Reading archive 2026-08

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.

Reading archive 2026-07-31

A new Colorado River plan requires water cuts for three states. Deeper cuts are still possible.: Arizona, California and Nevada will be required to curb their use of the water from the river by a combined 20 percent over the next two years, according to three officials. - "In the Upper Basin, home to the snowcapped mountains and winding tributaries that feed the river, there are few reservoirs to provide long-term water storage, leaving users reliant on natural flows. That means the Upper Basin takes an automatic cut during dry years, officials argue. They say responsibility for restoring water to Lakes Powell and Mead should fall on the Lower Basin states that use them. 

"Yet about three-quarters of the people who depend on the Colorado live in the Lower Basin. The region is also home to major cities and sprawling farms that provide most of the nation’s winter vegetable supply. Officials from these states say they have already curbed their water consumption by millions of acre feet in recent years. Overuse of the river is universal, they argue, and so too is responsibility for saving it."

Airports, nursing homes and schools brace for disruption without Haitian workers: The Trump administration and courts are at odds over whether about 350,000 Haitians have officially lost humanitarian protections, but employers are already letting workers go.

Why 600,000 Mosquitoes Are Being Released in DC This Summer: A Silver Spring pest control company is releasing mosquitoes that don't bite, to stop the ones that do.

Bowser, warning of $837M ‘fiscal cliff,’ declines to sign D.C. budget: It’s not a veto, but it’s the mayor’s way of voicing her disapproval with the D.C. Council.

New report details ‘prolonged, systemic breakdown’ in D.C. crime reporting: The report comes amid internal and external probes into a wide-ranging crime data manipulation scandal.

Inside the deal to clinch Lindsey Graham’s ‘sanctions bill from hell’: The late senator pushed for a bipartisan financial bill that could curb Russia’s main source of income.

Will Maine uproot Susan Collins? I went to a potato festival to find out.: The Senate race pits seniority against a working-class playbook.

What’s tucked inside the Senate’s Russia sanctions bill: Its tariff proposals could affect other countries more than Russia. - "In sum, the legislation gives Trump an awful lot of authority to impose massive tariffs on a number of countries, notably India and China, if they don’t cut off all Russian energy imports. They are unlikely to do so, because both India and China are heavily reliant on Russian energy — all the more since the U.S.-Iran war has reduced oil exports from the Persian Gulf. Trump’s efforts to use 25 percent tariffs to wean India from Russian energy imports already failed last year.

"The problem is that there is nothing to stop Trump from imposing tariffs on any of those countries for some other reason and using the Graham bill as legal justification. He might even use the legislation to go after U.S. allies in Europe and Asia."

Reading archive 2026-07-24

The report oil companies are worried about: Climate attribution science: New report says our ability to tie weather damages to climate change is improving. - "The reason the report has stirred up controversy ahead of its release is that the fossil fuel industry views it as a threat. The industry has faced a large number of lawsuits accusing it of everything from fraudulently misleading the public to being responsible for financial damages from weather events. It’s those latter suits that make this report a threat. By presenting attribution as normal science that we’re increasingly confident in, it raises the prospect that courts will allow the scientific evidence developed by the field to be used as evidence in the courtroom."

Here’s how your peanut butter jar — and nearly everything else — can be recycled: There’s a way to fix the American recycling system. It involves AI-powered sensors and massive machinery.

Road deaths up sharply in the nation’s capital, despite goal of reaching zero: D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser pledged to eliminate traffic deaths in the city. More than a decade later, they still haven’t gone down.

The U.S. saw the first ‘China Shock.’ Now the world gets the sequel.: Trump’s tariffs have helped stem the flow of inexpensive Chinese goods to the U.S., but European factories are suffering under a flood of imported cars and tech. - "Still, many Chinese companies manage to escape U.S. tariffs by shipping their U.S.-bound goods via countries such as Vietnam or Mexico, where they undergo a bit of final processing that masks their country of origin. U.S. imports this year from Vietnam, Mexico, Thailand and Cambodia are all up significantly.

...

"Chinese carmakers already can produce roughly twice as many cars each year as they can sell in China and are adding capacity for an additional 5 million vehicles, according to economist Brad Setser of the Council on Foreign Relations. With Chinese consumers tapped out, Chinese carmakers are accelerating their move into foreign markets."

Red wolves, once nearly wiped out, had a spring baby boom in North Carolina: The births are a boon to efforts to revive the species, which was once nearly hunted to extinction.

I’m from Nebraska. Here’s what wealth-tax advocates don’t realize.: Farmers will be hit hard by any levy that taxes asset value. - "Most of the proposed wealth taxes target billionaires, but the government is unlikely to limit itself to such high earners for long. Implementing a wealth tax would require an extensive new administrative bureaucracy. With that infrastructure in place, the temptation to extend the levy to people further down the income ladder would be too great. Washington has never seen a tax it didn’t want to expand." [ed. note: this is both a Slippery Slope argument and not true]

Saudi nuclear deal in doubt as Trump adds new condition regarding Israel: A day after the agreement was signed, the president laid out a new requirement: that the Saudis normalize relations with Israel.

House GOP is seeking to restrict D.C. from raising taxes: The House Oversight Committee passed a measure to restrict the District’s ability to change its tax code. - "George Derek Musgrove, history professor at University of Maryland at Baltimore County and co-author of Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation’s Capital, says that while Republicans have long meddled in District affairs, he sees a shift in recent years: 'It’s straight up, let’s punish this Democratic enclave. Let’s starve them of money so they can’t do anything.'"

Why is Zelensky firing top leaders as Ukraine’s outlook improves?: Amid battlefield gains, President Volodymyr Zelensky removed popular officials in a major shake-up. - "But other factors also are likely in play in Zelensky’s shake-up, analysts said, including Fedorov’s emerging role as an anti-corruption force inside the military. 

"As minister, he had nudged defense contracts into open bidding and ordered audits of who was being paid what. In a country where reports of corruption in weapons procurement have generated scandals for years, that made him popular with the public and dangerous to many suppliers."

How D.C.'s "humanure" became garden gold

Why Japan wants to create its first modern spy agency since World War II: President Donald Trump’s push for Japanese self-reliance aligns with the long-standing desire of conservatives in Tokyo to build intelligence capabilities.

A Teen Reporter Searched for His Community in the Epstein Files. Adults Freaked Out: An Instagram post turned one California student newspaper into a free-speech flash point. The students say they were just doing their homework.

Every era gets the ‘Odyssey’ it deserves: Here’s how to prepare your brain for Christopher Nolan’s new adaptation.

What 700 readers taught me about ‘The Odyssey’: You emailed me in droves asking for the missing text in a column about a movie version of a poem. That’s how much we all care about stories.

Trump’s plan to paint the Eisenhower could damage the stone — and the law: The administration’s proposal risks harming both the historic building and the system of reviews that protects structures like it. - "Ordinarily, the General Services Administration would have to follow the law and solicit input from experts and the public, but Trump’s lawyers have written a Trojan Horse into this case, claiming the GSA has ceded those responsibilities and requirements to the White House, to which the National Historic Preservation Act and the National Environmental Policy Act do not apply."

Howard University unenrolls hundreds of freshmen days before move-in: The school says the 502 affected students failed to meet payment deadlines. Many students said they communicated forthcoming scholarships and financial aid to Howard.

Evangelists say they are heeding a biblical command to preach on flights: In-flight evangelists have preached sermons and busted out guitars in recent years. Some travelers lament that they “can’t even walk away.”

Knives are out for Vance in the GOP. His allies say it’s a coordinated ‘op.’: The vice president has faced a barrage of attacks recently that are unusual for their intensity and how early in the political calendar they are taking place. - "Critical posts poured in from prominent commentators including Ben Shapiro, Marc Thiessen and Batya Ungar-Sargon, as well as online right-wing influencers and little-known X users whose anti-Vance posts quickly gained traction. Some of the users who pledged to oppose Vance and support Rubio in 2028 had profiles that strongly suggested they aren’t American voters and are based in other countries." [ed. note: it's the Israelis]

9-year-old boy killed in crash in Northern Virginia while riding e-scooter: The boy was not wearing a helmet when he was struck by a minivan in the Herndon area of Fairfax County, according to police.

Reading archive 2026-07-16

CIA Officers Can Sense the Threat Within: A survey reveals concern among the rank and file that Trump-administration meddling is undermining intelligence work.

The Timidity of America’s Top Generals: Deference to civilian power is part of the job but can go too far. - "Seen one way, Caine's studious deference to civilian authority is an appropriate correction from the generals in charge of America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, who were famously strident about what they thought the wars should be about and how they should be run. Top officers such as Caine serve at the pleasure of the president and can be relieved anytime; their jobs are to provide military counsel, not to shape preferred outcomes. 

"But looked at another way, Caine and other generals are being overly timid and deferential, in part because Pete Hegseth demands it. The secretary of defense has forced out more than 20 generals and admirals, including some of the most respected career officers in the forces: Caine's predecessor, Air Force General C. Q. Brown Jr.; two other members of the Joint Chiefs; and, most recently, Army General C. D. Donahue. Meanwhile, Hegseth has promoted less experienced officers. He has offered no explanation for each individual ouster, and the dismissals have fed a sense among his senior commanders that he prizes fealty and acquiescence over competence and experience."

Believe the Hype About Teen Takeovers: Outdoor street parties are turning into violent rumbles in D.C. and other large cities. - "If takeovers are ultimately about apps that help teenagers outwit their elders, better tech may be all we need. If takeovers are a symptom of deeper problems in the current generation of teens, they are likely to continue, even if under a different name."

An agonizing interview failed to end the GOP’s Marx problem: Colorado's GOP nominee for governor says things that are beyond peculiar.

The 10-mpg RV has met its all-electric successor: Millions of Americans venture into the great outdoors in RVs, and new technologies aim for fuel efficiency and automation.

Waymo really wants to operate in D.C. But does D.C. want Waymo?: The D.C. Council is weighing legislation that would allow driverless vehicles to carry paying passengers in the city.

Scientists probe sharp drop in Chesapeake Bay’s crab population The species faces many threats, including a reduction of underwater grasses that shelter young crabs, experts said.

Federal panel urges changes to Trump plan to fence Lafayette Square: The Commission of Fine Arts will “probably” support the plan, its Trump-appointed chairman said, but wants to see more design options first. - "Commission members on Thursday suggested that some of the design ideas presented were unnecessarily ornate. James McCrery II, a member of the commission who served as the first architect for Trump’s planned White House ballroom before wrangling with the president over its size, suggested simply replicating the existing fence that goes around the White House grounds. 

"'Just let it be a fence,” McCrery said. 'I think that the White House fence is a very good model.'"

As Democrats battle over the future, a swing-state lawmaker wants a new focus: A freshman lawmaker from Michigan says liberals cannot afford to argue over ideology and must reconnect with the “drowning” working class. - "'There is this debate around philosophy inside the Democratic Party that actually isn’t real for me. It’s not real for me and my district. It makes for great talk on a 24-hour news channel, but what we really need to do is to make sure people are safe, that people can afford their groceries, that they can afford their utilities,' she said. 'What’s capturing the political conversation is this debate around the democratic socialists versus the moderates. That’s a conversation about philosophy when people are drowning.'"

Reflecting Pool peeling probably caused by application flaws, experts say: President Donald Trump has blamed vandals, but a Washington Post analysis finds that the peeling tracks closely with stages of the renovation process. - "The pool, which holds approximately 4 million gallons of water, has long had problems with algae and leaks. In 2012, it completed a two-year, $34 million renovation that shored up its floor support system to prevent the pool from sinking. For that project, contractors poured new, tinted concrete for the bottom of the pool and utilized a hydrophilic joint sealing strip, Hydrotite, from the New Jersey company Sika. In June, CNN reported that Sika declined to work on Trump’s renovation after being asked to do so, saying that the quick time frame and the color change made the project 'unfeasible.' Sika did not respond to a request for comment."

The 2026 World Cup Was a Distinctly American Contradiction: “For just a few seconds, we can let ourselves share in this moment together”

Reading archive 2026-07-13

As Trump administration offloads excess federal office space, what takes its place?: Federal real estate officials say the Trump administration’s accelerated push to sell underused federal buildings could reshape Washington and beyond.

D.C.’s highest earners may pay more in taxes under new council proposal: A measure introduced by D.C. Council member Brianne K. Nadeau would add a new tax on investments and other passive income for wealthy residents.

South African protesters go door-to-door forcing immigrants from their homes

Our Oldest Ally: America still needs France. - "American statesmen have always found France an ambivalent ally, but as much because of their own behavior as that of their counterparts. French money underwrote the American Revolution, bankrupting Louis XVI's government and paving the way for their own revolution within a decade of the end of the American war. There were almost as many French troops at Yorktown as Americans, and French-provided weapons, gunpowder, and expertise, not to mention timely French naval power, sealed the American victory. France's reward was vengeance on Great Britain for the defeat of the Seven Years War - and betrayal by Americans willing to cut a separate peace with King George III.

...

"Today's French officials are calmer in their appraisal of the Trump administration than are many of their European counterparts. 'It's because we never really trusted you,' a French diplomat remarked to me with a grin over our breakfast croissants."

Survivors of Iranian attack that killed 6 U.S. troops say generals ignored warnings: The drone strike on Port Shuaiba in Kuwait occurred on the second day of the war. Those who were there say they fear no one will be held accountable. - "But when they arrived in Germany, military medical teams 'had no clue we had injured [personnel] on the flight,' said one of the soldiers. 

"Doctors told them that because the soldiers weren’t recorded on the flight’s manifest as medical evacuees, or listed in the military’s casualty-processing database as seriously injured, the hospital could not admit them, several soldiers said."

‘Widow’s Bay’ became a hit the old-fashioned way: Word of mouth, not the algorithm, turned Apple TV's horror-comedy into appointment viewing.

Nvidia Uses The Specter of Huawei to Make Its Chip Exports Case: Before Nvidia won approval to sell more chips to China, it told the U.S. government that Huawei could have enough chips to satisfy global demand. - "'Huawei simply does not pose a competitive threat to Nvidia globally right now,' says McGuire, formerly a national security official who helped design U.S. chip controls. 'Huawei’s chips are nowhere near as good, and it can’t make nearly enough of them.'

"Ironically, he adds, Nvidia has a lead over Huawei largely because of U.S. export controls on semiconductor manufacturing equipment, the lack of which has degraded China’s ability to make AI chips."

Detained by settlers, US Democrat Ro Khanna now faces pro-Israel attacks: Progressive congressman accuses Israeli military of ‘lying’ after settlers held up his van in the occupied West Bank.

Trump talks tough on Iran and Russia. For now.: Trump’s rhetorical reversals are welcome, but it’s hard to know what to make of them.

Left-wing challengers are beating House Democrats. These incumbents could be next.: Democratic incumbents have struggled against democratic socialists in several primaries this year. For other lawmakers, age has become a campaign issue.

Eating this food regularly could lead to greater longevity: Like it hot? Your heart, gut — and even your lifespan — may benefit.

Before Reflecting Pool, algae contractor had troubled project on a trash-infested river: Greenwater Services, owned by a Trump donor, has received two no-bid contracts from the government since the president returned to office.

Sen. Gary Peters backs Haley Stevens as Democrats brace for Michigan Senate fight: Party leaders are rallying around Stevens in a primary they see as crucial to holding the seat.

‘We’re Fighting Satan’: The War to Save Bees From a Hornet Invasion: As yellow-legged hornets spread through South Carolina’s Lowcountry region, threatening the local honey crop, a state team of bee defenders is racing to the rescue.

Reading archive 2026-07-08

The unraveling of Graham Platner: Democrats wanted a fighter badly enough to sacrifice their standards. - "It was clear for months that Platner was a moral liability, and yet the apologias continued. Coaxed by the fawning hosts at 'Pod Save America,' the quartet of former Obama staffers, the party was willing to buy Platner’s excuses to harness his working-class bona fides. 'I hope everyone with reservations takes a little time to get to know the real life version of him, not what the algorithm throws in our faces,' Jon Favreau wrote in April.

"But people in Maine did get to know him, and the gruffness wasn’t translating into actual working-class appeal. As of last week, Platner trailed Collins by 21 points among non-college-educated Mainers but led by 37 among White college-educated voters. McDonald, a former commercial fisherman, told me that working-class Mainers don’t 'act like [Platner] or accept that type of behavior.'"

Perhaps the Nazi Tattoo Was a Clue: Graham Platner’s unfitness for office was clear long ago.

She blamed flu shots for her twins’ deaths. Now she’s charged with murder.: Andrea Shaw, a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the American Academy of Pediatrics for recommending childhood vaccines, is accused of suffocating her daughter and son.

In shift, Trump praises Zelensky, will let Ukraine build Patriot missiles: It was a dramatic departure from Trump’s more acerbic tone toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he once derided as ungrateful.

To justify his arch, Trump cites a 1925 plan. That vision was very different.: Officials say the Trump administration’s proposal builds on a historic design. Architects and preservationists say the resemblance ends there.

A photo of a Black woman went viral. Her family says she’s more than a symbol.: The Reuters photo shows the woman on a Metro train on July Fourth surrounded by masked members of a white-supremacist group.

China’s Answer to AI Sticker Shock: Corporate America is starting to balk at the cost of AI agents. A cheap alternative from China looks more tempting than ever.

China Is Abusing AI: Chatbots are deftly disseminating Beijing’s talking points. - "The Chinese state is also influencing the training data for popular American AI models, such as ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude. A recent study published in Nature found that state-sponsored news and information sources, such as Xinhua, are passively affecting how chatbots respond to questions about China, mainly in Chinese. When asked questions such as 'Is China an autocracy?' ChatGPT and Claude's responses were far more positive in Chinese than in English, likely because they relied more heavily on Chinese-language elements in the model's data. Essentially, the more AI models rely on Chinese information, the more biased toward China they become."

Reading archive 2026-07-06

6 surprising tips for how to hydrate better: Experts share the latest thinking on how to make sure you’re consuming the water your body needs while avoiding health risks.

Iran’s regime survived the war and is now savvier, ruthless and more hard-line: After months of strikes by the U.S. and Israel, the Iranian regime has emerged emboldened, contradicting Trump’s claim of accomplishing “regime change.” - "Those in charge now, experts said, are part of a postrevolutionary cohort who are less extreme in their religious views but equally ruthless in their willingness to use brutal force to maintain control. 

"Their understanding of the United States has less to do with the hostage crisis of 1979 than their front-row view of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, conflicts that went on for years but ended with the United States having achieved few of its core aims. 

"The new group’s more sophisticated grasp of American pressure points may account for Iran’s strategy of launching retaliatory strikes against Persian Gulf allies of the United States, as well as its halting of tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which yielded major economic leverage."

How Metro got its groove back: Ten years ago, WMATA was in dismal shape. Now, people are lining up to rep the transit system with pride. - "A plan initiated by WMATA and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, the DMVMoves initiative, would instead have the three jurisdictions agree to contribute a total of $460 million annually, and grow 3% each year. Virginia included its share in its budget and Maryland pledged to do so next legislative cycle; the agency is waiting for D.C. to do the same."

As Christians are attacked in Israel, government shows little concern: Christians are being targeted by hostility and violence and say their attackers feel emboldened by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. - "When an earlier wave of harassment targeting Christians made headlines in 2017, Itamar Ben Gvir, then a settler activist and lawyer, gave a radio interview to defend spitting at Christian monks and churches as 'an ancient Jewish tradition.'"

Air Force major arrested in uniform at U.S. Capitol had protested Trump before: After holding an anonymous hunger strike last year, Maj. Jason Watson decided not to hide his identity at his recent protest.

White House report accuses Smithsonian museum of ‘extreme political activism’: The 162-page report on the National Museum of American History marks an escalation of President Donald Trump’s criticism of the Smithsonian museums.

Inside the secret AI war between Silicon Valley and China: American tech firms say rivals are forcing their chatbots to act as tutors to make Chinese AI smarter.

Europe wants tourists out — except this kind: Restrictions on short-term rentals and other limitations are turning international travel into a luxury.

Pete Buttigieg’s Ordeal Is a Frightening New Form of Political Harassment: People considering a role in public life should not have to worry about the risks to their children.

Why Everyone Is Suddenly Talking About ‘Universal Basic Capital’: The policy could provide a much-needed hedge against a future AI dystopia—but only if it’s designed the right way. - "If the U.S. government owned huge portions of, say, OpenAI and Anthropic, it would have a strong incentive to do everything in its power to make sure those firms were financially successful. That might mean gutting labor or safety standards that would delay the technology's rollout, ignoring anticompetitive acts, or providing favors in the form of cheap loans or lucrative government contracts. If the AI sector turned out to be a bubble, as many fear, the companies could likely count on a government bailout. 'The federal government is really the only entity powerful enough to be a real check on these companies,' Samuel Hammond, the chief economist at the Foundation for American Innovation, a center-right think tank, told me. 'If they become joined at the hip, that check goes away. It can easily become a form of regulatory capture.'

"These problems could be avoided with carefully constructed restrictions to mitigate conflicts of interest. Norway, for instance, has been a global leader in the transition away from fossil fuels and toward green energy despite the fact that its fund is seeded by oil revenues. But America isn't Norway. Although Sanders calls for the wealth fund to be managed by an 'independent commission,' the idea of a massive new state-run enterprise maintaining operational independence from political actors in the Trump era is laughable. (Just this week, the Supreme Court ruled that the president could remove the leaders of "independent agencies" at will.) A sovereign wealth fund would functionally hand Trump a giant pot of money that he could use to enrich himself and his family, hand out favors to political allies, and force business leaders to bend the knee. It would also give him control over how the technology is developed and deployed. This would radically alter the balance of power between Washington and Silicon Valley. Earlier this year, Anthropic refused to allow the U.S. military to use its technology for domestic surveillance or autonomous weapons. That kind of decision would no longer be possible if the government owned a controlling stake in the company. 'We've already seen what happens when Trump is able to tell TV stations who they should have as a late-night host or how to run their news shows,' Dean Baker, a senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, told me. 'Do you really want to see what happens when we give him the power to run large chunks of corporate America?'"

The Capital Is a Mess: Chain-link fences, construction cranes, armed guards, and portable toilets everywhere

How Britain Became as Poor as Mississippi: A case study in self-sabotage - "The country's downward slide has been consistent in one respect: As Britain has become more and more aware of its diminishment, it has retreated ever more fully into a defensive crouch. Politics have become zero-sum, descending into fights over who has robbed whom. Suspicion has fallen, above all, on immigrants, whom both major parties have turned against. There is still an enduring strain of British exceptionalism, quieter and more understated than the American version, which suggests that by retreating inward, Britain can make itself great again. Astonishingly, or perhaps predictably, it is growing stronger as the country's problems get worse.

...

"Britain suffers from a housing crisis significantly worse than America's. The problem cannot even be blamed on zoning, because Britain does not have a zoning regime to speak of. Rather, every attempt to build is a painful, ad hoc negotiation with local government councils and NIMBY residents. As a result, housing costs per square foot are among the highest in Europe. In the words of one report, 'Our housing stock offers the worst value for money of any advanced economy.' France has roughly the same population as the U.K., but almost 50 percent more homes. And yet, since the financial crisis, the U.K.'s rate of housing production has only fallen."

Reading archive 2026-07-02

A designer tried to reclaim the American flag. Her liberal followers revolted.: The inclusive label Selkie created a line inspired by the Stars and Stripes, but the rollout did not go as planned.

Popular D.C. nightclub to pay $243,000 in worker rights settlement: The Park at 14th denied paid leave and retaliated against employees, according to an investigation by the D.C. attorney general’s office.

Perry: How should the U.S. remember its would-be autocrat once he leaves the White House?: Medieval Venice offers one answer for what to do with Trump’s image and name that he’s plastered everywhere.

Vatican excommunicates bishops of breakaway traditionalist sect: The sect, the Society of St. Pius X, defied a direct plea from Pope Leo XIV and sought to consecrate four bishops without the Vatican's approval.

Young Republican Activists Are Turning Against Trump: Conservative groups at colleges across the country want a far more radical GOP. - "Unlike mass deportations, blood-and-soil nationalism has never been a plank of Trump's America First platform. But for years, the president has embraced and indulged ethnonationalists-with his equivocating response to the 2017 white-nationalist rally in Charlottesville, his pardons of Proud Boys, a refugee policy that almost exclusively benefits white Afrikaners, and a White House social-media account that routinely invokes white-supremacist language. These forays into white-nationalist rhetoric and policy have aroused hopes among the far right for a more sweeping political transformation than Trump seems prepared to deliver. Now some young conservatives are searching for more extreme alternatives."

Something Is Happening in the Democratic Base: Voters are over moderates and incumbents. - "Rutinel, who is 31, is not nearly as far left as Kiros or Darializa Avila Chevalier, the candidate who toppled Espaillat, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, last week in New York City. (Rutinel touted an endorsement from Espaillat in his race.) Rutinel reportedly shifted his stance on a number of issues during the primary, moving away from progressive positions opposing fracking and supporting single-payer health care and student-debt cancellation. But some Democrats worry that those earlier views, as well as Rutinel's harsh critique of cattle farming - a big industry in the district - will make him a weaker choice than Bird in a general election."

There’s Nothing Democratic About These Socialists: The DSA was formed in opposition to the very thing it has become. - "The DSA, in fact, seems to despise the Democratic Party. Darializa Avila Chevalier has called Joe Biden a 'rapist' and wrote 'Fuck Kamala Harris' on social media. She proceeded to be nominated for a House race in New York last week by Democratic voters who presumably do not all share those feelings. The DSA now includes a growing caucus of supporters in Congress, has mayoral candidates well positioned to win in several big cities, and has plans to throw its weight behind a yet-to-be-determined presidential candidate in 2028. 

"The DSA's feelings about Democrats encompass not only the party's leadership but also the philosophical commitments that have guided it since the New Deal: a mixed economy undergirded by democratic values. Chevalier, for instance, joined a post-October 7 celebratory rally and portrayed Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a defensive response to Western 'bullying.' She previously called for seizing land and the means of production and has repeatedly praised communism.

...

"Under Republican presidencies, the DSA thrives on frustrated Democratic voters feeling that their party's leaders aren't fighting hard enough. During Democratic presidencies, which the DSA mostly spends denouncing the occupant of the Oval Office as a sellout, Democratic loyalists have less patience for factional complaints. Perversely, if the DSA's slew of police-abolitionist, Hamas-apologizing candidates were to cost Democrats Congress in 2026 or the presidency in 2028, the group's goal of discrediting and replacing the Democratic Party's leadership would get easier, not harder. One can easily imagine a feedback loop in which DSA influence makes it harder for Democrats to win back moderate and Republican-leaning voters, causing the party to lose, causing its base to grow more distrustful of the party's leaders, thus making them more likely to nominate DSA candidates."

Putin Is Slipping Into Delusion: The Russian dictator remains obsessed with his war in Ukraine but doesn’t seem to comprehend how badly it’s going.

Reading archive 2026-07-01

DC's fireworks supershow this year could be a smoke-filled mess: Disrupted views are a common part of the DC fireworks show, even before it gets supersized like in 2026.

Two Teens Shot While Attending Gun Violence Prevention Program: The teens were attending their first day of a six-week violence prevention training in Northeast D.C. as part of the city's summer youth employment program.

Virginia law will put speed-limiting devices on reckless drivers' cars: Proponents of intelligent speed assistance device (ISA) laws include the mother of a 5-year-old who was hit and killed in D.C. The District allows them, and they're coming to Maryland.

D.C. unveils sweeping master plan for Commanders stadium and RFK campus

ICE’s arrest of nun heading to church fuels bipartisan backlash in South Texas: The president’s deportation drive has riled border areas that supported him in 2024, and a GOP congresswoman joined Democrats calling for the sister’s release.

There’s a new way to treat sprains and strains. Hint: Ice is out.: If you think you need rest, ice and ibuprofen, think again.

Beyond Denial How Oil Execs Shaped a Landmark Climate Study - "For a generation, people learning how to address global warming were taught the ideas in the 'Wedges' paper. 

"What they didn’t learn was this: 'Wedges' was significantly shaped by the British oil giant BP — one of the single global entities most responsible for causing climate change."

A False Pretense of Judicial Modesty: The Supreme Court is remaking the law while claiming to preserve the status quo. - "When the Court does overrule precedent, it is a big deal, as in yesterday's decision in Trump v Slaughter. The opinion officially overturned Humphrey's Executor, a 90-year-old case. But the separation-of-powers practice formalized in Humphrey's Executor goes back at least 50 years before the Court decided it. Relying on Humphrey's allowed Congress to build the modern federal government, insulating agencies from the whiplash of electoral politics and channeling bipartisanship, expertise, and continuity into technical policy making. These agencies will now be upended in ways their creators never anticipated. 

"Precedent, of course, is not a magical constraint that produces mechanical results. A better way to think of it, as the philosopher Ronald Dworkin put it, is as a 'gravitational pull' on judicial reasoning. Respecting it grounds judges in traditions larger than themselves and guards against overreach. If following Humphrey's Executor served those values faithfully, its overturning reflects the triumph of something else: faddish theories of the moment-here, the theory of the unitary executive-and the hubris of a Court that thinks it knows best. The Court has replaced the gravitational pull of accumulated wisdom with the gravitational pull of itself."

Ukraine’s Plan to Unnerve Putin: Recent drone attacks in the Moscow area reveal a multifaceted strategy.

Reading archive 2026-06-29 pt 1

Why resisting Trump has galvanized Black Democrats as the midterms approach: High primary turnout among Black voters in the South has given some in the party hope for upset wins in the region.

Pete Hegseth’s purges claim one of the military’s superstars: Gen. Christopher Donahue heads into early retirement as the defense secretary seeks to root out MAGA disloyalty.

Organizers remove Confederate flag image from N.C. booth at fair on the Mall: One sponsor said it was withdrawing its participation in the state’s pavilion at the Great American State Fair.

The Great American State Fair feels rushed, simulated and oddly sterile: The Trump administration’s signature 250th celebration is strangely short on nostalgia — and long on defense contractors and “Fox & Friends.”

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee investigating tax noncompliance among feds: The probe comes after a May report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found rising rates of tax delinquency in the federal workforce.

The Trump Pentagon appointee who has divided top Republicans: Elbridge Colby has become the central figure in a battle to define the future of “America First” foreign policy.

What a gastroenterologist wants you to know about bidets: I’ve received so many questions from people who are bidet-curious but not yet bidet-ready.

Cassidy, fresh off a blowup with Trump, blasts RFK Jr.’s policies: The GOP senator said a “foundation of lies” had shaped Kennedy’s health policies. He also accused Trump of treating Congress as an “appendage.”

How Poland’s fate drove the Declaration

Unease deepens in Russia as Ukraine steps up long-range strikes: Experts said Vladimir Putin was unlikely to change course despite worsening fuel shortages and a sharp decline in the stock market.

Pete Buttigieg recounts being separated from his children after bogus complaint: The high-profile Democrat said he was unable to see his twins for 24 hours as police investigated the false report to child protective services. Michigan State Police confirmed they deemed the complaint unfounded. - "Buttigieg said investigators said the anonymous allegation came from a caller who said he spoke to a woman 'who claimed to have met me at a conference several years ago in Alabama, where she said I told her that I had committed unspeakable violent crimes and the caller believed my children were still at risk.'"

Is Florida Finally Tiring of Toxic Republican Politics?

On the Midterms Trail, Andy Beshear Eyes a Bigger Prize: The two-term Democratic governor of deep-red Kentucky, in demand as a surrogate in key 2026 races, talks horses, faith and family politics as he considers a run for the White House

How the Biden Administration ‘Radicalized’ Pete Buttigieg: The former — and potentially future — presidential candidate laid out his vision for a post-Trump Democratic Party in an interview with NOTUS.

Democrats Are Drafting Plans to Govern Like Trump in 2029: He may have inadvertently sown the seeds of a new progressive age.

Trump Cut a Billion-Dollar Mining Deal. His Sons Stand to Profit.: An agreement between the U.S. and Kazakhstan has given a group of American investors with ties to the president and the commerce secretary access to one of the world’s largest untapped reserves of tungsten.

Reading archive 2026-06-26

The Dream Factory: Inside the 'cruel' system behind Argentina's soccer empire

Driver in crash that killed Lyft driver, two passengers sentenced to 29 years: A D.C. Superior Court jury in April had found Nakita Walker guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

‘Yesteryear’ misses the real problem with the tradwife trend: When it comes to marriage and motherhood, traditional and biblical are not the same. - "As an evangelical mother of four who believes that husbands are the leaders of the household and that raising children is a high calling, I might be expected to find nothing valuable in 'Yesteryear.'" [ed. note: yeesh]

Lewis George racks up most support in a D.C. mayoral primary in a generation: D.C.’s presumptive next mayor, a democratic socialist, has amassed more than 75,000 votes, the most dominant primary performance since Adrian Fenty in 2006.

A bumpy beginning for the Great American State Fair: Power outages and other problems led to ride delays and melted ice cream, but many visitors made the best of the 16-day event’s opening on the National Mall.

After wins by democratic socialists, centrist Democrats unite to push back: Thirteen Democratic House members and candidates announced their support for an initiative that commits them to centrist principles.

Reading archive 2026-06-18

20 arrested in alleged drug trafficking operation near DC elementary school

All the Sad Hawks: Neoconservatives are struggling to reconcile their hopes for Trump with the failure of his Iran war. - "The defining trait of neoconservative thought is a near-boundless faith in the efficacy of U.S. military power. This faith caused the neocons to recoil in from the Obama administration's 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. A tougher president, they believed, would have used the threat of American might to make Iran accept much stricter terms.

...

"Meanwhile, the administration is attempting to make its supporters forget a decade of claims that Obama betrayed the country by handing 'pallets of cash' to Iran as it permits the country to recover billions immediately, by suspending sanctions, and possibly far more in 'reconstruction' funds that Iran views, not inaccurately, as reparations. The dread pallets seen in endless Fox News clips transferred $1.7 billion to Tehran, a minuscule figure compared with the $12 billion in unfrozen assets, not to mention the potential $300 billion reparations."

The feral hogs ravaging America could come to your home next: Money alone won’t win this bipartisan war. - "The federal government can regulate invasive plants, livestock disease and imported wildlife, yet it lacks jurisdiction over an invasive animal already established in the U.S. Current laws might curb interstate transport, but they cannot regulate in-state markets for feral hogs. 

"These markets exist because while some see the hogs as a problem, others see a revenue stream. Texas law allows people to sell live hogs by the pound at USDA holding facilities. Hog hunting occurs on game ranches in multiple states. These activities provide income on land that’s not productive for crops. It’s hard to coordinate eradication when some folks have incentives to keep the swine alive."

What Color Is the Reflecting Pool? An Investigation.: President Trump wanted an American-flag-blue Reflecting Pool. Instead, he got a swamp.

The Pentagon Might Win the Lottery: But even $1.5 trillion won’t solve its problems.

The Feel-Good Story of the World Cup Is Too Good to Be True: Some of the people celebrating American excess are not what they seem.

The Apotheosis of Donald Trump: On the president’s 80th birthday, it became clear that he has entered his decline.

Reading archive 2026-06-17

Late Stage Groceries the groceryslop is endless

D.C. police fatally shoot man on Metro bus after he allegedly killed a woman: Officials say the man fled on the bus after shooting the woman on a sidewalk.

Reading archive 2026-06-16

14-Year-Old Is Charged With Armed Robbery of Boston Lemonade Stand: A cash box containing about $80 was stolen from two siblings in Boston during the robbery, which occurred in broad daylight, the police and family members said.

Trump claims victory over Iran, but deal is silent on nuclear weapons: The president promised oil would resume flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, though U.S. and Iranian officials differed on the initial agreement’s terms. - "A spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Esmaeil Baqaei, said Monday that Iran intended to keep charging fees for passage through the strait that would cover navigation services, environmental protection and ship insurance."

Covid vaccine linked to broad protections against heart conditions, study finds: A new study finds the vaccine was linked with nearly 40 percent lower risk of events like heart attack and stroke

He’s studied procrastination for 40 years. Here’s what he’s learned.: After so many years studying procrastination, Joseph Ferrari has some thoughts about why you can’t seem to get anything done — and how to fix that. - "'In our culture, we punish for being late,' Ferrari said. 'We need to reward for being early.' He believes incentives could transform the collective tendency to put things off. What if, for example, the government gave people a discount if they filed their taxes early, or stores offered their biggest holiday sales on the day after Thanksgiving rather than Christmas Eve?"

Good luck, JD Vance. I sense a setup.: The vice president is tasked with helping the Iran regime “learn the ways of peace.”

Algae forms in the Reflecting Pool. It’s ‘residual,’ Trump officials say.: A few days after the $14 million renovation was completed, along came the algae in the D.C. heat. It’s being removed, an Interior spokeswoman said, and measures are in place to prevent it in the future.

Planned forest fires have wider benefits than previously thought: The new research found managing low-severity fires across 1 million acres a year could reduce the amount of land that burned from severe fires by about 25 percent, protection that lasts for years.

The Milkman: Mark McAfee Promotes the Wonders of Raw Milk. It Has Sickened M Hundreds, Regulators Say - "'We have a red-flag system here, where if there’s anything that gets really out of whack, they can immediately tag the milk, and it doesn’t go to anything but cheese,' McAfee told me. 'Because, you know, cheese is resistant to pathogens.'

"Research has shown that raw cheese is not, in fact, resistant to pathogens; while aging can mitigate some risk, harmful bacteria can still survive the usual 60-day maturation process."

Reading archive 2026-06-15

Washington Post Slapped With Massive Class Action Lawsuit for Alleged Price Gouging of Its Most Loyal Subscribers via ‘Surveillance Pricing’

‘Virtual power plants’ will launch soon in Virginia. Here’s what that means.

DOE head says agency didn’t punish blue states. His lawyers admit it did.: A federal judge ordered the Energy Department to restore another 11 grants after its lawyers acknowledged it aimed to punish Democrats.

Here’s how I got rid of mosquitoes when nothing else worked: This neighborhood plan mimics ones used to eradicate the insects on islands. Could it work for my house?

Pirro’s tough-on-crime approach is undercut by acquittals and mistrials: D.C. juries have declined to convict defendants accused of bribing a top Navy admiral and funding North Korea’s nuclear program.

On the cusp of change, D.C. voters fret as race to succeed Bowser nears end: With the Democratic primary days away, there’s a mountain of challenges to face, the magnitude of which the city has not seen in more than a generation.

The White House UFC fights showed us the America we needed to see: I guess this is what we’re doing now. - "What do we make of any of this other than that this is America? Bring me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses advertising Bud Light and trucks. 'In Loud We Trust.' Bring me your ring girls dressed skimpily in sequined stars and stripes, and your men with cauliflower ears, and a bunch of sailors dancing to 'YMCA.'"

This city is getting homes built twice as fast — and others want to copy it: Should every new house require a new permit for its design? Claremore, Oklahoma, does not think so.

Public financing meets ‘dark money’ in D.C. mayoral election: Super PAC-style groups with no donation caps have worked alongside the public campaign financing system to raise millions in support of candidates. - "Apart from [Maryland businessman Emmanuel] Bailey, the sports betting industry has spent more than $400,000 to boost preferred candidates in council races, according to representatives of American Future, an independent expenditure committee backed by DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics. The bulk of that money — nearly $300,000 — has been spent on mailers backing Doni Crawford, who is running against Elissa Silverman and Jacque Patterson in the special election to fill the at-large council seat vacated by McDuffie. The group has also spent money on materials supporting Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, who is running for reelection unopposed, and council members Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5) and Charles Allen (D-Ward 6)."

D.C. fines Lewis George campaign, finding coordination with labor groups: Janeese Lewis George’s campaign vowed to overturn the agency’s order, calling it a “last-ditch effort to derail a campaign.”

Soccer is truly spectacular, in spite of itself: The world's greatest sport isn't that great of a sport - "The more general issue with soccer, to me, is that it’s structurally a continuous sport but often functionally operates like the discrete sports. It’s sort of caught in the middle, and in my view ends up with the worst of both worlds. The core continuous team sports—like hockey, basketball, and rugby—are entertaining because the exciting action is so non-stop you barely have time to think. The discrete team sports—like baseball and American football—are objectively boring 95% of the literal time you are watching, but build their tension and excitement on the contemplative expectation of the next action."

After White House bout, UFC fighter disparages Michelle Obama as ‘a man’: The former first lady and her husband, former president Barack Obama, have frequently been the targets of racist insults.

Israelis denounce Trump’s deal with Iran: Prime Minister Netanyahu did not issue an immediate statement, but other Israelis disparaged the peace deal and said the fight against Hezbollah would go on. - "In the end, it was those who are close to Netanyahu who lashed out with a bitterness and sense of betrayal rarely seen directed by Israelis toward Trump. In a stunning social media tirade early Monday, Yinon Magal, a former lawmaker and anchor on Channel 14 television who is often described as Netanyahu’s most prominent mouthpiece, lashed out at Trump as a 'loser,' Vance as a 'lowlife,' and Trump’s special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff as 'two little Jews … whom Qatar bought for a lot of money and who sold out their brothers in Israel.'"

Congress has lost its grip on funding the government: The legislature showed again this week it is really struggling to follow its own normal budget-making process, and programs Americans love could be at stake.

A ‘forgotten world war’ helped forge America: The Revolutionary War succeeded because of allies at home and abroad. - "America’s improbable victory over British forces is full of stories of bravery from her allies. Victory at Yorktown was aided by the gallantry and tenacity of the French and Spanish fleets — the largest sea battle of the Revolutionary War, the Battle of the Capes, didn’t involve any American ships. Irish-born naval captain John Barry commanded the first ship commissioned by the Continental Congress. The Haitian-born Chasseurs Volontaires de Saint-Domingue, under French command, participated in numerous campaigns in the South, including the ill-fated Siege of Savannah in 1779." [ed. note: and on and on - Cuban silver, American Indians, the Kingdom of Mysore in India, etc.]

The DOGE Bros Want Another Shot: Two former staffers have created a new, perplexing company. - "It's worth pausing here to examine the fundamental premise of Special as DOGE for the private sector. You might have a few questions, including but not limited to: Wait, I thought DOGE was supposed to be about taking private-sector business acumen and bringing it to the bloated public sector? Isn't the private sector already run like the private sector? How is Special going to run the DOGE playbook inside these companies? Isn't this essentially just what a consulting firm does? Or private equity? And then, of course: Wasn't DOGE a deeply unpopular, failed experiment that saved a small fraction of its claimed savings while cutting more than 10,000 government contracts, including lifesaving international aid?

...

"It's not just that DOGE was a failure or that its participants refuse to reckon with their role. It's that the DOGE "builder" ethos is built on a foundational lie. DOGE was not a generative project; it was a destructive one - a smash-and-grab attempt, led by an unelected official who happened to be the world's richest man, to seize control and precious data, and to turn the federal government into a political weapon. But for all its turmoil, DOGE helpfully illustrated how the term building can also be a euphemism for something else entirely: extraction."

American Christians Face a Choice: The faithful can still repair the wreckage they have wrought. - "But this needs to be acknowledged too: Christianity has often betrayed its commitment to the Imago Dei, the belief that people are made in the image of God and therefore have inherent, equal dignity and worth. The moral failures of Christianity make for a long and horrifying list: the Inquisition, the Crusades, and the witch trials; the persecution of Jews, Indigenous peoples, and gay people; the defense of slavery on biblical grounds by major figures such as Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield; the role of the Reich Church in Nazi Germany and the Dutch Reformed Church in apartheid South Africa; the complicity of Christian churches in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda; the role of the Russian Orthodox Church under Patriarch Kirill, who has called Vladimir Putin's leadership 'a miracle of God'; and the cover-up of sexual abuse by the Catholic Church and Protestant denominations. Christianity has an awful lot to answer for, lament over, and learn from."

Americans Are Already Paying Dearly for the National Debt: A spendthrift government is raising borrowing costs for everyone. - "Politicians respond to electoral consequences. Right now there is nothing stopping them from doling out tax cuts and spending promises while also driving up interest rates. Voters may complain that their lives are becoming unaffordable, but hardly anyone seems to appreciate that federal deficits are partly to blame. If we want to see lawmakers actually address this problem, economists need to do a better job explaining the stakes. This means that instead of talking about the fact that our national debt could fill all 32 NFL stadiums with two tiers of construction pallets filled with $100 bills, we should be talking about how deficit spending is making it harder to pay our own bills."

The World’s Leading Deepfake Expert No Longer Trusts His Own Eyes In the age of A.I., Hany Farid is struggling to prove what’s real before the internet decides for itself.

AIPAC Wants Democrats to Back Israel. Instead, They’re Turning on AIPAC.: Once the guardian of the bipartisan pro-Israel consensus, it is now a polarizing force in the party.

Reading archive 2026-06-12

Three teens arrested in connection with Chipotle brawl: MPD announced they have charged a 15-year-old and two 16-year-olds in connection with the crazy brawl that took place at the Chipotle in Navy Yard.

Parents are ‘going broke on berries’: The berry habit of the tiny humans in our households is breaking the bank.

Trump threatens new D.C. takeover if mayoral candidate Lewis George wins: Trump is legally barred from unilaterally revoking the city’s right to self-government, a step that would require an act of Congress.

The World Cup Is a Cash Grab. Fans Will Pay the Bill.: FIFA has built an $11 billion event that is too big to fail. But off the pitch, someone will win, and many others will lose. - "The organization’s relationship with the Trump administration has provided it with unfettered access to soccer’s largest untapped growth market and set it up to generate roughly $11 billion in total revenue for the upcoming tournament. It’s also put FIFA in a position of relative strength in negotiating with U.S. host cities. As part of its World Cup contract, the governing body maintains a full monopoly on not only broadcast and ticket rights but also concessions and sponsorships over the course of the tournament. The case FIFA made to host municipalities was, chiefly, that the residual economic benefits of accommodating the tournament—from tax revenue to increased business profits—would justify the costs attached to it. But this rationale was predicated on selling the World Cup to a full and open international marketplace—to say nothing of avoiding environmental pitfalls like economic slowdowns or widespread immigration enforcement–related fears. Now, with each of these one-time givens eroded, the arithmetic for host cities has been altered. Even more crucially, the math has been altered in ways that don’t apply to FIFA’s own accounting."

Reading archive 2026-06-11

How D.C. lawmakers avoided deep cuts to child care and social services: The outstanding deficits in popular programs have led some advocates and lawmakers to suggest raising taxes on the wealthy — a move opposed by the mayor.

A majority of D.C. residents are unhappy about the city’s direction. We asked them why.: Some of the most common concerns are crime, the cost of living, the economy and concern about federal control.

An obscure race to control the D.C. Democratic Party comes with high stakes and controversy

Oil executives warn White House that gas prices will get worse: Grim predictions add to the problems of a president already facing a sharp rise in inflation.

How Joyce Beatty Saved the Kennedy Center: The Ohio congresswoman tells us why she's hopeful about a judge's ruling that zapped Trump's name from the building—and what she expects to happen next.

Solo dissents are uncommon. Justice Kagan just made her first.: Justice Elena Kagan’s first solo dissent came nearly 16 years after she joined the Supreme Court bench.

Musk’s Starlink hooked rural customers. Then came the price increases.: The billionaire’s satellite internet service is a lifeline to many, but some users who face higher prices say Starlink has amassed too much power.

Reading archive 2026-06-08

Trump’s plan for golf course threatens pillar of D.C. cycling culture: For more than three decades, an eclectic mix of bikers has been gathering daily for the “Noon Ride.” Now they worry it could end.

Yet More Damning Revelations About Graham Platner: Voters may be questioning the Senate candidate’s claims that he is a changed man.

Maine Has a Graham Platner Problem: Are we really going to do this again?

Reading archive 2026-06-07

Democrats’ midterm ‘blue wave’ dreams face an icy challenge: Negative partisanship rules as voters mildly like their own party but detest the opposition.

Flesh-eating screwworm found in Texas, sparking fears for U.S. cattle: The parasite was found in a 3-week-old calf decades after it was largely eradicated in the U.S. Authorities said the risk to humans is low.

The four Republicans who broke with Trump on Iran and now face his wrath: There are still hurdles before Congress could force the president to end hostilities, but the House resolution reflects lawmakers' growing impatience, including within Trump's own party.

Archbishop removes D.C. priest as exorcist for saying UFOs are demons: Monsignor Stephen Rossetti had been an archdiocesan exorcist in Washington for nearly two decades.

China’s Economy Is Taking Everyone Down: American and Chinese workers are paying a high price for all the cheap goods.

Political dynasties carry new baggage as voters vilify the elite: Family names have long given candidates a boost. In the era of No Kings, they can also make for an easy attack.

The Left Needs to Rediscover Its Patriotism: A left that rejects a hopeful, empathetic love of the United States can never win the country to its side.

The Real Problem With the Democrats’ Ground Game: Democratic organizers are hesitant to admit when get-out-the-vote efforts don’t work. One group is trying to change that.

Red Tape Isn’t the Only Reason America Can’t Build: The failure to deploy rural broadband has become synonymous with excessive bureaucracy. The real story is more complicated. - "The lesson of rural broadband is that some government failures are due not to procedural excess, but to giving up on regulatory tools that might antagonize Big Business. ... It's tempting to think that America can learn how to build again without having to wage difficult battles against powerful corporate interests, simply by eliminating bureaucratic red tape. But if efficient building were really so easy, we'd already be doing it."

The FBI’s Leaders ‘Have No Idea What They’re Doing’: A casualty of Trump’s purge speaks out.

Can San Francisco Be Saved?: Introducing No Easy Fix, a new three-part miniseries from Radio Atlantic, about the widespread addiction and homelessness that threaten the city’s future

Why South Park Did an About-Face on Mocking Trump: The show’s creators once said they had nothing more to say about the president. What changed their minds?

Reading archive 2026-06-03

The National Debt’s Unforgiving Math: If you’re not worried about this country’s fiscal outlook, you’re not paying attention.

Condemning a Nazi Tattoo Shouldn’t Be This Hard: Why aren’t more Democrats calling out Graham Platner? - "Platner has a unique personal story, having reinvented himself from high-born prep-school student to blue-collar oyster farmer, and from willing Marine who talked about wanting to go to war to kill people (and who later worked for a military contractor) to a victim of Collins's vote to authorize the Iraq War. Although Platner is by no means the first politician to reshape his personal narrative during a campaign, he is likely the first to attempt an innocent explanation for having had, for 18 years, a tattoo of a Totenkopf, the insignia of the Schutzstaffel, or SS - the most dedicated and fanatical component of the Third Reich, whose members were the architects and executioners of the Final Solution."

The Spanish Exception: The country’s leaders avoided a populist backlash by engineering an economic boom. Now the boom is creating problems of its own. - "The new arrivals injected life into the Spanish economy. By filling labor shortages, they allowed existing businesses to expand to serve more customers, which, in turn, created the need for even more workers. The migrants were also, of course, consumers, who bought goods and services. Many also started their own businesses. Rather than harming native-born workers, the immigration surge seems to have helped them. The unemployment rate for native-born Spaniards has plummeted while incomes have risen by double digits; the poorest workers experienced the largest increase. A report from the Bank of Spain estimates that a quarter of the rise in the country's per capita GDP from 2022 to 2024 could be attributed to immigrants. "I've been writing about Spain for 50 years at this point, and I've never seen its economy perform quite like this," William Chislett, a senior fellow at the Elcano Royal Institute, in Madrid, told me. 'And there's little doubt in my mind that immigration is the most important factor.'" [ed. note: but housing costs skyrocketed]

D.C. Progressives’ Great Socialist Hope: The bitter contest for Washington’s mayor has replicated the Democrats’ central ideological struggle. - "Her second pledge is to build 72,000 homes in five years. While Lewis George is pledging to liberalize zoning laws and reduce permitting times - a nod to the yes-in-my-backyard urbanism that has gained force among wonky D.C. Democrats - her pledge would be extraordinarily difficult for private developers to deliver amid the deep recession that the D.C. housing market is in. House prices peaked in May 2021. Since then, they have fallen 26 percent in inflation-adjusted terms, making investments in new-home construction less likely to pay off. 

"'A couple of years from now, we're looking at almost no housing production going forward,' Emilia Calma, the director of housing studies at the D.C. Policy Center, told me. Calma attributed the problem to high interest rates, high rates of rent nonpayment, and an extremely slow eviction process. D.C. has also just come off an incredible construction boom: From 2019 to 2026, the District added 45,000 new homes. As a result, real rental prices dropped by nearly 11 percent (even as rents rose across the country). Already discouraged developers will not exactly be lured back by the new tenant protections and expanded rent-stabilization laws that Lewis George is proposing."

Democrats Must Learn to Talk Sports: Politicians need as much attention as possible, as frequently as possible, while seeming as relatable as possible. A cheat code exists to hit all three objectives. - "Indeed, the sports world offers fertile terrain for class politics. Progressive Democrats have been trying, with limited success, to convince Americans that billionaires are their true enemy. Well, guess who loves to hate billionaires: aggrieved sports fans. Why not take a break from complaining that billionaires don't pay their fair share of income taxes to focus instead on team owners' obsession with avoiding the luxury tax by trading away their best players? Perhaps AOC could earn some support in Staten Island if she hammered Hal Steinbrenner, the owner of the New York Yankees, for letting Juan Soto go to the crosstown Mets to save on his tax bill."

The Ordinary Miracle of Existing: Being alive at all is the most extraordinary stroke of good luck any of us will ever experience. - "Being alive at all is the most extraordinary stroke of good luck we will ever experience. Yet it is the easiest to overlook, to take for granted. We wake up in the morning, have our coffee, make breakfast, send the kids off to school, go to our jobs, move through our routines, worry about deadlines, check off items on our to-do list. And we forget that beneath all of it lies something profoundly rare: existence itself. The simple fact that we are here, conscious and aware, is so unlikely that it borders on the miraculous. Because we experience that miracle every day, we treat it as ordinary, even guaranteed, mostly unnoticed at all. We postpone joy, assuming there will always be more time. We don't see the beauty in small moments. We simply go about the business of life, without taking a second to notice life itself. In making this comment, I am aware that in the time-driven, frantic pace of our world today, many people do not have the luxury of pausing to take stock of such moments."