Reading archive 2026-06-22

Pro-Israel and crypto money become central issue in Democratic primary Dark money — and complaints about it — have become the central issue in the 24-candidate field to replace Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland).

Tulsi Gabbard, her guru and the mysterious messages that helped shape her political career: I obtained hundreds of confidential memos detailing politics and policy guidance for Gabbard from her years in Congress, then embarked on a quest to identify who was behind them.

Could There Be a Third Party for Moderates?: It turns out, Americans agree on an awful lot.

World Cup visitors marvel at American food, from cheesesteaks to cheese slices: After going broke on tickets, there’s only one way for these fans to save a buck: cheap (and greasy) eats.

Who Is Andy Burnham, the Man Who Could Be Britain’s Next Prime Minister?: Charismatic, northern and exuding a relaxed optimism, Mr. Burnham is a contrast to Keir Starmer. His allies hope he could mend Labour’s relationship with voters. - "In 2022, after the last soccer World Cup, Mr. Starmer himself poked fun at his former colleague. In a speech to reporters, Mr. Starmer joked that Mr. Burnham 'got to see his boyhood team Argentina win the World Cup' but that 'it was a mixed bag because he also got to see his boyhood team France lose the final and his boyhood teams Morocco and Croatia lose in the semis.'"

The Deadly Rise of Giant Trucks and S.U.V.s: For decades, American roads were steadily getting safer for pedestrians. But around 2009, the trend reversed. Since then, the number of pedestrians killed each year has risen by about 75 percent.

Why cyclists don't stop at stop signs and shouldn't have to: Stop signs in Toronto were designed to control cars, and don't work for bikes. Cities with balanced transportation systems don't have them. - "I learned in design school that The User is Always Right. It doesn't matter what you think you have designed, the user's behaviour tells you what your product or system actually IS.... A great example is how roads are designed for 70 km/h, but then signed for 30 km/h – and then we wag our fingers at the speeders. These drivers are behaving perfectly normally for the system. If you wanted people to drive 30 km/h, then YOU FAILED. The people are not broken, YOUR SYSTEM IS BROKEN.

...

"'Nearly everyone has jaywalked, rolled through a stop sign, or driven a few miles per hour over the speed limit, but most such offences face no legal consequences. Society also tends to see these relatively minor infractions that almost all people make—though they are unmistakably illegal—as normal and even rational. Bicyclists who break the law, however, seem to attract a higher level of scorn and scrutiny.'"

Boomer caregiving will wreck our politics We have maybe five years to escape gerontocratic capture - "We are not prepared — emotionally, politically, financially — for what it means to care for tens of millions of aging boomers while also trying to invest in the future for our children. 

"Consider the demographic trends. In five years, America will have more people over 65 than under 18. Americans over 75 are the fastest-growing age group in the country. The worker-to-retiree ratio has collapsed from five-to-one in 1960 to about 2.5 today. Nearly 70% of people over 65 will need long-term care.

...

"Even if you were willing to make the hard decisions, political incentives won’t allow it. Older Americans are growing in number and vote at much higher rates than the young. Many of us want to invest more in children, families, and fertility, but the boomer caregiving wave will pull spending and incentives further toward the old. Politicians will follow their most reliable and expanding voting bloc."

The Butlerian Jihad Has Begun: Do we need a 'Holy War' against the Thinking Machines? - "Magnifica Humanitas is valuable precisely because it does not make the vulgar mistake now being projected onto the fictional Butlerian Jihad. It treats the thinking machine neither as a demon nor a consciousness hiding inside the circuitry. Nor does it see AI as some rival species whose emergence must be met with holy violence. 

It simply asks whose vision of the human person is being elevated through the thinking machine. And it warns against the very concentrations of power and structures of domination that haunted Frank Herbert’s writing.

...

"The burning question regarding AI is not whether the machines are evil. It is whether human beings will allow the machines to become instruments through which other human beings will concentrate power. A properly conceived Butlerian Jihad must target technocracy, not technology."

If Only Trump Knew What Vance Is Doing: If the president is infallible, there must be some other explanation for his Iran defeat.

The Democratic Base Is Angry: Is the party paying attention?

‘You Slap Me in the Face, I’ll Slap You Right Back’: Nancy Pelosi on gerrymandering, the midterms, and her 39 years in Congress

A ‘Death Train’ Is Haunting South Florida: The Brightline has been hailed as the future of high-speed rail in the United States, but it has one big, unignorable problem. - "What the Brightline is best known for is not that it reflects the gleam of the future but the fact that it keeps hitting people. According to Federal Railroad Administration data, the Brightline has been involved in at least 185 fatalities, 148 of which were believed not to be suicides, since it began operating, in December 2017. Last year, the train hit and killed 41 people-none of whom, as best as authorities could determine, was attempting to harm themselves. By comparison, the Long Island Rail Road, the busiest commuter line in the country, hit and killed six people last year while running 947 trains a day. Brightline was running 32.

...

"'Fast trains and grade crossings are always a deadly combination,' the historian Richard White, whose 2011 book about American railroads was a Pulitzer Prize finalist, told me. He put it the most succinctly, but I did not talk with anybody who disagreed with that conclusion."

The Warrior-Witches of Ukraine’s Resistance: An underground intelligence network uses subterfuge and honey traps to direct drone strikes deep inside Russian-occupied territory. - "I asked the partisans why they would talk with me at all, sharing intimate details of the war's most dangerous operations. In part, they are sending a message to the occupier: You are hated here. Sestra put a finer point on this: 'I want every Russian soldier who has set foot on our land to carry that paranoia with him - suffocating, relentless, every second of every day. I want him to look at the grandmother at the market, at the bus driver, at the doctor in the clinic, at the ordinary passerby on the street-and to see in each of them his own potential destruction.'"

Reading archive 2025-12-15

Spectacle Alone Does Not Sell Books: Why American Canto stiffed. - "The book itself and the additional revelations about Nuzzi paint her not as an interesting, if tragic, figure, but something less interesting, a woman without a stable sense of self who lurches between toxic men seeking god know’s what to fill the hole in her spirit."

Donald Trump's Big Gay Government: On the town with the A-Gays of Washington, who have never been happier to be out, proud and Republican

The Cryptocurrency Scam That Turned a Small Town Against Itself: How did a successful, financially sophisticated banker gamble his community’s money away?

He leaned right in high school. Now he’s the Trump-trolling Portland Chicken.: The protests against ICE gave Jack Dickinson a taste of national celebrity, but more important they gave him a community he’d never had before.

We Found That More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.

Christian musician, who sang the national anthem for Trump at 2022 rally, is facing felony child pornography charges

Thanks a Lot, Boomers: Hey, boomers! Younger Americans would like a word. We’ve noticed that many of you are pretty upset about the state of the nation. And we get it. We really do. But do you ever stop and ask yourselves how we got here?

Reading archive 2025-06-30

Nancy Mace privately asks Trump aides to unfreeze Mercedes EV funds: The program, set up through President Joe Biden’s climate law, would benefit a Mercedes-Benz plant in South Carolina. - "Roughly 85 percent of the investments unlocked in part by the 2022 law have come in Republican districts, according to an analysis last year by E2, a nonpartisan group."

No bones, no scales, no problem: The first lab-grown salmon sold in the U.S.: Wildtype’s cell-cultivated salmon is the first seafood to earn FDA approval, marking a significant milestone for the alternative protein industry.

Young Republicans are fueling the GOP’s generational divide on Israel: “To be ‘America First,’ the Stars and Stripes must come before the Star of David,” said one 20-year-old conservative. - "'I get most of my information from podcasts, from Twitter, from real-time updates, as things are happening,' he said. 'I feel like older generations typically still rely on cable news and newspapers, whereas either the information is more delayed or it’s more of a manufactured narrative.'"

Man who kicked customs dog at Dulles ordered to leave U.S.: A 70-year-old man pleaded guilty to attacking Freddie the Beagle and was ordered to pay $840 in vet fees.

Mamdani faces Islamophobic attacks from GOP lawmakers, commentators: The latest barrage has included comments from Republicans in Congress, with some calling on the likely Democratic nominee for New York mayor to be ‘deported.’

As indicted ex-D.C. lawmaker seeks election, opponents urge voters to move on: Trayon White Sr., expelled from the D.C. Council in February after a bribery arrest, faces three challengers who all hope the electorate wants someone new.

How park visitors responded when asked to report anti-American signs Most comments reviewed by The Post were positive, though some visitors complained that there were too many mosquitos and “not enough moose.”

Giant crowd at Pride in Budapest defies repressive new Hungarian law: With the support of the city’s liberal mayor, organizers of Budapest Pride took to the streets in defiance of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s effort to ban the event.

Morale craters at State Department as mass layoffs loom: Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called the agency “bloated,” yet as violence spiked in the Middle East, staff say they’ve been asked to work extra hours.

Russia unleashes its summer offensive with an army mired in problems: Russia’s army has vast manpower and equipment advantages over Ukraine, but its progress has been slow and Russian military bloggers blame a culture of military corruption.

The billionaire betting on crypto — and the skeptic betting against him: Michael Saylor earned billions selling company stock to buy bitcoin. Jim Chanos, who famously shorted Enron, is suspicious.

CEOs Are Quietly Telling Us the Truth: AI Is Replacing You: They say AI is just a tool to help workers. But read between the lines, and the message is clear: your job is already on the line.

What the Islamophobic Attacks on Mamdani Reveal: Rather than cement its new multiracial coalition, the MAGA movement seems almost desperate to break it apart. - "Just a few months ago, Trumpists were bragging about the multiracial working-class coalition that got them a second term. Now it's as if they've forgotten that coalition entirely. Or perhaps, at some level, they don't want to keep it intact, because they refuse to recognize those communities as fully American, or even fully human."

The Invisible City of Tehran: Secret spaces are layered beneath the visible ones like the traces of ink on a palimpsest.

The Red State Where Republicans Aren’t Afraid of Trump: Some of the last remaining GOP holdouts hail from the same state.

The Iran-China-Russia Axis Crumbles When It Matters: Beijing likes allies who needle the U.S., but it values stability even more. - "Since World War II, leaders of Western democracies have successfully collaborated in part because they have shared a common worldview. Whether Iran's Islamic theocrats can say the same about Xi, the leader of an avowedly atheist state, or Putin, who now positions himself as the champion of Orthodox Christianity, is another question entirely."

Reading archive 2025-05-08

The Huge, Under-the-Radar Shift Happening in the West Bank: Over the past few months, an Israeli military operation has displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians in West Bank cities. Some Palestinians fear it may be laying the ground to annex the territory.

At This Humble Used Car Lot, Tariffs are Beginning to Sting: Antonio Austin is trying to hold his car business together as President Trump's tariffs drive up costs - and drive his customers deeper into crisis.

Pro-Palestinian Activists Gave Trump a Boost. They Have No Regrets.: Groups that rallied against Biden and Harris say they’d do it all over again. - "To Democratic leaders, the fact that these activists continue to push the party even after they helped (to some degree) facilitate its loss of power has been a source of immense irritation. While Biden could hardly step outside the White House during his last year in office without being confronted by pro-Palestine activists—and Harris was frequently interrupted by protesters on the campaign trail—it has not gone unnoticed that Trump rarely, if ever, faces a heckle. No demands are being made for him to call for a ceasefire. No threats are being made to ensure that the Arab and Muslim voters who supported his campaign stay home or switch back in 2028. 

"Activists say the reason for this is that they do not have the same juice within the Republican party as they do among Democrats, and have little ability to influence Trump’s policy approach. So they continue to focus on the party where their influence remains. And they feel vindicated by news developments and stray comments, like when Michael Herzog, the former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., said in an interview this week with an Israeli news program that the Biden administration 'never' demanded a ceasefire." [ed, note: they've got no juice with me]

Trump family's net worth has increased by $2.9 billion thanks to crypto investments, new report says - "As the president's investments in crypto have grown, the Securities and Exchange Commission has paused investigations into a dozen crypto companies since his inauguration, a CBS News analysis found."

GOP fight over state and local tax deduction slows Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’: A small band of GOP members representing districts in blue states wants to raise the limit on federal tax deductions for state and local taxes.

Virginia man who bankrolled ISIS erupts in court, gets 30-year prison term: At an explosive sentencing hearing, Mohammed Chhipa denounced the government, and his brother was subdued and arrested by U.S. marshals.

He was filming a prank for TikTok, friends told deputies. A man shot him.: Authorities on Tuesday charged a man with second-degree murder in the death of Michael Bosworth Jr., hours before the Virginia teen’s senior prom.

A killer hid in plain sight for 23 years. This is how police found him.: Eugene Gligor, 45, pleaded guilty Wednesday in a Maryland courtroom to the 2001 murder of Leslie Preer in her Chevy Chase home.

Tourist’s charge of $1,200 for candy leads to police raid, den of illicit goods: Authorities have cracked down on stores selling American candy on London’s Oxford Street, saying some also sell fake or dangerous goods and dodge taxes.

American-born Cardinal Robert F. Prevost is elected pope: The “Latin Yankee,” as he is known in Rome, worked 20 years in Peru’s poorest enclave and even became a naturalized citizen there.

Reading archive 2025-05-06

Trump tariffs set off doubts — even in Rust Belt area he pledged to restore: Many people in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley — a major Rust Belt manufacturing hub in an election-deciding swing state — are skeptical that the president can deliver.

The group chats that changed America

Vulnerable Iowa Farmers Now Face Perils of Trump's Trade War: With high costs and low prices for their crops, soybean and corn farmers were already nervous as they planned for planting season this year. Tariffs aren't helping.

Trump tariffs set off doubts — even in Rust Belt area he pledged to restore: Many people in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley — a major Rust Belt manufacturing hub in an election-deciding swing state — are skeptical that the president can deliver.

From prosperity to austerity: Trump’s tone shifts ahead of tariff impacts: Trump has long promised to unleash a “golden age.” Now he is warning that Americans may have to cut back. - "Former Rep. Justin Amash (R-Michigan), a longtime critic of Trump, posted on social media several weeks ago: 'GOP in 2010: Stop the socialists! GOP in 2025: the conveniences of modern life are overrated. We will reorder the economy and redistribute wealth. Your losses are a small sacrifice for the glory of the nation!'"

Trump demands wartime sacrifices — just not for himself: Americans likely do not have the stomach for such austerity.

Zuckerberg’s new Meta AI app gets personal in a very creepy way: Meta’s chatbot remembers everything, even what you might not want it to.

How do I get rid of my dark circles? Try these simple tricks.: A cold tea bag or spoon can help reduce swelling under your eyes.

Big brands distance themselves from Pride events amid DEI rollback: LGBTQ+ celebrations coast to coast are facing funding shortfalls as corporate sponsors cut back. And even backers are electing to be “silent partners.”

Bowser wants to repeal 2022 law passed by voters on tipped minimum wage: The budget proposal is part of a broader effort to make D.C. more business-friendly in the face of a struggling economy.

The future of Metro is the bus: Forget about expensive new train lines, officials say. Not everyone is happy. - "'We’re spending hand over fist more than other countries in similar economic circumstances, and that’s not purely about the cost of labor or the cost of materials. It’s that … we’ve created an industry of vetoes that are available to anyone who objects,' Dunkelman said. 'Should we lower our aspirations knowing our process is screwed up or should we change the process so we can get more optimal solutions?'"

If you haven’t been worrying about AI, it’s time to start preparing Yes, AI will disrupt society and work, but it’s not doomsday.

Real-Life Conclave Rivals Drama of Movie Version: Infighting, smear campaigns, papal letters from beyond the grave: The conclave is giving the film a run for its money.

"you're so NOT protecting the dolls": On the flattening of conversations like supporting the transgender community and a meditation on the incoming great Millennial pivot. - "But Pedro? That’s different. It’s very political to be photographed in 2025, days after a country rules out a group of people, to articulate support in ways that translates in multiple mediums at an event sponsored by Disney. That is using your platform effectively. That is the least one can do which, like Conner Ives, has resulted in raising tens of thousands of dollars to support the cause. Yes, it speaks to pretty privilege confusing bricks and dolls and, yes, more must be done than donning shirts or else we fall into black squares. Connect the dolls to their dreams! How and why is protection needed? Literally speak up for trans people. Defend them! Love them! Treat them as people! That is what the shirt aspires to but, somehow, it got caught in the modern trap of leftist infighting relating to everything from “Kamala is a cop. All politicians are bad!” to “Millennials are cringe and you should hate them.”: it cheapens intent and blunts action by focusing on purity over potential power, opting for very Democrat half-lifing of movements by over-intellectualizing plurality. “There’s room for everybody: let’s just say that,” Gia Gunn once said."

How M.L.M. world works on Instagram and TikTok - "The main difference between the in-person pitches of the 1970s and the video pitches of the 2020s is that technology makes it a lot easier to lie about the opportunity of a lifetime at scale."

U.S. Chamber of Commerce asks Trump for tariff exclusions to ‘stave off a recession’

Texas’s Crypto-Mining Racket: Public officials are propping up a Texas Bitcoin boom that’s threatening water and energy systems while afflicting locals with noise pollution.

Trump Will Regret Messing With Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers: The president’s bully politics are blowing up on him internationally, and threats to arrest a Midwestern governor will produce domestic blowback.

Just for a second I thought I remembered you: Being compelled to ask yet again, Are friends electric? - "The latest candidate for the canon is Zuckerberg’s claim on a podcast this week (detailed by 404 Media here) that 'the average American has, I think, it’s fewer than three friends, and the average person has demand for meaningfully more. I think it's something like 15 friends or something.' He says that 'people just don't have as much connection as they want,' and suggests technology can remedy the deficit by simulating it. The aim telegraphed by these inept statements is Meta’s hope to replace human friends with chatbot products under the auspices of combating 'the loneliness epidemic.'"

Will China Escalate?: Despite Short-Term Stability, the Risk of Military Crisis Is Rising - "The reelection of U.S. President Donald Trump did little to shake Beijing’s optimism that it can navigate continued threats from the United States, secure a lasting equilibrium, and vie for global supremacy. And Trump’s early second-term actions have strengthened Beijing’s conviction that the United States is accelerating its own decline, bringing a new era of parity ever closer. The perception that China likely does not face an existential threat from the United States has had a stabilizing effect on policy in Beijing, which has responded to Trump’s escalation of trade tensions in April with patience, anticipating that Trump will eventually lower U.S. tariffs in an attempt to reach an agreement."

How to Prepare for the Trumpcession: I don’t know what’s happening, but I’m stocking up on ibuprofen. - "Something stranger than a recession is brewing too. Fewer container ships are leaving Shanghai and Shenzhen. Fewer container ships are docking in Seattle, Tacoma, Los Angeles, and Oakland. The West Coast longshore union is warning of mass layoffs, given the decline in import volume. A link in the supply chain has broken, and I expect others to crack soon: freight haulers, trucking companies, last-mile contractors, delivery drivers."

Don’t Look at Stock Markets. Look at the Ports.: A drop in maritime traffic suggests that the worst is yet to come.

The ‘Significant Risk’ That Republicans Tank the Economy: How the GOP’s indecision in Congress could crash the markets

The U.S. Threat Looming Over Canada: The consequences if Trump followed through on his belligerent rhetoric about a “51st state” would be catastrophic. - "The definitive end of the status quo came with the president's casual comment that he would sell only deliberately downgraded F-47s to allies who purchased American military hardware, 'because someday, maybe they're not our allies.' From that point on, spending on equipment from the American military-industrial complex is a form of national suicide for any country in the free world. Canada could no longer comfortably sit within the American military sphere.

Reading archive 2025-01-28

Pardons of D.C. officers leave city at civil rights crossroads: The death of Karon Hylton-Brown sparked angry protests in 2020, led to rare charges against D.C. officers - "But after Hylton-Brown was struck by an SUV, the officers allowed the driver to leave, did not notify the police major crash unit or secure the scene for evidence collection. At the 4th District station, the officers described the crash as minor, didn’t mention the pursuit and downplayed Hylton-Brown’s injuries, leading to the officers’ convictions for conspiracy and obstruction of justice. Sutton was convicted of murder."

Trump pardons two D.C. officers convicted in fatal chase: Amid the nation’s racial reckoning of 2020, the pursuit killed a young Black man and sparked hours of destructive civil unrest in Northwest Washington.

Scientists Warn of an ‘Unprecedented Risk’ From Synthetic ‘Mirror Life,’ Built With a Reverse Version of Natural Proteins and Sugars: So-called mirror cells could rampage through our ecosystems, food supply and immune systems, experts say, potentially without existing barriers to protect against them

There were ample reasons, not about his personal life, for rejecting Hegseth Pete: Hegseth has shown no evidence of being capable of managing the Pentagon behemoth.

Trump DOJ gears up for immigration enforcement: The acting deputy AG directed the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces to help with Trump’s “immigration-related initiatives,” according to a memo.

Trump returns — and so does his astounding ignorance: If you feel off-kilter, you’re in good company. The president seems downright bewildered.

Meta courted Trump. Now comes the backlash from Facebook, Instagram users.: Why the internet blames Mark Zuckerberg for the TikTok shutdown

RFK Jr. skipped meeting where officials planned fight against a future pandemic: The session between Trump and Biden administration officials is required of transitions and included other Trump Cabinet nominees.

Caroline Kennedy warns senators of ‘predator’ RFK Jr. in searing letter: The former ambassador warns senators about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination, questioning his ethics and views on vaccines.

Ex-‘MAGA Granny’ is turning down Trump’s pardon of her Jan. 6 conviction: She was at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. She pleaded guilty. Now, she doesn’t want President Donald Trump’s pardon because she wants to own what she did. - "Now Pamela Hemphill from Boise, Idaho, will decline the pardon that Trump offered her and other Jan. 6 convicts during the first hours of his second term, she told The Washington Post. 

"'I don’t want to be a part of them trying to rewrite history. It was an insurrection that day,' Hemphill said Tuesday, the day after Trump issued the pardons."

Woman, 1-year-old daughter found dead in Northwest D.C. apartment: Family members had not heard from Ebony Washington, 38, and her daughter, Kemy, since well before Christmas. On Jan. 18, they called police.

Pardoned Jan. 6 rioter shot, killed by police in Indiana: Matthew Huttle, freed last year after six months in jail, was shot to death in a scuffle with a sheriff’s deputy along a rural road.

Interim D.C. U.S. attorney Ed Martin launches probe of Jan. 6 prosecutions: Trump’s newly appointed top prosecutor in Washington asked for “all files” on use of obstruction count in the aftermath of the Capitol riot. - "Former officials with the office called the investigation of the obstruction charge puzzling. While the Supreme Court last June ruled that federal prosecutors could only apply it to defendants who sought to impair the integrity of physical evidence used to certify the 2020 presidential election result — and not to impede Congress’s overall certification on Jan. 6, 2021 — all but one of the 15 trial judges to rule on the question had sided with prosecutors’ broader, 'catchall' view, as did two of three federal appellate judges."

The GOP’s stunning response to Trump pardoning those who assaulted police: Trump has worn his party down, and few events crystallize it like the GOP’s muted — and, in some cases, positive — response.

Youth charged in fatal shooting of 14-year-old in Southwest D.C.: Police said the daylight shooting occurred during a robbery by three teens who chased the victim. Three brothers were charged; one had his case dismissed.

A 14-year-old was shot. Another 14-year-old is charged in his killing.: Myron Smith dreamed of buying his mom a house in a different neighborhood. He died on his block, shot in broad daylight.

An investing revolution is coming. The U.S. isn’t ready for it.: Crypto technology can democratize access to opportunities offered by early-stage private companies. [ed. note: lol this guy]

Three teenagers arrested in Alexandria slaying, police say: “Not a proud moment,” says city police chief.

Trump spending freeze upends Washington, triggering legal threats and delays: Hours after the Trump administration issued its directive, officials braced for seismic interruptions to key federal programs and services.

Trump’s funding freeze could halt projects, vital aid throughout D.C., Maryland, Virginia: President Trump’s announcement of a freeze on federal loans and grants has left officials through Maryland, Virginia and the District scrambling to understand the impact.

Democrats flip the script, eyeing debt limit to block Trump’s agenda: Republicans have leveraged the debt ceiling for years to block Democrats’ agenda. Now liberals see an opening to stymie Trump.

Trump’s perceived enemies brace for retribution with plans, dark humor: Officials and others across the country who incited the president’s ire say they are preparing for him to make good on pledges to settle scores now that he’s back in office.

Americans are watching an inflation bait-and-switch: A week into office, Trump has offered zero plans to lower prices.

Worried about food prices? Break up the U.S. meat cartel.: “Big Four” packers have a stranglehold on the U.S. meat supply.

Exhausted and angry, police attacked on Jan. 6 watch pardons and worry: Now, the same people officers sought to hold accountable for storming the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to subvert democracy are free.

Reading archive 2024-10-30

The Worst of Crypto Is Yet to Come: No matter who wins in November, the digital-asset market could be on the brink of a deregulation-fueled bonanza. - "Dennis Kelleher, the CEO of the nonprofit Better Markets, told me the real reason the crypto industry doesn’t want tokens to be classified as securities is that disclosure rules would expose them as financially dangerous. 'If you had to fully and truthfully disclose the risks associated with crypto, the people who would engage in crypto would be near none,' he said."

North Korea’s elite troops are in Russia to fight Ukraine: What we know: The North Korean Special Forces sent to Russia are the state’s best trained troops but they will face challenges with modern warfare technology, experts say.

Stung by the backlash, Ted Leonsis is trying to win back: Washington The Monumental Sports & Entertainment CEO says he wants to unite the region, but a failed arena deal in Virginia turned him into a polarizing figure.

She said she had a miscarriage — then got arrested under an abortion law

Who is the mystery poop and tiki torch artist?: The Washington Post set out to find out who was behind two new eye-catching art installations in the city. We couldn’t quite do it.

Against mayor’s wishes, D.C. will use bus sales to help Circulator workers: The mayor chose to end Circulator service this year, saying the city could no longer afford the red buses.

D.C. Council restricts amplified noise, projectiles at residential protests: An emergency measure to temper First Amendment activity in residential neighborhoods was by turns lauded and derided by District residents, as the D.C. Council voted 9-2 to pass the bill.

What Trump could do to Metro if he wins a second term: While in office, Trump repeatedly tried to slash infrastructure budgets and pull back funding for public transit.

Opinion So, what did you think of Harris’s October surprise? Across the country, the vice president’s field operation dwarfs Trump’s. - "Democrat Josh Stein will almost certainly win the governor’s race, and Democrats will likely take a couple more statewide races. But the congressional delegation 'will either be 71 percent Republican or 79 percent, in a state Kamala Harris may very well win,' Nickel said."

Opinion Donald Trump wants you to be afraid of me: His anti-trans TV ads are a cunning, cynical program to encourage us to fear what we do not understand.

Companies ready price hikes to offset Trump’s global tariff plans: Executives say Americans, not foreign countries, will pay the tariffs. - "In fact, American importers pay all tariffs to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency at the time their products enter the country."

Mike Johnson vows major changes to Affordable Care Act if Trump wins election: The House speaker said Republicans would seek to overhaul the law, which provides health coverage to tens of millions and has been a frequent target of GOP repeal efforts.

For Jeff Bezos and his businesses, Washington has become more important: Executives at companies founded by the billionaire Post owner have sought contact with Trump. He argues he didn’t end presidential endorsements out of self-interest.

They thought they found their dream home — so did thousands of bats: For a millennial couple buying their first home, on an island in the Puget Sound, the cost of humanely resolving the bat problem was more than they expected.

Musk’s plan to cut $2 trillion in U.S. spending could bring economic turmoil: Deep budget cuts would be required to meet the billionaire Trump supporter’s goal. He appeared to acknowledge some risks on Tuesday.

China cracks down on Halloween, wary of subversion lurking in costumes: Halloween is new to China, but many young professionals embrace costumes as a way to express themselves – and sometimes to send subtle political messages.

These women are all in for abortion rights — and for Donald Trump: Harris is making abortion part of her closing argument. But some voters say they aren’t worried about what a Trump presidency would mean for abortion. - "Republican and independent voters who plan to split their ticket on abortion — voting for an abortion referendum and for Trump — said they were willing to give Trump the benefit of the doubt on the issue, with some feeling reassured by his recent promises not to crack down further on abortion. Despite Trump’s decision to appoint the three conservative Supreme Court justices who helped revoke the constitutional right to abortion, a few voters said they believed Trump was secretly 'pro-choice.'" [ed. note: everyone is about to get everything they deserve]

LGBTQ activists canvassed in a red state. The conversations surprised them.: The group spread out across Missouri in the final days before the election. Residents had viewpoints that did not fit in neat partisan boxes.

Reading archive 2022-03-18

Opinion: Hannity’s clownish contortions on Ukraine reveal the rot at Trumpism’s core

An Appalachian town was told a bitcoin mine would bring an economic boom. It got noise pollution and an eyesore.: Supporters of the crypto plant promised an expanded tax base and job creation. What residents say they got was the constant din from massive computers and equally massive cooling fans.

Reading archive 2022-03-09

Letters from an American March 8, 2022

Oil, Gas Industry Stockpiled Drilling Leases Before Biden ‘Pause’ - "That 'makes the ‘sky is falling’ rhetoric from the industry and its allies a bit over the top,' Leshy said Thursday. 'Especially since many of the Trump-era lease offerings attracted no bids, or only minimum bids.'

"Oil and gas production was occurring on less than half of the more than 26 million acres of land already under a federal lease by the end of fiscal 2019, according to the most recent federal Bureau of Land Management data, which doesn’t include millions of acres leased in the Trump administration’s final year."

‘Massive fraud scheme’ raises questions about role of nonprofits in distributing pandemic aid

Demand for meat is destroying the Amazon. Smarter choices at the dinner table can go a long way to help.: ‘We are going to be eating the rainforest in our burgers. This is our moment as Americans to step forward and leverage some pressure to save the world,’ one scientist said.

The largest remaining tall-grass prairie in Texas is getting solar panels. Environmentalists can’t stop it.: A solar facility on a 3,594-acre tract of land has environmental groups searching for a way to save what they consider a living museum

Biden orders sweeping cryptocurrency review, setting stage for regulation: The long-awaited executive order aims to ensure that the U.S. fosters the surging industry while mitigating its potential threats.

How a Saudi challenge changed the PGA Tour and Phil Mickelson’s legacy