basketball conference schedule revealed - KU Sports
In between those dates, KU will play 16 additional matchups against members of the newly expanded Big 12. The schedule takes the Jayhawks to last year’s conference tournament winner Iowa State (Jan. 3) and Texas Tech (Jan. 6), back home for Baylor (Jan. 10) and Oklahoma State (Jan. 13) and then on the road again to regular-season champion Texas (Jan. 16) and rival Kansas State (Jan. 20).

Eraser Dust

40 of the worst albums released by great musicians
It happens, even to the best of them: Madonna, U2, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Queen. Despite all their good intentions, even great musicians can deliver a dud from time to time. Usually, major acts have the instinct and craft to polish an average song until it’s listenable, so mediocre albums are a dime a dozen. What’s unusual are the records where an artist finds all their old tricks failing them, whether it’s due to personal problems, a poor choice of collaborators, or a misguided concept. Misfires like that are so rare that they wind up being memorable and worth noting—perhaps even celebrating. The albums that follow may not be a comprehensive list of the worst records ever made. Rather, it’s a collection of 40 albums that made an indelible impression by barreling the wrong way down the highway.

Travis King: North Korea has decided to 'expel' US soldier, state media reports | CNN
North Korea has decided “to expel” US Army Private Travis King, who crossed into the North from South Korea during a tour of the joint security area in July, state media KCNA reported on Wednesday.

Donald Trump liable for business fraud, says judge in New York civil case - BBC News
The ruling, part of a civil case brought against the former president and his family business, said he defrauded banks and insurers for years.

Montana Supreme Court kills tax cap initiative
Modeled on California’s landmark Prop 13, the initiative would have capped property tax collections for specific properties at 1% of their assessed value. It would also have limited how fast those valuations can grow to 2% a year, except for properties that are sold or remodeled.

DiGiorno Pizza Finally Fixes Its Biggest Flaw
If there’s one gripe I’ve always had with DiGiorno brand frozen pizzas, it’s that the standard rising crust just isn’t it. This crust has always been thick, dense, and unyielding, and it always seems to tear up my mouth when I get to the end of a slice. Apparently DiGiorno has heard my mental monologue of anguish, because it just released a new lineup of frozen pizzas that overhaul the brand’s biggest flaw.

Bending to far right, Kevin McCarthy pushes stark cuts to safety net - The Washington Post
The House speaker embraced major spending reductions to win conservative support for a government funding bill.

What Is the Age Difference Between Anakin and Padme?
Padmé's age wasn't necessarily immediately obvious in The Phantom Menace. Aside from the fact she spent most of the film changing between her various royal outfits as Queen of Naboo and the peasant disguise she adopted when accompanying Qui-Gon Jinn on his mission, her role in galactic politics as a reigning queen often forced her to display wisdom and maturity beyond her years. In actuality, Padmé was just 14 years old in The Phantom Menace. When she ventured to Tatooine and met an enslaved young boy named Anakin Skywalker -- who took an immediate shine to her -- Anakin was just nine years old.

The Coming Attack on No-Fault Divorce Laws - The Atlantic
For the past half century, many women in America have enjoyed an unprecedented degree of freedom and legal protection, not because of Roe v. Wade or antidiscrimination laws but because of something much less celebrated: “no fault” divorce. Beginning in the early 1970s, no-fault divorce enabled millions of people, most of them women, to file for divorce over “irreconcilable differences” or the equivalent without having to prove misconduct by a spouse—such as adultery, domestic violence, bigamy, cruelty, abandonment, or impotence.

HBO's 'Savior Complex' focuses on missionary Renee Bach. Here's NPR's account : Goats and Soda : NPR
In 2019, NPR published a story about Renee Bach, an American missionary who opened a clinic in Uganda to treat malnourished children.