Reading archive 2026-02-04

Stephen King’s The Shining, If the Hotel Had Possessed Wendy Instead of Jack

The Evolutionary Brilliance of the Baby Giggle - "Indeed, this idea — that laughter is primarily social, less about comedy and more about connection — holds true for adults as well, and has been underscored by research showing that laughter overwhelmingly occurs in the company of others and typically follows banal remarks in conversation, rather than in response to jokes or punchlines. 

"The signature belly laughs seen in the video above are involuntary, bursting forth during genuine, uncontrollable amusement. This type of laughter is driven by the brain’s limbic system, structures crucial for emotion, memory and motivation. But by 6 months, our lab has found, infants can intentionally produce a laugh. This ability comes not from the limbic system but from the brain’s language areas and emerges at the same time as babbling. Six-month-olds will deploy laughter to prolong a game of peekaboo or to signal a desire to join in."

Texas Democrats taste victory, then turn on each other: Days after their win in a state Senate race, reports of a racially charged comment roil the U.S. Senate primary contest.

As cold-stunned invasive iguanas fall from trees, Floridians scoop them up for killing: These cold-blooded reptiles’ nervous systems shut down when temperatures dip into the 40s and below. This time, that meant killing season.

Choose your crisis, Congress: Six paths to fiscal disaster: The national debt is nearing $39 trillion. Dire consequences are coming.

Trump, in an Escalation, Calls for Republicans to 'Nationalize' Elections: The comments, made on a conservative podcast, follow a string of moves from his administration to try to exert more control over American elections.

What a swing House district in Colorado shows about Republicans’ immigration fallout in the midterms

Kansas Legislature Passes Trans Bathroom Bounty, Drivers License Revocations: “They're using very overtly anti-democratic measures to pass all this stuff because they know that it's unpopular.”

These Trump voters 'formed a suicide pact' and Republicans are panicking: ex-GOP operative

‘They Voted For Trump, And Now They’re In Tears’—Now Rural Farmers Say Tariffs & Costs Are Pushing Them Toward Bankruptcy

St. Peter police chief intervened and got federal agents to release resident, sources say

Donald Trump vowed to unleash U.S. oil. A year later, low prices are squeezing Texas producers.

Reading archive 2025-12-15

Spectacle Alone Does Not Sell Books: Why American Canto stiffed. - "The book itself and the additional revelations about Nuzzi paint her not as an interesting, if tragic, figure, but something less interesting, a woman without a stable sense of self who lurches between toxic men seeking god know’s what to fill the hole in her spirit."

Donald Trump's Big Gay Government: On the town with the A-Gays of Washington, who have never been happier to be out, proud and Republican

The Cryptocurrency Scam That Turned a Small Town Against Itself: How did a successful, financially sophisticated banker gamble his community’s money away?

He leaned right in high school. Now he’s the Trump-trolling Portland Chicken.: The protests against ICE gave Jack Dickinson a taste of national celebrity, but more important they gave him a community he’d never had before.

We Found That More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.

Christian musician, who sang the national anthem for Trump at 2022 rally, is facing felony child pornography charges

Thanks a Lot, Boomers: Hey, boomers! Younger Americans would like a word. We’ve noticed that many of you are pretty upset about the state of the nation. And we get it. We really do. But do you ever stop and ask yourselves how we got here?

Reading archive 2025-12-11

Hundreds quarantined as South Carolina measles outbreak accelerates: A state epidemiologist said the spike in cases came in the wake of Thanksgiving travel and a lack of vaccinations. At least 16 cases were traced to a church.

Democrats face a mess in Texas: A late shuffle in the primary race could cost the party a Senate seat.

Tim Walz is crumbling, along with his 2028 hopes: The Minnesota governor tries to answer for social services fraud on his watch.

How antisemitism is entering mainstream culture: Celebrities demanding the release of a convicted Palestinian terrorist signals a deep problem.

Republicans will regret ceding this issue to the left: New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani explained due process in a video. Kristi Noem didn’t like that.

Why these red state Republicans are resisting Trump’s efforts to expand GOP power: Republicans hold a 40-10 advantage in the state Senate but may still reject Trump’s pressure. ‘Hoosiers are very independent.’

Lawmakers launch bipartisan, last-minute bids to force vote on ACA subsidies: Either of the efforts would need the support of nearly all House Democrats to succeed.

Military admits ‘mistake’ in viral arrest of U.S. civilian in Japan: Kareem El, a civilian from Washington, D.C., visiting Okinawa, was held by U.S. military police for declining to provide identification.

D.C.’s Anita Bonds won’t run again, further shaking up 2026 elections: D.C. Council member Anita Bonds (D-At Large), 80, says it’s time for “new energy” as the 2026 election cycle promises to bring change to the city’s leadership.

Why a Democratic upset in Miami should worry Trump: How a Democrat won the mayor’s race for the first time since 1997.

Texas midterms point to ideological corners, not swing-state issues: Next year’s contests seem destined to produce a congressional delegation of staunch conservatives and liberals, as determined by primary voters.

At the first stop on his affordability tour, Trump mocks affordability: What was supposed to be a speaking tour to connect with Americans struggling with higher prices and stagnant wages was instead a greatest-hits campaign speech. - "'Let me tell you, Black people love Trump,' he said, and then added: 'They know a scam better than anybody.'"

Trump order to keep Michigan power plant open costs taxpayers $113m: Critics say JH Campbell coal-fired plant in western Michigan is expensive and emits high levels of toxic pollution

A Kansas town chose cruelty. Now it mourns as the mayor faces voter fraud charge and deportation.

‘Deeply demoralizing’: how Trump derailed coal country’s clean-energy revival - "The cuts have deepened existing mistrust in government, known colloquially as Appalachian fatalism, yet many of those interviewed by the Guardian blame Washington politics generally rather than Trump.

"'This party has taken away that funding from Appalachia illegally: that’s the stone-cold fact. But by the time those facts reach communities on the ground, it’s just so muddy. I think some are asking questions about why training is being shut down and why they didn’t get their Snap [food assistance] benefits, but where they’ll find the answers is the big issue,' said Hannah." [ed. note: they'll blame everyone but themselves]

Church displays Nativity scene with baby Jesus in zip ties, ICE agents

Reagan judges surface as unfiltered assessors of Trump

Reading archive 2025-08-22

White House calls out 7 Smithsonian museums for their exhibits, messaging: The White House released an article outlining Smithsonian exhibitions and materials it considers “woke” or anti-American. Some artists named in the list called it a badge of honor.

Changing the Smithsonian doesn’t erase slavery and the racial wealth gap: There isn’t enough museum space to represent the full extent of the brutality that millions had to endure.

How Montgomery County schools aim to handle opt-outs after court ruling: Superintendent Thomas Taylor said the change will be ‘a significant administrative burden’ following an order from the Supreme Court.

FBI searches home and office of former Trump national security adviser John Bolton: The search focused on whether Bolton, a staunch Trump critic, illegally possessed or shared classified information, people familiar with the investigation say.

In a classic cartel move, college sports beg for federal help: Trump obliged the NCAA and is attacking athletes’ ability to be paid for their work.

What are the most American and most British words?: Is American English really that different than its British ancestor? And if so, what words truly separate the American from the Brit? The Department of Data is on the case.

This 1848 painting has uncanny insight into American conspiracy thinking: Can a country born in conspiracy theories find the fine line between suspicion and paranoia?

Trump seeks $2 billion to clean up D.C. in latest effort to control city: Trump has falsely claimed he has solved the city’s crime problems. Now he seeks to transform Washington into a place reminiscent of his private golf clubs.

Canadian court allows cull of 400 ostriches that RFK Jr. hoped to save: Avian flu was detected at Universal Ostrich Farms in British Columbia, but the owners argue their birds could have antibodies worth studying.

Southwest is a favorite for plus-size fliers. A new policy may change that.: Starting next year, the airline will only guarantee a second-seat refund on flights with at least one open spot.

Police records reveal man who sparked investigation into Kansas official’s immigration status

Georgia bigot filmed berating neighbor with antisemitic slurs fired by health care company he co-founded

As Trump tightens grip on D.C., officers say their chief is absent: The pressure of a partial federal takeover has ratcheted up criticism of the chief from within the department and outside

F.B.I. Plans to Lower Recruiting Standards, Alarming Agents: The plan appears to be part of a broader effort to shift the agency’s focus from tracking national security threats to fighting crime. - "Lowering recruiting standards will allow the F.B.I. to draw deeper from the ranks of other federal law enforcement agencies, specifically a category of criminal investigators classified in the federal system as 1811s. Investigators with that designation work at dozens of agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, inspector general offices and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

"The new plan, current and former agents say, seems to be part of a larger effort by Mr. Patel to have the bureau focus more on street crime, rather than on complicated cases touching on financial fraud, public corruption and national security. Doing so, they added, will erode the bureau’s reputation as an elite law enforcement agency, known for its selectiveness about its recruits."

Reading archive 2025-07-16 pt 1

My health and my politics walk into a doctor’s office …: My palliative care doctor and I have almost nothing in common. We’re still learning from each other. - "Her response included a touch of humor. 'I appreciate hearing more about how you were raised and how you view our standing in this life and beyond. But I guess it leaves me wondering, how is this working out for the world? And what happens to moral people when they die? If nothing happens after we die, what’s the point of striving for justice and caring about others in this life? Might as well be selfish, greedy, live the good life and then die.'" [ed. note: what are the morals of someone who strives for justice and cares for others in expectation of heavenly rewards? That makes the moral atheist a significantly greater person.]

Airplanes are loud and may damage your hearing. Here’s what helps.: Even if you are on a flight free of crying babies, the engine noise can be substantial.

Are a few people ruining the internet for the rest of us?: Why does the online world seem so toxic compared with normal life? Our research shows that a small number of divisive accounts could be responsible – and offers a way out

Nursing homes struggle with Trump’s immigration crackdown

From Food Aid to Dog Chow? How Trump’s Cuts Hurt Kansas Farmers.: Kansans created Food for Peace, for 70 years a font of rural income and pride. Now at least one grain broker is trying to sell grain that once fed the world as dog food.

Trump’s Vietnam Agreement Bodes Poorly for Future Trade Deals

The Ruthless Ambition of Stephen Miller

FEMA removed dozens of Camp Mystic buildings from 100-year flood map before expansion, records show

How the rightwing sports bro conquered America

For Hard-Right Lawmakers, Trump’s Shift on Epstein Is Just the Latest Breach: Right-wing Republicans have also criticized the president’s stances on Iran and Ukraine, hinting at a broader fraying of his political coalition.

WHY MANY AMERICAN GARDENS ARE FULL OF MULCH?

American Father and Vlogger Tricked Into Front Line Combat by Russia: The Texas man is the latest in a string of Americans lured to Russia by propaganda, yet confronting a reality that is altogether different than the utopia they were sold.

Human Collapse: Russia Moves to Conceal Severe Demographic Crisis: Russia has begun to restrict access to data relating to demographic statistics in a sign that they are likely to reveal a deteriorating population situation.

D.C. Ward 8 voters return indicted Trayon White to office after expulsion White beat opponents ANC Chair Salim Adofo, attorney Mike Austin and public servant Sheila Bunn for the seat.

Democrats have only one escape route Unifying behind platitudes isn’t the way out of irrelevance. Making voters choose is.

Inside the Silicon Valley push to breed super-babies: Investors say genetic prediction services for embryos, used by Elon Musk and others, are a trust fund for future children. Many scientists are skeptical. - "But the paper laying out that breakthrough, published last year in the peer-reviewed journal F&S Reports, is fundamentally flawed, according to Stanford’s Yatsenko and Aleks Rajkovic, chief genomics officer at the University of California at San Francisco Health Center for Clinical Genetics and Genomics. It excluded results that didn’t fit its thesis, Yatsenko said, and both scientists said that by using Orchid’s own lab to check those results, its authors didn’t adhere to ideal scientific practice. Orchid said that the paper’s findings had been verified by independent labs and that there were 'zero discrepancies' in the results."

You might be fooling yourself about peanut butter, plus 5 other protein mistakes: Are you eating enough protein at breakfast? Most people aren’t.

DOJ hits states with broad requests for voter rolls, election data: Election clerks in both parties, already facing harassment and lawsuits over Trump’s false 2020 election claims, worry about efforts to examine voting machines.

Reading archive 2025-07-07

Shooters emerged from car in D.C. slaying of congressional intern: Police say they’re trying to enhance video of the incident that left one dead and two others injured.

I’m a gastroenterologist. Here’s why I tell my patients to eat this one fruit.: Kiwis can boost your gut health. They may also lower triglycerides and cancer risk.

Do you need a measles vaccine booster? Here’s what to know.: The answer depends on when you were born, your vaccine records and whether you plan to travel internationally.

How this group got Trump to sign a pro-environment executive order: The "Make America Beautiful Again” executive order will establish a council tasked with preserving public lands, wildlife and drinking water supplies.

Did Canada just change how we think of Trump’s 2024 election?: Perhaps Trump’s win wasn’t about Trump at all

Trump’s big bill will snuff out Kansas hospitals and eviscerate Medicaid. Jerry Moran just shrugs.

Wall Street Worries as Crisis-Level Deficits Become the Government’s Default Mode: New legislation could push federal debt into dangerous territory—without an emergency requiring it

Debacle in the desert: will the Athletics’ $1.75bn stadium on the Vegas Strip ever be built?

How ‘Love Island USA’ forced a star’s exit after racist posts resurfaced: Cierra Ortega was quietly dumped from the villa after posts resurfaced of her using an Asian slur.

Russian minister found dead, likely of suicide, authorities say: Roman Starovoit found dead in his car with a gunshot wound on the same day he was relieved of his job as Russian transportation minister by President Vladimir Putin.

CVS was so worried about shoplifting that it stole its own soul: My local pharmacy’s products are now encased in glass, and the whole thing makes me very nervous.

Trump World’s Wizard of Oz Problem: Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon don’t speak for Trump or his base. So why do people think they do? - "Few jobs in Trump world are more farcical than the position of 'architect' of 'America First': There are no MAGA intellectuals, just Trump and opportunistic ideologues attempting to hitch their pet projects to his brand. The self-styled thought leaders of the Trump movement are merely political entrepreneurs trying to appropriate the president for their own purposes and to recast his chaotic and idiosyncratic decisions as reflections of their personal worldview."

The Most Perverse Part of the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ :The Republican megabill could be setting America up for the worst energy-affordability crisis since the 1970s. - "Blackouts and grid outages will become more frequent. Power-intensive industries such as AI and manufacturing will struggle under the weight of higher energy costs. China will solidify its dominance over clean-energy supply chains. 'Just think of Trump's own priorities: lower energy prices, becoming an AI superpower, reindustrializing America, outcompeting China,' Princeton's Jenkins said. 'Getting rid of these credits hurts all of those goals.' But there is one priority missing from that list: owning the libs. 

"Partisan polarization around clean energy has grown so extreme since the passage of the IRA that Trump and many other Republicans apparently see destroying it as an end in itself."

What Really Happened to Malaysia’s Missing Airplane: Five years ago, the flight vanished into the Indian Ocean. Officials on land know more about why than they dare to say.

Reading archive 2025-05-23 pt 2

A Kansas family farm, barely getting by, grapples with Trump’s cuts

America Is In A Late Republic Stage Like Rome History suggests republics don’t last more than 250 years. - "A great deal of confusion has come into this debate because people use terms like artificial intelligence and large language models (LLMs) interchangeably. Large language models are a part of AI, but not, in my view, the most important part. 

"Much of what they do is, in a sense, fake human discourse and allow us quickly to generate texts that seem human, though they’re not generated through human intelligence. This is a toy, really. It’s a toy that allows you to generate books in seconds. It allows you to generate images in seconds. But what these things are is essentially fake human content. There’s some use for this. It probably poses a mortal threat to search of the variety that Google pioneered. But that’s not what matters about AI. 

"What matters about AI is its ability to do scientific research on a scale never before possible, and because of the harnessing of enormous computational power, to discover and design, for example, new viruses. It’s the power of the scientific AI that should worry us.

...

"I abandoned atheism, which is a form of faith in itself, in two steps. First, through historical study, I understood that no society based on atheism had been anything other than disastrous. In fact, the correlation between repudiation of religion and extreme violence is very close. The worst regimes in history engaged in anti-clerical activity, the Bolshevik regime, or say, Mao’s regime in China, not to mention the Nazis, who turned against Christ as they identified him, not wrongly, as Jewish." [ed. note: I object to this correlation asserted as causative - authoritarians seek to topple competing centers of power, by they civic, social, religious. After reading his wiki, he's kind of a fraud]

Reading archive 2025-02-25

The Story You’ve Been Told About Recycling Is a Lie - "A recent United Nations study found that one out of every 20 objects moving through global supply chains is now some form of plastic — amounting to a trillion-dollar annual industry worth more than the global arms, timber and wheat trades combined."

Healthy drinks are as important as healthy foods for kids, panel says: Experts recommend that children and teens drink mostly water and plain pasteurized milk. - "In a consensus statement, the panel recommended limiting plant-based milk alternatives, flavored milk, caffeine and beverages sweetened with both sugar and nonsugar sweeteners."

GOP lawmakers scramble to protect foreign aid as food relief languishes: Late Thursday, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to temporarily lift the funding freeze on U.S. assistance and development programs abroad.

Slain trans man faced ‘prolonged’ violence and torture, police say: Five people have been charged with second degree murder over the death of Sam Nordquist, 24, who police say was tortured for more than a month in a case that investigators described as “beyond depraved.”

Why the government built only 58 EV charging stations in three years: The EV fiasco should be a jolt to progressives’ senses. - "Government, in essence, is slow not by incompetence but by design. And it’s not just one law; the government’s inability to function today is the result of decades of procedural guardrails designed to prevent government from doing bad things."

Police arrest man, teen in sledgehammer burglaries across D.C.: While cash was taken in all four of Friday’s burglaries, police said, the arrest affidavit alleges culprits treated themselves to some extra items.

‘Embarrassing,’ ‘cruel,’ ‘absurd,’ ‘extortion’: GOP moderates find voices on Trump: As their Republican colleagues avoid criticizing Trump like the plague, a handful have begun using some pretty strong words.

Some GOP lawmakers start to call out DOGE — carefully: “My concern is that we use a scalpel … and not use a sledgehammer," one House member said.

Why Ed Martin is a huge test for the GOP: Martin, a Trump nominee for U.S. attorney, has blurred the line between prosecutor and political activist. His confirmation process will be telling on what the GOP will accept.

How to keep your bones strong: Worried about osteoporosis? Here are the tests, moves, meds and foods you need to know about.

Two killed, five wounded in four D.C. shootings in 24 hours: The incidents occurred in all of Washington’s four quadrants. No connection appeared to exist among the four shootings.

Her claim of anti-straight bias could upend discrimination law: The Supreme Court will hear a case that could unleash a wave of workplace bias claims by Whites, men and people who are straight.

Cuts for thee, but not for me: Republicans beg for DOGE exemptions: Have GOP lawmakers forgotten that they control spending?

Can creatine supplements help older adults’ muscles? Here’s what to know.: When paired with resistance training, creatine supplements may improve strength and physical function in older adults, experts say.

A small study on Covid vaccine safety sparks an online tempest: Response to preliminary research highlights conundrum faced by scientists - "They intended for their work to be the subject of academic discussion and to spur further study of what they dubbed 'post-vaccination syndrome.' Instead, it has exploded online — and become a parable for the ways in which the internet is being used to weaponize basic vaccine research vital to advancing scientific knowledge about the safe use of these key products."

Trump Administration’s Mixed Signals on Russia and Ukraine May Reflect Internal Strategic Clash - "A U.S. strategy rooted in support for the free world has deep roots. From its emergence as a world power at the end of the 19th century, the United States opposed the closed European empires of the time. In abundant self-confidence, the crafters of this strategy assumed that U.S. Yankee ingenuity would prevail in a fair playing field and that U.S. values would follow. The United States could shape the world in its own, democratic, image and get rich in the process."

Reading archive 2025-02-12

Record gift to American U. from professor will benefit education school: The university said the donation is its largest-ever gift from an individual.

Nearly 30,000 federal workers in Kansas City brace for layoffs: The federal government is by far Kansas City’s largest employer and a major economic engine. Experts warn the region’s economy will feel the pain when jobs disappear

Transcript: GOPers Shocked to Learn Their Own Voters Are Angry at Musk: An interview with political scientist Elizabeth Saunders, who argues that Republicans facing voter dissatisfaction with Elon Musk’s trail of destruction need to rein him in before it’s too late.

With Trump and Musk driving U.S. policy, Kansas farmers have been played for suckers

The Trump administration’s most dangerous misstep: The CIA chief wants more spycraft. So why is he showing agents the door? - "The CIA last week sent buyout offers to its case officers around the world, and as you’d expect, some of the best of them are looking for work elsewhere. Meanwhile, the agency meekly agreed to turn over data identifying its recent hires to Elon Musk’s auditors (and whatever foreign spies can hack their systems). Perhaps worst of all, the U.S. DOGE Service commissars reportedly gained access to Treasury payments data that might reveal the agency’s deep-cover officers and the assets they recruit."

Teen rejects plea deal in D.C. murder case, will head to trial: Charges stem from the Jan. 26 fatal shooting of 14-year-old Myron Smith during an attempted robbery.

Church teacher pleads guilty to molesting four girls — two during prayers: In Montgomery County, Maryland, Ervin J. Alfaro-Lopez, 34, faces up to 25 years in prison and deportation.

As possible cuts and buyouts loom, federal workers rally near the Capitol: With a deferred resignation offer and possible cuts looming, federal workers held a demonstration near the U.S. Capitol. - "'We are not going to go down without a fight,' said Transportation Security Administration officer Johnny Jones, who traveled from Fort Worth. 

"Jones, 46, left his corporate job for a career in public service in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, he said. 'I took about a 60 percent pay cut to come work for the government.'"

U.S.-China trade war hits small and midsize businesses especially hard: Many smaller businesses can’t afford to move manufacturing out of China while remaining competitive, experts say.

An insurance crisis was already brewing in L.A. Then the fires hit.: The Los Angeles wildfires could threaten California’s already unstable insurance market, which carriers have been fleeing as disasters multiply.

California’s insurer of last resort runs out of money to pay L.A. fire claims: In the aftermath of the fires, the FAIR plan will get a $1 billion bailout — the latest indication that California’s home insurance market is on shaky footing.

The electric future of snowmobiling: From power sports to watercraft, battery-powered recreation could save millions of allons of gasoline - and cut back on noise, fumes and pollution

Jordan, home to millions of Palestinians, fears Trump’s Gaza proposal: The push by Trump has turbocharged a reckoning over Jordan’s reliance on U.S. aid and revived existential questions over the country’s identity. - "If the United States were to cut aid to Jordan permanently, it would have 'dire consequences for the economy and human security,' said Dima Toukan, a nonresident scholar at the Middle East Institute. However, if the king were to compromise and accept Trump’s proposal, he risks energizing the growing opposition to his rule. In recent days, opposition figures from across the political spectrum have suggested that Jordan turn instead to China, Russia and wealthy Arab states for financial support and strategic alliances."

Reading archive 2025-01-14

Steve Bannon derides Elon Musk, vowing to limit influence over Trump: His comments reflect an intensifying battle over Musk’s West Wing sway as Trump prepares to take office. - "Bannon told the Italian newspaper that Musk’s ideas are 'really about the implementation of techno-feudalism on a global scale.'"

Bats use storm fronts to ‘surf’ the skies when they migrate, study finds: A new study study sheds light on a little-known phenomenon: the long-distance migration treks of nocturnal bats.

D.C. attorney general sues federal government over Anacostia River pollution: The lawsuit claims that the U.S. government for decades used the Anacostia as a “cost-free toxic dumping ground.”

Teen sentenced to year’s probation in attack on model at McDonald’s: The October assault on the gay model occurred outside a McDonald’s in the 14th and U streets area in Northwest Washington.

How New Orleans failed to protect Bourbon Street from attack, block by block: Major security lapses preceded the vehicular-ramming attack that left 14 dead, according to a Post examination of visual evidence and accounts from witnesses.

15 science-based ways to reduce your risk of dementia: From diet and exercise to protecting against hearing loss and maintaining social connections, there are ways to improve our health and reduce dementia risk, experts say.

On Kansas back roads, I found people who are solving problems: They’re past “What’s the matter with Kansas?” and are finding common ground.

The looming Eurasian menace: As China, Iran, Russia and North Korea lock arms, the U.S. should begin its response preparations. - "The United States also lacks the resources for this new round of rivalry. The U.S. military is designed to defeat only a single enemy in a major conflict. U.S. military spending is nearly as low, as a percentage of gross domestic product, as it has been at any time since World War II. Its defense industrial base is in pitiful shape. Yet as hot wars rage in the Middle East and Europe, and a Sino-American cold war intensifies in the Asia-Pacific, the United States could easily face conflicts in two or more regions simultaneously — or find itself fighting a rival that is receiving help from other adversaries."

Head of the International Court of Justice is named Lebanon's new prime minister: Lebanon’s new president has asked prominent diplomat and jurist Nawaf Salam to form the country’s new government after Salam was named prime minister by a large number of legislators

After economic meltdown and war with Israel, Lebanon's new prime minister vows to rebuild: Lebanon’s prime minister-designate has vowed to rebuild the country following years of economic meltdown and a 14-month war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group

NATO launches new naval operation in Baltic sea after severed cables: The Baltic Sentry operation comes amid mounting European fears of sabotage after a string of murky disruptions to underwater cables in the sea that borders Russia.

Montgomery County considers plastic-bag ban, doubling tax on paper bags: An inspector general’s report said the county’s current bag policy has been inefficient, leading to millions of dollars in lost revenue. - "Under Stewart’s proposal, those receiving food assistance, including from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Women, Infants, and Children program (WIC), would be excused from paying the paper-bag tax. Stewart said the intent was to mitigate the bill’s impact on lower-income people for whom 10 cents a bag is a heavier burden and for those who often transport groceries home via public transportation." [ed. note: STUPID]

Compass Coffee co-founders split amid claim of misspent covid funds: The former Marines who founded the D.C. chain are mired in acrimony as Harrison Suarez accuses Michael Haft, scion of a business empire, of family racketeering enterprise.

This group says natural gas bans hurt minorities. It has gas industry ties.: The Energy Poverty Awareness Center, which fought climate legislation in Maryland, has ties to a group that is partly funded by oil and gas companies. - "The measure would not have affected the state’s nearly 2.6 million existing housing units. It also would not have restricted other appliances such as gas stoves, which have recently emerged as a flash point in the nation’s culture wars. 

"In his testimony sent to state lawmakers, however, Baxter wrote that the bill could force Black households in Baltimore to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a host of new green technologies."

Elon Musk’s Boring Company Is Tunneling Beneath Las Vegas With Little Oversight

Society is making you sick, GOP says. Too bad their plans will make you sicker.: “Make America Healthy Again” might be a laudable plan — if GOP policies didn’t contradict GOP goals.

The U.S. government runs on Celsius. Just ask anyone on Capitol Hill.: The energy drink is consumed by politicians, journalists and even the speaker of the House, who maintains his own stash.

Kristi Noem, a homeland security chief hopeful, banned in parts of her state: South Dakota’s tribes barred the governor from setting foot on their land after she said drug cartels operate there — an allegation the nations’ leaders deny. - "Brendan Johnson, a former U.S. attorney for South Dakota, said that to suggest that cartels use reservations as operating bases is a fundamental misunderstanding of the economics of the drug trade. 

"Drugs are smuggled across the border to larger cities such as Kansas City, Missouri, Denver and Chicago and then flown into smaller rural communities, he explained in a recent interview. 'These small communities are not lucrative targets for a cartel,' he said. 'It would make no sense for them to set up some sort of business empire on the reservation.'"

I was born liberal. The ‘adults in the room’ still have a lot to learn.: To rebuild liberalism, we’ll need to recover what the word used to mean. - "The old liberal epistemology at least rested on egalitarian and universal premises. We believed that everyone was capable of entering to some degree into the mental worlds and lived experience of others, because all of us, regardless of race, creed, ethnicity or sexual orientation, were rational human creatures. This rationalist universalism disintegrated in the 1980s and 1990s, attacked by a new generation of 'progressive' scholars as masculinist, colonialist, racist and fundamentally condescending. This assault was supposed to awaken us to 'intersectionality'— the interaction of disadvantages — but instead of drawing hurt constituencies together, it fragmented them into highly sectarian and identity-based political groupings that foreclosed on alliances, shared understandings, and common political projects across race, class and gender."

Buy or leave, Starbucks tells nonpaying customers in policy reversal: The new policy states that Starbucks spaces “are for use by our partners and customers” — and warns that violators will be asked to leave.

Jack Smith’s subtle indictment of the Supreme Court: The special counsel’s final Trump-Jan. 6 report breaks little new evidentiary ground but directs plenty of suggestive criticism at the nation’s highest court.

Reading archive 2024-08-13 pt 1

Opinion What deporting 15 million people would look like: Democrats need to warn Hispanics what a vote for Trump really means. - "Other Trump voters appear willing to disregard the human costs of an unforgiving immigration policy. 'Terrible for those who came after. Congratulations to me,' Santiago Ferran Barnet, a Cuban immigrant, told the Miami Herald during a Trump rally. Other Trump supporters share this moral meanness and lack of empathy. 'Putting them in a camp and deporting them? It sounds great to me,' said Anais Refujol, a Trump voter from California, when asked about detention centers for recent Venezuelan immigrants. Ironically, Refujol herself earned citizenship after arriving as a refugee in 2004 — from Venezuela."

The lice will always win: We’ve been losing the war against lice since the dawn of humanity. Should we change how we think about them?

Blue crab invasion upends Italy’s culinary traditions and ecology: The blue crabs crossed the Atlantic as stowaways, and with no natural predators they’re overtaking Italy’s marine ecosystem.

Russians evacuated from Kursk as Putin grapples with Ukrainian incursion: The acting governor of the Kursk region said the situation is “complicated,” with Ukraine’s forces now in control of more than two dozen Russian villages.

The one thing you should look for on clothing labels when you go shopping

Why does it feel like everyone has an autoimmune disease?: Autoimmune diseases are rising worldwide, and it’s not purely explained by genetics.

The skate park was thriving. Then a right-wing YouTuber bought it.: Tim Pool’s purchase of an improvised skate park has riled skateboarders in West Virginia’s eastern panhandle.

Gold bar scams net millions in Montgomery County: ‘Money to be had here.’: Local and federal law enforcement officials warn residents to be on guard.

A youth sports giant took over city land. Neighbors are fighting back.: Local advocates have called Surf Cup Sports’ 120-acre complex “an environmental travesty” and accuse the city of San Diego of looking the other way.

A trio of silly, false claims that JD Vance makes about Kamala Harris: No, she doesn’t want to ban red meat or gas stoves or believe that people shouldn’t have children because of climate change.

Ex-police chief who led raid on Kansas newspaper faces felony charge: Gideon Cody allegedly tampered with an investigation into a raid of the Marion County Record and its publisher’s home, worrying press freedom advocates.

Musk’s chat with Trump was a peek inside the right-wing bubble: For more than two hours, the ideological allies struggled to be the most prominent voice in their conversation.

Does Donald Trump understand how the ocean works?: Once again Monday night, he claimed that rising sea levels would create “more oceanfront property.”

Former Colorado official found guilty for role in election equipment tampering: Tina Peters, a former county clerk, was accused of helping copy election information after Trump lost the 2020 presidential election.

Why newsrooms haven’t published leaked Trump campaign documents: The Trump campaign said the documents from a mysterious source came from an Iranian hack. The FBI is now investigating. - "In 2016, Trump relished Russian hacks of Democratic campaign emails, once asking the country to find more of Hillary Clinton’s emails with the phrase, 'Russia, if you’re listening.' 

"But in the aftermath of its own possible hack, the Trump campaign told reporters that to publish the material would be assisting a foreign state actor in undermining democracy. 'Any media or news outlet reprinting documents or internal communications are doing the bidding of America’s enemies and doing exactly what they want,' Steven Cheung, a campaign spokesman, said in a statement."

Opinion Hot tip: Both parties should stop bribing voters with tax cuts: Exempting tips from taxes is a terrible idea, regardless of which party is proposing it.

How Kate Cox Became a Reluctant Face of the Abortion-Rights Movement - "Trisomy 18 is almost always a fatal condition. In rare cases, babies with milder forms of the disease can survive for years, even into adolescence. But Cox’s doctor told her that there were so many malformations to her daughter’s brain, spine, and neural tube that the baby would probably die in utero. If not, she would be placed directly into hospice care after being born, where doctors did not expect her to survive more than a few days. 'Every single case of Trisomy 18 I’ve seen has demised—if not in utero, then within hours to days after birth,' says Dr. Damla Karsan, Cox’s Ob-Gyn. 'Even if they do survive, the standard of care is comfort care, do not resuscitate.'

...

"'Kate was the first time since Roe was overturned that a woman who was currently pregnant, needing an abortion under the health exemption, went to a court to get a court order for an abortion,' Northup says. Her situation, Northup says, exposes how some medical exceptions to abortion bans are written in a way that makes them nearly impossible to apply. 'What Kate Cox’s case shows is that this argument of the states that they have exceptions to their blanket abortion bans for the health of the woman is false. They don’t have exceptions, and they won’t allow exceptions to be applied.'"

Reading archive 2024-03-11

Opinion  Katie Britt’s big fail shows why the GOP can’t connect with women

Katie Britt’s defense of sex-trafficking anecdote compounds its problems: And now the victim herself is criticizing Britt - "The main problem here is that, in addition to Jacinto’s story not involving Biden, the United States or even the border, it also doesn’t involve the cartels.

...

"(You could even make a case that, to the extent U.S. immigration policy is involved at all, the anecdote reinforces the need for an accessible asylum process for victims like Jacinto.)"

How to Organize Your Fridge

Opinion  What happened to Katie Porter? A lesson for Democrats.

The California Senate race wasn’t ‘rigged’ either

Trump mocks Biden’s stutter again, drawing outrage - "'I learned so much from having to deal with stuttering. It gave me insight into other people’s pain, other people’s suffering. It made me understand that everyone, everyone has something they’re fighting to overcome — and sometimes trying to hide,' Biden said."

Trump’s freewheeling speeches offer a dark vision of a second term: A close examination of one appearance in Rock Hill, S.C., offers an anatomy of a signature rally by the former president

Soaring mobile-home rents anger Arizona voters: Rising costs are giving some conservative voters another reason to back Trump and reducing other voters’ enthusiasm for either candidate

FanDuel to replace D.C.’s troubled sports gambling app this spring

Black college athletes can send a message to Ron DeSantis by staying away

Democrats hope IVF issue might topple key Republican in Pa. swing seat: Rep. Scott Perry (R) says he supports in vitro fertilization -- but he backed a bill declaring embryos people, and Democrats want voters to know it

Biden effigy beaten, kicked at Kansas county GOP event, drawing outrage

S.C. rep says she was ‘shamed’ as rape victim when asked about support for Trump: Nancy Mace was asked to square her support for Donald Trump with her comments as a victim of rape

Reading archive 2024-02-20

Why you should consider bunnies as your next pet: ‘It’s like having a vegan cat’

Campaign to recall D.C. Council member Charles Allen launches ground game

National Republicans Are Pumping Money Into the Push to Recall Charles Allen, Once Again Using D.C. Crime to Score Political Points: GOP staffers and lobbyists have provided nearly half of the recall campaign’s big fundraising haul in Ward 6.

VERIFY: Did DC 'Defund the Police?': DC Council claimed millions in budget cuts for 2021. But the numbers show the impact to policing may not be much. - "But when you break it down dollar for dollar, the $568 million operating budget recommended by that oversight committee was actually more than MPD’s approved operating budget the previous year, which was $559 million.

"So did DC Police's budget actually go up? Not really. 

"When DC Police’s budget went to a final vote in front of the full DC Council, the council ended up shifting management of a $23 million school security contract from DC Police to DC Public Schools. That shift did in fact leave MPD’s final approved budget number less than the year before, at $545 million."

U St. neighbors agree it’s ugly. But turn it into a high-rise? No thanks.

Bullet-riddled body found in Spain was Russian defector, Ukraine says

‘Troubled’ is a mystifying book about elite hypocrisy: Rob Henderson’s memoir argues that the upper classes support social justice causes to improve their own status at the expense of those below them - "He argues that the ostensible radicalism of his peers was actually hypocrisy born from self-interest: that privileged undergraduates want the less fortunate to be opioid-addicted obese single parents so that they can get ahead and become even wealthier by comparison."

How much dairy milk do children and adults really need?

‘World’s most harmful’ cybercriminal group disrupted in 11-nation operation

Oklahoma non-binary high schooler dies after physical altercation: The school district has been previously targeted by the far-right anti-LGBTQ+ extremist Libs of TikTok’s creator Chaya Raichik

Tech Leaders Fled San Francisco During the Pandemic. Now, They’re Coming Back.

New legislation would redefine fetuses as Kansas children

Trump allies prepare to infuse ‘Christian nationalism’ in second administration: Spearheading the effort is Russell Vought, president of The Center for Renewing America, part of a conservative consortium preparing for Trump’s return to power. - "'There’s been a tectonic shift in how the leadership of the religious right operates,' said Matthew Taylor, a scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian and Jewish Studies, who grew up evangelical. 'These folks aren’t as interested in democracy or working through democratic systems as in the old religious right because their theology is one of Christian warfare.'"

D.C. officials identify police officers who shot man in Southeast D.C.

Virginia labor unions come out against plan for new Caps, Wizards arena

Reading archvie 2024-02-03

A journalist goes undercover to reveal the absurdity of the art scene: In ‘Get the Picture,’ journalist Bianca Bosker paints a portrait of people who talk ‘like they were trapped in dictionaries and being forced to chew their way out’

U.S. strikes in Syria and Iraq kill dozens of militants

Rethinking Monarchs: Does the Beloved Butterfly Need Our Help?: The Eastern monarch butterfly has long been thought to be in peril, but new studies indicate that its U.S. populations are not in decline. Scientists say the biggest threat the species faces is from well-meaning people who rear the butterflies at home and release them. - "De Roode is a coauthor of a third potentially game-changing study published in the Journal of Animal Ecology in 2022. It found that there has been a significant rise in OE prevalence since the early 2000s. The researchers attribute this spike to the increased density of monarchs in places where they lay their eggs, due in large part to the mass rearing of monarchs in confined spaces, and the widespread planting in recent years of non-native milkweeds, including the tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) favored by monarch admirers. This surge in parasitism, they warn, may already be impairing the species’ migration: Their research indicates that in years when the summer OE infection rate was high, the winter colony size was unexpectedly low."

How the nation’s capital became an outlier on violent crime: Republicans blame Democrats for DC’s rising violent crime. The reality is much more complicated.

The French farmers’ protests are more complex than they seem: Farmers’ frustration over French and EU regulations are a new dimension in a longstanding problem.

An officer's hope: ‘That better day is coming,' DC police veteran says

This ancient material is displacing plastics and creating a billion-dollar industry

Recording captures judge, prosecutor, undersheriff talking about killing Kansas couple

Reading archive 2023-08-25

Overland Park kicks out farmers market vendor over brazenly antisemitic posts

Plan for West End D.C. homeless shelter faces mounting opposition: Shelter opponents have secured the backing of high-powered law firms as the city seeks to open the building as soon as this fall - "'The purpose of this [letter] was to put D.C. on notice of the problems they may face going forward. And if they aren’t addressed, then this would be the prelude to litigation,' he added. 'I don’t know anybody involved in this that is against the homeless shelter. The issue is not whether it’s necessary; the issue is simply where is the best location for that. And the District hasn’t done its job in identifying more appropriate locations for the shelter.'" [ed. note lol this NIMBY bullshit]

D.C. has long struggled with 911 calls. Then 10 dogs died in a flood. - "Last year alone, employees at the Office of Unified Communications sent D.C. firefighters to the wrong address for a report of a newborn in cardiac arrest, canceled a call for service about a child pulled unconscious from a hot car, and mistakenly treated a call about a man who had collapsed as low priority. Though the effect of the delays remains unclear, all three of those people died."

Reading archive 2023-08-14

‘Fully expected the downfall’: Inside DeSantis’s brawls with Fla. Republicans: Some who knew the Florida governor in Tallahassee say they expected him to have trouble translating his governance of the state into a coalition that could win him the presidency

How Invasive Plants Caused the Maui Fires to Rage: A sweeping series of plantation closures in Hawaii allowed highly flammable nonnative grasses to spread on idled lands, providing the fuel for huge blazes.

After a police raid on a Kansas newspaper, questions mount: Law enforcement seized computers and other records from the Marion County Record on Friday, raising concerns about press freedom

Reading archive 2023-08-13

DC residents express concern over rise in crime: Residents voiced their concerns during a public safety meeting hosted by Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker.

Wolves, once confined to fairy tales, are back in Germany, stirring debate

In Tuberville’s state, one base feels the effect of his military holds: At Alabama’s Redstone Arsenal, the freeze on promotions has had a rippling effect up and down the chain of command

Trump swoops into Iowa fair, defying customs and clashing with DeSantis: Pork chops, protesters of the Florida governor and a swift visit by the former president were at the center of a high-drama day

To save the planet, Homegrown National Park wants you to garden

See where Sen. Tommy Tuberville is blocking 301 military promotions

‘Unluckiest generation’ falters in boomer-dominated market for homes The median age of a first-time home buyer climbs to 36, as high interest rates and asking prices further erode spending power

Police defend raid on Kansas newspaper amid backlash over ‘brazen violation of press freedom’

West Virginia’s Unprecedented Proposed Cuts Become Clear: The flagship university is recommending eliminating 9 percent of its majors, all the foreign language programs and 7 percent of full-time faculty members.

Major cuts in faculty, academic programs could hit West Virginia University as financial concerns loom

Reading archive 2023-07-23

Stop trying to have the perfect vacation. You’re ruining everyone else’s.: Entitlement and endless optimization have turned travel into an unfun bloodsport.

Calling all nostalgic millennials: Neopets is reviving fantastical pet game

Opinion  ‘Sound of Freedom’ puts the adrenaline hormone to work

Security guard shoots teenager in gun battle at Metro station in D.C.: Authorities said the teen had earlier shot a man, then exchanged shots with the guard

An 11-year-old’s robbery charges were dropped. Then he was arrested again.: The child was arrested in connection with an assault and two robberies in May, but the charges were dismissed. Less than two weeks later, he was charged in connection with another robbery.

Gov. Wes Moore pledges new cleanup approach to Chesapeake Bay: New research shows a need to focus mostly on many diffuse sources of pollution rather than single large sources such as wastewater treatment plants

Carlee Russell Searched for Amber Alerts, Movie 'Taken' Before Vanishing, Police See No Evidence of Abduction: Carlee Russell, 25, mysteriously disappeared for 49 hours after stopping on the highway and calling 911 about a stranded toddler she said she saw

Troopers detained a Black man. He exposed their unconstitutional conduct.

Reading archive 2023-07-013

The high plains drought is so bad that Kansas is importing wheat from Europe

Murdoch is realizing that he’s stuck with the monster he created

Russia’s war might have a new casualty: The Putin-Erdogan bond

You might have mice without knowing it. Here’s how to outsmart them.: Mice are adaptable enough to work around your cat’s nap schedule, and fast enough to cover several feet per second

She Steals Surfboards by the Seashore. She’s a Sea Otter.: California wildlife officials are hoping to apprehend a 5-year-old sea otter, who has a knack for riding the waves after committing longboard larceny.

Tracy Chapman, Luke Combs and the complicated response to ‘Fast Car’: Combs’s remake of Chapman’s 1988 hit now dominates the country charts, renewing difficult conversations about diversity in Nashville

Reading archive 2023-05-22

Concerns about Biden’s reelection swamped by fear of Trump in swing voter focus groups: “Whatever the step above panicked is, that is what I feel about Trump,” said one of the voters, who picked Trump in 2016 then Biden in 2020

Colorado River states reach deal with Biden to protect drought-stricken river

Ukraine found an unlikely tool to resist Russia: Solar panels

A census mistake reveals surprising details about U.S. Hispanics and Latinos

Opinion  I was just in Kyiv under fire. I saw why Ukraine can win.

Woman charged with murder in Rock Creek Parkway crash that killed three: Nakita Marie Walker was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the crash that killed a Lyft driver and his two passengers

How deciding not to fix a pipe in Kansas 10 years ago led to the Keystone pipeline's biggest spill