Reading archive 2026-07-01

DC's fireworks supershow this year could be a smoke-filled mess: Disrupted views are a common part of the DC fireworks show, even before it gets supersized like in 2026.

Two Teens Shot While Attending Gun Violence Prevention Program: The teens were attending their first day of a six-week violence prevention training in Northeast D.C. as part of the city's summer youth employment program.

Virginia law will put speed-limiting devices on reckless drivers' cars: Proponents of intelligent speed assistance device (ISA) laws include the mother of a 5-year-old who was hit and killed in D.C. The District allows them, and they're coming to Maryland.

D.C. unveils sweeping master plan for Commanders stadium and RFK campus

ICE’s arrest of nun heading to church fuels bipartisan backlash in South Texas: The president’s deportation drive has riled border areas that supported him in 2024, and a GOP congresswoman joined Democrats calling for the sister’s release.

There’s a new way to treat sprains and strains. Hint: Ice is out.: If you think you need rest, ice and ibuprofen, think again.

Beyond Denial How Oil Execs Shaped a Landmark Climate Study - "For a generation, people learning how to address global warming were taught the ideas in the 'Wedges' paper. 

"What they didn’t learn was this: 'Wedges' was significantly shaped by the British oil giant BP — one of the single global entities most responsible for causing climate change."

A False Pretense of Judicial Modesty: The Supreme Court is remaking the law while claiming to preserve the status quo. - "When the Court does overrule precedent, it is a big deal, as in yesterday's decision in Trump v Slaughter. The opinion officially overturned Humphrey's Executor, a 90-year-old case. But the separation-of-powers practice formalized in Humphrey's Executor goes back at least 50 years before the Court decided it. Relying on Humphrey's allowed Congress to build the modern federal government, insulating agencies from the whiplash of electoral politics and channeling bipartisanship, expertise, and continuity into technical policy making. These agencies will now be upended in ways their creators never anticipated. 

"Precedent, of course, is not a magical constraint that produces mechanical results. A better way to think of it, as the philosopher Ronald Dworkin put it, is as a 'gravitational pull' on judicial reasoning. Respecting it grounds judges in traditions larger than themselves and guards against overreach. If following Humphrey's Executor served those values faithfully, its overturning reflects the triumph of something else: faddish theories of the moment-here, the theory of the unitary executive-and the hubris of a Court that thinks it knows best. The Court has replaced the gravitational pull of accumulated wisdom with the gravitational pull of itself."

Ukraine’s Plan to Unnerve Putin: Recent drone attacks in the Moscow area reveal a multifaceted strategy.

Reading archive 2026-04-17 pt 1

A New Kind of Hybrid Car Is About to Hit America’s Streets: The car industry says it has an answer for drivers wary of going electric.

If your heart stopped right now, would a stranger save you? It depends on your sex.: Why women are less likely to receive CPR—and less likely to survive

DC Mayor extends juvenile curfew citing weeks of disorderly behavior, violence: The curfew zones were put in place in response to "teen takeovers," large gatherings of kids and teenagers promoted on social media.

D.C. police lieutenant charged with seeking to have sex with a minor: Matthew Mahl, a D.C. police lieutenant, allegedly exchanged sexually explicit text messages with a Maryland detective pretending to be a 15-year-old boy.

How to save money on tree work and still get good results: Even healthy trees need a little branch management from time to time.

Iran says Strait of Hormuz is now open amid push to end war: President Trump welcomed the announcement, but U.S. officials said the naval blockade on vessels leaving from and going to Iranian ports remains in effect.

Nothing ever dies. It merely becomes embarrassing.: OR: the Halo theory of science - "The secret sauce of science is supposed to be falsifiability: it ain’t science unless you can kill it. If I claim that all swans are white, and you show up with a black swan, then I’m supposed to bid a tearful goodbye to my theory and send it to that big farm upstate where it can frolic and play with all the other failed hypotheses. 

"Falsification sounds straightforward until you actually try it. You show up with your black swan, and instead of admitting defeat, I go, 'Hmm, well is it really black? Is it actually a swan? Seems more like a dusky-looking duck to me!' And we publish dueling papers until the end of our days.

...

"This is the situation we appear to be in with many theories in psychology. We can’t say whether they’re 'real' or not. Somewhere out there, the Spartans may live on. But if we’ve been studying something for decades and people look at all the evidence and they still doubt whether it exists at all, we have to admit: that’s cringe. 

"Cringe doesn’t mean wrong! Continental drift was cringe.2 Germ theory was cringe.3 Smallpox vaccination was cringe.4 All of them went from mortifying to undeniable. Maybe truly revolutionary theories must follow that trajectory. If a scientific idea is young and it’s not cringe, it probably has no promise. But if it’s old and it’s still cringe, it probably has no merit."

Another Energy Crisis Is Here. This Time, the Way Out Is Different. - "This is the first energy shock where clean energy is not a moral or long‑term bet, but the cheapest and fastest way for low‑ and middle‑income countries to protect macroeconomic stability, food security, and fiscal space."

This is the scariest question about Putin — and Trump: The Russian president's back is to the wall. That makes him more dangerous.

A Pillar of the Economics Establishment Admits That It Was Wrong: In a new report, the World Bank thinks better of its old free-market absolutism. - "In this context, the World Bank's implicit message to the rest of the world appears to be: Yes, industrial policy can work if done correctly. But please, for the love of God, don't do what America is doing."

Trump Voters Are Over It: A shocking number of the president’s supporters have turned against him.

The DNA Fix for Aging: Everyone’s DNA keeps mutating. Could correcting those errors lead to longevity?

The Quiet Way Authoritarianism Begins to Crumble: Among the many reasons for Viktor Orbán’s defeat was the rural clubs where citizens relearned democratic habits.

Israel Moderates Are Losing the Democratic Party: Their position has become untenable. But liberal Zionists can adapt. - "The theoretical case for a two-state solution remains as sound as ever. The trouble is that the Palestinian side has rejected repeated attempts by Democratic presidents to bring about the birth of a Palestinian state, and that Israel's longest-serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his right-wing coalition do everything they can to subvert such a solution. At some point, supporters of the two-state solution have to take 'no' for an answer. The United States is effectively supporting a one-state solution whose entire strategy rests on an endless cycle of responding to terrorism with military force (a process of periodic attacks that Israel calls 'mowing the lawn') in place of any diplomatic path.

...

"Liberal Zionists can win an intra-Democratic argument against anti-Zionist radicals, but they can't win it while burdened with support for subsidizing settlements and a strategy of endless conflict. The most extreme anti-Zionist activists won't be satisfied with anything short of committing the Democratic Party to Israel's demise. But the most left-wing position in recent Democratic primaries - on Iraq in 2004, on health care in 2016 - has rarely been adopted by the candidate who emerges as the party's eventual nominee."

Reading archive 2026-03-19

Trump Is Learning That His Bullying Has Consequences: Allies are not eager to assist a superpower that’s shown them no loyalty. - "In the past, Denmark and other European countries that viewed good relations with Washington as the foundation of their security would have been more willing to assist 'even if they weren't on board with the military mission per se,' Søndergaard said. "It's pretty clear this is not the case anymore." Proof of that came last night, when Denmark's prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, gave a forthright answer to a question in a televised debate about whether she could still call the United States her country's most important ally. 'No, I can't do that anymore,' she said, instead pointing to Europe, especially other Nordic countries, as well as Canada.

...

"Germany's position reflects a pragmatic response to a pattern of U.S. behavior. Roderich Kiesewetter, a member of the foreign-affairs committee in the German Parliament, ticked through the blows with me: downgrading Europe's importance in annual national-security and defense strategies, dialing back support for Ukraine, and delivering a boost to the Kremlin's war economy by lifting some sanctions on Russian oil. All of this, naturally, has repercussions. "It strains the transatlantic relationship," Kiesewetter told me today. 'We do not see Trump as a trustworthy ally anymore.'"

A Possible Upside to the Iran War: Perhaps inadvertently, Trump is revealing the limits of China’s Axis of Autocracy. - "Villa suggests that China's leaders could burnish the country's reputation in Latin America by fighting U.S. hard power with soft power, expanding aid and investment in the region. Yet this looks unlikely. Although China is a major trading partner for Latin American countries, Beijing's generosity can be limited. Villa estimates that even after the Trump administration's cuts to USAID's budget, Beijing's international aid amounted to only 5 percent of what Washington handed out around the world last year. 'There's no indication that China will close that gap,' he told me."

Glimpsing Victory in Iran: The campaign has already delivered major wins for American national security, but something much bigger is starting to come into view.

Everyone but Trump Understands What He’s Done: Allied leaders know that any positive gesture they make will count for nothing. - "Specifically, they remember that for 14 months, the American president has tariffed them, mocked their security concerns, and repeatedly insulted them. As long ago as January 2020, Trump told several European officials that ;if Europe is under attack, we will never come to help you and to support you.; In February 2025, he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he had no right to expect support either, because ;you don't have any cards.; Trump ridiculed Canada as the ;51st state; and referred to both the present and previous Canadian prime ministers as ;governor.; He claimed, incorrectly, that allied troops in Afghanistan ;stayed a little back, a little off the front lines,; causing huge offense to the families of soldiers who died fighting after NATO invoked Article 5 of the organization's treaty, on behalf of the United States, the only time it has done so. He called the British ;our once-great ally,; after they refused to participate in the initial assault on Iran; when they discussed sending some aircraft carriers to the Persian Gulf conflict earlier this month, he ridiculed the idea on social media: 'We don't need people that join Wars after we've already won!'"

The Iran War’s Next Threat Is to Food and Water: A prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz could unleash a humanitarian crisis.

This app is quietly reformulating America’s food supply: Food scanning app Yuka is empowering consumers to demand that processed food brands make their products healthier. - "Dariush Mozaffarian, a Tufts University cardiologist and director of its Food Is Medicine Institute, faults Nutri-Score as relying on 'outdated science,' such as penalizing some healthy fats, while lacking evidence it leads individuals to eat meaningfully better over time. 'It’s not terrible,' he said, “but I don’t think it’s great." (Mozaffarian has helped develop his own nutritional index called the Food Compass). 

"Other food experts say Yuka unhelpfully demonizes additives that can be dangerous at high doses but are usually present in tiny amounts. Some may not be 'high-risk' at all: Yuka puts MSG in that category, despite scientific bodies from the FDA to WHO declaring them safe in typical amounts after multiple randomized controlled studies."

Trump has choked off Cuba’s oil supply. China is stepping in with solar.: Chinese-backed solar parks could be supplying as much as 10 percent of Cuba’s electricity, researchers say.

Economic fallout from U.S.-led war is hitting the rest of the world harder: Because of greater exposure to disruptions in the Middle East, such as high natural gas prices, businesses and consumers outside the U.S. are being hit harder by the war in Iran.

Britain is ready to admit it has an America problem: Washington’s unquestioned leadership of the West’s postwar alliance system is dissolving. - "Despite Britain’s conventional ammo stocks having whittled down to the point it could barely sustain a week of high intensity warfare with Russia, London was willing to put its specialist skills and weaponry behind Ukraine while Washington dithered. This included airlifting NLAW anti-tank weapons to Kyiv and telling Britain’s long-standing in-country training mission to stay put as other Westerners withdrew theirs. By the time I arrived in Kyiv, the United Kingdom had spent two years not following but pushing the United States, all while being much more present on the ground.

...

"The truth is it is not Britain, with its rocky politics and strained public finances, that is seriously rearming. It’s Germany. With Berlin aiming to hit 3.5 percent of GDP on defense by 2029, the balance of power in Europe is going to shift radically. A Europe still allied to Washington but primarily defended by Europeans is in sight. But neither Britain nor France are ready for their German partner suddenly overshadowing them militarily. Unless the U.K. raises its defense budget to generate more deployable assets to secure Europe’s perimeter, London’s return to relevance risks being a passing moment in between two Western security orders."

This Emirati billionaire put a voice to Gulf anger over Trump’s war in Iran: In a post on X, the hotel magnate lambasted the president for not considering collateral damage, although he later told The Post: “I blame Trump, but I blame the Iranians more.”

The nation’s accelerating self-assassination: The national debt is heading for $40 trillion. Blame “Total Boomer Luxury Communism.” - "The fastest-growing age cohort is people 65 and older. They are high-propensity voters because the more government subsidizes them, the higher are the stakes of politics for them. And because of their powerful incentive to vote (in order to defend and enlarge their benefits), the political class has a permanent incentive to intensify the elderly’s incentive by enriching those benefits. Last year, the president’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act increased the standard tax deduction for seniors — and only for them.

...

Thomas Jefferson said spending money to be repaid by posterity is 'swindling futurity on a large scale.' There is, however, no injustice in borrowing from the future to fund public goods — those from which all citizens, present and future, will benefit. Such goods — physical (roads, dams, harbors, defense) and intellectual (education, scientific research) — are the infrastructure enabling society’s dynamism. The swindle that has become normal is perpetrated by generations in power funding their consumption of government goods by burdening — borrowing from — future generations."

‘Trump is aiming for dictatorship’. That’s the verdict of the world’s most credible democracy watchdog: Sweden’s V-Dem Institute warns that the US is no longer a liberal democracy. And autocracy is creeping across Europe too - "Another aspect of America’s rapidly deteriorating democracy, according to the report, is the removal of internal guardrails that protect the federal government from abuse of power. When I ask Lindberg how we should read the findings, his response is emphatic. 'Trump has fired inspector generals and higher levels of civil servants across departments, and replaced them with loyalists. This is exactly what Orbán and Erdoğan did. They remove the constraints on power. It should be obvious by now that Trump is aiming for dictatorship.'"

None of These People I Insulted Want To Die For Me in The Strait of Hormuz?: The Trump people, on top of everything else, do not know ball. PLUS: U.S. military AI usage killed an Iraqi student in 2024 - "Thirty years ago, while basking in the dawn of U.S. hyperpower, imperial policymakers liked to say that 'superpowers don't do windows'—that is, the unglamorous, menial tasks of hegemony, which ought to be performed by client states. We are a long way from that now. The Iraq War (and then the Afghanistan surge) showed that even at the height of U.S. unipolarity, there were serious political limits to the participation of partner militaries in unpopular American wars of choice. Now, at the historical end of U.S. unipolarity, there simply was never going to be any appetite to save the Americans from their own mistakes.

That reticence would confront any administration reckless enough to engage in an unprovoked aggression against what remains a formidable regional power. But this is the Trump administration we're talking about. Last year, the Trump administration levied massive tariffs on its traditional allies, basically as imperial tribute. Not two months ago, Trump threatened Europe over Greenland, and in doing so clarified his position that Europeans ought to be vassals of the United States. Marco Rubio—this time to European applause—placed Europe within a claimed American sphere of influence. Some of those European countries at first issued statements of support for the U.S. against Iran, particularly when the Iranians held the Gulf at risk, despite Mark Carney's fire at Davos about exiting the U.S. security umbrella. But the last thing insulted states are going to do is send their own navies into the line of fire on behalf of a contemptuous and aggressive patron. This is real basic shit."

Walgreens robberies rattled D.C.’s Chinatown. The ringleader is going to prison.: Gianni Robinson, who prosecutors say orchestrated an inside job of seven robberies at the iconic drugstore location starting in 2023, was sentenced to 10½ years.

House panel gives green light to bill to eliminate DC traffic cameras

Six Federal Scientists Run Out by Trump Talk About the Work Left Undone: “There’s been a fundamental destruction,” one researcher said. It’s going to “take a very, very long time to rebuild.”

Men can get out of the manosphere. Here’s what former incels say about why they left

After the Iran war, the global economy will never be the same: The fighting may end, but the inflationary and investment effects across the region will not.

A prolonged war in Iran could hand China the commodity it prizes most: But a short, decisive campaign could cause Beijing to think twice about taking Taiwan.

Reading archive 2026-01-06

Disgust Over Jan. 6 Is No Longer Bipartisan

Officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 say their struggles linger, 5 years after the riot

This is Europe’s secret weapon against Trump: it could burst his AI bubble - "First, Dutch company ASML commands a global monopoly on the microchip-etching machines that use light to carve patterns on silicon. These machines are essential for Nvidia, the AI microchip giant that is now the world’s most valuable company. ASML is one of Europe’s most valuable companies, and European banks and private equity are also invested in AI. Withholding these silicon-etching machines would be difficult for Europe, and extremely painful for the Dutch economy. But it would be far more painful for Trump. 

"The US’s feverish investment in AI and the datacentres it relies on will hit a wall if European export controls slow or stop exports to the US – and to Taiwan, where Nvidia produces its most advanced chips. Via this lever, Europe has the means to decide whether and by how much the US economy expands or contracts. 

"Second, and much easier for Europe, is the enforcement of the EU’s long-neglected data rules against big US tech companies. Confidential corporate documents made public in US litigation show how vulnerable companies such as Google can be to the enforcement of basic data rules. Meanwhile, Meta has been unable to tell a US court what its internal systems do with your data, or who can access it, or for what purpose."

How Walmart And Pepsico Rigged Prices And Supercharged Food Inflation

‘Their first instinct was to loot’: how Trump’s acolytes are plundering the Kennedy Center - "Democrats on the committee said they obtained documents that suggest the national cultural centre is being operated as a 'slush fund and private club for Trump’s friends and political allies', resulting in millions of dollars in losses and a significant deviation from its statutory mission."

A Horseshoe Theory of Trump: His economic approach combines libertarianism and authoritarianism. - "Trump's economic management combines two theoretically incompatible tendencies. It is at once libertarian, because the state is doing less to protect consumers and workers, and authoritarian, because the government sometimes lawlessly interrupts the workings of the free market in service of the personal and ideological interests of Trump and his allies. This makes MAGA economics a seemingly impossible hybrid: libertarian authoritarianism.

...

"Authoritarianism and libertarianism are commonly thought of as opposites-two poles on a political spectrum. It is a sign of Trump's distinctive political genius that he has managed to combine the two concepts. By tearing down generally applicable restraints on corporate behavior while selectively exerting direct influence to reward his allies and punish his critics, he has managed to preserve all the flaws of the old Republican economic approach while introducing new ones that are even worse."

Trump Seizing Greenland Could Set Off a Chain Reaction: After Venezuela, Europeans are taking the president’s threats seriously. - "A Danish lawmaker, who spoke with us on the condition of anonymity to address the security situation candidly, said that the very notion of the U.S. invading Greenland-both mounting an invasion and defending against it-is absurd. The island is nearly four times the size of France and is mostly ice. The lawmaker told us that Danes are particularly baffled by Trump's designs on Greenland because he could accomplish all of his security objectives by working with Denmark, a committed U.S. ally. During the Cold War, there was even a nuclear-powered U.S. base built under Greenlandic ice. 'If the Americans want another military base, just say where,' the lawmaker said. 'If you want a radar, you can put it up.'"

Trump’s ‘American Dominance’ May Leave Us With Nothing: The president’s moves in Venezuela foretell a new global system. - "If America is just a regional bully, after all, then our former allies in Europe and Asia will close their doors and their markets to us. Sooner or later, 'our' Western Hemisphere will organize against us and fight back. Far from making us more powerful, the pursuit of American dominance will make us weaker, eventually leaving us with no sphere, and no influence, at all."

You Won’t Believe Who Trump Told About Venezuela Attack Ahead of Time: Here’s a hint: it wasn’t Congress.

The data center rebellion is here, and it’s reshaping the political landscape As the buildout of AI infrastructure alarms communities, it is fast emerging as a potent electoral issue across the political divide - "Many of the neighbors fighting the project in Sand Springs voted for Trump three times and also backed Republican Gov. J. Kevin Stitt, who implores tech firms to build in his state."

Emails outline potential cuts affecting thousands of FEMA disaster responders: DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has said she wants to reduce FEMA’s staff by half. Drafted plans show how it can happen.

Mamdani’s new tenant advocate wants to seize private property: Socialists keep dreaming of collectivism, as New Yorkers suffer from unserious housing policy. [ed. note: the WaPo editorial board continues to spiral out]

Corporation for Public Broadcasting, gutted of federal funds, votes to dissolve: President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans succeeded this summer in stripping federal funds from public media. Now the 58-year-old organization is gone.

George Conway, critical of Trump, enters crowded Democratic House primary: In an interview, the newly registered Democrat emphasized his opposition to the president, as he seeks to stand out in a packed open race in New York.

Congress has four weeks to dodge another shutdown: Appropriators are rushing to complete full-year spending bills before the Jan. 30 deadline.

Lawmakers battle over how — and whether — Jan. 6 should be remembered: A hidden plaque honoring the police who defended the Capitol during the 2021 insurrection has sparked new fights between Democrats and Republicans.

He was attacked on Jan. 6. Can he make sense of it for the kids he teaches?: Nathan Tate was a D.C. police officer defending the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Now he’s trying to find the lesson in it.

Humans May Be Able to Grow New Teeth Within Just 4 Years: Scientists are on the verge of a dental miracle.

Debunking the AI food delivery hoax that fooled Reddit: A “whistleblower” tried to corroborate his viral post with AI-generated evidence. This is how I caught him. PLUS: Grok's image-generation crisis, and the rapture over Claude Opus 4.5 - "While AI systems are notoriously unreliable at identifying their own outputs, Google Gemini can detect SynthID watermarks embedded in images that it produces."

15 Scenarios That Could Stun the World in 2026: Futurists, political analysts and other forecasters on the possible “Black Swan” events of the new year.

Call Trump's power grab in Venezuela what it is: Corporate media must recognize they're being openly lied to—and report accordingly. - "From a journalist's perspective, however, it’s much more challenging to figure out how to cover a president who you know is actively lying to you. But it’s a challenge we reject at our own peril."

This once iconic oyster industry crashed. Soon, harvesting will begin again.: Florida’s Apalachicola Bay once supplied more than 90 percent of the state’s oysters. But it has been off-limits to harvesting for five years. That changes Jan. 1.

Why smaller houses can lead to happier lives: It turns out asking “Are you happy with your home?” yields a very different answer than “Are you happy with your life?”

Republican Rep. LaMalfa dies, further narrowing GOP’s House majority: The death of the seven-term congressman, coupled with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s vacating her seat Tuesday, means Republicans are likely to face trouble advancing partisan legislation.

Do wind turbines kill birds?: Yes—but only a fraction as many as are killed by house cats, buildings, or even the fossil fuel operations that wind farms replace.

U.S. State That Abandoned Canadian Tourists Tries Again As Canada’s Travel Boycott Hits The Holidays

Reading archive 2025-11-20

I love your sweater. Is it made from gay sheep wool?: Grindr organized a fashion show made from the wool of gay sheep. Wait, what?

House votes to undo law allowing senators to sue over Jan. 6 subpoenas: It faces an uncertain future in the Senate, despite most eligible senators saying they won’t sue.

Mystery Fuels Unease in Maine Woods: Who Bought Burnt Jacket Mountain?: An anonymous new owner fenced off beloved trails and put up surveillance cameras in a region with a long tradition of allowing public access on private land.

Why ‘Twin Peaks’ Still Looks Incredible Decades Later: Director of Photography Ronald Víctor García shares all the metaphorical direction Lynch would give him to nail the show's warm vibes.

It’s the ‘most important fish in the sea.’ And it’s disappearing.: If the menhaden decline continues, striped bass could be next to vanish. - "This isn’t a debate over red tape — it’s a fight over who controls the base of the Atlantic’s food chain: the public that depends on a healthy ocean or a private fleet that treats it like an industrial feedlot.

...

"Omega Protein’s dominance, however, is sustained not by biology but by politics. Although it employs fewer than 300 full-time workers, the company wields outsized influence in Richmond. Its lobbyists, including the powerhouse legal and public affairs firm McGuireWoods, have long worked both sides of the aisle — Republicans for their support of commercial interests and Democrats for their emphasis on union jobs — to block conservation efforts."

U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols: The military service, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, has drafted a new policy that classifies such items “potentially divisive.”

U.S. delivers peace plan for Ukraine, sparking fears of ‘capitulation’: Kyiv’s European partners said they should be involved in proposals for the security of Ukraine and Europe, indicating they hadn’t even been briefed on the plan. - "Special envoy Steve Witkoff is quietly pushing a plan that contains provisions that Ukraine has long opposed, including forcing it to cede strategic territory not yet seized by Russia in the eastern Donbas region and agreeing to significant reductions in the size and effectiveness of its military, according to two people familiar with the negotiations."

As Trump plans backfire, Democrats are ahead in House redistricting fight :After early redistricting wins, Trump faces setbacks over maps for Texas, Indiana and other Republican-led states, frustrating his allies.

Republican overseeing Alamo renovation ousted after ‘woke’ social media post: Kate Roger, a Republican, has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against state officials after a social media post and PhD dissertation led to her losing the job of overseeing a massive renovation of the Texas landmark.

CDC in turmoil after agency backpedals on debunking vaccines-autism link: The CDC’s website now says health authorities ignored evidence of a potential connection between vaccines and autism, despite dozens of studies showing no link.

What If Aliens Don’t Actually Do Science?: Daniel Whiteson and Andy Warner Consider the Many Forms Inquiry Can Take, In Our World and Others - "To make bread or swords, humans didn’t have to know what was going on at the microscopic level. People all over the globe had fantastically impressive technology long before we had our modern, mathematical, empirical science."

Democrats Finally Realize It Isn’t 2016 Anymore: Members of the left and the center seem to have concluded that, to win elections, each side needs to become more like the other.

Part 1: How I Found Out

Reading archive 2025-07-16 pt 1

My health and my politics walk into a doctor’s office …: My palliative care doctor and I have almost nothing in common. We’re still learning from each other. - "Her response included a touch of humor. 'I appreciate hearing more about how you were raised and how you view our standing in this life and beyond. But I guess it leaves me wondering, how is this working out for the world? And what happens to moral people when they die? If nothing happens after we die, what’s the point of striving for justice and caring about others in this life? Might as well be selfish, greedy, live the good life and then die.'" [ed. note: what are the morals of someone who strives for justice and cares for others in expectation of heavenly rewards? That makes the moral atheist a significantly greater person.]

Airplanes are loud and may damage your hearing. Here’s what helps.: Even if you are on a flight free of crying babies, the engine noise can be substantial.

Are a few people ruining the internet for the rest of us?: Why does the online world seem so toxic compared with normal life? Our research shows that a small number of divisive accounts could be responsible – and offers a way out

Nursing homes struggle with Trump’s immigration crackdown

From Food Aid to Dog Chow? How Trump’s Cuts Hurt Kansas Farmers.: Kansans created Food for Peace, for 70 years a font of rural income and pride. Now at least one grain broker is trying to sell grain that once fed the world as dog food.

Trump’s Vietnam Agreement Bodes Poorly for Future Trade Deals

The Ruthless Ambition of Stephen Miller

FEMA removed dozens of Camp Mystic buildings from 100-year flood map before expansion, records show

How the rightwing sports bro conquered America

For Hard-Right Lawmakers, Trump’s Shift on Epstein Is Just the Latest Breach: Right-wing Republicans have also criticized the president’s stances on Iran and Ukraine, hinting at a broader fraying of his political coalition.

WHY MANY AMERICAN GARDENS ARE FULL OF MULCH?

American Father and Vlogger Tricked Into Front Line Combat by Russia: The Texas man is the latest in a string of Americans lured to Russia by propaganda, yet confronting a reality that is altogether different than the utopia they were sold.

Human Collapse: Russia Moves to Conceal Severe Demographic Crisis: Russia has begun to restrict access to data relating to demographic statistics in a sign that they are likely to reveal a deteriorating population situation.

D.C. Ward 8 voters return indicted Trayon White to office after expulsion White beat opponents ANC Chair Salim Adofo, attorney Mike Austin and public servant Sheila Bunn for the seat.

Democrats have only one escape route Unifying behind platitudes isn’t the way out of irrelevance. Making voters choose is.

Inside the Silicon Valley push to breed super-babies: Investors say genetic prediction services for embryos, used by Elon Musk and others, are a trust fund for future children. Many scientists are skeptical. - "But the paper laying out that breakthrough, published last year in the peer-reviewed journal F&S Reports, is fundamentally flawed, according to Stanford’s Yatsenko and Aleks Rajkovic, chief genomics officer at the University of California at San Francisco Health Center for Clinical Genetics and Genomics. It excluded results that didn’t fit its thesis, Yatsenko said, and both scientists said that by using Orchid’s own lab to check those results, its authors didn’t adhere to ideal scientific practice. Orchid said that the paper’s findings had been verified by independent labs and that there were 'zero discrepancies' in the results."

You might be fooling yourself about peanut butter, plus 5 other protein mistakes: Are you eating enough protein at breakfast? Most people aren’t.

DOJ hits states with broad requests for voter rolls, election data: Election clerks in both parties, already facing harassment and lawsuits over Trump’s false 2020 election claims, worry about efforts to examine voting machines.

Reading archive 2025-06-04

Oklahoma parents fight new curriculum on 2020 election ‘discrepancies’: A lawsuit alleges that state superintendent Ryan Walters added a provision on election questions without notifying some board members before they voted.

Two Chinese nationals charged with smuggling toxic fungus into U.S.: A University of Michigan researcher and her boyfriend are accused of trying to smuggle a “dangerous biological pathogen” that can harm crops into the U.S.

It’s tariff season. Do you know where your clothes are made?: Amid an onslaught of tariffs that are increasing the costs of such things as Hermès bags and their knockoffs on Shein, the question of where something is made has taken on a new urgency.

Capital One Arena renovations are underway. Here’s what to expect.: Many changes scheduled to be completed ahead of the 2025-26 Washington Capitals and Wizards seasons will go unnoticed by fans because the initial work will be focused on the building’s event level.

Most new cars in Norway are EVs. How a freezing country beat range anxiety.: A visit to the northernmost region in Europe’s northernmost country offers a window into how to make electric vehicles the car of choice. - "Norway’s EV experiment has been made possible by something of a paradox: The country is Europe’s largest oil and gas producer, which helps support Norwegians’ aspiration to live green. Norway has invested its fossil fuel profits into what has become the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, a nest egg worth $1.7 trillion. Returns from that fund help cover government expenses, which in turn makes it easier to accommodate climate-friendly tax exemptions."

Biden Fumbled the Energy Debate. But Another World Leader Won on Clean Power.: Climate doesn’t usually win elections — but it can lose them. Australia is breaking the political logjam.

Released early in a murder case, D.C. man gets 60-year term for new killing: Darrell Moore was freed after 26 years under a D.C. law aimed giving people second chances --- and eight months later, he fatally shot a man, a jury concluded.

Let us count the 3,515 ways in which Democrats are lame - "The real reason for the surfeit of why-Democrats-suck critiques is that Democrats themselves love to engage in anguished soul-searching. Republicans did an autopsy after their 2012 loss, summarily rejected all its recommendations and then won the next presidential election. But Democrats love self-loathing."

Thousands of Ukraine’s children vanished into Russia. This one made it back.: Illia’s mother died in the siege of Mariupol and Russian officials put him up for adoption — until his grandmother traveled into Russia to bring him home.

Democratic Party is at risk of becoming ‘roadkill,’ warns Tim Walz: The Minnesota governor unleashed harsh language during appearances this weekend, in the clearest signs yet that he is weighing a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028.

U.S. vet from WWII is honored in Europe, showered with gratitude at age 99: Harry Humason, who helped liberate Europe from the Nazis, was shocked when hundreds of grateful Czech citizens donated to pay for his travels.

Unease at F.B.I. Intensifies as Patel Ousts Top Officials: Senior executives are being pushed out and the director, Kash Patel, is more freely using polygraph tests to tamp down on news leaks about leadership decisions and behavior.

Reading archive 2025-06-03

The Rise of the Shallow State On the loss of state capacity and institutional memory in the federal government. - "This destruction of knowledge will obviously have serious long-term effects on U.S. state capacity — but in many cases the private sector will also be hit hard. That is because the provision of public goods often incentivizes the provision of private goods — which means the elimination of public goods puts a crimp in the ability of some markets to function. For example, the elimination of NOAA positions will make insurance more difficult to issue."

Records of dead people show how the pro-Trump spin machine keeps going: Supporters cite a prosaic DOGE announcement as evidence that a Social Security problem that never existed has been fixed.

Black Democrats fume over 2024 while ‘searching for a leader’ in 2028: Frustration over the loss to President Donald Trump came into sharp focus this past weekend in South Carolina, an early nominating state and power center for Black leaders.

What’s the best way to store strawberries? We tested popular methods.: Here’s how to store fresh strawberries to keep them plump, juicy and mold-free for as long as possible.

We are witnessing the suicide of a superpower: The president’s assault on science dangerously undermines America’s superpower status.

Infamous D.C. intersection with a Wendy’s in the middle is now a plaza: “Dave Thomas Circle,” a source of frustration and confusion for decades, has been remade into a park space with more efficient traffic lanes. It is now named after Negro leagues pitcher Mamie “Peanut” Johnson.

‘I want my child back’: Surge in D.C. shootings left 20 dead in May: A spike in violence pushed the city’s year-to-date homicide count to 69 as of May 31, nearly equaling the total for the same five-month period in 2024.

We finally may be able to rid the world of mosquitoes. But should we?: Gene editing holds the potential of suppressing mosquito species that carry deadly diseases — and raises ethical questions.

Where smoke from Canadian wildfires has spread into the U.S.: Smoke ended up as far south as the coastal Southeast U.S. over the weekend.

Reading archive 2025-05-12 pt 1

Ruben Gallego’s tough talk in Pennsylvania visit adds to 2028 chatter: Democrats are hoping to tap into the Arizona senator’s playbook to win back working-class voters far beyond his home state.

More alternatives to knee replacement surgery are emerging: Physicians caution that the treatments aren’t permanent fixes, but they may work well for some.

RIP American innovation: Why destroy the funding that made the United States a leader in technology and invention? - "Giving out grants for what might look frivolous or wasteful on the surface is a feature, not a bug, of publicly funded research. Consider that Agriculture Department and NIH grants to study chemicals in wild yams led to cortisone and medical steroids becoming widely affordable. Or that knowing more about the fruit fly has aided discoveries related to human aging, Parkinson’s disease and cancer."

Democrat Spanberger: No right-to-work repeal in Virginia, but maybe ‘reform’: Gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger (D) told a Richmond TV station she would not sign a repeal of right-to-work; GOP rival Winsome Earle-Sears doesn’t believe her.

Attorney general’s brother vies to lead D.C. Bar, upending contest: Bar elections have drawn triple the turnout of a typical cycle with weeks left to vote, animated by the candidacies of two lawyers connected to Trump appointees.

Trump claims prices are down. Here’s what the data actually shows.: While prices for certain goods have declined, inflation remained elevated even before tariffs show up in the data.

There are big, ugly problems at the center of the House budget bill: Republicans have created impossible restraints on their tax-and-budget package.

Biden goes public in attacking Trump — and defending himself: His appearances come amid Trump’s attacks, critical books and residual anger from Democrats.

This is the view from Kyiv: President Donald Trump’s turn toward Moscow hasn’t changed the moral calculus for Ukraine.

Plagiarizing Independent Journalists Is Part of Mainstream Media’s Business - "Plagiarism is shockingly common in mainstream media, especially at the New York Times."

Japan Threatens Their Nuclear Option in Trump’s Trade War - "America’s largest foreign holder of US Treasuries has always been loath to even consider the notion of selling the immense amount of US debt they hold, but Trump has upended every kind of precedent imaginable, and now the financial world’s nuclear option has firmly been put on the table."

The Conclave Just Did the Unthinkable: What an American pope means for the Catholic Church and the world

Trump’s Inevitable Betrayal of His Supporters: Trump never meant to keep his promises. His voters are starting to notice.

Just Don’t Call Her Unqualified: Jeanine Pirro, Trump’s nominee for U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., is a real prosecutor. She’s also a real MAGA partisan.

Reading archive 2025-04-23

Is green really ‘green’? The mind-bending science of color.: Science and philosophy explain why color is objectively real, even when people see the same shade differently.

How D.C.’s dangerous new prosecutor is making the city less safe: Ed Martin’s predecessors say his dismantling of the office will alienate jurors, reduce convictions. - "A former U.S. attorney said: 'You’re going to see an uptick in crime because jurors, judges and D.C. residents will think the U.S. attorney’s office has a political agenda, and they’re going to be that much more skeptical.' A former prosecutor whom Martin fired added: 'Juries in the District of Columbia are educated and they follow the news. They are going to hold Martin’s extremism against us in the jury room.'"

D.C. grandmother, missing for two days, found slain in dumpster: Donnella Bryan was a dental assistant who enjoyed a life rich with books, music and loved ones, her family says.

The fall of a violent D.C. gang that used federal loans to buy drugs in bulk: Prosecutors said the Kennedy Street Crew’s purported leader smuggled drugs on planes and used pandemic relief loans through the Small Business Association to buy bulk narcotics.

She killed two children with her van. She will spend at most 4 months in jail.: Olga Lugo Jiminez, 52, had just dropped children off at a Maryland school when she hit two students and a parent in a crosswalk.

Supreme Court seems likely to let religious families opt out of LGBTQ storybooks: The lawsuit over public school story time with titles like “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding” and “Love, Violet” is one of three major religious rights cases on the high court’s docket.

What we know (and don’t know) about autism, according to science: Autism cases are increasing globally, but its causes are difficult to specify. - "The consensus after 30 years of research is that “if you are autistic, you were born with it,” said David Amaral, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of California at Davis and editor in chief of the scientific journal Autism Research. 

"Genetics plays a large role. Autism is also 80 to 90 percent heritable, research shows. 

"Environmental factors can also influence prenatal brain development. 

"When someone is pregnant, chronic inflammation, such as in response to a serious infection or because of health conditions such as obesity and diabetes, could affect fetal brain development and autism risk, and is an area of active research around what is known as the maternal immune activation hypothesis.

...

"There may also be other factors contributing to a real increase in autism prevalence, though it is difficult to know how much. For instance, there are more older parents; more preterm babies are surviving; and autoimmune diseases are on the rise, which are all risk factors for autism."

Which cities have the most trees? See how yours stacks up.: Why some U.S. cities are so much greener than others.

White House Considers Slashing China Tariffs to De-Escalate Trade War: Levies could be cut by more than half in some cases although Trump hasn’t yet made final decision

America Underestimates the Difficulty of Bringing Manufacturing Back [ed. note: clarifying, grim]

The ‘owl man’ is busy at Boston Logan airport: Norman Smith has trapped and released more than 900 Arctic raptors for the safety of the birds and the planes.

Reading archive 2025-04-11 pt 1

This Is Why Dictatorships Fail: The authors of the Constitution separated powers for a reason. - "More than two centuries later, the system created by that first Constitutional Congress has comprehensively failed. The people and institutions that are supposed to check executive power are refusing to restrain this president. We now have a de facto tyrant who thinks he can bend reality to his will without taking any facts or any evidence into consideration, and without listening to any contrary views. And although the economic damage he has caused is easier to measure, he has inflicted the same level of harm to scientific research, to civil liberties, to health care, and to the civil service.

...

"But in the past 48 hours, Donald Trump has just given us a pitch-perfect demonstration of why legislatures are necessary, why checks and balances are useful, and why most one-man dictatorships become poor and corrupt. If the Republican Party does not return Congress to the role it is meant to play and the courts don't constrain the president, this cycle of destruction will continue and everyone on the planet will pay the price."

Buy now or wait? What to know as tariffs loom on food, tech, apparel: President Trump’s tariffs on China could raise the costs of groceries, clothing, electronics and various other products, analysts say.

Fearing paper on evolution might get them deported, scientists withdrew it: President Donald Trump’s orders haven’t targeted research involving evolution, but the authors’ unease about publishing reflects uncertainty in the science world.

How JD Vance, a ‘baby Catholic,’ stumbled into a clash with the pope: The first Catholic convert elected to the vice presidency has provoked an extraordinary string of conflicts within the church he joined six years ago.

Child accidentally fires gun in backpack at Maryland elementary school: The incident, in Charles County, marked the second time this week that a pistol went off in the backpack of an elementary school pupil in the Washington area.

As WorldPride DC approaches, international LGBTQ+ groups voice concerns: The groups cited the Trump administration’s recent attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion and transgender rights.

Green and yellow pollen slicks hit local rivers and Chesapeake Bay: The pollen count hit high levels in March with warmer weather, but April’s cooler temperatures and drizzling rain should help to lower it.

Trade Wars Are Easy to Lose: Beijing Has Escalation Dominance in the U.S.-China Tariff Fight - "In 2024, U.S. exports of goods and services to China were $199.2 billion, and imports from China were $462.5 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $263.3 billion. To the degree that the bilateral trade balance predicts which side will “win” in a trade war, the advantage lies with the surplus economy, not the deficit one. China, the surplus country, is giving up sales, which is solely money; the United States, the deficit country, is giving up goods and services it does not produce competitively or at all at home. Money is fungible: if you lose income, you can cut back spending, find sales elsewhere, spread the burden across the country, or draw down savings (say, by doing fiscal stimulus).

...

"The United States will face shortages of critical inputs ranging from basic ingredients of most pharmaceuticals to inexpensive semiconductors used in cars and home appliances to critical minerals for industrial processes including weapons production. The supply shock from drastically reducing or zeroing out imports from China, as Trump purports to want to achieve, would mean stagflation, the macroeconomic nightmare seen in the 1970s and during the COVID pandemic, when the economy shrank and inflation rose simultaneously. In such a situation, which may be closer at hand than many think, the Federal Reserve and fiscal policymakers are left with only terrible options and little chance of staving off unemployment except by further raising inflation."

The Tariff Saga Is About One Thing - "The fundamental truth of Donald Trump is that he apparently cannot conceive of any relationship between individuals, peoples or states as anything other than a status game, a competition for dominance. His long history of scams and hostile litigation — not to mention his frequent refusal to pay contractors, lawyers, brokers and other people who were working for him — is evidence enough of the reality that a deal with Trump is less an agreement between equals than an opportunity for Trump to abuse and exploit the other party for his own benefit. For Trump, there is no such thing as a mutually beneficial relationship or a positive-sum outcome. In every interaction, no matter how trivial or insignificant, someone has to win, and someone has to lose. And Trump, as we all know, is a winner."

The platforms cash in their chips with Trump: From Meta to Nvidia, tech CEOs are paying the president to get the outcomes they want — and it's working - "'I was a megadonor to the Democrats,' said Palihapitiya, now himself a billionaire and the founder of Social Capital. 'I couldn't get a phone call returned from the White House to save my life … The Trump administration is totally different. There's not a single person there you can't get on the phone and talk to.'

...

"It’s a shock to see such a self-styled China hawk slapping the country with the largest tariffs in decades on one hand, while slipping them the chips necessary to build high-end AI systems on the other. And while [Nvidia's] H20 seems unlikely to be decisive in China’s ability to catch up to US progress in AI development, the way that Chinese companies are clamoring for it in the wake of DeepSeek’s success suggests it remains extremely valuable."

A visual guide to the elected officials who fly Christian nationalist flags at the Capitol

Reading archive 2025-04-09

How to Prepare for a Recession: The older you are, and the more likely you are to get laid off, the more important it is to have liquid savings.

Will Elise Stefanik Get the Last Laugh?: Inside Trump’s decision to kill the MAGA star’s Cabinet nomination

‘A Path of Perfect Lawlessness’: The Trump administration’s arguments in a high-profile immigration case have much broader implications. - "Even though the Trump administration conceded that Abrego Garcia was deported by mistake, it is insisting that federal courts cannot order his return. 'A judicial order that forces the Executive to engage with a foreign power in a certain way, let alone compel a certain action by a foreign sovereign, is constitutionally intolerable,' it said in a court filing. The implications of this argument may not be immediately obvious, but if federal courts cannot order the return of someone exiled to a foreign gulag by mistake, then the administration is free to exile citizens and then claim they did so in error, while leaving them to rot."

The Democrats Won’t Acknowledge the Scale of Trump’s Tariff Mess: The president’s allies are putting up a bigger fight than the opposition party is. - "Senator Bernie Sanders has endeared himself to the so-called resistance by giving Democrats the red-meat denunciations of Trump they crave from their leaders. Yet his critique of Trump's catastrophic global trade war is like mushy oatmeal. 'As someone who helped lead the effort against disastrous, unfettered free trade deals with China, Mexico and other low-wage countries, I understand that we need trade policies that benefit American workers, not just the CEOs of large corporations,' he declared in a statement. 'And that includes targeted tariffs which can be a powerful tool in stopping corporations from outsourcing American jobs and factories abroad. Bottom line: We need a rational, well-thought-out and fair trade policy.'"

Leave the Military: You're at risk of being told to betray your own values.

Police shoot knife-wielding autistic teen behind fence, sparking outrage: Pocatello, Idaho, police shot Victor Perez nine times even though he could “hardly walk,” according to his family. He’s in critical condition with his leg amputated.

What a bear market means and whether you should invest during one: The past few days of market losses have put the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow Jones Industrial Average close to bear market territory.

Arrests made in shooting that killed three near Fredericksburg, sheriff says: Three died and three were injured in the Tuesday evening shooting in Spotsylvania County. The ages of the victims and motive of the shooting are unknown, officials said.

D.C. concert venues back bill to crack down on ticket scalpers: The phenomenon — known as selling a “speculative ticket” before even having possession of it — would be illegal under a bill unveiled by D.C. Council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6).

Musk made direct appeals to Trump to reverse sweeping new tariffs: The world’s richest person, a key Trump adviser and political donor, was ultimately unsuccessful.

Scientists claim to find 'first observational evidence supporting string theory,' which could finally reveal the nature of dark energy News By Andrey Feldman published: Physicists have proposed a new model of space-time that may provide the 'first observational evidence supporting string theory,' a new preprint suggests.

I’m a brain health expert. Here’s why shingles vaccines may fight dementia.: The findings could have implications for managing the large and growing burden of dementia.

Trump has left himself open to a powerful constitutional counterpunch: Trump’s government by spite opens an avenue to challenging his score-settling.

As egg prices soared at the supermarket, so did producer profits: A USDA program doled out hundreds of millions in relief payments to big egg companies, even as the largest earned record profits. - "By wiping out millions of laying hens, the avian flu has slowed egg production for many companies. But the outbreak also has driven up prices enough for some companies to recoup losses and, for Cal-Maine, to record exceptional profits. Cal-Maine’s financial reports show it has been able to more than triple its price for a dozen eggs, from about $1.30 before the outbreak to as high as $4.06, while its feed costs for producing an egg have been relatively stable.

"At the same time, Cal-Maine and other large egg companies have received tens of millions of dollars from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which has been doling out relief payments to help egg companies restock after the virus strikes."

Many lawyers who argue for Trump at Supreme Court are heading for the exit: At least half of the front-line attorneys in the solicitor general’s office plan to leave, people familiar with the matter said, as Trump’s emergency requests pile up at the high court.

Navarro’s absurd claim of $6 trillion in revenue from Trump’s tariffs: Basic economics shows the revenue would be at least half as much — and probably less than that. - "Six trillion is the administration’s new favorite number. That’s what Navarro claims will be the revenue raised by tariffs. That’s also the size of the tax cut package Trump is pushing through Congress. Navarro often suggests the tariff revenue will make up for the reduction in the taxes — though it also means that there would be a huge transfer of the burden of running the government from the wealthy (who will get most of the tax cuts) to the less wealthy (who buy most of the imported products). 

"The value of stocks traded on U.S. markets also fell $6 trillion in the first two days after Trump’s tariff announcement — but that’s probably just a coincidence."

Reading archive 2025-03-31

The Truth About Trump’s Greenland Campaign: When the president talks about security in the Arctic, he’s talking about climate change. - "As polar ice melts away, superpowers are vying for newly open shipping routes in the Arctic Ocean and largely unexplored mineral and fossil-fuel reserves. Arctic warming could pose a direct threat to America's security interests too: Alaska could have new vulnerabilities to both China and Russia; changes in ocean salinity and temperature might interfere with submarine detection systems; the extremes of climate change, including permafrost thaw in Russia, could drive economic instability, social unrest, and territorial claims."

Why DOGE Could Actually Increase the Deficit: Some of Musk’s haphazard cuts will produce tiny savings in terms of salary while forfeiting much larger ones down the road, costing the government money.

Pete Hegseth says U.S. is making Japan a 'war-fighting' base to deter China: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also stressed the need for the U.S. and Japan to accelerate the strengthening of their military capability as the region faces a more assertive Beijing.

Two Republican senators wrestle with how to handle DOGE cuts: Both of Alaska’s Republican senators have pushed to rescind cuts they argue would hurt the state. But they have split over how to persuade Trump to change his mind.

Something worse could be coming for the economy than a recession: Trump’s tariffs are making stagflation a real risk for the United States for the first time since the 1970s.

How to use your voice to reduce your stress and feel calmer: Vocal and breathing exercises can be powerful tools for soothing oneself or others

Trump’s threat of towering tariffs on European booze is sobering: Wine and spirits can be markers of national and regional identity — which could make a coming trade fight between the U.S. and Europe much more emotional.

Why I and thousands of my fellow Gazans say Hamas’s tyranny must end: We Gazans are risking our lives to rid ourselves of Hamas’s oppression. This may be our only chance.

AP photojournalist steals the show at court hearing on Trump exclusion: Staffer Evan Vucci put an exclamation point on the argument for access to the White House press pool.

ICE detains Harvard researcher from Russia who protested Ukraine war: Kseniia Petrova’s visa was revoked as she returned to Boston last month. She fears deportation to Russia because of her opposition to its invasion of Ukraine. - "According to a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, Petrova 'was lawfully detained after lying to federal officers about carrying biological substances into the country. A subsequent K-9 inspection uncovered undeclared petri dishes, containers of unknown substances, and loose vials of embryonic frog cells, all without proper permits. Messages found on her phone revealed she planned to smuggle the materials through customs.'"

What the science says about multivitamins, magnesium and 7 other supplements: Spoiler alert: Many claims about the benefits of supplements aren’t backed by strong data.

White House Weighs Helping Farmers as Trump Escalates Trade War: The Trump administration has discussed providing financial aid for farmers who may be subject to retaliation by America’s trading partners. - "The Commodity Credit Corporation is a key U.S.D.A funding vehicle: It supplies the money for federal programs to support farm incomes, stabilize commodity prices and respond to natural disasters. While its finances are complicated, the entity may borrow up to $30 billion from the Treasury Department."

Reading archive 2025-03-28

Trump issues executive order to eliminate ‘anti-American ideology’ from Smithsonian: The executive order also calls for the replacement of memorials and monuments removed since 2020.

Trump wants to reshape the Smithsonian. Who funds the vast institution?: The Smithsonian, tasked with telling the story of America, could see changes under Trump’s unprecedented executive order. What to know about how it operates.

Earth’s soil is drying up. It could be irreversible.: The losses in soil moisture already pose issues for farming, irrigation systems and critical water resources for humans. But new research shows how the declines are contributing to sea-level rise more than previously thought.

As Trump mayhem spreads, MAGA unity cracks: From the Wall Street Journal editorial board to Fox News, capitulation is on the way out.

Trump signs executive order aimed at crime, immigration in D.C.: The executive order reflects a muted version of the president’s desire to take over D.C., a city he has derided as crime-ridden and ruined by liberal policies.

Justice Dept. describes man arrested on gun charges as top MS-13 leader: President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi hailed the arrest of the 24-year-old Salvadoran man as a major victory over gang activity. - "Attorney General Pam Bondi said that the suspect oversaw the gang’s East Coast operations. But court records unsealed later that day — which identified the man as Henrry Josue Villatoro Santos, 24 — made only scant reference to his alleged gang ties and did not accuse him of any specific gang-related activity. Instead, Villatoro Santos was charged with being in the country illegally while possessing a gun.

...

"Carlos Garcia, a journalist who is writing a book on the Salvadoran gangs, said after checking his database and talking to people familiar with MS-13 that he did not consider Villatoro Santos a particularly significant figure on an international level.

...

"Youngkin criticized the Biden administration for providing “little to no help” with immigration enforcement efforts in his state. But Prince William County Police Chief Peter Newsham, whose agency was involved in the investigation, said in an interview that it began before Trump returned to the White House."

Metro bans people arrested on sex and assault charges: A similar proposal in 2021 led to a protest outside a board member’s house. This time, no one said a word in opposition.

Vaccine critic’s apparent selection to head HHS autism study shocks experts: Like RFK Jr., David Geier has long clung to debunked assertions, scientists say - "Geier and his father, a physician who lost his medical license in multiple states, have promoted claims that use of the preservative thimerosal in vaccines led to an increase in autism diagnoses. A raft of studies has refuted the allegation, and autism rates have not declined in the more than 20 years since thimerosal was phased out of most vaccines in the United States. For a time, the two treated autistic children with unproven therapies, including a drug licensed for prostate cancer that induces chemical castration."

75% of US scientists who answered Nature poll consider leaving: More than 1,600 readers answered our poll; many said they were looking for jobs in Europe and Canada. - "Institutions outside the United States are taking advantage of the Trump turmoil, the researcher says. 'From what I’m hearing from the places we’re talking to, and other people who are looking to take international jobs, a lot of universities in these countries are seeing this as a once-in-a-generation opportunity,' he says. “I think it has gone from 'Can we recruit a few people?’ to ‘How many people can we actually take?' — because the demand is there.'"

A passenger lost a phone midflight. The plane turned around.: Airlines are cracking down on the use of lithium batteries after fires forced evacuations and destroyed planes.

Trump promised scientific breakthroughs. Researchers say he’s breaking science.: NIH funding for biomedical research has abruptly fallen by billions of dollars, with many grant decisions on hold. Trump officials say they’re reviewing the agency. - "The model that underpins NIH and other federal agencies was conceived by Vannevar Bush, a scientist who helped oversee efforts to develop an atomic bomb during World War II. As he turned his gaze to a postwar environment in 1945, Bush urged President Harry S. Truman to spur innovation by funneling grants to universities and research institutions, calling for an 'endless frontier.'

"The strategy positioned the U.S. to achieve breakthroughs in drug development, computer technologies and numerous other fields; the nation’s ample resources also helped lure scientists from around the world to work in its laboratories. The approach also had staunch bipartisan support, with Republicans arguing that scientific innovation was an economic and national security imperative. A half-dozen buildings on the NIH campus bear the name of GOP lawmakers who helped secure federal funding for the research institutes, including former senator Roy Blunt of Missouri, who retired in 2022."

The Chinese Communist Party’s Ultimate Taboo: Fang Fang’s newly translated novel uncovers the brutal, buried history of land reform in China.

The Double Standard in the Human-Rights World: Organizations that explicitly valued impartiality and independence have become stridently critical of Israel.

The Tariff Man Is Coming for America’s Entrepreneurs: One small business has paid nearly $30,000 in the past two months.

The Worst Thing a MAGA Warrior Can Do: The response to Signalgate reveals a disjuncture between the seriousness with which MAGA treats foreign enemies and perceived domestic ones. - "The Fox News host Jesse Watters appeared to have the same prioritization in mind when he shared the story with his audience. 'This wouldn't surprise me if Goldberg sneaked his way in,' he suggested, implausibly,. 'He's the lowest of the low.' From a national-security standpoint, this theory is the opposite of reassuring. If Goldberg could 'sneak his way in' to a highly sensitive discussion about a secret military operation, shouldn't we worry that Chinese or Russian or Iranian spies, who possess espionage capabilities perhaps even greater than those of a journalist, might also sneak their way in? But the fear of infiltration by foreign enemies pales beside the much deeper fear of a Trump adviser having spoken with a journalist."

 - "If Trump, as president, can violate the First Amendment's prohibition on viewpoint discrimination when it comes to foreign students, Americans lose that limit on state power too. Even the anti-immigrant firebrand Ann Coulter objected to the administration's actions. 'There's almost no one I don't want to deport,' she wrote on X, 'but, unless they've committed a crime, isn't this a violation of the first amendment?'

...

"As the historian Timothy Snyder recently wrote, 'If you are a citizen and you are casting doubt on the importance of due process, remember this: you need due process in order to prove that you are a citizen.'"

Why American Soldiers Are in Lithuania: The likely accidental deaths of four Americans in the Baltic state will not by themselves stop plans for redeployment. And they shouldn’t.

Reading archive 2025-03-05

We Have to Stop Underwriting People Who Move to Climate Danger Zones - "The voices loudly criticizing California for its rigid control of insurance pricing are ignoring numerous similar examples from the rest of the country. In 2023, after the federal flood insurance program began to adjust its premiums to better reflect climate realities, 10 states across the political spectrum — including reliably red Louisiana, Florida and Texas and moderate blue Virginia — sued the program. And California isn’t the only state that failed to raise premiums to properly fund its FAIR plan, the state-sponsored insurer of last resort often relied on by those living in climate-vulnerable areas; Florida did as well."

These buildings use batteries made of ice to stay cool and save money: Ice batteries help office towers, warehouses and stores shrink their power bills and carbon footprint. Soon, they’re coming to houses.

The LA Times’ Political Rating “AI” Is A Silly Joke Aimed At Validating Wealthy Media Ownership’s Inherent Bias

Is ‘Dark Woke’ the Answer to Trumpism—or Just Liberal Cringe?: Welcome to the new hashtag-resistance, where viral clips of men defacing Cybertucks are channeling the frustrated energy of the online left. The writer Kieran Press-Reynolds asks whether it’s a promising beginning or a dead end.

Is Social Security a Ponzi Scheme?

Why these states are helping people pay for stronger roofs: As disasters multiply and insurers flee risky areas, grant programs to help residents protect their homes are expanding across the nation. March 3, 2025 - "The surge of interest in shoring up homes reflects the growing pressure states feel to respond to the financial toll of extreme weather, experts said. In many of these states, Republican governors and lawmakers have discounted climate change. But as disasters multiply and insurance companies raise rates and stop selling policies, the economic consequences have become more difficult to ignore."

How China came to dominate the world in renewable energy: China now eclipses every other country in the world — including the United States — in the green technologies of the future. Here’s how it achieved this lead. - "That gap is likely to widen under President Donald Trump, analysts say. As Trump focuses on boosting fossil fuel production and cutting funding for clean energy projects, China is further increasing investment in renewable energy technologies."

NIH reels with fear, uncertainty about future of scientific research: The Trump administration’s orders have created more turmoil and damage at the National Institutes of Health than was previously known.

D.C. man convicted of murder and freed early found guilty of second killing: Police say Darrell Moore fatally shot Julius Hayes after Hayes allegedly spread rumors that Moore was “dealing with a gay guy.”

D.C. police arrest suspect in fatal shooting of 14-year-old: Police said it appeared the victim was armed and may have returned fire in the Aug. 1 incident at Lamond Recreation Center. - "In 2023, the Office of the Attorney General in D.C. declined to pursue charges in at least four cases against [the victim], which included unauthorized use of a vehicle and armed robbery, according to three officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a juvenile record."

Reading archive 2025-02-03

UK says several proposals for Ukraine ceasefire on table after France floats one-month truce

Ukrainians show off their ‘suits’ after Trump’s criticism of Zelensky’s attire: U.S. critics of the Ukrainian leader criticized the military garb he wore to the Oval Office as signifying a lack of respect. Ukrainians say it has to do with the war they are fighting.

Government shutdown looms as Trump tries to assert new spending powers: Funding will expire in less than two weeks if lawmakers don’t extend the deadline.

Are GMOs bad for your health? Here’s what the science says.: There’s nothing inherently unsafe about genetically modified foods. It’s the potential herbicide exposure that should give you pause.

D.C. police chief says support of Trump’s pardons reflects her core beliefs: The comments marked an about-face in the police department’s tone on the prosecution of two officers, and caught some senior police officials and mayoral aides off guard. - "Mendelson said he is particularly upset about the pardons of obstruction-of-justice convictions that found the officers tried to cover up the improper pursuit by sending away a key witness and lying to their supervisor about the severity of Hylton-Brown’s injuries."

It’s easier than ever to scrub your personal info from Google Search: You can request data removals right from search results.

Trump Administration: The Trump Administration Said These Aid Programs Saved Lives. It Canceled Them Anyway.