Reading archive 2026-09-21

Minute by minute, secret FBI videos showcase Trayon White Sr.’s path to bribery charge: The 87 minutes of secretly recorded footage shows the D.C. lawmaker talking about money woes, therapy and D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser.

Weighing the ‘disastrous, cascading consequences’ if China takes Taiwan: If Xi Jinping ordered a blockade, breaking it would require war on the Chinese mainland.

Former D.C. Attorney General Crashes Protest to Defend Landlord: Karl Racine represents a developer being sued by D.C.’s current attorney general over poor housing conditions.

Major TV networks halt video coverage of Trump over CNN ban: CNN, along with MS NOW and Politico, filed a lawsuit over the ban, which the president defended as “an assault on the FAKE NEWS.”

Hill investigates after F-35 parts diverted to Hong Kong: The incident raises the possibility that top secret weapons technology may have been exposed to a foreign adversary — including China. - "A Government Accountability Office report from 2023 found that more than 1 million F-35 spare parts have gone missing in the past five years. The watchdog agency concluded the department hasn’t been able to review spare part losses worth tens of millions of dollars because Lockheed controls the information."

The Armored Sarcophagus Saving Ukrainian Soldiers: Unmanned ground vehicles are conducting once-impossible medical evacuations along Ukraine’s front lines.

Venezuela’s People Problem: A state that spent decades alienating its professional class has lost the capacity to govern.

City Rats Are Going on Birth Control: Contraceptives are kinder than poison.

Reading archive 2026-09-18

He interviewed Tom Cruise for GQ. We interviewed him about how it went.: Cruise’s on-camera interview was pitched as his first deep chat in years. It was … really something.

String of daring Russian plots is testing Washington’s restraint: A strike on a train that imperiled former European leaders and CIA officers is among a spate of attacks that risked a dangerous escalation with the West, experts say.

Fight intensifies over the fate of homes falling into the sea: California homeowners are building a costly rock wall to hold back the ocean, escalating a battle over private property and what to do about years-long beach erosion amid storm damage and higher tides. - "The residents of Beach Road know that not everyone sympathizes with wealthy families losing their second homes with ocean views. Driessen sees comments on social media that suggest they deserve the misfortune. Some say they should have seen it coming in the risky business of beachfront real estate. 

"Driessen says she worked hard for her dream beach house, purchased two years ago. She took out loans and put herself through school." [ed. note: two! years! ago!!]

...

"Like other homeowners in the area, he said, he only has $250,000 in flood insurance — not enough to cover the loss. His lot is empty. His daughter has urged him to give up on his second home there. 'I’m telling you — water is rising, you need to sell the property,' he recalled her saying."

The open houses at the edge of disaster: What are buyers being told about climate risk in Miami? I posed as one to find out. - "The luxury house helped me put what I’d seen all weekend into context. At the very top of the market, climate risk could be acknowledged because the buyer presumably had enough money to insure against it, adapt to it, or simply lose the bet. 

"Everywhere else, the risk kept getting moved just out of frame. Hill suggested one reason why: 'It’s the people who are scraping money together to buy a condo who are at risk and don’t have the resources for either maintenance or insurance.'

"For those buyers, climate risk is not another expense to price into the deal. It could make the entire purchase untenable. And when acknowledging a problem might kill a sale, everyone involved has an incentive not to look too closely at it."

Reading archive 2026-09-17

At trial, a tale of two Trayon Whites emerges: Undercover videos show the Ward 8 councilmember both deeply involved in the community and taking wads of cash from a businessman.

Former youth minister indicted on sex abuse charges after FBI investigation: Jeff Taylor, 66, worked at the Falls Church Episcopal in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Judge says Trump’s board may not demolish Kennedy Center without warning: Rep. Joyce Beatty asked a federal judge to clarify that the center cannot be torn down after images surfaced of the president reviewing what appeared to be a printout related to the institution.

Just the FAQs: A Deep Dive on China’s Most Secretive Hydropower Project: Going deep on the Yarlung Tsangpo hydropower project in eastern Tibet

Reading archive 2023-09-16

Everyone Loves to Claim Grindr Goes Down at Republican Conventions. But Is It True?: We investigate the claims circulating on social media about the Republican National Midterm Convention in Dallas.

NHL star Alexander Ovechkin campaigns for pro-Putin party in new ad: Russia this weekend holds its first parliamentary elections since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Marlon James may have written the novel of the century. One CD set him on that path.: James didn’t know he was a writer. Then he heard an Icelandic electro-pop queen’s third album.

FBI director faces sharp questions from senators about his firing of agents: Kash Patel defends his numerous dismissals at the FBI, saying he is fighting political weaponization at the bureau.

Senate control may hinge on whether this Democrat can win back voters drawn to Trump: Sherrod Brown is seeking to return to the chamber two years after losing his seat when many blue-collar voters embraced Donald Trump.

Trump administration moving ahead with signs outside Smithsonian museum: Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said about a dozen signs would be installed outside the National Museum of American History warning of curators’ “personal viewpoints.”

Iran’s Hormuz leverage is dwindling: The longer the passage remains disrupted, the more states will spend to reduce their dependence on it.

Battle with Trump is sending Canada into the arms of the E.U.: The head of the E.U.’s executive branch is proposing “associate membership” for Canada, as Ottawa also pursues new trade deals with China.

Gas prices are about to take a big jump, analysts say, with the worst still to come: The forecast of economic impacts beyond November’s midterms contrast with the Trump administration’s optimistic messaging.

Fed raises interest rates by quarter point to tackle inflation: The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter a percentage point on Wednesday to try to tame inflation, raising the borrowing cost on a variety of business and consumer loans.

Reading archive 2026-09-15

University of Texas responds after GOP statewide candidate’s racist posts: The university said it is “proud to celebrate” all its students after posts by Bo French, GOP nominee for Texas railroad commissioner, that were condemned by members of both parties.

Vance’s presence in Kansas signals how spooked Republicans are as map tilts in Democrats’ favor: The vice president is campaigning in the state on Monday as Sen. Roger Marshall (R) faces a tougher-than-expected challenge from Democrat Adam Hamilton.

David Petraeus: The race to make Putin’s aggression unaffordable: The Ukrainian theory of victory: Demonstrate military genius on an industrial scale and show Russia that time isn’t on its side.

ICE is quietly firing new hires. For one recruit, it was devastating.: Joseph Moore killed himself after learning ICE was going to fire him. Investigators had identified issues in his past that ex-officials say should have blocked his hiring.

Trump’s planned sale of controversial bombs to Israel is largest in years: The pending transfer of the 2,000-pound munition, involved in scores of incidents resulting in civilian casualties, sets up a potential litmus test for Democrats. - "Though described as a sale, the transaction is financed through a mechanism known as Foreign Military Financing, in which the United States provides the money that Israel uses to buy the weapons."

Sarah Longwell’s Playbook for Defeating MAGA: The Bulwark publisher and author of How to Eat an Elephant on what voters want to hear - "A longtime Republican, Longwell now says, 'The Republican Party has to be defeated, and I think MAGA specifically, I want to defeat it and then salt the Earth with its ashes.'"

Russia’s Real Strategy in Europe: Moscow doesn’t want a conventional war, but it is busy fighting a hybrid one.

What Trump Doesn’t Understand About Xi: The Chinese leader cares very little about personal rapport. - "This expectation has no observable foundation in Xi's 14-year rule. Even by the standards of authoritarian rulers, such as Russia's Vladimir Putin, Xi has shown himself to be unsentimental about personal relationships-including those with members of his own inner circle, to say nothing of the leader of China's principal geopolitical rival. Xi is very different from Putin in this regard. Whereas Putin takes extravagant risks on the international stage but is loath to hold his associates accountable for incompetence, Xi is just the opposite. He is calculating and measured in international politics but pitiless in jettisoning even longtime associates for perceived malfeasance.

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"Trump's desire to parlay personal charisma into deals may be one of his least idiosyncratic qualities. In fact, there is something about the impulse that is quintessentially American. Even-perhaps especially-for a Beltway outsider, ascending the American political ladder requires a tremendous amount of glad-handing and personal magnetism, if not charm. Those who reach its pinnacle often assume that the same qualities will serve them on the international stage. Joe Biden rose through the Senate, which required cordiality and the ability to strike deals with rivals. George W. Bush and Bill Clinton were known for their affability. Overbearing friendliness might even be described as our national affect. 

"By contrast, Xi grew up in a system that punished openness and personal dynamism. His father's boss and mentor, the reformer Hu Yaobang, whose death in 1989 sparked the protests in Tiananmen Square, was known for his outspokenness, which played a crucial role in his political demise. Hu's ouster extinguished freewheeling politicking from the ranks of China's leadership ever after."

The Biggest Obstacle to Universal Child Care: Babies: Infant care is incredibly expensive to provide. But one solution could reduce the burden on both states and parents.

Reading archive 2026-09-14

Dead malls dot America. Why not get rid of them?: Across the country, dead malls remain locked up by decades-old agreements with former anchor tenants.

GOP secretaries of state ask Supreme Court to block Trump mail-in ballot rule: The proposed change would significantly increase the likelihood of midterm election issues, they warned. - "The officials in Kentucky, North Dakota, South Dakota, Georgia, New Hampshire and Kansas warned in an amicus curiae letter to the Supreme Court on Wednesday that late implementation of the rule could disrupt the midterms."

Facing historic White House pressure, Smithsonian tells the history of 9/11: Twenty-five years after the attacks, the Smithsonian is preserving the objects and memories of Sept. 11, 2001 for generations who weren’t there — as the White House challenges how it tells American history.

Discovery of a new OpenAI agent message board

Retail Vacancies Downtown Are Still High, and Some Landlords Are to Blame: A quarter of downtown retail space sits empty, and some landlords are keeping it that way to forgo paying for upgrades or to avoid lowering property value. - "Leinberger believes the biggest obstacle for downtown D.C. is that it has too much office space, and not enough other offerings. About 85% of real estate downtown is office space, with only 7.5% for apartments or condos and 7.5% for entertainment, such as theaters, museums and music venues, according to a report he did with commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield. He said the optimal environment for economic development is having a healthy blend of 'work, play and live.'

...

"For some landlords, an empty storefront isn't neglect, but a symptom of a loan condition, Price said. Many building owners are locked into agreements with their lenders that bar them from signing a lease below a certain rent, or from letting a building's income fall under a set threshold. Renting the space out at a discount, in other words, could put them in violation of their own loan or impact its overall market value."

Reading archive 2026-09-11

102 MINUTES: Last Words at the Trade Center; Fighting to Live as the Towers Die