Photograph by JMPhoto64 via iStock.
Gazillions of insects that have been underground since Britney married K-Fed will tunnel through the earth this spring. When they emerge, they’ll ruin young trees, delight food-motivated dogs, and just generally gross out a high percentage of the population. Yes, the cicadas of Brood X (pronounced “ten,” like they’re a freaking iPhone or something) are due back in the DC area (and most of the East Coast) this spring, possibly around late April or mid-May. Here’s what you need to know about the next plague:
What the hell are these things?
Brood X are 17-year cicadas of the genus
A scene from the briefing room last October, via the White House s YouTube page.
The Biden administration will mandate universal Covid testing for journalists at the White House complex, which means the maximum number of press on White House grounds will be 80, with up to 40 indoors. That’s according to a memo the White House Correspondents’ Association sent members Tuesday afternoon.
Journalists will have to take an Abbott rapid test at the White House Conference Center before entering each morning and will have to wear a wristband once they’re through. They’ll have to wear new surgical masks (neck gaiters, bandannas, and masks with valves are not permitted, according to a memo from the incoming White House press team that accompanied the WHCA email) and maintain at least a six-foot distance from others. First violation? A warning. Second violation? You lose your “hard pass” for a week.
Photograph by JL Images/iStock.
Rachael Bade, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri, and Eugene Daniels will be the new authors of Politico’s Playbook newsletter, the Rosslyn-based news organization announced Friday. The new team will be supported by Eli Okun and Garrett Ross, who’ve written the afternoon edition of Playbook for some time now, as well as producer Alice Bice. Mike Zapler will edit.
Lizza and Daniels are already Politico staffers. Bade will rejoin Politico from the
Washington Post, and Palmeri rejoins from ABC News. They’ll replace Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer, who left Politico to start their own newsletter business, Punchbowl News.