Reading archive 2026-04-13

Car with more than $260K in unpaid tickets towed in DC: The Maryland car had racked up nearly 900 unpaid tickets.

Menace on the Streets: E-bikes and e-scooters are remaking the rules of the road. Canada’s cities aren’t ready.

In 1990, a bipartisan Congress passed historic bills. Then it cracked apart.: 36 years ago, a Republican president and Democratic lawmakers produced monumental laws. Now a broken Congress has enabled Trump to undo key parts of that legacy.

A new poll shows the political risk to Israel from the war in Iran: Launching the attack was a big gamble with American opinion that isn’t paying off.

After record highs, Colorado’s legal pot market hits a harsh comedown: Oversupply and competition from other states have helped upend the nation’s first legal cannabis market.

On Africa trip, Pope Leo will face debate over polygamy as Catholicism booms: Leo’s early papacy has been defined largely by his response to President Donald Trump but a 10-day trip, starting Monday, will let the pope focus on spreading the faith. - "In recent years, Africa’s Catholic bishops have become increasingly assertive. They rebelled in 2023 when Francis explicitly allowed priests to offer brief blessings to people in same-sex couples, issuing an official rejection of his ruling on a continent where homosexuality in some nations is punishable by death.

"Now, they are pushing for their own dispensation, pressing the Vatican to embrace pastoral outreach for polygamists — more prevalent in some African nations than anywhere else."

D.C. mayoral candidates want to build more housing — but investors don’t: Plans by Janeese Lewis George and Kenyan R. McDuffie to increase the housing supply and lower costs for renters are different in scope, but they face the same hurdles.

Bowser’s final D.C. budget includes $469M in cuts amid tough fiscal picture: Mayor Muriel Bowser’s $21.2 billion budget proposal would put off pay raises for firefighters and cut a program that boosts early childhood educator pay.

Claude Mythos Is Everyone’s Problem: What happens when AI can hack everything?

What China Just Learned From the Iran War: A blockade of Taiwan would hurt the global economy more than Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. - "The war in Iran has flipped this argument on its head. As seems clear from Tuesday night's truce, an authoritarian regime far weaker than China can use global supply chains as leverage and, in the process, force the U.S. to back away from its threats. By closing the Strait of Hormuz, Iran caused the average price of gas in the U.S. to shoot up by nearly 40 percent, piling political pressure on Trump to end the war as soon as possible. A Pew Research Center poll conducted at the end of March found that gas prices were the biggest concern among Americans when it came to the war in Iran, well above the chance of 'large numbers of U.S. military casualties.'"

A Cancer Treatment That Does More Than Scientists Thought: CAR-T cell therapy, originally developed for cancer, is showing ever more promise as a treatment for autoimmune diseases.

Reading archive 2025-12-31

States made marijuana use legal. Now they should get it off the road.: There’s no breathalyzer test for driving under the influence of cannabis. But there are other options.

U.S. vaccination rates are plunging. Look up where your school stands.: Rocked by pandemic politics, the nation’s shield against infectious disease is shrinking. - "Public health experts argue the U.S. measles outbreaks show why easing vaccine requirements doesn’t always translate into better school attendance. As the South Carolina experience revealed this month, unvaccinated kids are missing school during quarantines, said Jerome Adams, who served as surgeon general during President Donald Trump’s first term.

"'That is completely inconsistent with folks who say that their biggest concerns about covid were that we didn’t care about keeping kids in school,' he said."

LSU, a governor and a $91 million lesson in college football’s power: Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has long used sports as a political cudgel, but nothing riles up his state like Tigers football.

In Russia, plans to cut mobile internet on New Year’s Eve draw fury: One Russian official called the outage “a break from the endless viewing of unnecessary videos” and urged citizens to deliver holiday greetings in person.

A tiny U.S. territory in the Pacific doubles down on a giant Chinese casino

Kennedy Center Honors ratings tank after Trump takeover: Hosted for the first time by President Donald Trump, the Kennedy Center Honors earned record-low viewership of a little over 3 million.

The quiet rebellion of Black men in quarter-zips: The preppy staple is getting a Black-boy rebrand.

Who needs an election? A bar owner falsely claims a seat already filled.: The man is claiming to occupy the most thankless political office in the city – advisory neighborhood commissioner.

Reading archive 2025-02-28

Contentious Trump-Zelensky meeting threatens U.S. support for Ukraine: The Ukrainian leader came to Washington to prevent Trump from abandoning Kyiv in favor of Moscow, but was met with vocal anger from the American president.

Tears and shock in Ukraine and Europe after heated Zelensky-Trump meeting: “I’m just crying because of what I hear,” one Ukrainian lawmaker said of the meeting, echoing the dismayed reactions of others in Europe.

Some Republicans fear Medicaid cuts could cost them their jobs: Possible changes have become a headache for the most vulnerable Republicans in Congress and have handed Democrats a potent issue.

Republicans could be touching the third rail on Medicaid: The House-passed budget proposal pretty clearly requires cutting Medicaid, and that’s a big political problem.

A runner was hit by a car. His ambulance bill was $13,000.: “It didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me because the doctor is the one who put him in the ambulance,” said Brian Whitten.

Here’s the real threat to ‘personal liberties and free markets’: The rapidly spreading authoritarianism coming from this administration threatens all of our freedoms. - "The twin pillars of personal liberties and free markets are the hallmarks of the libertarian worldview. So I called a leading voice of that ideology, Ilya Somin, the B. Kenneth Simon chair in constitutional studies at the libertarian Cato Institute and a professor at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School. I asked him for his assessment of the current administration.

...

"The professor was heavily critical of the Biden administration, too, most notably for unilaterally forgiving student loans. But 'Trump is worse,' Somin said, because 'under Biden there was just no equivalent to the massive assault on immigration and trade,' nor Trump’s attempt 'to usurp the entire spending power from Congress.' In sum, Trump’s approach is 'irreconcilable' with the principles of free markets and personal liberties."

D.C. shuts down 25 unlicensed cannabis shops, officials say: City authorities, led by Attorney General Brian Schwalb, took action against establishments they say were illegally selling unregulated and untested products.

D.C. showing signs of economic strain amid federal government cuts: Unemployment claims last week jumped by 25 percent over the previous week, while home listings have also spiked.

The Fastest and Easiest Second Passports for Americans in 2025

Reading archive 2024-08-29

Marijuana Is Too Strong Now: As weed has become easier to obtain, it has become harder to smoke.

D.C. attorney general alleges ‘widespread’ title insurance kickbacks: An AG’s investigation found four Washington-area title insurance companies paid agents for referrals in violation of local consumer protection law. - "He recommends that home buyers insist on an independent title company that isn’t affiliated with their agent."

Decision on Georgia election board threatens Kemp’s détente with Trump: The governor must decide whether to seek the removal of board members who have been praised by the former president for changing election rules with months to go before the vote.

Opinion Don’t yawn at Trump’s dishonorable use of Arlington National Cemetery: The candidate who has repeatedly maligned our soldiers couldn’t resist an illegal publicity stunt. - "Also for the record, it was Trump who negotiated the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan and forced the Afghan government to release thousands of jailed Taliban fighters in a prisoner swap. Those decisions helped make possible the Taliban’s swift return to power."

Trump campaign posts video from Arlington Cemetery after alleged altercation: A U.S. defense official said the Trump campaign was told repeatedly that it could not capture photos and video in Section 60, the final resting place of many recent fatalities. - "As president, Trump struck a deal with the Taliban to exchange prisoners and set a timetable to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan. But he criticized the ultimate exit during the Biden presidency, saying the execution was botched."

Army defends Arlington Cemetery staffer ‘pushed aside’ by Trump aides: The employee decided not to press charges, and the service considers the matter closed, officials said.

Vance tells Harris to ‘go to hell’ for cemetery criticism she didn’t give: Trump and his allies are known to flout political norms, but the crass language Vance used to criticize a political opponent Wednesday is particularly unusual in modern politics.

Vance defends telling Harris to ‘go to hell’ for nonexistent cemetery criticism: The GOP vice-presidential candidate said an Arlington cemetery worker pushed aside by a Trump aide does not deserve an apology.

Secret Service detail for JD Vance closes an Alexandria park: Judy Lowe Neighborhood Park, frequented by toddlers, dogs and seniors, is now effectively part of the U.S. Secret Service setup. Some neighbors are bummed.

D.C. officer who took bribes for leaking crash victims’ data sent to prison: Former D.C. police officer Vincent Forrest was convicted at trial this year of bribery, conspiracy and making false statements.

New York county’s ban on wearing masks in public leads to first arrest: Nassau County police said they found a knife on a man they stopped and searched because he was wearing a mask, the first violation of a controversial local law.

24 hours of Trump: QAnon tributes, crude attacks and hawking pieces of his suit: With fewer than 70 days until the election, Trump is zigging and zagging with an arsenal of unfocused broadsides and peripheral pursuits.

Reading archive 2024-08-26

Opinion Justice Gorsuch’s book of fish tales: A new book by the Supreme Court conservative raises the question: Does having all the facts matter?

Elon Musk’s X reveals investors in court filing: A court filing obtained by The Post lists which firms and individuals have a financial stake in the platform.

Canadian government ends major railway stoppage, ordering arbitration: Canada’s two largest railroads shut down early Thursday, jeopardizing deliveries of crucial supplies to the United States.

Where mosquito season is getting longer

Trump takes it upon himself to decide who is a proper Jew: In an interview and a late-night social media post, the former president railed against and disparaged Jewish Democrats, largely for being anti-Trump.

A close race brings fresh fears of election interference by Trump allies: The euphoric mood at the Democratic National Convention this week came alongside growing concern that the former president’s backers could attempt to undermine the results. - "The new certification rule in Georgia may be only the beginning. The majority has proposed 11 additional rules that will come up for approval close to the state’s Oct. 14 early-voting start date. Among the proposals is one requiring a hand-count of ballots in precincts to make sure the number of votes recorded equals the number of ballots. It’s a task that voting machines already do."

Some Giant stores in D.C. are banning unaccompanied minors after 6 p.m.: The grocery chain’s new policy also modifies a previous effort to prohibit customers with large bags.

Traffic fatalities have doubled since D.C.’s promise of zero: Thirty-three people have lost their lives in traffic crashes this year.

Indian Americans conflicted about Kamala Harris pose campaign challenge: In an immigrant community stratified by religion, language and class, Kamala Harris’s background is embraced by some but rings hollow for others.

DeSantis in middle of Florida feud pitting marijuana against hemp: Voters in Florida will soon decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana. DeSantis is against it and getting support from an unlikely ally: the hemp industry.

Tim Walz’s upbringing in rural Nebraska seemed idyllic. Then came tragedy.: Uprooted from a small city, Walz and his family moved to a remote town of a few hundred to deal with his father’s cancer.

Opinion A big problem for young workers: 70- and 80-year-olds who won’t retire: With five generations in the workforce, it’s harder for beginners to get hired or promoted.

Opinion Ukraine’s Kursk offensive isn’t just a raid. It’s upending assumptions.: Russia, stunned by the incursion, has been slow to respond, while Ukraine gains battlefield maneuverability.

Opinion Sam Bankman-Fried, a personal verdict: A few thoughts on how Americans thought about the crypto trial of the century. - "When confronted by older experts in some complicated field in which he had zero experience, Sam’s first step was always to doubt the value of their advice and think about the complicated field on his own."

Environmental group calls for RFK Jr. to be investigated for reportedly sawing off whale head: In a resurfaced 2012 interview, his daughter shared he had once used a chain saw to cut off a dead whale’s head to bring it home, reportedly to study.

Trump vowed to release all remaining JFK files. What could they contain?: Despite their differences about what they suspect happened on Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas, two prominent researchers agree the remaining files should be released. - "When he was president in 2017, Trump announced that he planned to publicly disclose the remaining documents but ultimately delayed the release of some files for national security reasons, saying they would be released by October 2021. In 2018, Trump authorized the disclosure of 19,045 documents, many of which contained redactions."

Ukraine keeps crossing Russia’s red lines. Putin keeps blinking.: Ukraine’s punch through Russian defenses in the first foreign invasion since World War II has laid bare Moscow’s apparently illusory red lines.

How a gay beach oasis flourished in Michigan’s Bible Belt: Gay artists, club owners and nude bathers have found a safe haven in Saugatuck and Douglas since the 1890s.

Public service, secret payments: FBI says Trayon White had two sides: On days FBI says he took bribes, D.C. Council member Trayon White Sr. (D-Ward 8) took to social media and posted about serving constituents.

The balloon drop at the DNC had more meaning than you might know: More than 50 balloon artists volunteered to make the display in honor of their colleague who is fighting cancer.

Australia offers U.S. a vast new military launchpad in China conflict: Australia is expanding its northern military bases, with U.S. support, to counter China's growing threat. Critics quip it’s become the “51st state.”

RFK Jr. suspends his campaign — with an appropriately bizarre theory: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. insisted he can somehow still be elected president. Let’s count the holes in his reasoning.

Trump allies try to energize him as he struggles to adapt to Harris: The Republican nominee has fixated on Biden’s withdrawal: “It feels like he’s lost his mojo.”

Trump suggests he might skip ABC debate with Harris: The Sept. 10 debate with ABC is the only one both campaigns have agreed to do with one of the major networks.

Endangered lynx makes its first appearance in Vermont in years: Wildlife officials said it was the first confirmed Canada lynx sighting in the state since 2018.

The fact-vs.-fiction election: The alliance of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Donald Trump makes sense from an epistemological standpoint, if not a policy one. - "Because, at the end of the day, Trump and Kennedy are aligned on the most fundamental aspect of their politics: that what you believe is more important than what is. That they are right and that the people saying they’re wrong are wrong.

...

"This reflects the through-line between him and Trump: that there is no expertise or authority that should be given deference over what you want or believe to be true. That scientists and military experts and researchers have opinions that can sit alongside your own. Or, in many cases, have opinions that are inferior to your own, since they are part of informational systems that are inherently untrustworthy by virtue of including those experts."

Scientists may have found a radical solution for making your hamburger less bad for the planet: Researchers in California are working to genetically engineer the cow microbiome -- and in the process, eliminate methane emissions. - "Such a probiotic could also improve a farm’s productivity. Cows can lose up to 12 percent of their energy through burping up methane; other ruminants, like sheep and goats, also lose energy in this way. “If there is a way to redirect that hydrogen and convert it into milk, meat, wool — it would be much more accepted by farmers,” Kebreab said."

Reading archive 2023-01-20

Trump warns GOP about efforts to cut Social Security, Medicare

Under oath, Trump is confronted with his ‘hoax’ hyperbole - "A bit later he again claimed that climate change activists had stopped using the term 'global warming' because 'it wasn’t working' rhetorically. In reality, Republican consultant Frank Luntz recommended that conservatives adopt the term 'climate change' to blunt the implications of 'global warming.'"

Sick of smelling her neighbor’s legal pot, this woman sued - "Secondhand marijuana smoke contains many of the same cancer-causing toxins as secondhand tobacco smoke, said Brooke Hoots, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention epidemiologist."

CIA director holds secret meeting with Zelensky on Russia’s next steps: High-level visit by Burns comes at critical juncture in war and as government in Kyiv airs concern about durability of U.S. support

Native American tribe in Va. reclaims big parcel of its homeland: The Rappahannock Indians once dominated the area of Fones Cliffs, a unique rock formation in Virginia’s Northern Neck

Trees have long protected Sacramento. Storms turned them to ‘carnage.’

Reading archive 2022-08-30

Opinion  We made thousands on this website. But we’re still happy it’s shutting down.

Opinion  Why my child and I traded Arizona for a more tolerant New York City

Opinion  In Alabama, a new battle brews over women’s birthing rights

How experts are trying to save wood turtles in the D.C. region: The reptiles were nearly wiped out, and researchers are working to track and protect them

D.C. Council’s business measures could be factor in at-large race

A decade after Fukushima disaster, foes of nuclear power reconsider

Pentagon expands use of seas to send weapons to Ukraine

Truth Social faces financial peril as worry about Trump’s future grows: Payment disputes and a dwindling audience have fueled doubts about the former president’s Twitter clone

American University reaches tentative agreement with striking workers: Earlier in the day, many first-year students walked out of convocation to show support for staff

Inside the ‘wild, wild west’ of Virginia’s marijuana market: THC-infused pies, Tupperwares of bud: Businesses are making it work in the unregulated gray market

Ukraine lures Russian missiles with decoys of U.S. rocket system

Gene editing could revive a nearly lost tree. Not everyone is on board.: Saving the American chestnut could restore a piece of history, resurrect a lost ecosystem and combat climate change. But critics say it would come at a cost. - "At Purdue University, researchers have attempted to tweak the genes of ash to survive the emerald ash borer, a beetle from Asia that has destroyed tens of millions of trees across 30 states since first identified in Michigan in 2002."

Their ancestors came to America. After Dobbs, they want out.: The curtailing of abortion rights and general political turmoil have made many in the U.S. see dual citizenship as an escape hatch

A melting glacier, an imperiled city and one farmer’s fight for climate justice: A Peruvian farmer is suing one of Europe’s biggest emitters. The case could set a precedent for holding polluters accountable for harm to the planet. 

THE AMAZON, UNDONE: A FAILURE OF ENFORCEMENT: Deforesters are plundering the Amazon. Brazil is letting them get away with it. - "The violent and lawless erasure of the Amazon is perhaps the world’s greatest environmental crime story. Scientists warn that the forest, seen as vital to averting catastrophic global warming, is at a tipping point. But in Brazil, home to about 60 percent of the Amazon, nearly one-fifth has already been destroyed. And virtually no one, law enforcement officials say, has been held accountable."

Reading archive 2022-08-22

In new election, Big Tech uses old strategies to fight 'big lie’: How well companies enforce their rules will be critical in fight against 2020 election-rigging claims, according to experts

Officials: Woman posing as stranded motorist kills student in Alabama forest; officers find encampment, 5-year-old with shotgun: While investigating the shooting, officials discovered an encampment in the woods and were confronted by a 5-year-old boy armed with a loaded shotgun, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office said

“An Unusual $1.6 Billion Donation Bolsters Conservatives”

The casualties of California legalizing pot: Growers who went legal: A blue state’s taxes and regulation have boosted corporate producers, leading to the near-death of the small cannabis farmer

The TVA is dumping a mountain of coal ash in Black south Memphis: A convoy is trucking the contaminant through a community already burdened with pollution to dump it in a landfill

These puffy helmet caps are the next big thing in NFL player safety

Deshaun Watson is the star the NFL deserves: A cynical, empty narcissist

‘It’s a rip-off’: GOP spending under fire as Senate hopefuls seek rescue: A cash crunch at campaigns and the NRSC set off a panic as GOP candidates emerged from bruising primaries playing catch-up in polls and advertising

Walker, criticizing climate law, asks, ‘Don’t we have enough trees around here?’

Chinese leader asked Biden to prevent Pelosi from visiting Taiwan: The trip exposed tensions between the House Speaker and administration officials, who had warned of China’s potential response. Pelosi felt the trip was an important statement to make. - "Yet Biden himself has at times made comments on Taiwan that have put Chinese officials on edge. He has not always struck the delicate balance that the United States’ 'strategic ambiguity' requires when it comes to the question of Taiwan’s defense. In May, while making his first presidential trip to Asia, Biden told reporters the United States would defend Taiwan militarily if China attacked."

A Republican who says Trump lost looks to put Colorado’s Senate race in play: Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet faces a tougher-than-expected reelection race after Republicans nominate businessman Joe O’Dea over an election denier

Scientists debunk myth that Yellowstone wolves changed entire ecosystem, flow of rivers

Reading archive 2022-04-21

These whales are on the brink. Now comes climate change — and wind power.: Researchers are racing to understand the warming habitat of the declining North Atlantic right whale before it’s too late

Wedding spirals into chaos after bride allegedly laced food with pot

Reading archive 2022-02-12

Capitalism had Israel’s kibbutzim on the ropes. Then they discovered pot.: Dozens of these iconic communal farms have entered the rapidly emerging medical marijuana industry.

Reading archive 2021-08-08

A Black community in Northeast D.C. is surrounded by industrial pollution. The city plans to add more.: Brentwood residents are opposed to a school-bus terminal in the area, and the city has denied the neighborhood’s request for an environmental impact assessment

Legal U.S. marijuana is pouring into Mexico. It’s pricey, popular and has names such as ‘Bubba Kush.’

Marjorie Taylor Greene fans cheered low vaccination rate in Alabama, which tossed 65,000 doses

Masks, comfortable clothes likely to linger after pandemic, Post-Schar School polling finds

Reading archive 2021-07-28

Simone Biles said she got the ‘twisties.’ Gymnasts immediately understood.

Where was Caeleb Dressel? Question looms after U.S. 4x200 relay misses medal.

Pac-12 Leaders Suggest Realignment Response as SEC Growth May Compromise CFP Expansion: Texas and Oklahoma's imminent move to the SEC is only the beginning. The Pac-12, while comfortable with its core group, is also listening to expansion suitors of its own.

Republicans voice opposition to Jan. 6 investigation as police officers call for accountability - "The Capitol Police Board controls security at the Capitol. On Jan. 6, the board consisted of the House sergeant-at-arms, Paul D. Irving, who was hired under Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), and the Senate sergeant-at-arms, Michael Stenger, who was hired in 2018 when Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was majority leader."

China hosts Taliban leaders as U.S. withdraws troops from Afghanistan

Our democracy is under attack. Washington journalists must stop covering it like politics as usual. - "As a model, they might have to swallow their big-media pride and look to places like Harrisburg, Pa., public radio station WITF which has admirably explained to its audience why it continually offers reminders about the actions of those public officials who tried to overturn the 2020 election results. Or to Cleveland Plain Dealer editor Chris Quinn’s letter to readers about how the paper and its website, Cleveland.com, refuse to cover every reckless, attention-getting lie of Republican Josh Mandel as he runs for the U.S. Senate next year."

Illegal cannabis growers are stealing water amid California’s drought, officials say - "In a recent sting in Antelope Valley in northern Los Angeles County, federal, state and local law enforcement officers disrupted hundreds of allegedly illegal marijuana cultivations in the area. They arrested 131 people and seized 65 vehicles, including two water trucks. Authorities recovered $28,000, 33,480 pounds of marijuana and dozens of firearms. Nineteen people were charged with water theft."

"You might not like it, but it’s smart politics.": 'Twas the savvy style that led the political press astray. By the time Trump showed up, they were too far gone to realize it. - "Recently someone else asked me for three or four changes in political journalism that might begin to right this ship. (Emphasis on begin to…) To wind this up, here is what I told him: Defense of democracy seen as basic to the job. Symmetrical accounts of asymmetrical realities seen as malpractice. 'Politics as strategic game' frame seen as low quality, downmarket, amateurish, silly— and overmatched. Bad actors with a history of misinforming the public seen as unsuitable sources and unwelcome guests."

Reading archive 2021-06-30

Cheat Day With Christopher Meloni: A lunch date with the man behind the behind.

Two women chatted in a bathroom. They soon realized they were each a match for the other’s husband, who needed a kidney.

He found a 2.2-carat diamond in an Arkansas park. Then he proposed to his girlfriend.

MIT professor goes viral for putting a crib in his lab to help a new mother

A gay couple faced vulgar harassment. A neighbor helped find the suspect with a handwriting sample.

America’s Pot Labs Have A THC Problem

‘Right-Wing Death Squad’: Active-Duty Marine Plotted to Bomb DNC, Murder Black People, Feds Say

Opinion: Republicans have a new strategy: Blue Lies Matter - "How, then, to explain the latest 'legislative scorecard' from the National Association of Police Officers, a group claiming to represent a quarter-million officers who endorsed President Donald Trump’s reelection? 

"McCarthy, Stefanik and Banks all scored 57 percent, and some of the back-benchers piling on Tuesday — Reps. Ken Buck (Colo.), Jody Hice (Ga.), Mo Brooks (Ala.) — scored a paltry 43 percent on NAPO’s pro-police scorecard. 

"And the Squad? Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) and Ayanna Pressley (Mass.) all scored 86 percent. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) scored 71 percent. Where it really counts, all four members of the Squad are more pro-police than their Republican critics.

...

"The reason is simple. Democrats, at least at the federal level, have been the ones funding the police. The 2019-2021 scorecard is based on votes on health care, pensions, covid-19 relief, bulletproof vests, victim compensation and policing reform. There’s not yet a scorecard of votes in the new Congress, but police groups favored the American Rescue Plan covid-relief legislation, which Republicans uniformly opposed, and President Biden wants to pump $300 million more into the COPS community policing program, which Republicans have long opposed.

...

"Democrats ought to be saying, as Biden aide Cedric Richmond did on 'Fox News Sunday,' 'Republicans are very good at staying on talking points of who says defund the police, but the truth is, they defunded the police.' Unlike GOP leadership, the numbers don’t lie."

These are the faces of Hong Kong’s democracy movement, now jailed or exiled.

Reading archive 2018-04-21

From posh oligarchs to taxi drivers, Russians in London feel a chill

Sessions told White House that Rosenstein’s firing could prompt his departure, too

Vermont’s creative approach to its labor shortage: Hire the tourists

Shifting views on marijuana highlight just how differently people of color are impacted by drug laws

Police responding to dying student’s 911 call stayed in their patrol car, body cam videos show

‘Ain’t nobody got time for this’: 911 dispatcher sentenced to jail after hanging up on thousands of callers

Reading archive 2018-01-08

Oprah Winfrey: one of the world's best neoliberal capitalist thinkers

Israel invested in “Mideast peace” Trump adviser Jared Kushner: Jared Kushner was never an honest broker for peace in the Mideast

WHITE HOUSE AIDES “INFURIATED” AS TRUMP BULLDOZES HIS OWN INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN

Rep. Steve Alford cites belief blacks more susceptible to marijuana

Bitcoin is teaching libertarians everything they don’t know about economics

The Rockefellers vs. the Company That Made Them Rockefellers: The family that pioneered the oil industry in America wants to expose what Exxon hid from the public about climate change.

Tillerson and Mattis are reportedly trying to hold Trump back from striking North Korea

The Golden Globes Red-Carpet Protest Wasn’t Perfect, but It Was a Start: A visual element—like black dresses—is a necessary part of any larger campaign

Golden Globes: Men had little to say about harassment, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed

James Damore just filed a class action lawsuit against Google, saying it discriminates against white male conservatives

Reading archive 2018-01-04

Dear Northerners: We get that this weather is no big deal for you. Now please shut up. - "'Look, if you are in one of those Midwestern states where everyone boasts that they’re used to the weather — you are driving everywhere. Here, you are walking, or you’re biking, or worst, you’re just standing. You’re waiting for the bus, and you’re standing.'"

Steve Bannon waves the white flag at Trump

Trump lawyer seeks to block insider book on White House

Sessions is rescinding Obama-era directive for feds to back off marijuana enforcement in states with legal pot

Jeff Sessions is on the wrong side of marijuana legalization. Can Democrats take advantage?: Sessions' anti-marijuana stance opens up a big window of opportunity for Democrats in midterm races.

Dave Chappelle's Jokes About Trans People Haven't Aged Well: The world has started to evolve on trans rights since the days of Chappelle's Show. Now the comedian is back with two Netflix stand-up specials, and his jokes about trans people prove he hasn't caught up with the times.

Richard Pryor: meltdown at the Hollywood Bowl: Starring at a gay rights fundraiser, the great standup saw other black artists being treated with racist contempt – and launched into an astonishing tirade that the 17,000-strong audience would never forget

Michael Wolff tells a juicy tale in his new Trump book. But should we believe it?

I read decades of Woody Allen’s private notes. He’s obsessed with teenage girls.

Reading archive 2017-09-14

Ambitious Rhode Island music fest ends in failure of ‘epic proportions’

USC-Texas revisited: LenDale White and what happened after fourth-and-two

Reading archive 2016-08-11 part II

DEA Rejects Attempt To Loosen Federal Restrictions On Marijuana

When Women Win, Men Win, Too

This is how the Islamic State was founded

Shooting in North Carolina Draws Comparisons to Trayvon Martin’s Death