Reading archive 2025-07-27

‘Buckingham Nicks,’ the missing link of the Fleetwood Mac saga, is back: Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham’s 1973 album prefigured their pop triumphs in Fleetwood Mac but was lost in the streaming era. That changes Sept. 19.

The Harry Potter play goes big on special effects — and fan nostalgia: Now on tour, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” has the gang all grown up with kids — who are well-versed in their parents’ lore.

Toddler shot and wounded in Southeast D.C., police say: The 1-year-old girl’s injury was described as non-life-threatening.

Walgreens manager sentenced for role in robberies that shook Chinatown: The Walgreens, located at Seventh and H streets NW, was robbed seven times between July 2023 and February 2024.

Trump visits the Federal Reserve in escalation of pressure campaign: The president visited the central bank as the White House criticizes an extensive $2.5 billion renovation project.

Denied federal flood relief, a Maryland town is left on its own: The residents of Westernport, Maryland, overwhelmingly voted for Trump. But after FEMA denied its aid request, the town feels like the president has turned his back on them.

The 12 days that turned back the clock on Iran’s nuclear program: Israeli and American assessments agree Tehran’s infrastructure to finish a bomb is shattered.

Trump’s tariffs are promoting free trade — in Canada: Politicians and industry leaders have long pushed to remove barriers to interprovincial trade. Trump’s tariffs are giving the effort new momentum. - "With few exceptions, alcohol producers in one Canadian province are prohibited from selling directly to consumers in another. Vintners in British Columbia, for instance, can often more easily sell their merlots to oenophiles in other countries than within their own."

An American mega-influencer flew to Lithuania. Then the chaos began.: The streamer IShowSpeed drank pink soup in the Baltics and marveled at cars in China. Are his tours propaganda, or just good advertising? - "Speed’s lighthearted visits to China, Saudi Arabia and other countries have drawn criticism as propaganda exercises that promoted the countries in ways they wanted, rather than reckoning with their more complicated reality.

...

"Speed’s sprint through the Baltics drew frustration from some locals, including in Latvia, where he did a backflip at the Freedom Monument honoring soldiers killed in the country’s 1918 war for independence and sung to fans from the balcony of the nation’s ailing public radio station. One journalist there wrote that the moment — in which 'an unregulated content creator [was] peacocking at the home of Latvian broadcasting' — offered a foreboding symbol of how modern media had changed."

The last wholesalers of Union Market: In a changing D.C. neighborhood, these business owners are still holding on.

Gabbard and White House 'lying' about intel on Russian interference in 2016, ex-CIA official says: "We definitely had the intel," Susan Miller, who helped oversee the 2017 intelligence assessment of Russia's efforts in the 2016 election, told NBC News.

‘Commanders Saw Us as Expendable’: A Russian Soldier’s View of the War: Mikhail Simdyankin wasn’t prepared for the reality of Moscow’s brutal war machine in Ukraine when he enlisted, lured by propaganda and a big sign-on bonus

The World Has Too Much Steel, but No One Wants to Stop Making It: A global plunge in prices, led by increased production from China, and U.S. tariffs threaten steel manufacturing, which has long been a symbol of national might.

Reading archive 2025-06-25

Abandoned by Trump, a farmer and a migrant search for a better future

As Trump shuts out migrants, Spain opens its doors and fuels economic growth: Defying the anti-immigrant trend in the U.S., Spain is reaping economic benefits by granting citizenship to tens of thousands of newly-arrived workers.

Was this Revolutionary War hero America’s first openly gay general?: The LGBTQ veterans who put rainbow ribbons near Baron von Steuben’s statue in D.C. think so.

RIP, MAHA: Robert F. Kennedy promised to improve nutrition and reduce environmental toxins. How’s that going? - "Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda has a simple premise: Americans don’t need more access to medical care. Instead, the best way to improve our country’s health is through better nutrition and exposure to fewer environmental toxins. 

"Alas, as was evident from the health and human services secretary’s congressional testimony Tuesday about the administration’s budget requests, his boss is currently A) taking away nutritional assistance and B) expanding use of environmental toxins."

Trump administration is preparing to challenge budget law, U.S. officials say: Internal dissent among federal employees is coming to the surface as President Donald Trump’s budget chief aims to rebalance spending authority.

The RFK megaproject promises just empty gloom. Let’s try this instead.: Rather than an expensive megaproject, D.C. should focus on an organic approach to city-building. - "If football stadiums drove economic activity, Landover would be at least an above-average suburban destination for shopping and entertainment. Instead, the old Landover Mall site decays behind chain-link fencing roughly a mile from Northwest Stadium, the Commanders’ current home. Alternatively, if football stadiums made cities interesting and engaging, the Ravens’ M&T Bank Stadium would link together bustling neighborhoods. Instead, its gloomy emptiness extends across the adjacent blocks except on a handful of days each year."

Kevin Durant’s lonely basketball journey trudges on to the next stop: NBA stars can become hometown heroes forever. Then there’s Kevin Durant.

As an oncologist, here’s what I wish people knew about endocrine disruptors: What to know about everyday exposures to BPA, PFAS and phthalates.

D.C. elected these noncitizens to office. Congress could oust them.: Three green-card holders have nonpartisan, unpaid positions in D.C.’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions. That could soon change.

Trump’s tax bill has become a battlefield for tobacco giants: Tobacco firms have spent millions of dollars in a fight over a tax rebate for cigarette importers in Republicans’ massive tax and spending package.

A Jeep drove onto the National Mall, weaving around a summer crowd U.S. Park Police said the driver was later arrested. No injuries were reported.

How Israel deceived the United States about its nuclear weapons program: Israel is attacking Iran’s nuclear sites, but Tehran’s secret path was blazed by the Israelis.

Bees are collapsing in the U.S. A key to their secrets might vanish.: The top federal lab on native bees is set to close under President Trump’s budget. - "Native bees pollinate an estimated 80 percent of flowering plants around the world, and understanding the pollinators’ behavior helps us sustain the production of our food."

No one has made fusion power viable yet. Why is Big Tech investing billions?: Breakthroughs in fusion have triggered a frenzied race to harness a clean energy source that has eluded scientists for decades.

Brazil's soy farmers raze Amazon rainforest despite deforestation pact

The plan to vaccinate all Americans, despite RFK Jr.: The effort comes as the Trump administration has replaced members of the key federal vaccine advisory panel.

Maryland driver sued by D.C. over 414 unpaid traffic tickets: Soon, it could be easier for D.C. to seize drivers’ cars over dangerous driving caught on camera.

D.C. attorney general alleges violence intervention nonprofit misused funds: Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb filed a lawsuit alleging Women in H.E.E.L.S. Inc. improperly diverted money to a personal account. The group’s founder called the allegations “misleading.”

D.C. lawmaker walks back cuts to violence prevention agency after criticism: Brooke Pinto had proposed dissolving the mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, leaving a program in the attorney general’s office as the sole home for violence interruption.

Reading archive 2025-04-30 pt 1

Federal workers required to report their daily location, email says “Unlike the ‘5 bullets’ this is not a strong encouragement. All employees are required to submit this daily information,” read an email to election commission staff.

Republican Medicaid cuts could mean ‘Armageddon’ in D.C., official says: House Republican proposals to slash government spending on Medicaid could devastate the insurance program that covers 40 percent of District residents. - "Federal Medicaid payments for states are based on a formula that considers average per capita income, but in D.C., the rate was fixed in 1997 when the District teetered on the edge of financial collapse. Then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Thomas M. Davis III, a GOP congressman from Northern Virginia, brokered a deal that said the federal government would pay 70 percent of Medicaid costs and the District 30 percent.

...

"The arrangement recognized that the District’s tax revenue is limited by the amount of tax-exempt federal property within its borders and the inability to levy a commuter tax on people who work in the District but live elsewhere, said Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District’s nonvoting representative."

Is brown rice actually healthier than white rice?: Recent concerns over the health risks of eating brown rice are mostly overblown. - "Christian Scott, the lead author of the Michigan State study and a postdoctoral research associate at the university, said the average American adult would need to eat more than three servings of brown rice — one-and-a-half cups — 'every day for years' to be at an increased risk of developing health problems from the arsenic in rice."

In Virginia, a gay GOP candidate is proving difficult for MAGA to accept: John Reid, set to be the GOP’s candidate for lieutenant governor, has been spurned by members of his own party.

Pass the D.C. budget fix: House GOP leaders should stop stalling and see that the District gets its money back.

How to get more of a nutrient that might help your memory: A deficiency of choline, which is related to B vitamins, might increase the risk of Alzheimer’s and cognitive decline.

Read The Atlantic’s Interview With Donald Trump: A conversation with the president about executive power, Signalgate, and 24-karat gold [ed. note: I mean, the guy thinks he sent Javelins to Ukraine. It's nuts.]

DOGE Was Bad. Schedule F Will Be Worse.: An executive order will convert 50,000 government employees into de facto political appointees who serve only at the president’s pleasure.

American Panopticon: The Trump administration is pooling data on Americans. Experts fear what comes next. - "A worst-case scenario is easy to imagine. Some of this information could be useful simply for blackmail - medical diagnoses and notes, federal taxes paid, cancellation of debt. In a kleptocracy, such data could be used against members of Congress and governors, or anyone disfavored by the state. Think of it as a domesticated, systemetized version of kompromat - like opposition research on steroids: Hey, Wisconsin is considering legislation that would be harmful to us. There are four legislators on the fence. Query the database; tell me what we've got on them."

Russia Is in Demographic Free Fall. Putin Isn’t Helping.: The Russian president is enacting one of the world’s most extreme natalism programs—and one of the weirdest.

The Liberals Who Can’t Stop Winning: Trump isn’t the only reason Canada’s center-left has stayed in power.

Trump Is Paving the Way for Another ‘China Shock’: The MIT economist David Autor helped fracture the old free-trade consensus. But he thinks that what’s replacing it is even worse. - "Autor: Absolutely not. I think the Trump folks are asking the right question. But they've come up with just about the worst answer. It's a classic case of fighting the last war. They're looking over their shoulder, wishing we hadn't made the mistakes we made 20 years ago. But what they are doing now is just compounding the errors. 

"The jobs that we lost to China 20 years ago: We're not getting those back. China doesn't even want those jobs anymore. They are losing them to Vietnam, and they aren't upset about it. They don't want to be making commodity furniture and tube socks. They want to make semiconductors and electric vehicles and airplanes and robots and drones. They want those frontier sectors. 

"As it happens, those are the sectors we've actually held on to. But we could lose those too. We could lose Boeing. We could lose GM and Ford. We could lose Apple. We could lose the AI sector. These are the parts of manufacturing that generate good jobs but also so much more than that. They are where innovation occurs, where the big profits are, where technology and military leadership come from. And those are the sectors that we stand to lose next."

Why China Won’t Give In to Trump Xi Jinping, like his American counterpart, needs to be the top dog.

Can You Really Fight Populism With Populism?: The American left’s favorite double act hopes it has the key to rallying the anti-Trump resistance—and timid Democrats.

Why My Firm Is Standing Up for the Constitution: Big Law should remain independent rather than have the government dictate who it represents.

Republicans Are Right About Soda: Public-health groups are tying themselves in knots over a GOP crackdown on the sugary drink. - "Nowhere is the Republican Party's about-face on soda more stark than in West Virginia. In July, the state removed its soda tax. And now, less than a year later, it is pushing forward with a SNAP soda ban as part of an effort to decrease consumption of 'ultra-processed crap that barely qualifies as food,' Republican Governor Patrick Morrisey said late last month. Banning the use of SNAP funds to purchase soda has become so popular because it combines the 'Make America healthy again' focus on America's diet problems with the conservative desire to reform the welfare state."

What Jonathan Haidt Thought When He Watched Adolescence: “The internet is just not a good place to let your child roam free 24/7.” - "Direct one-to-one communication is great. It's very important to separate the internet from social media. One-to-one synchronous interaction is great. What's not healthy is any sort of one-to-many performance, especially when it's asynchronous, because that's where the girls in particular get sucked into perfectionism and careful editing and carefully thinking through every word. It's posting that seems to especially have a bad effect on teen girls."

Iran’s Negotiating Position Gets Worse and Worse: Events have forced the Islamic Republic to negotiate with the United States.

The Roman Way to Trash a Republic: When you’re the emperor Augustus, they let you do it. - "He took control of the government gradually but completely, with the support of those wealthy aristocrats who valued fortune above principle and with the complaisance of a population exhausted by conflict and disillusioned by a system that favored the rich and connected. Perhaps most salient for us today, Augustus consolidated his power with the institutional blessing of the Senate."

Grover Norquist Can’t Believe What He’s Hearing: Is the GOP about to raise taxes?

The Force That Holds Trump’s Coalition Together: Traditional Republican elites tolerate the authoritarianism because they want the tax cuts. - "Randy Barnett, a right-leaning libertarian law professor at Georgetown, posted on X a few days ago a list of 'bullets we dodged' by avoiding a Democratic-run government that, he believes, would abolish the filibuster, establish single-payer health care, and fulfill other liberal goals. The president might be claiming the power to whisk any person he chooses to a Central American Gulag without due process, but at least he isn't doing something as horrific as Medicare for All."

Reading archive 2024-10-25

D.C. AG sues major construction company, alleging pollution of waterways: Fort Myer Construction operates two asphalt plants in the District and is a preferred contractor with the city, with tens of millions of dollars in contracts over the years.

DC Council Passes Bill That Would Bring Thousands Of New EV Stations To The City

Satellite images show major expansion at Russian site with secret bioweapons past: New construction at a military research site near Moscow reveals a specialized laboratory complex designed to research and handle deadly pathogens, experts say. - "State Department officials have ridiculed Russian allegations that the United States is working on biological weapons, alone or with partners. But U.S. officials and experts say Russian scientists may legitimately believe that the threat exists, and thus feel justified in creating and testing new weapons."

Families sue D.C. for ending housing aid in unprecedented case: The city has sought to remove thousands of families from its rapid rehousing program. Officials have blamed years of extensions for creating an unsustainable financial burden.

Jill Biden has upgraded your next White House tour: ‘They weren’t dynamic,’ the first lady says of the old tours. So she helped reimagine the ritual.

Opinion On political endorsement A note from the publisher: [ed. note: "We are returning to our roots, which is to not endorse candidates, except when we do, which is whenever we want, which is not now, because I, William Lewis, am a Rupert Murdoch crony and wide-spectrum dirtbag."]

The Washington Post says it will not endorse a candidate for president Publisher William Lewis explained the decision as a return to the newspaper’s roots. - "The decision not to publish was made by The Post’s owner — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos — according to the same sources." [ed. note: bracing gutlessness from a billionaire afraid of what a Trump win could do to his fortunes]

Jill Biden has upgraded your next White House tour: ‘They weren’t dynamic,’ the first lady says of the old tours. So she helped reimagine the ritual.

Poop statue appears on the National Mall to ‘honor’ Jan. 6 rioters: Visitors swarmed the controversial installation, which will be on the Mall until Oct. 30.

Does Ghost-Hunting Gear Work? We Tested Some in a Haunted Place to Find Out.

Why Fleetwood Mac is forever: “Dreams,” by Mark Blake, delves into Fleetwood Mac’s storied past and the enduring appeal of the band’s music.

Finally, a fresh argument against ‘wokeness’: In “We Have Never Been Woke,” Musa al-Gharbi argues that claims to support marginalized people are often little more than elite status competitions.

Meet Ukraine’s top fighting unit — at least that’s what its ad says: Ukraine’s brigades can recruit their own soldiers, and they compete with one another to craft the best advertising campaigns to sell the war.

Canada alleges much wider campaign by Modi government against Sikhs: Canada on Monday ordered six Indian diplomats to leave the country, including India’s top diplomat in Ottawa, Sanjay Kumar Verma, officials said.

In D.C. election, Initiative 83 push for voting changes is biggest wild card: I-83 would allow independents to vote in primaries and change D.C.’s voting method to ranked-choice. The D.C. Democratic Party has emerged as a chief opponent.

Opinion By electing Trump, America would break its closest allies’ hearts: Anxiety levels in Europe over the U.S. election are very high. - "Jørn Brøndal, chair of USD’s Center for American Studies, offered a view that turns 'America First' rhetoric on its head. 'I always saw Trump as an import from Europe,' Brøndal said. 'He’s outside the American mainstream and comes from a right-wing populist tradition in Europe that shows some of the same tendencies.' Brøndal said this before Trump, in the style of 1930s autocrats, spoke of immigrants bringing 'a lot of bad genes in our country right now.'"

North Carolina authorities arrest armed man after threats against FEMA workers: Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office confirms it made the arrest Saturday after learning of threat to Federal Emergency Management Agency employees working on hurricane relief.

Opinion Why Harris’s pitch to Muslim and Arab American voters is failing: Caught in the bind of the Gaza war, the VP failed to cement herself as the choice for this bloc. - "There’s a tendency in liberal circles to accuse these voters of betraying their own interests by supporting Trump or voting third-party. But Muslim and Arab voters aren’t abandoning Harris because they don’t understand what’s at stake. They’re abandoning her because they do." [lol let's see how that goes]

The Most Opinionated Man in America: Mike Solana, a Peter Thiel protégé, has made his Pirate Wires newsletter a must-read among the anti-woke investor class—and a window into what the most powerful people in tech really think.

Reading archive 2024-09-23

Tech giants fight plan to make them pay more for electric grid upgrades - "Chief among the power company’s concerns, according to the documents, is what will happen if it invests billions of dollars into new grid infrastructure only for the data centers to leave for greener pastures, or for the AI bubble to burst and the facilities to need much less power than initially projected. If the power company spends big on new infrastructure but the power demand it was built to serve doesn’t materialize, other customers — including business and residential payers — will be stuck with the bill, the utility said."

‘Agatha All Along’ star Kathryn Hahn casts an unforgettable spell: As the witch next door in Disney Plus’s ‘WandaVision’ spinoff, the longtime character actress steps into a role worthy of her charms.

Putin wants Russia’s youth to become ultranationalist patriots. Many are all in.

Opinion The U.S. military’s true advantage against any adversary: It’s the NCOs who set the U.S. military apart from the rest of the world.

GOP senator insults Arab American advocate at hearing on hate crimes: Sen. John Neely Kennedy used a hearing about hate crimes to accuse Arab American Institute Executive Director Maya Berry of supporting terrorists.

Russia expels U.K. diplomats; Putin warns against deep strikes with Western weapons: The Russian president issued his sternest warning to date about the use of Western weapons in Ukraine ahead of a meeting of British and U.S. leaders.

The disaster no major U.S. city is prepared for [ed. note: power outage from storm and then heatwave]

Taliban begins enforcing new draconian laws, and Afghan women despair: Afghan religious police wield new power to enforce a ban on women raising their voices in public and looking at men other than their husbands or relatives. - "Some Afghan women blame the outside world for their vanishing freedoms. 'The silence of the world over the last three years will go down as a dark chapter in history,' said Meena, echoing a widespread sentiment in the country that global attention has moved on from Afghanistan." [ed. note: we fought for them for 20 years]

These birds are almost extinct. A radical idea could save them. - "The sihek’s woes started shortly after World War II. Guam was a key battleground between U.S. and Japanese forces. After the war, residents began spotting invasive brown snakes slithering around the island’s trees, probably stowaways from military aircraft or cargo ships. 

"With no natural predators, the snakes proliferated, gobbling up the island’s small animals. Already, the snake has driven nine of Guam’s native forest birds to extinction."

Opinion Decades later, string theory continues its march toward Einstein’s dream: Why we must keep investigating physics’ most tantalizing theory — even without experimental results.

Cars with the most unpaid DC fines go to this impound lot

A survivor to her rapist: ‘I, too, am in prison’: He kidnapped, assaulted and raped multiple women. As activists try to give him a second chance, victims are speaking up about their rights. - "In that courtroom where Hubbard and her best friend from college faced their attacker — yet again — they were devastated that the man who assaulted and degraded them so violently has a real chance of getting out of prison. They now have to wait for the judge’s decision. 

"They were also gobsmacked at the array of help he had there for him — therapists, psychologists, a crusading attorney, anger-management programs."

Satellite footage suggests Russia ICBM launch test was a disaster: The apparent launch failure raised questions about Russia’s military capabilities and put in a dent in the Kremlin’s nuclear saber-rattling.

With nuclear option unlikely, Putin struggles to defend his red lines: There’s a growing realization in the Kremlin that the West is not falling for its nuclear threats and Putin is searching for new ways to enforce his red lines.

As Taliban starts restricting men, too, some regret not speaking up sooner: Beside imposing severe rules on women, new laws require men to grow fist-length beards and bar them from imitating non-Muslims in appearance or behavior. - "Amir, a resident who lives in eastern Afghanistan, said he supported the Taliban up until the latest restrictions. But he now feels bullied into submission by their morality police."

Where the sea wall ends: At a time of fast-rising seas, the ocean is eating away at this barrier island and others like it. But humans, who have held their ground here for over a century, are planning new condos.

The future of RFK Stadium should be up to D.C. — not a Montana senator: A Montana senator is blocking D.C.’s hopes for developing the RFK Stadium site. What if the roles were reversed? - "Close your eyes for a second. Imagine the role of Daines being played by, say, Phil Mendelson (D), the chairman of the D.C. Council. 

"Would the good senator from Montana take kindly to an elected official from the nation’s capital using political performatives to block, say, an economic development project in Bozeman? It sounds absurd because it is absurd."

Here’s how rich each candidate is compared with the average American: Trump, Harris, Vance and Walz span a wide range of financial circumstances. Here’s where they fit on the spectrum of American wealth.

Reading archive 2024-07-08

Debate brings scrutiny of whether aides shielded signs of Biden’s aging: President, aides grapple with accusations they strongly reject that they were not candid with the public about how his age affected his ability to do the job.

Students Target Teachers in Group TikTok Attack, Shaking Their School: Seventh and eighth graders in Malvern, Pa., impersonating their teachers posted disparaging, lewd, racist and homophobic videos in the first known mass attack of its kind in the U.S.

After a four-year debate, Northern Va. community moves to save farmland: Loudoun County has wrestled since 2020 over how to save prime farm soil in rural areas undergoing development without harming a popular land conservation program.

Connect Kennedy Center to the National Mall? It’s urban planners’ dream.: Urban planners have long wanted to redesign the area between the National Mall and the Kennedy Center. Now they’ve drawn up a plan for what it might look like.

THE DROWNING SOUTH: A RISING FORTRESS IN SINKING LAND: A massive sea wall around a Louisiana gas facility poses a question: How far will the fossil fuel industry go to protect itself from climate impacts it helped cause?

Two dead, one injured after police pursuit in Maryland ends in D.C.: Anne Arundel County police and U.S. Park Police pursued a vehicle authorities suspected was connected to multiple robberies into the District.

As Biden digs in, another elected Democrat calls on him to exit race: Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), who is in a competitive race, on Saturday morning called on Biden to drop out.

Biden scrambles to head off defections on Capitol Hill as lawmakers return: Members of Congress are back in Washington for a pivotal week in Biden’s fight for survival.

What would happen if Russia detonated a nuclear bomb in space?

Opinion It’s not fair, Mr. President, but it’s reality: His interview with George Stephanopoulos did nothing to reassure people worried about a Biden defeat.

Opinion Biden has a new outsider strategy. Can he pull it off?: The president’s new approach could work — if he can manage not to prove the “elites” right.

There’s real danger in digging deep holes on a sandy beach: Experts recommend never digging a hole deeper than the knee height of the shortest person in your group — with two feet being the maximum depth. - "Experts recommend never digging a hole deeper than the knee height of the shortest person in your group — with two feet being the maximum depth."

France’s Jordan Bardella, the immigrant’s son who would target migrants: If his party wins Sunday’s election, Bardella would become France’s first far-right head of government since World War II.

Watching Biden, many see the heartbreaking indignities of aging: “Painful and sad: Those were my two words,” said Jean Moelter, 63, a retired high school English teacher from River Falls, Wis.

Debate brings scrutiny of whether aides shielded signs of Biden’s aging: President, aides grapple with accusations they strongly reject that they were not candid with the public about how his age affected his ability to do the job.

A Frenchie was taken at gunpoint. His owner set up a sting to get it back.: The dog’s owner said she invited those demanding money for her beloved Yurman to meet her at a pizza shop, then told police about it.

A crash, a gun down the drain and a killing on K Street — but no arrests: A downtown restaurant owner admitted to washing away evidence in the deadly shooting of a man who family members say was killed trying to look out for his friend.

Reading archive 2024-06-19

Opinion You probably think this is our national bird. Think again.: Yes, the bald eagle appears on our Great Seal, but it has no official designation.

Iran signals a major boost in nuclear program at key site: Hundreds of new centrifuges would triple Iran’s uranium enrichment capacity at a deeply buried underground nuclear facility. - "It also is symbolically important because Fordow had ceased making enriched uranium entirely under the terms of the landmark 2015 Iran nuclear agreement. Iran resumed making the nuclear fuel there shortly after the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018."

China cultivated high-rolling crime families before turning on them: A Post investigation found that criminal networks in Myanmar enjoyed the protection of Chinese officials as well as the military government in Myanmar.

Reading archive 2024-02-19

Anti-Trump Burnout: The Resistance Says It’s Exhausted: Bracing for yet another election against Donald Trump, America’s liberals are feeling the fatigue. “We’re kind of, like, crises-ed out,” one Democrat said.

The Taliban vowed to change Kabul. The city may be starting to change the Taliban.

Opinion  Why the U.S. should start telling the whole truth about Israeli nukes

Meet the Delaware judge who keeps foiling Elon Musk: Kathaleen McCormick’s no-nonsense rulings have earned the Tesla chief’s ire -— and the corporate law world’s respect

Biden, Trump campaign efforts in Michigan show a sharp contrast in tone: The Biden team has aimed to overcome faint enthusiasm with old-fashioned community organizing, while Trump’s comeback bid hinges on his movement’s passion for his combative pitch

Reading archive 2022-04-18

McDuffie ineligible to run for D.C. attorney general, elections board says

The nuclear missile next door: What it’s like to live with a bomb stronger than 20 Hiroshimas in a time of rising worldwide tensions.

China tries to cover lockdown strains on Shanghai’s front-line workers

Elon Musk wants a free speech utopia. Technologists clap back.: Musk’s vision of the Internet is outdated and doesn’t take into account the real world, they say - "Fast forward and the Internet is indeed a different place. Russian trolls sowed disinformation on social platforms in the 2016 U.S. election and President Donald Trump used a network of followers as a misinformation megaphone in the lead up to the last election. Anti-vaccine activists have used social media to spread health conspiracies to millions of people. Even now, amid the conflict in Ukraine, researchers and Facebook have identified disinformation networks trying to tilt public opinion toward Russia."

A Democrat in gym shorts tries to rally blue votes in Trump country: John Fetterman believes his road to the U.S. Senate runs through Pennsylvania’s red, rural areas

The mindfulness conspiracy: It is sold as a force that can help us cope with the ravages of capitalism, but with its inward focus, mindful meditation may be the enemy of activism. - "Instead of encouraging radical action, mindfulness says the causes of suffering are disproportionately inside us, not in the political and economic frameworks that shape how we live. And yet mindfulness zealots believe that paying closer attention to the present moment without passing judgment has the revolutionary power to transform the whole world. It’s magical thinking on steroids."

Thich Nhat Hanh: is mindfulness being corrupted by business and finance?

The Trouble with Mindfulness Be mindful of three compelling problems with mindfulness. - "Thus, these studies basically find that mindfulness is better than nothing. Those that do use established interventions as comparison groups in randomized trials generally find that mindfulness works about as well as the other interventions such as exercise, prayer, pleasant activities (including watching television), and so forth."

Mindfulness is a capitalist grift: How faux enlightenment maintains our status quo: The meditative practice favored by America's titans of industry bears no relation to its anti-materialist origins

Reading archive 2021-12-06

Myth Busting for Extension Educators: Reviewing the Literature on Pruning Woody Plants

Chris Cuomo fired by CNN after aiding governor brother and other ‘new allegations’: Suspended for advising Andrew M. Cuomo, the star host was dismissed days later. A new report now says a lawyer told CNN of a sexual misconduct claim.

U.S. warns it has ‘tools’ to deal with Iran if nuclear talks fail

No U.S. government official will attend Beijing Winter Olympics, White House announces

The vicious 150-year rivalry between Utah’s two biggest newspapers

Reading archive 2021-04-13

A GOP congressman said so many Republican voters now believe in the QAnon conspiracy theory it could destroy the party

Inside Trump’s private, revisionist, grievance-laden speech to the RNC

Need a home repair person in D.C.? New website with consumer reviews can help you find a reliable one.

Tucson PD Evicts Border Patrol Agents Trying to Catch Illegal Escapee: Homophobic remarks and raw politics as law enforcement agencies battle [ed. note: from 2017]

‘The Talk’ controversy is about so much more than Sharon Osbourne. That’s why it hit a nerve.

U.S. prepares for further talks with Iran as Tehran blames Israel for attack on nuclear facility

Reading archive 2021-03-15

In Japan, top Biden administration officials attempt to set the tone on China

United States and Iran warily circle each other over reactivating nuclear deal

Newly released documents shed light on 1983 nuclear war scare with Soviets

Reading archive 2021-02-19

Opinion: Why Texans are cold and in the dark [ed. note: Ed Hirs is an energy economics lecturer at the University of Houston.]

Release of intelligence report on Khashoggi killing could push already strained U.S.-Saudi relations to new lows

Book excerpt: Working for Syria’s chemical weapons program and spilling its secrets to the CIA

He’s looking forward to ‘a better everything’: Locked up at age 15, Joe Ligon became the nation’s longest-serving juvenile ‘lifer.’ Now, at 83, he’s finally free — and reentering an unfamiliar world.

Neighbors mount effort to defend Arlington’s trees from development

D.C. planted nearly 80 trees a day to reach a canopy target. It’s running out of space.

Rush Limbaugh taught me to be a feminist: Dad was a ‘Ditto Head,’ and his favorite radio host was my role model — for what not to be.

Mobile clinics, free rides have done little so far to improve vaccine equity in D.C. region

Reading archive 2020-08-25

LIE AFTER LIE: WHAT COLIN POWELL KNEW ABOUT IRAQ 15 YEARS AGO AND WHAT HE TOLD THE U.N. The evidence is irrefutable: Powell consciously deceived the world in his 2003 presentation making the case for war with Saddam Hussein.

The St. Louis couple charged with waving guns at protesters have a long history of not backing down

Reading archive 2020-07-20

‘No mask, no entry. Is that clear enough? That seems pretty clear, right?’: Lori Wagoner, retail clerk, on trying to enforce a state requirement to wear masks

Superspreading’ events, triggered by people who may not even know they are infected, propel coronavirus pandemic: Most spread the virus to only a few people — or none at all. But studies show a small percentage transmit it with alarming efficiency.

Does the Lincoln Project have a secret agenda? The answer is surprising.

How Netanyahu is already planning for a Biden presidency

‘Woefully uninformed’: Kanye West slammed for saying Harriet Tubman ‘never actually freed the slaves’

U.K. suspends extradition treaty with Hong Kong amid public outrage over human rights in China

Signs increasingly point to sabotage in fiery explosion at Iranian nuclear complex

A Navy vet asked federal officers in Portland to remember their oaths. Then they broke his hand.

DHS authorizes personnel to collect information on protesters it says threaten monuments

Reading archive 2020-02-23

Limbaugh: Democrats who set up George W. Bush to go to war with Iraq now organizing 'silent coup' against Trump

The Reporting Team That Got Iraq Right

Reading archive 2019-02-20

Flynn-backed plan to transfer nuclear tech to Saudis may have broken laws, say whistleblowers: Investigators fear President Trump is still considering the plan, which was pushed by Flynn and Trump friend Tom Barrack.

‘I am dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on earth’: A self-proclaimed white nationalist planned a mass terrorist attack, the government says

Intimidation, Pressure and Humiliation: Inside Trump’s Two-Year War on the Investigations Encircling Him: President Trump’s efforts have exposed him to accusations of obstruction of justice as Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, finishes his work.

‘Gay priests are in the crosshairs:’ As Vatican abuse summit begins, debate over homosexuality is divisive undercurrent

The Gay Church: Thousands of priests are closeted, and the Vatican’s failure to reckon with their sexuality has created a crisis for Catholicism.

Jussie Smollett Faces Felony Charge, Accused of Faking Own Assault

Politicians use Jussie Smollett, while a 1-year-old boy shot in the head is set aside

Reading archive 2018-12-20

North Korea says US must 'completely eliminate' its nuclear arsenal first as peace talks reach new low: Statement from Pyongyang says denuclearisation must include any US weapons that threaten wider region, and suggests Washington should ‘study geography’

Reading archive 2018-09-26

Christine Blasey Ford’s family has been nearly silent amid outpouring of support

I Was Labeled The High School ‘Slut.’ It Affected My Whole Life.

I Revealed A Priest Abused Me 30 Years Ago. If I’m A Hero, Why Isn’t Christine Blasey Ford?

Trump Trade Taxes Will Exceed Obamacare Taxes Next Year

National Taxpayers Union Foundation Says Trump Tariffs Will Cost Taxpayers $132 Billion Vs. $34 Billion for Obamacare

GRU colonel Chepiga revealed as Skripal suspect's 'real identity'

Mission implausible: Russians mock improbable spy duo

Kavanaugh’s friends promoted him. Now they have to rescue him.: White House aides and allies who encouraged President Donald Trump to choose him for the highest court have a lot to lose.

Reading archive 2018-09-05

Nerve agent poisoning: Theresa May says Russian intelligence officers carried out attack on ex-spy in Salisbury

I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration: I work for the president but like-minded colleagues and I have vowed to thwart parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.

Southern Republican senators reject Trump’s criticism of Sessions

This Is a Constitutional Crisis: A cowardly coup from within the administration threatens to enflame the president’s paranoia and further endanger American security.

We're Watching an Antidemocratic Coup Unfold: Acts of sabotage against the president are perilous to the American system of government. They're also self-serving.