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Amur Leopard Cubs have names!! Ulybka (L) and Zorinka (R). Taken 6.1.23

The female cub with the darker fur and smiley face marking on her forehead is Ulybka, pronounced (Oooh - lyb - kah), which means “smile” in Russian. The other female cub with the lighter fur and blurred markings is Zorinka which means “little star” in Russian. - @sandiegozoo (I hate the fence in the background of this photo, but it was the clearest shot I've had of their two faces together in awhile)

I have too many drafts started at the moment, but I kinda feel this impulse to write and then get too lost in the weeds so I just kinda stop. So for now I'll just say that I'm glad to be home and all my relatives have all gone home, too, and I can get back to some semblance of normal, albeit without my dad. We returned from New Mexico on Monday morning but my sleep is still all messed up and I gave myself road trip trauma, I guess, because all my dreams lately are me endlessly driving in the night. I couldn't be happier that San Diego Zoo hours are in effect and the park is open until 9pm, though I actually felt bad leaving today because it was so empty and they were still a half hour away from doing the Jambo Dunia performance. It definitely won't be like that as we get into summer, so I didn't mind having the Amur leopard cubs mostly to myself for the greater part of an hour. 

Anyhow, per usual, I clip newsy things and haven't posted in awhile, so these are the things that caught my attention (besides, of course, the first two parts of the Vanderpump Rules Reunion and the many YouTubers who talk about it.) 

Stay safe out there.  

• COVID-19:
• The Explosive Legacy of the Pandemic Hand Sanitizer Boom. Three years ago, the FDA declared a manufacturing free-for-all. Now a noxious brew of leftover product is catching fire and making people sick. - Wired (6.1.23)
• FDA Approves First Oral Antiviral for Treatment of COVID-19 in Adults - FDA (5.25.23)
• COVID-19 vaccines may undergo major overhaul this fall. As Omicron persists, consensus grows for abandoning the ancestral coronavirus strain to improve immune responses - Science (5.23.23)
• Viral headline twists study about ventilators and COVID-19 deaths - AP News (5.19.23) 
• Politics:
• Don't Look Now, But...(Biden is having a pretty effective presidency) - Steady Substack (5.31.23)
• It’s greedflation, stupid. And here’s how to stop it. - Robert Reich (6.1.23)
• Senate sends debt ceiling legislation to President Biden's desk with days to spare. With just days to spare before the deadline for the nation to face financial default, the Senate approved compromise, bipartisan legislation to lift the debt ceiling. -npr/KPBS (6.1.23)
• News:
• Corporate landlord’s California buying spree alarms tenants: ‘I only earn enough to pay the rent’ - CalMatters/kpbs (5.24.23)
• County Removes Barriers to Housing Production - County News Center (5.24.23)
• 2 more Oath Keepers are sentenced to prison terms for the Jan. 6 Capitol attack - kpbe (5.27.34)
• As bus driver strike enters 3rd week, riders ask why MTS privatized their public transit - kpbs (5.31.23)
• Other Reading:
• San Diego is the No. 9 Best Biking City in the U.S. - Lawnstarter (5.31.23)
• San Diego Is 2023’s 6th Best City to Raise a Family - Wallethub (5.30.23)
• San Diego Is 2023’s 8th Best City for Staycations  - Wallethub (5.31.23)
• SPLC: 2022 Impact Report
• The Looming El Niño Could Cost the World Trillions of Dollars. Warming waters in the Pacific can trigger droughts, wildfires, and extreme rainfall around the world, potentially leading to $3 trillion in losses in the coming years. - Wired (5.18.23)