Lame Ducks Gone Mad

By GAIL COLLINS
NYT

Strange signs and portents abound in the land.

In Brooklyn, bees are turning red.

The innocent residents of Boca Raton, Fla., are living in terror of an attack otter, which climbs out of the water to bite people in their backyards.

And in Washington, the Senate passed a big bipartisan bill.

Is it any wonder that people speak in trembling whispers of the end of days?

Fortunately, things are not quite as apocalyptic as they seem at first glance. The bees, according to a column by Susan Dominus in The Times, had been hanging around a maraschino cherry factory. A wildlife expert told The South Florida Sun-Sentinel that people may have been feeding the otters, which makes them aggressive.

(More here.)