Reading archive 2024-08-30

Biking in the District is for normies—that’s a good thing

Covid associated with increased risk for hearing loss in young adults: The incidences of hearing loss and sudden deafness were higher for people who had covid than those who did not, a new study reports

D.C. officer used metal device to reach gun in drain when it discharged, officials say: Wayne David was fatally shot when a gun he was trying to retrieve “went off.” Officials say he was trying to reach it with a device used to unlock cars.

Trump, Vance take a new tone on abortion, riling some on the right: Recent comments from the Republican presidential ticket suggest the campaign is eyeing the importance of pro-abortion-rights voters in swing states.

Israel strikes aid convoy organized by U.S. nonprofit, killing 4 Palestinians: The Anera convoy was carrying medical supplies and fuel to a hospital in Rafah, and its route was coordinated in advance with the IDF.

Trump’s mixed record on vaccines in spotlight after RFK Jr. endorsement: Trump vows to defund schools with vaccine mandates. But, as president, he has also embraced vaccines, championing the development of the coronavirus vaccine. - "A Trump campaign official told The Washington Post that Trump is referring solely to coronavirus vaccine mandates in publicly funded schools — not vaccinations against other diseases on the childhood immunization schedule — in his threat to defund schools. But Trump has yet to publicly clarify what he means, and his campaign did not respond to questions about his position on childhood immunizations, whether he believes they contribute to autism and whether his views on vaccines align with Kennedy’s."

Selling America: The Army’s fight to find recruits in a mistrustful, divided nation: Recruiters are contending with a confounding array of political, social and economic crises that have made it harder than ever to find citizens willing to serve

Woman charged in Bay Bridge crash was on probation for drunken driving: The 48-year-old is a former Maryland state employee in the Department of Human Services, an official said.

D.C. reviewing violence-intervention contracts after Trayon White’s arrest: D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s administration and the D.C. Council are launching probes related to the case. - "The organizations have contracts with ONSE, while DYRS runs a similar youth-oriented program called Credible Messengers. (The D.C. Attorney General’s Office has its own violence-intervention program, Cure the Streets, that did not come up in White’s case.)" [ed. note: plus Zachary Parker's North Capital project, there's too many individual groups]

Reading archive 2024-08-29

Marijuana Is Too Strong Now: As weed has become easier to obtain, it has become harder to smoke.

D.C. attorney general alleges ‘widespread’ title insurance kickbacks: An AG’s investigation found four Washington-area title insurance companies paid agents for referrals in violation of local consumer protection law. - "He recommends that home buyers insist on an independent title company that isn’t affiliated with their agent."

Decision on Georgia election board threatens Kemp’s détente with Trump: The governor must decide whether to seek the removal of board members who have been praised by the former president for changing election rules with months to go before the vote.

Opinion Don’t yawn at Trump’s dishonorable use of Arlington National Cemetery: The candidate who has repeatedly maligned our soldiers couldn’t resist an illegal publicity stunt. - "Also for the record, it was Trump who negotiated the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan and forced the Afghan government to release thousands of jailed Taliban fighters in a prisoner swap. Those decisions helped make possible the Taliban’s swift return to power."

Trump campaign posts video from Arlington Cemetery after alleged altercation: A U.S. defense official said the Trump campaign was told repeatedly that it could not capture photos and video in Section 60, the final resting place of many recent fatalities. - "As president, Trump struck a deal with the Taliban to exchange prisoners and set a timetable to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan. But he criticized the ultimate exit during the Biden presidency, saying the execution was botched."

Army defends Arlington Cemetery staffer ‘pushed aside’ by Trump aides: The employee decided not to press charges, and the service considers the matter closed, officials said.

Vance tells Harris to ‘go to hell’ for cemetery criticism she didn’t give: Trump and his allies are known to flout political norms, but the crass language Vance used to criticize a political opponent Wednesday is particularly unusual in modern politics.

Vance defends telling Harris to ‘go to hell’ for nonexistent cemetery criticism: The GOP vice-presidential candidate said an Arlington cemetery worker pushed aside by a Trump aide does not deserve an apology.

Secret Service detail for JD Vance closes an Alexandria park: Judy Lowe Neighborhood Park, frequented by toddlers, dogs and seniors, is now effectively part of the U.S. Secret Service setup. Some neighbors are bummed.

D.C. officer who took bribes for leaking crash victims’ data sent to prison: Former D.C. police officer Vincent Forrest was convicted at trial this year of bribery, conspiracy and making false statements.

New York county’s ban on wearing masks in public leads to first arrest: Nassau County police said they found a knife on a man they stopped and searched because he was wearing a mask, the first violation of a controversial local law.

24 hours of Trump: QAnon tributes, crude attacks and hawking pieces of his suit: With fewer than 70 days until the election, Trump is zigging and zagging with an arsenal of unfocused broadsides and peripheral pursuits.

Reading archive 2024-08-28

More than 80 guns stolen from Md. shops; four suspects charged: Authorities say two minors were among the four people who burglarized Md. gun shops and boasted about it on social media.

Arlington board votes to dismantle county’s human rights commission: The appointed volunteers on Arlington’s Human Rights Commission had earlier this year voiced concerns over a string of deaths in the county jail.

TikTok dining influencer Keith Lee (politely) dunks on D.C.’s food scene: Lee says he won’t post most of the videos he shot in the Washington area because it was “not constructive.”

Trump campaign posts video from Arlington Cemetery after alleged altercation: A U.S. defense official said the Trump campaign was told repeatedly that they could not capture photos and video in Section 60, the final resting place of many recent fatalities.

Harris to barnstorm through Georgia in effort to put state back in play: The bus tour reflects the vice president’s effort to to court votes in suburban and rural communities.

Journalist withheld information about Emmett Till’s murder, documents show: William Bradford Huie’s newly released research notes show he suspected more than two men tortured and killed 14-year-old Emmett Till, but suggest that he left that out when it threatened his story.

Reading archive 2024-08-27

After virtual academy closes, student heads to classroom for the first time: Montgomery County Public Schools closed a virtual academy. Now, some of its students are bracing to go back to school in person.

This state calls itself the ‘most pro-life.’ But moms there keep dying.: Giving birth in Arkansas, especially its rural southeast, comes with more risk and less care. The challenges feel acute for someone like doula Hajime White. - "Arkansas already has one of the nation’s worst maternal mortality rates, and mothers in this area die at a rate exceeding the state average. Ninety-two percent of recent maternal deaths were preventable, a state review committee found.

...

"Though teen birth rates are falling nationally, federal data shows the statistic for Arkansas is almost twice the U.S. average. Lack of access to contraception is a major factor; the rate at which teens in Arkansas have unprotected sex is 75 percent higher, according to a report from the nonprofit Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families."

Opinion How Rep. Mike Gallagher, a rising GOP star, was driven out of politics

More than 200 former Bush, McCain and Romney staffers endorse Harris: An open letter warned that a second Donald Trump presidency “will hurt real, everyday people and weaken our sacred institutions.”

D.C. police starting new unit dedicated to street traffic safety: Traffic enforcement has dropped precipitously since the pandemic while traffic fatalities have gone up.

First day of school in D.C. brings new book bags and buildings: D.C. Public Schools reopened several schools after multimillion-dollar renovations.

Chinese government hackers penetrate U.S. internet providers to spy: Beijing’s hacking effort has “dramatically stepped up from where it used to be,” says former top U.S cybersecurity official.

Lawsuit to keep single-family zoning in Alexandria likely heading to trial: A judge ruled that a group of Alexandria homeowners can move ahead in suing the Northern Virginia city over its “Zoning for Housing” plan.

Scientists have more evidence to explain why billions of crabs vanished around Alaska - "Fishermen and scientists were alarmed when billions of crabs vanished from the Bering Sea near Alaska in 2022. It wasn’t overfishing, scientists explained — it was likely the shockingly warm water that sent the crabs’ metabolism into overdrive and starved them to death."

Cows obstruct Nigeria’s capital as climate change and development leave herders with nowhere to go

Why Democrats are so quiet about climate change right now: Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats have not made significant mentions of climate change or the environment in recent stump speeches.

Good and Bad Critiques of the Trump Civil Fraud Verdict - "But some of the defenses offered on behalf of Trump simply don’t hold water, chief among them the claim that Trump’s conduct was somehow victimless and that the counterparties, primarily banks and insurance companies, came out fine."

Thoughts on Judge Engoron's Opinion, A Response to Calabresi: A different take. - "They were able to repay the loans, true, but they wouldn't have gotten the loans without the lies.  And they reaped massive profits from lying, Judge Engoron concludes, as they were able to make deals they wouldn't have been able to make, and at rates they wouldn't have been able to get, had they been truthful."

YIMBYs' Premature Victory Dance at the DNC: Kamala Harris' promise to end the housing shortage and adopt rent control shows that YIMBY ideas are just one of several competing housing policy agendas within the Democratic Party. - "She has endorsed President Joe Biden's call for federal rent control, a disastrous policy with a long track record of reducing rental housing supply and quality. She's called for $25,000 down payment subsidies for first-time homebuyers, something that could increase supply somewhat but will also certainly increase home prices."

Plastics Are Better for the Climate Than Aluminum and Glass, Actually: Producing plastics from fossil fuels emits a lot of carbon dioxide, but a new study finds the life cycle emissions are actually lower than glass and aluminum. - "The good news is that some companies and researchers are developing nearly endlessly recyclable plastics. Currently, UBQ Materials turns unsorted household wastes including single-use plastics into thermoplastics that can be subsequently recycled as many as five times—a process that cuts greenhouse gas emissions by more than 90 percent. In addition, researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed an 'infinitely recyclable' bio-based plastic called polydiketoenamine that cuts greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 98 percent compared to conventional plastics."

The thread connecting Robert Kennedy Jr., chemtrails and Project 2025: Robert Kennedy Jr.’s exotic beliefs are no barrier to his having authority in a Trump administration. Nor will the Project 2025 authors’. - "'We are going to stop this crime,' Kennedy pledged to user 'Concerned Citizen.' The crime? 'Chemtrails,' the conspiracy theory that the lines planes trace in the sky are not water vapor (which they are) but at least occasionally dangerous chemicals being released for some nebulously explained population-control effort."

Reading archive 2024-08-26

Opinion Justice Gorsuch’s book of fish tales: A new book by the Supreme Court conservative raises the question: Does having all the facts matter?

Elon Musk’s X reveals investors in court filing: A court filing obtained by The Post lists which firms and individuals have a financial stake in the platform.

Canadian government ends major railway stoppage, ordering arbitration: Canada’s two largest railroads shut down early Thursday, jeopardizing deliveries of crucial supplies to the United States.

Where mosquito season is getting longer

Trump takes it upon himself to decide who is a proper Jew: In an interview and a late-night social media post, the former president railed against and disparaged Jewish Democrats, largely for being anti-Trump.

A close race brings fresh fears of election interference by Trump allies: The euphoric mood at the Democratic National Convention this week came alongside growing concern that the former president’s backers could attempt to undermine the results. - "The new certification rule in Georgia may be only the beginning. The majority has proposed 11 additional rules that will come up for approval close to the state’s Oct. 14 early-voting start date. Among the proposals is one requiring a hand-count of ballots in precincts to make sure the number of votes recorded equals the number of ballots. It’s a task that voting machines already do."

Some Giant stores in D.C. are banning unaccompanied minors after 6 p.m.: The grocery chain’s new policy also modifies a previous effort to prohibit customers with large bags.

Traffic fatalities have doubled since D.C.’s promise of zero: Thirty-three people have lost their lives in traffic crashes this year.

Indian Americans conflicted about Kamala Harris pose campaign challenge: In an immigrant community stratified by religion, language and class, Kamala Harris’s background is embraced by some but rings hollow for others.

DeSantis in middle of Florida feud pitting marijuana against hemp: Voters in Florida will soon decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana. DeSantis is against it and getting support from an unlikely ally: the hemp industry.

Tim Walz’s upbringing in rural Nebraska seemed idyllic. Then came tragedy.: Uprooted from a small city, Walz and his family moved to a remote town of a few hundred to deal with his father’s cancer.

Opinion A big problem for young workers: 70- and 80-year-olds who won’t retire: With five generations in the workforce, it’s harder for beginners to get hired or promoted.

Opinion Ukraine’s Kursk offensive isn’t just a raid. It’s upending assumptions.: Russia, stunned by the incursion, has been slow to respond, while Ukraine gains battlefield maneuverability.

Opinion Sam Bankman-Fried, a personal verdict: A few thoughts on how Americans thought about the crypto trial of the century. - "When confronted by older experts in some complicated field in which he had zero experience, Sam’s first step was always to doubt the value of their advice and think about the complicated field on his own."

Environmental group calls for RFK Jr. to be investigated for reportedly sawing off whale head: In a resurfaced 2012 interview, his daughter shared he had once used a chain saw to cut off a dead whale’s head to bring it home, reportedly to study.

Trump vowed to release all remaining JFK files. What could they contain?: Despite their differences about what they suspect happened on Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas, two prominent researchers agree the remaining files should be released. - "When he was president in 2017, Trump announced that he planned to publicly disclose the remaining documents but ultimately delayed the release of some files for national security reasons, saying they would be released by October 2021. In 2018, Trump authorized the disclosure of 19,045 documents, many of which contained redactions."

Ukraine keeps crossing Russia’s red lines. Putin keeps blinking.: Ukraine’s punch through Russian defenses in the first foreign invasion since World War II has laid bare Moscow’s apparently illusory red lines.

How a gay beach oasis flourished in Michigan’s Bible Belt: Gay artists, club owners and nude bathers have found a safe haven in Saugatuck and Douglas since the 1890s.

Public service, secret payments: FBI says Trayon White had two sides: On days FBI says he took bribes, D.C. Council member Trayon White Sr. (D-Ward 8) took to social media and posted about serving constituents.

The balloon drop at the DNC had more meaning than you might know: More than 50 balloon artists volunteered to make the display in honor of their colleague who is fighting cancer.

Australia offers U.S. a vast new military launchpad in China conflict: Australia is expanding its northern military bases, with U.S. support, to counter China's growing threat. Critics quip it’s become the “51st state.”

RFK Jr. suspends his campaign — with an appropriately bizarre theory: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. insisted he can somehow still be elected president. Let’s count the holes in his reasoning.

Trump allies try to energize him as he struggles to adapt to Harris: The Republican nominee has fixated on Biden’s withdrawal: “It feels like he’s lost his mojo.”

Trump suggests he might skip ABC debate with Harris: The Sept. 10 debate with ABC is the only one both campaigns have agreed to do with one of the major networks.

Endangered lynx makes its first appearance in Vermont in years: Wildlife officials said it was the first confirmed Canada lynx sighting in the state since 2018.

The fact-vs.-fiction election: The alliance of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Donald Trump makes sense from an epistemological standpoint, if not a policy one. - "Because, at the end of the day, Trump and Kennedy are aligned on the most fundamental aspect of their politics: that what you believe is more important than what is. That they are right and that the people saying they’re wrong are wrong.

...

"This reflects the through-line between him and Trump: that there is no expertise or authority that should be given deference over what you want or believe to be true. That scientists and military experts and researchers have opinions that can sit alongside your own. Or, in many cases, have opinions that are inferior to your own, since they are part of informational systems that are inherently untrustworthy by virtue of including those experts."

Scientists may have found a radical solution for making your hamburger less bad for the planet: Researchers in California are working to genetically engineer the cow microbiome -- and in the process, eliminate methane emissions. - "Such a probiotic could also improve a farm’s productivity. Cows can lose up to 12 percent of their energy through burping up methane; other ruminants, like sheep and goats, also lose energy in this way. “If there is a way to redirect that hydrogen and convert it into milk, meat, wool — it would be much more accepted by farmers,” Kebreab said."

Reading archive 20224-08-22

Opinion Tim Walz and JD Vance are having the argument that matters: In his convention speech, Tim Walz articulated a view of America sharply contrasting with JD Vance’s. - "Literally speaking, this is not debatable; America exists, it is a nation and it has a history. But Vance isn’t being literal. He is articulating the central idea that animates all forms of nationalism (including the white variety), as well as the Trump movement. He is arguing that there is such thing as a common American culture, with its own language (English), its own religious ethos (Judeo-Christian) and its own concept of family (heterosexual, with naturally conceived children). 

"Of course there’s room for immigration and racial diversity in Vance’s worldview; his own wife is of Indian descent. But in his view of America, the outsider becomes American by adopting a set of cultural norms — living here “on our terms,” as he put it in his speech. In this way, he sees America as no different, really, from France or Russia or any other country with common ethnic heritage. The price of admission is cultural conformity.

What Walz articulates — about as clearly as anyone has in the party since Barack Obama arrived on the scene 20 years ago — is a competing view that says, no, actually America is very much an idea. Alone among nations, we have from the very start been a collection of immigrants and outsiders, bound together not by any common origin or culture, but rather by a common set of laws and values and institutions — what Abraham Lincoln called our 'political religion.' (This is the liberal version of “American Exceptionalism” — the thing that makes us different from everyplace else.)"

Fact-checking Day 3 of the 2024 Democratic National Convention: Speakers made claims about Project 2025, Trump’s tax cuts, and job creation under post-Cold War presidents.

Reading archive 2024-08-21

How does the loss of vultures lead to 500,000+ people dying?: Loss of vultures due to accidental poisoning resulted in more than 100,000 human deaths per year in India. - Cow carcasses led to more feral dogs, therefore more rabies, and pollutes water.

Man says he kissed partner at Shake Shack, then was attacked by employees: The incident is being investigated as a suspected hate crime, according to a D.C. police report. No one has been charged, and a suspect claimed self defense.

How Chinese investors tried to take over an Australian mining company: A struggle between an Australian mining company and Chinese investors has pulled back a curtain on the intensifying global conflict for rare-earth minerals.

With six words, Michelle Obama rewires America’s conversation on race: Most of us, Michelle Obama said, “will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth.”

Opinion DNC protests devolve into farce: For a while, I couldn’t find a single protester outside the convention, much less a Chicago seven.

Former Trump press secretary says he mocked his supporters as ‘basement dwellers’: Stephanie Grisham was one of several Republicans to address the Democratic National Convention and urge a vote for Kamala Harris.

A popular nature park was trampled by overuse. Dogs came to the rescue.: “People were loving our urban nature reserve to death,” said Dylan Walker, manager of a British restoration project that used dogs to seed the ground.

Opinion I was a captive of Hamas. After I was freed, I was imprisoned by online trolls.: I was among the Oct. 7 hostages. I dreamed of freedom, and hoped the world would embrace us.

First of 5 teen girls charged in fatal attack of D.C. man pleads guilty: A 15-year-old pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon as four other girls prepare for trial in the October beating death of Reginald Brown. - "Prosecutor Gabrielle LoGaglio accepted the plea deal and noted that at the time of the attack, the teen was also wanted in Maryland in connection with two robberies.

...

"'These aren’t girls. These are animals and they should be locked up for the maximum amount of time,' said Brown’s sister, Nasia Israel."

He joined the force after allegedly storming the Capitol. He was just arrested.: John Carl, who recently worked as a police officer in North Carolina, was arrested for his alleged actions during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.

Opinion Trayon White is no Marion Barry. He’s out of step with D.C.: Bribery charges against the council member will strike some as tragic, others as predictable.

Opinion The U.S. attorney comes calling for Trayon White: A criminal complaint offers a disturbing view of the oversight of millions spent on anti-poverty programs in D.C.

Reading archive 2024-08-20

I Have Been Studying Poker for Years. Kamala Harris Isn’t Bluffing.

Outraged Over Gaza, Protesters Show Left-Wing Divisions as Convention Opens: A protest in Chicago on Monday, which was expected to be one of the largest of the week, drew fewer demonstrators than organizers had hoped for.

RFK Jr.’s running mate drops the pretense about helping Trump: Nicole Shanahan offered some surprisingly unvarnished comments that played into Democrats’ longstanding allegations.

D.C. violence interrupters hope bribery scandal won’t undercut their efforts: The relatively small community of people who work on what’s often called “community violence intervention” has been hit hard by the news of Trayon White Sr.’s arrest. - "A 2022 D.C. Auditor’s report on violence interruption programs found that their results were mixed, and that staff with organizations contracted by the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement were spread too thin across D.C. neighborhoods, including in some priority communities that only had a part-time violence interrupter.

...

"While homicides are down significantly in D.C. this year, these community-based organizations have weathered a difficult few years. Last year, the city recorded more homicides than it had in 25 years." [ed. note: lol]

Reading archive 2024-08-19

7 myths about sugar in cooking and baking: The uniquely American sugar complex and more misguided culinary assumptions.

A “Seven-Inning” Sportswriter’s Dispatch From Chicago: In 1968, Jerry Izenberg, a sports columnist for the Newark Star-Ledger, was sent to the Democratic Convention to pinch-hit on the politics beat

With false ‘coup’ claims, Trump primes supporters to challenge a Harris win: Amid a tight presidential race, Donald Trump has tried to delegitimize Kamala Harris’s nomination and undermine confidence in this year’s election.

The Republican impeachment probe ends the way it began: with nothing: What the probe reveals more than anything is the extent to which Republican House officials were willing to use their power to aid Donald Trump politically.

A Black couple hosts family parties. Neighbors keep calling the cops.: Their dispute is now in court, as the couple alleges in a lawsuit that their neighbors’ calls to police amount to racial discrimination. The neighbors say the parties are just too loud.

D.C. Council member Trayon White took tens of thousands in bribes, U.S. says: D.C. Council member Trayon White was arrested for taking bribes and kickbacks, according to the FBI.

Trayon White, a Marion Barry protege, faces his own moment of reckoning: With the arrest of the council member, his prospects in November — a sure thing under normal circumstances in an overwhelmingly Democratic city — were suddenly uncertain.

D.C. Council to investigate White amid bribery allegations, consider expulsion Expelling Trayon White Sr. from office is the most severe action the council could take, which would require a supermajority. Other options include a reprimand or censure.

Reading archive 2024-08-18

In a Ukrainian prison, cells are full of young Russian conscripts: The capture of so many young men in the Ukrainian incursion poses a significant challenge for the Kremlin.

Jury convicts D.C. man of manslaughter in death of unarmed 13-year-old: A jury acquitted Jason Lewis on a second-degree murder charge in the Jan. 7, 2023, fatal shooting of Karon Blake, but found him guilty of lesser charges including manslaughter and assault with a dangerous weapon.

In Ukraine-controlled Sudzha, stranded Russian civilians question what’s next: For Ukrainian forces on the ground, the offensive is seen less as a conquest for long-term annexation and more as a negotiating tactic.

Opinion The times demand serious economic ideas. Harris supplies gimmicks.: ‘Price gouging’ is not causing inflation. So why is the vice president promising to stamp it out?

Opinion Six veterans on Tim Walz’s and JD Vance’s military service: What do ‘stolen valor’ and ‘at war’ really mean? And what do veterans owe each other?

A man followed a family onto the wrong flight. Delta is investigating.: An intruder followed a Georgia family through Dulles airport and onto their flight before a flight attendant intervened.

Alaska troopers brutally beat man in mistaken arrest, prosecutors say: At no time during the encounter did officers ask the man what his name was, according to charging documents.

Opinion Having a lot of children made me less Republican: JD Vance and other conservatives think that growing up nudges you to the right. I found the opposite.

Kremlin response to Kursk incursion shows how Putin freezes in a crisis: When Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authority is tested, his response often lacks quick, decisive action that lives up to his bellicose rhetoric.

Far-right influencers turn against Trump campaign: Hard-right provocateurs take aim at how the former president’s aides are positioning him for the November vote -- though not at the Republican candidate himself.

Far-right influencers turn against Trump campaign: Hard-right provocateurs take aim at how the former president’s aides are positioning him for the November vote -- though not at the Republican candidate himself.

FBI arrests D.C. Council member Trayon White: The nature of the allegations against White, a Democrat representing Ward 8, were not immediately clear. The FBI declined to comment.

Reading archive 2024-08-16

Kamala. Hillary. Nancy. But not Joe, Donald or Barack. Why?: We tend to call powerful women by their first names, and sometimes that’s okay.

1-year-old dead after father abducted her and crashed car in police chase: The multi-car crash on the Beltway occurred after Dana Plummer fled police in Virginia Beach and was chased by Virginia State Police into Maryland, officials said.

He found a Project 2025 duffel bag. Then police showed up at his house.: Journalist and author Malcolm Harris says he found the bag left on a ledge in Capitol Hill. It turned out to be more trouble than it was worth.

Rare ‘doomsday’ oarfish emerges off San Diego coast, exciting scientists: Oarfish live in the deep-sea and can grow to more than 30 feet long. The silvery fish are rarely seen by humans, and thought to be a source of sea monster legends.

Viral Olympic B-girl Raygun says the ‘hate’ has been ‘devastating’: Australian Rachael Gunn’s breaking performance sparked a backlash, including an online petition that Olympic officials condemned as “misleading and bullying.”

Tech problems have hit D.C.’s 911 center eight times this year: While the issues did not prevent people from being able to call 911, they did open the door for mistakes. - "Agency Director Heather McGaffin sent a staffwide email this week offering an $800 bonus to any employee who simply shows up to all of their scheduled August shifts, noting absences were straining workers stuck covering extra shifts. 

"The agency says the new incentive is part of a suite of efforts they have made to improve staffing — including offering a $2,500 hiring bonus and speeding up the recruitment process." [ed. note: I don't want to hear about anyone who cannot find a job]

‘Baby K’ gets 25 years for attempted murder on Prince George’s school bus: Kaeden Holland, known as “Baby K,” was sentenced Friday afternoon in Prince George’s County Circuit Court. - "If he is convicted in the District in the murder case, he faces a maximum sentence of secure detention within the juvenile system until age 21. Because juvenile cases are confidential, it is unclear whether authorities in D.C. will seek to transfer his case to adult court." [ed. note: jfc]

The big issue roiling a small town: Does everyone deserve a second chance? :In Maryland’s Brentwood community, the hiring of a convicted rapist has left residents worried and leadership divided

Reading archive 2024-08-15

Feeling old? Your molecules change rapidly around ages 44 and 60.: Shifts in abundance of over 135,000 types of molecules and microbes related to age did not occur gradually over time, but clustered around two ages, a study showed.

Surprise jump in retail sales casts aside recession fears: Retail sales rose 1 percent in July, reversing a June slowdown and marking the largest jump in more than two years.

How the world’s last wild red wolves are avoiding extinction: The endangered wolves face multiple threats, from cars to climate change. A renewed push to save them in eastern North Carolina has brought cautious optimism.

Ukraine unleashes attacks on Russian airfields amid Kursk offensive: After rushing reinforcements to Kursk and announcing a “counterterrorism” operation, Russian forces have failed to halt the nine-day incursion.

Ukraine offensive in Russia expands beyond Kursk region, soldiers say: Ukraine’s intelligence service announced the detention of more than 100 Russian troops, in what it said amounted to the “largest mass capture” of enemy soldiers at one time.

Ukraine gambled on an incursion deep into Russian territory. The bold move changed the battlefield: Ukraine’s stunning incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region was a bold gamble for the country’s military commanders, who committed their limited resources to a risky assault on a nuclear-armed enemy with no assurance of success

Stumpy 2.0: Clones of beloved Tidal Basin cherry tree are thriving: For the National Arboretum’s horticulturists, the problem with cloning Stumpy was . . . its stumpiness.

Man charged with killing unarmed 13-year-old says he feared for his life: Jason Lewis, who is on trial for the Jan. 7, 2023, fatal shooting of Karon Blake, spent 20 years working with D.C. teens.

Former D.C. Housing Authority head Brenda Donald alleges retaliation in suit: The suit also names the DCHA board and Council member Robert C. White Jr., and alleges that the board did not protect Donald as she faced questions about a controversial bonus.

Reading archive 2024-08-14

Opinion A different kind of remote work: Two jobs, two checks, one mess: Caroline Lian worked two full-time gigs at the same time by juggling remote and in-person days.

Harris faces N.C. voters skeptical of a promised tech boom: As the Democratic presidential candidate makes another campaign visit to the swing state, Biden’s promise of factory jobs hasn’t swayed voters. - "Even if its slow to get going, BEAD is the most exciting thing to happen to the fiber-optics industry in a long time: Its domestic production requirement is set to create a sales boom for made-in-USA equipment."

Opinion Israel is not the only target of Iranian assassination threats: Tehran has been plotting a violent retaliation campaign against the United States for years.

Ohio officer charged with murder after fatally shooting pregnant woman: The indictment marks the first time the officer, Connor Grubb, has been publicly named.

Congress didn’t recognize a race riot. Biden will make the site a monument.: The president will designate the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument on Friday, the White House confirmed to The Post.

Indicted pro-Trump lawyer who leaked emails is removed from Dominion suit: Dominion Voting Systems lawyers say they will also seek sanctions against Stefanie Lambert’s client, former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne, in $1.6 billion defamation suit.

The other big shift in the presidential race: Trump was running against Biden on crime, inflation and the border. Now Biden’s out — and those other issues aren’t as potent as they were.

Trump vs. Harris magnifies America’s generational and cultural divides: The candidates, their movements and their rallies embody two very different identities, setting up a stark contrast for voters.

Why Trump keeps talking about fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter: Trump is the “crypt keeper for the 1980s,” a Trump biographer said. Trump has mentioned Lecter while making baseless claims about immigrants.

Reading archive 2024-08-13 pt 2

An engineer’s defense of the pedestrian push button

Opinion The Navy is breaking down. We need our allies’ help to fix our ships.: Maintenance delays and construction backlogs have led to an atrophied fleet and broken naval industrial base.

The United States Must Improve Its Shipbuilding Capacity

Fighting DMO, Pt. 8: China’s Anti-Ship Firepower and Mass Firing Schemes

Opinion How to transform city streets — without losing your parking spot

Opinion The 12 medals that Chinese swimmers won in Paris will forever be tainted: Apparent systemic doping among Chinese swimmers must be investigated.

Opinion Environmentalists are suing us out of addressing climate change

Over a billion birds die after striking U.S. buildings each year — maybe many more: The death toll is probably much higher than previously thought, U.S. researchers said. Light pollution that lures birds to urban areas is a particular problem.

South Korea recycles 98% of its food waste. What can it teach the world?: Almost all leftovers from homes and restaurants are turned into compost, animal feed and even energy. But its model isn’t easy to replicate.

Reading archive 2024-08-13 pt 1

Opinion What deporting 15 million people would look like: Democrats need to warn Hispanics what a vote for Trump really means. - "Other Trump voters appear willing to disregard the human costs of an unforgiving immigration policy. 'Terrible for those who came after. Congratulations to me,' Santiago Ferran Barnet, a Cuban immigrant, told the Miami Herald during a Trump rally. Other Trump supporters share this moral meanness and lack of empathy. 'Putting them in a camp and deporting them? It sounds great to me,' said Anais Refujol, a Trump voter from California, when asked about detention centers for recent Venezuelan immigrants. Ironically, Refujol herself earned citizenship after arriving as a refugee in 2004 — from Venezuela."

The lice will always win: We’ve been losing the war against lice since the dawn of humanity. Should we change how we think about them?

Blue crab invasion upends Italy’s culinary traditions and ecology: The blue crabs crossed the Atlantic as stowaways, and with no natural predators they’re overtaking Italy’s marine ecosystem.

Russians evacuated from Kursk as Putin grapples with Ukrainian incursion: The acting governor of the Kursk region said the situation is “complicated,” with Ukraine’s forces now in control of more than two dozen Russian villages.

The one thing you should look for on clothing labels when you go shopping

Why does it feel like everyone has an autoimmune disease?: Autoimmune diseases are rising worldwide, and it’s not purely explained by genetics.

The skate park was thriving. Then a right-wing YouTuber bought it.: Tim Pool’s purchase of an improvised skate park has riled skateboarders in West Virginia’s eastern panhandle.

Gold bar scams net millions in Montgomery County: ‘Money to be had here.’: Local and federal law enforcement officials warn residents to be on guard.

A youth sports giant took over city land. Neighbors are fighting back.: Local advocates have called Surf Cup Sports’ 120-acre complex “an environmental travesty” and accuse the city of San Diego of looking the other way.

A trio of silly, false claims that JD Vance makes about Kamala Harris: No, she doesn’t want to ban red meat or gas stoves or believe that people shouldn’t have children because of climate change.

Ex-police chief who led raid on Kansas newspaper faces felony charge: Gideon Cody allegedly tampered with an investigation into a raid of the Marion County Record and its publisher’s home, worrying press freedom advocates.

Musk’s chat with Trump was a peek inside the right-wing bubble: For more than two hours, the ideological allies struggled to be the most prominent voice in their conversation.

Does Donald Trump understand how the ocean works?: Once again Monday night, he claimed that rising sea levels would create “more oceanfront property.”

Former Colorado official found guilty for role in election equipment tampering: Tina Peters, a former county clerk, was accused of helping copy election information after Trump lost the 2020 presidential election.

Why newsrooms haven’t published leaked Trump campaign documents: The Trump campaign said the documents from a mysterious source came from an Iranian hack. The FBI is now investigating. - "In 2016, Trump relished Russian hacks of Democratic campaign emails, once asking the country to find more of Hillary Clinton’s emails with the phrase, 'Russia, if you’re listening.' 

"But in the aftermath of its own possible hack, the Trump campaign told reporters that to publish the material would be assisting a foreign state actor in undermining democracy. 'Any media or news outlet reprinting documents or internal communications are doing the bidding of America’s enemies and doing exactly what they want,' Steven Cheung, a campaign spokesman, said in a statement."

Opinion Hot tip: Both parties should stop bribing voters with tax cuts: Exempting tips from taxes is a terrible idea, regardless of which party is proposing it.

How Kate Cox Became a Reluctant Face of the Abortion-Rights Movement - "Trisomy 18 is almost always a fatal condition. In rare cases, babies with milder forms of the disease can survive for years, even into adolescence. But Cox’s doctor told her that there were so many malformations to her daughter’s brain, spine, and neural tube that the baby would probably die in utero. If not, she would be placed directly into hospice care after being born, where doctors did not expect her to survive more than a few days. 'Every single case of Trisomy 18 I’ve seen has demised—if not in utero, then within hours to days after birth,' says Dr. Damla Karsan, Cox’s Ob-Gyn. 'Even if they do survive, the standard of care is comfort care, do not resuscitate.'

...

"'Kate was the first time since Roe was overturned that a woman who was currently pregnant, needing an abortion under the health exemption, went to a court to get a court order for an abortion,' Northup says. Her situation, Northup says, exposes how some medical exceptions to abortion bans are written in a way that makes them nearly impossible to apply. 'What Kate Cox’s case shows is that this argument of the states that they have exceptions to their blanket abortion bans for the health of the woman is false. They don’t have exceptions, and they won’t allow exceptions to be applied.'"

Reading archive 2024-08-11

How Coca-Cola tried and failed to suppress a boycott over Gaza: An ad campaign in South Asia tried to distance Coke from Israel. Instead, it became a case study in botched corporate messaging. - "The so-called Palestinian factory is actually an Israeli-owned bottling company that operates on an Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem considered illegal under international law."

AG Brian Schwalb Is Demanding Documents from Intralot, the Company Behind D.C.’s Troubled Sports Betting Contract: Legal filings hint at an investigation of the Greek gaming firm and its subcontractors on the controversial deal.

After two years of far-right rule in a Michigan county, one chance to change it: Divisive, Trump-style politics came to Ottawa County. Then moderate Republicans and some Democrats mobilized and fought back.

Opinion Harris is beating Trump by transcending him: The vice president and her running mate are achieving a radical shift in messaging.

Opinion Interview: Pelosi’s genius is in making history but not telling all: Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, with a newly published memoir, sits down to talk politics and more. - "'Ultimately, it is my belief that the failures that lead to 9/11 were organizational and unintentional. But the intelligence failures that led to the Iraq invasion were bureaucratic and deliberate.'"

Color theory for male politicians: Am I a gold, copper or bronze?: The 2024 presidential election season has given us an eyeful of the glorious highs and perilous lows of men’s makeup.

D.C. school fights to keep recess, sports space ahead of renovations: J.C. Nalle Elementary School could lose access to a much-used grassy field, parents and teachers fear.

Opinion The unbearable lightness of being Donald Trump: The presidency didn’t age Trump the way it does everyone else. That tells you something about him. - "And yet, Trump’s age isn’t generating much alarm for voters or news organizations, in part because, unlike Biden, he comes off as surprisingly robust. Trump’s supporters might see this as affirmation of his superhuman strength — or even, after last month’s assassination attempt, as divine will. I see it as connected to whatever personality disorder he manifests."

Which states get too much attention? Which ones are truly forgotten?: Parts of these United States have an honest claim to being forgotten, while others dominate the national conversation. But how to measure that?

‘AI’ crowds and unskewed polls: Trump prepares to reject another loss: The former president’s recent rejection of obvious realities indicates that he is not planning to treat a negative 2024 outcome as legitimate.

Opinion Trump’s fantasy-based outbursts are getting out of hand, even for him: His newest social media meltdown is flirting with delusion.

Reading archive 2024-08-10

Opinion Surprise Ukraine offensive pokes Russia’s soft underbelly: Kyiv just made a move that military analysts, and Moscow, apparently, didn’t think was possible.

The friendliest social network you’ve never heard of: On Front Porch Forum, politics is fair game but unkindness is strictly prohibited.

Montana GOP Senate candidate touts his business. It’s losing millions.: After last year’s slow wildfire season, Tim Sheehy’s aerial firefighting company has suffered steep losses.

A pastor said his pro-Trump prophecies came from God. His brother called him a fake.: Jeremiah Johnson became a sensation when he embraced politics. His brother Josiah, also a preacher, couldn’t shake his concerns.

Vietnam accelerates island building to challenge China’s maritime claims: As tensions mount in the South China Sea, Vietnam is dredging and filling in land, fortifying barriers and erecting new structures to create hundreds of acres. - "The steps that Vietnam takes to 'secure itself' in the South China Sea, including its island building, should not be regarded as escalatory, said Nguyen Hong Quan, a Vietnamese major general and retired official at the Ministry of Defense. 'After all,' he said, 'it’s China that started this.'"

Reading archive 2024-08-09

TV ad blitz launched in Maryland Senate race: Republican nominee Larry Hogan puts $2 million behind casting himself as an independent. His opponent, Angela Alsobrooks, frames the contest as a fight to protect a Democratic majority.

Assessing claims about Tim Walz’s military service: Republicans are attacking the Democratic vice-presidential nominee on his retirement timing and with allegations of “stolen valor.”

"Bringing back the joy": Kamala Harris' rally blows away JD Vance's weird appearance across town: In Philadelphia, thousands cheered for Tim Walz, while Trump's running mate spoke to a small, aggrieved group

White Dudes for Harris have assembled. What comes next?: Their Zoom call got lots of attention and raised millions, but some worry about how the demographic mobilization could be perceived. - "'Everybody needs space. We’re not the segregated South of the 1960s, we’re just organizing,' says Bakari Sellers, a Democratic strategist and Harris ally. 'There are conversations that White men have to have amongst themselves, there are conversations that Black women need to have amongst themselves — issues that matter to them more than they matter to others.'"

Opinion ‘Weird’ doesn’t begin to capture the Trump-Vance campaign: As Democrats play to massive, raucous crowds, the Republican ticket is busy courting angry young men. - "'Every type of white man that gets a hasty ‘swipe left’ on his dating profile was in attendance,' wrote Salon’s Amanda Marcotte, including 'glowering loners staring at the two women under 40 like cats watching birds out a window.'"

#GuyonPorch and #WomaninCar were a D.C. mood on Jan. 6. And now.: They embodied the feelings of most D.C. residents during the insurrection. Steeling for more drama, they’re now cautiously optimistic. - "Harris would represent many firsts if she’s elected to the Oval Office. 

"And her inauguration would be Jan. 20, Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday."

Billion-dollar deficits, drastic cuts: Metro faces fiscal catastrophe: D.C.’s transit system dodged a crisis this year, but far bigger ones loom if the region doesn’t take action. - "Fares would need to jump more than 500 percent to address the kind of deficits the agency has faced, according to a Metro presentation last year, which contemplated a $19.35 one-way fare to Metro Center from Bethesda — or $32.70 from Ashburn.

...

"In December 2019, Metro’s board of directors approved a four-year collective bargaining agreement with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, which represents more than 9,000 Metro train and bus operators, station managers, mechanics, custodians and others. It included a 1 percent bonus wage increase for workers if rail and bus ridership increased by at least 2 percent from one year to the next. 

"Then the world was upended. 

"The pandemic slashed Metrorail ridership by more than 90 percent. After the system hit bottom, 2 percent growth has been a cinch. Workers got their bonus, which cost the agency $5.8 million in 2023 alone, even though ridership remains down."

Moscow rushes to send troops as Ukrainian attack on Kursk tests Kremlin: The surprise incursion by Ukrainian forces into western Russia posed the biggest challenge for President Vladimir Putin since the June 2023 uprising of Wagner mercenaries.

The other problem with Donald Trump’s helicopter ride story: At his news conference Thursday, the former president apparently invented the sort of tale for which he once excoriated a hated member of the news media.

Harris rallies get edgy with four-letter words: The vice president, known to curse liberally behind closed doors, is one of the few not swearing onstage at rallies that are growing in size — and spiciness. - "'We have to know that sometimes people will open the door for you and leave it open,' Harris said in a moderated conversation with actor and comedian Jimmy O. Yang at a meeting of the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies. 'Sometimes they won’t, and then you need to kick that f---ing door down.'"

Reading archive 2024-08-08

Not every map is the same, actually - "For example, only-one-map-itis underlies the repeated, off-base assumption that automated traffic enforcement cameras in Black neighborhoods are unequivocally bad for Black residents, a belief that portends to center racial equity, but ignores that neighborhoods on the District’s east side were ripped to shreds, then sutured together with asphalt specifically for suburban commuters, in a way that upper Northwest neighborhoods never were. Who drives on those roads matters just as much as where the roads are. Maps can show a lot, but they can’t show it all."

Here’s what a freeway through Mount Pleasant and Tenleytown would have looked like - "But the middle of the Civil Rights movement, Bartholomew’s accusations of selfishness backfired: the highly motivated activists joined a citywide coalition to stop all of the highways and build the Metro system. This period is often called the “freeway revolt.” Planners took most of the roads off the map, starting with I-70S. Urban renewal efforts shifted from slum clearance to rehabilitation."

The Freeway Revolts and Lamond-Riggs

D.C. heat island effect among worst in U.S.

Trump’s focus on Georgia election board raises fears for November vote: The board’s majority enacted a series of changes to state election rules this week, days after Trump singled its members out for praise at his Atlanta rally.

Trump holds meandering news conference, where he agrees to debate Harris: The Republican nominee made the announcement during an appearance where he made false or baseless claims as he sought to regain his footing against his Democratic rival.

How Tim Walz’s personal finances compare to J.D. Vance, other politicians: Walz’s financial portfolio makes him by far the least wealthy candidate on either major party ticket this year.

Viral Harris-Walz camo hats riff on red-state style, draw ire of NRA: The sold-out, back-ordered campaign merch is a send-up of the Minnesota governor’s trademark Midwestern dad fashion. It’s also giving MAGA a run for its money.

Masculinity’s check-engine light is on. Let Tim Walz have a look.: Vice-presidential nominee Walz’s “Midwestern dad vibe” comes with opportunities to rethink a whole tool kit of types. - "The outpouring of love Walz is receiving — and the specific form it’s taking — makes it plain that masculinity isn’t under attack. Masculinity can be celebrated; people are longing to celebrate it. It’s the weird masculinity — the “He-Man Woman Haters Club,” as Walz put it during an interview a few weeks ago — that people have a problem with. The kind that confuses leadership with authoritarianism, strength with domination, and protection with control. Or to put it another way: For all of the complaints that liberal women hate all men, as of this week, all of the ones I know would run into a burning building to save Tim Walz."

Battles persist in western Russia after bold cross-border attack by Ukraine: A surprise incursion into the Kursk region appeared to use Western-donated fighting vehicles. The U.S. offered no objections to the operation.

Watchdog: Too many D.C. Metro trains are run by exhausted (or drunk) drivers: The report from the Metro safety watchdog highlights the issue of exhausted and drunk drivers on Metro trains and urges rule changes.

D.C. man claims self-defense in killing of unarmed 13-year-old: Jason Lewis, a former city employee who worked with youth, is on trial for second-degree murder in the 2023 death of Karon Blake, who Lewis alleged was breaking into cars. - "Blake said she went to bed the night of Jan. 6 believing that her son was asleep in his room. Around 11:30 the next morning, D.C. police called to tell her he was gone. 

"'He was a good boy,' she said. 'He was just trying to spread his wings faster than he should have.'"[ed. note: kid was a POS]

D.C. buildings official resigns after probe finds she had 2nd full-time job: Caroline Lian, deputy director of the Department of Buildings, held an undisclosed full-time job with Freddie Mac, a city report said.

Trump took a private flight with Project 2025 leader in 2022: Trump took the flight to speak at a Heritage Foundation conference, where he said, “They’re going to lay the groundwork and detail plans for exactly what our movement will do."

Trump isn’t campaigning as hard as he used: to In 2016 and even 2020, Trump kept up a brisk pace of events in the summer. This year, he hasn’t.

Recall campaigns against two D.C. lawmakers falling short as deadlines near: Major hurdles remain for both recall efforts against council members Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) and Brianne K. Nadeau (D-Ward 1).

At what point would his base accept a Trump loss?: The presidential contest is, once again, a contest. Is there a way to avoid a widespread rejection of the results?

With Harris and Walz in, some Democrats still weigh skipping the polls: Activists urged voters to take a stand against the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Gaza war. These tensions linger over the Harris ticket.

Walz’s ‘couch’ quip, and Democrats’ growing comfort in going low: The Democratic VP nominee’s apparent reference to a lewd, fake internet story reflects a more bare-knuckle campaign against a GOP presidential nominee who has spent years plumbing new depths.

Reading archive 2024-08-07

Happy Warriors in Philly: Plus: Donald Trump gets his Aaron Sorkin on.

‘Scott, Scott, Scott’: Jamie Gangel Tells Fellow CNN Panelist the Real Reason Harris Didn’t Choose Shapiro

MAGA Gov Candidate’s Ugly, Hateful Rant: “Some Folks Need Killing!” Mark Robinson, the GOP nominee for governor in North Carolina, has a long history of incendiary comments. But he may have topped himself this time.

‘Republicans for Harris’ launch features key names, impressive numbers: Given the state of the GOP, it’s not easy for any Democratic candidate to pick up cross-party backing, but Kamala Harris is now backed by many Republicans.

How time in nature builds happier, healthier and more social children: Time outdoors — even a walk around the neighborhood — helps children’s cognition, stress levels and general growth.

Trump complains about campaign as advisers try to focus on attacking Harris: The GOP nominee has grown increasingly upset about Kamala Harris’s surging poll numbers and media coverage since replacing Joe Biden on the ticket.

Pelosi on Biden: ‘We did not have a campaign that was on the path to victory’: The former House speaker gave her most extensive explanation of her actions that helped push the president out of the 2024 campaign

Harris responds to Michigan rally protesters: ‘I’m speaking’: The shouted pro-Palestinian slogans at Harris’s Michigan rally were the first sustained protests she has experienced since beginning her campaign.

Tim Walz’s military record, National Guard departure get new scrutiny: The Harris-Walz campaign has cited his Army experience as an asset. But Republicans and some who served with him have questioned claims about his service.

JD Vance in texts with far-right figure: Profane and off-the-cuff: Private messages show Trump’s running mate entertaining conspiracy theories and scorning the late Sheldon Adelson.

-----

Maryland ban on assault-style weapons upheld by U.S. appeals court: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals repeatedly cites seminal ‘Heller’ decision, which enshrined right to arms for self-defense but not for mass murder.

D.C. 911 center under fire again after baby dies during computer outage: It is unclear whether delays in delivering advanced medical care contributed to the five-month-old’s death.

How sprinter Gabby Thomas, other Olympic athletes improve their sleep: Jet lag and anxiety are just some of the obstacles athletes face when trying to get to sleep. Here’s how they overcome them.

D.C. teen pleads guilty to fatally stabbing his father in November: The teen pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and could have his case dismissed in three years if he successfully completes diversion agreement.

Virginia man charged with threatening to torture and kill Harris, DOJ says: Frank Carillo of Winchester, Va., allegedly threatened Vice President Harris and other officials on social media and posted about firearms and committing shootings.

Opinion A D.C. drug lord says he’s back, better than ever. Hold the cheers.: Rayful Edmond’s release from prison after 35 years rekindles questions about the damage he inflicted.

Reading archive 2024-08-06

This High Schooler Invented an A.I.-Powered Trap That Zaps Invasive Lanternflies: Using solar power, machine learning and her family’s patio umbrella, 18-year-old Selina Zhang created a synthetic tree that lures the destructive species

I Put Up a Fence in Maine. Why Did It Cause Such a Fuss?

Harris chooses Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as VP pick: Walz, who has a record of winning over rural conservative voters, is little-known on the national stage.

EPA takes emergency action to stop use of dangerous pesticide: The pesticide, known as DCPA, is known to harm fetuses and “needs to be removed from the market immediately,” an EPA official said.

How I fed my family for days with food that was bound for the trash: A new generation of apps are rescuing food from the landfills at a fraction of the retail price at restaurants and grocery stores.

Opinion How to harden our defenses against an authoritarian president: A commander in chief with little concern for legal limits holds a big advantage over any lawful effort to restrain him.

Trump keeps attacking their spouses. Top GOPers keep supporting him anyway.: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) is the latest to find a family member in Donald Trump’s crosshairs.

RFK Jr. says he left a dead bear in Central Park as a joke a decade ago: In 2014, New York City authorities were baffled by the appearance of a dead bear cub in the park. Now the presidential candidate says he was responsible.

‘Ultra-cheap energy for every household’: could a different kind of tariff change everything? Rising block tariffs and national energy guarantee systems are almost unknown in Europe – but are flourishing elsewhere - "The idea is simple: the first block of energy, which is calculated to meet essential needs from heating to cooking and lighting, is either given at a reduced rate or free. The cost a unit then rises in additional blocks, meaning wealthier homes with excessive or non-essential consumption pay more."

The future of paper could come from gene-edited trees: Scientists are working to develop a tree that could ease the production of paper, resulting in less energy use and less pollution. - "The result: They cut the lignin content in some of those varieties almost in half. They also were able to boost the concentration of cellulose — the key ingredient in paper production — compared with lignin, making the trees better for pulping. The team published their findings last year in the prestigious journal Science."

I’m an oncologist. Here’s what I do to reduce my own cancer risk.: A recent study estimated that 40 percent of new cancer diagnoses in U.S. adults were due to modifiable factors such as diet and lifestyle.

Secretaries of state urge Musk to fix AI chatbot spreading false election info: Grok, the AI search assistant on Musk’s X platform, suggested that Kamala Harris had missed the ballot deadline in nine states. She hasn’t.

Boys are flocking to gymnastics classes, thanks to pommel horse guy: Representation matters in all forms, especially when an Olympic athlete like Stephen Nedoroscik is so relatable.

With Vance’s elevation, Pennsylvania voters reexamine Trump’s views on women: “Now that you’ve got Kamala in there, you’ve got a whole different ballgame,” one independent Pennsylvania voter said.

Opinion Republicans suddenly love crypto. Americans should beware. The cryptocurrency lobby is lining up behind Donald Trump. Voters should see nothing good in this.

Taiwan is readying citizens for a Chinese invasion. It’s not going well.: The government extended mandatory military service and revamped reservist training in an effort to make Beijing think twice. But it’s already falling short. - "While President Biden has repeatedly said he would send the U.S. military to defend Taiwan, Trump has made no such promises. Asked what he would do in an interview last month, Trump said that Taiwan was “9,500 miles away” and should pay for American defense."

Opinion How the broken immigration system is pushing skilled workers to enter illegally

Ex-GOP congressman Riggleman endorses Harris, rips Trump’s ‘thirst for power’: The former congressman was twice endorsed by Donald Trump but broke with him over Jan. 6.

Opinion  Trump seems to forget it’s not 2016 anymore. And he’s frustrated.: After nine long years, his old way of campaigning just isn’t going to cut it.

JD Vance’s Marine buddies back his service over his politics: Critics call his about-face on Trump an affront to the military’s most basic values. His friends say attacks on his service are out of bounds.

Opinion  The NABJ interview with Trump provides a model for media coverage No other sit-down this cycle has laid bare as much about the candidate. - "The mainstream media now faces a test of sorts. After the June 27 debate, the media spent three weeks flooding the zone with coverage of Biden’s frailty, in effect demanding every Democrat to defend Biden or distance themselves from him, and consulting a host of experts on aging. Failure to deploy similarly exacting treatment of Trump would confirm Democrats’ complaints that there is a bizarre double standard in coverage that allows Trump to escape appropriate scrutiny. It’s long past time to stop using euphemisms and soft-pedaling his bigotry. (As I have noted, the vast majority of outlets also have steered clear of assessing Trump’s mental and emotional state, despite repeated episodes in which his slurred speech, verbal glitches, incoherent ranting, mixing up people and bizarre references are obvious to anyone watching.)"

Why are humans such good distance runners? Science offers an answer.: At Paris Olympics, abundant sweat glands, little body hair, arched soles and spring-like Achilles tendons prime endurance runners to excel. - "We have physical features that are unusual or unknown in the rest of the animal kingdom, including abundant sweat glands, relatively little body hair, arched soles and springlike Achilles tendons. We have an abundance of slow-twitch fibers that are efficient for endurance pursuits. (Fast-twitch muscles are better for sprinting.)"

Opinion  Why not run a team against Trump? Kamala Harris should borrow from the best comic books and get a band together.

Reading archive 2024-08-2 through 2024-08-04

How to make an Olympic chocolate muffin like the one athletes love: Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen made the muffins go viral, and now bakers are scrambling to develop dupe recipes.

$10M cash withdrawal drove secret probe into whether Trump took money from Egypt: Political appointees rejected efforts to search for additional evidence investigators believed might provide answers, then closed the case.

Inspector general issues report on Secret Service’s handling of Jan. 6 attack: The Department of Homeland Security’s chief watchdog issued long-awaited findings on the Secret Service’s handling of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Youth, 14, fatally shot outside recreation center in Northeast Washington: Police say an 18-year-old was also shot and critically injured, steps from the Lamond Recreation Center. - "In 2023, the Office of the Attorney General in D.C. declined to pursue charges in at least four cases against [the deceased], which included unauthorized use of a vehicle and armed robbery, according to three officials. Earlier this year, the attorney general’s office charged him with two robberies and unauthorized use of a vehicle, according to one of the officials.

...

"Bailey-Carroll said she did not know anything about her son’s police record. She said she did not believe her son had been targeted in the shooting. 'I don’t think anyone was after him,' she said. 

"He has 11 siblings, she said, ranging from ages 4 to 21. She said David wrote and played music and wanted to be a rap artist."

Intel, eyed for billions in U.S. grants, will fire 15,000 workers: The layoff announcement by one of the nation’s largest chip makers is a setback for the Biden administration’s campaign to revitalize U.S. chip manufacturing.

Opinion Trump’s ‘disciplined’ campaign is unraveling: The out of control Trump — suppressed in recent months with varying degrees of success — is back.

American teacher detained in Russia ‘left behind again’ in prisoner swap: American schoolteacher Marc Fogel has remained in custody in Russia since 2021, when he was charged with smuggling a small amount of marijuana into the country.

Reading archive 2024-08-01

Video of fatal SWAT shooting: ‘Listen to mommy ... they’re going to kill you.’: A SWAT officer’s video indicates the man he shot was holding a gun in their Montgomery County encounter. But what exactly prompted officers to go in when they did is unclear.

A long shot for vice president, Pete Buttigieg is suddenly everywhere: In a reshaped race, the transportation secretary has dialed up his role as a key political messenger for the Democratic Party.

Opinion ‘Weird’ does not begin to describe the Trump threat: Sure, there are upsides to this strategy. But Vice President Harris’s team needs to use it with caution. - "As journalist Joe Conason put it, 1930s-era dictators 'were mocked as buffoons in their day, but when they suddenly came to power the joke was no longer quite so funny.' In some sense, Trump’s misplaced vanity, narcissism and ignorance are laughable. But we should never forget that those very qualities make him impervious to shame and contemptuous of social norms and legal restraints."

Gen X and millennials at higher cancer risk than older generations: Cancer rates for 17 of the 34 most common cancers are increasing in progressively younger generations, a large new study shows.

High levels of ultra-processed foods linked with early death, brain issues: Such foods encompass a broad category, including cookies, doughnuts, potato chips, hot dogs, white bread and frozen meals

A list of people freed in prisoner swap deal with Russia: Journalists, including Evan Gershkovich, and political activists were released by Russia for spies and a convicted assassin.

How false claims about a mass stabbing led to a riot in the U.K. The riot in Southport, England, followed false claims that an immigrant was responsible for the attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance class that killed three girls. - "Because of the suspect’s age, his name has not been released by authorities. But he was born in Britain — in Cardiff, Wales — police stressed, and had been living in the nearby community of Banks. The BBC and Financial Times reported that his parents were originally from Rwanda."

Opinion  At NABJ, Trump was both a missile and a mirror: At the convention, Donald Trump was given a forum to attack and degrade us while we listened politely.

Opinion  Harris is playing Trump’s game: Her response to Donald Trump’s bigotry was a missed opportunity to deliver her own message. - "Trump intends to run the only campaign he has ever been capable of running — an attack on multiculturalism and changing demographics. Trump’s argument, reduced to its core, is that the America of his youth is being ruined by immigrants and coddled minorities, and Democrats are too controlled by the cult of diversity to do anything about it.

...

"Whereas it’s actually Trump who is endlessly obsessed with identity — that’s the point. And so a more disciplined response from Harris would have sounded something like: 'I don’t know why he’s talking about me being Black again, or where I grew up, or whatever. It’s kind of strange, this fixation with who belongs and who doesn’t. The vast majority of Americans don’t really define each other by skin color or where their parents came from anymore, but I guess Donald missed all that.'"

Biden, Trump exchange jabs as Russia prisoner swap turns political: The intricate, seven-country prisoner exchange — coming just 96 days before Election Day — was quickly thrust into the nation’s fraught political landscape.

School taught JD Vance to see a divided nation — and to use that division: From fitting in at Ohio State University to feeling like an outsider at Yale Law School, Vance learned how to move between worlds, supporters say. Opponents say he learned to be an exploitative chameleon. - "Nelson also recalled Vance waxing 'vicious' in his critique of Yale’s “elite” culture, but noted he wasted no time in figuring out how to plumb the school’s vast resources, especially its well-connected professors who could provide entree to prestigious summer jobs."

Paul Whelan, a former Marine, showed defiance throughout his detention: He was serving a 16-year sentence after an espionage conviction that the U.S. government called a farce. [ed. note: dude is a POS]