Reading archive 2023-11-30

To protect kids, EPA wants total removal of lead pipes for the first time: The proposed rule, aimed at reducing exposure to a potent neurotoxin, would require water systems nationwide to replace lead pipes that carry tap water to homes, schools and offices

In downtown D.C., a long-vacant historic building could pose opportunity

In the world of sexual fetishes, crossing the political aisle is a kink: Does a forced ‘vote’ for the other side get your pulse racing? There’s a dominatrix for that.

A plane fueled by fat and sugar has crossed the Atlantic Ocean

It’s furry, it’s fierce — and in much of the U.S., it’s now protected: Wolverines in the Lower 48 are set to be protected under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Wednesday

Opinion  In Russia, the shift in public opinion is unmistakable

McCarthy privately recounts terse phone call with Trump after ouster: During the call, former president detailed the reasons he hadn’t intervened during the effort to remove McCarthy as speaker

As the nation’s largest landlord shifts its priorities, outrage ensues in Wyoming: The Biden administration faces a backlash in Wyoming as it puts more emphasis on conservation, recreation and renewable energy on public lands.

Opinion  A Trump dictatorship is increasingly inevitable. We should stop pretending. - "As for his followers, he doesn’t have to achieve anything to retain their support — his failure to build the wall in his first term in no way damaged his standing with millions of his loyalists. They have never asked anything of him other than that he triumph over the forces they hate in American society. And that, we can be sure, will be Trump’s primary mission as president."

Henry Kissinger, who shaped world affairs under two presidents, dies at 100: The diplomat exercised an unparalleled control over U.S. international affairs and policymaking. He was also the target of relentless critics, who deemed him unprincipled and amoral. - "In his comprehensive biography of Dr. Kissinger, journalist Walter Isaacson came to the conclusion that he 'had an instinctive feel for power and for creating a new global balance that could help America cope with its withdrawal syndrome after Vietnam. But it was not matched by a similar feel for the strength to be derived from the openness of America’s democratic system or for the moral values that are the true source of its global influence.'"

Federal inspector general to review FBI site selection process: Virginia officials pushed for an ‘investigation.’ The inspector general will do an evaluation instead. - "FBI Director Christopher A. Wray also criticized the decision, saying in a letter to the GSA’s top official, Robin Carnahan, that a former GSA official in charge of the process who previously oversaw land acquisitions for Metro made questionable decisions that ignored the panel’s recommendations. The 

"GSA defended that accusation when Wray made it earlier this fall, noting that it is not uncommon for the panel’s recommendations to be overruled by a senior official. It happened earlier in the FBI headquarters search when a senior official included Springfield as a finalist after a recommendation panel had ruled it out."