Reading archive 2026-02-05

Washington Post Lays Off More Than 300 Journalists: The layoffs cut into The Post’s local, international and sports coverage, and reduced its entire work force by about 30 percent. - "Much of [Weill Lewis's] tenure has been tumultuous, including a shake-up of newsroom leadership and scrutiny of his ties to a phone-hacking scandal while he worked for News Corp. Just before the 2024 presidential election, Mr. Lewis announced a new policy from Mr. Bezos ending presidential endorsements by The Post’s editorial board, which blocked a drafted endorsement of the Democratic candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris. Hundreds of thousands of Post subscribers canceled their subscriptions in response. 

"In a staff meeting in 2024, Mr. Lewis warned that The Post was in trouble. 'We are losing large amounts of money,' he said. 'Your audience has halved in recent years. People are not reading your stuff.'"

House rejects D.C. tax changes, potentially costing the city $600M in revenue: If passed by the Senate, the measure could lead to a months-long suspension of the city’s tax filing system.

No, Billie Eilish, Americans are not thieves on stolen land: Civilization depends on secure property titles, not sincere apologies. - "It is easy to call land stolen, but what about the innocent purchasers who acquired in good faith in the interim? Are they thieves? Is Eilish a thief because, as the Tongva tribe recently asserted, her $3 million mansion in Los Angeles sits on its ancestral homeland?"

What to know about the rare condition Catherine O’Hara had: The late actor and comedian was born with a condition called situs inversus. Here’s what that means.

As West goes after Russia’s oil fleet, Moscow fears for its war funding: New European measures to crack down on Russia’s shadow fleet could severely hurt its economy at a time when it is looking increasingly vulnerable.

Democrats have an early front-runner: Gavin Newsom’s bet on joyful combat and coiffed charisma is paying dividends.

Gavin Newsom is very similar to Kamala Harris: Two San Francisco local elected officials who successfully ran statewide in CA - "My point, though, is that going from holding statewide office in California to running in a national election is not like the A.F.C. champion going to the Super Bowl. 

"It is hard to win these jobs, and getting them involves a real display of political skill. But that skill is not beating Republicans in elections. It’s catering to Democratic Party insiders and affiliated advocacy groups and generating media buzz and endorsements. And this environment is a bad training ground for developing politicians who are good at beating the opposition party. It’s as if you took the winning team from the Champions League and then sent those players to the N.B.A. Finals on the theory that they’re top-notch athletes. You’re selecting on the wrong thing. And it shows."

Our 2024 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) Models: The races where fundamentals pointed to one outcome, but candidate quality led to another

He lost a pinkie trying to kill a man. From prison, he made things worse.: A case in Maryland involving a former high school wrestling star challenged a judge with a difficult question: Who deserves mercy?

Why this vegan environmentalist thinks meat is the future: A new book argues that people will never give up meat — and that plant-based and lab-grown meat will be the “next agricultural revolution.”

D.C.’s largest office-to-residential conversion is officially underway: A former office in Dupont Circle will become a 15-story, 532-unit apartment building, the kind of transformation that D.C. officials see as key to downtown’s future.

On Greenland, Europe stood up, Trump blinked, and the E.U. learned a lesson: For some in the often fractured E.U., Trump’s retreat on the Arctic territory proves that retaliation — not conciliation — is the answer to his hardball tactics.

ICE surge creates new headache for Maine’s Susan Collins: The most vulnerable Republican in the Senate would not say whether she supported the federal enforcement effort.

On a paradise island in the Pacific, meth and HIV epidemics rage: International criminal syndicates have been using Fiji as a transshipment point for drugs originating in Southeast Asia and Latin America. - "Law enforcement officials, customs agencies, U.N. officials and others who investigate drug syndicates believe that the groups operating in and around Fiji are working with each other, bringing together Chinese triads, Mexican cartels, Australian biker gangs and other syndicates with connections as far away as Nigeria."

Reading archive 2025-10-02

Trump Isn’t Interested in Competing With China: To see how the president is losing ground to Beijing, consider his disastrous relationship with India. - "India is not the only Asian partner the Trump administration has alienated. ICE agents arrested more than 300 South Koreans who had entered the United States legally and were building a Hyundai battery plant in Georgia. The move generated outrage in Seoul. On the same day, Trump imposed a punitive investment deal on Japan that drew the ire of Japanese officials and business leaders."

The Running Mate Kamala Harris Didn’t Dare Choose: “I love Pete,” she writes in her new book. But picking a gay man would have been too risky.

It’s Fun to Be a Board-Game Sociopath: What can I say? I love to betray my friends. - "For example, if I were to offer aspiring Werewolf champions one piece of advice: When caught in a lie, do not admit to it. Rather, you must double down and commit to your lie even harder, so that the other players are forced to choose sides between you and your accuser."

Trump’s Campaign of Vengeance Is Already Backfiring As the president knows too well, efforts to censor or convict foes can often make them more popular.

Moscow Can’t Stop the Music: The Kremlin is trying to suppress songs that defy Putin’s rule. It isn’t working.

The 4th Amendment will no longer protect you - "Earlier this month, the Supreme Court rendered obsolete the 4th Amendment’s prohibition on suspicionless seizures by the police. When the court stayed the district court’s decision in Noem vs. Vasquez Perdomo, it green-lighted an era of policing in which people can be stopped and seized for little more than how they look, the job they work or the language they speak."

Charlie Kirk, Redeemed: A Political Class Finds Its Lost Cause :By ignoring the rhetoric and actions of the Turning Point USA founder, pundits and politicians are sanitizing his legacy.

Charlie Kirk, Ezra Klein, and the Cost of Civility-Theater Liberalism: “Talking across divides” is laudable—until it becomes a license to launder antidemocratic and dehumanizing ideas. - "This outrage-packaged-for-attention market that incentivizes mockery and monetizes contempt is the roadshow that made Charlie Kirk famous—an old playbook Dinesh D’Souza and David Horowitz ran before him, now optimized for an algorithmic age: a ritualized antagonism, audience participation as culture-war cosplay, the triumphant edit pushed out to millions before the house lights are up. Strip away the self-flattery of a university crowd congratulating itself on its open-mindedness, and the illusion that a staged confrontation with a celebrity provocateur constitutes pedagogy, and what remains is a reel factory masquerading as a public forum."

Ophelia Disappeared: A Wall Street Analyst and a Deadly Shootout: The group was passionately vegan, mostly transgender and highly educated. Seven of them are now in jail. This is the story of one who did not survive.

Russian gasoline production buckles under Ukrainian drone strikes: In annexed Crimea, drivers are limited to five gallons of gas at the pump, and all Russians face higher taxes and less social spending as the war drags on.

Senior government officials privately warn against firings during shutdown: The Trump administration has telegraphed that mass firings are coming, but officials have cautioned that such moves could violate appropriations law.

How Trump’s 2020 election falsehoods are shaping a marquee Georgia race: Warring factions at odds over his failed effort to overturn the outcome are renewing their rivalries in a major midterm contest.

Why do women outlive men? A study of 1,176 species points to an answer.: Let’s talk about sex chromosomes, baby. - "The 'heterogametic sex hypothesis' holds that if something goes haywire with a gene on one of a woman’s X chromosomes, her cells have a spare to rely on. But men, with only a single X chromosome, have no such reinforcements. The same sort of problem may happen with a male’s unpaired Y chromosome."

Democrats are putting money into solidly red Mississippi. Here’s why.: The DNC is investing in low-profile state races there as the South is on track to wield more power in future elections. Will it work?

Reading archive 2025-06-02

In South Carolina, Wes Moore urges Democrats to be ‘impatient’ amid 2028 buzz: Moore, a potential 2028 presidential contender, told party leaders in this early primary state to mimic how quickly Trump implemented his agenda to score Democratic wins.

DOD employee tried to leak classified information, prosecutors say: Nathan Vilas Laatsch, 28, is accused of trying to trade secrets for German citizenship because of disagreements with the Trump administration. - "'It will not be easy for them, for example, to open a case on me without my knowledge since my permissions to see that would need to be changed and I’d notice,' he told the undercover FBI agent in one message quoted in the charging documents, boasting that he knew how to avoid the 'stupid mistakes' that had bedeviled other U.S. employees under investigation."

DOGE vowed to make government more ‘efficient’ — but it’s doing the opposite: New procedures and requirements — some implemented in the name of improving operations — are slowing down federal agencies.

Trump takes aim at the one climate solution Republicans love: The Energy Department announced Friday that it was terminating $3.7 billion in grants for carbon capture and other projects.

As Kamala Harris weighs a run for governor, some Democrats are moving on: Numerous California gubernatorial hopefuls spent the weekend courting state party delegates, while the former vice president’s political future seemed to be an afterthought.

The one thing liberals need to address before the June parade: Putting Biden’s head on a stake is not helpful.

Wall Street warns Trump aides the GOP tax bill could jolt bond markets: White House officials maintain bankers’ concerns are overstated and discount expected revenues from the president’s tariffs.

What we can learn from the senator who nearly died for democracy: The brutal caning of Sen. Charles Sumner in 1856 shows the difference between courage and concession.

Ukraine attacks Russian air bases in far-reaching drone strikes: Drones smuggled into Russia hit bases as far away as Siberia and the far east, destroying 41 aircraft that carry cruise missiles and detect enemy planes, said a Ukrainian official.

Ukraine just rewrote the rules of war: A drone attack damaged Russia’s bomber fleet — and exposed air base vulnerabilities worldwide. - "If the Ukrainians could sneak drones so close to major air bases in a police state such as Russia, what is to prevent the Chinese from doing the same with U.S. air bases? Or the Pakistanis with Indian air bases? Or the North Koreans with South Korean air bases?"

Shhh. Republicans are trying to repeal Obamacare again. Sort of.: They’re not branding it an Obamacare repeal this time around, but congressional Republicans are pursuing cuts to programs that are part of the 15-year-old health-care law. - "Investigators who detect and root out that fraud — Medicaid fraud control units, the HHS inspector general and the DOJ — wouldn’t get any new funding under the GOP bill."

Houston, JD Vance has a problem: The vice president’s strange history of the U.S. space program is out of this world. - "The war’s end touched off a mad scramble by the United States and the Soviet Union to scoop up German and Austrian scientists, engineers and technicians, without being too picky about their Nazi connections."

Parents are discovering the secret to keeping kids off smartphones: Parents can defeat the smartphone epidemic. They can’t do it alone.

Crater Lake National Park superintendent resigns as staffing plunges: Kevin Heatley stepped down Friday as superintendent of Crater Lake National Park, as internal data shows a sharp decline in the National Park Service’s workforce.

Reading archive 2024-11-05

Harris wraps up her historic bid amid a ‘nauseously optimistic’ mood: Inside the Harris camp, aides believe she will prevail. But they are tortured by the closeness of the race, and Democrats remain traumatized by the shock of 2016.

Trump’s last day on the trail in his third run: ‘It’s ours to lose’: In the final stretch before Election Day, Trump — to the chagrin of many aides and allies — has seemed unable to curb his worst impulses.

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 2024-07-26

Three shot, one fatally, in Shaw neighborhood of Northwest Washington: Police said they are investigating whether the shooting is related to another one a half-hour earlier in Southeast.

His fixer-upper wasn’t perfect. Now the city wants to auction it off.: As building inspectors move on blighted and vacant properties, a retired mechanic working on his old house got caught in the sweep.

Trump’s second-term agenda plans a purge of the federal workforce: Trump’s platform calls for firing “rogue bureaucrats.” He and a think tank want to limit civil service protections, allowing in more political appointees.

Top Sinaloa cartel leader taken into U.S. custody alongside son of ‘El Chapo’: Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada was fooled into boarding a U.S.-bound private plane with Joaquin Guzmán, El Chapo’s son, who was also detained, a DHS official said.

Mexico wasn’t told of cartel arrests until kingpins were in U.S. custody: The capture of Sinaloa cartel leaders Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López were a historic coup for U.S. agents against a syndicate that’s flooded the United States with fentanyl.

Russia wary of U.S. and France election surprises, especially Kamala Harris: Harris, largely unknown to the Russians, is viewed with alarm.

Massive Park Fire continues spread after start from flaming car, officials say: A man was arrested in connection with California’s largest fire this year after a woman said she saw him push a burning car down a ravine.

What we know about Ronnie Stout, suspect in California’s Park Fire: Butte County authorities say a witness saw Stout push a burning car down a ravine prior to the ignition of what is now California’s biggest fire of the year.

Trump White House was warned sanctions on Venezuela could fuel migration: The internal debate over the policy underscores how U.S. financial measures can sometimes lead to unintended consequences.

Barack and Michelle Obama endorse Kamala Harris for president: The Obamas are the final key leaders in the Democratic Party to unite behind Harris after President Biden ended his bid for a second term.

Harris embarks on sprint to find Democratic running mate: The likely presidential nominee is mulling roughly a dozen potential vice-presidential candidates and plans to make a decision by Aug. 7.

Why no one’s building middle-income housing in American cities - "When residents oppose new construction in their neighborhoods to fight 'luxury housing,' they are fostering the environment in which those very high-rent projects thrive."

Reading archive 2024-07-24

Trump allies crush misinformation research despite Supreme Court loss: High court ruling green-lighting contact between government and tech companies to stymie falsehoods online hasn’t deterred a GOP campaign against academics, nonprofits and tech industry initiatives aimed at addressing their spread.

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN ABOUT SALMON FROM ITS PACKAGING

Opinion  Libraries can help end the culture wars. That’s why they’re under fire.: Nothing threatens authoritarianism like a quiet place to explore knowledge. - "Many school librarians have quit, exhausted by harassment and even death threats; during the 2021-2022 school year, 35 percent of districts nationwide had no librarian at all."

Harris’s campaign will have to contend with DEI, culture war attacks: In the wake of Biden’s announcement that he would not run for a second term, attacks based on Harris’s racial identity were the most common form of criticism of her on X, according to recent data.

Harris’s ascent fills some Black women with jubilation — and fear: Interviews with more than a dozen Black women revealed excitement as well as concern about Harris’s ability to win at a moment when racism and sexism are palpable.

Scientists find ‘dark oxygen’ being produced from metals on the seafloor: Organisms normally need light to produce oxygen through a process known as photosynthesis.

Sharks test positive for cocaine in Brazil’s drug-polluted waters: Brazilian sharpnose sharks found with cocaine in their livers and muscles highlight the impact of the illegal drug trade on marine life, scientists say.

House GOP leaders ask members to stop making racial attacks against Harris: Almost immediately after President Biden announced Sunday that he was endorsing Harris to replace him on the ticket, Republicans began their offensive against Harris.

J.D. Vance said Kamala Harris has no kids. Stepparents would like a word.: The vice president is stepmother to two children, but that hasn’t stopped her opponents from suggesting she isn’t a real parent.

How ‘carbon cowboys’ are cashing in on protected Amazon forest: A six-month investigation reveals that many carbon credit ventures reap profits from public lands they have no right to and fail to share revenue with those protecting the forest.

Conspiracy theories about Biden’s covid built on years of Trump rhetoric: Top right-wing figures tied together the major news of the past weeks to fuel falsehoods.

Reading archive 2024-07-23

How deeply political D.C. reacted when Biden dropped out of presidential race: In the District, where politics has always been king, Biden’s historic decision reverberated across the city.

‘Psychic’ and family of extortionists scam Md. man out of $4.2 million: The deception, prosecutors allege, was part of an elaborate extortion scheme in which the woman and her family netted millions of dollars.

Opinion  Defeating Trump in November will not save democracy: Today’s aspiring autocrats are mobilizing voters to dismantle checks and balances. - "The acknowledgment of gender inequities and the acceptance of formerly proscribed gender identities; the critique of colonialism, racism and xenophobia; the rise of environmentalism — all challenge a cohort that once determined the status quo. The old mainstream culture feels under siege; political entrepreneurs promise to return to old norms, if only they are given the power."

Opinion  Harris has some good VP choices. The best one is Mark Kelly.: The Arizona senator and former astronaut would help inoculate Harris against her greatest vulnerabilities.

Harris packs first rally as Trump retools for new opponent

Trump wants to take over D.C., but can Harris make it the 51st state?: This is a supremely consequential election for Washington, which usually weathers the churn of administrations, but now faces a reckoning in 2024.

You can forage a delicious meal almost anywhere. Here’s how.: Foraging — the act of finding wild, edible food — is a lost art in modern society. It’s time for a revival. [ed. note: this is extractive and also dangerous]

What key-state voters think about Kamala Harris replacing Joe Biden: The Post and GMU’s Schar School asked 152 voters in key states what they think about Harris potentially becoming the Democratic Party’s nominee for president.

Opinion  Yes, ‘Kamala is a cop.’ This time, it could help her win an election.: Harris’s prosecutorial background could be a huge asset.

Opinion  Democrats should not fear running a woman — heck, they should run two: There’s a deep bench of potential female VPs

Bodycam video shows deputy fatally shoot woman who called 911 for help: Sean Grayson, an ex-sheriff’s deputy in Illinois, is charged with murder in the shooting of Sonya Massey as she held a pot of water in her kitchen during a call for help.

$30 million gift will fund center to push for Supreme Court overhaul: Private equity investor Jim Kohlberg will fund research, public outreach and policy advocacy on the Supreme Court, through the Brennan Center for Justice.

Why does China care about a rust bucket in the middle of the sea?: Beijing and Manila have struck a provisional deal to allow the resupply of the dilapidated Sierra Madre in the South China Sea, which has become a potential conflict point.

They wanted to foster a child. Overnight, they got 3: ‘Can we do this?’: “These kids needed a place to live, and they needed to be together,” said PJ McKay, who documents his fatherhood journey with his husband.

Kamala Harris said 19 words in 2018 that taught us all we need to know: Curious about what kind of candidate she’ll be? Her dismantling of Justice Brett Kavanaugh at his confirmation hearing is worth a rewatch. - "'Can you think of any laws,' she asked the nominee, 'that give the government the power to make decisions about the male body?'

...

"But the version of Harris that always struck me as the most authentic and the most reassuring was the one we were introduced to in 2018, when Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick turned up on Capitol Hill with the confidence of an altar boy who’d never before had to account for some missing Communion wine."

Historians say Biden’s withdrawal shows American democracy is working: ‘This is not chaos,’ but the move comes as Americans seem to be losing confidence in their representative democracy — and have differing views of what it means.

Reading archive 2024-07-22

Kamala Harris’s first presidential campaign was a failure. Has she changed?: The vice president has learned to communicate better and is facing a much different political landscape, which plays to her strengths, supporters argue.

After Biden’s exit, Zoom led by Black women mobilized 44,000 for Harris: The call, which also raised more than $1.5 million, left women feeling energized and galvanized to support the Vice President’s bid for president.

DNC delegates face unprecedented role of choosing nominee after Biden’s exit: More than 14 million Democratic primary voters cast ballots supporting Biden as the nominee. Now a few thousand of his delegates will pick his replacement, prompting questions about the democratic process.

Trump’s age and health under renewed scrutiny after Biden’s exit: As president, Donald Trump released a report that experts said showed he had heart disease and was obese. But as a candidate, he has refused to release bloodwork results, his weight or other key information.

RFK Jr. sought job in a Trump White House as he weighed endorsing Trump: The independent candidate suggested being given a senior job overseeing a portfolio of health and medical issues, an idea that the Trump campaign rejected. - "Trump and Kennedy’s private effort to cut a deal with each other contrasts with Kennedy’s public opposition to a second term for Trump or President Biden, who on Sunday bowed out of the presidential race and endorsed Vice President Harris."

Opinion Biden flips the script — and Republicans forget their lines: It’s a disoriented GOP that must ask: What now?

What coconut trees and Charli XCX’s ‘Brat’ have to do with Kamala Harris: A Vice President Harris line – “You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” – is all over social media paired with a Charli XCX “Brat” song this summer.

GOP eyes legal challenges as Harris assumes control of Biden’s war chest: The issue, involving tens of millions of dollars, could get tied up in the Federal Election Commission and then in court.

Most birds avoid hurricanes. This species chases them, scientists say.: A study found that Desertas petrels, rare seabirds that live on a Portuguese island, follow hurricanes for days to search for prey in the Atlantic Ocean.

Venezuela’s presidential election: How to run against an autocrat: Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, trailing challenger Edmundo González in polls, has stepped up repression ahead of what he pledged would be a free and fair election.

Opinion  Hey, corporate greed is gone! Just look at the price of a Big Mac.: Consumer spending data provides an economics lesson, with a side of fries.

Opinion  Are Democrats really going to do this?: Democrats’ rush to Kamala Harris bypasses the question of who has the best chance of beating Trump. [ed. note: Trump apologist]

‘Call Me Baseball’: Carly Rae Jepsen threw postgame party at Nationals Park: Thousands of the pop star’s fans took in a baseball game Friday, blending with a typical Nats crowd for a buoyant summer night at the ballpark.

Melting on Minnesota Avenue: A relentless struggle against record heat: D.C. first responders know well this stretch of Minnesota Avenue between the Deanwood and Anacostia neighborhoods.

A Chinese actor was enslaved in a compound running online scams: The United Nations estimated in a report last August that more than 200,000 people are being forced to work as scammers in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.

Netanyahu goes to Washington in the shadow of Middle East disaster: The Israeli prime minister is poised to address Congress with months of trauma and ruin looming behind him, and a murky political future ahead of him.

How can I get healthier hair? Here’s what the science says.: Washing less frequently and using “sulfate-free” products can help protect your scalp microbiome.

Biden dropped out. This is how it happened.: The president had all but made up his mind Saturday night to bow out of the race and endorse Kamala Harris as his successor.

She called 911. The deputy who responded is charged with murdering her.: Prosecutors say an ex-sheriff’s deputy in Illinois, Sean Grayson, shot Sonya Massey, an unarmed Black woman, in the face in her kitchen and failed to render aid.

Reading archive 2024-06-24

The mysterious tyranny of trendy baby names

Opinion I went to trade school during law school. It left me stunned.: I believe in the untapped potential of skilled trades.

Opinion A closer look at Harris shows how effective she’s become: As the election nears, the vice president is connecting policy to lived experience.

Opinion Trump’s school vaccination policies could be a serious political liability: Democrats would be wise to blast the former president for it.

Opinion Don’t waste the Biden-Trump debate. Make them answer this question.: It’s not the elephant in the room. It’s the herd of elephants plus a barnful of braying donkeys. [ed. note: the debt]

Opinion MAGA justices already gave Trump de facto immunity — and disgraced the court: All Trump ever wanted was a delay. - "'It didn’t have to be this way: had the Republican majority on the Court not intervened at the last minute, we would already have a verdict in the case,' Podhorzer writes. 'We would also have a verdict if they had not rejected Jack Smith when he asked them to decide the same issues last December.'"

Sotomayor Issues Dire Warning on Supreme Court Ruling on Noncitizens: Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented in the Supreme Court’s latest marriage ruling—and warned that same-sex marriage will be next on the chopping block.

Opinion Are the justices re-examining same-sex marriage?: Majority’s ruling in an immigration case could signal an appetite to revisit marriage equality.

Judge Cannon Brutally Roasted for “Partisan Prima Donna” Behavior: Donald Trump’s former ally Ty Cobb slammed the judge’s “petty” behavior.

She spent 23 years asking who killed her mom. Then her phone rang.: Lauren Preer’s mother, Leslie Preer, was killed in her house in May 2001. On Tuesday, police made an arrest.

Discarded bottle at Dulles helps solve 2001 cold case, police say: Eugene T. Gligor, charged in the decades-old homicide of Leslie J. Preer, made a brief appearance in Montgomery County, Md., court Monday.

Opinion How a long, debt-loving bipartisan consensus has warped U.S. business: Ruchir Sharma’s new book reveals the ill effects from the government’s cheap-money policies. - "Conservatives’ faith that tax cuts will pay for themselves is mirrored by progressives’ faith that their “investments” pay for themselves. The result is the same: debt."

Opinion A memorial for the lives lost to Dobbs: It’s not just the loss of life we mourn. It’s the loss of personhood.

Antidandruff shampoo may help combat some types of hair loss: Some over-the-counter and prescription antidandruff shampoos contain ketoconazole, an ingredient that may help with certain types of hair loss.

As climate change imperils Taliban’s shift from opium, impact could be felt worldwide

AI is exhausting the power grid. Tech firms are seeking a miracle solution.: As power needs of AI push emissions up and put big tech in a bind, companies put their faith in elusive — some say improbable — technologies. - "The tech giants say they buy enough wind, solar or geothermal power every time a big data center comes online to cancel out its emissions. But critics see a shell game with these contracts: The companies are operating off the same power grid as everyone else, while claiming for themselves much of the finite amount of green energy. Utilities are then backfilling those purchases with fossil fuel expansions, regulatory filings show."

Weapons of choice in China’s territorial disputes? Axes, knives, ‘jostling.’: Experts say that China’s use of simple weapons rather than firearms has been a tactical choice, but it may not always prevent escalation.

Trump campaign seeks to head off convention revolt from its right flank: Aides scrambled to foil a plot to throw the nominating process into chaos as suspicions abound about potentially disloyal delegates.

The GOP’s sudden turn away from gay rights — and acceptance: The right wing of the party has reinjected LGBTQ+ rights and issues into our political discussion in recent years. There are real signs it’s having an effect.

Meet the ‘double haters’ who could decide the election: Many voters express resignation, dismay and anger over being asked to choose between Biden and Trump again in November

Public memories. Private struggles.: With civil rights education under threat, a preservationist helps Black families save key sites in the South.

A U.S. Army veteran, deported almost 20 years ago, finds home: After President Biden took office, his administration created a program that allows deported veterans to apply to return to the United States for humanitarian reasons.

Millennials had it bad financially, but Gen Z may have it worse: Today’s young adults are spending more on housing and car insurance than millennials did. They’re also more likely to be in debt, despite higher wages and more jobs.

Va. proposed changes to African American history course, documents show: The elective course was reviewed to see if it complied with Youngkin executive order banning ‘inherently divisive concepts’

A peek inside San Francisco’s AI boom: These photos offer an intimate look at the community powering the artificial-intelligence revolution.

Reading archive 2020-10-11

FBI director says antifa is an ideology, not an organization

If Clinton Wins, Republicans Suggest Shrinking Size of Supreme Court

How sexist, racist attacks on Kamala Harris have spread online — a case study

Reading archive 2020-08-26

Focus on Trump’s official White House actions as part of Republican convention programming raises Hatch Act concerns

For female politicians, talking about cooking can be fraught. Kamala Harris is breaking that mold, too.

Family is ‘my chittis’: Kamala Harris puts her Tamil roots on the prime-time stage like never before

Lewd cheerleader videos, sexist rules: Ex-employees decry Washington’s NFL team workplace

Daniel Snyder has now embarrassed — and exposed — the entire NFL

How Suffering Farmers May Determine Trump’s Fate: As rural Wisconsin’s fortunes have declined, its political importance has grown.

Reading archive 2019-09-16

Kamala Harris grew up in a mostly white world. Then she went to a black university in a black city.: When anyone challenges her racial identity, the presidential candidate points to her four years at Howard University.

Reading archive 2017-08-11

The Kamala Harris Controversy Reveals the Erasure of Leftist Women by Pseudo-Woke Liberals

Taylor Swift’s Sexual Assault Testimony Was Sharp, Gutsy, and Satisfying

This NSC ex-staffer’s memo is crazy. Trump’s reaction is more disturbing.

Here’s the Memo That Blew Up the NSC: Fired White House staffer argued "deep state" attacked Trump administration because the president represents a threat to cultural Marxist memes, globalists, and bankers.