Reading archive 2025-08-18

As Trump takes over D.C.’s police, here’s what law enforcement can and cannot do: With federal and local officers on D.C.’s streets, here’s what to know about what law enforcement agencies can legally order you to do — and what they can’t.

‘South Park’ and ‘King of the Hill’ take on the Trump era: The two ’90s-era animated comedies — one in its 27th season, the other back after a decade-plus hiatus — may be TV’s sharpest observers of the current political climate.

Dedicated volunteer exposes “single largest self-promotion operation in Wikipedia’s history”: Ten years of work to boost one man's reputation.

The best way to get stubborn grease spots out of your clothes: A tiny grease spatter doesn’t have to spell the end for that favorite T-shirt.

This number is bad news for the economy: Low unemployment is great, but only if it’s due to lots of new jobs, not an evaporating labor force.

Why Mamdani’s socialism-on-the-Hudson would be useful for America: If Zohran Mamdani is New York’s next mayor, the nation will be reminded of socialism’s many harms. - "Over four decades ago, sociologist Daniel Bell postulated capitalism’s 'cultural contradictions': Capitalism’s success undermines the virtues (thrift, industriousness, deferral of gratification) that are prerequisites for its continuing success. Socialism’s cultural contradiction is that it is parasitic on capitalism, which must produce the wealth that socialism redistributes — until the engine of wealth creation, battered by socialism’s redistributive agenda, sputters."

What the president’s ‘golden share’ in the U.S. Steel deal means: Trump’s plans for U.S. Steel are another blow against free enterprise. - "Under the terms of the deal, the sitting U.S. president will have the power to appoint one of the three independent directors to the board of U.S. Steel and have veto power over the other two. The president’s permission will reportedly also be needed to transfer production or jobs outside of the U.S., to close or idle plants, to change the sourcing of raw materials, or to relocate the company headquarters or individual plants, among other decisions."