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Frosted Flakes: A New Pro Volleyball League, Title IX and an Endangered Whale

Let’s dive into some big news stories

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Join us tonight for another fun Corn Nation Zoom chat. I’ve decided to switch to Thursdays instead of Fridays so hopefully we can get more people in on the fun. The first one lasted over four hours and was filled with plenty of laughs and crazy stories. You don’t want to miss out. Tonight 9ET/8ET.

I was supposed to get a Mexican visa extension this week but the person who does at the immigration office was not working this week. Hopefully I can finally get this taken care of next week. The saga continues. I don’t think I will be able to leave Mexico until June at the earliest. Let’s dive right into Flakes with some big news that broke yesterday. There should be plenty to talk about in the comments.

Frosted Flakes

Lawsuit Claims UNL, Athletic Department Protect Huskers Accused of Sexual Assault | Sports | Lincoln Journal Star

“UNL has fostered a culture in which female victims are discouraged from reporting sexual assaults, sexual harassment, stalking, and other forms of general discrimination when those acts are perpetrated by male student-athletes in order to protect UNL, the male athletics program, male student-athletes, and the NCAA, at the expense of female victims,” the lawsuit states.

NCAA Sued By 7 Women for Failure to Protect in Alleged Sexual Assaults | Sports | ESPN

The lawsuit accuses the NCAA of negligence, fraud and breach of contract. It argues that the NCAA, as a regulatory body for college athletics, had a duty to the women “to supervise, regulate, monitor and provide reasonable and appropriate rules to minimize the risk of injury or danger to student-athletes and by student-athletes.”

NCAA Group Supports Player Endorsement Plan | Sports | ESPN

The NCAA’s top governing body said Wednesday that it supports a proposal to allow college athletes to sign endorsement contracts and receive payment for other work, provided that the schools they attend are not involved in any of the payments.

Mailbag: Any First-Rounders Coming Down the Pipeline? | Sports | Hail Varsity

Hail Varsity staff members Mike Babcock, Jacob Padilla, Greg Smith, Erin Sorensen and Brandon Vogel tackle your questions about the latest news in Husker Nation.

Not Knowing Why Hurt, Lamar Jackson’s Determined to “Make ‘Em Pay” | Football | Hail Varsity

On Day 2 of the NFL Draft, Lamar Jackson was getting texts from league coaches saying things like “Stay ready.” On Day 3, he was told multiple times “Today’s the day.” The former Nebraska cornerback watched the opening round of the draft with no assumption he’d hear his name—the first round is set in stone, he acknowledged.

Nebraska Recruiting: How Vedral’s Transfer Impacts Huskers | Football | Hail Varsity

Nebraska now loses the security blanket and buffer that Vedral would have provided. Redshirt freshman Luke McCaffrey is almost a lock to be the team’s top backup now. The loss of Vedral might also end any experimenting with McCaffrey’s position.

Former Husker Jordan Larson Signs With American Pro Volleyball League | Volleyball | Omaha World-Herald

Larson was one of the first three players to sign with Athletes Unlimited Volleyball, along with U.S. national teammates Foluke Akinradewo and Molly McCage. All three will be on the league’s player advisory board to help determine which athletes are invited to join and set the league’s rules and policies.

Travel

Will More People Fly Private After Coronavirus? | Travel | Conde Nast Traveler

Private jet traffic is drastically down this month compared with a year ago. Skylark agency says that the overall decline in the market has been between 75-90 percent—JetSuite, for example, grounded its entire fleet for the foreseeable future on April 15.

Airlines Are Trying to Cut Service to Small Airports During Coronavirus | Travel | Conde Nast Traveler

Route suspensions and flight cancellations are happening in droves at every U.S. airport—big and small. (The largest U.S. airlines have cut around 70 percent of their domestic flights.) But they have an outsized impact on smaller, regional airports “mainly because they have fewer flights in the first place, because they have fewer passengers,” says aviation consultant Mike Boyd.

How to Get a Flight Cancellation Refund From a Third-Party Travel Site | Travel | Conde Nast Traveler

If you booked reservations through a third-party site, the first thing you should do is check their homepage for travel warnings or advisories. At this point, the major OTAs have all posted their coronavirus policies and those of their travel partners that you can use as a guideline for their specific refund process.

Flights to Argentina Are Banned Until September | Travel | Conde Nast Traveler

This four-month ban on flights to Argentina is one of the harshest travel restrictions in the world right now. Neighboring countries, including Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador, have also banned commercial flights, though their restrictions coincide with lockdowns and bans on large gatherings that only last through the month.

The Teapot I Lovingly Brought Back From Mexico Is Helping Me Appreciate Alone Time | Travel | Conde Nast Traveler

Two weeks into lockdown, I realized my daily cup of tea deserved an upgrade, and I often needed a longer break away from my desk. The pot came down and hasn’t gone back to its shelf yet. I’ve come to realize that a pot of tea is less a beverage and more of a ritual; a time you can claim for yourself where, even for just the time it takes to sip through the whole thing, you can suspend everything else around you.

I’m a Cruise Ship Entertainer and I Have No Idea When I’ll Get Back to Sea After Coronavirus | Travel | Conde Nast Traveler

At no point did I feel unsafe on board. There were Purell dispensers everywhere, and the crew worked hard to keep everything spotless and sanitized. You couldn’t even get ketchup or a glass of water by yourself; crew members handled everything. Some guests told me they actually felt more safe onboard.

What Will It Take to Get Cruises Sailing Again? | Travel | Travel & Leisure

Major cruise companies have announced plans to return by May, but industry analysts are predicting it will be June — or later — before any ships are back in service.

United Airlines Partners With California Initiative to Reach Out to Senior Citizens in Quarantine | Travel | Travel & Leisure

In an effort to help homebound and isolated seniors, about 300 United Airlines employees from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Jose will be making weekly wellness calls to check on seniors. The calls are being done in partnership with Listos California, a campaign focused on disaster preparedness for vulnerable residents, and the California Department of Aging.

JetBlue to Require All Passengers to Wear Face Masks on Flights | Travel | Travel & Leisure

The policy — effective starting May 4 — mandates that customers wear masks or face coverings when checking in, boarding, and deplaning. They are additionally advised to wear them throughout the airport.

Alone in Angkor Wat: There is No Queue, There Are No People, | Travel | Lonely Planet

Angkor, capital of the mighty Khmer empire and one of the largest metropolises in the medieval world, was first abandoned in the 15th century. Today, it lies abandoned once more, this time by tourists and travelers, as the Coronavirus first grounded the travel industry and has since brought the global economy to a shuddering halt.

Chicago to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages | Travel | Lonely Planet

According to the ordinance, which was approved in a vote 46-4, the city will stop issuing new licenses to carriage operators on Jan 1, 2021, and no operators will be able to renew their current licenses.

Dutch Hyperloop Company Plans to Connect Amsterdam to Paris In Just 90 Minutes | Travel | Lonely Planet

Dutch company Hardt Hyperloop has announced the findings of a study that gives them hope that ultra-fast, low energy travel via high-tech, train-like systems could become a reality within the next eight years.

Record Number of Flamingos Paint Mumbai Pink During Lockdown | Travel | Lonely Planet

Since the 1980s, a large number of pink flamingos have migrated to Mumbai between the months of October and March for feeding. Visitors are made up of the greater flamingo and the near-threatened lesser flamingo . This year, however, the population seems to have increased.

Lithuania’s Capital is Re-opening With Huge Open-Air Cafes and Restaurants | Travel | Lonely Planet

The city will now give over much of Vilnius’s public space to outdoor seating so that bars and restaurants can trade again. This measure will allow physical distancing to take place, because tables must be placed at least two metres apart under the new rules.

Dubrovnik: The Medieval City Designed Around a Quarantine | Travel | BBC

Across the Adriatic Sea in Ragusa (present-day Dubrovnik, Croatia), however, the city’s Great Council passed a ground-breaking law in 1377 to prevent the spread of the pandemic requiring all incoming ships and trade caravans arriving from infected areas to submit to 30 days of isolation.

Stuff You Should Read

Wuhan Was a Fentanyl Capital. Then Coronavirus Hit. | World | Los Angeles Times

But the novel coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan late last year before spreading across the planet has disrupted the fentanyl supply chain, causing a ripple effect that has cut into the profits of Mexican traffickers and driven up street drug prices across the United States.

How the Pandemic Will Change the American Streets | Health | The Atlantic

The big will get bigger as mom-and-pops perish and shopping goes virtual. In the short term, our cities will become more boring. In the long term, they might just become interesting again.

We Just Became Doctors. Our First Assignment Was the Coronavirus. | Health | National Geographic

For the medical residents, the COVID-19 experience comes with mixed emotions. They’ve spent years training for the opportunity to turn calamities into victories.

Why Coronavirus Quarantine is Making Your Cat or Dog Act Weird | Animals | Vox

Pet owners are reporting that their furry companions are leaving old habits in the dust. Some pets are growing clingy. Others are pouncing on exercise equipment, gliding across countertops, or hiding in corners and shooting their owners concerned stares.

Searching for the World’s Most Endangered Whale | Animals | Outside Online

North Pacific right whales are members of the baleen whale family, a close relative to the slightly less rare — but much more studied — North Atlantic right and southern right whales, which have become a larger part of the conversation about marine-mammal conservation.

The Eruption of Instagram Island | Culture | GQ

New Zealand’s White Island is otherworldly, an 800-acre fantasyland that has beckoned Hollywood filmmakers and everyday selfie-seekers alike. It is also an active volcano, a roiling catastrophe waiting to happen. This is the story of the day when the worst-case scenario became real—and of the race to save those who faced the blast.

Belgians Urged to Eat Fries Twice a Week During Lockdown | Food | CNBC

The issue was largely down to a fall in demand in the frozen potato sector, which accounts for around 75% of Belgium’s potato processing, he said. As inventories built up, freezer capacity was being squeezed.

The Funky Science of Yeast, The Gassy Microbe Behind Your Pandemic Bread | History | National Geographic

The run on home bakers’ yeast—not the hefty bulk packages commercial bakeries need, but those jars and quarter-ounce envelopes you used to find in the aisle with the sugar and cake mixes — has staggered manufacturers.

Bizarre Spinosaurus Makes History As First Known Swimming Dinosaur | Science | National Geographic

Longer than an adult Tyrannosaurus Rex, the 50-foot-long, seven-ton predator had a large sail on its back and an elongated snout that resembled the maw of a crocodile, bristling with conical teeth. For decades, reconstructions of its bulky body have ended in a long, narrowing tail like the ones on its many theropod cousins.

Astronaut Jessica Meir Returns Home to a “Completely Different Planet” Amid Coronavirus | Space | Vanity Fair

After nearly seven months at the International Space Station, the Maine native is grateful for salads—but still processing the gravity of a world in quarantine.

Incredible New Map of Moon Shows Its Every Nook and Cranny | Space | Gizmodo

The map, built from six Apollo-era maps and updated with more recent satellite data, lists the names of features and includes data on topology as well as what layers of rock are exposed on the lunar surface.

A Birthday Message from the Hubble Space Telescope | Space | Scientific American

I have seen 160,000 sunrises and sunsets, more than anyone could hope for. Circling hundreds of miles above the surface of our big blue marble for 30 years, I’ve had a remarkable view of the universe.

Last But Not Least

This dog isn’t a fan of McDonalds

This must have driven someone crazy.

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