Morning Reads for National Cake Day (November 26)

Good morning, and happy National Cake Day! It’s weird this annual observance falls around Thanksgiving, which notably has its staple pies, but not cakes, isn’t it? Well, be that as it may, I’ll share a few of my favorite cakes in honor of the day:

1. Red (Wine) Velvet Cake from Bravetart by Stella Parks
2. Robert E. Lee Bundt Cake from Southern Living, November 2012
3. Spiced Apple Pound Cake from Handmade Gatherings by Ashley English
4. Lemon Layer Cake from Sweet & Southern by Ben Mims
5. White Cake with Cranberry Filling and Orange Buttercream from Southern Living, December 2014
6. Six-Layer Chocolate Cake with Toasted Marshmallow Filling and Malted Chocolate Frosting, Brown-Eyed Baker blog

My mother will undoubtedly be celebrating the day with #3 on that list, as I made it for her this past weekend. Share your favorites below!

And now, the news:

Pat Conroy

• I know not everyone is a fan of the Bulldogs, but it’s hard not to love Hot Rod.
• The Georgia Black Caucus will push for a state hate crimes law in the wake of incidents in Gainesville, where a black church was threatened, and on the campuses of UGA and Georgia College, where swastikas and other hate messages were reported. Georgia is one of four states without a hate crimes law.
• Governor Kemp has named Rachel Little to the Board of Regents. She doesn’t seem to have any background in education, but given that she’s replacing Dean Alford, there’s nowhere to go but up.
• The state’s list of the lowest performing schools was released yesterday. It includes the state’s largest school, Georgia Cyber Academy.
• Georgia Power is transitioning from construction to systems testing at Plant Vogtle this week. A report released last Friday still predicts additional delays.
• A former Department of Juvenile Justice officer says he was pushed out for exposing sexual abuse of the inmates.

Alice Walker

• A judge has ruled that Don McGahn must testify before impeachment investigators in Congress about President Trump’s efforts to obstruct the Mueller investigation. The Department of Justice plans to appeal.
• Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed Rudy Giuliani’s consulting records.
• Congress may not see Trump’s tax returns for now, says the Supreme Court. However, the president must file his opening brief by December 5th, so we haven’t heard the end of this case.
• Betsey DeVos aims to ensure we protect those accused of sexual assault on campus from those they’ve attacked.
• Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are at an all time high.
• Pro-democracy candidates won in an unprecedented landslide in last Sunday’s election in Hong Kong. Beijing did not take it well.
• A leaked report says that China now controls the Philippines’ power grid and can shut off access at any time.
• A gang of thieves stole millions of dollars in diamonds from Dresden Castle yesterday morning.

Flannery O’Connor

• New York City is expecting high winds Thanksgiving morning. This may ground the balloons in the Macy’s parade.
• A UGA professor is planning to spend the winter trapped in the Arctic as part of the largest polar expedition ever.
• New Yorkers on the L train got a full Thanksgiving dinner on their ride over the weekend.
• Twitter, so often used for ill, has provided us a compilation of truly bizarre Thanksgiving side dishes from around the United States. The full thread is here.