‘Prolific alien invaders’ threaten waters in the West: Zebra mussels are now in the upper Colorado River system, and the minuscule mollusks can wreak massive damage. - "The mollusks’ westward sweep recently crossed a feared Rubicon when Colorado discovered zebra mussels in its portion of the Colorado River system, an imperiled lifeline to 40 million people. 'This news is devastating,' a water manager on the state’s arid western side said. 'From irrigation to drinking water, the ramifications cannot be underestimated or overstated.'"
Poland downs drones in its airspace, becoming first NATO member to fire during war in Ukraine
National Guard documents show public ‘fear,’ veterans’ ‘shame’ over D.C. presence: Internal documents reviewed by The Post show how domestic missions rooted in politics risk damaging Americans’ trust in the military. - "In another update, the Guard indicates troops 'continue efforts to restore and beautify public spaces across the District” and have “cleared 906 bags of trash, spread 744 cubic yards of mulch, removed five truckloads of plant waste, cleared 3.2 miles of roadway, and painted 270 feet of fencing.'
"Those statistics may be among the most consequential takeaways of Trump’s use of the military in D.C., Dempsey said, and should prompt scrutiny of whether this mission was ever necessary in the first place.
"'That is such a suboptimal use of military training that we should all be asking, 'Why are they here?'' Dempsey said. 'If they’re picking up trash, they’re not here for a security emergency. There’s no clearer metric than that.'"
I’ve battled backyard wasps for two years. Guess who won?: I’ve tried pesticides both natural and synthetic, as well as DIY remedies, but nothing has worked. So I turned to the experts for advice. - "'I wish organic insecticides were safe and more effective, but the truth of the matter is, snake venom and ricin are organic, and both are highly deadly,' Lamp’l says. Vinegar can be lethal to frogs, toads and lizards, he adds. 'Organic gives people peace of mind, but it’s really a misconception.'
...
"'People think anything laboratory-made is bad and anything natural is good, but that’s not necessarily true,' Brown says. 'Water is a chemical, and naturally derived products from plants like pyrethrins are chemicals too. A pesticide is a pesticide, whether it’s made in a laboratory, comes from a plant, or is soap and water.'"
Democrats fight over how to defeat Republican Sen. Susan Collins: The emerging Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate in Maine embodies a stark choice in a party trying to remake itself.
On the brink of a devastating canal collapse, a GOP district waits for Trump’s help: In an era of federal staffing and spending cuts, a small Washington state irrigation district is desperate for a lifeline.
Texas’s Pete: James Talarico is young, well spoken, and eager to talk with Republicans—exactly what some Democratic dreamers think they need to finally turn the state blue.
Just How Bad Would an AI Bubble Be?: The entire U.S. economy is being propped up by the promise of productivity gains that seem very far from materializing. - "Generative AI would not be the first tech fad to experience a wave of excessive hype. What makes the current situation distinctive is that AI appears to be propping up something like the entire U.S. economy. More than half of the growth of the S&P 500 since 2023 has come from just seven companies: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. These firms, collectively known as the Magnificent Seven, are seen as especially well positioned to prosper from the AI revolution.
...
"Many experts believe that a major reason the U.S. economy has been able to weather tariffs and mass deportations without a recession is because all of this AI spending is acting, in the words of one economist, as a "massive private sector stimulus program." An AI crash could lead broadly to less spending, fewer jobs, and slower growth, potentially dragging the economy into a recession. The economist Noah Smith argues that it could even lead to a financial crisis if the unregulated "private credit" loans funding much of the industry's expansion all go bust at once."
The Abundance Delusion: I mean, what even is a Democrat at this point? - "Wonks who value the existence of the subway understand that more revenue-like, say, the millions of dollars annually that come from rider fares-means more resources for ride improvement and policing, which increases ridership, which in turn keeps the entire system alive. More honest wonks will even admit that a slight barrier of entry improves the ride dramatically for most people. But the far left fundamentally does not care about this. Ideologically, its adherents do not believe that an amazing transit system that only an overwhelming majority of people can afford is preferable to a grossly degraded system that everyone, technically, can access. This belief extends to roads, housing, schools, everything." [ed. note: a glimmer of a compelling argument in what otherwise boils down to "you need an authoritarian to get things done"]
The Epstein Letter Is Real, and It’s Bad: The president’s initial strategy of denying that the document exists leaves him with few options now that it has been made public.
Fear of Losing the Midterms Is Driving Trump’s Decisions: The specter of investigations and impeachment has fueled many of the president’s most dramatic actions.
New York NIMBYs Turn Against Democracy: Local lawmakers want to preserve their power to block housing. Does what voters think matter at all? - "An official at the city's Department of Housing Preservation & Development noticed that the members of one Queens community board habitually asked residents testifying at its meetings how long they had lived in the neighborhood, especially if they appeared to be of a different race or social standing. As a result, newcomers were implicitly discouraged from attending any meetings at all."
Kamala Harris explains why it wasn’t her fault: In an excerpt from her new memoir, she casts plenty of blame, including at the Biden White House. - "The Atlantic published an excerpt from Harris’s memoir on Wednesday morning, and the section suggests that the subtitle of her forthcoming book should be 'Why Nothing that Happened Last Year Was My Fault.'"
FBI leaders allege in lawsuit they were unlawfully fired over political loyalty: The former acting director says a Trump administration official asked a series of questions, including “Who did you vote for?”
FBI leaders allege in lawsuit they were unlawfully fired over political loyalty: The former acting director says a Trump administration official asked a series of questions, including “Who did you vote for?”
