It’s Wednesday, but we’ll spare you the “hump day” jokes. Instead, here’s a quick and clever take on your morning news.
1. Come together
Hillary Clinton met with the mothers of Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown and other victims of gun violence. Together, they discussed racial inequality, criminal justice reform and gun control. Clinton also debuted the first pro-gun control ad of her campaign. Samaria Rice, Tamir’s mom, said she feels Clinton really understands where she’s coming from and had only positive things to say about the meeting. Clinton has been vocal not only about her desire for gun reform, but also in support of Black Lives Matter and addressing systemic inequality. Her top spot in the polls proves her efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. — Huffington Post
2. Oh no
Yesterday’s elections had a few important outcomes, but among the more disturbing is Houston, Texas, voters coming out against an equal rights ordinance that would offer protection to the LGBT community. The proposition would have banned discrimination on the basis of gender or sexual orientation, but 61 percent of Houston residents voted against it. The most controversial part of the proposition — and likely the reason it did not pass — was protection for transgender people that would allow them to use the appropriate bathroom, locker room, etc. for how they identify. The vote is a huge step backwards for equal rights and a sad victory for ignorance, fear and discrimination. — Advocate
More:10 LGBT organizations that have made a difference
3. Dislike
Twitter made a major change yesterday and users are not happy about it. The social media platform has done away with its system for “favoriting” tweets by clicking the star icon and will now use hearts and likes, just like Instagram. Since Twitter began, the idea of “starring” tweets has taken on a life of its own. Changing the stars to hearts is a fundamental change in the language of Twitter and, well, people don’t heart it. — Vanity Fair
4. Triumphant return
If you’ve been having Jon Stewart withdrawals, you’re in luck. The comedian and TV personality just inked a four-year deal with HBO to produce “timely short-form digital content.” The content will appear on HBO NOW, the network’s new streaming service. Stewart has been busy opening an animal sanctuary with his wife since he left his gig at TheDaily Show. We’re really happy the little piggies and the cows got all that quality time with Jon, but we’d like him back now. Thanks for delivering, HBO. — Refinery29
More:11 Best Jon Stewart quotes about feminism
5. Amazon in the real world
Yesterday Amazon opened its first physical book store in Seattle, where the company is headquartered. Amazon has put plenty of other bookstores out of business, but now apparently it wants a piece of the action. The retailer plans to use the data it’s gathered on people’s shopping habits to figure out which titles to stock in-store. They also plan to stock books that may not be best sellers, but are highly rated online. For now, there are no plans to open a second store, though something tells me that will change. Amazon won’t settle for anything less than global domination. — The Seattle Times
6. The force is strong
A chronically ill Star Wars fan is becoming an internet celebrity for his campaign to screen the new Star Wars movie before he passes away. Daniel Fleetwood, 32, has a rare and aggressive form of cancer and was given two months to live in July. People have been tweeting #ForceForDaniel trying to get the attention of higher-ups who can make the screening happen. Yesterday they got a big boost when Mike Hamill and John Boyega, two stars from the movie, retweeted the hashtag. We and the force are with you, Daniel. — Click2Houston
7. Wow-a-saurus
An undergraduate at the University of Alberta is having the best semester ever: They discovered the fossilized remains of a dinosaur with intact feathers and skin tissue. The fossil is at least 75 million years old and is providing valuable insight into the plumage patterns of ancient dinosaurs. It also tightens the suspected link between modern day birds and their dino ancestors. Next time a pigeon poops on your car, show some respect. Its great-great-great-great-grandfather was probably a T-Rex. — iO9
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