Reading archive 2023-11-07

Joe Lieberman will not leave his fellow Democrats alone: With No Labels, the Democratic maverick is still trying to foil liberals and challenge the party — even if that means threatening to throw a wrench into the 2024 campaign - "When Lieberman endorsed Republican John McCain in 2008, Connecticut Democrats had stuffed his portrait into a closet at party headquarters. For his final act, he helped kill the public option in President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, closing the door on government-provided insurance." [ed. note: he says the party has moved too far left but fails to cite specifics because he's a self-important POS who simply craves limelight]

Speaker Johnson on GOP plan to avert government shutdown: ‘Trust us’: House Republicans have not decided on a strategy to keep the government funded with 11 days until federal funds lapse

These Miami-Dade voters want Ron DeSantis as governor, but not president - "As for DeSantis, he said the governor supported his campaign for city council and has been very involved in helping Hialeah prosper. But he said he felt a DeSantis win would divide the country more, whereas Trump could unite more people." [ed. note: these people are terminally stupid]

Trump as Jesus? Why he casts himself as a martyr, and why fans go along.: The former president has been saying for decades that he’s a victim and portrayed himself as a martyr. But Trump’s messianic rhetoric is mainly about feeling sorry for himself, analysts say.

Some Democrats worry Biden’s team is ignoring political warning signs: A series of recent polls shows Trump running even or ahead of Biden. His team says they don’t mean much a year before the election.

Opinion  What’s up with Speaker Johnson not reporting a bank account?

Why you should buy clothes to last (almost) forever

Police arrest man carrying long gun near Capitol

Can we solve homelessness? A program at Union Station is a huge step.: The Amtrak police chief and a program for homelessness are teaming up to help the unhoused at Union Station

The hidden power of China’s pandas — and why the U.S. is losing them all: The pandas’ imminent departure after more than 50 years in D.C. has diplomats and zoo-going children asking when — if ever — America will get them back

D.C. students will no longer need to vaccinate against coronavirus: The vote ends a long-running debate over whether students need to get shots or be barred from school

A month into devastating Gaza war, Israel’s endgame is no clearer

Reading archive 2023-11-06

D.C. mayor resurrects old policy to target open-air drug markets

U.S. drafts plan to bring grizzly bears back to Washington’s North Cascades

In Israeli-Palestinian battle to sway Congress, only one side wins: Support for Israel is a uniquely bipartisan sentiment on Capitol Hill, a reflection of a powerful lobby and an imbalance of exposure to Palestinians

A law that helped end slavery is now a weapon to end affirmative action: The Civil Rights Act of 1866 has become a critical tool in conservatives’ fight to end racial considerations in the private sector - "'I don’t think that they have bad intent. I think they genuinely believe that a colorblind society will naturally and ineluctably lead to a more equitable society,' Miller said. 'All I can say is: The history of America makes me somewhat skeptical.'"

Controversial Former DCRA Director Forced to Withdraw From Pursuing Another D.C. Job Amid Council Resistance: Melinda Bolling won’t get the chance to keep leading the Department of For-Hire Vehicles, her second stint in D.C. government.

This county could create the strictest workplace heat rules in the U.S.

Reading archive 2023-11-05

Space junk is out of control. Here’s why — and what to do about it.

Trump and allies plot revenge, Justice Department control in a second term: Advisers have also discussed deploying the military to quell potential unrest on Inauguration Day. Critics have called the ideas under consideration dangerous and unconstitutional.

White House frustrated by Israel’s onslaught but sees few options: U.S. calls for a bombing pause are having little effect, and the shape of the post-war Mideast is starkly uncertain

Opinion  Elite colleges failed to fight antisemitism. But these academics did.

Long before Elon Musk, Henry Ford went to war with Jewish groups

The retired pilot went to the hospital. Then his life went into a tailspin.: Many older people are one medical emergency away from a court-appointed guardian taking control of their lives

Reading archive 2023-11-04

Growing U.S. anger with electric utilities finds its epicenter in Maine: Maine residents will vote Tuesday on a ballot measure that would dissolve its investor-owned utilities and replace them with a nonprofit

How Speaker Mike Johnson’s plans for a Christian law school unraveled: Johnson vouched for the school -- and agreed to serve as its dean -- without seeing a key feasibility study, he would ultimately admit

Reading archive 2023-11-03

Famed climate scientist has a new, dire prediction: Some scientists question the new study, which asserts that Earth is warming faster than previously estimated

Students hated ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.’ Their teachers tried to dump it.: Four progressive teachers in Washington’s Mukilteo School District wanted to protect students from a book they saw as outdated and harmful. The blowback was fierce. - "Chaitna Deshmukh, a Mukilteo graduate, said she thinks 'To Kill a Mockingbird' fails to address the complex racial reality of 21st-century America." [ed. note: what single text does or even can?]

As Hong Kong stood up for democracy, a neighborhood was brutalized

Seriously, why aren’t millennials having kids?: Also, with birthrates plunging, why aren’t there more only children?

John Fetterman unleashed: ‘I’ve already been dead once’: After being treated for depression, the senator is finally having fun – and taking aim at some Democrats

Carjackings prompt finger-pointing and criticisms among D.C. officials: Mayor Muriel Bowser inaccurately described a youth’s criminal record, court records show

Grieving and angry, Maine residents demand change after mass killing

Opinion  Is the House GOP about to give Putin a pat on the back for his barbarism?

‘You just gaslit her’: How Dean Phillips’s first town hall went off the rails in N.H.

How Gaza’s tunnel network leaves Israel facing ‘three-dimensional’ war

Why Do Young Americans Support Hamas? Look at TikTok.: The app is digital fentanyl made by China. And it is brainwashing our youth against the country and our allies, argues Rep. Mike Gallagher.

Wild Horses Are Terrible for the West: They’re scourges, not symbols, of wilderness. - The herds are increasing at a fast clip, and the native biota has already suffered greatly. By shunning our responsibility to control feral horse herds like those found in the Salt River, we are delaying the inevitable, passing the difficult decisions down to the next generation, who will have to do the dirty work we refused, and without the chance to save the native species we abandoned. The Forest Service’s only mistake was waiting this long to attempt removal; anyone who truly values nature, the deserts, and their native species will support the relocation of feral horses from the Salt River Basin and everywhere else they are causing damage.

Reading archive 2023-11-02

Australian woman charged in suspected mushroom poisoning deaths

As climate disasters mount, the world isn’t spending nearly enough to adapt: This so-called “adaptation finance gap” is between $194 billion and $366 billion per year, United Nations experts said in a new report

Scientists have found a ‘sleeping giant’ of environmental problems: Earth is getting saltier: Salt used to de-ice roads is the single biggest source of salt in the U.S. - "From 2013 to 2017, road salt made up 44 percent of the country’s entire salt consumption."

Beet it, beet it, beet it, beet it: Then the snow will be defeated (on D.C. roads)

Senate Republicans erupt in anger over Tuberville’s military freeze: A surprising public confrontation made clear that some of Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s colleagues have hit their limit as hundreds of senior military promotions remain stalled

Years into a climate disaster, these people are eating the unthinkable: In South Sudan, war and semi-permanent flooding have left people to scavenge for food, with long-term consequences for their health

Virginia parents are over Youngkin’s old classroom culture war playbook: They want to address teacher shortages, mental health and learning loss when they go to the polls next week

Critics blast plan to remove 1,200 trees from Rock Creek Park golf course: Proposal would seriously damage ecosystem, environmentalists say

Who's tracking the weapons and money the U.S. is sending to Ukraine? "60 Minutes" went to find out.

Reading archive 20023-11-01

Speaker Johnson faces immediate backlash to first legislative move: Newly elected House GOP leader tries packaging Israel aid with cuts to IRS, but faces skepticism among Senate Republicans

Democrats quickly seek to make Speaker Johnson a boogeyman: The party has begun painting House Republicans’ new leader as ‘MAGA Mike’ but may face a challenge given his low profile and quiet tone

Why pharmacy workers at CVS, Walgreens are walking out: Drugstore employees are pressing for better working conditions and wages, in the second such labor action this month

This old-school building material could take over city skylines: Architects are in a proof-of-concept race to construct sustainable wood high-rises.

An owl got stuck in an iconic sculpture. After rehab, it’s free again.

10 truths about food that people don’t want to believe

‘Squad’ members face Democratic primary challenges over Israel stances: St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell, a Democrat, dropped his bid against a Republican senator to challenge a House Democrat. ‘I think we have to stand with our allies,’ he said.

Bootgate and the perils of drafting off Donald Trump

Rep. Ken Buck to retire from House, cites election denialism by others in GOP

Should anorexia ever be called ‘terminal’?: One doctor argued yes, igniting a furor over hope, self-determination and treatment in the world of eating disorders

Opinion  In Maine, a return of tribal land shows how conservation can succeed

Dozens of bird names honoring enslavers and racists will be changed: The American Ornithological Society says it will alter the names of North American birds named after humans, starting with up to 80 of them

Opinion  As carjackings spike, police need to be able to chase vehicles again

What’s the fastest way to kill your lawn? Science says forget the cardboard

'Miserable to people': Former Cardinals employees describe life under owner Michael Bidwill

Russia's dwindling 'Mountain Jews' in spotlight after Dagestan airport riot

Netanyahu may not last, Biden and aides increasingly believe: The Israeli prime minister’s political obituary has been written before. But U.S. officials are already gauging potential successors.