Reading archive 2026-02-24

FBI Director Kash Patel defends partying with U.S. Olympic ice hockey team: Videos of Patel celebrating in Italy went viral Sunday night, prompting criticism and questions about his judgment during a critical time for the FBI.

GOP lawmaker quietly questioned ‘disturbing’ East Wing demolition: Rep. Michael Turner, co-chair of the congressional Historic Preservation Caucus, wrote to a top White House aide about his “substantial concerns” as party leaders publicly backed Trump’s decision.

He made a fake ICE deportation tip line. Then a kindergarten teacher called.: A Nashville comedian’s deportation hotline, set up as a joke, has gone viral among viewers who say it shows the “banality of evil personified.”

Ex-ICE instructor testifies that agency slashed officer training, lied to Congress" A former instructor for Immigration and Customs Enforcement told congressional Democrats the agency has cut “vital classes” from mandatory training for recruits.

High-End Construction Really Does Help Everyone: A new rung at the top of the housing ladder permits people lower down to climb up.

Reading archive 2026-02-23

The No. 1 item food stamps buy is a travesty. Now states can say no. [ed. note: when the Obama administration tried this, it was nanny-state nonsense]

Judge Cannon orders secrecy for report on Trump classified-documents case: A federal judge in Florida blocked public release of special counsel Jack Smith’s extensive report into the classified-documents case against President Donald Trump. - "Cannon attempted to differentiate the release of Smith’s report from other cases [such as Robert K. Hur's case against Biden], saying that there was no precedent for releasing a report in a case in which the charges have been dismissed and the defendants maintain their innocence. The lack of precedent existed largely because Cannon’s order dismissing the case on the grounds that Smith’s appointment was unlawful was, itself, unprecedented." [ed. note: this fucking cunt]

This economic idea transfixed Wall Street and Washington. It may be a mirage.: Massive investment in AI contributed “basically zero” to U.S. economic growth last year, Goldman Sachs has calculated.

As Andrew fell, Queen Elizabeth II held out hope, and Charles and William fumed: As sordid allegations engulfed Prince Andrew, Queen Elizabeth II showed a mother’s love, King Charles III a brother’s fury, and Prince William, a nephew’s dismay.

Are ‘flushable’ wipes really flushable?: After flushed wipes caused a sewage spill in the Potomac River, local authorities are reiterating their call to ignore the “flushable” label.

Reading archive 2026-02-20

Prince Andrew's Arrest: Across the pond in Britain, accountability is a serious matter

DOJ struggles as White House presses on voter fraud: Efforts to prosecute noncitizen voters have been slowed by lack of evidence, officials say, while Trump aides push for a broader crackdown.

Reading archive 2026-02-19

Europe and Canada Are Like the Kids in an Ugly Divorce: Europe and Canada seek “strategic balance” between Washington and Beijing but often just get caught in the middle. - "'We are being bombarded with complaints, grievances, tariffs, more tariffs,' Giles Gherson, president and CEO of the Toronto Region Board of Trade, Canada's largest chamber of commerce, told us. 'As soon as the concessions are made and they're pocketed, new demands show up-and relentlessly.'"

When politics comes to the parenting group chat: A parents’ group tried to establish boundaries for discussion on their WhatsApp chat. It led to a schism. - "What happened in Peanuts, it seems, is not unique. Neighborhood group chats are, in some ways, like all social media, where all roads lead to the proverbial comments section. In 2023, Mother Jones reported on a parent group in liberal Ann Arbor, Michigan, that spiraled out of control after commentary about Gaza. Moderators of that group decided to ban all posts about Israel and Palestine to keep the peace. New York Magazine reported that a parent Facebook group on New York’s Upper East Side 'devolved into panic and infighting' after Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor."

The Atlantic’s essay about measles was gut-wrenching. Some readers feel deceived.: Some critics and physicians said Elizabeth Bruenig’s second-person account of a mother confronting a child’s death from measles felt misleading once they learned the story was reported fiction.

"Enormous structures tend to be built to last. Airport terminals are usually the reverse": Greater effort must be made to retain decommissioned airport terminal buildings, writes Anthony Paletta.

Trump Action Tracker: Documenting the actions, statements, and plans of President Trump and his administration that echo those of authoritarian regimes and may pose a threat to American democracy, since January 2025.

The Cult Deprogrammer Who Needed Deprogramming: For 20 years Rick Ross was in a ‘cult’ of his own. “I’ll tell you what kind of person joins a cult,” he says. “Every kind.”

The man who saves people from the world’s most dangerous cults: ‘Deprogrammer’ Rick Ross shares the lessons learnt from a career spent reuniting families with loved ones lost to destructive sects

I was raised in a cult that groomed me into a chess prodigy. I used it to escape: Danny Rensch was born into a life of indoctrination. But as ‘the Collective’ loosened its grip, he advanced

'Just push us into the sea': The frustration of an area failed by politics - "Pat, 64, says the village has been left to 'disintegrate' and believes the role of the EU was misunderstood. 'Everybody thought the EU was about people coming into the country. They didn't portray what benefits we were having.' 

"Denise sees investment in other nearby towns, like Seaham, and feels aggrieved that it hasn't been replicated in Horden. Her vote lies firmly with Reform UK. Brexit has failed due to the way it's been enacted, she says, and it's time to turn back to Nigel Farage."

A ‘smut renaissance’ has arrived: The success of “Ember and Ice,” starring Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams from “Heated Rivalry,” underscores the growing popularity of audio erotica.

Democrats revive a once-taboo idea: Capping grocery prices: Economists hate the idea of price controls. Democrats are exploring how they can address high food costs that have frustrated voters.

After leaving WHO, Trump officials propose more expensive replacement to duplicate it: HHS proposes spending $2 billion a year to re-create systems the U.S. accessed through the WHO at a fraction of the cost, according to officials briefed on the matter.

Inside the Hidden Network of Resistance in Minneapolis: Waves of federal agents forced countless Minnesota residents into hiding. Countless more responded with a movement unlike any other. A deeper look reveals the heartbeat of resistance—and the soul of the city.

5% of People Detained By ICE Have Violent Convictions, 73% No Convictions

Reading archive 2026-02-18

The 2020 ‘stolen election’ obsession: Cynical? Delusional? Reptilian? Trump believes his losing at anything is impossible. Thus, Biden’s win must be fraudulent.

Teen arrested after approaching U.S. Capitol with loaded shotgun: Capitol Police say an 18-year-old wearing tactical gear ran toward the Capitol before being arrested.

Reading archive 2026-02-17

Something Big Is Happening - "Start using AI seriously, not just as a search engine. Sign up for the paid version of Claude or ChatGPT. It's $20 a month. But two things matter right away. First: make sure you're using the best model available, not just the default. These apps often default to a faster, dumber model. Dig into the settings or the model picker and select the most capable option. Right now that's GPT-5.2 on ChatGPT or Claude Opus 4.6 on Claude, but it changes every couple of months. If you want to stay current on which model is best at any given time, you can follow me on X (@mattshumer_). I test every major release and share what's actually worth using."

Stephen Colbert says CBS blocked interview with Texas Democrat over FCC concerns: The on-air condemnation comes before Colbert’s “Late Show” goes off the air in May, a decision the network previously called “purely a financial decision.”

Another government sop to an ailing industry: An executive order requiring the military to purchase coal puts politics over the free market.

Researcher skeptical of ‘Havana syndrome’ tested secret weapon on himself: In 2024, a Norwegian researcher skeptical that pulsed-energy weapons could do damage to human brains built a device and tested it on himself. It didn’t go well.

A relationship on the rocks: Europe and America need each other, but trust is gone:  This year’s Munich Security Conference was milder than last year’s, but Donald Trump has fundamentally changed transatlantic ties.

D.C. mayoral hopeful pledges more affordable child care amid shrinking budgets: A proposal from Janeese Lewis George aims to make child care more accessible for families. But the city would have to fund it during an economic downturn.

‘Us versus them’: The battle that’s tearing a small Virginia town apart: “We are a microcosm of how politics are in this country right now,” said one resident of Purcellville.

Ukraine detains ex-energy minister as high-level corruption case widens: German Galushchenko’s arrest is connected to a $100 million corruption probe that has ensnared senior officials and shaken President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office.

Rubio lends hand to Hungary’s Orban as he faces tough election: “We want this country to do well,” Marco Rubio said during a visit to Budapest, “especially as long as you’re the prime minister.”

Mitch McConnell is taking a beating in the race to replace him: Three GOP candidates, all former McConnell interns, are keeping their distance as they seek to align with President Donald Trump.

Matt Lauer’s Accuser Complicates Her Story: Brooke Nevils’s memoir is also a reckoning with many misconceptions about #MeToo narratives.

Why MAGA Wants You to Think Slavery Wasn’t That Bad: Both the left and the right try to co-opt it, but the real story of American slavery doesn’t serve any one faction. - "'The destruction of slavery is one of the great American achievements,' Sean Wilentz, a historian at Princeton and critic of 'The 1619 Project,' told me. 'Taking slavery seriously in American history is not anti-American. The story of slavery in the U.S. is about an ancient institution that was planted here, thrived here, and then was confronted and ultimately attacked in the 19th century through enormous sacrifice, including military conflict. That's an extraordinary American story.'"

Putin Didn’t Know How Good He Had It: The Russian leader has gotten the world he wished for—and it’s threatening to crush him.

Reading archive 2026-02-13

What Alcohol Does to the Body: From the moment you take a sip, drinking starts to influence your biology. Here’s an inside look.

Consumers and businesses paid nearly 90% of Trump tariffs in 2025, new analysis found

Using a law deployed against mob bosses, D.C. files suit against a landlord: The suit, filed by D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, claims the landlord and two of his family members enriched themselves while leaving tenants in squalid, unsafe conditions.

How to make sure the Stalinist in the Kremlin faces a grim future: Crippled by his Ukraine misadventure, Vladimir Putin is surely defining success down.

The Epstein Emails Show How the Powerful Talk About Race: The files reveal the disgraced financier’s interest in “race science.”

Zelensky Makes His Pitch to Trump: Ukraine’s president calls on his most powerful ally to not squander the chance to make peace.

This Is How a Child Dies of Measles: When your family becomes a data point in an outbreak [exemplum]

John Oliver Keeps Pushing the Rock Up the Hill: As ‘Last Week Tonight’ launches its 13th season into an atmosphere of division and anti-information, its host explains how the show has changed—and why they keep making it