Reading archive 2025-06-17

Minnesota shooting suspect went from youthful evangelizer to far-right zealot: Residents in Vance Boelter’s hometown are struggling to reconcile what they knew of him with the killing of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband.

Minnesota senator confronts colleague for ‘terrible’ post on shooting: In a post on Sunday, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), appeared to blame the killings on the political left. Sen. Tina Smith sought him out to chat.

Senate overhauls Trump’s tax bill, setting up brawl with the House: The chamber suggests cuts to the child tax credit and SALT and is more heavy-handed on cuts to Medicaid than the legislation the House passed in May.

Trump officials reverse guidance exempting farms, hotels from immigration raids: ICE agents have been told to continue conducting enforcement operations at agricultural businesses despite concerns about negative effects on the food industry.

Russia fears Israel’s conflict with Iran could cost it another Mideast ally: When Israel first started bombing Iran, many in Russia saw it as an opportunity, drawing support and attention away from Ukraine.

How long will it take for U.S. gas prices to react to Middle East conflict?: Gas prices are on their way up, but the impact has been modest. That could change.

Trash sucks: A Norwegian city uses vacuum tubes to whisk waste away: Bergen, Norway, has been building one of the world’s most advanced trash systems in its 955-year-old city center.

It looks like a golf cart, maxes out at 25 mph and could be your next city car: Electric low-speed vehicles, already popular in Europe and Asia, could offer a transportation compromise between full-sized cars and e-bikes.

How to live well for less: Hacks for new grads and the rest of your life: New tools make it even easier to save money and live lighter on the planet. Here’s a roundup.

‘This War Is Not Helping Us’: Members of Iran’s opposition want change, and fear for their lives.

Putin Isn’t Actually Enjoying This Trump is turning out to be a liability for the Kremlin.

Israel's U.S.-Backed Aggression Reaches Its Iraq-War Moment: If Oct. 7 was Israel's Sept. 11, now it's at the phase of making an unsupportable WMD claim to launch the war it's long wanted. But we say no to war with Iran