Reading archive 2026-06-2

Wild Blueberry Farms Across Maine Suffer as Climate Change Upends Growing Seasons: Like lobster rolls, wild blueberries are iconic in Maine. But heat and drought have set the plants back to a point where many small farmers are struggling against reduced yields and increased costs for mulch and irrigation. - "Wild blueberries are smaller and have a stronger flavor than their cultivated counterparts.

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"One of the few native North American fruits, wild blueberry patches have often existed in the same spot for longer than the farms that now harvest them.

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"Wild blueberries are smaller and have a stronger flavor compared to cultivated blueberries."

[ed. note: "Wild Blueberry" refers to Vaccinium angustifolium; there are tons of native North American fruits; this very article depicts "wild blueberries" as cultivated]

Tiny Footprints, a Blue Blanket: What I Can’t Forget About the Babies Who Died of Vitamin K Deficiency: The deaths of these babies likely could have been prevented with a long-standard vitamin shot. For reporter Duaa Eldeib, their autopsy reports painted the clearest picture of the tragedy of their short lives.

The Case for Impeaching and Removing Every Federal Judge and Supreme Court Justice Who Has Ever Been a Member of the Federalist Society or Endorsed Unitary Executive Theory.: A serious claim requiring serious consideration. - "This brings us to the load-bearing claim of the entire argument. Unitary executive theory is a different constitution. The doctrine claims constitutional authority that the text does not grant, that the framers explicitly rejected, that the first Congress did not exercise, and that no court recognized until the conservative legal movement invented the doctrine in the 1980s. The text of Article II vests executive power in the president and requires the president to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, language that imposes obligations rather than granting unilateral control. The framers, as Hamilton’s Federalist 77 makes explicit and as the rejected Pinckney motion confirms, did not grant the executive the unaccountable authority the doctrine claims. The first Congress built executive offices with mixed structures and independent components. No court endorsed the strong version of unitary executive theory until the conservative legal movement built the doctrine in the 1980s and spent forty years credentialing the judges who would convert academic argument into binding law. The doctrine functions as a replacement for the Constitution rather than an interpretation of it, offered by a political movement that could not amend the document through Article V and decided to install its preferred version through judicial appointments instead."

Tesla Solar Roof is on life support as it pivot to panels

Restoring the Flow: A Milestone in the Revival of the Everglades: The campaign to restore the Everglades has received a boost with completion of a key project that returns the flow of water to 55,000 acres that had once been drained for development. Experts see it as a major step forward in bringing back South Florida’s River of Grass.

The missing ingredient in plant-based food isn’t taste or nutrition: It takes more than flavor and texture to win a culture war.

Poland’s steely response to Russia’s hybrid warfare: Eastern European countries are keeping out Russia’s “weaponized migrants.” Reporters got a look.

What Colbert’s show ending means for the rest of late-night TV: “The Late Show,” an American television institution, goes off the air this week. It almost certainly portends changes to come for the classic television format.

Dozens of victims in Loudoun County rental scheme as woman accused of taking $100K+

Parking lots get hot and are bad for storm runoff. These groups are testing other options

Russian Position Weakening in Central Asia

5 ideas for how we survive the possible AI jobs apocalypse: Elon Musk, Elizabeth Warren and lots of policy wonks have suggestions to help workers hit by automation. Which would you bet your future on?

As Russia fails to achieve war aims in Ukraine, Putin needs a way out: European officials say Moscow's escalating aggression is a result of increasing difficulties that Russia is facing militarily and economically.

Utility bills in D.C. are rising. Here’s what to know.: Pepco and D.C. Water plan to raise monthly utility costs for customers in D.C., citing inflationary costs and supply chain strain.

‘It was cruel’: Scott Pelley confronts new ‘60 Minutes’ boss in fiery meeting: The veteran correspondent demanded answers on fired staff and the new executive producer’s qualifications for the job.

The rise of Janeese Lewis George, who could be D.C.’s first democratic socialist mayor: Focusing on workers’ and tenants’ rights, the council member would represent a drastic shift in the status quo if elected to the city’s highest office.

There are no Supreme Court vacancies, but some judges are acting like there might be: Speculation is swirling over potential departures at the high court, and firebrand conservative judges might be using flashy rulings to audition for the president.

As Ukraine’s fortunes improve, it’s ‘zugzwang’ time for Putin: Drone warfare has produced a bloody battlefield stasis reminiscent of World War I.

With Smithsonian under scrutiny, its leader curates a complex history show: Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III has co-curated “American Aspirations” as the Smithsonian faces federal pressure. “Nobody has told us what to do,” he said, “and to be honest, I won’t let anybody tell us what to do.”

After a brutal winter, Ukraine’s drones are breaking Russian defenses: Russia’s advance has suddenly stalled, and Ukraine is fighting on its own terms — a comeback credited to Kyiv’s efforts to steadily strengthen the capabilities of its UAVs.

Child’s Play: Tech’s new generation and the end of thinking

If you let AI do your writing, I will come to your house and kill you: Did you think I wouldn’t be able to tell? I can tell. - "The reason it’s so hard to get AI to stop hallucinating is that it’s permanently hallucinating. Its whole existence is one long lurid trip. Most of the time, the AI’s hallucinations bear a spooky resemblance to reality. But what they speak is the language of angels, in which, like the chirping of birds, there is neither truth nor lies."

Reading archive 2026-05-28

How Metro's cameras helped solve 3 recent gun crimes: In March, Metro General Manager Randy Clarke credited Metro’s safety in part to the cameras throughout the system.

Prosecutors say ex-CIA official stole $40 million in gold bars from agency: The former senior employee, who allegedly kept the gold in his Virginia home, is also accused of lying about his military and educational background.

How to stay happy in a relationship, according to long-married couples: It’s okay to go to bed angry, and other surprising marriage advice.

A couple died on Hajj pilgrimage. A law and foundation carry on their legacy.: The Don’t You Worry (Wurie) Act regulates travel service providers in Maryland.

Trump’s approval plunges among his White working-class base: In a striking shift, White voters without college degrees who voted to reelect Trump by a huge margin are now net-negative on his job approval. - "Dombrowski, the janitor, barely follows politics. She grew up poor with factory worker parents who taught her that Republicans were for rich people — not families like theirs who struggled and saved money by making their own clothes. 

"But she put her faith in Trump when he ran for president in 2016, opting for an outsider over Clinton and her decades in politics. 

"Now she trusts no one, believing politicians 'want your money and give you fake promises.' 

"The musical instrument company where she works, Conn Selmer, is shifting jobs overseas — even though the owner, Trump donor John Paulson, has echoed the president’s calls to keep manufacturing in the United States."

Texas School Police Pepper-Sprayed, Tackled and Tasered Students: School officers across the state turned to heavy-handed tactics on children, often in response to minor misbehavior, our investigation shows.

‘We Have Not Seen Ugly Yet’: Paxton versus Talarico is already awful.

John Cornyn Lost With His Boots Off: Like fellow Republicans exiled by the president, he still accepted Trump’s claim to inhabit the will of the party. - "Cornyn, like so many of his fellow soon-to-be-ex-politicians, staked his survival on the hopeless tactic of trying to beat Trump's team in a contest over who loves Trump more. Overcoming Trump's hold on the rank and file is not easy, but the method his victims have chosen-essentially to beg for Trump's mercy, and then not receive it-saps them of their dignity without meaningfully increasing their odds of political survival."

America Is Missing Out on the Ultimate Mosquito Weapon: Bring on the lasers.

Trump, the Wages of MAGA Sin, and the Dream of Flipping Texas Blue: Ken Paxton is the embodiment of MAGA rage and corruption. Can James Talarico win by transcending Paxton’s Trumpy acrimony?

Reading archive 2026-05-27

Everything that happened on Stephen Colbert’s last episode of ‘The Late Show’ The comedian wrapped up the CBS franchise with surprise celebrity guests, a visit from his fellow late-night hosts and multiple songs.

Hunter Biden faces right-wing podcaster who had attacked him for years: The son of former president Joe Biden sat for a wide-ranging interview with right-wing podcaster Candace Owens, discussing addiction, corruption allegations and conspiracy theories.

Did Trump pick the right blue for the Reflecting Pool? We asked a pool guy.: Old Glory Blue? American Flag Blue? Let’s reflect on all the shades, while a federal judge mulls “aesthetic injury” in the president’s latest decorating flourish.

Nantucket’s Oceanfront Homes Are Sliding Into the Sea. The Locals Don’t Care.: Homeowners spent millions trying to save bluff’s-edge properties. Their clash with other residents now includes alleged vandalism and a $10,000 reward.

Restoring Virginia’s lost longleaf pine trees, one seed at a time

Hit Them Where It Hurts: Asking Black athletes to sacrifice for the greater good could reshape college sports and national politics alike. But it won’t be so easy.

The Goodbye Stephen Colbert Wanted to Say: The late-night host ended his talk show the way he started it—with empathy, and an eye for entertainment.

What is really breaking America? Two drinking fountains for $375,000.: Stop the Machine. Measure success by results delivered, not tax dollars spent. - "The mainstream center-left — liberals, centrist wonks, heterodox independents — needs to be better at getting mad. They have every right to be as fed up with the status quo as the populists are. But their anger needs to be constructive, directed at what’s actually broken rather than convenient villains. The populist right and the populist left know how to name adversaries and tell compelling stories. However good the center-left may be at policy and analysis, it hasn’t learned to explain what went wrong and how to fix it in a way that resonates with the disenchanted voters who have every reason to be skeptical of establishment promises. 

"Here’s how I’d explain it: The thing breaking America isn’t a person, a party or a conspiracy. It’s a self-perpetuating system, built over decades by well-meaning people making individually rational decisions that added up to something no one would build on purpose. Call it the Machine. People may run its individual components, but no one operates or entirely understands its full scope."

A Sweeping Theory of Everything Is Revolutionizing the Democratic Party: Democrats are in thrall to the idea that corporate consolidation is America’s biggest, and maybe only, problem. - "Moss, a former head of the American Antitrust Institute, told me the neo-Brandeisians' error is to view antitrust policy 'not as law enforcement but as a broad policy tool for fixing a lot of problems-economic, political, and social.' Antitrust enforcement isn't that powerful, for the simple reason that corporate concentration is not the root cause of every problem.

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"The reason their unimpressive record in power under Biden left the neo-Brandeisians' confidence utterly unshaken is that their belief system is more like a religion than an economic theory.

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"Warren's position aligned with Lynn's neo-Brandeisian dogma, which maintains that bringing down the price of housing cannot be achieved by enabling the construction of more private homes, as most housing analysts believe. The solution, somehow, is instead to prevent private firms from entering the single-family market. Nearly any economist would say that if your goal is to make housing more affordable, banning firms from building rental houses makes no sense. But since neo-Brandeisian thought rejects economics as a pseudo-science that rationalizes the desires of capital owners, that objection carries little weight.

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"The abundance agenda does not cover all issues, and it is perfectly compatible with stringent antitrust enforcement. (Part of the abundance housing agenda is to break open neighborhood cartels that prevent new entrants into the housing market, a very anti-monopolistic concept.) But since Lynn's theory purports to explain everything, it regards all other diagnoses of America's problems as challenges, and therefore, by definition, as corporate plots. This has seriously compromised the Democratic Party's ability to formulate creative and practical solutions to real-world problems, not all of which can be solved by attacking corporate power."

The Great Depopulation: Why is the birth rate declining in every country on Earth?

Putin Can No Longer Hide His Catastrophe: The Russian dictator has lost control of the narrative.

Reading archive 2026-05-21

Why Thomas Massie Thought He Was Different: He wrongly believed his popularity back home made him able to withstand a Trump-backed challenge.

The Real Reason Thomas Massie Lost: He broke the one rule of the MAGA Republican Party. - That the current Republican Party is defined by allegiance to a person rather than any principle is not a new development. 'America First' has always meant Trump first. 'All this time, I thought they were voting for libertarian Republicans," one astute Republican congressman mused to the Washington Examiner as far back as 2017, 'but after some soul searching I realized when they voted for Rand and Ron [Paul] and me in these primaries, they weren't voting for libertarian ideas-they were voting for the craziest son of a bitch in the race. And Donald Trump won best in class, as we had up until he came along.'

"The politician who said that was Thomas Massie."

Reading archive 2026-05-20

Driver was going 116 mph with unrestrained 2-year-old in backseat seconds before deadly crash, Fairfax Police say: An 8-year-old child was the only passenger wearing a seatbelt when the crash happened and is expected to survive.

Reading archive 2026-05-18

Disease, Drought, Climate Change — And the Joy of Fighting Back: On my Virginia farm, I have a front-row seat to the grim consequences of a warming planet. But I’m not surrendering.

So, you got bit by a tick. Here’s exactly what to do next.: Experts explained what to do if you find a tick attached to your skin, including how to remove it and document it, and when to seek medical advice.

6 tick-borne diseases that should be on your radar: With tick season in full force, here are the most common diseases they spread in the U.S., where they most commonly occur and the symptoms to watch for.

I lead a Jewish school. Mamdani’s first veto is astonishing.: Amid rising antisemitism, New York's mayor stopped a safeguarding move for schools. [vetoed a bill banning protests near schools, the case this guy is mad about was a real-estate sale for settlement land in the West Bank]

Georgia’s top Republican fears a repeat of the GOP’s 2022 Senate blunder: Gov. Brian Kemp (R), the popular Georgia governor, has endorsed a Senate candidate he believes has broad appeal. But his more MAGA rival is gaining steam.

Trump has no good military option to ‘finish the job’ in Iran: Trump would be wise to ignore hawkish advice and try to forge a deal with Tehran.

ICE agent charged in shooting of immigrant during Minneapolis crackdown: County prosecutors issued a warrant for the arrest of the agent, who faces felony assault charges. The victim was one of three people shot during January’s crackdown.

A European rule could devastate American farmers: Lawmakers should stand up to this attempt to regulate American business. - "The increased costs would be felt throughout the supply chain. Farm profits would be squeezed, grocery bills would increase, and rural communities would be hit first and hardest. When a small farm goes under, it doesn’t just hurt one family; it hurts local businesses that buy from that farm and the equipment dealers that sell to it." [ed. note: shouldn't have pissed off Europe then]

Reading archive 2026-05-17

The Incredible Story of the Cartel Olympics: A Mexican athlete said he was kidnapped and forced to compete for his life in a tournament of gangs. But was he actually playing a different game?