Reading archive 2026-08

Norway became a global salmon behemoth. Now it's facing the consequences

Maine’s Democratic Senate candidate touts his rural appeal. His hometown has mixed feelings.: In Allagash, a hamlet of some 200 people near Canada, residents are sharply divided over Troy Jackson.

Attack ads portraying progressive candidate as sexist roil key Michigan Senate race: The candidate’s barbed wit sparked attack ads that portray him as disrespectful to women. He says that’s a racist trope.

Loomer’s Ukraine reversal deepens split in Trump’s ‘America First’ movement: Influential MAGA blogger and former Kyiv critic Laura Loomer expects to visit the president to advocate for the U.S.-Ukraine alliance.

How rogue officers turned a nationwide camera network into a tool for stalking: Flock’s array of license-plate cameras was built to fight crime. But at least 50 law enforcement officers were charged with or accused of misusing it and other systems.

My company’s drones hit Russia — and showed what the Pentagon doesn’t know: Modern war rewards speed and redundancy, not perfect weapons from a single supplier.

After big win, left-leaning slate seeks to flex power in D.C.’s Democratic Party: A group of left-leaning candidates, Free DC Slate, won 36 of 48 seats up for grabs on the D.C. Democratic State Committee.

I befriended my neighborhood crow. You can, too.: Reflections — and expert tips — on building bonds with corvids.

Reading archive 2026-04-29

An ingenious way to sidestep the dismal Senate filibuster: Restrain the president, revive Congress, honor Madisonian principles. What’s not to like? - "Today’s Senate Republicans are mostly oblivious of — or, worse, indifferent about — how they appear. In 2024, they solemnly warned that if they did not win control of the Senate, 2025-2026, Democrats would degrade it by abolishing the filibuster. In 2025, however, Senate Republicans, in lockstep with House Republicans, crammed most of the president’s agenda into a single bill that they passed on a party-line vote using the parliamentary maneuver called “reconciliation,” which prevents a bill from being filibustered."

Colombians are divided over the fate of hippos linked to Pablo Escobar

The great Black GOP exit from Congress: Republicans squandered Trump’s gains with African Americans in 2024.

Alleged gunman at correspondents’ dinner led Christian group in college: Ex-classmates who knew Cole Tomas Allen, 31, at the California Institute of Technology say they were shocked by a message in which he appeared to use biblical teachings to justify violence.

So Nobody Is Going to Pay Taxes Now?: America actually needs a tax base. - "While tinkering with marginal rates, Democrats have threaded deductions, credits, and exemptions into the tax code, engaging in 'submerged' policy making, as Cornell's Suzanne Mettler describes it. Tax expenditures are easier for Congress to pass than spending programs, and they're easier to target at low-income households. Still, Americans don't really understand these policies. Two in three claimants of the home-mortgage-interest deduction say it doesn't do much for them. (The deduction can reduce a family's tax bill by as much as $15,000 a year.) Two in three people with a 529 college savings plan believe that they have never used a government program. The more tax breaks a person receives, the less likely they are to report that Uncle Sam has improved their quality of life, Mettler has found. Yet such initiatives cost the government hundreds of billions of dollars.

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"Wages for hourly employees have crawled, while the paychecks of investors and executives have soared. At the same time, the wealth of investors and executives has skyrocketed, with the taxman scarcely tapping these fortunes at all. As the law professor Ray Madoff has observed, Amazon has paid Jeff Bezos a salary of roughly $82,000 a year since the late 1990s, 'low enough to make him eligible to claim the child tax credit (which he did!).' From 2014 to 2018, his net worth climbed by $99 billion, just 0.98 percent of which went to public coffers, whereas many middle-class families fork over 25 percent of their earnings. Plus, again, the cost of living has become brutally high. Even households making six figures are struggling to afford child care, rent, groceries, health insurance, summer camp, and student-loan debt."

A Mediocre Public-School Education for Just $40,000 a Pupil: How New York City’s education budget became an untouchable money pit - "As New York City becomes more expensive to live in, fewer families with children live there. The education budget nonetheless continues to go up, hurting taxpayers and diverting funds from other important services. This makes the city even more expensive to live in, and leaves young families even more squeezed, causing even fewer children to live there. The situation stems from the commendable liberal impulse to devote extensive resources to public education. But what's the point of public education without a public to educate?"

Anthropic’s Little Brother: OpenAI is racing to catch up to its greatest rival.

Why Did Trump Pardon the Former Honduran President? Follow the Tech Bros.: With Roger Stone taking a victory lap for having come up with the idea in the first place.

Untangling the Issue of Circling Roots

Physiology and root development of container-grown urban trees in response to root-shaving, root-washing, and root-slicing at planting - "Among the root modifications examined, root-shaving provided the optimal combination of improved root development while minimizing adverse effects to tree stress and crown dieback. Moreover, our results suggest that trees that are historically known to be difficult to transplant as bare-root stock are poor candidates for extreme root disturbance procedures such as root-washing when produced as container-grown trees."

What Would a Fiscal Crisis Look Like? - "Already, the U.S. is facing consequences from excessive debt. Excessive borrowing was a key driver of the recent surge in inflation and subsequent rise in interest rates, and real incomes are lower today than they otherwise would be as a result of the “crowd out” of past investment. Meanwhile, the cost of interest on the debt grew to roughly $1 trillion last year, which is more than the federal government spent on defense and about as much as it spent on Medicare. These high interest payments leave fewer resources for new spending initiatives and tax cuts. And with debt at 100% of GDP, the U.S. has less fiscal space than any time in history in case of another war, pandemic, or recession. A fiscal crisis would substantially worsen most or all of the costs of debt."

Cato Study: Immigrants Reduced Deficits by $14.5 Trillion Since 1994 - "The best way to balance the budget is to reduce spending—particularly on wealthy retirees—but rather than hinder our efforts to control deficits, immigrants are helping."

Global Trade Is Leaving the US Behind: The US’s retreat from the global economy is likely to make America less influential, less resilient, less secure, and poorer over the long term, as economic integration deepens elsewhere and other governments set new standards in trade agreements.

More Photos Emerge of Meals on Navy Ships As Pentagon Denies Shortages

This Scammer Used an AI-Generated MAGA Girl to Grift ‘Super Dumb’ Men: A med student says he’s made thousands of dollars selling photos and videos of a young conservative woman he created using generative tools. He’s not alone.

Is the tide turning for Ukraine in war with Russia?: With the EU approving a €90bn loan for Ukraine, a surprise visit from Prince Harry, and data suggesting Russian troops made almost no territorial gains in March – are there reasons for optimism in Kyiv?

Iran caused more extensive damage to U.S. military bases than publicly known: U.S. bases and equipment across the Middle East came under attack — including from an Iranian F-5, despite American air defenses — and repairs could cost billions of dollars.

They Were Michael Jackson's 'Second Family.' Now They Say He Abused Them.: The Cascio siblings are suing Mr. Jackson's estate after standing by him for years as he faced accusations of child molestation.

Farmers are bleeding money under Trump —but are doubling down on their support anyway

Reading archive 2026-04-28

Researchers say remote Lake Superior island’s wolves are thriving as packs prey on moose

Clean energy pushes fossil-fuel power into reverse for ‘first time ever’

An AI trained on 13,000 virtual worlds just projected our renewable energy future: It beat the International Energy Agency's forecasts—and it says 2°C is still on the table

Why Trump’s ballroom can’t host the White House correspondents’ dinner: The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is an independent celebration of press freedoms. - "Let us also note the irony that the current president has barred Associated Press reporters from White House events and that his Federal Communications Commission chairman, Brendan Carr, threatens the independence of television journalists with metronomic regularity. But now Trump wants to host at the White House a dinner supposedly celebrating the press’s freedom from government coercion."

Ukraine took Russia’s best punch. It wants to teach Europe what it learned.: The country’s fighters gave the continent's defense chiefs a blunt message: You forgot how to fight. We can help.

A Trump-branded nuclear power project thrilled investors. Then came the crash.: Corporate drama and a stock plummet at Fermi America are raising questions about the sustainability of the wider artificial intelligence boom.

UAE to leave OPEC amid Hormuz oil crisis, a blow to Saudi Arabia: The departure weakens the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, long criticized by Trump, as the global economy reels from the Iran war energy shock.

MAHA’s Perfect Villain: Glyphosate highlights the movement’s horseshoe politics and has nothing to do with vaccines.

The Age of American Caesarism: The legal right spent decades empowering the presidency. Now it must reckon with the system it helped create. [ed. note: a conservative attempts and fails to reckon honestly about how the conservative legal movement endangers the republic]

The Pentagon May Not Be Telling Trump the Full Picture About the War: Vice President Vance is worried that the U.S. is running low on weapons. - "Pentagon leaders' positive portrayals present an incomplete picture at best, people familiar with intelligence assessments told us. According to those internal estimates, Iran retains two-thirds of its air force, the bulk of its missile-launching capability, and most of its small, fast boats, which can lay mines and harass traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. At least in terms of resuming stalled maritime commerce, 'those are the real threat,' one person told us."

Reading archive 2026-04-14

America Looks Like a Paper Tiger: The U.S. showed great tactical capabilities in the Iran war, but Iran emerged the winner at a strategic level.

The Forgotten War That Iran Already Won: Tehran fought for decades to prevent Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Only Losers Play the Madman: Does Trump seem crazy? Sure. Credible, not so much. - "Nobody executes a madman strategy when he feels that he's winning. Strong and successful powers emphasize consistency and predictability. So do powers that hope to be seen as strong and successful. When China's foreign minister speaks to the world, he uses language such as 'China will be a reliable force for stability' and China 'is providing the greatest certainty in this uncertain world.' He understands that true power does not need to boast or yell."

This detox may erase 10 years of social media brain damage, researchers say: Studies show that taking even short breaks could reverse measures of cognitive decline.

Metro hair toucher arrested again for stalking: A DC judge has ordered Bryan Betancur to be held without bond following his stalking charges.

Gov. Spanberger signs bill to end the renewal of Robert E. Lee license plates in Virginia

Record animal sacrifice attempts at Al-Aqsa prompt status quo fears: Record number of attempts by Israeli settlers to smuggle Passover sacrifices into the holy site since 1967 leads to takeover fears.

Trump Desperately Tries to Spin His Massive Surrender in Iran as a Win: Iran has retained control of the Strait of Hormuz—and Donald Trump insists that’s a good thing.

Why high oil prices are good for oil companies — until they aren't - "When oil prices stay consistently above that $90 mark, 'the economy suffers and inflation rises,' Crooks, of research group Wood MacKenzie, says. 'Growth falls. Interest rates may go up. People in the wider economy lose their jobs.'"

These Chimps Began the Bloodiest ‘War’ on Record. No One Knows Why.: A long-running conflict in a Ugandan park may provide clues to the origins of human warfare, and how to avoid it.

Not Even Noise-Cancelling Headphones Can Block This Bicycle Bell: Skoda designed a new bike bell that slips through active noise cancellation using a specific frequency gap that most headphones cannot suppress

'America's Main Street' in DC could get a massive overhaul; here's what leaders propose

A new map is fueling a debate on housing and displacement in D.C.: Critics of the proposed Future Land Use Map say it isn't thinking big enough.

Ye Wants Your Forgiveness. So What?: The former Kanye West is making his bid to rejoin mainstream culture—with mixed results.

How Did Samuel Alito Become This Angry?: A quiet, bookish justice’s personal leanings have become ever more overt.

In Praise of ‘Difficult’ Kids: Feisty children can be exhausting. They also possess a moral fire that deserves cultivating.

Reading archive 2026-03-31

Army reviews why helicopters flew near Kid Rock’s home, No Kings rallies: An Army official said “appropriate action” will be taken if the probe reveals violations of safety standards or other regulations.

I broke up with my Kindle. My new e-reader treats me better.: After Amazon’s Kindle removed my ability to download and back up my own e-books, I went in search of an alternative.

Scientists captured female sperm whales on video working together during a birth to protect the calf

Oil and gas prices are soaring. Some countries are ready with solar panels and EVs

The Kurdish Ground Force Preparing to Fight in Iran: The Peshmerga on the Iraq-Iran border are eager to join the American campaign. They’re also deeply uneasy about where it might lead. - "'The real alternatives to this regime are not outside Iran,' [Adib Watandust, a member of the Kurdish Komala Party] said. 'They are inside-the political prisoners, union activists, teachers, journalists in jail, women and men. They are the real leadership. And the West cannot dictate an alternative from outside.'"

The Manosphere Turns on Trump: How many times can a coalition crack before it shatters?

Reading archive 2026-03-10

Stay Classy

A veteran thought her son was enlisting in peacetime. Now the U.S. is at war.: A Texas mother is proud her child is following in her footsteps. But as President Donald Trump attacks Iran, she worries about what he could face as a soldier. - "'At least he’s joining up at peacetime,' she’d thought. But now American bombs were exploding across Iran, and the president she’d voted for was refusing to rule out troops on the ground, and a guest was stepping through her black double doors with a case of Mountain Dew."

Whistleblower claims ex-DOGE member says he took Social Security data to new job: The Social Security inspector general’s office is investigating allegations that the former DOGE engineer took sensitive data on a thumb drive in a major potential security breach, said people familiar with the process. - "'This is absolutely the worst-case scenario,' Borges told The Post. 'There could be one or a million copies of it, and we will never know now.'"

On the Bright Side: Blue Whales Spotted in New England Waters

How to ditch forever chemicals without getting cold and wet: The first people to climb Everest didn’t need outdoor gear made with “forever chemicals” to stay warm and dry. You don’t either.

There’s going to be an IndyCar race in downtown Washington. Here’s what we know.: Drivers are expected to zoom past downtown landmarks at speeds as high as 185 mph during the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, part of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration.

Former D.C. police officer accused in multiple sexual assault cases: Police say Timothy Valentin, 30, met D.C.-area women on dating apps, then drugged and assaulted them.

Reading archive 2026-02-04

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reading archive 2026-01-14

Smithsonian submits files to White House after funding threat The White House had threatened to withhold the Smithsonian’s funding if it did not send more documentation on its exhibits and operations.

These prosecutors spent years on cases. Then Trump granted pardons.: The president’s clemency acts have eroded faith among Justice Department employees that their work will result in accountability, some prosecutors say.

In Secret Testimony, Republicans Derided Trump’s Stolen Election Claims: The testimony, part of the derailed Georgia election interference case, makes clear how dismissive some senior Republicans were of claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.

How to make the midterms slightly less disgusting: Divided government would be good outcome next fall.

World’s fattest parrots set for mating bonanza after bumper berry crop: After a four-year hiatus, conservationists in New Zealand are relieved that the flightless kākāpo is once again breeding. Fewer than 300 of the parrots exist. - "The parrots were once abundant in New Zealand, but dwindled after the arrival of Polynesian settlers around 700 years ago, who hunted them for meat and feathers. The arrival of European settlers accelerated their demise by clearing forest habitats and introducing deer and possums, competing with them for forest resources."

Trump makes obscene gesture, mouths expletive at Detroit factory heckler: “As far as calling him out, definitely no regrets whatsoever,” the heckler told The Post after a video captured Trump twice mouthing “f--- you” and raising his middle finger.

FBI executes search warrant at Washington Post reporter’s home: The search came as part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of illegally retaining classified government materials.

Thom Tillis wants you to know something: ‘I’m sick of stupid’: The North Carolina Republican has been at the forefront this month of staking out anti-MAGA ground and criticizing Trump’s aides. [ed. note: Thom Tillis is deeply insincere, very stupid, or both]

A casino bill is a bad bet for Virginia Democrats: Few issues have divided Democratic lawmakers as sharply as the proposed Tysons casino.

After fleeing the Taliban, they felt safe in America. A shooting in D.C. changed everything.: “Most of all, I wanted freedom. I’m so scared I won’t get it.”

A Romance That Actually Takes Sex Seriously: Heated Rivalry understands how relationships develop through physicality.

How the Supreme Court Broke Congress: In the name of protecting the balance of powers, the Court is radically refashioning that balance. - "The citizens and commentators shouting from the sidelines that Congress must act, fix itself, and reclaim its intended role are not wrong. But they miss that the Court has made doing so nearly impossible. The practical result is a Congress caught between paralysis and policing, mostly incapable of translating collective judgment into law and, when it does manage to do so, vulnerable to having its most significant accomplishments - civil-rights enforcement, voting protections, campaign-finance reform, administrative authority - erased by judicial decree. The judiciary, long conceptualized as a check on legislative excess, is now defined by its own excess against legislative charge.

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"The Roberts Court has hollowed out these dynamic sources of congressional constitutionalism. Its voting-rights and campaign-finance decisions have weakened the electoral systems that make Congress responsive to the public. Statutes of this genre, to borrow from the former Yale Law School dean Robert Post, should be thought of as "wholesome legislation that nourishes democratic legitimacy"-measured legislative judgments about the guardrails and ground rules necessary to preserve elections as channels of representation, and public faith in them as such. In dismantling this scaffolding, the Court has left Congress more detached from its electorate, diminishing its claim and role as a representative authority."

The Islamic Republic Will Not Last: But the opposition has to start working together if something better is to follow.

The Biggest Myth About Trump’s Base (And Why Many Believe It): The MAGA faithful aren’t deserting their leader. - "The obvious conclusion is this: These purportedly pro-Trump figures do not actually speak for Trump or his supporters. Trumpism is not neo-isolationist or neoconservative, pro-restraint or pro-intervention. It is not pro-worker or pro-billionaire. It is whatever Trump says it is. According to YouGov, two weeks before American forces snatched Maduro, Republican support for invading Venezuela stood at 43 percent. Today that number is 74 percent. 'America First' and 'Make America Great Again' are slogans, not deeply held governing philosophies. They are branding - and Trump is the brand."

Reading archive 2026-01-13

Trump is trying to change how the midterm elections are conducted: Many of these endeavors go far beyond typical political persuasion, challenging long-established democratic norms.

You’re the reason your home is disorganized. Here’s how to fix that.: Sixteen pieces of tough love from professional home organizers.

New federal spending bill for D.C. seeks to prevent repeat of 2025’s $1B cut: The House and Senate appropriations bill also boosts funding for a D.C. scholarship program and includes $90 million in police funding.

Congress agrees to fund Voice of America, bucking Trump shutdown order: The Trump administration has tried to eliminate funding for the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA. Appropriators in Congress have had other ideas.

EPA says it will no longer consider health costs in pollution regulations: The EPA weakened emissions standards for new power plants and said it would no longer consider the economic impacts of public health in rule making.

The EPA’s shock and awe deregulatory push learns from past mistakes: The EPA aims to push its rules changes into court as fast as possible to cement the administration’s agenda with final judgments before Trump leaves office. - "In addition, the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the size of government may be slowing down its deregulatory agenda, simply because there are not enough people on staff to do the work."

Congressional staffer allegedly stole 240 cell phones from government: Officials say Christopher Southerland had the phones shipped directly to his Maryland home before selling them.

Once-revered trans activist Ruby Corado sentenced for defrauding government: A federal judge ordered the founder of Casa Ruby to serve 33 months in prison, pay more than $900,000 in restitution and report to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Why you should consider a jumping spider as your next pet: If we can get beyond our fears, spiders, beetles, caterpillars and other creepy-crawlies can make for fine family companions.

Trump picks up the phone and calls Sen. Elizabeth Warren: The unlikely conversation came after years of antipathy between the two politicians, including the president’s derogatory use of the nickname “Pocahontas” to describe her.

Trump’s Shrinking Coalition: The president can no longer present himself as anti-system, because he has become the system.

The YIMBY Hero Everyone Is Shouting At: Scott Wiener—a pro-trans Zionist who wants California to allow more homes—has an extreme tolerance for pushback. - "In Democratic cities, people demand 38 meetings and three dozen environmental assessments before tearing down a crack den to build a nursery for sad orphans. Voters, Wiener argues, want politicians who are 'willing to break glass to get those things done.'"

The Hole in Trump’s Rationale for Acquiring Greenland: The office dedicated to countering China and Russia in the Arctic has been axed.

Big Oil Knows That Trump’s Venezuela Plans Are Delusional: The president’s thinking is stuck in the 1980s.

Reading archive 2025-12-30

Byron Donalds faces racist attacks in Florida’s ugly GOP gubernatorial primary

How a landlord responded when tenants formed a union, stopped paying rent: In Kansas City, Missouri, where housing costs are rising at twice the national average, a successful rent strike at one building inspired another across town in what is poised to become a national movement.

As Russia’s war grinds on, its society is fraying: The Kremlin presents the country as strong, united and on an inevitable path to victory, but as peace negotiations drag on, Russian society is deteriorating. - "'Everyone still wants to take Odesa. It’s a common opinion: People want to go to Odesa on vacation again,' Gribova said. 'For us, this is a civil war between Russians and Russians who have forgotten a bit that they are Russians, that’s all.'"

The U.S. may have a secret weapon against rising electricity prices: Most of the year, grid utilization is around 50 percent. Could that be used to lower prices? - "When utilities build more infrastructure — more poles, more wires, more power plants — they also get to profit from those investments. They can’t make a profit from their operating expenses, the cost to keep the existing system running. 'If they were in the apple business, they get paid for planting more trees, not growing more apples,' said Amit Narayan, the co-founder and CEO of GridCARE."

Black-footed ferrets born in Virginia in cloning-research milestone: Eleven kits born this summer at a National Zoo facility are the descendants of ferrets cloned from decades-old frozen cells.

As rumors swirl after political killings, this GOP lawmaker draws a line: Minnesota state senator Julia Coleman knew both Charlie Kirk and Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman. She is fed up with the conspiracy theories around their deaths. - "Coleman sees conspiracies and misinformation trending more on her own side, the political right, but believes the problem transcends partisan loyalties. In Minnesota, traumatized legislators have stayed away from Hortman and Kirk conspiracy theories, and many have been speaking out against them, Coleman said."

I fed my dog vegan kibble for a year. Why the switch is now permanent.: Vegan pet food is gaining human and animal fans alike, as people look to reduce their household’s environmental impact and enhance their pets’ health. - "'As long as you’re feeding your pet a commercial food, you are doing right by your pet,' says Fox. 'This has been researched to death. All that research says that dog food is what’s best for dogs. It’s almost worse for cats, who have very specific needs.'"

Homeland Security seeks emergency demolition of historic buildings in D.C.: DHS Secretary Kristi L. Noem, in a memo obtained by The Washington Post, said the buildings “constitute a present risk to life and property.” Preservationists contend no evidence of an emergency exists.

The Truth About Immigration That MAGA Doesn’t Acknowledge: American families rely on immigrants to take care of their children. - "In the first half of this year, Trump's ICE agency made twice as many arrests as it did under the Biden administration during the same period last year. These efforts seem to have created a chilling effect, making many female immigrants scared to show up for work. According to a report from the New America Foundation published earlier this month, the arrests were associated with a loss of about 39,000 foreign-born child-care workers. Meanwhile, 77,000 U.S.-born mothers of kids under 5 dropped out of the workforce."

Conservatives Want the Antebellum Constitution Back: The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments are in trouble. - "The Constitution of the Roberts Court is not color-blind. It is a Constitution that permits discrimination on the basis of race, but forbids alleviating discrimination on the basis of race. And over the next year, the Court will face more cases that could further erode both the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, pushing America back toward what some on the right believe is the true, Antebellum Constitution.

...

"The blood of Confederate soldiers who would never own a slave watered southern fields because they saw slavery as the cornerstone of their social and economic order. The Populists failed to ameliorate the deprivation of the Gilded Age because white laborers who had more in common with their Black counterparts chose the psychological wage offered by Jim Crow over the literal wages that might be earned through brotherhood. The MAGA elite offers a similar fantasy today, though the number of Trump voters who will see a loved one deported or their paycheck dwindle will eclipse by orders of magnitude those who rub shoulders with donors in his new ballroom. 

MAGA's ruling caste will not be as overtly racially circumscribed as in the past. But we can trace its contours in the Trump administration's policy decisions and legal victories, and the Roberts Court's resurrection of the Antebellum Constitution. The path the justices are walking leads to Calhoun's paradise: an America where a class of stateless children can be denied education and medical care; where people of color must carry identification papers if they don't want to be harassed, detained, imprisoned, or worse; where workers can be subject to invidious discrimination without recourse; where the military points guns at the taxpayers who fund it; and where the official ideology of the state is vindicated by elections the ruling party cannot lose. It will be a society of the dominators and the dominated. But it will not be a democracy worthy of the name.

‘It’s Very Controversial, but I Love Nick Fuentes’ The white-supremacist influencer cast a shadow over Turning Point USA’s annual gathering. - "Young anti-Fuentes attendees I spoke with also repeated the same sentiment about him to me: The Boomers don't get how much of a problem he is for the future of the right. 'It's true the Groypers are here,' Dimas Guaico, a 29-year-old advocate with Generation Zion, told me. 'I feel like a lot of the leadership here, including TPUSA leadership, haven't done enough to call Groypers out. Now I feel like it's too late.'"

There Were Two Charlie Kirks: A new book by the right-wing activist, who was murdered in September, has moments of seriousness, beauty, and cross-partisan appeal.

CBS and CNN Are Being Sacrificed to Trump: Media conglomerates want the president’s permission for mergers—and control of news outlets is at stake. - "The fate of Warner Bros. Discovery is no longer a regulatory matter. It is a medieval tournament, in which the king invites rival bidders to compete for his approval. To acquire the media company, the aspirants - Paramount and Netflix - will have to offer a sacrifice: Whoever can damage CNN the most stands to walk away with the prize. 

This is one of those moments in Donald Trump's presidency when an event that would otherwise be recognized as a death knell for democracy somehow fails to elicit the outrage it deserves. Warner Bros. Discovery owns CNN, whose coverage Trump views as hostile to his administration. So he is abusing the government's merger-approval power in order to insist that the next owner of the venerable outlet mold its journalism to his liking.

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"The whole system, including the courts, can no longer be counted on to provide a buffer against Trump. Over the past several months, Trump has transformed once-independent agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission into extensions of his will. (And the Supreme Court is likely to lend its imprimatur to this power grab in the Trump v. Slaughter decision it will hand down next year.) Those agencies were created, exuding the ethos of the Progressive era, with a simple mandate: to make technocratic decisions that transcend partisanship. That is why they were required to be bipartisan in composition. Strip them of that independence, and regulatory approval becomes something closer to royal favor."

The Other Way the ‘Super Woke’ Left Discriminates Race and gender aren’t the only categories that determine who gets special treatment. [ed. note: this poor sad fucker]

Get Ready to Start Hearing About Aileen Cannon Again: The Florida-based judge is likely to once again play a central role in politics in the new year.

Reading archive 2025-12-29

The MAGA-fication of Nicki Minaj Once an advocate for LGBTQ+ people and immigrants, the rapper has repeatedly praised an administration cracking down on the same people, and the White House is returning the love. - "'Even Drake has his papers,' rapper Azealia Banks wrote on X in September, according to Complex, mocking Minaj for ingratiating herself to Trump. 'Even Cardi B isn’t a 40-year-old immigrant. … Doing dolphin tricks for the barbs in a country she can’t vote in is rusty babe.'"

Russia isn’t winning. Putin wants to fool you.: Putin’s hope is that U.S. will somehow convince itself that Ukraine can’t succeed. Don’t fall for it.

Russia’s economy keeps driving its war, but it could break in 2026: Problems in the oil sector, a possible banking crisis and consumer woes lie ahead for Russia’s economy as prices for Russian oil plummet over sanctions.

He mailed dozens of antisemitic letters. Volunteers helped track him down.: During a time of rising attacks, threats can’t be ignored, security experts, nonprofit leaders and community members told The Post.

JD Vance is ‘walking a tightrope’ on raging Israel debate within MAGA: At Turning Point USA’s conference, the vice president didn’t mention the topic that’s tearing the movement apart.

Heritage staffers quit amid latest strife at conservative institution: “Most of our staff, from our legal and economic centers, are departing immediately,” Heritage President Kevin Roberts wrote in a Sunday night email to staff.

Ask a Vet: Is it ethical to buy a flat-faced dog?: French bulldogs and other brachycephalic breeds come with high price tags and, often, serious health problems.

White House threatens Smithsonian funds in sweeping content review: “American people will have no patience” for any museum that is “uncomfortable conveying a positive view of American history,” read a letter from Trump aides.

Presenting The 2025 Shams Charania Award For Excellence In Divulging Of Information Through Syntax Comprehended By Many - "I find that LLMs produce sentences that are smooth, glib, poreless, smiling, somewhat like a beluga whale. But every busted sentence written by a human is busted in its own way. Each of these sentences is unwittingly an act of resistance against the onrushing techno-homogenization of language. The writer’s own haste, uncertainty, or sloth manifests itself in the syntax. Every time a person begins to write, they are taking a bit of their interiority and, through a wondrous act of inversion, making it legible to the external world."

Abandoning homeownership may be changing how people behave at work and home: What happens when a generation gives up on ever owning a home? New research explores the potential consequences, and what to do about it.

Burning wood emits more than fossil fuels. Here’s how to build a better fire.: A wood-burning fireplace isn’t great for the planet or your health. But there are things you can do to make your fireplace better.

The year Trump broke the federal government: How DOGE and the White House carried out a once-unthinkable transformation of the nation’s sprawling bureaucracy.

How Trump changed my mind on the filibuster: The Senate’s 60-vote requirement is an excuse for aggrandizing executive power. - "The filibuster functions as a brake on radical change when Congress is the center of the political system. When the president is at the center, the benefits are less clear. The costs also become more apparent because the filibuster, as an obstacle to legislating, becomes a pretext for presidential overreach."

New York's Congestion Pricing Is Working. Five Charts Show How

How Israeli covert activities in Syria seek to thwart its new government: Israel is suspicious of President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a longtime Islamist militant, and has provided weapons, intelligence and cash to militiamen at odds with his rule.

Why the Fed strategically absorbed some blows from Trump: Facing threats from President Donald Trump, the central bank opted for a low-profile strategy, juggling political pressures and the looming question of how far it can go to defend itself.

Trump’s farmer bailout caps tough year for loyal constituency: Red-state farmers continue to struggle under damaging inflation and the fallout of President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, especially with China.

The old-world antisemitism in a Christmas pageant near you: Does the pope mean what he says about zero tolerance of hatred toward Jews?

D.C. customers face nearly 13 percent hike on gas bills this winter: Washington Gas customers in the District, Maryland and Virginia face increases in their bills.

The epidemic of toxic flattery is spreading: What do AI, Trump’s cabinet and the academy have in common? They aim to please.

Pipe bomb suspect admits targeting RNC, DNC headquarters, officials say: Prosecutors said Brian J. Cole told the FBI that he planted the explosives on Jan. 5, 2021, because he was frustrated with the U.S. political system. - "Brian J. Cole, 30, told investigators that 'something just snapped' in him 'because he was unhappy with the response of political leaders on both sides of the political aisle to questions raised about the results of the 2020 election,' according to the filing, which asks a judge in U.S. District Court in Washington to keep Cole in jail pending his trial."

 - "Studies have found that wolves in the Midwest and Canada not only keep deer populations in check, but they also alter deer behavior in ways that help prevent car crashes and save human lives."

Wolves, long feared and reviled, may actually be lifesavers

The real issue strangling America’s electric grid: AI data centers are being blamed for price spikes manufactured in statehouses and D.C. [ed. note: authors are industry hacks who ignore the health costs of coal plants]

Reading archive 2025-12-18

The lasting impact of Trump’s federal surge on one D.C. neighborhood

Why U.S. and Chinese satellites are ‘dogfighting’ in orbit

Dan Bongino announces he is leaving FBI deputy director job in January: Bongino told colleagues more than a week ago that he would not be returning to Washington headquarters this year, according to people familiar with the matter.

Jack Smith defends his cases against Trump during hours-long deposition: Former special counsel Jack Smith was giving a closed-door deposition to the House Judiciary Committee. He had asked to testify in public.

Fast, harsh, alone: Trump beams into prime time with uncertain results: Supporters said they’d never seen Trump like this before and wondered if he’d achieved his purpose of assuaging concerns about the economy.

The Most Scathing Book Reviews of 2025 "Historians will study how bad this book is."

What I’ve learned by mapping the impacts of NIH cuts: The effects have been widespread but could have been worse — and may yet be - "NIH-funded research contributed to more than 99% of FDA-approved drugs between 2010 and 2019."

The Worsening Geopolitics of Water in the Middle East

Iran president says capital move now a necessity as water crisis deepens

Rare sight of mother polar bear adopting a cub captured by camera: A polar bear mother was seen with one cub in the spring — but by fall she had adopted a second, according to Canadian researchers.

Democrats will not release the autopsy of their 2024 loss: Party leaders hope to avoid contentious fights over the party’s failing as it attempts to reboot for the 2026 midterms.

Reading archive 2025-12-09

Meet the Woman on a Mission to Photograph Every Species of Hummingbird in the World: In less than a decade amateur photographer and Hummingbird Spot founder Carole Turek has photographed more than 250 hummingbird species, including one that was long considered extinct.

Why the Passenger Pigeon Went Extinct: And whether it can, and should, be brought back to life a century after it disappeared. - "(Audubon himself dismissed those who believed that 'such dreadful havoc' as hunting would 'soon put an end to the species.')"

Former FBI agents sue agency for firings over kneeling for George Floyd in D.C.: The 12 agents said they made a “tactical” decision to kneel during the June 4, 2020, demonstration in hopes of de-escalating a confrontation with an angry crowd.

The ‘solar’ in these solar roofs is invisible. Are they worth the price?: Solar roof tiles use the same basic technology as solar panels but are designed to be integrated into roofs and mimic traditional roofing materials.

A marriage gap is growing — and it could spell disaster: The “war on boys” could be resulting in some women shunning marriage. [ed. note: an absolute gallup that does not offer evidence for its conclusions]

Religious leaders say they’re observing a hidden trend among younger Americans: Religious affiliation has been dropping among young people for decades, but examples abound of surging interest on college campuses and in cities like D.C. - "'We are raised in this world where information is everything and yet it could be meaningless and false. … In a world of fake news, what is real?' said Murray. 'People are turning to a book that has been unchanged for 2,000 years and that’s where we are finding peace and purpose and truth.'" [ed. note: lol]

Police investigation faults Nancy Mace for profanity-laced airport tirade: The report found the congresswoman turned a “minor miscommunication” by police into a “spectacle.”

Democrat Crockett enters Senate race in Texas; Allred switches to House run: The last-minute candidate scramble comes in a race for a seat they are trying, against the odds, to flip from red to blue

Reading archive 2025-12-03

 A sickening moral slum of an administration: Regarding Venezuela, Ukraine and much more, Trump and his acolytes are worse than simply incompetent. - "Two weeks ago, the chief of staff of the French army said: 'We have the know-how, and we have the economic and demographic strength to dissuade the regime in Moscow. What we are lacking … is the spirit which accepts that we will have to suffer if we are to protect what we are. If our country wavers because it is not ready to lose its children … or to suffer economically because the priority has to be military production, then we are indeed at risk.'"

Drunk raccoon passes out in bathroom after ransacking Va. liquor store: The furry bandit was returned to the wild after sobering up. Authorities said he had no signs of injury “other than maybe a hangover and poor life choices.”

Costco sues Trump administration over tariffs, seeks full refund: Trump justified his sweeping tariffs by calling the U.S. trade deficit a “national emergency.” Costco’s suit alleges his signature economic policy is unlawful.

D.C. Council extends stricter youth curfew through April: In addition to extending the curfew, a D.C. Council member put forward and then withdrew an attempt to delay the implementation of ranked-choice voting.

After restaurant pushback, D.C. likely to change streatery rules: Some restaurateurs have said they can’t afford to comply with the city’s new program.

Republicans begin to tighten the screws on Hegseth’s Pentagon: GOP frustration with Trump’s defense secretary has intensified, with some lawmakers questioning their confidence in him as key committees pursue an aggressive oversight campaign.

It’s a strange ‘charity’ that pays fired football coaches $228M: The government should not treat university athletic departments like food banks. - "Plumbing this issue more thoroughly, Thomas asked, 'Why should the Federal government subsidize the athletic activities of educational institutions when that subsidy is being used to help pay for escalating coaches’ salaries, costly chartered travel, and state-of-the-art athletic facilities?'"

Reading archive 2025-10-17

Voters facing skyrocketing electric bills turn ire toward politicians: Issues including the expansion of energy-hungry data centers, obscure surcharges on bills and clean-energy mandates are capturing the attention of frustrated consumers.

I Taped My Mouth Shut for 100 Days to Get a Better Jawline: TikTokers, celebrities, and self-declared health gurus are all touting the benefits of mouth taping. I tried it myself to investigate the hype.

Helsinki goes a full year without a traffic death: A city traffic engineer credits the success to lower speed limits and smarter design.

White, Legally Armed, and Primed for Political Violence: Ian Rogers was convinced it was up to him to save America. The gun industry’s sales tactics — playing up paranoia and glorifying combat — may be creating a pipeline of extremists willing to open fire.

'Link in Bio' Ruined All Our Brains A unified theory on the bad state of everything.

Study shows mountain lions are changing to adapt to human recreation: In Los Angeles, the animals are shifting to less daytime activity in areas where humans are roaming more frequently.

This isolated town in Maine could be a model for the clean energy future: Tidal power and solar would fuel a community microgrid to protect the island of Eastport from outages.

Why cranberry country is turning into wetlands: Massachusetts farmers began draining wetlands to make cranberry bogs more than two centuries ago. Now there’s a race to restore them.

What’s America’s largest ethnic group, and why did we get it wrong for so long?: The identity of America’s largest ethnic group has long seemed cut and dried. But new data is challenging the conventional wisdom.

Teacher dies after bat bites her at California school: Leah Seneng, a California teacher, was bitten by what officials called a “presumably rabid bat.” Her friend said she tried not to harm the bat in her classroom.

How much abuse can a local newspaper reporter take?: Republicans claim Tom Lisi’s reporting is lies to promote a liberal agenda. How should he respond? - "The lesson here? Toss out the noble but outdated industry wisdom that it’s best to avoid jawing with the haters because the work speaks for itself. Well, the people who need to hear the pushback aren’t reading the work that speaks for itself. Confront the media bashers wherever they practice their profession."

Consumer watchdog takes aim at credit card rewards programs: Major card issuers often play a “shell game” and deny consumers the rewards they have earned, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warns.

Man and woman charged after girl, 5, was shot by her 3-year-old brother: The child was critically wounded after her brother found a ghost gun in an apartment in Southwest Washington, police said.

The hidden science swirling in ‘The Starry Night’: The famous painting from Dutch post-impressionist Vincent van Gogh has sparked controversy among physicists.

Why Qatar is building an air force training facility at a U.S. military base: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho will host Qatari pilots at the military facility. The base will remain under U.S. jurisdiction.

China’s demographic crisis means it’s going to run out of workers

Reading archive 2025-10-06

How Big Agriculture got its way in the latest MAHA report: Alarmed by the first MAHA commission report, the agriculture industry mobilized to shape the next installment. Those efforts seemingly paid off.

Government shutdowns have become normal. This one is not.: Many of the administration’s actions have no precedent, which makes it a harder test of both sides.

Riders on the storm: The birds that fly into hurricanes

How I grew a prairie on my balcony—and how you can, too

The most miraculous animal migration is happening in the middle of New York City: If we can help these creatures flourish in NYC, we can help them anywhere.

The AI bubble is 17 times the size of the dot-com frenzy - and four times subprime, this analyst argues - "'So, in summary; you can't create an app with commercial value as it is either generic (games etc), which won't sell, or it is regurgitated public domain (homework), or it is subject to copyright. It's hard to advertise effectively, LLMs cost an exponentially larger amount to train each generation, with a rapidly diminishing gain in accuracy. There's no moat on a model, so there's little pricing power. And the people who use LLMs the most are using them to access compute that costs the developer more to provide than their monthly subscriptions,' he says."

Reading archive 2025-09-28

Love pours in for a dying octopus as she tends to eggs that will never hatch

Russia is helping prepare China to attack Taiwan, documents suggest: Russia is using its battlefield experience to give Chinese airborne units the training and technical knowhow to carry out lightning-fast operations.

A new report from the Planetary Boundaries Science Lab at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) reveals that 7 of the 9 critical Earth system boundaries have now been breached, one more than last year.

More kids are severely ill or dying from the flu, CDC reports: As fewer children get their flu shots, cases of a rare, severe complication are rising. Last season, the U.S. experienced the highest number of pediatric flu deaths in 15 years.

This blue state governor sent the National Guard to her biggest city: No guns, no Humvees and no arrests. This deployment looks very different from the way Trump has used soldiers in places like D.C. or Los Angeles. And local police say it’s working.

Reading archive 2025-09-23 pt 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reading archive 2025-09-11

‘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?”

Reading archive 2025-08-09

Studying bank deposits, Sandra Grimes found a deadly CIA traitor: Ms. Grimes, who has died at the age of 79, helped reveal that Aldrich Ames was selling secrets to the Soviets. Her book about the case was adapted into an ABC miniseries.

Birds kept dropping dead. A D.C. biologist cracked the case.