Reading archive 2026-07-01

DC's fireworks supershow this year could be a smoke-filled mess: Disrupted views are a common part of the DC fireworks show, even before it gets supersized like in 2026.

Two Teens Shot While Attending Gun Violence Prevention Program: The teens were attending their first day of a six-week violence prevention training in Northeast D.C. as part of the city's summer youth employment program.

Virginia law will put speed-limiting devices on reckless drivers' cars: Proponents of intelligent speed assistance device (ISA) laws include the mother of a 5-year-old who was hit and killed in D.C. The District allows them, and they're coming to Maryland.

D.C. unveils sweeping master plan for Commanders stadium and RFK campus

ICE’s arrest of nun heading to church fuels bipartisan backlash in South Texas: The president’s deportation drive has riled border areas that supported him in 2024, and a GOP congresswoman joined Democrats calling for the sister’s release.

There’s a new way to treat sprains and strains. Hint: Ice is out.: If you think you need rest, ice and ibuprofen, think again.

Beyond Denial How Oil Execs Shaped a Landmark Climate Study - "For a generation, people learning how to address global warming were taught the ideas in the 'Wedges' paper. 

"What they didn’t learn was this: 'Wedges' was significantly shaped by the British oil giant BP — one of the single global entities most responsible for causing climate change."

A False Pretense of Judicial Modesty: The Supreme Court is remaking the law while claiming to preserve the status quo. - "When the Court does overrule precedent, it is a big deal, as in yesterday's decision in Trump v Slaughter. The opinion officially overturned Humphrey's Executor, a 90-year-old case. But the separation-of-powers practice formalized in Humphrey's Executor goes back at least 50 years before the Court decided it. Relying on Humphrey's allowed Congress to build the modern federal government, insulating agencies from the whiplash of electoral politics and channeling bipartisanship, expertise, and continuity into technical policy making. These agencies will now be upended in ways their creators never anticipated. 

"Precedent, of course, is not a magical constraint that produces mechanical results. A better way to think of it, as the philosopher Ronald Dworkin put it, is as a 'gravitational pull' on judicial reasoning. Respecting it grounds judges in traditions larger than themselves and guards against overreach. If following Humphrey's Executor served those values faithfully, its overturning reflects the triumph of something else: faddish theories of the moment-here, the theory of the unitary executive-and the hubris of a Court that thinks it knows best. The Court has replaced the gravitational pull of accumulated wisdom with the gravitational pull of itself."

Ukraine’s Plan to Unnerve Putin: Recent drone attacks in the Moscow area reveal a multifaceted strategy.

Reading archive 2026-04-06

Don’t Mess With the Housewives of Ukraine: My interview with a tank maker provoked fury and memes—including from Zelensky.

How the Left Accidentally Bolstered the Nativist Right: By dismissing the distinction between legal and illegal immigration as bogus, advocates signaled that they would not defend it. - "In his book, The Normalization of the Radical Right, the political scientist Vicente Valentim shows that much of the recent rise in radical-right political behavior reflects not a change in what people believe, but a change in what they feel comfortable expressing. When norms weaken, often after radical-right politicians achieve electoral success, privately held views long kept quiet become publicly acceptable. Valentim's work focuses on Europe, but his analysis applies to America too. Over the past two decades, voters with restrictionist views have sorted into the GOP, making those preferences louder within the party. President Trump did not create this constituency, but he recognized and catered to it more than any modern president before him had. Each taboo he shattered around immigration made it easier for him and his supporters to transgress even more.

"And so, in Trump's second term, under Stephen Miller's newfound influence, the obliteration of the legal/illegal distinction has been formalized much more strongly into policy. The result: an administration now openly attacking legal immigration channels, including by targeting asylum and skilled-worker visas and implementing a visa freeze covering 75 countries. Like so much of the Trump agenda, these attacks are not broadly popular-in fact, polling suggests that support for legal immigration has never been higher-but they appeal to a small though intense nativist minority that no longer feels constrained and that makes up an important part of Trump's core coalition."

The Intellectual Right Is Mad at the Mess It’s Made: Conservatives are criticizing influencers for going too far. - "Bookish conservatives are fond of the tale of Buckley banishing the John Birch Society to the fringes. But that's not the whole story. Buckley walked a fine line, publicly criticizing Welch while otherwise trying not to alienate the society's rank and file, the historian Matthew Dallek argues in his 2023 book, Birchers. Buckley's gripes were more about the group's style and its leaders than its ideology. Birchers were widely derided for being racist and conspiratorial. But Buckley, the genteel conservative, was broadly in alignment with some of the group's views, calling white people "the advanced race" in a 1957 editorial in National Review, supporting Jim Crow segregation, and writing a book defending the Red-baiting propagandist Senator Joseph McCarthy."

Hitler’s Edifice Complex: He was obsessed with adding an expensive new wing to the Reich chancellery, part of his grandiose architectural ambitions for the nation’s capital.

Alleged D.C. pipe bomber might adopt debunked conspiracy theory as defense: Prosecutors said Brian Cole Jr.'s attorneys should be held in contempt for revealing the home address of a former Capitol Police officer who was ruled out as the suspect. - "During the first two hours of his FBI interview in December, the 30-year-old Cole denied placing the pipe bombs and said he was a Trump supporter. After being told that lying to federal agents could be charged as an additional crime, Cole admitted that he planted the bombs out of frustration with both parties and 'denied that his actions were directed toward Congress or related to the proceedings scheduled to take place on January 6,' prosecutors said."

MPD arrests 8 juveniles after multiple fights break out in Southwest

DC student hospitalized after group stomps him, steals Louis Vuitton shoes

Chinese firms market Iran war intelligence ‘exposing’ U.S. forces: The private companies — some with ties to the military — are marketing detailed intelligence on movements of U.S. forces, even as Beijing seeks to keep its distance.

Three men charged with murdering D.C. woman who went missing in 2023: Chyna Crawford, 25, is believed to have been kidnapped before she was killed. Authorities say the new indictments bring the total number of suspects to five.

Metrobus slams into D.C. restaurant, injuring 3 people: Photos showed the bus halfway inside the Balkan restaurant Ambar.

Never subsidize a sports stadium. And definitely not like this.: Jacksonville taxpayers are getting fleeced.

Their tiny church is on the cover of JD Vance’s new book. They don’t know him.: The members of a Methodist church in rural Virginia are excited — if a little confused — that the vice president’s memoir of his path to Catholicism has put them in the spotlight.

On the problem of landscape tarp: How carpeting your soil in plastic sheeting became an industry standard—and why it needs to stop.

Reading archive 2026-03-14

They came to build China’s EV future. Investigators found conditions akin to ‘slavery.’: The electric carmaker BYD was hailed as a job creator in a struggling Brazilian city. Then authorities started investigating an improbable tip.

Florida Is Trying to Ignore Measles Until It Can’t: The state is in the midst of an outbreak, but its health department has been mostly silent.

The Great American Condo Crisis: If the U.S. wants to remain a nation of homeowners, it has no choice but to start building condos again. - "Condos also encounter discriminatory treatment in the federal tax code. If an investor finances an apartment and retains ownership, she pays capital-gains taxes, which top out at 20 percent. But if she finances a condo and sells it off, she pays income taxes, which top out at 37 percent. "

Why Trump Didn’t Plan for the Strait of Hormuz: In wartime, the enemy always gets a vote.

D.C. officials say new Commanders stadium project remains on schedule as council raises questions about redevelopment promises: The RFK Stadium redevelopment in D.C. is on track, with stormwater work set for spring, but council members demand clarity on community benefits.

Reading archive 2026-01-30

Don Lemon arrested by federal officials in connection with church protest: The former CNN host was taken into custody in Los Angeles.

As ‘Heated Rivalry’ takes off, the NHL faces questions about inclusion: The hit show about a romance between two professional hockey players has brought new fans to a sport that has struggled to welcome the LGBTQ+ community.

Virginia Democrats seek emergency halt to ruling that blocks redistricting: A motion filed with the Virginia Court of Appeals on behalf of House Speaker Don Scott argues that a circuit court judge is interfering with the democratic process.

Tulsi Gabbard’s appearance at Fulton County FBI raid raises questions: Lawmakers called for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to explain the presence of the country’s top spy agency official at a domestic law enforcement action in Georgia.

Attending a Protest

The New Shadowbanning Panic: Is TikTok censoring users on behalf of the Trump administration?

What Tearing Down Housing Projects Did for Kids: Bringing rich and poor together has major benefits. - "There is another process that improves neighborhoods around poor children, both by bringing higher-income peers nearer to them and by reducing the violence they are exposed to. This process often occurs without explicit governmental intervention or cost. The problem is that it is regularly dismissed as gentrification, a phenomenon that is not usually cheered. The most common objection to gentrification is that it results in displacement of incumbent residents. The empirical evidence for this is weaker than conventionally assumed. One paper examining children who received Medicaid benefits in New York City from 2009 to 2015 found no elevated rates of moving for those in gentrifying neighborhoods. The HOPE VI study suggests that gentrification should improve outcomes for kids, so long as it actually improves social integration."

America Can Have the Oil: Venezuela’s riches were squandered, souring many on national stewardship.

Battles Are Raging Inside the Department of Homeland Security: Officials overseeing Trump’s mass-deportation campaign are fighting one another for power.

Why the moral corruption of MAGA is so deadly

Heartwarming: Miserable Man Frustrated In Ultimately Insignificant Way

Pluralistic: Sorry, eh (13 Jan 2026) - "I'm sorry. As a technology writer, I'm supposed to be telling you that this bet will some day pay off, because one day we will have shoveled so many words into the word-guessing program that it wakes up and learns how to actually do the jobs it is failing spectacularly at today. This is a proposition akin to the idea that if we keep breeding horses to run faster and faster, one of them will give birth to a locomotive. Humans possess intelligence, and machines do not. The difference between a human and a word-guessing program isn't how many words the human knows."

At Yosemite, Rangers Are Scarce and Visitors Have Gone Wild: After the Trump administration’s cuts, workers at the national park are spread too thin to stop people from littering, flying drones and cliff-diving.

A cloud of fear hangs over Minnesota immigrant communities: Even citizens are afraid to go outside

Gingrich: Time for ‘national conversation’ about immigrants living in country illegally who ‘obey the law’

Reading archive 2026-01-16

Democrats see narrow path to retaking the Senate. Watch these states.: Republicans are still clear favorites to retain control of the chamber in the midterms. But Democrats say they are more hopeful about the odds of a big upset.

Trump Cabinet secretaries conspired to violate Constitution, judge says: “The Cabinet secretaries and ostensibly, the president of the United States, are not honoring the First Amendment,” U.S. District Judge William Young declared. - "The 2025 trial revealed the machinery behind the Trump administration’s campus crackdown. Senior administration officials directed personnel at DHS who normally analyze transnational criminal networks to instead produce reports on students involved in pro-Palestinian protests, one official testified."

The Commanders’ new stadium could evoke memories of RFK: The first conceptual renderings of the new stadium, unveiled Thursday morning, showed a sweeping roof, a grand colonnade and plenty of callbacks to RFK Stadium.

John Calipari: How to stop the chaos of college sports: A sustainable model for the NCAA should address the transactional era of athletics.

Congressional Republicans might finally jump off the hamster wheel: Maybe Trump has at last gone too far for GOP legislators tired of going nowhere. - "Hassett predicted that Trump’s 2017 corporate tax cuts would produce a $4,000-$9,000 increase in average household incomes. That has not happened. Early in the pandemic, he predicted it would soon wane. It did not. Writer Steve Chapman, who calls Hassett 'a master of opportunistic amnesia,' notes that no states had gas prices averaging as low as $2 when Hassett said prices are 'below $2 a gallon in a lot of places.'"

CEO of D.C.’s newest hospital resigns less than a year after it opened: Anthony B. Coleman’s departure will mark the latest turnover of management at Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center in Southeast Washington.

In D.C. mayoral bid, Lewis George pledges universal child care, social housing: D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George unveiled her mayoral campaign platform at a launch party, including policies on housing, jobs, education and public safety.

I just set my farm on fire. It was thrilling.: This has been my winter of living dangerously, and my experiences have boosted my sense of well-being.

An injured NFL team, a power substation and a theory that won’t fade: A viral online theory for the San Francisco 49ers’ injuries is disputed by scientists but has some players’ attention. - "But tracing it to the opening of Levi’s is dubious because the 49ers started practicing next to the substation in 1988, three decades before Levi’s Stadium opened. From 2001 to 2014, the 49ers ranked below average in injuries, according to Aaron Schatz, a veteran NFL analyst who tracks injury reports."

Trump’s anti-climate agenda won’t just hurt the planet, but American incomes too: In this week’s newsletter: US earnings would be 12% higher without the climate crisis, a study reveals – and the hotter the world gets, the greater the economic losses

Democratic Bosses Are Launching a Remake of the 2028 Calendar: States are jockeying for an early spot and a greater say in the nominee.

Elizabeth Warren’s Abundant Mistakes: Her critique of moderate Democrats is a mischaracterization of her opponents within the party. - "At one point in her speech, for instance, Warren claimed that Donald Trump 'is trying to push out the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board and complete his corrupt takeover of America's central bank-so that it serves his interests, along with his billionaire friends'.' Is it true that Trump's billionaire friends would benefit from undermining central-bank independence? The billionaires don't seem especially excited about this aspect of Trump's power grab." [ed. note: in fact, rich people hate inflation, because it makes their money worth less]

America Has Entered Late-Stage Protein: This has gone too far.

MAGA’s Jewish Intellectuals Helped Create Their Own Predicament: The nascent effort to contain the spread of anti-Semitism is years overdue.

Rubio Won; Liberty Lost: Is it really a win when the regime you detest stays in place?

UPenn faculty condemn Trump administration’s demand for ‘lists of Jews’: Groups say EEOC demand for names and personal details echoes dark history and threatens safety and civil rights

Suspect arrested in predawn fire that left parts of Mississippi’s largest synagogue in charred ruins: Jackson Fire Department rules arson at Beth Israel Congregation, the city’s only Jewish house of worship.

Suspect in Mississippi synagogue fire laughed as he confessed to his dad, authorities say - "Pittman appeared in federal court on Monday afternoon via video conference, accompanied by a public defender. He affirmed to the judge, Andrew Harris, that he was competent and sober. Pittman appeared to be leaning back in his chair, gazing away from the camera. When the judge asked him if he understood his rights to an attorney, Pittman responded, 'Yes sir, Jesus Christ is Lord.'"

Trump's Tangled Web of Deal-Making, Policy and Riches

Reading archive 2025-12-08

Pssst. Even a healthy Jayden Daniels hasn’t been very good.: The second-year quarterback’s regression from a starry rookie season goes beyond the fact that he has struggled to stay on the field for the Commanders.

The ACC broke the College Football Playoff, and Notre Dame paid the price: The trickle-down effects of a bloated conference crowning an illogical champion led to the Fighting Irish missing the 12-team playoff field.

Ask a Vet: Is it cruel to neuter my dog?: The debate over a common procedure — and why some countries view it as a form of mutilation.

Donald Trump’s Kennedy Center is showier, emptier and more political: In 10 months, the president has transformed Washington’s cultural hub. Now comes his biggest night yet: the Kennedy Center Honors.

A show of Australian Indigenous art should have inspired awe. It’s a mess.: “The Stars We Do Not See” at the National Gallery of Art tells — and muddies — one of the most fascinating stories in 20th-century art.

Glyphosate safety article retracted eight years after Monsanto ghostwriting revealed in court - "This is how man created Astrology, which is effectively a random collection of lights in a 2-D view of a 3-D universe from Earth, correlated with some human affair."

I was a red state governor. What I saw at Harvard surprised me. The spirit of association remains alive in unexpected places. - "What I’ve experienced may be a natural return to Harvard’s more moderate bearings, following noisy displays of intolerance by campus agitators in recent years. Or it may be due to the Trump administration’s forceful executive orders and fiscal pressure. Either way (and it’s probably both), let’s take the win and learn the broader lesson." [ed. note: he wasn't there, so how would he know it has changed at all?]

How Florida lost track of 30,000 students, a ‘cautionary tale’ for vouchers: The state’s auditor general found “a myriad of accountability problems” in the nation’s largest voucher program.

Trump announces $11 billion tariff relief for farmers: Farmers — particularly those who produce soybeans — have felt the effect of the president’s trade policies.

GOP bill to overhaul D.C. bail system could balloon jail population: Republicans in Congress want to end cashless bail in D.C. and hold more suspects in jail before trial. Watchdogs say it could push the jail system to the brink. - "Data shows that such instances are rare. In D.C., in the first three quarters of fiscal year 2025, 90 percent of people did not reoffend while released, according to the federal Pretrial Services Agency; about 1.2 percent committed a violent offense while released."

Suspect in Jan. 6 pipe bomb case appears in court as probe continues: News of Brian Cole Jr.’s arrest came as a shock to a person who has been in regular contact with him for more than a decade.

D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith is stepping down: D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser praised Smith for her service but did not offer a reason for her departure. Smith said she resigned to spend more time with family.

The quest to slow aging leads scientists into the powerhouse of cells: Texas A&M researchers create mini mitochondria factories using tiny nanoflowers.

Democrats, who once lambasted Trump on immigration, have grown quiet: The lack of a unified voice comes as the crackdown on minority communities, including legal residents, has grown more aggressive.

Why Miami’s Trump backers are clashing with the ‘America First’ wing over Venezuela: As Trump threatens strongman Nicolás Maduro, Venezuelan and Cuban American supporters are urging the president to do whatever it takes to oust him. - "The Trump administration has said it is targeting Venezuela as part of a crackdown on drug trafficking, though the country is not one of the main suppliers of illicit drugs to the United States. Most fentanyl in the United States comes from Mexico, and most cocaine from Colombia. Very little of Venezuela’s drug production flows into U.S. borders, current and former U.S. officials say."

The tech fix that can clear the Western range of its barbed wire: GPS-based virtual fences clear migration corridors for wildlife while cutting costs for ranchers. - "This technology holds promise in part because ranchers themselves are not fence-lovers. Range fencing requires frequent repair, robbing ranchers of time they would prefer to invest in managing their herds. At upwards of $15,000 a mile, range fencing is also expensive, both to ranchers and to taxpayers. In 2018, the U.S. Agriculture Department subsidized more than $300 million of fencing on private ranch land.

"With virtual fencing, a cow is adorned with a solar-powered collar that communicates with a mapping app via satellite, cell or local reception tower to warn it — by an increasingly loud tone, followed by a mild electric shock — as it approaches a virtual fence line. Cows are not terribly smart, but they can be trained with the technology within a practice pasture in a few days. The current collars are a bit clunky. Cornell University scientists are developing an ear tag that does the same thing as the bulky collar."

The College Football Playoff Chose Outrage Notre Dame is out. Alabama and Miami are in. And the College Football Playoff committee just did what it does best. - "The conference title games exist to make money. To continue making money, they need teams to want to play in them. Telling the SEC runner-up that it would have made the playoff had it just stayed at home on Saturday, but now it’s been eliminated because it showed up and got its ass kicked, would undermine the entire point of college football: making people rich."

Reading archive 2025-11-13

How Wellness and Beauty Influencers Can Be Part of an Alt-Right Pipeline for Teen Girls: The "womanosphere" is coming for teen girls.

Democrats lose shutdown battle — as Trump, Republicans risk losing war: Democrats are embroiled in a new round of infighting, while Republicans are bracing for longer-term consequences if they continue to oppose an extension of Obamacare subsidies. - "Christina Gray, 58, an independent voter from Texas who gets her health insurance through the ACA, said the shutdown fight, for her, boils down to Republican opposition to the health care law. 'The Democrats, I do have to give them this, they’re trying to help somebody,' said Gray, who has not voted in recent years. 'And the Republicans, they’re just being ridiculous.'"

Schumer opposed the shutdown deal. Some Democrats still want him out.: Some Democrats argue Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (New York) is not doing enough to stand up to President Donald Trump.

John Fetterman makes a case for himself. It’s not very convincing.: In his memoir “Unfettered,” the senator addresses his depression and other struggles. It doesn’t mitigate concerns about whether he is up for the job.

Girl, 12, is suspect in two of three unusual recent D.C. robberies: Secret Service, National Guard stop suspect in armed robbery downtown, police say.

Beat Russia the smart way. No escalation required.: Give Ukraine military aid and economic support. Give Russia an off-ramp.

Man charged with murder in hit-and-run during 2024 D.C. police chase: A man fleeing police last year fatally struck a delivery driver in a case where an investigation found the D.C. officer violated the department’s pursuit policy. - "His death illustrates a central dilemma in traffic enforcement — a lack of it allows reckless driving to go unchecked, while the enforcement itself can provoke dangerous behavior. In 2022, after two young men died in police chases, D.C. made it illegal for officers to pursue a car unless the fleeing suspect posed an immediate threat and death or serious bodily injury was not a likely result."

D.C. sees homicides go up after three incidents in one day: The two shootings and a stabbing on Saturday occurred after a drop in crime in the wake of the federal law enforcement surge in August.

3 types of hair loss and the treatments that actually help: We asked dermatologists what people with thinning hair should do to slow it down or reverse it.

This North Carolina Democrat can’t win her district. So she’s running as a Republican.: In her crusade against gerrymandering, Kate Barr is challenging her Republican congressman in the GOP primary to make a point.

Far-right provocateur Nick Fuentes is triggering a MAGA civil war: The far-right influencer’s return to X has fueled a resurgence that is driving a wedge through the right.

Josh Harris might have to choose between Trump and an angry fan base: The Washington Commanders might now have the toughest assignment in football.

D.C. is slowing e-bikes down, citing teen crime and speeding issues: Police say Lime bikes are being used as getaway vehicles.

Epstein is the one issue that persistently splits Trump from his base: Trump had once promised to release the Justice Department’s “Epstein files,” but his administration has resisted doing so.

This Democrat from a red state could help his party reclaim the House: The former representative plans to run in a new district in Utah created as a result of a court order amid the national fight to redraw congressional maps.

Inside the CIA’s secret mission to sabotage Afghanistan’s opium: In a decade-long covert operation, the U.S. spy agency dropped modified poppy seeds in an attempt to degrade the potency of Afghanistan’s billion-dollar opium crop. - "The American plants not only contained virtually no morphine, but they were bred to sprout early and produce especially vivacious red flowers, making them attractive to Afghan farmers who, the CIA hoped, would harvest and replant their seeds."

Behind the scenes of the D.C. mayor’s battle to keep Trump at bay: Muriel E. Bowser has appeased the president in ways big and small, preventing a complete federal takeover but dividing her deeply Democratic city.

Reading archive 2025-09-30

The Gaza Left and the Gender Left: Can groups with different values work together against Britain’s far right?

Ukraine’s Plan to Starve the Russian War Machine: Negotiations have stalled. Trump keeps changing his policies. Ukrainians, backed by Europeans, are taking matters into their own hands. ​​​

He was 12 when he committed murder. At 17, his sentence is served.: A judge ended the teen’s indefinite probation in the killing of 13-year-old King Edward Douglas in 2021.

Battleground lawmaker’s bid for Arizona governor could affect control of Congress next year: The decision by David Schweikert creates a vacancy in one of the most competitive House districts in the country.

Comey and the lessons of pre-capitulation: He tried to palliate bad faith Republicans. Now we're all paying the price. - "We need to stand with Comey now against Trump’s ugly authoritarian abuses. But we also need to recognize that Comey’s strategy of pre-capitulation got him, and all of us, into this mess in the first place. Other institutionalists, pragmatists, and would-be non-partisans are going to face the kinds of choices and incentives that Comey did. Hopefully they will look at the sad, gutted remnants of his beloved Justice Department and choose a different path."

‘Good luck to all!’ What are U.S. allies supposed to do with that?: On NATO and Russia, Trump’s actions don’t match his words. - "Trump is pledging to stand by NATO, but his Defense Department is cutting all security assistance funding for European countries — including the embattled Baltic republics. Trump is criticizing Putin, but he still hasn’t imposed any new sanctions on Russia after letting one deadline after another slip by. He even excluded Russia from the 'reciprocal' tariffs that he imposed on almost every other country in the world."

The real problem with Tylenol (it’s not autism): Here’s why people need to be cautious about acetaminophen. - "Acetaminophen, commonly referred to by the brand name Tylenol, carries very real risks when taken in higher-than-recommended doses. It is the leading cause of acute liver failure in the United States and is responsible for 1 in 5 liver transplants. Public health efforts should be targeting these dangers rather than stoking unfounded fears of neurological harm."

Trump tells a roomful of silent generals to join a ‘war from within’: The president delivered an unusually meandering speech to an unprecedented gathering of the nation’s top military leaders

Trump, Hegseth lecture military leaders in rare, politically charged summit: The unusual, hastily organized event became a forum for the president and his defense secretary to tout their partisan agenda.

Why Bad Bunny’s selection as the Super Bowl halftime headliner is sparking MAGA fury: The Puerto Rican recording artist opposed Trump in 2024 and is not offering tour dates in the U.S. mainland to avoid exposing his fans to ICE raids.

Reading archive 2025-09-17

A seamlessly unserious president: Damage from Trump’s protectionism mounts domestically as danger abroad rises. - "Before Alaska, Trump threatened Russia with 'very severe consequences' unless it took certain steps toward a Ukraine settlement. When Russia took none of them, and suffered no consequences, Trump emitted another gust of bluster: He would put a recalcitrant Russia in a 'rough situation.' It is probable that Putin yawned when, last Friday, Trump said his patience was 'running out fast” and 'we’re going to have to come down very, very strong.'"

The GOP cut parts of Obamacare. Now it’s at the center of a funding fight.: Democrats are asking for restored health care subsidies and funding in exchange for their support, but Republicans are daring them to risk a shutdown over the issue.

D.C. police shoot, kill man they say ran at them while holding knives: The man’s parents called officers to their Northwest Washington home. Police said the man was acting “erratic.”

D.C.’s $3.7 billion Commanders stadium deal to face final vote today: The D.C. Council is debating potential adjustments to the massive plan to redevelop the old RFK Stadium site, some of which the Commanders expressed “deep concern” about.

Warming your feet can be as effective as sleep aids for faster sleep: Your new mantra: Heat your feet to get better sleep.

‘More Hawkish Than When I Arrived’: A View From Inside China - "Second, 'our allies are our superpower,' Burns said. This is America's decisive asymmetric advantage. China has 14 neighbors and no treaty allies, save one with North Korea. The U.S. has a formidable network of powerful democracies in the Indo-Pacific and Europe who share its concerns. 

"As Burns noted, when the U.S. adds the power of its alliance system to its own, America is 'significantly more powerful' than China. Antagonizing friends in Japan, South Korea, or Europe with punitive tariffs isn't tough—it's a 'strategic mistake,' as Burns put it, that weakens the U.S.’s hand against its primary competitor."

Four Bipartisan Efforts That Could Become Law: Checking in on across-the-aisle legislating.

The real enemy of democracy sneaked up on me: I used to be a cautious optimist, but social media has changed our politics for the worse.

Anti-Trump influencers flood the White House’s new TikTok account: The rocky rollout of the president’s official presence on the social platform showcases the challenges he faces among younger people online, even as he says he’s nearing a deal to get it sold to U.S. owners.

Bill Cassidy cast the key vote for RFK Jr. What is he thinking now?: The GOP senator has invited Susan Monarez, the former CDC director, to testify on Wednesday about her concerns that Kennedy is threatening vaccine access in America.

Britain and France’s debt crises are bad. America’s will be worse.: Washington’s fiscal failings mirror Europe’s economic mess. - "America’s economy, workforce and tax code are not equipped to finance the expanding Social Security and Medicare shortfalls. France and Britain are at least debating solutions. The U.S. continues to slash taxes, add benefits and ignore unfathomable budget deficits. Yet the laws of math and economics always win eventually, and Americans are dangerously ill-prepared for what is coming."

Reading archive 2025-08-06

Why one epidemiologist won’t let his kids play on artificial turf fields: A turf war is raging over artificial grass. Here’s how nervous parents can navigate it.

Data from Calif. and D.C. shows how minimum-wage hikes can hurt: Recent experience underscores the perils of raising minimum wage above what the market can bear.

Reject the Commanders stadium deal: Even after tweaks, the deal still amounts to corporate welfare that the NFL team and its billionaire owner do not need. - "Even if the Commanders were to pull out of the deal, residents might be better-off. A separate report from the council’s budget office — written before the deal was revised — compared tax revenue from mixed-use development of the RFK site with and without the stadium. It projected that, over the course of 30 years, the site would generate about $1 billion more in revenue and $1.4 billion more in economic activity without the stadium."

Bowser needs a reality check on the D.C. stadium: City politicians and the team are promising growth on a scale that football stadiums don’t generate.

Texas election map fight swells into national political warfare: The battle over Republicans’ push to create more safe red U.S. House seats seats has widened, with red and blue states moving to counteract each other and ambitious politicians vowing aggressive partisan combat.

Reading archive 2025-07-24

D.C. Council chair sets vote on RFK site after reaching deal with Commanders: RFK Stadium redevelopment deal nears vote after D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson reaches updated agreement with Washington Commanders.

D.C. police chief halted firings of officers in fatal chase, report says: Terence Sutton and Andrew Zabavksy, convicted in the death of Karon Hylton-Brown but pardoned by the president, collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in back pay.

Amy Sherald cancels major Smithsonian show over ‘censorship’: Painter Amy Sherald withdrew her exhibition “American Sublime” at the National Portrait Gallery. The Smithsonian denied trying to replace the painting in question. - "According to the Times, Sherald said she had been told that the museum — whose director, Kim Sajet, resigned after President Trump called for her ouster for being 'a highly partisan person' — might remove a painting that depicts a transgender Statue of Liberty from the exhibition 'American Sublime,' which was slated to open in September after touring at museums in San Francisco and New York. Sherald reportedly said Smithsonian head Lonnie G. Bunch III proposed replacing the painting with a video. 

"But the Smithsonian spokesperson said that Bunch wanted the video to accompany the painting — not replace it. The spokesperson added that the museum offered to spend more time contextualizing her piece, but Sherald chose to remove herself from the show."

Is a Mamdani repeat coming to the Midwest? A democratic socialist is getting a boost in Minnesota.: The Minneapolis Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party has endorsed state Sen. Omar Fateh over the city’s incumbent mayor.

USDA will relocate most of its DC-based workforce: The agency will relocate about 2,600 employees to five other locations and shutter several key facilities in the capital region, including its main research center - "In the months following the 2019 relocation announcement, department data showed that two-thirds of USDA employees decided to leave their jobs rather than move, The Post reported at the time. A 2022 Government Accountability Office report found that USDA’s decision at the time 'omitted critical costs and economic effects from its analysis of taxpayer savings, such as costs related to potential attrition or disruption of activities for a period of time, which may have contributed to an unreliable estimate of savings from relocation.'"

Reading archive 2025-07-23

In hearing, developer told to rework plans to downsize D.C. grocery store: By early next week, Jair Lynch needs to rethink its request to downsize a grocery store it plans to build in a new Northwest Washington neighborhood.

Pressure heats up on D.C. Council to hold vote on RFK Stadium deal: D.C. lawmakers have said for weeks that they are doing their due diligence on the $3.7 billion dollar deal, and expect to approve it - just not as fast as everyone wants.

The ‘World’s Smartest Man’ Absolutely Hates Me: With an apparent score of 276, YoungHoon Kim claims to have the highest IQ on the planet. Just don’t ask him to prove it.

House Republicans eye restrictions on D.C. traffic safety, abortion and more: The proposed federal spending bill comes as President Donald Trump again publicly muses about taking over the city.

Try these hidden ‘NOPE’ buttons to stop AI content: How to turn off AI in Google and DuckDuckGo web search results -- plus a no-AI nuclear option.

"If he failed, their process failed": Inside the NFLPA meltdown

How strategists think about keeping the peace in the Taiwan Strait: In 1914, the world stumbled into a war that hurt all combatants. Is it on the same path now?

I’m a microplastics researcher. Here’s how I limit the plastic in my life.: Microplastics are everywhere. But there are simple ways to lower your exposure.

Ukraine’s top commander asks Trump to help take the war to Russia: With Trump now open to supplying U.S.-made weapons to Ukraine, Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky calls for longer-range missiles and the permission to use them against Russia.

China’s strategy? Let Trump cook.: As President Donald Trump dismantles U.S. soft power and launches trade wars with allies, China is content to sit back and watch. - "'The United States, in their view, is dismantling its alliance relationships and alienating much of the world,' Gewirtz told the Wire China. 'It is dismantling aspects of the U.S. science and technology ecosystem, cutting funding to some of our great universities, and making it very unappealing, if not outright impossible, for foreign talent to come do research in those universities. And it is eliminating arms of U.S. influence around the world, from USAID to Voice of America. China’s view is that the United States is, in a sense, unilaterally disarming.'

...

"[Economic historian]Tooze argued that the Americans have 'dropped the ball' here and the consequences will be vast. 'This is the material dethroning of the West as the central driver of world history,' he said. 'This is really what the provincialization of the West really looks like.'"

The Wrecking of the FBI The former FBI official Peter Strzok on how President Donald Trump is destroying U.S. counterintelligence from the inside. - "But they thought they had a deal. Bracket Trump, leave Trump out of the story, and Trump in turn would license them to go on a hunting expedition against all the people they really hated. A long list of liberal icons, people like—people whom they dislike for other reasons who were in the Epstein network. If Trump would just—they would stand back from Trump and he would then deliver to them justice against their ideological and other kinds of opponents. They’re mad, these people, because Trump reneged on that deal. In order to protect himself, he ended up protecting a lot of other people, too, or so people in MAGA world who are excited about this issue believe that this has been taken away from them. And for some of the people who are the loudest influencers, losing the Epstein file, having Donald Trump say, There are no records, there’s nothing to see here, everybody stand down, that’s not just a threat to their belief system. For many of them, it’s a threat to their livelihoods. For a lot of influencers, Epstein was central to their engagement strategies, very lucrative engagement strategies, and they now have the choice: If they accept the Donald Trump edict—if they say, Okay, we’ll stand down, as President Trump says—then what do they do for engagement?

...

"This is a chronic—I think, going back to the 9/11 analogy, one of the things that happened after 9/11 was the decision was made to harden cockpit doors. What if somebody, a year and a half or two years before 9/11 said, You know, why don’t we harden the cockpit doors? Why don’t we do that? See how that maybe that would be an improvement. And they did it. We would probably now be studying that hardening of cockpit doors as an example of government waste. Right? 

"Strzok: Yes. 

"Frum: We hardened all the cockpit doors. It cost all this money. No one ever tried it. Nothing ever happened. Why did we ever do that in the first place? What a waste of time and money. Government overregulation hardening cockpit doors. This is the great injustice of government. No one ever knows what’s behind door number two, the thing that didn’t happen, the thing that you prevented."

How to Be More Charismatic, but Not Too Much More: It turns out that being charming has a happy mean.

What to Do With the Most Dangerous Book in America: At a perilous American moment, the Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro explains why he wanted to read The Turner Diaries.

This Is the Presidency John Roberts Has Built: The country is witnessing the creation of an all-powerful institution, and one man is responsible. - "Roberts has all but made at-will removal the president's constitutionally guaranteed prerogative, and his rhetoric goes further yet. His opinions taken together create a dangerously authoritarian and largely ahistorical narrative about the constitutional presidency."

What Trump’s Feud With Jerome Powell Is Really About: The president doesn’t think the Federal Reserve chair is bad at his job. He objects to the job itself. - "The Federal Reserve's assignment is to steward the long-term interests of the U.S. economy even at the occasional expense of short-term pain by balancing the twin objectives of suppressing inflation and managing the unemployment rate. Trump, however, believes that the Fed's objective should be to speed up the economy under Republican administrations and slow it down under Democratic ones. To the extent that the central bank balances unemployment and inflation, he would like to see the pain of high unemployment shifted onto Democratic administrations so that Republican ones can benefit from rapid economic growth."

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 2025-06-26

House GOP holdouts threaten revolt over Trump and Senate’s tax bill: The Senate has overhauled President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, sparking serious concerns over federal spending and Medicaid in the House. - "But those holdouts have been through this saga before — and folded."

Zohran Mamdani’s victory is bad for New York and the Democratic Party: New York cannot take its greatness for granted. Mismanagement can ruin it. - "A massive minimum wage would depress low-skilled employment. His rent freeze would reduce the housing supply and decrease its quality. Cutting bus fares would leave a transit funding hole that, unless somehow filled, would erode service. Meanwhile, the grocery business operates on thin margins, and his plan for city-run stores would likely lead to fewer options, poor service and shortages, as privately-run stores closed rather than try to compete with city-subsidized shops."

Where each D.C. Council member stands on the Commanders RFK stadium deal: At least seven lawmakers are needed for Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s RFK stadium deal with the team to proceed.

This Pride Month, the Backlash Has Officially Arrived: Young LGBTQ people are facing the prospect of losing rights they thought they’d never have to worry about.

America’s Incarceration Rate Is About to Fall Off a Cliff: Long sentences and recidivism kept prison populations high for decades, but prisons are now starting to empty. - "As the snake digests the pig year after year, the American prison system is simply not going to have enough inmates to justify its continued size or staggering costs. Some states that are contemplating expanding their prison capacity will be wasting their money their facilities will be overbuilt and underused. By 2035, the overall imprisonment rate could be as low as 200 per 100,000 people. States should instead be tearing down their most deteriorated and inhumane correctional facilities, confident that they will not need the space.

...

"The simplest available policy to accelerate the decarceration trend is to stop building prisons except in cases where a smaller, modern facility is replacing a larger, decaying institution. Though it will be nonintuitive to many reformers, particularly on the left, opposition to any such new facilities being private should be dropped. The principal political barrier to closing half-full prisons is the power of public-sector unions."

‘Everybody Knows Khamenei’s Days Are Numbered’: A well-placed group of Iranian insiders considers a future without the supreme leader.

The Trojan Horse Will Come for Us Too: The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East offer Americans a glimpse into the battles of the future—and a warning.

Why Won’t Zohran Mamdani Denounce a Dangerous Slogan?: The New York mayoral candidate’s defense of “Globalize the intifada” is very telling. - "The ambiguity of the slogan is not a point in its defense but a point against it. The dual meanings allow the movement to contain both peaceful and militant wings, without the former having to take responsibility for the latter."

What Chris Murphy Learned From the New Right: The standard-issue Northeast progressive wants to take the Democratic Party down a populist path.

Latinos Vote Differently Under Threat Voters who care most about economic issues will still coalesce as an ethnic bloc if their community is attacked.

Extreme Violence Without Genocide The plight of white South Africans is part of a much larger problem. - "Afrikaner farmers suffer, in this context, from what might be called the Willie Sutton problem. Why rob and assault them? Because that's where the money is. In rural areas, farmers have expensive motors and other agricultural equipment, and sometimes stashes of cash to pay workers."

Brace Yourself for Watery Mayo and Spiky Ice Cream: MAHA is coming for emulsifiers.

Why Isn’t Russia Defending Iran?: Backing the most anti-Western Middle Eastern power was convenient until it wasn’t.

The Magic Realism of Zohran Mamdani: The socialist New York mayoral candidate’s proposals don’t hold up to serious scrutiny. Will that matter?

The Tesla Brain Drain: The future of the struggling car company rests on Elon Musk more than ever before.

A Provocative Argument About What Creates Serial Killers: In her new book, Murderland, Caroline Fraser argues that the rise of these criminals has deep roots in the release of industrial waste. - "The author lays much of the blame at the feet of two Gilded Age families: the Rockefellers and the Guggenheims. The Rockefellers made their money in oil, and the Guggenheims in mining; they would later both own (and fight for control of) the profitable American Smelting and Refining Company, later known as ASARCO. ASARCO ended up all over the country, but Tacoma proved particularly attractive for its potential access to minerals. For nearly a century, a smokestack hundreds of feet high shot lead and arsenic into the sky."

Inside the Democratic Rupture That Undermined Kamala Harris’s Presidential Hopes: In the weeks before Election Day, it seemed like the candidate had two campaigns.

Reading archive 2025-06-16

D.C. Council members say stadium approval is likely, but they need more time: The mayor wants the council to approve the Commanders deal next month, but members say they need time on a deal that involves more than $1 billion in taxpayer funds.

U.S. could lose more immigrants than it gains for first time in 50 years: Net migration could turn negative, some economists warn, weighing on economic growth and fueling inflation.

Trump’s top general contradicts his assessment of Putin, L.A. unrest: Gen. Dan Caine’s comments in Senate testimony were restrained but significant, perhaps easing lawmakers’ fears he will bow to political pressure.

On the box: D.C. court officials repeatedly lost track of teens wearing ankle monitors. The timing was deadly.

Deport Dishwashers or Solve All Murders?

How to turn your water heater into a battery and ditch the gas company: New technology can heat your water and air and store heat energy for when it is needed.

Reading archive 2025-05-28

D.C. police chief reassigns youth division leaders, stoking discontent: Some fear that the abrupt transfers, related to a dispute about overtime costs, could undermine the goal of helping troubled children and curbing juvenile crime.

Police body cam shows man fire at officers before one fatally shoots him: Footage released by Fairfax County police shows the moments leading up to a fatal police shooting during a traffic stop in April that left a man dead.

Within Pete Hegseth’s divided inner circle, a ‘cold war’ endures: At the Pentagon, personality conflicts persist and inexperience reigns, fueling internal speculation about the defense secretary’s long-term viability in Trump’s Cabinet.

D.C. queer bar vandalized in suspected hate crime during WorldPride: Sinners and Saints, D.C.'s only bar dedicated to queer and trans people of color, was broken into during Black Pride weekend.

At Veterans Affairs, plan for sweeping cuts tanks morale: The government’s second-largest agency, serving some of America’s most vulnerable citizens, is set to lose 83,000 employees under Trump administration cutbacks.

A big Trump administration cutback went nearly unnoticed: About 32,000 low-paid AmeriCorps service workers lost their jobs over a few days in April.

A ‘Blue Wave’ is building. It won’t look the same as the last one.: Donald Trump is president again, but the parties have changed since the 2018 midterm election. - "In 2024, Republicans saw the electoral college bias they had benefited from in Trump’s previous races practically disappear. If Republicans continue to gain ground with minority voters living in urban cores of solidly blue states, while losing White voters in the battleground states, they could find themselves at a systemic disadvantage in the next presidential election due to the current quirks of American politics."

I’m an oncologist. Here are 11 science-based ways to reduce your cancer risk.: About 40 percent of cancer cases are considered preventable. Try these lifestyle changes to stay healthy.

The Colorado River is running low. The picture looks even worse underground, study says.: The Colorado River Basin has lost twice as much groundwater since 2003 as water taken out of its reservoirs, according to a study based on satellite data.

Bowser bets on business-friendly D.C. budget while cutting some programs: Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) is betting on her ‘growth agenda’ to keep business in D.C., while council members are concerned about cuts to services for the needy.

Bowser to replace D.C. Streetcar with ‘next generation streetcar.’ It’s a bus.: The system, proposed in the early 2000s, never got beyond one line that opened in 2016.

GOP rejects ‘millionaire tax’ pitch, advancing breaks for rich Americans: Legislation moving through Congress includes breaks for the upper and middle classes as the House rebuffs President Donald Trump’s suggestions.

Exempting tips from taxes could hurt employees, critics say: Some worker advocates and labor law experts call it a gimmick that could incentivize employers to keep base pay low and reclassify some salaries as tips.

Terry Bradshaw calls possible Steelers signing of Aaron Rodgers ‘a joke’: The Hall of Famer says the enigmatic former Packers and Jets quarterback should go “chew on bark” and “stay in California,” not Pittsburgh.

Here’s how much international students contribute to the U.S. economy: International students contributed $44 billion to the U.S. economy in the 2023-2024 school year. Their loss could hurt more than just universities’ bottom line.

These Are the College Majors With the Lowest Unemployment Rates — and Philosophy Ranks Higher Than Computer Science: An analysis of employment data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that some humanities majors rank higher than STEM majors in employment prospects.

Behind the Curtain: A white-collar bloodbath

Paris Votes to Make 500 More Streets Car-Free: With the passage of a referendum Sunday, Mayor Anne Hidalgo will amplify her ambitious moves to challenge car dominance and expand pedestrian access.

The 21st Century Red State Murder Crisis - "The excuse that sky high red state murder rates are because of their blue cities is without merit. Even after removing the county with the largest city from red states, and not from blue states, red state murder rates were still 20% higher in 2021 and 16% higher in 2022.

...

"Many of the states accused of “defunding the police,” like California, New York, and Illinois, actually spent the most on policing. California spent the most on policing at $634.53 per resident. New York spent the third most at $539.92. And Illinois came in sixth place at $471.26. Eight out of 10 states spending the most on policing are blue states, joined by red states Alaska and Florida. And those blue states aren’t just blue, they’re the bluest of states—California, New York, Maryland, Illinois, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Minnesota."

Rubio’s claim that it’s ‘a lie’ that people have died from foreign-aid cuts: The secretary of state rejected convincing evidence documented in news reports and by disease modelers. - "Nichols said the death toll would not be so high if the administration had pursued a deliberate policy to phase out funding over a 12-month period, as that would have permitted contingency planning. 'It’s true that other countries are cutting back on humanitarian spending. But what makes the U.S. approach so harmful is how the cuts were made: abruptly, without warning, and without a plan for continuity,' she said. 'It leads to interruptions in care, broken supply chains, and ultimately, preventable deaths. Also, exactly because the U.S. is the largest provider of humanitarian aid, it makes the approach catastrophic.'"

Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2025 - "But prisons do rely on the labor of incarcerated people for food service, laundry, and other operations, and they pay incarcerated workers appallingly low wages: our 2017 study found that on average, incarcerated people earn between 86 cents and $3.45 per day for the most common prison jobs.  In at least five states, those jobs pay nothing at all. Moreover, work in prison is compulsory, with little regulation or oversight, and incarcerated workers have few rights and protections. If they refuse to work, incarcerated people face disciplinary action. For those who do work, the paltry wages they receive often go right back to the prison, which charges them for basic necessities like medical visits and hygiene items. Forcing people to work for low or no pay and no benefits, while charging them for necessities, allows prisons to shift the costs of incarceration to incarcerated people — hiding the true cost of running prisons from most Americans."

Reading archive 2025-05-15

D.C. may have dodged deepest Medicaid cut. Officials are still worried.: D.C. officials are cautiously optimistic after a lobbying and public pressure campaign, but they say other Medicaid changes still pose a threat. - "The bill would require states to recertify beneficiaries’ eligibility every six months, causing some D.C. residents to lose their coverage or have gaps in coverage, and would impose work requirements with few details on how tracking and enforcement would work, she said."

After ICE visits, D.C. restaurants fear labor shortage: Last week’s sweep leads to immigrant workers quitting, no-showing or taking time off, restaurant owners say. - "If the White House is genuinely interested in bolstering American businesses, [Geoff] Tracy said, the administration 'could simply implement an E-Verify requirement for all U.S. employers — which would save them from having to do time-intensive I-9 audits.'" [ed. note: Chief Geoff!]

Are seed oils bad for you? Here’s what the evidence actually tells us.: RFK Jr. and his “Make America Healthy Again” supporters argue that they’re toxic, but most studies indicate otherwise. - "But if we take a bird’s-eye view of the body of evidence, it leads to a clear conclusion: Seed oils are more likely to be beneficial than harmful, but the effects are small enough that it probably doesn’t matter very much if you use them or you don’t.

...

"I’m on record blaming obesity and disease on processed foods, but trying to find specific ingredients that are harmful is a fool’s errand. It’s the food in total — nutrition-challenged, calorie-dense, ubiquitous, designed to be overeaten — that’s the problem. So, if you’re sautéing your vegetables in canola oil every day, you’re fine. If you’re eating Nacho Cheese Doritos (second ingredient: seed oil) every day, you might not be fine, but the oil isn’t to blame."

Walmart warns it will raise prices within weeks because of tariffs: The retail giant’s operating income increased in its first quarter since the Trump administration started a trade war.

U.S. preparing to relax big-bank capital rules: Current requirements punish holdings of safe assets such as Treasurys, banks say. Regulators will soon propose easing requirements.

Don’t be fooled. This is the calm before the AI storm.: The lull in the artificial intelligence revolution, thanks to cultural lag, is just temporary.

GOP tax bill on track to add more than $2.5 trillion to U.S. deficit: The figure is expected to intensify a national debate over spending and tax levels as President Donald Trump tries to push the legislation through Congress.

A Commanders stadium at RFK will actually cost taxpayers $6 billion

Commanders stadium plan is somehow even worse for DC taxpayers than we thought - "Whatever the final tally, the main takeaway is: Josh Harris gets to pay only $1 a year in rent for a huge tax-free swath of public land, while keeping all revenues from the stadium and other development he builds there, even as the district pays to build everything from parking garages to the stadium’s foundation. And the council — where Ward 3 representative Matthew Frumin has now declared himself “could be for it, could be against it,” leaving the overall body leaning slightly no but with several potential swing votes — only has until July 15 to vote it up or down in one indigestible lump, as the term sheet includes a clause declaring that if the council “materially changes” the terms, then the whole agreement is null and void. Mayor Bowser clearly wants to railroad this thing through before anyone takes a closer look — which makes sense, because on closer look this thing is a dumpster fire."

Silicon Valley Braces for Chaos: The center of the tech universe seems to believe that Trump’s tariff whiplash is nothing compared with what they see coming from AI. - "The tech industry admittedly doesn't 'think very hard about how bad things could get,' Conrad told me. 'Our job is to raise this,' he said, pointing upward to raise the ceiling on how prosperous and enjoyable society can be. 'Your job' - media, banks, elected officials, the East Coast - 'is to protect the floor.'"

Trump’s Real Secretary of State: How the president’s friend and golfing partner Steve Witkoff got one of the hardest jobs on the planet - "Witkoff has faced a precipitous learning curve, though he seems largely unbothered by the long history of American diplomatic failure in the Middle East, in particular. Like Trump, he is very much the transactionalist, and sees Ayatollah Khamenei and Vladimir Putin, among others, not as cruelly Machiavellian authoritarians captured by deeply felt and deeply antagonistic ideologies, but as clever negotiators, like so many real-estate lawyers he once faced in business, looking for the best possible deal. He appeared to interpret Putin's desire to meet with him not as a display of dominance but as a sign of the Russian leader's sincere interest in peace."

The Cynical Republican Plan to Cut Medicaid: Work requirements set up a thicket of paperwork that leads eligible Medicaid recipients to lose their insurance. That’s the point. - "We know how Medicaid work requirements play out because the policy has been tried at the state level. Arkansas, for example, implemented work requirements in 2018. Researchers found that they utterly failed to encourage more employment among the Medicaid population. The work requirements instead forced Medicaid recipients to navigate endless, complex paperwork demands that many of them couldn't understand or keep track of, causing them to lose their Medicaid eligibility. The bulk of the savings came from denying coverage to eligible Americans, not able-bodied adults who don't want to work."

Reading archive 2025-04-28 pt 1

Video casts doubt on Ed Martin’s apology for praising Nazi sympathizer: Trump’s pick for top D.C. federal prosecutor said he didn’t know about the man’s statements, but Martin had discussed the antisemitism allegations in podcasts.

U.S. attorney for D.C. accuses Wikipedia of ‘propaganda,’ threatens nonprofit status: Trump appointee Ed Martin accuses the online encyclopedia of “allowing foreign actors to manipulate information and spread propaganda to the American public.”

Big, big trouble at ‘60 Minutes’: Executive Producer Bill Owens steps down, for reasons that are way too predictable.

Amazon slows forecast on HQ2 job growth as D.C. region hurts for employment: The tech giant added a few hundred jobs at HQ2 in Northern Virginia last year — and requested almost $6.5 million in state subsidies — but seems less like the economic cushion for the region that many hoped it would be.

D.C., Commanders plan to announce deal for new stadium at RFK: Details of the deal — which must be approved by the D.C. Council — are expected to be announced by Commanders principal owner Josh Harris and Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) at a news conference Monday morning.

D.C., Commanders announce $3.7B deal to move team to RFK Stadium: The development, anchored by a roofed, 65,000-seat stadium, will be funded primarily by the Commanders, who would put up $2.7 billion, while D.C. taxpayers would pay $500 million.

Carolyn Hax: Friend demands constant attention, enforced by silent treatments: A friend turns to the silent treatment when the letter writer doesn’t keep her constantly informed of plans.

These experts on aging, now seniors themselves, see things differently: Their advice and thinking about resilience, adaptability and outlook have shifted.

CIA official’s son killed fighting with Russian army in Ukraine: Michael Gloss, 21, whose mother is a senior CIA official and father an Iraq War veteran, suffered from mental illness. He died in April 2024 in eastern Ukraine, fighting with Moscow’s forces.

How Lindsey Graham is accommodating himself to Trump’s foreign policy: “Yeah, I think Europe’s gone woke, don’t y’all?” the one-time hawk asked a crowd back home in South Carolina.

What to know to save a life: The key to heart attack survival: Bystander training on spotting and using defibrillators can greatly improve cardiac arrest survival, but many people don’t know what to do.

‘This Is Not How We Do Science, Ever’: The Trump administration is manipulating government-sponsored research to get the answers it wants. - "This is consistent with everything Trump and his allies have revealed about their views on science since January: that it is not a means to better understand objective reality, but a political weapon that they must guard against, or deploy themselves."

Congressional Republicans Might Set Off the Debt Bomb: Their new budget framework is the most irresponsible in modern history—and will put the American economy on a very dangerous trajectory. - "Budget deficits of $1.8 trillion—heading toward $3.6 trillion within a decade under current policies—can be addressed only by putting all spending and taxes up for reconsideration. The popular targets of government waste, defense cuts, and taxing the rich can contribute at the margins, but the unforgiving budget math will force most long-term deficit reduction to come from the lead deficit drivers of Social Security and Medicare, as well as middle-class taxes. Of course, those three reform categories face intense bipartisan opposition. Ultimately, the bond market will leave Washington with no alternative."

Inside the Fiasco at the National Security Council: Firings and leadership challenges have destabilized an institution that has little margin for error. - "The disorder at the NSC, officials told me, stems from Trump's impatience with process, disregard for the law, and insistence on loyalty in place of expertise. They also said it reflects the president's distrust of Waltz, a former Florida congressman and Green Beret who served in the George W. Bush administration as an aide to Vice President Dick Cheney."

Has Trump found a path to peace in Ukraine?: Security guarantees and other hard details remain, but there are signs of movement.

‘Bone collector’ caterpillar, a new species, wears outfit of body parts: The caterpillar species with a macabre fashion sense was discovered by researchers in Hawaii. Its casing is a disguise to fool the spiders with which it lives.

Pup’s death at D.C. luxury building sparks push for ban of deadly plant: The Carolina jessamine is widely known to be toxic to dogs and children.

China plans to build a nuclear power plant on the Moon: The plans come as China steps up its ambitious space programme

China asks Korea not to supply products using rare earths to US defence firms, paper reports

A Ticking Clock on American Freedom: It’s later than you think, but it’s not too late.

What Would Be Worse Than a Recession?: The loss of America’s economic hegemony - "In the words of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, the onetime French finance minister, the role of the dollar as the world's reserve currency constitutes an "exorbitant privilege" for the United States, a privilege made more exorbitant by Treasury debt's role as the world's safe-haven investment. The country can borrow cheaply and power out of recessions quickly because of this privilege. Yet it depends on investors' trust in American financial institutions and American governance. Trump's trade war is making people question whether the United States deserves to have its privilege revoked."

I’ve Seen How This Plays Out for Ukraine: Appeasement won’t stop Putin. - "The Trump administration's proposed agreement would recognize Russia's illegal annexation and freeze the war's front lines. But nothing I've lived through suggests this would be the end of it. Each concession has been followed by another demand. Every new border has eventually been redrawn. Crimea wasn't the end. Neither was Donetsk. Neither was Mariupol. It's not difficult to see what comes next."

Reading archive 2025-04-22 pt 1

Trump Wants to Rewrite History at the Smithsonian. It’ll Be an Uphill Battle: The president’s recent executive order directed at the institution will face a lot of procedural headwinds before he can MAGA-ify its approach to teaching the country its history.

Half a million honeybees dead in suspected poisoning at Army veteran’s farm: The Virginia farm’s owner estimates that the damage could total almost $20,000 and says that it was a premeditated attack.

She told Trump the Smithsonian needs changing. He’s ordered her to do it.: Who is Lindsey Halligan, the attorney assigned to help remove “improper ideology” from a major cultural institution?

Sam Altman Admits That Saying "Please" and "Thank You" to ChatGPT Is Wasting Millions of Dollars in Computing Power: "You never know."

Larry David: My Dinner With Adolf

D.C., Commanders close to a stadium deal at RFK site: The potential agreement comes after months of talks between the administration of D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and the team.

D.C., Commanders discussing $3.2 billion public-private stadium deal: The deal would cost $856 million, Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) said, adding he feared taxpayers could ultimately spend north of $1 billion.

U.S. intelligence contradicts Trump’s justification for mass deportations: The determination is the most comprehensive assessment to date undercutting the president’s rationale for deporting suspected gang members without due process.

China’s leader Xi Jinping holds talks in Cambodia to wrap up his 3-nation Southeast Asia tour

Ashley St. Clair Just Spilled All of Elon Musk’s ‘Harem Drama’: Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, St. Clair also divulged further details about her interactions with Jared Birchall, the man Musk charges with keeping his “harem” in check.

Protein propaganda is everywhere. Here’s what the science actually says.: Most people can get adequate protein without adding whey shakes and massive servings of meat to their plates.

What the science says about intermittent fasting: The data are mixed on whether intermittent fasting can help you lose weight. As a doctor, here’s my advice: Try the Mediterranean diet instead.

Texas was once affordable. After hail and hurricanes, not anymore.: Worsening storms fueled by climate change, coupled with inflation, are driving some of the highest home insurance costs in the country.

One day of tiny climate actions: For Earth Day 2025, here are simple planet-friendly activities that people can incorporate into their lives, starting with their morning shower.

Is It Even Worth It to Become a Doctor or Lawyer Anymore?: Attacks on prestige law firms are forcing white-collar millennials to renegotiate the deals they’ve made with bosses and themselves. It could get ugly. - "As sociologist C. Wright Mills put it all the way back in 1951: 'White-collar workers are often closer in their economic fate and social reality to wage-workers than to the owners of the businesses they work for.'"

What If China Wins the Trade War?: The United States could still prevail if it does everything right. The problem is that the Trump administration is doing everything wrong.

The Scramble to Save Rural Health Care From DOGE: Can an Alabama health clinic survive Musk’s “chainsaw for bureaucracy”?

‘You Think We’re Afraid of America?’: Chinese manufacturers seem ready for a trade war.