In Other News: August 22, 2013

A day after reports of a massive chemical weapons deployment in Syria, the UN demanded that its inspectors be allowed to investigate the site of the alleged attack. Syria hasn’t yet responded, and would seem to have little incentive to do so.

In New York, the city council upheld a law that weakens stop-and-frisk, overriding Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s earlier veto of the legislation. Cops will still be allowed to stop and frisk, but there will be more oversight and it’ll be easier for those who have been subject to frisks to sue the city afterwards.

The Nasdaq shut down caused a screeching halt for three hours just after lunch today; investors initially suspected something nefarious, but it was apparently just a technical glitch.

A British court ruled that police may examine material found on the laptop they seized from David Miranda last Sunday, but blocked the government from “using or sharing” the information. The Guardian wanted a blanket injunction issued against viewing the contents of the laptop; Miranda’s lawyer called the ruling a “partial victory.”

Republicans in congress learned that shutting down the government over Obamacare would be a very unpopular move, even with their own base.

Speaking of Obamacare, the law’s contraception mandate looks to be on its way to the Supreme Court.

GOP Senator Tom Coburn said that President Obama is getting “perilously close” to impeachment. It’s sad; these guys used to get dinner together!

Finally, and perhaps most disturbingly, the cookie world was shaken by a report today that “Double Stuf” Oreos may actually only have 1.86 times as much “stuff” as standard Oreos.