March 14: Bruce McBarnette ’80 Sets New High Jump Record

Novelist Jodi Picoult ’87 criticized Florida’s Martin County for pulling some of her books from school libraries, and said she’s “puzzled by the ban, because she does not ‘write adult romance,’ as objections filed against her books claimed.” — The Washington Post
 
Katherine Freese ’77 and Martin Wolfgang Winkler, physicists at the University of Texas at Austin, are suggesting “that dark matter could be formed in a second ‘Dark Big Bang’ that occurred within a month of the first Big Bang.” — Vice
 
Jenny Korn ’96 of the Race, Tech, and Media Working Group at Harvard discussed what the success of Everything Everywhere All at Once means for Asian representation in film. — WGBH
 
A year after winning Olympic gold in women’s hockey, Claire Thompson ’20 is in her first year at NYU’s medical school and heading to the 2023 women’s world championships with Team Canada next month. — The Athletic
 
Internist Lucy McBride ’95 wrote that we learned the wrong lessons from COVID, and instead of focusing on damage control, we should be increasing access to preventative, holistic care. — The Hill
 
Actress Ellie Kemper ’02 will star in and executive produce a new comedy titled Drop-Off, about a working mom. “This is a comedy for anybody who’s dropped their kids at school, breathed a sigh of relief … then realized it’s Sunday,” the official description says. — Variety
 
Former hedge fund manager David McCormick *94 *96, who ran unsuccessfully for a U.S. Senate seat in the fall, has a new book out today titled Superpower in Peril: A Battle Plan to Renew America. — The New York Post
 
Harvard professor Maria Tatar *71’s book Beauty and the Beast: Classic Tales About Animal Brides and Grooms From Around the World is among works that decode the messages our forebears tried to tell through fables. — The Atlantic

“You know, we human beings like to look up. The sky draws us, there’s no doubt about it, and the aviation and aerospace industry profit or benefit by the sheer romantic attraction to going up there and moving up there very, very fast. So these are ancient notions that are in our bloodstream and hearts and our brains.”

— William Deverell *89, professor of history and spatial sciences at the University of Southern California. — Spectrum News 1

 Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch ’80 said more aid is needed so Ukraine can gain the upper hand in future peace negotiations with Russia. — WXXI
 
Carrie Lukas ’95, president of the Independent Women’s Forum, criticized colleges that changed “women” to “womxn” in Womxn’s History Month to include people of more identities, saying “it is okay to care about biological women’s unique needs.” —Daily Caller News Foundation
 
Economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin *85, who served in the George W. Bush White House, criticized President Joe Biden’s proposed budget as a “nonstarter” for Congress that would raise taxes by $5 trillion over 10 years. — NPR’s Morning Edition
 
Bruce McBarnette ’80 set a new USA record in the high jump for men over 65 in January, jumping 5 feet 4.4 inches (1.64 meters). — McBarnette.com

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