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.