Reading archive 2026-08-31

Meet the ex-Republicans running as Democrats in the midterms: In races across the country, former GOP politicians are leaning into their pasts.

Tree removals at East Potomac golf course raise alarms

Trump officially plans for civilian federal pay freeze in 2027: The alternative pay plan that the White House issued this week carves out exceptions to give larger raises to federal law enforcement and military personnel.

Kelly Clarkson’s last talk show episode showed why she broke the daytime curse: “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” which ended after seven years, signed off with an hour centered on music — and fans.

With shutdown looming, House leaders aim to quickly pass funding bill: House lawmakers are poised to vote this week on a Senate-passed measure to fund U.S. agencies through Dec. 11, avoiding a federal shutdown before the midterms.

Daniel Lurie, San Francisco’s quiet radical: While his party debates abolishing prisons and owning grocery stores, Democratic Mayor Daniel Lurie is cleaning up his city.

South Carolina turns into a historic Senate race: Darline Graham’s unapologetic honesty helped set up all-female clash.

Trump’s bullying has backfired: Might he try persuasion instead?

RFK Jr. once again proves his critics correct: As a measles outbreak kills in Pennsylvania, the HHS secretary spreads falsehoods about the MMR vaccine.

Months after primary, Lewis George is returning to public stage with D.C. forums: The democratic socialist in line to lead D.C. knows people are pinning their hopes on her. Here’s what she says she’ll do about it. - "Still, he thinks she will have to make some tough choices to get to [72,000 new homes in five years]. 'If you talk to capital right now, they largely don’t want anything to do with D.C. from a housing standpoint,' due in part to the difficulty in collecting rent and having a timely eviction process, he said, adding that making business-friendly changes could upset her base."

Pirro’s special grand jury probing D.C. schools, city oversight of youth: The unusual investigation appears to have a broad scope. Prosecutors have contacted D.C. Public Schools personnel to question them about truancy and graduation rates.

Dispute offers new details on settlement that followed notorious Dupont Circle killing: The estate of Robert Wone says former defendants in a wrongful-death suit have failed to make agreed payments that help fund a scholarship in his name.

The Crisis for Democrats in Michigan: The Senate election presents liberals with a grim choice. - "What's more, El-Sayed has already said that he intends to use his victory as a platform to reshape the party. Him winning could invite a future in which the United States has not just one party that is open to bigots but two."

Reading archive 2026-08-29

Trump lauded low prices at Freedom Fuel. A supplier says some gas wasn’t paid for.: Mansfield Oil Company alleges in a lawsuit that a distributor never paid for gas that was supplied to some Freedom Fuel stations.

Reading archive 2026-08-28

How would I-95 express lane expansion in Northern Virginia work?: Expanding the lanes that run right in the middle of an interstate that's busy at all times of day won't be easy.

Spencer Cox’s Crusade: The Republican governor thinks he can drain the bile from partisan combat. Trying to do it almost broke him.

The Supreme Court Isn’t Interested in Facts: In decision after decision, the conservative justices are ignoring the evidentiary record that lower courts have worked hard to establish. - "The damage from the decision occurs at several levels. It includes the slow unraveling of constitutional structure when a rogue executive encroaches on territory assigned to others, in this case Congress and the states; the institutional signaling when the Court blesses that encroachment; the deepening tangle of the Court's election-law jurisprudence, incoherent as doctrine but reliable in outcome, with the Republican appointees' delivering on Republican interests; the diminishing of public trust in the Court; and the shunting of impositions and uncertainties onto the people who run elections and the people who vote in them."

The Wrath of MAGA: The ferocity of the response to Jon Ossoff reveals something deeper about the world of Trump supporters. - "So why did MAGA world respond as it did? One explanation is psychological. In 2016, Trump found a constituency already primed for grievance, and taught it to want more. His supporters have kept themselves in a state of frenzy ever since. They need to be perpetually outraged, aggrieved, and insulted. MAGA world has become addicted to the feeling. It delivers a jolt of adrenaline, it provides a feeling of social belonging, and it gives people a sharpened sense of purpose. They see themselves as warriors in a drama of their own construction. They view their opponents - Democrats, progressives, critics of Trump - as personifications of evil. Inflicting pain on their enemies feels good, really good, and it feels just.

...

"But there's something else going on as well, at least with one subgroup of Trump supporters. I have in mind people who are not true believers but who, for a variety of reasons, long ago made their peace with Trump. These are people-many radio and television commentators, podcasters, and members of Congress among them-who were dedicated conservatives before Trump came along. They believed character was destiny and virtue mattered; they revered the rule of law, institutions, and norms; they championed free trade and free markets, fiscal responsibility, and a strong Western alliance; and they opposed patrimonialism, corruption, and lawlessness in the presidency. 

"They have given up on all of those commitments, and so much more, as the cost of supporting Trump. The cost of speaking out against him, even when they knew better, was simply too high. They wanted to stay in the good graces of those in power. So they broke. And they know they broke. 

"This has caused a painful degree of cognitive dissonance within many of them. They want to think better of themselves-and others to think better of them-than their actions warrant. What they see in Ossoff's comments is a chance to signal that they are still who they once were, or at least seemed to be. In this case, they are portraying themselves as enraged at Ossoff's 'misogynistic lies.' His comments are 'repulsive' and 'guttersnipe statements.' The senator from Georgia is a 'disgusting coward' and a 'disgusting pig.' We're told, 'You don't get lower than that.' They are offended that Ossoff is 'punching down' at 'defenseless' women."

The abject hell of the Lindsay Clancy trial: She’s on trial for the murder of her three children, but she’s already been damned.

Reading archive 2026-08-27

Why Did John Ratcliffe Go to Moscow?: Despite Trump’s claims, the CIA director’s visit was anything but routine. It might be a sign that Putin is getting more dangerous.

The Real Reason Trump Wants Economic Sanctions in Iran: The quieter, longer-term strategy could help push the conflict out of the minds of voters ahead of the midterms. - "With few options remaining, the Trump administration has settled into a potentially lengthy campaign of economic pressure, pledging to squeeze Iran until its leaders have no choice but to seriously return to negotiations. But that tack could prove toothless if the U.S. doesn't also punish the nations that still do business with Iran and keep its economy afloat - and Trump has historically shown little willingness to stand up to the likes of China and Russia, or even North Korea, which has a strategic alliance with Tehran."

Trump Plans to Buy Midterm Ads About His Own Record: The president has come up with a simple plan to win the election: more Trump.

The Jason Arday Truthers: The concerted effort to airbrush the late fabulist’s life - "Without question, the media coverage of Arday was harsh and high-volume. But much of that volume came from competing outlets breaking fresh news, as more and more of Arday's extraordinary claims crumbled under scrutiny. Some commentators have argued that coverage ought to have stopped after his resignation. I feel differently; the reporting should (and I think would) have stopped if he admitted to the fabulism. But Arday died still maintaining that he had never lied, and his memoir is on sale, untroubled by corrections to anecdotes that now seem enormously implausible. 

"Unfortunately, unlike Arday's fabrications, anti-Black racism in Britain is only too real. But you can believe in that without believing in Jason Arday."

How scientists found a weakness in one of the deadliest ‘undruggable’ cancers: An experimental pill has shown unprecedented success in treating pancreatic cancer, upending conventional wisdom about the disease.

A former Mike Collins staffer posted KKK and Nazi images. Some Republicans see a pattern.: Rep. Mike Collins (R-Georgia) is challenging Sen. Jon Ossoff (D). The former Collins staffer posted a swastika and shared an image of himself in what appear to be KKK robes.

Sen. Rand Paul’s Son William Hurled Antisemitic Insults at Rep. Mike Lawler: The younger Paul interrupted Lawler at a Capitol Hill bar to say “Jews” would be to blame if Rep. Thomas Massie loses his primary. - "'Do you think I’m Jewish?' Lawler asked. 'I’m not.' 

"'Oh wow, I’m so sorry for calling you a Jew,' Paul said.

"He then continued on a tirade about how Jews were 'anti-American' and how Lawler and his 'Jewish supporters' served Israel more than America. Lawler repeatedly pushed back and engaged with Paul, defending his support of Israel, and told Paul he was being antisemitic."

Reading archive 2026-08-26

Karen Attiah Is Still Waiting for the Washington Post to Call: The former columnist says she hasn't heard from the paper since an arbitrator ordered it to rehire her.

Why it matters that Dolly Parton wasn’t a mother: With decades of philanthropy, she proved that parenting isn’t the only way to invest in generations of children.

Canada should be ready to cut electricity, critical minerals, Ontario's premier says

They’re about to enter college. But first, they have to learn sign language.: At Gallaudet University, a school for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, not everyone shows up knowing ASL. A program offers help.

The attack on Putin’s $20 billion pipeline can teach the U.S. about cards: Don’t underestimate countries like Ukraine. The Nord Stream sabotage shows why. - "Nord Stream, the world’s largest offshore pipeline system and Vladimir Putin’s flagship geopolitical project in Europe, took more than two decades to complete and cost nearly $20 billion. In September 2022, a handful of Ukrainians destroyed it with a rented yacht, commercially available diving equipment and four civilian divers armed with makeshift explosives."

Is Mojtaba Khamenei Dead?: The office of Iran’s supreme leader has fallen quiet, fueling uncertainty in a country with decisions to make.

The Qataris Gave Trump an Airplane. He Crippled Their Country in Return.: The tiny Gulf state is learning that the U.S. president doesn’t always keep his end of the deal. - "To understand this strange deal - so absurdly corrupt that there is nothing analogous in the history of the American executive branch - it's necessary to understand Qatar, the rare country with both the means and the disposition to even contemplate it. The Qataris don't have allies. They have investments. Their investments in American relationships are undoubtedly their most important, and they've provided billions of dollars of diplomatic and military-support services to the U.S. But at the same time they've been providing money to America's defense, they've also provided support to America's enemies.

...

"The many U.S. intelligence officers, diplomats, and military veterans I spoke with consistently offered the same appraisal: It would be inaccurate to say that Qatar directly 'supports terrorism,' but the country's money and politics support an environment that helps terrorism and extremism flourish."

Reading archive 2026-08-25

Squeezed by tariffs and Iran war, farmers say they face a new crisis: The president’s policies are driving up prices for fertilizer, fuel and machinery. Meanwhile, a campaign to deliver emergency farm aid has stalled on Capitol Hill.

As U.S.-Canada tensions escalate, Republicans could face political consequences: The threat of higher prices for gas, cars, hockey sticks and more gave fresh life to Democratic arguments that the president is destabilizing the economy.

Canada announces retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products as trade war deepens: On Sept. 8, Canada will double tariffs on American steel and aluminum and impose new levies on about 700 other products in retaliation for U.S. tariffs that took effect Saturday.

Here’s what Sean Duffy’s reality show actually teaches us about America: The government’s YouTube series featuring the transportation secretary is slick, well-made and about the Duffys, not the nation.

This not-so-secret document is inspiring the left — and tripping up its candidates: The Democratic Socialists of America platform aims to upend the status quo. That can mean a bumpy ride for those trying to win in the short term.

Reading archive 2026-08-24

The White House Freak-Out Over Natalie Harp: The West Wing’s explosive response to a fleeting jab didn’t kill the story. It enabled days of coverage.

It’s Low-Calorie and Packed With Protein. Is It Healthy?: Welcome to the golden age of ultra-processed health foods.

Ossoff’s ‘Natalie’ Moment: The Georgia senator’s latest viral moment reveals much about Trump—and plenty about Ossoff himself.

A rare blue tree frog is drawing loads of spectators to a Virginia park: “Is he a prince in disguise?” Nature enthusiasts are flocking to Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria to catch a glimpse of the unusual amphibian.

To get the national debt under control, start with the retirement state

Why we should stop eating lettuce, cyclospora or not: Lettuce makes us sick, wastes resources and has minimal nutritional value. Why are we still consuming it? - "So, on one side of the ledger we have 1.7 million annual cases of food poisoning, $3.7 billion and 3 billion pounds of rotting lettuce. On the other we have, basically, an excuse to kid yourself into eating blue cheese dressing."

Some Texas conservatives are breaking ranks and pledging to vote Democratic: Republicans who are angry at Gov. Greg Abbott’s refusal to block data centers are giving his Democratic challenger hope for an upset.

Secret White House bunker undercuts Trump’s ballroom lawsuit, ex-officials say: The White House already has a nuclear-proof facility buried deep underground and built in secret after 9/11.

Mount Pleasant residents say 'hell no' to trees of heaven: This invasive species is spreading through the District. Some residents are taking matters into their own hands.

D.C. Coating Roads To Help Cool City: District transportation officials are rolling out an experiment, treating stretches of roadway with a coating meant to reduce the air temperature.

In candid interviews, National Guard members speak out about D.C. deployment - "An estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that the D.C. deployment at its current level costs about $3 million per day. The Pentagon estimates extending the deployment until 2029 will cost an additional $1.4 billion. A total cost estimate by the nonpartisan watchdog Project on Government Oversight for the deployment is around $3.4 billion.

How one billionaire’s crusade against homelessness became Trump’s playbook: Long before Silicon Valley embraced Trump, Joe Lonsdale wanted to remake government and shift the nation’s approach to homelessness. Now, his friends in the White House are listening. - "He uses the term “boldness” so frequently that it might come off as a joke — or to critics, as a caricature of a tech billionaire drunk on his own Kool-Aid.

"But in Lonsdale’s growing influence, detractors see something more insidious: a powerful person interfering far beyond his purview. 

"'These guys don’t have interesting ideas; they have little-boy fantasies,' said Paul Barrett, a New York University professor and a former deputy director of the Center for Business and Human Rights at NYU Stern School of Business. 'These tech guys are part of an illiberal tradition that is truly corrosive. … [Lonsdale] wants to create an environment where his mythological meritocratic heroes can thrive and everyone else can go f--- themselves.'"

Nevada sues over federally mandated reduction in Colorado River water use: In the first legal challenge to a long-awaited federal plan to stabilize the dwindling Colorado River, Nevada alleges that federal officials violated the law and failed to consider the economic effects of the cuts.

Reading archive 20226-08-21

Maine farms contaminated with PFAS get new purpose: More than 60 Maine farms have been identified as having unsafe levels of PFAS chemicals in their soil and water, largely from municipal sludge spread on farms as fertilizer for decades.

More D.C. kindergarteners have vaccine exemptions

Update: NATO’s Operations Continue as Russia Escalates in Romania - "On July 30, a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile crashed in Poland. Days later, an explosive drone carrying Semtex and PETN was discovered at Germany’s Leipzig/Halle Airport, which U.S. intelligence attributed to Russia. Romania has had repeated drone incursions, including three Russian drones shot down in July, another drone shot down by a Spanish F-18 on August 16, and two more incidents today, including the drone carrying an explosive near the Neptun Deep gas project. Three days ago, what is suspected to be a Russian Banderol missile entered Moldova and exploded in a field. And earlier today, Finland reported another suspected Russian aircraft violating its airspace."

How a failed project could help solve the world’s biggest energy need: Former SpaceX engineers think a long-dormant nuclear reactor experiment is key to meeting the power needs of data centers.

Seeking to flip Senate, Democrats are running ads to criticize their own: Democrats seeking Senate seats in some swing states are taking aim at their party — and even supporting Republican policies.

CIA staff exodus leaves new retirees waiting months for benefits: The spy agency is swamped by what it calls an “unprecedented number” of retirements as the Trump administration aims to shrink its workforce. - "The CIA has a tradition of treating its retirees well, former officials said. Among the reasons: Angry ex-employees with heads full of secrets are a target for adversary intelligence services. 'We are creating a massive [counterintelligence] risk,' said the official who left last fall."

Ukraine Planned to Swarm Moscow Airports With AI-Guided Drones: The stalled operation, code-named “M&Ms,” sought to isolate Russian elites and force Vladimir Putin to negotiate a truce.

The ‘Resistance’ Won: The much-derided movement was right about Trump’s nature, and how to defeat him. - "What discredited resistance politics in liberal eyes is that it was closely associated with institutional procedures that were deemed to have ultimately failed to restrain Trump. Mueller's investigation ended anticlimactically. Neither impeachment drew enough Republican support to remove Trump from office. Somewhat similarly, conservatives have sometimes claimed that the Russia investigation and first impeachment helped Trump politically by drawing to his side Republicans who resented the overreach. 

"One Republican who doesn't seem to believe either of these arguments is Trump. The president has worked hard to ensure that no such humiliations recur during his second term, by stacking the Justice Department with loyalists, firing inspectors general en masse, purging the armed forces of "woke" officers, and generally eliminating any potential source of independence within the federal government. 

"Trump himself does not seem to think that the investigations that were avidly followed by resistance liberals did nothing to restrain his actions during his first term, or that they helped him shore up partisan support. And the absence of any such processes in his second term has not made Republicans in Congress feel freer to criticize the president. To the contrary, their fealty is more absolute than ever.

...

"Like the Republican critics of resistance politics, progressive ones depicted it as substituting legal tactics for electoral victories. Yet the resistance was never limited to cheering on Mueller or hoping to persuade Republicans to convict the president of high crimes and misdemeanors. Resistance themes inspired the Democrats' political message during Trump's first term. And that message landed. Democrats retook the House in the 2018 midterms, despite a hot economy, and then defeated Trump's reelection effort. Joe Biden, a link to a bygone era of civility and bipartisanship, ran in 2020 on a message of restoring the soul of America. He won. 

"Once in office, however, Biden ceded his domestic agenda to progressives who believed in Sanders's vision of transformational change. They believed that only overturning the neoliberal order, handing control of domestic policy to neo-Brandeisians and climate hawks, and giving unions almost every policy they demanded would allow Democrats to regain the trust of working-class voters. This theory, not the resistance, failed. Biden's support collapsed within his first year, and Kamala Harris's half-hearted efforts to distance herself from her unpopular boss were too little, too late."

An Unsettling Glimpse Into the GOP’s Future: James Fishback lost badly in Florida but showed that there’s support for bigotry among the young.

Donald Trump Effectively Just Told Iran to Get a Nuclear Weapon: He may also have blurted out classified information about North Korea.

Reading archive 2026-08-20

The End of the American Middle East: Iran and the Last Gasp of a Failed Order - "The American Middle East is finished. The regional order that has prevailed since 1991 has been one of the many casualties of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. The American and Israeli failure to dislodge the regime in Tehran has proved the bankruptcy of decades of sanctions and violence. The inability of the United States to protect its Gulf allies from Iranian attacks or to keep the Strait of Hormuz open has fatally undermined the core security bargain that justified its network of military bases in the region. And Israel’s increasingly threatening posture and abandonment of any pretense of interest in reaching an accommodation with the Palestinians have ended Washington’s decades-long mission of bringing its Arab allies and Israel together into an enduring security partnership.

...

"The Trump administration, contemptuous of democracy and the rule of law at home and abroad, is not going to change that. It is difficult to imagine Trump, who vacillates wildly between strategies, designing a new regional order of any kind. But his successor will have a real chance to break with the status quo and craft a more coherent and more effective Middle East strategy. That starts with renouncing the use of military intervention as a first resort and ending the practice of diplomacy by airstrike. Washington’s priority should be defense, not offense. One way to make that intention clear is to forgo the restoration of damaged or destroyed U.S. military bases across the Gulf and focus instead on investments in intelligence sharing, missile defense systems for Gulf partners, and the preservation of freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz."

The Next Global Economic Crisis Could Be Made in China: How Overcapacity Ends - "China’s remarkable path of economic development over the last several decades has been made possible by a benign international environment in which other countries were eager to accept low-cost manufactured goods in exchange for efficient supply chains and consumer welfare. But that international environment has turned toxic. The political appetite for accepting the deindustrialization and critical dependencies that come with the flood of Chinese imports is finite and shrinking. As these trends continue, protectionism is likely to rise, cutting off Chinese manufacturers’ market access and thereby short-circuiting Beijing’s strategy, introduced in 2020, of 'dual circulation,' which promotes both domestic economic self-sufficiency and continued engagement in international markets."

Reading archive 2026-08-19

This little fish anchors the East Coast food web. A fight over it is brewing. Years of half measures and regulatory delays leave Atlantic menhaden potentially at risk. [ed. note: Canadian company with sham "American-owned" fishing fleet catches shit-ton of menhaden for processing in Virginia to ship to southeast Asia as, is destroying the Atlantic ecosystem]

Darline Graham stumbles over national security question in debate: Graham, facing a GOP Senate primary runoff, admits she’s “not that informed” on foreign policy, the specialty of her late brother, Lindsey Graham.

Six D.C. Police Employees Wanted for $441K in Overtime Fraud: They face charges of first-degree fraud and theft.

Reading archive 2026-08-18

Generative AI Is an Engineering Disaster: A shockingly inefficient trillion-dollar project - "Yet the returns are diminishing. The bigger an AI model is, the less it improves with each added parameter, and so it must be made bigger at a faster rate just to sustain steady progress. I asked a few AI researchers whether they could name any other real-world software that scales so poorly. None of them could think of any. Even outside the world of software, it's hard to find a comparable example, given that economy of scale is the principle that has made light bulbs, cars, and clothing so affordable. By economic and engineering measures, generative AI might be the worst technology ever deployed."

How the Smithsonian Could Fall: A president cracking down on museums is unusual—but so are the museums.

China’s Questionable Tech Strategy: Keeping out the world’s best tools promises to stymie innovation.

J. D. Vance’s Own Alien Abduction: The vice president has been replaced with a guy who’s just asking questions. - "Watching Vance's media appearances is uniquely painful. He lacks the authentic berserk of Kash Patel, or the pageant-queen polish of Karoline Leavitt, or his boss's unique corkscrew approach to conversation. Like Stephen Miller, Vance desperately wants to be funny and cool. Like Stephen Miller, he is neither. And that's before we get to the awkwardness of knowing that Vance-a Yale Law School graduate-has voluntarily lobotomized himself in the pursuit of power and attention. Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his dignity to be Donald Trump's lackey.

...

"The other explanation for this hey-I-wonder approach is that Vance is dealing with the cognitive dissonance between his own self-image as a smart guy and the constant requirement to defend dumb and inconsistent actions by hallucinating that he is not really part of this administration, but instead a mere interested bystander. Vance treats the vice presidency the way that Instagram influencers approach a vacation in the Maldives: It only truly exists when converted into content. In one telling exchange, Vance said that he felt like he had 'made it' when he was satirized on South Park, rather than at his inauguration."

Priced out of D.C., young women found low rent with unlikely roommates

AIPAC has a new target to exert influence over Democrats: The organization’s super PAC poured nearly $2.5 million to boost Melissa Hernandez over Aisha Wahab in a California congressional race. - "AIPAC’s defenders have said the organization has faced unfair and outsize criticism compared to the other special interest groups that have spent on American elections." [ed. note: lol like who?]

The government’s Intel bet was even worse than expected: The equity stake has ballooned into an expansive, risky portfolio. - "The administration’s holdings are growing at breakneck speed. The running tally at the Cato Institute counts 31 government equity deals — spanning companies in steel, critical minerals, semiconductors, nuclear power, rocket motors and quantum computing — enacted by three different federal agencies acting under murky legal authority. The Commerce Department has based more than a dozen semiconductor and quantum computing deals on the Chips and Science Act, which does not expressly authorize federal shareholding. Some of the equity deals appear to have been coerced by the administration — or at least conditioned on the granting of a permit, subsidy or other government privilege. And more stakes are rumored to be on the way. In a single year, Washington went from one position to a diverse and questionable portfolio, with nary a vote from Congress or the American public."

Tesla’s true believers are starting to question their faith in Elon Musk: As Musk turns his focus to other ventures such as SpaceX, some of his biggest backers are wondering whether his car company has become an afterthought.

Russians pull billions from banks, fearing Kremlin will seize deposits for war: Russians are withdrawing billions, causing liquidity problems for banks and undermining the Kremlin’s ability to issue bonds to finance the fight in Ukraine.

Backlash in Michigan complicates Democrats’ road to retaking the Senate: The party’s chances may depend on Abdul El-Sayed, who beat Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s preferred candidate and has criticized his support for Israel.

White House attacks CNN reporter after Trump clash, invoking her children: The president shushed CNN’s Kristen Holmes in the Oval Office, and later an official White House account said her children would be “embarrassed” by her.

White House attacks CNN reporter after Trump clash, invoking her children: The president shushed CNN’s Kristen Holmes in the Oval Office, and later an official White House account said her children would be “embarrassed” by her.

What to know about Natalie Harp, the Trump aide whom Ossoff put in the spotlight: The president’s executive assistant was among a small group of people who secretly switched planes with Trump over a potential Iranian threat, as noted by Sen. Jon Ossoff.

Pentagon weighing smaller U.S. military presence in Gulf once Iran war ends: An analysis, which the Defense Department said was not yet a formal review, will help address whether to rebuild strike-battered bases, said people familiar with the matter.

So Far This Year, China Has Wasted Enough Clean Energy to Power Mexico

How melting Arctic ice has created a new Silk Road:  China plans to send container ships along Russia’s northern coast, reviving environmental concerns about the fragile polar region

See which native plants will thrive in your garden: Pick your state to get recommendations for species that help local butterflies, bees and birds.

The Cruelty Was Fine Until It Became Personal: Another Trump supporter is outraged after getting what he voted for.

Reading archive 2026-08-17

The American Dream comes down to OnlyFans, dodgeball and reality TV: Life, liberty and the pursuit of solvency take a side hustle, as seen on the small screen.

It ‘felt like a Renée Good situation,’ U.S. citizen says after ICE encounter: Video from the Virginia incident, which shows an agent with a gun, has reignited conversations about the aggressiveness of ICE enforcement.

A Wisconsin city spent millions on a grocery store. It didn’t go well.: Madison spent millions to build a supermarket across the street from another one.

Democrats abandon Senate races in deep-red states, boosting independents: Democratic Senate nominees in Nebraska, Idaho and South Dakota dropped out, clearing the way for independents. But Alani Bankhead in Montana declined to join them.

The most common cancer is easy to miss. Here’s what to look for.: One 24-year-old thought her skin cancer was just an acne scar or eczema.

Shooting at VSU leaves 5 injured hours after freshmen welcome event: Police arrested a 19-year-old suspect in the shooting, which occurred around 1:30 a.m. Saturday at Virginia State University.

Navy weighs major warship redesign to match Trump’s preferences: The president wants the new fleet of aircraft carriers to more closely resemble those from World War II. The change could cost billions.

What I learned about the American Dream from Europeans pretending to live in Ohio: The gap between America’s most powerful ideal and the reality of life in the U.S. came into focus watching a few dozen Europeans pretend to be us.

CIA had ‘low confidence’ in Iranian threat before Trump switched planes in Turkey: CIA had doubts about Israeli intelligence on a threat to Trump in Turkey that prompted an extraordinary secret flight.

Why Kansas might elect its first Democratic senator in nearly 100 years: Adam Hamilton wants to bring empathy back to Washington.

Her childhood photo. Thousands of explicit images. One woman’s nightmare.: A Wyoming woman alleges in a federal lawsuit that her stepfather used the Grok chatbot to transform a childhood photo into child sexual abuse material.

Mark Zuckerberg’s Convenient Truth: The Meta CEO has a new message now that his company is losing the AI race.

AOC Knows a Lemon When She Sees One: Francesca Hong’s surprise loss in Wisconsin is a blessing to the Democratic Party.

Why I Quit the Tenure Track: The insufferable hypocrisy of elite academia - "Wokeness allowed elite higher ed to create a new model of inclusive exclusion: one in which tuition can continue to climb, acceptance rates can continue to plummet, endowments can continue to expand, and adjunct labor can continue to be exploited as long as the demographics of those paying the tuition and those being exploited continued to get browner, Blacker, more LGBTQAIP2+. It also helped nurture the delusion that elite college graduates were being prepared for lives of civic virtue, and that their highly priced education would be deployed in service of the public good. Never mind the fact that, during my time at Bates, roughly a quarter of the school's graduates went on to jobs in tech, finance, or consulting—a startling figure that nonetheless pales in comparison to the nearly half of Harvard and Yale students who end up in these same career tracks.

...

"Sandra seemed stuck: Some minority professors supported the requirement, while others, like me, did not. In my observation, woke white academics—who are largely acculturated to defer to the 'lived experience' of their Black and brown students and colleagues—had next to no ability to make decisions when confronted with minorities who disagreed with one another. Encountering 'marginalized' people with opposing views tended to create a kind of cognitive paralysis in some of my white co-workers, and I noticed that, in such cases, they usually followed the recommendation of the most recent minority they'd spoken with about the issue. With my friends, I jokingly called this the 'last Black person I talked to' problem."

The Cities That Said Yes to Drugs Policies that gave addicts clean needles and places to use drugs were intended to reduce harm. They created a “zombie apocalypse.”

Reading archive 2026-08-13

The web’s newest weapon against AI scrapers is a font: “ShieldFont” aims to poison AI training data without making pages unreadable for people.

The More You Think About One Night Only, The Harder It Is to Believe Gay People Would Be OK:  A conservative government has biochips in people’s wrists and they’re just... not banning homosexuality?

Reading archive 2026-08-12

Putin just showed the world how afraid he is of his own people: Barring the only anti-war party from the ballot shows the hollowness of Kremlin propaganda.

Reading archive 2026-08-11

Contradicting public statements, Trump took secret flight from Turkey amid Iranian threat: The White House said the president was aboard Air Force One as he left a NATO summit. Instead, his departure included an elaborate ruse that concealed his travel.

Catnip lotion as effective as Deet at repelling mosquitoes, study finds: Researchers testing a cheap, homegrown oil in Uganda found what cats knew all along – it worked as well as the artificial chemical used globally

The fog is alive: Researchers discover bacteria in fog droplets clear toxins from air: Study shifts our understanding of fog from a sterile mist to a temporary aquatic habitat

Democratic rebellion against older politicians reaches new battleground: Former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, 47, is challenging Rep. John Larson, who is 78 and running for his fifteenth term representing Connecticut's first district.

Trump-Netanyahu rift widens as election pressures pull them in opposite directions: While the Israeli leader touts a willingness to defy the U.S. on Gaza, the president needs to show progress in the foreign entanglements weighing on his approval rating.

Told to book a gym class, an AI agent hacked the site instead to move its user up the waitlist

Reading archive 2026-08-10

I treat brain fog. Here are 6 surprising causes many people overlook.: Brain fog has become an important part of the conversation for many conditions, including perimenopause and hypothyroidism.

When America’s budget will break, disastrously - "Medicare’s budget-busting makes Social Security’s look modest by comparison. Of the projected $138 trillion budget shortfall over the next 30 years, $109 trillion is from Medicare. Rising health care costs, combined with an aging population receiving far more in benefits than it ever paid in taxes, spells fiscal Armageddon. The Medicare Hospital Insurance trust fund goes insolvent in 2033."

Eleventh-hour primary upsets muddy the race for control of Congress: Unexpected winners have complicated both parties’ paths to control of the House and Senate.

A crime reporter was picked for jury duty and left with more than he expected: The trial in a D.C. courtroom brought together jurors from across the city for five days.

GOP lawmakers move to scrap D.C.’s motorcycle helmet law as road deaths rise: One sponsor calls motorcycles a “symbol of freedom.” Safety experts say scrapping the helmet mandate would come at a deadly cost. - "In states without universal helmet laws, 51 percent of motorcyclists killed in 2023 were not wearing helmets, according to federal safety data. In states with such mandates, just 10 percent of motorcyclists killed had no helmet."

Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia defence pact technically same as NATO's Article 5, Turkish minister says

Cruise ship helps stranded skiff and crew in Southeast Alaska as Zuckerberg yacht stands by

Reading archive 2026-08-09

Democratic voters who used to back Susan Collins aren’t so sure anymore: “When she voted for RFK Jr., I totally lost it,” one former Collins voter said.

Unemployment improved — because thousands of workers disappeared. Where did they go?: The percentage of American workers ages 25 to 54 declined this year, and that’s not a good sign for the economy, experts say.

Why a child’s stuffed bunny is blowing up a political race — and the internet: Many seemed reluctant to take sides in an Ohio congressman’s divorce, but then came the allegation he had withheld his daughter’s sleep buddy.

Trump keeps making threats. The world has stopped flinching.: The president’s bombast has ceased to rattle world leaders, who have seen him fenced in by courts, rebuffed by Congress and strung along by Iran.

How predatory trade schools drained $300 million from the GI Bill and cheated veterans: The institutions defrauded Veterans Affairs while cheating thousands out of career training, with some offering training on how to grow grass and make fake rocks, a Post investigation found.

Ukraine fails to halt Russian barrage as Zelensky blames partners for ‘horrific casualties’: U.S.-made systems are Kyiv’s only means to shoot down ballistic missiles, and Ukraine says it has run out of interceptors. Seventeen Ukrainians died overnight.

Virginia boy’s death comes as more children are getting hurt on e-scooters: Over two days in the D.C. area, a 9-year-old was killed on an e-scooter and a 5-year-old was seriously injured, police said.

Trump officials say public transit is unsafe, but their data says otherwise: A new federal dashboard shows that New York and Washington have relatively low rates of serious crimes.

Now the midterms begin in earnest. Ask candidates three questions.: Those seeking House or Senate seats should be asked by voters to make a trio of vital commitments.

Japan’s guilty pleasure: A tribute to the largest battleship ever built: Why the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Yamato, sunk in 1945, still captures the country’s imagination.

Felony record didn’t stop fraudster from fleecing GI Bill of $1.5 million: The self-described former drug dealer says he faced no background check before he won approval to enroll veterans in his school for police dog handlers.

Veterans in this GI Bill scam played along as trade schools pocketed millions: Prosecutors went after “ghost” school operators but rarely pursued students who enrolled just to collect housing subsidies, a Post investigation found.

Budget battle erupts in D.C. over opioid settlement money

Union Station overhaul takes new direction as Trump administration scraps approved expansion plan

Reading archive 2026-08-06

Norway became a global salmon behemoth. Now it's facing the consequences

Maine’s Democratic Senate candidate touts his rural appeal. His hometown has mixed feelings.: In Allagash, a hamlet of some 200 people near Canada, residents are sharply divided over Troy Jackson.

Attack ads portraying progressive candidate as sexist roil key Michigan Senate race: The candidate’s barbed wit sparked attack ads that portray him as disrespectful to women. He says that’s a racist trope.

Loomer’s Ukraine reversal deepens split in Trump’s ‘America First’ movement: Influential MAGA blogger and former Kyiv critic Laura Loomer expects to visit the president to advocate for the U.S.-Ukraine alliance.

How rogue officers turned a nationwide camera network into a tool for stalking: Flock’s array of license-plate cameras was built to fight crime. But at least 50 law enforcement officers were charged with or accused of misusing it and other systems.

My company’s drones hit Russia — and showed what the Pentagon doesn’t know: Modern war rewards speed and redundancy, not perfect weapons from a single supplier.

After big win, left-leaning slate seeks to flex power in D.C.’s Democratic Party: A group of left-leaning candidates, Free DC Slate, won 36 of 48 seats up for grabs on the D.C. Democratic State Committee.

I befriended my neighborhood crow. You can, too.: Reflections — and expert tips — on building bonds with corvids.