So I read something...: Mexico

Showing posts with label Mexico. Show all posts

Sunday, May 17, 2026

Reading archive 2026-05-17

The Incredible Story of the Cartel Olympics: A Mexican athlete said he was kidnapped and forced to compete for his life in a tournament of gangs. But was he actually playing a different game?

Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Reading archive 2026-03-17

He killed a D.C. police officer. He’s asking to get out of prison early.: U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro says a D.C. law that could allow his early release “spits on the face of every grieving family.” - "Now, the family is facing the possibility that Marthell N. Dean will be allowed to walk free under a controversial D.C. law that allows convicts who committed their crimes while under the age of 24 to obtain an early release or reduced sentence if they’ve already spent 15 years behind bars.

...

"Last year, Pirro urged the D.C. Council to repeal the Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act, asserting it coddled young criminals. She said in the interview that 4 of every 10 killers in the District are under the age of 25, and that the law 'essentially created a 15-year maximum penalty for 40 percent of the murderers in Washington, D.C.'"

Disney crackdown hits princess makeovers, cupcakes and photo shoots: Vendors say they made magic for resort guests. Mickey told them to stay away.

Trump divulges congressman’s terminal illness, says doctors said he could be ‘dead by June’: Rep. Neal Dunn (R-Florida), who is not seeking reelection, had not previously publicly disclosed that he is battling a terminal illness.

Is MAGA in its cringe era?: Trump 2.0 was supposed to be younger and cooler than what came before. The vibes have shifted.

U.S. intelligence says Iran’s regime is consolidating power: Despite withering airstrikes, officials see a weakened but more hard-line government in Tehran, backed by the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps security forces.

Mezcal’s popularity is booming in the US. That comes with a growing environmental cost in Mexico - "In two major mezcal-producing areas of Oaxaca, more than 34,953 hectares (86,370 acres) of tropical dry and pine oak forests have been lost in 27 years to make room for agave, an area roughly equivalent to the size of the U.S. city of Detroit, according to a study led by Rufino Sandoval-García, a professor at the Technological University of the Central Valley of Oaxaca.

...

"For Velasco, the problem is not the entry of large brands, which he says have done more than the government to support marginalized areas like his, but the lack of public incentives for farmers to safeguard environments by planting native trees or maintaining traditional farming systems."

Iran war should trigger faster exit from fossil fuel dependence, UN climate chief says

An expert says his plan would slash energy bills by 30 percent: Electricity costs are closely regulated by states. Regulators could try to rein in companies’ profits to reduce customers’ bills. - "Spending by utility companies has been rising, as companies replace aging infrastructure and confront climate change hazards. 'Utilities make money when they spend money …. They generally like to spend money on new infrastructure,' said Charles Hua, founder of the group PowerLines. 'They earn a return on capital expenditures. So they are fundamentally incentivized to spend capital … and not to prioritize efficiency.'"

First senior official openly breaks with White House, resigns over war: Joe Kent, a close aide to the director of national intelligence, cited deliberate Israeli “misinformation” and lies to President Donald Trump about a “swift path to victory.” - "Members of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s staff were getting briefed on options for a strike on Iran as early as January 2025 in what one of the people described as an extreme 'pressure campaign' by Israel. Israeli officials argued that Iran was very close to having a nuclear weapon and that Israel was going in with or without the U.S. — but that either way, the U.S. would need to be ready."

Israel urges Iranians to revolt but privately assesses they’ll be ‘slaughtered’: Israeli officials told U.S. counterparts they hope for an uprising even though it would lead to a massacre, according to a State Department cable reviewed by The Post. - "Iran has funded militias and political movements across the Middle East that are hostile to Israel, including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. Israel’s effort to push for an uprising in Iran regardless of the number of fatalities is consistent with its decades-long effort to cause the 'fragmentation of Iran' and 'state collapse,' said Bajoghli, the Iran expert.

"'One of the ways of achieving that is creating more opportunities in which the guns of the state get turned onto the population,' she said. 'The goal is not creating a liberal democracy for the Iranian people. It’s widening the chasm between the society and the state.'"

Tuesday, September 23, 2025

Reading archive 2025-09-23 pt 1

The Age of Corporate Capitulation Won’t Work: Donald Trump came for Jimmy Kimmel. Disney folded immediately. It’s not just bad morals. It’s bad business. - "With the exception of Paramount, which was recently sold to an owner aligned with that machine, each of these institutions would have been better served by fighting back. Not only because it was the right thing to do, but because it’s more likely to work. The Trump presidency is built on projecting an air of absolute power, but it’s deceptively weak in many ways. Trump is the most unpopular president of this century. His polling, by any normal standard, is terrible. His coalition of right-wing influencers has fractured over the Epstein files and conspiracy theories linking Israel to Kirk’s killing. Trump is elderly, seemingly in poor health, and increasingly out of touch. His cult of personality is the only thing holding his frayed administration together.

"This is not, in other words, a regime too powerful to be resisted; it’s only playing one on TV. Speed and the appearance of inevitability are its strongest allies. Anything that slows it down or exposes its limitations is a threat. Any resistance that articulates a case against it openly and publicly is another threat. It can’t risk looking bogged down, looking constrained, or looking like it’s forced to plead a case. The moment that paper-thin perception of invincibility fails, the whole bogus facade becomes in danger of collapse. This is why Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s full-throated assault on Trump’s plan to send federal troops into Chicago seemed to genuinely rattle the administration, which has mostly responded with avoidance. It’s why even the tepid resistance Harvard has offered to Trump’s attempts to force it to submit to him has left it in a stronger position than its more subservient peers."

Threatened by Trump, Canada tries to make up, team up with Mexico: Canadians mused last year about a U.S.-Canada trade deal that cut out Mexico. Prime Minister Mark Carney is visiting President Claudia Sheinbaum to mend ties.

I’m a former creationist. Here’s why ‘follow the science’ failed.: The moment I finally admitted that Darwin was right didn’t feel liberating. It felt like grief.

An exemplary survey of race portends trouble for the Smithsonian: President Donald Trump singled out “The Shape of Power” for criticism, but the show was a success.

One of the rarest birds in the world finds a city sanctuary in Hong Kong

He got an entire country running on clean energy. Can he do it again?: Ramón Méndez Galain helped Uruguay decarbonize its grid in just five years, with 98 percent of its energy coming from renewable sources.

Solar tax credits are ending. Here’s why that could be good for solar.: It could force the industry to address the issues that have made installing solar more expensive in the U.S. than elsewhere in the developed world.

D.C. firefighter shot, says he gave up on 911 and called his own station for help: He survived, with a bullet still in his chest, after others who heard the gunfire called 911 and medics arrived. A 17-year-old suspect has been charged as an adult.

A shutdown would give Trump more power over federal spending: Congress is racing toward a government shutdown deadline, and Democrats worry the White House could have more control over spending either way.

The U.S. promised fliers better passenger rights. What happened?: The Transporation Department has rescinded a proposal to expand compensation for flight cancellations and significant delays.

How a complete stranger tried to steal my dead father’s home: In the midst of my grief, I learned I was also the victim of deed fraud.

Friday, May 2, 2025

Reading archive 2025-05-02

My Gen Z daughter asked if now is the time to invest as the market dips: Buying stocks when they’re cheap is fine, as long as it’s a minor tactical shift on top of a steady investing strategy.

New tariff sparks tomato war between importers and Florida growers: Cherry, grape and vine-ripened specialties are popular in the United States, but most of them will be subject to new duties being slapped on tomatoes from Mexico.

As wreckage piles up, Trump and his aides retreat to fantasyland: Every remark spins a different strand of make-believe.

Russia worries about a U.S. tilt toward Ukraine after minerals deal: Since the beginning of the new administration, it seemed Russia’s needs and views of the war were being promoted by Trump officials, but the tone appears to be changing.

GOP balks at approving even a fraction of Musk’s DOGE cuts: Republican lawmakers have told administration officials that pushing sweeping cuts through Congress will be difficult.

Your online orders may cost more now that a tax loophole has closed: The Trump administration’s elimination of the “de minimis” exception has implications for businesses ranging from Etsy sellers to e-commerce behemoths.

Senate overturns EPA rule on seven highly toxic air pollutants: If also passed by the House as expected, the action will be the first time Congress has weakened protections under the Clean Air Act.

Trump once joked about a third term. Now, he says it’s no laughing matter.: The president’s mixed message makes it hard to know how much he is seriously toying with the idea, which most legal scholars say is expressly forbidden by the Constitution.

White House budget calls for $163 billion in federal cuts next year: The document will tee up new spending battles with Congress as the administration seeks a range of policy changes.

Why preserving old-growth forests is a complex task: Conservation projects save more than just trees, but different forests require very different caretaking strategies.

Suspect who targeted Shapiro cited views on Palestinians, warrant says: Cody Balmer, 38, described his views in a call to 911 reporting the attack. His brother said that Balmer suffered from mental illness. - "Dan Balmer also said Cody Balmer was politically independent and had urged his family to vote for Donald Trump in November."

Mother duck lays 8 eggs on downtown D.C. building’s rooftop terrace: Staff at the Planet Word museum decided to set up a duck cam, where viewers can watch the bird hang out.

Amid Trump’s trade war, China launches a PR blitz (and it might win): China has long tried to present itself as the world’s true champion of globalization, with little success. Now Beijing has a new opening to push its message.

Trump’s folly is piling up. And America is weaker for it.: The president just gave China a get-out-of-jail-free card. - "China was rapidly detaching itself internationally by dumping chaos on its trading partners. Beijing’s mercantilism was to its economic policy what the wolf warriors were to its foreign policy: a recipe for isolation.

...

"Attacking alliances and allies left the U.S. alone in its China contest. At a moment when Trump could have further set China back, his tariffs have isolated America instead."

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

Reading archive 2025-03-04

Transgender troops will be removed from U.S. military, Pentagon says: The previous Trump administration effectively banned transgender people from joining, but the new memo says currently serving transgender troops will be discharged.

Maryland revives years-long debate over whether to charge kids as adults: Efforts to end the practice of criminally charging juveniles as adults have failed for more than a decade. Now, the General Assembly is considering a compromise bill. - "Black Maryland voters were more likely to say teens accused of assault should be treated as adults than White Maryland voters (65 percent vs. 56 percent), while similar majorities of both supported charging teens as adults for the other crimes, the poll found."

‘You are not alone’: U.S. Forest Service chief’s blunt goodbye message to workers: Forest Service Chief Randy Moore wrote the email after thousands of agency employees were fired amid President Donald Trump’s effort to downsize the government.

How to Win a War Against Reality - A review of Steve Benen, “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past” - "How is it possible to gaslight at least half the nation? Benen concludes the Republican tactic has four components. First, the Republicans simply don’t care about reality. Second, they have absolutely no shame about lying and sticking to their lie. Third, the most egregious liars are surrounded by those who aid and abet them in their mendacity. At best they shrug off the lies; at worst they repeat them. And finally, Republicans repeat their lies ad nauseum and at the top of their lungs, believing that if something is repeated often enough, loudly enough, it will stick. 'Taken together, a picture emerges of a Republican Party that’s grown reliant on a brute-force rhetorical strategy, taking developments that unfolded in recent memory and replacing them with a politically advantageous alternate reality.'"

‘US sided with Russia, North Korea & Iran’ – Ukraine reacts to Trump's military aid freeze

China, Mexico and Canada to retaliate after Trump imposes new tariffs: The nation’s top three trading partners are rolling out levies on a wide range of products – including soybeans, meat and grains – in the escalating trade war.

James Carville: It’s Time for a Daring Political Maneuver, Democrats

HOW MY DAD RECONCILED HIS GOD AND HIS GAY SON

Trump’s speech to Congress has the ingredients for a blistering event: The president addresses restless lawmakers Tuesday after six weeks of working aggressively to slash their power.

How to lose the 21st century, in three easy steps: Trump is throwing away what could have been the next great American century. - "More than anything else, President Donald Trump loves winning. Yet he has already positioned America to lose the 21st century, in three simple steps:

1. Alienate your friends.

2. Destroy your business environment.

3. Slaughter your golden goose (i.e., science and research)."

Trump official floats new approach on GDP, as economy poised to slow sharply: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says government spending should be separate from economic growth, echoing comments from Elon Musk days earlier.

H5N1 is spreading. America is not ready.: New infections in animals should heighten concern of human H5N1.

A European army is no longer optional: As Trump turns from Europe toward Russia, European leaders need to bolster defenses, quickly. - "Bergmann argues that creating a European army would not require changing the E.U. treaty, but it would definitely require changing the European mindset. It was once considered unthinkable that European countries would merge their militaries. But it was also considered unthinkable that the United States might abandon Europe in the face of Russian aggression. Given that the latter contingency now appears distressingly likely, it’s high time for Europeans to put aside concerns about national pride and work together to save their continent from the looming menace of Russian aggression."

With his nation at war, Winston Churchill dressed in a wartime onesie: Churchill wore his “siren suit” to state dinners and news conferences, and the world delighted in his political and sartorial statement.

Thursday, February 6, 2025

Reading archive 2025-02-06

Press Secretary Reveals Startling Truth of Elon Musk’s Full Power: Elon Musk is fully running unsupervised around the government.

'Counterintelligence disaster' from Trump's latest order to the CIA: NYT

Gutting USAID threatens billions of dollars for U.S. farms, businesses: U.S. businesses that sold goods and services to USAID are in limbo, including American farms dealing in rice, wheat and soybeans purchased as food aid. - "Nick Levendofsky, executive director of the Kansas Farmers Union, said the funding freeze created further stress for the state’s farmers as they grapple with rising costs, low commodity prices and the potential impacts of tariffs."

Musk’s DOGE agents access sensitive personnel data, alarming security officials: The highly restricted data includes personally identifiable information for millions of federal employees maintained by the Office of Personnel Management. - "The two OPM officials said the level of access granted to DOGE agents means they could copy the social security numbers, phone numbers and personnel files for millions of federal employees.

"'They could put a new file in someone’s record, they could modify an existing record,' one said. 'They could delete that record out of the database. They could export all that data about people who are currently or formerly employed by the government, they could export it to some nongovernment server, or to their own PC, or to a Google Drive. Or to a foreign country.'"

Justice Dept. says no immediate plans to release names of Jan. 6 FBI agents: The twin lawsuits were filed anonymously in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by FBI agents involved in the Jan. 6 investigations.

Murder trial begins for D.C. rowhouse owner charged in fire that killed 2: Federal and D.C. prosecutors charged James Walker, owner of a Northwest rowhouse that erupted in flames, with murder and civil violations.

The game theory of Trump's tariff threats: Why he’s picking on Canada and Mexico — and why he’s playing a dangerous game.

Virginia lawmakers call on Youngkin to talk to Trump about federal workers: Efforts by the new Trump administration to slash and relocate the federal work force, as well as cut federal spending, could have a dramatic impact on Virginia.

Trump’s crackdown on federal workforce alarms military families: The administration’s blunt exercise of power has proved uniquely disruptive for the numerous government personnel who do remote work to accommodate their spouses’ military careers.

Federal workers: Here’s how to lock down your communications: Tips and apps that can help everyone talk about sensitive topics safely.

DOGE aims to cut $2 trillion in federal spending. Where would you start? - "'The real money is in Social Security, Medicare, defense, veterans and interest, which few people want to touch,' said Brian Riedl, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a center-right think tank. 'Anyone can point out easy, small examples of government waste, and — as bad as they are — they’re essentially budget dust in the grand scheme of our soaring deficits.'"

Elon Musk Wants What He Can’t Have: Wikipedia: Musk and other right-wing tech figures have been on a campaign to delegitimize the digital encyclopedia. What happens if they succeed?

How Trump Lost His Trade War: When the U.S. breaks its treaties, only China wins. - "The United States has suspended its threats against Canada and Mexico in return for border-enforcement measures that Canada and Mexico either were doing anyway or had done before without making much difference in the flow of drugs.

...

"But the president has made clear that so-called friendship with the United States does not ensure anything for America's partners: not trade access, not the security of treaties, not even their territorial integrity and national independence.

"Friend-shoring imagined extending trade with American allies. Trump-shoring means that today's ally can become tomorrow's enemy, without cause or even warning.

...

"A lesson of Trump's trade war that all the world will hear: Countries such as Canada, Mexico, and Denmark that commit to the United States risk their security and dignity in the age of Trump. Countries such as Vietnam and Thailand that carefully navigate between the two great economic powers without making undue commitments maximize their security and their dignity.

"To reward non-aligned countries and punish U.S.-aligned ones might seem a reckless, even a perverse, choice by a U.S. president. But that's the president Americans have, and the choice he has made for them."

Pay Attention to the FBI: That’s a whole other crisis brewing. - "It’s really hard to see where they’re going, because Elon Musk is not proceeding from an accurate map of reality.

...

"What he is saying by pardoning these J6 rioters is that If you are on my side, I will come protect you. And I think that will send a clear message to FBI personnel that there are whole categories of people and therefore potential criminal activity that they should not touch, because it gets into the president, his influence, his circle of friends. I think that is just a potentially ruinous development for the rule of law in the United States."

Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Reading archive 2025-01-21

Meta just flipped the switch that prevents misinformation from spreading in the United States: The company built effective systems to reduce the reach of fake news. Last week, it shut them down - "Notably, none of these [now-deactivated changes] actually eliminated anyone’s freedom of expression. Instead, they restricted what the technologist Aza Raskin has termed “freedom of reach.” Fact-checking and down-ranking obviously false stories allowed liars and hoaxsters to express themselves but sought to limit the negative effects of those lies on Meta’s customers.

Knowing Things is Hard - "History is Written by Losers (2013): winners are busy swimming in vaults full of gold, having a nice dinner and drinks, and going to bed with bevies of cute people, losers have time and grudges and writing is cheap. Thucydides, Polybius, Sallust, and Sima Qian were not winners."

Everest Fallacy: a logical error, the confusion of the extreme and the normal.

This school has a problem, and the solution is dead vultures. For real.: “Apparently live vultures are offended and will not return to where their brethren are hanging dead,” a Virginia teacher said.

Ex-spies say suburban D.C. casino would put nation’s secrets at risk: Valerie Plame and more than 100 other former CIA, defense and intelligence figures say a Tysons casino would be a too-convenient temptation.

Trump reinstates plan to strip protections from federal workers: Trump issued several orders Monday aimed at federal agencies, including a return-to-office mandate and a hiring freeze.

We tried a $1,000 trash can for food waste. Here’s what we learned.: Food dehydrators, which dry and grind up food into soil-like grounds, have emerged as a way to keep food waste out of the garbage. Here’s how to use them.

Files detail bid to contain fallout from Tulsi Gabbard meetings with Assad: Trip to Syria in 2017 is expected to be a focus of questions from senators weighing her nomination to be director of national intelligence.

The GOP’s stunning response to Trump pardoning those who assaulted police: Trump has worn his party down, and few events crystallize it like the GOP’s muted — and, in some cases, positive — response.

The push to ‘billionaire-proof’ social media

Trump designated drug cartels as terrorists. Here’s what that means.: Cartels have set off car bombs and beheaded victims. But designating them as terrorist groups could have unforeseen consequences. - "The majority of those arrested carrying fentanyl over the border are U.S. citizens. Most guns used by drug traffickers are acquired from Americans. In theory, U.S. gun dealers could be charged with aiding terrorists under the new measure.

...

"Arturo Sarukhan, a former Mexican ambassador to Washington, said the problem with adding cartels to the terrorism list was the focus on military solutions to the drug crisis. 'You’re just playing whack-a-mole,' he said, noting that cartels simply reconfigure after kingpins are detained or killed. What’s needed is a more sophisticated strategy, he said, including curbing U.S. demand for drugs and choking off cartels’ money."

To get rid of ‘drug-addicted’ rats, Houston police clean up evidence room: The Texas city’s mayor said he will work with the county district attorney to discard drug evidence obtained before 2015 that no longer has any value.

Cheap, smart, deadly. The tech industry pitches a new way to wage war.: Anduril, a weapons start-up with links to President Donald Trump, wants to see the Pentagon invest more in AI-enhanced drones. - "The high-tech [American] missiles that repelled the [Iranian] assault collectively cost hundreds of millions of dollars, military experts said. The weapons Iran fired were much cheaper: Each of its Shahed drones can be made for about $50,000, according to leaked Iranian documents obtained by Israeli newspaper Haaretz. The U.S. response included SM-3 missiles that can each cost $28 million, according to the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, a defense industry group.

Saturday, July 27, 2024

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."

Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Reading archive 2024-06-05

Microplastics Are Everywhere. Here’s How to Avoid Eating Them.

Juror says someone left her bag with $120,000 cash and promise of more if she’ll acquit: She was serving on a case involving seven people charged with stealing more than $40 million from a program meant to feed children during the pandemic.

Why Mexico City’s thirst is causing it to sink: The demand for water in Mexico’s capital is draining its underground aquifers — and fueling some of the fastest subsidence rates in the world.

Casa Ruby founder set to plead guilty to wire fraud over pandemic funds: Ruby Corado is accused of diverting $150,000 in federal pandemic relief from her LGBTQ nonprofit to her own accounts in El Salvador and fleeing D.C. in 2022.

Alito’s account of the upside-down flag doesn’t fully add up. Here’s why.: A look at the major discrepancies in Justice Samuel Alito’s comments about controversial flags flown at his property and what he still has not fully answered.

Senate Republicans vote against making contraception a federal right: The bill was introduced by Democrats seeking to put Republicans on the spot in an election year over their unpopular positions on reproductive rights.

Biden, in France for D-Day anniversary, to stress contrast with Trump: The president will join other leaders in praising the fight against authoritarianism.

Gunman opens fire at U.S. Embassy in Lebanon and is shot by army: The gunman, who has been hospitalized, was identified as a Syrian national. No motive for the attack has been reported yet.

Opinion For The Post, a Supreme black eye: Deference to Justice Alito hands a scoop to the New York Times.

India’s low-caste voters humbled its powerful prime minister: Modi’s stunning setback in elections this week reflected the power of low-caste Hindus who rebelled against his ruling BJP.

He went viral for driving with a suspended license. The case isn’t so simple.: The case that led Corey Harris to become famous after he attended a Zoom hearing about his suspended license while driving is more complicated than it appeared. [ed. note: actually he never had a driver's license at all, just a Michigan state ID. Dude is a liar and a POS]

Would a reelected Trump prosecute his opponents? He already tried.: Trump and his allies are pretending that his recent conviction gives him moral space to target his enemies. But he tried that the first time around. - "The reality, as Mueller established and as a report from the Justice Department inspector general reinforced, was that there were numerous links between Trump’s team and Russia and that there was an obvious effort by Russia to upend the election. Durham brought charges against an attorney linked to Clinton. The attorney was acquitted.

"Last year, the New York Times’s Charlie Savage explained that the pivot to focusing on Clinton came only after Durham was unable to uncover nefarious intent on the part of the FBI.

"'By keeping the investigation going,” Savage wrote, 'Mr. Barr initially appeased Mr. Trump, who, as Mr. Barr recounted in his memoir, was angry about the lack of charges as the 2020 election neared.'"

Conservative attacks on birth control could threaten access: Far-right conservatives are sowing misinformation that inaccurately characterizes IUDs, emergency contraception, even birth-control pills as causing abortions - "Because hormonal IUDs and birth-control pills can thin the uterine lining, which could prevent a fertilized egg from implanting, some antiabortion activists falsely claim that the birth-control methods cause abortions. Between 30 and 70 percent of fertilized eggs never implant successfully, even without birth control, according to Belmonte’s review of medical literature."

GOP plans aggressive ‘weaponization’ investigations in wake of Trump conviction: House Speaker Mike Johnson vowed to use House oversight powers and other measures to target jurisdictions pursuing prosecutions of the former president.

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Reading archive 2024-05-28

“The Only Moral Abortion is My Abortion”: When the Anti-Choice Choose

THE DROWNING SOUTH: A HIDDEN THREAT: Fast-rising seas could swamp septic systems in parts of the South

Mexico City and millions of its residents could run out of water in weeks: The metropolitan area of 22 million gets about a quarter of its water from a system that is running dry. Some say it could be unable to provide water by June 26.

The battle for the patio of College Court

Opinion The media and sullen nonvoters should listen to Ken Burns: The historian knows something about civil war — and moral responsibility in politics.

Opinion Nearly everything Americans believe about the economy is wrong: But it’s not just journalists’ fault.

Louisiana’s coast is sinking. Advocates say the governor is undermining efforts to save it.: A new Republican governor is taking aim at the state’s coastal protection agency.

What’s to become of the keepsakes left at Arlington Cemetery?: Thousands of mementos have been placed on the graves of those lost to America’s post-9/11 wars. The collection needs a new home.

How a simple fix could double the size of the U.S. electricity grid: Rewiring miles of power lines could make space for data centers, AI and a boom in renewables.

D.C. Council chair’s budget proposal further hikes taxes, staves off cuts: D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) said he sought to raise more revenue rather than greenlight the austerity of the mayor’s budget proposal.

Saturday, May 18, 2024

Reading archvie 2024-05-18

Johnson says personal attacks at committee meeting ‘not a good look’: A House Oversight Committee meeting devolved into a partisan shouting match between members, filled with personal attacks about intelligence and appearance.

Riders give Metro high marks in poll but still worry about crime: Metro riders give the system its highest ratings in the past decade, including for reliability and value, though many remain wary of crime on the rail service. - "But more than a third of Metrorail riders rate the system negatively for safety from crime — about the same as a year ago. Metro riders under 50 years old, as well as Black and Hispanic riders, are more concerned about crime on Metro than riders who are older or White.

...

"The poll finds 68 percent of D.C. residents support increasing enforcement of fare rules, including majorities across all demographic groups and parts of the city. Support is slightly lower among D.C. residents under 40, with 56 percent in support and 38 percent opposed."

D.C. clears major homeless encampment, but critical housing problems linger More than 60 people living in tents and other shelters in the Foggy Bottom area were forcibly evicted by the city and the National Park Service. - "Shelley Byars, 46, has lived in the Foggy Bottom encampment since last summer and was previously pushed out from half a dozen sites despite having been approved for a housing subsidy in 2022. As the morning sun shone through the blue-and-green tent in which she has lived for the past several months, Byars unzipped the nylon flap and stepped outside, wiping sleep from her eyes. She was already packed."

A water war is brewing between the U.S. and Mexico. Here’s why.: In south Texas, a water shortage killed the sugar industry and could slow growth in booming border towns.

What Israel’s strategic corridor in Gaza reveals about its postwar plans: Analysts say the buildup of the Netzarim Corridor is part of a large-scale project by the Israeli military to reshape Gaza and entrench its presence there.

Sunday, April 7, 2024

Reading archive 2024-04-06

Opinion How Ukraine’s tech army is taking the fight to Russia

Opinion Trump swindles his followers — again

Opinion How No Labels was thwarted — and a disaster for democracy was avoided

Opinion Recriminalizing drugs, Oregon offers a cautionary tale

Column: The false centrism of political group No Labels

Inside Donald Trump’s secret, long-shot plan to end the war in Ukraine: Foreign policy experts and some Republicans warned that pressuring Ukraine to cede land would reward Putin

Montana GOP Senate candidate says he lied to ranger about gunshot wound in 2015: Tim Sheehy was cited for illegally discharging a weapon in a national park but says he made up the gunshot to cover up a bullet wound he received as a Navy SEAL in Afghanistan that he never reported to superiors

They were thought to be hostages in Gaza. Israeli raids found they were dead.

‘Increasingly chaotic’: Why House Republicans are heading for the exits: The decision by 21 Republican lawmakers to depart is indicative of the broader morale problem within the GOP conference

Top Republican warns pro-Russia messages are echoed ‘on the House floor’: The latest remarks come after another GOP member said Russian propaganda has ‘infected’ the Republican base

Ohio warns Democrats that Biden may miss deadline for November ballot

The unassuming material that could soak up carbon emissions: Researchers want to use the ultrafine rock particles left by eroding glaciers — called ‘rock flour’ — to suck climate-warming carbon from the air

Trump in ‘full sprint’ to close Biden’s money lead as legal bills mount

Opinion Environmentalism could stop the clean-energy transition

Mexico breaks relations with Ecuador after embassy raid

With no way out of a worsening war, Zelensky’s options look bad or worse

Tuesday, August 29, 2023

Reading archive 2023-08-29

D.C. police arrest teen in string of carjackings and robberies: D.C. police said the crimes took place in Southeast and Northeast Washington - "Detectives from the police department’s Carjacking Task Force on Friday took into custody a 16-year-old male from Southeast Washington who they said committed three carjackings in a two-hour span early Wednesday, then a kidnapping and seven robberies over nearly seven hours between 10 p.m. Wednesday and 5 a.m. Thursday."

Teen killed outside McDonald’s in sweet-and-sour sauce dispute, police say - "A 16-year-old girl was charged with fatally stabbing another 16-year-old girl outside a McDonald’s on a busy D.C. nightlife corridor this weekend in a fight a police detective said stemmed from an argument about sweet-and-sour sauce, as the city continues its struggle to quell youth violence.

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"All summer, D.C. government officials have touted programming designed to keep youths safe and engaged while school is out. The mayor told community members in June that the city had 13,000 slots for camp and 14,000 places for youth employment."

Why you should tell your children about vanishing fireflies - "Shifting baselines is now shorthand for generational amnesia of the natural world. As species decline or die off, our cultural memory of them fades. We might remember the abundance and diversity of our childhood but never imagine the world of our grandparents — or of their ancestors. This phenomenon has already been documented among groups as diverse as bush meat hunters in Africa and birders in the United Kingdom."

3 things to do if you’re caught in an active shooter situation

A deadly tick-borne epidemic is raging.: Dogs are key to ending it. - "Cruz said she has been bitten by ticks before and is aware of rickettsia’s dangers. But she doesn’t worry about dying of the disease. God’s will, she said, shrugging. Like other homeowners here, she said she needs the dogs for protection from burglars. If Coca wants to roam, Cruz said, she will let that continue."

Pope criticizes ‘reactionary’ conservative elements in U.S. Catholic Church

Uproar over Libya-Israel meeting shows limits of regional normalization

Opinion Babies need people, not devices. Stop giving them screen time.

Thursday, December 15, 2022

Reading archive 2022-12-14

A girl asked to keep a unicorn in her yard. Animal control said yes.

Family of man shot by FBI agent at Metro Center demands prosecution

Trial begins for two D.C. police officers charged in fatal moped chase - "After the officers turned off their body cameras and conferred with each other, Sutton gave the driver of the SUV clearance to leave, Baset said. He said they did not notify the department’s major crash unit, as was required. After Hylton-Brown was taken to a hospital, Baset said, the officers did not interview any witnesses to the collision or secure the crash site for evidence collection."

QAnon, adrift after Trump’s defeat, finds new life in Elon Musk’s Twitter: Among some QAnon devotees, Musk has become a figure of prophecy on par with Donald Trump

Tom Brady pushed crypto to his fans. This lawyer wants him to pay up.: ‘Why shouldn’t they be held responsible?’ says Florida attorney Adam Moskowitz

A newspaper vanished from the internet. Did someone pay to kill it?: The Hook, a beloved Charlottesville weekly, closed a decade ago but its archives lived on — until its 22,000 stories were suddenly taken offline in June. Former staffers have theories about its mystery buyer.

The surprising reasons parts of Earth are warming more slowly

Antiabortion movement seeks to jail people for 'trafficking’ illegal pills: Six months after their Supreme Court victory, conservatives complain that strict new laws are not being sufficiently enforced

Opinion Smooth sailing for Metro, for now, as storm clouds gather

Opinion The great American bailout goes on ... and on - "To repeat: There was a case for protecting most of the Teamsters’ pensions, with modest taxpayer support. But there was no case for using public money to protect every single dollar of them, when the vast majority of taxpayers enjoy no such perks.

"This obviously happened because of the influence a special interest — organized labor — currently enjoys in Washington. Come to think of it, the 2021 law didn’t make employers chip in to solve the problem they helped create, so it’s a quiet corporate subsidy, too."

To live and die in Tijuana

Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Reading archive 2022-12-13

Democratic senators sidestep Arizona race after Sinema leaves party: If she runs for a second term as an independent, the national party would face pressure to decide whether to back her over a Democrat, prompting a dilemma for her colleagues

Fusion breakthrough sparks hope of unlimited clean power: Biden administration announces major advancement in quest to mimic nuclear reactions on the sun.

Why is fentanyl so dangerous?: The powerful opioid is the leading cause of overdose deaths in America.

They call him the Eagle: How the U.S. lost a key ally in Mexico as fentanyl took off - "Cellphone videos of the attack pinged around social media, along with questions about why the military was using so much force. The navy said it was necessary: Patrón Sánchez’s bodyguards had been using the third floor as a sniper’s nest, to pick off the special forces troops in the street. That explanation didn’t satisfy Mexico’s future president.

"'Why did they annihilate them [the bodyguards]? Why, if they investigate, and supposedly have foreign intelligence assistance, do they massacre them?' López Obrador asked in a speech in Nayarit the next day. He demanded to know whether the operation was carried out to appease Trump.

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"Some U.S. diplomats thought López Obrador had an instinctive mistrust of American technology. He rejected a U.S. offer to provide six giant X-ray scanners to look for drugs in trucks crossing the U.S. border. Also nixed were handheld detectors for port authorities to identify narcotics or chemicals used in the production of synthetic drugs. Millions of dollars in anti-drug aid for Mexico was returned to the U.S. Treasury.

"Inside the daunting hunt for the ingredients of fentanyl and meth For the new Mexican president, sovereignty was the bigger concern. His team was astonished to discover how much the U.S. government quietly pulled levers in the country. For example, U.S. officials were training police, prosecutors and prison officials in Mexican states — many led by López Obrador’s opponents.

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"Less than a year into López Obrador’s term, his strategy suddenly seemed to take a tougher turn. On Oct. 17, 2019, soldiers and police surrounded a posh townhouse in the Sinaloan capital, Culiacán, and detained Ovidio Guzmán, one of El Chapo’s sons. He was one of the top traffickers of fentanyl and meth to the United States, according to Mexican officials. The U.S. government was requesting his extradition.

"It was the kind of operation that Águila would have led before 2019. But this time, the Mexican army was in charge. Its soldiers had no search warrant. As they waited for the paperwork, hundreds of cartel gunmen streamed into the city, some wielding .50-caliber rifles that fired armor-piercing bullets the size of carrots.

"Gunmen blocked roads to the airport, preventing the army from flying in reinforcements. The operations base built by Águila had been dismantled. Fearing an all-out battle that could leave hundreds dead, López Obrador told army commanders to let Guzmán go. He remains a fugitive." [ed. note: Andrés Manuel López Obrador is a punk bitch]

A DEA agent tracked the source of fentanyl in Mormon country — a Mexican cartel

Inside the daunting hunt for the ingredients of fentanyl and meth

Monday, December 12, 2022

Reading archive 2022-12-12

Free buses are a money saver. Riders say they’re still too slow.: As the District prepares to provide fare-free bus travel, questions remain about whether the approach is the best use of scarce transit funds

Kari Lake was unflinchingly loyal to Trump. Then her campaign unraveled.: Interviews, internal documents and audio show how the former TV news anchor squandered a chance to become Arizona’s governor — a defeat that carries warnings for the GOP in 2024

Covid spreads and medical staff sicken after China relaxes restrictions

Ukrainian politician who idolizes Reagan tries to win over today’s Republicans

Why doesn’t Argentina have more Black players in the World Cup?: Argentina is far more diverse than many people realize — but the myth that it is a White nation has persisted

How I Left the Closet, Met My Husband — and Found My Life: One man’s journey to marrying his partner

Overview: From Mexican labs to U.S. streets, a lethal pipeline - "U.S. health officials do not have reliable estimates of the number of fentanyl users or recent deaths in the country. Key monitoring programs that could have alerted authorities to the increased flow of fentanyl were defunded by the federal government just as the drug was hitting U.S. streets.

"President Donald Trump told Americans that a wall along the border with Mexico would stop the torrent of drugs. But nearly all the fentanyl entering the United States passes through official border crossings — not through the deserts and mountains.

"Successive administrations failed to deploy technology to detect the drugs.

Cause of death: Washington faltered as fentanyl gripped America - "The Department of Homeland Security, whose agencies are responsible for detecting illegal drugs at the nation’s borders, failed to ramp up scanning and inspection technology at official crossings, instead channeling $11 billion toward the construction of a border wall that does little to stop fentanyl traffickers.

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"The roots of the epidemic reach back to the Bush administration, which did little as countless Americans became addicted to oxycodone and other prescription opioids while U.S. drug manufacturers, distributors and chain pharmacies made billions in profits.

"During the Obama administration, amid a wider questioning of the U.S. criminal justice system, the government defunded and dismantled key drug-monitoring programs in the years before fentanyl hit. President Barack Obama demoted the White House drug czar position, removing the role from the Cabinet. And when heroin use rose after the government crackdown on prescription opioids, authorities treated fentanyl as an additive, rather than a distinct threat requiring its own specific strategy.

"President Donald Trump took office just as the fentanyl epidemic was about to explode. He promised to build a wall along the U.S. southern border that he said would stop drugs. But Mexican traffickers were sneaking fentanyl right through the front door, hidden in passenger vehicles and commercial trucks passing through official ports of entry in California and Arizona. Today, the partisan border debate in Washington remains fixated on a physical structure that is virtually useless for stopping the deadliest drug U.S. agents have ever faced.

"Since President Biden took office, his administration has amplified a public messaging campaign to warn about fentanyl’s mortal threat — “One Pill Can Kill.” He has stepped up efforts to improve scanning technology at border crossings and repair a broken counternarcotics partnership with Mexico. But with Republicans blaming Biden’s border policies for record numbers of immigration arrests, the president and many of his top officials have said little about the skyrocketing amount of fentanyl entering the country.

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"For six years, the DEA went without a Senate-confirmed administrator. Michele Leonhart, a 35-year veteran, announced her retirement in 2015 following revelations that DEA agents were attending sex parties with prostitutes hired by Colombian drug cartels."