The Great Wave off Kanagawa (c. 1829–32)
Welcome to
Overnight News Digest, where the usual crew, consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors maggiejean, wader, Man Oh Man, side pocket, rfall, and JML9999, alumni editors palantir, Bentliberal, Oke, Interceptor7, jlms qkw, and ScottyUrb, guest editors annetteboardman and Doctor RJ, and current editor-in-chief Neon Vincent, along with anyone else who reads and comments, informs and entertains you with tonight's news.
OND is a regular community feature on Daily Kos, consisting of news stories from around the world, sometimes coupled with a daily theme, original research or commentary. Editors of OND impart their own presentation styles and content choices, typically publishing each day near 12:00AM Eastern Time.
Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.
From CNN: Russian plane crash: U.S. intel suggests ISIS bomb brought down jet
Days after authorities dismissed claims that ISIS brought down a Russian passenger jet, a U.S. intelligence analysis now suggests that the terror group or its affiliates planted a bomb on the plane.
British Foreign Minister Philip Hammond said his government believes there is a "significant possibility" that an explosive device caused the crash. And a Middle East source briefed on intelligence matters also said it appears likely someone placed a bomb aboard the aircraft.
Metrojet Flight 9268 crashed Saturday in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula after breaking apart in midair, killing all 224 people on board. It was en route to St. Petersburg from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
The latest U.S. intelligence suggests that the plane crash was most likely caused by a bomb on the plane planted by ISIS or an affiliate, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter.
"There is a definite feeling it was an explosive device planted in luggage or somewhere on the plane," the official said, stressing that no formal conclusion had been reached by the U.S. intelligence community.
From the
New York Times:
Mexico’s Supreme Court Opens Door to Legalizing Marijuana Use
The Mexican Supreme Court opened the door to legalizing marijuana on Wednesday, delivering a pointed challenge to the nation’s strict substance abuse laws and adding its weight to the growing debate in Latin America over the costs and consequences of the war against drugs.
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The vote by the court’s criminal chamber declared that individuals should have the right to grow and distribute marijuana for their personal use. The ruling is a first step — applying only to a single cannabis club that brought the suit — and does not strike down Mexico’s current drug laws. But it lays the groundwork for a wave of legal actions that could ultimately legalize marijuana.
The decision reflects a changing dynamic in Mexico, where for decades the American-backed war on drugs has produced much upheaval but few lasting victories. Today, the flow of drugs to the United States continues, along with the political corruption it fuels in Mexico. The country, dispirited by the ceaseless fight with traffickers, remains engulfed in violence.
“It’s the drama behind all of our efforts,” said Juan Francisco Torres Landa, a corporate lawyer who was one of the plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case.
From
ABC News:
4 Stabbed, Attacker Killed at California College
A Northern California sheriff said Wednesday that a college student suspected of stabbing four people before he was shot and killed by police has been tentatively identified, but his name is not being released because authorities have not been able to reach his family.
The weapon used in the stabbings on the University of California, Merced campus was a hunting knife between 8 and 10 inches long, Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said during a news conference.
Two people were injured inside a classroom, and the assailant attacked and hurt two others after fleeing the room, Campus Police Chief Albert Vasquez said.
Two campus police officers saw the suspect outside and shot him as he turned toward them, Vasquez said. The student was a California resident living in an on-campus dorm, the police chief said.
From
CBS News:
How investigators unraveled Illinois cop's suicide plot
When an Illinois police officer was shot to death in September, swarms of cops joined a dragnet to find the three men he said he was chasing.
The cop was hailed as a hero cut down in the line of duty -- until now. Investigators said Wednesday it was all a lie. The officer, an instructor who created fictional crime scenes, had done it one last time. After a two-month, $300,000 inquiry involving 150 investigators, it came down to this: Fox Lake Police Lt. Joe Gliniewicz was a crooked cop who killed himself but tried to make it look like a murder.
"Gliniewicz committed the ultimate betrayal to the citizens that he served and the entire law enforcement community,"George Filenko, who commands the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force, announced Wednesday. Investigators say for seven years, Gliniewicz stole tens of thousands of dollars from a youth program he oversaw. The Explorers Program for prospective policemen was turned into his personal piggy bank for first class travel, mortgage payments and subscriptions to pornographic websites.
"He behaved for years in a manner completely contrary to the image he portrayed," Filenko said.
From the
Washington Post:
Off-year elections reveal a 2016 map with sharper borders
Two weeks before Election Day, the TV screens of New Jersey’s 11th legislative district glowed with a new negative ad. Republicans Mary Pat Angelini and Caroline Casagrande were under attack.
“Voting records proved they routinely sabotaged women’s health services,” said a frustrated-sounding female narrator in the ad. “They blocked even the most sensible gun safety measures.”
It worked. Just two years after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) won a landslide in the state and district, suburban votes ousted the Republicans — and helped boost Democrats to their biggest legislative majority since Jimmy Carter was president.
“Chris Christie’s left a lot of Republican political body bags along the side of the road,” said Michael Muller, a strategist for state Democrats.
From
Reuters:
San Diego gunman in custody; diversions at nearby airport end
San Diego police on Wednesday took into custody a gunman who had fired at officers responding to a domestic violence incident after an extended standoff that prompted the nearby international airport to temporarily divert inbound flights.
San Diego International Airport lifted a hold it had put on all arriving flights during the incident at an apartment complex in the city's Bankers Hill neighborhood, east of its runways.
There were no immediate reports of any injuries.
Police SWAT team members had been in an hours-long standoff with the suspect, who they said fired a high-powered rifle at officers who then set up a perimeter around the apartment.
Police said they had been negotiating with the gunman, and reporters on the scene said teargas and flash bang grenades were also used before he was taken into custody.
From the
Los Angeles Times:
Climate change among new Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau's priorities
Justin Trudeau, who was sworn in as Canada’s 23rd prime minister Wednesday, faces immediate challenges on issues including climate change, taxes, refugees and the fight against Islamic State militants.
During the unusually long 11-week election campaign that propelled the Liberal Party he leads to a majority government, Trudeau promised to bring 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada by year’s end and establish “a pan-Canadian strategy” to tackle climate change within 90 days of the United Nations’ Conference of the Parties that begins in Paris this month.
Trudeau’s two-month goal to help ease the refugee crisis is significantly greater than the 2,000 Syrians his prime ministerial predecessor, Conservative Stephen Harper, planned to bring to Canada by the end of the year. But the Liberal target may be unrealistic, according to refugee resettlement groups that believe Trudeau might have to extend his timeline into next year.
In terms of climate change, Trudeau has invited federal opposition leaders and provincial premiers to join him at the Paris climate talks. Among his 30-member Cabinet is first-time Member of Parliament, Catherine McKenna, who will head the recently renamed Environment and Climate Change Department. That fresh approach could soften international criticism leveled against Canada in light of Harper’s decision to withdraw the country from the Kyoto climate-change accord almost four years ago.
From the
Associated Press:
Romanian government collapses after protests over deadly nightclub fire, corruption scandal
Romania's government collapsed Wednesday after thousands of people took to the streets to protest a deadly fire at a heavy metal concert, the final straw after a five-month corruption investigation that has shaken the nation.
Prime Minister Victor Ponta said he and his government would resign "to take note of the legitimate grievances which exist in society," adding: "I hope handing in my and my government's mandate will satisfy the demands of protesters." But thousands of people turned out for new protests Wednesday evening demanding early elections and more accountability in government.
Even before last weekend's fire, the deadliest in Romania's history, Ponta faced widespread calls to resign as he was tried on charges including tax evasion, money laundering, conflict of interest and making false statements. The charges relate to activities in 2007 and 2008, when he was a lawmaker and a lawyer. Ponta denies wrongdoing.
Then came the fire Friday night at the basement Colectiv nightclub, which sent panicked people stampeding for the single exit. The death toll stands at 32, with about 130 more hospitalized, dozens of them in serious or critical condition. The club's three owners have been detained on manslaughter charges for allegedly failing to comply with fire regulations. Many Romanians also suspect authorities of taking bribes to overlook the violations.
After three days of mourning, some 20,000 people took to the streets Tuesday night in a spontaneous protest, shouting "Assassins!" and waving Romanian flags.
From
USA Today:
5 reasons the China-Taiwan meeting this weekend is important
The first-ever meeting Saturday between the presidents of China and Taiwan in Singapore is being billed as the start of a new era of cooperation and trust, but it also could lead to problems. Here is why the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou is key: It will be the first meeting between Taiwan and China in 66 years.
The year was 1949. Taiwan broke away from China when Nationalists fled to the island after being defeated by the Communists, who still rule the mainland today. Top leaders from the two sides have never met.
Although Taiwan has been self-ruled for decades, it has stopped short of claiming formal independence. Beijing maintains that Taiwan is a rebel province that will eventually be fully returned to the mainland, even if force is required.
From
The Atlantic:
Money-Rich and Time-Poor: Life in Two-Income Households
The first thing to note about families with two parents working full-time is that having two incomes is pretty sweet, financially speaking.
These families take in an average of $102,400 annually, according to a Pew survey of two-parent households released today. Families in which dad works and mom stays home make about half that—$55,000.
But of course that extra 50 grand doesn’t come free. These women are selling their time, and they don’t have much of it left. According to Pew, both moms and dads in two-earner households report feeling pressed for time. Forty percent of moms working full-time “say they always feel rushed.” Half of dads who work full-time say they don’t get enough time with their kids. (The Pew study included same-sex couples, but there weren’t enough to break out separate data for.)
This is a group of people who have been working longer and longer hours over the last few decades. According to Claire Cain Miller of The New York Times, today workers in the 6oth to 95th percentiles of earners work the most hours of any group—2,015 hours in 2013, up 5 percent since 1979.
From
Vox:
A man tried to steal Serena Williams’s phone. It did not end well for him.
We're used to seeing Serena Williams perform superhuman feats on a tennis court. Watching her at her best is like watching a freight train take human form, an unstoppable force that swats away pretenders in less time than it takes most people to get ready for work in the morning.
On Tuesday, people got to see what happens when Serena Williams is pushed to be her superhero self in real life. According to Williams, someone tried to steal her cellphone and run away with it. It's unclear why an ordinary civilian would try to take something from a 21-time Grand Slam champion and think he could outrun her, but Williams recounted the experience on Facebook:
Not thinking I reacted (hence the superwoman photo) I jumped up, weaved my way in and out of the cozy restaurant (leaping over a chair or two) and chased him down.
He began to run but I was too fast. (Those sprints came in handy) I was upon him in a flash!
In the most menacing yet calm no nonsense voice I could muster I kindly asked him if he "accidentally" took the wrong phone. He stumbled on his words probably not expecting this to happen.
From
ESPN:
NCAA: UConn has lowest grad rate among Top 25 teams
The NCAA is reporting that UConn's men's basketball team has a graduation rate of just 20 percent, by far the lowest among the teams in the preseason Top 25.
The numbers count the players who came into the program between 2005 and 2008 and graduated within six years.
t's actually an improvement for UConn, which reported a 17 percent graduation rate last year and an 8 percent graduation rate just two seasons ago.
The national average for all sports is a graduation rate of 86 percent. In men's basketball, it's 77 percent.
The UConn women's basketball team had a 100 percent graduation rate, according to the NCAA.
From the
Washington Post:
Jeb Bush’s comeback tour sounds like a therapy session
Jeb Bush sat relaxed on a plush couch aboard his luxury “Jeb Can Fix It” bus as it rode here on Tuesday night, musing with reporters about his shortcomings.
“I’ve learned to accept the simple fact that I’m imperfect under God’s watchful eye,” the Republican presidential candidate said. “I don’t have a self-esteem problem and I don’t have an overstated-worth problem. . . The adversity I turn into opportunity. It’s an obstacle to jump over. It’s an opportunity to get better.”
The next morning in Manchester, after a young child asked what it was like to grow up the son of a president, Bush told a room full of kids that his father’s approval weighed on him. “All he had to do was say, ‘I’m disappointed in you,’ and it would send me in a deep, spiraling depression,” he said.
Bush is suddenly campaigning like he’s in a therapy session, wounded and wrestling with his identity both as a political performer and as heir to the Bush family dynasty. On a comeback tour here this week to rehabilitate his sputtering candidacy, Bush wore his emotions on his sleeve and volunteered introspective interpretations of why he wasn’t winning.
From the
Kansas City Star:
Kraft Heinz to close 7 plants in US, Canada, cut 2,600 jobs
Kraft Heinz will close seven plants in the U.S. and Canada as part of a downsizing that will eliminate 2,600 jobs, or roughly 14 percent of its North American factory workforce, the newly merged food company announced Wednesday.
The company said the closures, which will take place over the next two years, are part of a plan to save $1.5 billion in operating costs by the end of 2017. The plants slated for closure are in California, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Ontario.
Among the hardest hit cities will be Madison, Wisconsin, where a nearly century-old Oscar Mayer plant that employs 700 production workers will close. Kraft Heinz said it would also move about 250 corporate jobs from Madison to Chicago, the company's co-headquarters along with Pittsburgh.
One of the plant's workers, 46-year-old Rick Schroeder, said he was stunned to hear about the closing through news reports rather than from the company. He said his father also worked at the plant for 35 years and operated a pig farm, and remembers going with his father to deliver pigs to the plant.
"They always say when one door closes, another opens," said Schroeder, a janitor at the plant. "Gotta have faith. Move on, that's all you can do. Sad day in Madison."
From
Slate:
Harvard Professor Explains Why It’s Totally OK For Law Schools to Suck Money Out of Unqualified Students
The debate over law schools can sometimes feel a bit rote. Critics say they scam students by promising high-paying careers that never materialize. Defenders say that, actually, J.D.'s do quite a bit better for themselves on the job market than many of the most harrowing stories would suggest.
So give Noah Feldman some points for creativity. In a recent Bloomberg View column, the Harvard Law professor mounted one of the most straightforward and eloquent defenses of ripping off students I have ever encountered.
To be fair, Feldman probably wouldn't describe his argument quite in those terms. At the moment, there is mounting evidence that law schools, desperate to put warm bodies in their classrooms, have started admitting a great number of students whose low LSAT scores suggest they will have trouble passing a state bar exam. This is problematic, because without passing a state bar exam, you can't practice law in most of the country. And so some have suggested that maybe, just maybe, admissions officers ought to tighten their standards somewhat at the cost of revenue, rather than let in anybody willing to take on the debt necessary to cut a tuition check.
From
Reuters:
Fed's Yellen sees possible December rate rise, gradual hiking path
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Wednesday pointed to a possible December interest rate "liftoff" but said rates would rise only slowly from then on to nurture the U.S. economic recovery.
In her first public comments since the Fed's meeting last week Yellen laid out what now appears the base case at the U.S. central bank - that low unemployment, continued growth and faith in a coming return of inflation means the country is ready for higher interest rates.
Her remarks pushed bond yields higher and stocks lower. They also caused investors to reset their expectations of a December rate hike above 60 percent, a sign that markets are finally taking the Fed's language seriously after a period in which U.S. central bankers were frustrated by the gap between their own outlook and market bets about their likely course of action.
"What the committee has been expecting is that the economy will continue to grow at a pace that is sufficient to generate further improvements in the labor market and to return inflation to our 2 percent target over the medium term," Yellen said at a House Financial Services Committee hearing.
From
Techcrunch:
Facebook Hits 8 Billion Daily Video Views, Doubling From 4 Billion In April
Facebook video viewership is growing by leaps and bounds. It now sees 8 billion average daily video views from 500 million users. That’s up from just 4 billion video views per day in April. Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement on the call to investors following Facebook’s blockbuster Q3 2015 earnings report.
Some might contend that this stat isn’t totally accurate since Facebook counts just 3 seconds of watching as a “view”. But the 100% growth in seven months shows that even when controlling for this limitation of the metric, users are still voraciously consuming videos.
Even at just 3 seconds per view, Facebook is generating 760 years of watch time each day. That means there’s a ton of space for Facebook to lure in TV commercial dollars that are shifting to digital. It also has an opportunity to grow viewership further with an ongoing test where it pays a revenue share to top video creators.
From
The Verge:
Microsoft opens up its Cortana for iPhone beta
Microsoft is getting ready to let iPhone users test a version of Cortana for iOS. The software maker has been steadily testing the app over the past six months internally, and it has now reached the stage where it's ready for outsiders to preview. "We want help from our Windows Insiders to make sure she's a great personal assistant on iOS too," explains Microsoft. "We're looking for a limited number of people to get their hands on an early version of the app."
Microsoft is accepting sign ups for the Cortana iOS beta, and it will be limited to those in the US and China initially. Not all of Cortana's features will be available on iOS, and "hey Cortana" is not supported just yet. Cortana for iOS looks just like the Windows 10 Mobile and Android equivalents, and works in a very similar way. It's not clear if Microsoft plans to link Cortana to its Outlook and OneNote iOS apps before the final release later this year, but the beta will support reminders, scheduling events, and sending emails. If you're interested in signing up for a preview of Cortana for iOS then Microsoft has a survey to complete before download links are made available in the coming weeks.
From
TIME:
Steve Jobs Considered Building an Apple Car, But Focused on the iPhone Instead
Apple is rumored to be working on its own electric car that could launch in 2019, but it turns out the company has been thinking about entering the automotive space for quite some time. Steve Jobs, the late cofounder and former CEO of Apple, had kicked around the idea of creating an Apple Car as far back as 2008, according to Bloomberg.
“We had a couple of walks,” Tony Fadell, creator of the Nest thermostat and former Apple executive who’s credited with helping invent the iPod, told Bloomberg. “If we were to build a car, what would we build? What would a dashboard be? And what would this be? What would seats be? How would you fuel it or power it?”
Ultimately Jobs decided not to move forward with those ideas. Fadell cited the state of the auto industry at the time and Apple’s decision to focus more on the iPhone as reasons for not pursuing car plans.
That wasn’t the only product Apple had considered that never moved forward. The company contemplated making cameras and TVs too, the report says, but none of those products ever made it past the concept stage.
From
E! Online:
It's Official! Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani Are Dating
It's official, y'all!
There has been numerous speculation surrounding Blake Shelton and his Voice co-host Gwen Stefani's possible romance, especially after E! News exclusively obtained photographs of the twosome canoodling at a Halloween party, but the rumors are no longer just rumors anymore.
Shelton's rep has confirmed to E! News that the pair are definitely dating. Yeah, you read that right. They're a couple! Let the hybrid name brainstorm begin! (We're leaning more toward Glake. Gwake? Blwen? Whatever feels right.)
Stefani flew to Nashville which instantly sparked questions as to whether or not the rocker is going to be attending tonight's CMA Awards alongside Shelton. E! News has heard that won't be the case, but given the happy announcement, who knows if they've decided to make a grand debut, after all?
From the
A.V. Club:
Katy Perry is officially the highest-paid woman in music for 2015
According to Forbes, Katy Perry has narrowly defeated number one seed Taylor Swift to become the highest-paid woman in music for 2015. This comes after Perry’s successful Prismatic World Tour, which reportedly pulled in “more than $2 million per city over the course of 126 shows,” so between that and her existing sponsorship deals, Perry made $135 million. In an interview with Forbes, Perry referred to herself as “an entrepreneur,” adding that she wants to “grab [entrepreneurship] by its balls.”
Swift came in second place, earning a pitiful $80 million. Like Perry, most of her money came from a big world tour, but her smash hit album 1989 is also still selling pretty well. If she wants to beat Perry next year, she’ll probably have to become more of an entrepreneur and start grabbing more things by their balls. The third-place spot goes to Fleetwood Mac, which is odd because Fleetwood Mac is a band, not a woman, and it’s a band with multiple members who are men. Still, the mere presence of Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie is apparently good enough for Forbes, which notes that the band made $59.5 million over the last year.
From
Variety:
Melissa Mathison, ‘E.T.’ Screenwriter and Ex-Wife of Harrison Ford, Dies at 65
Melissa Mathison, who was Oscar-nominated for original screenplay for Steven Spielberg’s “E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial” and also wrote “The Black Stallion,” died Wednesday in Los Angeles after an illness, her brother Dirk Mathison confirmed. She was 65.
She recently reunited with Spielberg to write the screenplay for Roald Dahl adaptation “The BFG,” which is in post-production. Mathison, who was married to Harrison Ford from 1983 to 2004, had two children with the actor, Malcolm and Georgia.
Mathison also served as associate producer on “E.T.,” which was produced by Kathleen Kennedy.
Spielberg, who worked closely with Mathison on the concept for the film partially inspired by his parents’ divorce, said in a statement Wednesday, “Melissa had a heart that shined with generosity and love and burned as bright as the heart she gave E.T.”
From
The Hollywood Reporter:
Studio Chiefs Unleashed: 6 Top Execs Spar Over Gender Pay, Sony Hack and 'Star Wars' Box Office
Thanks to the Sony hack, Patricia Arquette's rousing Oscar speech and Jennifer Lawrence's recent essay, "Why Do I Make Less Than My Male Co-Stars?," gender-pay issues are front and center in Hollywood. So the six film studio chiefs at The Hollywood Reporter's annual executive roundtable Oct. 20 tackled the topic head-on. "I probably could mentor more," admitted 20th Century Fox co-chairman Stacey Snider. Sony chairman Tom Rothman agreed: "More needs to be done. And there is a certain cynicism that needs to be overcome." Both Snider, 54, and Rothman, 60, are relatively new to their posts, the former shifting from DreamWorks Studios, and the latter having replaced Amy Pascal in February in the aftermath of the attack on Sony Pictures.
The hack and its impact was another hot topic. Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-chairman Rob Friedman, 65, revealed he moved fast to shore up his own studio's digital vulnerabilities. And everyone on the panel — including Universal Pictures chairman Donna Langley, 47, whose studio is in the middle of a record-smashing year with nearly $5.7 billion in global box office — sits in awe (and fear) at the impending arrival of Star Wars: The Force Awakens on Dec. 18. Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn, 72, tried to manage sky-high expectations for the Star Wars franchise, while Paramount vice chairman Rob Moore, 53, questioned whether the first film can reach the $300 million domestic opening that some have predicted. In a feast-or-famine era of the movie business, the panel was frank in addressing the risks of putting marquee properties in the hands of untested filmmakers, as Snider's Fox did with Josh Trank and this summer's flop Fantastic Four. But Snider said she can't manage successfully without taking risks. "The worst thing you can do is duck and cover," she said in what could be a mantra for all studio chiefs. "You have to dust yourself off and say, 'You know what? We're going to take some swings … and it's going to work more than it's not going to work.'"
From
/Film:
New ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Posters: Han, Leia and the Rest of the Crew Are Ready For Their Close-Ups, Mr. Abrams
Each of the posters follows a similar style: a close-up of the character’s face with their right eye obscured by something. In the case of Han Solo (Harrison Ford), it’s his trusty blaster. For Rey (Daisy Ridley), it’s her staff. Both Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and Finn (John Boyega) share their posters with their lightsabers (note how Kylo Ren’s homemade laser-sword differs from Finn’s). And finally, there’s Leia (Carrie Fisher), her face obscured by the lighting in what seems to be some kind of command room. Each character is presented with their weapon of choice – in Leia’s case, that weapon of choice is her leadership.
Let’s be honest with ourselves here: these posters aren’t the sexiest things to come out of the Star Wars marketing machine. Our own Peter Sciretta is definitely not a fan of them. I’m a little more neutral, myself. They’re okay. However, these posters don’t exist to be hung on walls and appreciated by devoted Star Wars fans. They exist to line the wall of a multiplex, drawing the eyes of normal people who aren’t slavishly counting down the days until The Force Awakens opens in theaters. Lucasfilm has already got you, dear /Film reader. Now they’re going after everyone else on the planet.
There are a few characters missing from this line-up, though. Where is Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), the Resistance X-Wing pilot? Or Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) and General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson), Kylo Ren’s Dark Side compatriots? We imagine this is only the first batch of posters and that more will be on the way soon. Do you really think they’ll skip the opportunity to give BB-8 a character poster to call its own?
From
Rolling Stone:
Adele: Inside Her Private Life and Triumphant Return
As Adele steers through a South London high street in her four-door Mini Cooper, with her toddler's vacant car seat in back and the remains of a kale, cucumber and almond-milk concoction in the cup holder, a question occurs to her. "What's been going on in the world of music?" she asks, in all sincerity. "I feel out of the loop!"
The only possible response is way too easy: Well, there's this one album the entire industry is waiting for...
"Oh, fuck off!" Adele says, giving me a gentle shove and letting loose the charmingly untamed laugh — an ascending cascade of forceful, cartoonish "ha's" — that inspired a YouTube supercut called "The Adele Cackle."