Reading archive 2024-04-25

The Morning: Chaos and oppression - "Arnold Kling, an economist, published a book a decade ago that offered a way to think about the core difference between progressives and conservatives. Progressives, Kling wrote, see the world as a struggle between the oppressor and the oppressed, and they try to help the oppressed. Conservatives see the world as a struggle between civilization and barbarism — between order and chaos — and they try to protect civilization."

Aid to Ukraine seemed dead. Then secretive talks revived it.: In one meeting, Biden and others sprang a surprise effort to persuade Speaker Johnson to pass the aid package

Meadows, Giuliani and other Trump allies charged in Arizona 2020 election probe

How cleaning product chemicals called ‘quats’ may affect the brain: A common ingredient in household disinfectants has been shown in lab studies to affect certain brain cells

In Australia, ‘Cats Are Just Catastrophic’: Feral cats take a heavy toll on the world’s wildlife, especially Down Under. The solution? Smarter traps, sharpshooters,

As bird flu spreads in cows, fractured U.S. response has echoes of early covid

Bird flu in humans, explained: How it spreads, the symptoms and more

Opinion  Why we shouldn’t panic if bird flu becomes the next pandemic

Some Jewish Students Are Targeted as Protests Continue at Columbia: After reports of harassment by demonstrators, some Jewish students said they felt unsafe. Others said they felt safe, while condemning antisemitism. - "Those demonstrations took a dark turn on Saturday evening, as protesters targeted some Jewish students with antisemitic vitriol that was captured in video and pictures, both inside and outside the campus. The verbal attacks left a number of the 5,000 Jewish students at Columbia fearful for their safety on the campus and its vicinity, and even drew condemnation from the White House and Mayor Eric Adams of New York City.

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"In one instance, video captured a person holding up a sign that said, 'Al-Qasam’s Next Targets,' referring to Hamas’s armed faction, near several Jewish counterprotesters.

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"A video posted on X shows a masked protester outside the Columbia gates carrying a Palestinian flag who appears to chant 'Go back to Poland!' One Columbia student wrote on social media that some protesters had stolen an Israeli flag from students and tried to burn it, adding that Jewish students were splashed with water."

The ‘Mother Tree’ idea is everywhere — but how much of it is real?: A popular theory about how trees cooperate has enchanted the public and raised the profile of forest conservation. But some ecologists think its scientific basis has been oversold.

Invading plants remain undetected in a lag phase while they explore suitable climates

Can Gardeners Learn to Love Snags? These Pros Think So.

Where the Pros go to Source Native Plants

Senior ‘skip day’ was an annual tradition. Then 5 teens were shot.: Greenbelt officials and community members are grappling with how to move forward after five teenagers were wounded at a “senior skip day” outing