Reading archive 2025-09-28

Love pours in for a dying octopus as she tends to eggs that will never hatch

Russia is helping prepare China to attack Taiwan, documents suggest: Russia is using its battlefield experience to give Chinese airborne units the training and technical knowhow to carry out lightning-fast operations.

A new report from the Planetary Boundaries Science Lab at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) reveals that 7 of the 9 critical Earth system boundaries have now been breached, one more than last year.

More kids are severely ill or dying from the flu, CDC reports: As fewer children get their flu shots, cases of a rare, severe complication are rising. Last season, the U.S. experienced the highest number of pediatric flu deaths in 15 years.

This blue state governor sent the National Guard to her biggest city: No guns, no Humvees and no arrests. This deployment looks very different from the way Trump has used soldiers in places like D.C. or Los Angeles. And local police say it’s working.

Reading archive 2024-09-30

Android’s latest nightmare: Millions of devices infected by sneaky malware

Lessons in landscaping — and diplomacy — from a 37-year career: Stephen Crisp says goodbye to his role as the head gardener at Winfield House, the U.S. ambassador’s residence in London.

How ignored warnings at Boar’s Head plant led to a deadly listeria outbreak: Filthy conditions, aging equipment and haphazard cleaning at the Jarratt, Va., plant may have made some of its products microbial time bombs waiting to explode.

D.C. mayor, attorney general at odds over juvenile justice reform: The disagreements were on display at a recent D.C. Council hearing, where Attorney General Brian Schwalb proposed various changes to how troubled children are handled.

What to expect if port workers strike, and how it may affect the economy: Negotiations between longshoremen and port operators broke down in June and the two sides have barely been speaking. The current contract expires at midnight Monday.

Scientists just discovered why Earth’s atmosphere is leaking: It turns out the mysterious force is a previously undiscovered global electric field.

‘You’ll be okay’: Trump’s message to Hurricane Helene victims draws attacks: Critics tied the recent remark to a proposal in Project 2025, a conservative plan, to privatize weather forecasting now done by government agencies.

Harris team quietly courts big-name GOP endorsements: Anti-Trump conservatives are serving as emissaries to bring prominent Republicans on board, hoping to influence rank-and-file voters. - "Romney, who has frequently criticized Trump, has also expressed concerns about endangering the safety of his family if Trump is elected again, a fear also voiced by others who have spoken out against the former president." [ed. note: he's afraid of how awful Trump is, so he won't do everything he can to stop him]

Opinion Keep your eye on the Florida Senate race: Democrats see a path to an upset against Rick Scott.

James and the Jefferson Elm

He bought his dream home. In 10 years, it could fall into the ocean.: David Moot secured a three-bedroom, two-bathroom bungalow with sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean for just under $400,000 — but its days are numbered.

Fire at Georgia chemical plant releases chlorine into the air, authorities say: Rockdale County officials ordered people to evacuate the area near the BioLab plant in Conyers, Ga., and they said others should stay home to avoid the “harmful irritant chlorine.”

Opinion Mark Cuban: Kamala Harris’s business whisperer: As a successful entrepreneur, he can make the business case against Trump — and for Harris.

How Philadelphia election workers will race to count votes this fall

Reading archive 2024-05-08

Student who raised $400K for D.C. homeless man refunds money to donor:s In a series of TikTok videos, Sanai Graden says she lost touch with Alonzo Douglas Hebron, who became evasive and stopped returning her calls.

A TikToker raised $400K for an unhoused man. Then things got messy.: A viral fundraiser has become tangled in a crossfire of internet backlash and questions about who deserves help - "'No progress has been made, and that’s because of GoFundMe,' she said. 'I feel as though I am being targeted because I am African American and he’s African American, as well, and his criminal history,' she said."

Life boomed on Earth half a billion years ago. You can thank magnets.: The near collapse of Earth’s magnetic field coincided with a spike in oxygen levels and a boom in biodiversity, according to a new study.

How to avoid a contractor nightmare when electrifying your home: Seven steps to cut your energy bill, upgrade your home and bid farewell to fossil fuels.

Trump’s classified documents trial blown apart by Cannon: Judge Aileen Cannon, the Trump appointee in charge of the Florida prosecution, has repeatedly given Trump’s team exactly what it wants. His fans have noticed.

Opinion  In court, Stormy Daniels pulled a Trump on Trump: As Stormy Daniels testified in the hush money case, Trump’s angry response was unmistakable.

Opinion  GOP talking points are out of date. Border crossings have plummeted.: As it turns out, having good relationships with allies matters for immigration control.

Biden to tout Microsoft AI center on site of Trump’s failed Foxconn deal: The investment is expected to create 2,000 permanent jobs and 2,300 temporary union construction jobs.

In Arizona, election workers trained with deepfakes to prepare for 2024 “By the end of the second day, you’re like: Trust no one,” said one county recorder who completed the training.

D.C. Council overrides Mayor Bowser’s veto over housing program rules: The issue was another example of the power clashes between the lawmakers and executive that tend to surface in debates over housing.

Reading archive 2023-01-23

Former top FBI counterintelligence agent Charles McGonigal charged with violating Russia sanctions

Ukraine live briefing: Germany’s tank decision coming ‘soon,’ defense minister says, as Poland pushes to send Leopards

What is the Wagner Group, the Russian mercenary entity in Ukraine?

Ruben Gallego announces run for Ariz. Senate seat held by Kyrsten Sinema: The congressman’s entry could make a three-way race in the battleground state in 2024; it’s unclear if incumbent plans to run for reelection - "Gallego, who oversaw the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’s campaign fundraising arm last cycle, has been critical of Democrats’ late outreach to the community and their adopting language that does not resonate with a majority of Hispanic voters, like the term 'Latinx.'"

Earth’s inner core seems to be slowing its spin: This isn’t the beginning of the end times. Instead the findings stoke debate about how the core influences some of the most fundamental parts of our planet. - "The same thing appears to have happened in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and the study authors at Peking University in China suggest it may represent a 70-year cycle of the core’s spin speeding up and slowing down."

The spectacular collapse of Deion Sanders' Prime Prep Academy