Reading archive 2026-01-20

To Their Shock, Cubans in Florida Are Being Deported in Record Numbers: Cubans had long benefited from legal privileges unavailable to immigrants from other countries. President Trump has changed that.

Americans Are Turning Against Gay People

Trump says U.K. ‘stupidity’ on Chagos Islands justifies Greenland demands: The United Kingdom agreed to grant Mauritius sovereignty over the archipelago, one of whose islands hosts a U.K.-U.S. military base.

Would Trump abandon Taiwan? This deal is slightly alarming.: The announcement of a U.S.-Taiwan trade agreement had a potentially ominous undercurrent.

Indiana judge and his wife injured in shooting at their home, police say: Lafayette police said Judge Steven P. Meyer of Tippecanoe County Superior Court and his wife, Kimberly, are in stable condition. The shooter remains at large.

She helped him flee a rally, then learned he was a right-wing provocateur: Jake Lang, a pardoned Jan. 6 rioter, jumped into a stranger’s car after he was driven from his anti-immigrant march in Minneapolis by a large counterprotest.

The White House wanted an ICE spectacle. It backfired.: The shooting of Renée Good in Minneapolis may mark a turning point in public opinion.

I found the most complete protein. It’s not meat.: The most “complete” protein is probably one you’re already eating.

Officials showed off a robo-bus in D.C. It got hit by a Tesla driver.: The automated vehicle display was part of a push from the White House to advance automated driving.

These prophets of economic doom are worried about another collapse" The current investment boom is triggering déjà vu for some economists and traders who successfully predicted past economic crashes.

This company says it has produced the Holy Grail of batteries: New batteries in electric vehicles could store more energy, charge faster and last longer, while lowering fire risk

Colorado’s wolves in the political crosshairs as Trump targets the state: A program to reintroduce the predators is essentially blocked, with Colorado leaders saying the state is being punished for jailing election denier Tina Peters.

"What Is Going to Happen?": How to reject a new normal.

Reading archive 2025-12-12

House votes to repeal Trump order ending union rights at federal agencies: The March order restricted union rights in more than two dozen federal agencies. The bill to repeal it is likely to stall in the Senate. - "Federal workers already have limited union rights compared with other employees. They can’t strike or bargain over pay. But they are allowed to join unions and bargain collectively — protections that are meant to ensure workers are treated fairly, while preventing activity that could be disruptive to public services or threaten national security."

George Washington’s living quarters back on display after restoration: Mount Vernon, the first U.S. president’s estate along the Potomac River in Virginia, is undergoing the most extensive renovation in its history.

The minority voters who powered Trump to a second term are drifting away: Extended conversations with Black, Latino and Asian American voters who cast ballots for Trump in 2024 showed mixed feelings about the president and their votes.

MyPillow founder and conspiracist Mike Lindell announces Minnesota gubernatorial bid: Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow and a 2020 election denier, joins a crowded race in his unlikely Republican bid against two-term incumbent Gov. Tim Walz (D).

Oklahoma Black Lives Matter leader indicted on alleged misuse of donations: Tashella Sheri Amore Dickerson deposited at least several million dollars into personal accounts instead of the organization’s accounts, authorities said.

Trump asserts he has pardoned county clerk convicted in Colorado case: The impact of Trump’s claim is unclear since Tina Peters was convicted in state, not federal, court.

House Democrats release photos of Epstein with Trump, other public figures: Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released 19 images, many of them previously published, showing the disgraced financier with Bill Clinton, Woody Allen, Steve Bannon and others.

The Silent Treatment Is Quietly Ruining Your Relationships: Many of us have done it, but that doesn’t make it right, experts say.

Trump wants Bagram back. Satellite images show how the Taliban are using it.

Secret meetings between FBI and Ukraine negotiator spark concern: FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino, met with Kyiv’s top peace negotiator amid a U.S. pressure campaign to end the war.

Russia could attack Nato within five years, says alliance chief in stark new warning

Let’s take a closer look at MIT, one target of Trump’s blunderbuss: It’s alarming to see such a complex, important institution subject to the whims of today’s politics. - "The 8 percent tax on MIT’s endowment will cost the university $240 million annually that will not be available to make up for reductions in government research grants. Universities’ endowments fuel upward mobility and combat the stagnation of elites. Taxing endowments mocks conservatism by enfeebling private sector alternatives to government’s domination of social resources."

The deeply personal reasons why many Indiana Senate Republicans said no to Trump

Reading archive 2025-11-18

More than $1 billion and two decades later, the Grand Egyptian Museum is — finally — ready to share its treasures

With China Truce, U.S. National Security Controls Now Appear Up for Negotiation: Some analysts say Beijing won a major victory in its trade talks: Getting the U.S. to withdraw a national security measure that previously was not under discussion.

Cleaning Woman Killed Through Door After Arriving at Wrong Home, Police Say: The shooting of the woman, an immigrant from Guatemala, took place on Wednesday in Indiana, a state with a “stand your ground” law.

Youth pastor accused of sexual relation with a teen arrested in Coarsegold

Dutch voters have been seduced by positivity – liberals elsewhere, take note

China has lent $200B to U.S. tech and infrastructure projects, report finds: Chinese lenders backed 2,500 projects, covering almost every U.S. state, from gas pipelines to airport terminals, even as Washington warned developing nations about Chinese debt traps.

Trump, Border Patrol Retreat in Failure from Chicago: Five important lessons of the first six months of Trump’s immigration raids — and why CBP’s Greg Bovino is the Nathan Bedford Forrest of the Trump era.

Gregory Bovino is exactly who E.B. White — author of 'Charlotte's Web' — warned us about: DHS named its North Carolina anti-immigrant effort "Operation Charlotte's Web." In 1940, White wrote of the "smell" that "rises" from those who "adjust to fascism" over freedom.

Kash Patel, the FBI's Agent of Chaos: The biggest little scandal in Washington right now is how bad Patel is at being FBI director

Whatever happened to U.B.I.?: Guaranteed income in the A.I. age - "To the extent that the threat of automation [ed. note: AI] is a point of leverage in class warfare, it can lower the wages of workers and otherwise disempower them--as the Gen Z employees from Walsh’s article are finding.

"In this way, guaranteed-income programs should be seen not as complementary to 'A.I. automation' but as leverage for the other side--workers, who can more easily withhold their labor and otherwise refuse disempowerment if they know they have an income floor."

How baby boomers got so rich and why their kids are unlikely to catch up: The wealthiest generation holds more than $85 trillion in assets thanks to economic conditions Gen X, millennials and others would be hard-pressed to replicate.

Armed man fatally shot by officer in Northeast, D.C. police say Gunfire breaks out after struggle near Deanwood Metro station; a gun was found.

D.C. lawmaker proposes summer jobs expansion, teen centers, apprenticeships: D.C. Council member Brooke Pinto has introduced 23 bills, many of which focus on boosting economic opportunity for young people.

We found what you’re asking ChatGPT about health. A doctor scored its answers.: When to trust ChatGPT with your health — and when it could hurt you

A Case of Bromism Influenced by Use of Artificial Intelligence - "For 3 months, he had replaced sodium chloride with sodium bromide obtained from the internet after consultation with ChatGPT, in which he had read that chloride can be swapped with bromide, though likely for other purposes, such as cleaning."

Reading archive 2025-10-23

This Post Should Have Been Shorter

Musk doubles down in fight with Trump administration, risking his empire: The tech executive has shown little sign of backing down from a battle over the future of NASA. It has spilled into the Transportation Department, which oversees regulation for Tesla.

Study finds mRNA coronavirus vaccines prolonged life of cancer patients: Health records of more than 1,000 cancer patients receiving immunotherapy for lung and skin cancer showed they gained additional benefit after vaccination. - "'RNA preceded DNA evolutionarily, so cells don’t like RNA from the outside world coming in,' said Elias Sayour, one of the authors of the new paper and a pediatric oncologist at University of Florida Health. 'So when that happens, that sets off all the alarms of the human body. The 911 signals we’re in trouble.'"

Trump is ignoring the real threat matrix: A puzzling pivot to the Caribbean increasingly leaves Europe to answer Putin’s aggression on its own. - "'Great-power suicide' is how former CIA director William J. Burns described the self-inflicted damage to national security resources in a recent article for the Atlantic. 'We’ve put at risk the network of alliances and partnerships that is the envy of our rivals. We’ve even gutted the research funding that powers our economy,' he wrote.

...

"This politicization of U.S. intelligence has begun to erode the confidence of partners. The two leaders of the Dutch intelligence agencies told a Dutch newspaper last week that they were reducing the amount of intelligence they shared with the CIA and National Security Agency. 'We sometimes don’t tell things anymore, that is true,' said Peter Reesink, head of the military intelligence agency. 'We are very alert to the politicization of intelligence and to human rights violations,' explained Erik Akerboom, head of the civilian spy agency."

Frustration grows over Trump bailout of Argentina: Republican officials are speaking out, but Trump says cattle ranchers don’t understand how much his policies have helped them.

I want the GOP to keep control of the House. But not this way.: My fellow Indiana Republicans shouldn’t cave to White House pressure to redistrict.

Putin says U.S. sanctions are ‘serious’ but won’t make Russia stop war: President Donald Trump’s sanctions against two of Russia’s largest oil companies come as the European Union passes its 19th package targeting the energy sector.

Russia acquired Western technology to protect its nuclear submarine fleet: Russia secretly used front companies to buy Western technology and erect a surveillance net in the Arctic where its submarines operate, an investigation shows. - "At the center of the Harmony procurement network was a company, Mostrello Commercial Ltd., that was headquartered in Cyprus, which is part of the European Union, but served as a front for Russia’s military industrial complex, accounting for tens of millions of dollars in purchases of sensitive equipment, according to court records and other documents. Russia did not respond to requests for comment."

Reading archive 2024-10-09

Helene response hampered by misinformation, conspiracy theories: False claims are adding to the chaos and confusion in many storm-battered communities. Social media platforms such as X have allowed the falsehoods to spread. - "In western North Carolina this week, some residents shared false information that a dam was about to burst, prompting hundreds of people to unnecessarily evacuate and diverting the attention of first responders. In eastern Tennessee, some locals spread a hoax about federal officials seizing and bulldozing a town hall. And in many parts of the Southeast, a debunked conspiracy theory has circulated about FEMA spending disaster relief money on helping migrants who are in the country illegally."

Trump would add twice as much to national debt as Harris, study finds: Trump’s campaign proposals would increase the ballooning national debt by $7.5 trillion; Harris’s would add $3.5 trillion, according to a nonpartisan think tank. - "'Despite the fact that our fiscal situation is really unhealthy, we have two candidates whose proposals, if looked at comprehensively, would make the situation worse rather than better, with a noticeable distinction that former president Trump would make it significantly worse,' CRFB President Maya MacGuineas told The Washington Post."

Not falling for apples? Another fruit reigns in this Indiana town.: In tiny Mitchell, the persimmon is the king of fall fruits. Sorry, apples.

No air raid sirens on Ukraine’s tallest mountain, just the promise of a future: Tens of thousands climb Mount Hoverla every year. During the war, it has become a pilgrimage for those seeking to lay down their grief and sorrow for a few hours.

Opinion Why the joke is on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Trump’s pandering and empty promises aren’t surprising. How many people keep falling for them is.

Mossad’s pager operation: Inside Israel’s penetration of Hezbollah: New details emerge of Israel’s elaborate plan to sabotage Hezbollah communications devices to kill or maim thousands of its operatives.

Okla. is buying schools 55,000 Bibles. Specs match the $60 Trump Bible.: The state put out a bid for leather-bound Bibles with U.S. founding documents. Few, if any, such Bibles are currently for sale besides a Bible endorsed by Trump. - "Critics who have said Walters is inappropriately pushing Christianity into public schools now say he’s trying to line Trump’s pockets, perhaps with an eye toward a job in Trump’s administration if he wins the election in November."

Hamas built an underground war machine to ensure its own survival: Vowing self-sufficiency, Hamas turned a maze of tunnels in Gaza into weapons factories and well-stocked fortifications. A year after the war began, parts of the group remain deeply entrenched. - "But even homemade weapons require parts that must be brought in from the outside. Hamad said getting components past the Israeli blockade was a constant challenge. Almost every facet of weapons production, from machine tools to agricultural chemicals for explosives, was either labeled for civilian use or hidden inside shipments of food or other everyday wares.

...

"Costing, at minimum, hundreds of millions of dollars — money that Hamas diverted from humanitarian and economic development projects intended to improve the lives of ordinary Gazans — the tunnel system by Oct. 7 extended more than 300 miles, longer than the New York City subway, or about the distance from Tel Aviv to southern Turkey. The IDF acknowledges there is no practical way to destroy the entire system.

...

"By the day of the Oct. 7 assault, Hamas’s well-trained military wing numbered about 35,000, including a vanguard of 6,000 shock troops who burst into Israel early that morning for the attack the group dubbed “Operation al-Aqsa Flood.” Hamad, the political bureau member, said the idea was to shake Israel to its core and force its leaders to end the siege on Gaza, halt settler expansion in the West Bank and curtail raids on the al-Aqsa Mosque, which sits atop Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, known in Islam as the Noble Sanctuary and revered by both Muslims and Jews. [ed. note: lol]

...

With Israel’s unrelenting assault and a dearth of humanitarian trucks bearing food and other necessities reaching Gaza, Hamas may be reaching a tipping point, at least with regard to its supply of money and other vital resources, say analysts. While Hamas was prepared for an extended siege, a year of IDF operations in Gaza — combined with stricter controls by Israelis at border crossings — have nearly drained Hamas’s coffers, officials said. Hamad maintains that Hamas still has 'channels' to ensure cash flow into Gaza, but he declined to elaborate.

"Still, one of Hamas’s key assets remains available to the group with a nearly inexhaustible supply. Analysts say Gaza’s devastation is spurring recruitment, driving legions of embittered or desperate youths into the arms of Hamas."

How to build an AC that will get the world through hotter summers: To combat stickier weather, air conditioners need to go from cooling machines to humidity gulpers.

In eagle nirvana, avian flu is decimating America’s national bird

Officials face antisemitic attacks over Hurricane Helene response: Report finds Elon Musk’s X is fueling conspiracy theories that risk undermining rescue efforts and preparations for Hurricane Milton.

FBI probe of Kavanaugh constrained by Trump White House, report finds: A Democratic senator’s report finds new evidence of the White House controlling an FBI investigation into sexual assault claims against the Supreme Court nominee. - "The report found that messages to the FBI tip line regarding Kavanaugh were forwarded directly to the White House and never probed, and that the FBI had no written protocols for the supplemental background investigation ordered by the White House. It notes that the FBI was instructed by the White House to talk to 10 potential witnesses and was not given the leeway to pursue corroborating evidence — the absence of which was cited by senators as they narrowly voted to confirm Kavanaugh, marking a major triumph for the conservative movement and locking in a right-leaning majority that would later overturn the constitutional right to abortion."

Five men killed in separate D.C. shootings over four days: The shootings mark a spike in homicides even as the number in D.C. has declined by almost 30 percent compared with the same time last year.

70% of D.C.-area bus riders don’t pay. Here’s what Metro is doing about it.: The transit agency is proposing a new funding model where jurisdictions will get credit for paid ridership while subsidizing unpaid riders.

Afghan man arrested in Okla., accused of plotting Election Day attack: Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, is accused of planning to target large gatherings of people on Nov. 5 in the United States in the name of ISIS

Opinion What I learned from Indian American voters in Georgia: Does identity matter in presidential elections?

Fox News quietly reports on a fact sheet correcting Fox News misinformation: In the channel’s eternal struggle between helping Donald Trump and informing its audience, Trump once again prevailed in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. - "But this gets to the tension that has undergirded the channel in the past decade: Is its mandate to retain viewers or to report the news? The former means amplifying and backstopping claims made by Donald Trump in order not to alienate them. (They saw the dangers that posed in the aftermath of the 2020 election.) Since Trump is so consistently dishonest, though, that means amplifying and defending false claims, which is the opposite of reporting the news."

Reading archive 2024-06-18

How ruinous floods put Vermont at the forefront of the climate battle: Vermont has enacted the first state law requiring fossil fuel firms to pay for damage caused by climate change. Will it survive a near-certain legal challenge?

Trump has unveiled an agenda of his own. He just doesn’t mention it much.: Dubbed “Agenda 47,” Donald Trump’s plans should he return to the White House are documented by his campaign website.

Slowing demand growth and surging supply put global oil markets on course for major surplus this decade

What ‘boommates’ are and why you might want to join them: Thousands of baby boomers are living with intergenerational housemates — a setup that could help ease the housing crunch and cut global warming emissions. - "The housing crunch prompted Nancy, a retired professor of astronomy who lives in a Boston suburb, to open up her 1889, five-bedroom house to renters. 

"'I started renting in 2016, and never looked back,' she says, asking her last name not be used for privacy. 'Even if I had plenty of money, I don’t think I would want to live here by myself.'"

GOP pick for N.C. governor downplayed Weinstein allegations, assault by Ray Rice: Mark Robinson has spent years repeatedly questioning the veracity of women who accuse prominent men of violence.

The unbearable heaviness of thinking everything is good for Trump: Everyone knows that getting convicted of felonies is bad. But try telling that to nervous anti-Trumpers.

Closing asset loophole could add billions to tax collections, IRS says: The Treasury Department said it will enact rules to prevent certain large businesses from depreciating the same asset repeatedly.

Fauci’s memoir reveals clashes with Trump, other private moments: In one chapter titled “He loves me, he loves me not,” Fauci describes his mercurial relationship with the 45th president.

Opinion Indiana is revealing the real consequences of one-party rule: Competition, always and everywhere, fosters innovation.

Opinion All U.S. economists are communists now, says the GOP. Who knew?: Republicans are rushing to defend Trump’s bone-headed tariff threats. - "The expected costs of Trump’s recent tariff proposals would be staggering. For example, his plan for a universal 10 percent tariff coupled with a 60 percent tariff on Chinese goods would more than wipe out any savings most Americans would get from extending his 2017 income tax cuts, according to estimates from the Peterson Institute for International Economics. The bottom 80 percent of households would see a tax increase on net."

These 1,941 historic Ted Cruz emails show how Washington works: Missives offer an unvarnished view of Cruz’s professional life at the Justice Department as his political star rose amid networking, lunches and after-work gatherings.

Israel alleges journalist held hostages in Gaza, without providing evidence

The Hostages Next Door: Inside a Notable Gaza Family’s Dark Secret: To the outside world, they were a physician, a journalist. No one suspected their apartment had become a prison.

Reading archive 2022-10-18

D.C. attorney general plans to take action on Daniel Snyder, Commanders

Ohio Senate debate filled with contentious exchanges

Soda pop, chips, hot dogs, etc. – they can take years off your life: No matter how old you are, or how much junk food you consume, it’s never too late to start undoing the damage caused by a poor diet

A battle for working-class voters in a key Indiana House race: The race in Indiana’s 1st Congressional District will test whether Democrats can halt Republicans’ gains with the White working-class voters — including union members — who played a crucial role in electing Donald Trump in 2016.

GOP to use debt limit to force spending cuts, McCarthy says - "House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said that if Republicans win control of the House the GOP will use raising the debt limit as leverage to force spending cuts — which could include cuts to Medicare and Social Security — and limit additional funding to Ukraine."

Most Ukrainians want to keep fighting until Russia is driven out, poll finds

China plans to seize Taiwan on ‘much faster timeline,’ Blinken says

Opinion  Republicans’ secret economic agenda? A global financial crisis.

Desperate pleas and smuggled pills: A covert abortion network rises after Roe: Amid legal and medical risks, a growing army of activists is funneling pills from Mexico into states that have banned abortion - "'I want those politicians to feel powerless,' the nurse said of her decision to join the ranks of the illegal abortion movement. 'I want them to feel the same way my patients feel.'"

Reading archive 2022-08-07

After the Fall: What Afghanistan Looks Like Since the Taliban Takeover

Russian men, dying in war, leave many families sad, angry and silent

Two prominent men died on the Titanic. Were they secretly a couple?

Abortion law in Indiana leads to fallout for state, politics: The state, national leaders and activists on both sides are gearing up for long slog over abortion laws

Reading archive 2022-08-01

Young guns: Should 18-year-olds be able to buy semiautomatic rifles? In Georgia, two young men who want to be the ‘good guys with guns’ try to decide.

Opinion  Indiana’s cruel abortion bill is a warning of post-Roe reality

Opinion  Jon Stewart shows Democrats how to respond to GOP cruelty

Opinion  3 Senate races show how MAGA candidates are dragging down the GOP

An Oklahoma city’s first openly gay mayor resigned. Then came the fallout.

Germany is firing up old coal plants, sparking fears climate goals will go up in smoke

Hollywood ‘nepo babies’ know what you think of them. They have some thoughts.: Nepotism and Hollywood have gone together since the industry’s beginnings. But a younger generation of fans more attuned to inequality and privilege have put a different kind of spotlight on the kids of famous parents.

Reading archive 2022-07-27

Philippines scraps Russian helicopter deal - AP

Johnson County school board might ban trans students’ pronouns, choice of bathroom

Human bones, stolen art: Smithsonian tackles its ‘problem’ collections: The Smithsonian’s first update to its collections policy in 20 years proposes ethical returns and shared ownership. But will it bring transformational change? - "'I had to chuckle … that the Smithsonian thinks they’re a leader in this. They are not,' said Tina Marie Osceola, an enrolled member of the Seminole Tribe of Florida and director of its Historic Preservation Office, which has been trying for 11 years to get the Natural History Museum to return the remains of 1,400 ancestors. 'They are the best bad example we have in the country.'"

Justice Dept. investigating Trump’s actions in Jan. 6 criminal probe: People familiar with the probe said investigators are examining the former president’s conversations and have seized phone records of top aides

Opinion  The U.S. is a lot stronger than Russia. We should act like it. - "Does Sullivan really believe that Putin will launch World War III if the United States supplies rockets with a range of about 180 miles but will hold off as long as we’re supplying only rockets with a range of about 50 miles? Or that the provision of HIMARS, NASAMS air-defense systems, 155mm howitzers, Phoenix Ghost drones, Javelins and Stingers isn’t too provocative — but fighter aircraft and tanks would be?"

Doctor in 10-year-old rape victim’s abortion faces AG inquiry, threats - "Rokita and his office have repeatedly questioned whether Bernard reported the procedure to the state, even as records obtained by The Post show that the physician reported the girl’s abortion to the relevant agencies before the legally mandated deadline to do so. The attorney general has continued to cast doubt on the physician, despite Gerson Fuentes, 27, being charged with rape in the child’s case earlier this month."

Manchin says he has reached deal with Democrats on economy, climate bill

Stolen artifacts, some from 400s B.C., returned to Italy from New York

Republicans have a nonsensical argument against the same-sex marriage bill: They’re glossing over a very real threat these protections could face.

Opinion  Most third parties have failed. Here’s why ours won’t. [ed. note: lol]

She was 12 and behind the wheel before a fatal crash. Her family asks why.