Followers of popular culture no doubt associate Joanne Rowling's Lord Voldemort with the pseudonym "you-know-who." Over the last 48 hours, I have adopted the sobriquet to reference a certain recently deceased pop star without actually mentioning the aforementioned pop star's name. (I don't want to give this person any more direct attention.)

But to the real issue. Earlier today the US House passed a monumental — if imperfect — piece of climate change legislation by a narrow margin, just 219 votes for the bill to 212 votes against. Yet, if one visits The New York Times website or the BBC News homepage, articles about you-know-who continue to take center stage.

This really, really bothers me. On the one hand we have a story about a piece of legislation, which represents a monumental step forward in the US policy toward climate change. Moreover, the legislation, if enacted, would have an enormous impact on citizens and corporations. On the other we have the death of an relatively influential person. I don't see how the later trumps the former in terms of its importance.