Welcome to Wednesday, October 20th, ghouls and ghosts...

China’s military tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August.

The test reportedly involved a hypersonic glide vehicle that was launched on a Long March rocket into low-orbit, circumnavigated the globe, and came within a few dozen miles of hitting its target. The Chinese government denied that it tested a hypersonic missile and said it was a spacecraft, although it didn’t publicly disclose the August 24th launch 

Hypersonic missiles fly at speeds of at least Mach 5, similar to intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM). What makes hypersonics a particularly challenging threat is that unlike ICBMs ― which have a fixed range and don’t maneuver in flight ― hypersonics can be highly maneuverable in flight, fly at a lower trajectory in the atmosphere, and don’t face the same range constraints. 

Research on offensive hypersonic weapons in the U.S. has been undertaken to varying degrees for more than a decade, and the pace has picked up in the last few years amid advances made by Russia and China.

Are you concerned about China’s hypersonic missile test?

Adopted Wolf Pups Killed by Federal Agents

The U.S. Department of Agriculture revealed that they killed eight wolf pups in Idaho who were a part of The Timberline Wolf Pack, a group of wolves that were adopted by a local Boise high school in 2003. 

Idaho’s Republican lawmakers passed a law that aims to kill 90% of the state’s wolves. Under the law, people are allowed to bait wolves into snares, aerially gun them down, and mow them down with vehicles. 

Idaho conservation groups wrote a letter to the Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, asking to “immediately suspend the killing of wolf pups on all public lands by the USDA federal agents”. The letter adds:

“There is nothing biologically sound or socially acceptable about killing wolf pups on federal lands, especially when wolves are under significant eradication pressure.” 

Do you support wolf-culling laws?

All the Memes Fit to Post

And, In The End...

Whether your specialty is mac n' cheese or ratatouille, today we celebrate culinarians of all calibers:

—Josh Herman

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