Showing posts with label cleaning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cleaning. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 13, 2026

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.

Monday, August 18, 2025

Reading archive 2025-08-18

As Trump takes over D.C.’s police, here’s what law enforcement can and cannot do: With federal and local officers on D.C.’s streets, here’s what to know about what law enforcement agencies can legally order you to do — and what they can’t.

‘South Park’ and ‘King of the Hill’ take on the Trump era: The two ’90s-era animated comedies — one in its 27th season, the other back after a decade-plus hiatus — may be TV’s sharpest observers of the current political climate.

Dedicated volunteer exposes “single largest self-promotion operation in Wikipedia’s history”: Ten years of work to boost one man's reputation.

The best way to get stubborn grease spots out of your clothes: A tiny grease spatter doesn’t have to spell the end for that favorite T-shirt.

This number is bad news for the economy: Low unemployment is great, but only if it’s due to lots of new jobs, not an evaporating labor force.

Why Mamdani’s socialism-on-the-Hudson would be useful for America: If Zohran Mamdani is New York’s next mayor, the nation will be reminded of socialism’s many harms. - "Over four decades ago, sociologist Daniel Bell postulated capitalism’s 'cultural contradictions': Capitalism’s success undermines the virtues (thrift, industriousness, deferral of gratification) that are prerequisites for its continuing success. Socialism’s cultural contradiction is that it is parasitic on capitalism, which must produce the wealth that socialism redistributes — until the engine of wealth creation, battered by socialism’s redistributive agenda, sputters."

What the president’s ‘golden share’ in the U.S. Steel deal means: Trump’s plans for U.S. Steel are another blow against free enterprise. - "Under the terms of the deal, the sitting U.S. president will have the power to appoint one of the three independent directors to the board of U.S. Steel and have veto power over the other two. The president’s permission will reportedly also be needed to transfer production or jobs outside of the U.S., to close or idle plants, to change the sourcing of raw materials, or to relocate the company headquarters or individual plants, among other decisions."

Thursday, July 10, 2025

Reading archive 2025-07-09

Think you’re cleaning your water bottle enough? Wrong.: Here’s how often you should be cleaning your water bottle, and how to do it correctly.

To Save Nature, Make It Sacred: Beyond science and policy, the key to protecting Earth’s most vulnerable ecosystems may lie in the human capacity to treat certain places as sacred. - "The lake’s sacrosanct status does not rest on formal enforcement or economic incentives but on a moral orientation that has become embedded in the community’s relationship to place. Visitors care for the lake of their own accord; threat of punishment is not required."

Chesapeake Bay is stagnating. Here’s what could help.: This big pollution problem isn’t quite solved.

If Emanuel runs, he’ll bet on candor defeating the ‘culture police’: The former mayor of Chicago talks about what ails the Democratic Party, and how to cure it.

D.C. Democrats tarnish themselves by resisting ranked-choice voting: Initiative 83 would make the election system fairer. The D.C. Council should fund its implementation.

Canadian troops arrested in alleged plot to seize part of Quebec: The suspects are accused of stockpiling an extensive arsenal and conducting military-style training while building an anti-government militia, police said.

Monday, June 30, 2025

Reading archive 2025-06-27

The Most Powerful Woman in Washington: Meet Elizabeth MacDonough.

21 things you can declutter with zero emotional energy: “Decision-free” decluttering will cost you a little time but no thought and no heartache.

Pro-Palestine Activists Fell for Iran’s Propaganda: Western supporters would do well to note how Tehran’s policy has left the Palestinian cause in ruins. - "Back in the 1990s, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and political leadership worked to undermine the Oslo peace process by inciting Hamas's opposition to any settlement that would have led to a two-state solution. Later, they encouraged Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas to carry out suicide bombings inside Israel. Beginning in 2005, Iran increased its arms shipments to Hamas, enabling the group to seize control of Gaza in 2007 and turn it into a one-party Islamist statelet. Iran also financed Hamas's construction of tunnels in Gaza and provided the group with missile technology, funneled via the smuggling networks that Iran effectively sponsored in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula."

The Blockbuster That Captured a Growing American Rift: The novel that inspired the film Jaws was decidedly populist. The movie took a different turn.

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Reading archive 2025-04-02

The Weekend That Shook the World

This muggy city keeps cool with minimal AC. Here’s how.: Palava City, a 5,000-acre experimental community northeast of Mumbai, hopes to provide a model for adapting to a climate-transformed world.

The Evermaskers: The isolation of people who take precautions against COVID has only gotten more intense.

Russia’s Repression Goes South: A group of Russian exiles thought they would find freedom in Georgia. They were wrong.

How the Trump administration took aim at Maine: The acting head of the Social Security Administration called the state’s governor “disrespectful” and vowed there would be consequences.

Head of African American Museum on leave as Smithsonian faces Trump pressure: Kevin Young, an acclaimed poet who was named director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2021, is on personal leave for an “undetermined period,” according to an email obtained by The Post.

White House studying cost of Greenland takeover, long in Trump’s sights: It’s the most concrete effort yet to turn President Donald Trump’s desire to acquire the Danish territory into actionable policy, despite widespread international outrage.

Karen Read is back on trial for murder. Here’s what to know.: Read, accused of killing her boyfriend, alleges she was framed as part of a police cover-up. She is being retried after her first case ended in a mistrial.

How to make your seasonal allergies a little less miserable: Take allergy medicine a few weeks before pollen counts rise to get ahead of the congestion, sneezing and runny nose, experts say - "Despite claims online, there’s no evidence a spoonful of local honey will treat your seasonal pollen allergies, experts said. 

The honey might help to soothe a sore throat or cough, but not treat the allergic reaction. 'The pollen that’s actually in honey is not the pollen you’re allergic to,' Rubin said. 'Plants you’re allergic to are wind-pollinated, not insect-pollinated.'"

Air traffic controller charged with assaulting colleague in DCA tower: A work dispute led to an altercation between employees in the control tower at Reagan National Airport on Thursday night, people familiar with the matter say.

Trump says he’s already scored more business deals than Biden. That’s false.: The White House is comparing apples and oranges.

Farmers bewildered after USDA suggests cutting DEI from energy projects: The Agriculture Department said it would release funds withheld from farmers for months but also suggested they alter projects to align with Trump’s agenda.

You’re probably not cleaning these 11 very germy spots: Don’t worry. Once you know about them, they’re easy to take care of.

Trump administration says it mistakenly deported Salvadoran migrant: The government blamed “an administrative error” for the deportation of Kilmar Abrego García, a Salvadoran immigrant married to a U.S. citizen. Officials claim they’re unable to return him to his family in Maryland.

As Trump shakes trust in U.S., a hub for F-16 fighter jets braces for impact: Booming exports turned a South Carolina city into the “Global Home of the F-16.” Slipping foreign demand among angry allies could hurt that economic engine.

These old Roman buildings could unlock how to build in a warming world: The recycled buildings of Rome, long dismissed by architects, are getting a reappraisal as a model for how to reduce waste while creating something fresh.

Monday, March 24, 2025

Reading archive 2025-03-24 pt 1

How a Global Online Network of White Supremacists Groomed a Teen to Kill

Turkey lurches toward outright autocracy as Erdoğan’s main rival is jailed: Popular opposition leader Ekrem İmamoğlu calls for mass protests as he is thrown in jail and booted out as Istanbul mayor.

What Is the Endgame for Ukraine?: History offers a range of precedents for what an agreement with Russia could look like—and how bad the consequences might be.

How Berlin’s fiscal flip stunned Brussels and spooked its allies: The weeklong blitz on the EU’s fiscal rules generated more blowback than Germany ever expected.

Trump said he didn’t sign the Alien Enemies Act proclamation. So who — or what — did?: Did Trump misspeak? Is he trying to deflect a decision under heavy legal scrutiny onto Secretary of State Marco Rubio?

‘Very dangerous’: Japanese Americans warn of Trump’s use of Alien Enemies Act: Some fear Trump’s invocation of a 1798 wartime authority could lead to abuses similar to those that took place during one of the darkest chapters of U.S. history.

Trump wants to build more ships in the United States. It’s not so simple.: The administration aims to counter China’s dominance of commercial shipbuilding. - "'It appears to be written by people who have absolutely no idea how the maritime supply chain works,' said Lars Jensen, chief executive of Vespucci Maritime, a consultancy in Copenhagen. 'The container lines will adjust and cut out the smaller ports. The consequence is going to be massive port congestion in the larger ports.'

...

"If the new port fees are imposed, the three major ocean carrier alliances, which collaborate like airline industry partnerships, would probably try to avoid the extra costs by reassigning Chinese-made container ships from U.S. routes to serve Europe, analysts said. 

"Some vessels that would be subject to the fees could dock at Canadian or Mexican ports rather than unload at American wharves — costing American dockworkers and truck drivers.

...

"Fewer vessels docking at smaller ports such as Oakland, California, would make it harder and more expensive for major U.S. exporters to ship their goods to foreign customers, and it would affect imports as well. Farmers who rely on bulk carriers to move grain and other commodities would be hit especially hard, forced to send their crops hundreds of miles overland to Southern California."

Why Charles Schumer could be in trouble: Polling shows the Senate Democratic leader is in a historically bad position for a party leader, as some call to replace him.

‘Corner-crossing’ to reach public lands is legal, appeals court rules: The decision, in a case that pitted four Missouri hunters against a millionaire Wyoming landowner, protects public access to millions of acres across the West.

Trump says Boeing will develop the F-47, his namesake fighter jet: The president’s announcement marks a major milestone for the Air Force program that’s focused on ensuring the U.S. maintains a military edge over China.

Exploring the American frontier

Virginia man pleads guilty to removing top-secret documents from workplace: Gokhan Gun, a former electrical engineer for the Defense Department, admitted to taking classified records from the Joint Warfare Analysis Center.

Former Virginia sheriff sentenced in badges-for-dollars corruption case: Scott Jenkins, who was the sheriff of Culpeper County, had been convicted of federal bribery and fraud charges by a jury in December.

Your washing machine can clean a lot more than clothes: Here’s how to put this spring cleaning secret weapon to better use.

Sneeze smarter, not louder: The science of a quieter sneeze

Thursday, January 2, 2025

Reading archive 2025-01-02

How much protein do you really need?: And other questions about protein, answered.

The 6 grossest spots in your home, and how to clean them: Pro tips for combating E. coli, dust, pink slime and other nasties around your house.

The chief justice takes a swipe at JD Vance: The vice president-elect has repeatedly suggested that government officials may defy court orders.

Cybertruck explodes in front of Las Vegas Trump hotel, killing driver: The FBI said it is working to determine whether the explosion of the Tesla Cybertruck, which was filled with large firework mortars and gas canisters, was an act of terrorism.

More children are getting kidney stones. Experts think it’s their diet.: It’s a diagnosis more commonly associated with older adults.

10 policies Republicans could use to pay for new tax cuts: Extending the expiring 2017 tax cuts could add $5 trillion to the national debt; Trump and GOP lawmakers are considering these policies to offset that cost.

Mother stabbed while holding toddler dies of injuries weeks later: Iman Gaye, 26, died at a hospital Monday morning of injuries she sustained earlier in December, police said.

Va. man had largest homemade bomb stockpile in FBI history, prosecutors say: An informant said Brad K. Spafford used photographs of President Joe Biden for target practice.

New laws in DMV bring changes to health care, speeding fines, construction: Laws passed in 2024 also deal with electric vehicle charging stations, opioid addiction treatment and reducing bird hazards on newly constructed buildings.

Sheriff says Tesla Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas was probably a suicide: The man inside the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday was believed to be an active-duty soldier in the U.S. Army.

This new diet could help save the planet and your health. Here’s how it works.: You can eat healthier and shrink your carbon footprint with these recipes and dietary guidelines, which don’t require you to ditch meat or sacrifice flavor.

Static stretching is unlikely to improve strength and performance: It may, however, increase range of motion, which is key for many athletes.

The Case for Finding Common Ground With RFK: A pro-vaccine doctor argues that the left should engage with Americans skeptical of public-health rules. - "And what I think is really important to recognize is: Really until the pandemic, a lot of what Kennedy talks about—the idea that government and Big Pharma are in cahoots with one another, and that we’re overprescribing medications to ourselves, especially to our kids; the idea that we’re poisoning the environment with toxins; the idea that food companies are tempting kids with high-sugar, high-fructose, dyed products that then are contributing to a childhood-obesity epidemic—all of those things, I think, coded as liberal critiques of the medical establishment until very recently.

...

"So I don’t think the Democrats should be doing anything different at the mandate level. And that’s a place where I really differ from, say, Jared Polis, the governor of Colorado, who’s been tweeting in support of RFK with this kind of, like, bizarre zeal and who I think has sort of overstepped where he maybe wants to be. I think he wants to sort of express some understanding of where the folks of Colorado are, where there’s a really growing, pervasive anti-vax sentiment. That’s actually not—it’s bad public policy. It’s a recipe for disease outbreak.

...

"There’s, you know, sort of famously: In 2021, there was a really controversial, high-profile case of approval for a drug for Alzheimer’s that had just been shown not to work, basically. And Alzheimer’s—very common disease, incredibly devastating to families. People are desperate to believe that there is something that they can do for folks. We don’t really have good treatments right now. This was the sort of treatment that had received a lot of hype in advance.

"The data was just not supportive of the idea that it was effective. And, in fact, it did obviously cause harm in some small number of patients. It got pushed through the FDA approval process anyway, largely, in part, due to pressure from the Alzheimer’s Association, which was receiving money from the drug company. That is a perfect-storm setup for an RFK-type critique. And it’s true. And at the time, I wrote an op-ed criticizing that process. So that’s a place where he and I totally agree.

...

"So I think one of the major millennial failures is the invention and then rollout of small plates to, like, every yuppie restaurant in every city in the country—which is like: You go. You sit down. There’s, like, this menu of items that are all very expensive and very tiny, and they’re supposed to be for sharing, but they’re not big enough to share. And then the waiter comes and, like, does this whole explanation, like, Have you ever been here before? Let me explain to you how the menu works. Things at the top are small, and things at the bottom are bigger. And then the menu proceeds from, like, $18 for four anchovies to, like, eventually you get to, like, a whole fish. You know what I mean?"