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Worth a Click: 12 Stories You Should Read Today

By DNAinfo Staff | January 12, 2016 2:50pm 

David Bowie Cover Made in Space Strikes a Chord

Of all the David Bowie tributes since his death on Jan. 10, a music video created by former astronaut Chris Hadfield’s is perhaps one of the most poignant. While aboard the International Space Station, Hadfield recorded his cover of “Space Oddity.” On Monday, he posted his own “goodbye” on Facebook.

David Bowie has died. It leaves me and, I suspect, millions around the world, with an instant feeling of loss and...

Posted by Col. Chris Hadfield on Monday, January 11, 2016

Should You Be Forced To Pay a Union You Don’t Want to Join?

The Supreme Court is currently deliberating over a lawsuit that began in California, with teachers who objected to being forced to pay dues to a union they didn’t want to join. As NPR’s Nina Tottenberg explains, employees at any workplace that has union representation are obligated to pay union dues because they benefit from the union’s negotiations, since California law stipulates that any union contract must cover all employees. (That is not the case in “Right to Work states,” which make up exactly half of the 50 states. Here’s a map.)

The teachers opting out can pay slightly less by signing a one-page sheet saying they don’t want to fund the union’s lobbying or political efforts. According to both Politico and McClatchy, the Supreme Court seems likely to side with the anti-union plaintiffs, overturning a 1977 decision. [NPR, Politico, McClatchy and a hat tip to Carla Marinucci’s Politico California Playbook]

Upstate Town Keeps Outrageously Offensive Town Seal, Surprising No One

Whitesboro, New York, in Oneida County has a town seal that supposedly depicts a historic wrestling match between the town’s founder and an Oneida tribesman. In reality, it looks like a white guy choking out a Native American man. And on Monday night, residents of Whitesboro (yes, that’s their name and, no, this is not an episode of Parks and Recreation) voted 157-55 to keep it. Because America. [WAMC

My Last Day as a Surgeon

Dr. Paul Kalinithi was a 36-year-old neurosurgical resident and father, when he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. The New Yorker has a beautiful and poignant excerpt from his book, published posthumously, “When Breath Becomes Air,” about his last day as a surgeon. [New Yorker]

Bloomberg Mulling a 2016 Presidential Run?

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg commissioned a poll last month to test his chances for a 2016 independent presidential run, according to published reports. The poll sought to determine how he would fare in a three-way race against Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, but its findings have not been revealed. Bloomberg, a former Democrat, who became a Republican when he ran for mayor of New York in 2001, already flirted with the idea of an independent run for president in 2008. [CNN]

The White House Is Now on Snapchat — And Every Other Platform

DJ Khaled and the President have one new thing in common — they’re both on Snapchat now.

The White House officially launched a Snapchat account Monday, and planned to show a behind-the-scenes look at preparations for President Obama’s final State of the Union address on Jan. 12. The move is part of a larger strategy to “accommodate Americans’ ‘broad media diet’ and ‘meet people where they are,’” according to Wired. The White House and the President are already on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr, the magazine wrote, and the SOTU address will be streamed on Amazon Video, YouTube and the White House website. [Wired]

Jay-Z and Beyonce May Have a New Home in Brooklyn Heights

Rumors are swirling that music royalty Jay-Z and Beyonce have purchased a luxury condo in a controversial Brooklyn Bridge Park development. A spokeswoman for the residential complex told The Brooklyn Paper that “I wish that I could confirm that… but I cannot confirm that.” [Brooklyn Paper]

Monkey Doesn’t Own Copyright to His Selfies

Naruto, a crested macaque monkey in Indonesia who snapped a series of now-famous selfies on a camera left behind by a photographer in 2011, doesn’t own the copyright to the viral-friendly photographs, a judge ruled recently. The judge dismissed the case filed by PETA on the monkey’s behalf, which argued that any funds earned by the photographs should go to benefit Naruto and the rest of his endangered species. [CBS]

The Playboy Mansion is Up for Sale

Hugh Hefner’s famed Playboy Mansion has hit the market for $200 million, but the sale comes with an interesting caveat: Hef, 89, will still be allowed to live in the house until he dies. The mansion has a roughly 20,000-square-foot interior with 29 rooms, so it should be fairly easy to avoid Hefner even if you’re both living there at the same time, which is either good or bad, depending on how much you want to talk to the guy. [LA Times]

Your Nightmare Work Scenario? London Paper Tracks Journalist’s Movements with Motion Sensors

The Daily Telegraph, one of London’s biggest papers, installed motion sensors at journalist’s desks this Monday in an effort to track power usage. But after the immediate backlash from staff over what they called “Big Brother” monitoring, the paper said it would find alternate energy use tracking methods. [Quartz]

The Football Pregame Show They Don’t Want You to See

Football games play out based on any number of logical factors including players’ strengths and team cohesiveness, right? Wrong, according to the now-defunct Canadian pregame show Flag on the Play. It has a lot more to do with the Illuminati and wizards, according to the freak-a-leeks behind this weird sports television gem. Read up and learn, sheeple! [VICE]

Meet This Huggable Bull Terrier That Models in Abandoned Buildings Across Europe

Dutch photographer Alice Van Kempen who made a living capturing pups for magazines, has turned to her own pet project, where she explores abandoned military bases, hospitals and homes across Europe with her 3-year-old bull terrier and photographs her there, BuzzFeed reports. Van Kempen’s pup Claire is a natural model, she says. “She loves modeling and she’s brilliant too. She sometimes has to sit absolutely still for seconds at a time without blinking or making the slightest movement.” [BuzzFeed]

 

Sing us a song #bullterrier #bullterriers #clairethebullterrier #alicevankempen #furbex #urbex #urbexbullterrier

A photo posted by Alice van Kempen (@alicevankempen) on

This column was compiled by DNAinfo reporters Lisha Arino, Jeanmarie Evelly, Emily Frost, Gwynne Hogan, Noah Hurowitz, Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska, Irene Plagianos, Eddie Small, Rachel Holliday Smith, Danielle Tcholakian, Shaye Weaver and Nikhita Venugopal.