Japanese hot springs are encouraging people to slip in a bath and take a trip to an onsen via VR. Dont drop the remote.
Japanese hot springs are encouraging people to slip in a bath and take a trip to an onsen via VR. Don't drop the remote. COURTESY ONSEN VR

The White House plans on replacing the coronavirus task force in the next few weeks: It will replace it with "something in a different form." Seems like a bad idea.

Rick Bright officially filed his whistleblower complaint today: Bright is asking to be reinstated as the director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority and for a full investigation. From AP:

[Bright] alleges he was reassigned to a lesser role because he resisted political pressure to allow widespread use of hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug favored by Trump. He said the Trump administration wanted to “flood” hot spots in New York and New Jersey with the drug.

I missed this headline but I think it's important: Man arrested trying to quarantine on private Disney island

These shots are cool and spooky.

Trash transfer stations are closed due to COVID-19: In Eastern Washington, people are just dumping trash on the side of roads. Officials want people to fucking stop it.

Wholesale beef and pork prices are surging: The reason? "More than half of workers at some American meat plants tested positive for coronavirus." We can't quickly fix America's broken meat production system, no matter how much Trump wants to.

It's unlikely that this plan will be needed, but the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has unveiled a West Seattle Bridge emergency evacuation plan that includes a fall zone map. Read more about the plans on SDOT's blog here.

The chasm of difference between our leader and other world leaders is exhausting: France's President Emmanuel Macron is making masks hip. Germany's leader Angela Merkel is a goddamn scientist. In Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is saying things like: "This is going to be a long battle," and "We need to build a new normal as soon as possible," and the country needs to adapt to a "new lifestyle." Meanwhile, here's Trump's leadership this afternoon:

Trump is having his first big outing outside of the White House since March: He's chosen to go to Arizona.

The president made a well-publicized tour of the Honeywell International mask production assembly line: He also gave a speech, which you can watch below.

We need a palate cleanser: Here's something cute.


Washington's most recent update from its Department of Health lists 862 deaths and 15,594 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Washington state. That's an increase of 21 deaths and 132 cases from the day before.

This sounds like hell to me: Tinder will launch in-app video chats later this year. Do you think people will use this feature to actually date or is it going to become a jerk-off cam?

It's not just drag and music going digital: Japanese hot springs are also inviting their old crowd to join them via livestreams. Some hot spring owners are encouraging people to put on VR headsets, take a bath, and watch these videos of bathers in hot springs. How reckless, soothing, and weird. (When watching these videos on a computer, don't forget to toggle around using the control in the upper-left corner.)