Reading archive 2026-05-06

DC Council passes permanent youth curfew with amendments, heads to congress The passage of curfew legislation allows MPD to set curfew zones, restricting groups of eight or more teens from gathering in certain parts of the city.

White House East Wing debris dumped at nearby golf course has toxic metals, report says

An investigation into crime stats is roiling D.C. police. Here’s what to know.: Multiple high-ranking D.C. police officials face termination or other disciplinary action, after allegations that statistics had been manipulated.

D.C. police chief says 13 officers may be fired after crime stats investigation: The proposed discipline, which would include high-ranking officials, is related to an internal probe of the alleged manipulation of crime data, the interim police chief said.

Road pricing in DC will benefit drivers the most - "In every place where road pricing exists, it faced strong opposition prior to implementation before swinging to widespread support once the effects of reduced traffic became immediately clear. The Bowser administration has a particular distaste for road pricing. During the Committee on Transportation and the Environment’s government-witness budget oversight hearing for DDOT on April 30, Director Sharon Kershbaum said that the agency would not be studying it further. 

"This is a mistake. The council should fund further study of road pricing, so that our next mayor’s DDOT can get to work on it on day one. 

"Charging drivers for the negative externalities of their trips — congestion, worsening air quality, noise pollution, putting other people at risk of being killed or injured with their vehicles — is a proven way to create a reality where everyone gains time back from their commutes, breathes cleaner air, and is far less likely to be harmed on our streets."

Ward 3 has been unwell for a century. More housing is the cure - "Chevy Chase was patient zero. An infection of low density land use and racial exclusion then spread like a disease throughout the rest of Ward 3. To the west, white residents of Tenleytown who belonged to the Friendship Citizens Association teamed up with a new generation of CCLC investors to forcibly displace their Black neighbors in Fort Reno. 

"In the 1920s, under the guise of “beautification,” they successfully lobbied a federal board to raze Reno over the adamant objections of Black Washingtonians; by the 1950s, Black residents had been totally evicted. Today, Fort Reno consists of a park and a middle school, and is surrounded by expensive single-family homes. Multifamily housing in the pipeline nearby, likely to rent or sell for a little less than $1.6 million, has stalled."

Pro-Kremlin lawyer’s turn against Putin reveals rift in Russian power circles: Ilya Remeslo was put in a psychiatric hospital after criticizing Vladimir Putin. Now free, he said that he will not stop his crusade against the Russian president.

The pro-Israel political consensus is collapsing in both parties: On the campaign trail and elsewhere, the U.S. alliance with Israel has gone from a bipartisan consensus to a subject of fierce debate among Republicans and Democrats alike.

Why is Trump backing off San Francisco? These results.: Democrat Daniel Lurie is using technology to make the city safe again.

EU urges US to stick to tariff deal terms: The United States must respect its tariff agreement with the EU, the bloc's trade chief told his American counterpart Tuesday, after President Donald Trump threatened to hike levies on European cars.

One Chinese Town’s Fight Against the Desert Attracts: Thousands Launched by a local man, an anti-desertification initiative in the country’s arid northwest went viral after being featured on a popular show. [ed. note: Chinese agitprop]

Europeans Are Quiet Quitting the United States: European leaders have now not only lost faith in Donald Trump’s U.S. presidency, but also in America’s hegemony as a whole. But short-term challenges make an immediate divorce unwise. - "Some paragons of Atlanticism have recently chosen European providers for long-term structural contracts instead of American ones. The Dutch central bank ditched Amazon Web Services in favor of the German Lidl as their cloud operator, and Denmark’s defense ministry opted to purchase the Franco-Italian SAMP/T air defense system instead of U.S. Patriot batteries. Both decisions were driven in no small part by considerations for European sovereignty, in light of a crisis of U.S. reliability."

For Ibram X. Kendi, It’s Nazis All the Way Down: His new book describes the “Great Replacement” theory as a convoluted plot, but fails to explain why it appeals to people in the first place. - "Great Replacement, in Kendi's widening definition, starts to encompass so many disparate examples that it loses its explanatory power. Is Canada's conservative politician Pierre Poilievre a 'great replacement leader'? Kendi's logic for including him is largely based on the fact that Poilievre spoke to the concerns of those 2022 trucker protesters who were responding to COVID lockdowns by demanding a return of their 'freedoms.' He was addressing constituent complaints about business closures and school lockdowns, which is what all sorts of politicians did. El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, makes it onto the board because of his harsh crackdown on gangs, though crime was genuinely an acute problem in the country and most Salvadorans were very happy to see him attack it. He has weakened democratic institutions and countenanced claims of torture and other abuses, but I'm not sure this puts him ideologically in league with Orbán and Le Pen."

Progressive Activists Are Sometimes on the Wrong Side of History: Thinking otherwise can enable the left’s worst instincts, as a speech at the University of Michigan’s commencement showed. - "Concern and empathy for Palestinian suffering and anger at Israel's excessive counterattack are admirable, but the movement's ambition is not limited to that. Michigan's pro-Palestine activism is primarily organized by Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, which is the local chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, a national network. Both the national group and its Michigan chapter have endorsed the October 7, 2023, attacks. Adult progressives' insistence on viewing their activities as mere youthful idealism makes it impossible to question those positions."

Judicial Supremacy Has Arrived: Last week’s Supreme Court decision didn’t just undermine the Voting Rights Act. It foreclosed the possibility of any new Voting Rights Act in the future, too. - "Shelby County and Brnovich were damaging, but their effects on representation are more marginal-affecting voters' ability to participate, but at levels that could still have been overcome electorally, at least in most races. Callais is different in kind. In the near term, majority-minority districts across the South will evaporate. Over successive redistricting cycles, the result will likely be the most significant contraction of Black congressional representation since the end of Reconstruction, potentially the most precipitous fall in American history, a contraction that would have seemed, not long ago, unthinkable.

...

"But Callais reaches something deeper, about constitutional democracy itself: about whether the Constitution, the law of laws, means what elected branches say it means, and whether those elected branches can act on that meaning. The Court has declared that the branch of government most accountable to the people cannot legislate its way toward a more inclusive democracy."

Reading archive 2026-04-29

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

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

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

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

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

...

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

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

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

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

Untangling the Issue of Circling Roots

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reading archive 2026-01-21 pt 1

Trump’s Golden Age of Culture Seems Pretty Sad So Far: The president’s party has total control of government—but not what Americans care about.

The Levers Trump Isn’t Using: He is dominating a lot of news cycles but failing to advance lasting policy change. - "Perhaps Trump's most lasting influence will be opening the door for future presidents to approach the executive as he has, pursuing governing strategies rooted in capricious personalism. Still, for all the action of the past year, Trump has not been acting like a president. That has not only undermined the character of our constitutional system; it has also meant that he is getting less done than all the sound and fury might suggest."

America’s Would-Be Surgeon General Says to Trust Your ‘Heart Intelligence’: Casey Means thinks improving health is a spiritual project.

Trump Exhaustion Syndrome Americans can’t seem to keep up. - "At least for now, a year into Trump's second term, the country seems to have settled for the illusory safety of the fetal crouch."

Trump’s Letter to Norway Should Be the Last Straw: Will Republicans in Congress ever step in?

The Military Is Being Forced to Plan for an Unthinkable Betrayal: Attacking an ally would be a perversion of everything the armed forces have been trained to do.

‘Looksmaxxing’ Reveals the Depth of the Crisis Facing Young Men: The most narcissistic corner of the internet is having a moment.

Something Is Wrong With Russia’s Children: As violence has come to surround Russian youth, many seem to have become more violent themselves. - "For years, children in Russia have watched their country massacre Ukrainians and condemn hundreds of thousands of its own citizens to injury and death at the front. As violence has come to surround Russian youth, many seem to have become more violent themselves. Last year, the number of juvenile crimes in the country surged by 18 percent. Authorities also reported an uptick in 'serious and especially serious' crime. 'There is no positive ideology for children in a country fighting a murderous war,' Ilya Barabanov, a Russian journalist, told me. Instead, the war has amplified worldviews that encourage brutality."

Europe Has a Bazooka. Time to Use It. - "This is exactly the kind of situation that the instrument was designed for. Europe, however, seems too timid to use it. Mr. Bessent has scoffed that Europe’s most forceful weapon is the 'dreaded European working group,' suggesting it will never get around to using the instrument. Europe seems in no hurry to prove him wrong."

Trump takes aim at Canada after Carney’s Davos speech: Mark Carney said middle powers such as Canada could build a new order in an era of unfettered great powers, without directly mentioning Trump or the U.S.

At Davos, a European backlash to Trump: The surreal clamor over Greenland provoked by Trump has shadowed proceedings in Davos, heightening fears of an emerging rupture between the U.S. and Europe. - "A few years ago, Europeans in Davos would muse about “decoupling” from China. Now, von der Leyen spoke of 'de-risking' in an environment made volatile by the continent’s most important ally and partner. Trump’s Greenland gambit, analysts say, threatens the integrity of the NATO alliance and many of the underpinnings of the transatlantic relationship. E.U. leaders are expected to meet this week to mull consider a response, including invoking an 'anti-coercion' mechanism that could lead to sweeping reprisals against the U.S. and U.S. companies. Even European far-right leaders in countries like France and Germany — figures who have found plenty of common ground with Trump and the MAGA movement — have denounced the White House’s Greenland rhetoric."

ICE targeted off-duty police officers in Twin Cities, local police say: The police chief of one Minneapolis suburb said all of the officers who had been stopped there by Immigration and Customs Enforcement were people of color.

Trump administration admits DOGE accessed personal Social Security data: A DOGE employee signed an agreement to share Social Security data with the aim of overturning election results in certain states, according to a new court filing.

Lindsey Halligan out as U.S. attorney following pressure from judges: One federal judge in Virginia sought applications for her replacement. Another called her use of the U.S. attorney title a “charade.”

Message to Trump and the GOP: Pro-life voters are watching: A “flexible” approach to reducing abortion will have a cost in the midterms.

Trump team touts a coming economic revolution as voters fear job losses: President Donald Trump wants America to lead on artificial intelligence at almost any cost, but he must contend with a skeptical public.

Federal officials launch ICE operation in Maine and begin arrests: “Everyone is on high alert,” Portland Mayor Mark Dion said. His city and nearby Lewiston have seen an influx of migrants and asylum seekers in recent years.

Pentagon moves to cut U.S. participation in some NATO groups: The planned reductions to parts of the alliance’s force structure and some advisory groups mark the Trump administration’s latest move to scale back military investment in Europe’s defense.

Reading archive 2026-01-20

To Their Shock, Cubans in Florida Are Being Deported in Record Numbers: Cubans had long benefited from legal privileges unavailable to immigrants from other countries. President Trump has changed that.

Americans Are Turning Against Gay People

Trump says U.K. ‘stupidity’ on Chagos Islands justifies Greenland demands: The United Kingdom agreed to grant Mauritius sovereignty over the archipelago, one of whose islands hosts a U.K.-U.S. military base.

Would Trump abandon Taiwan? This deal is slightly alarming.: The announcement of a U.S.-Taiwan trade agreement had a potentially ominous undercurrent.

Indiana judge and his wife injured in shooting at their home, police say: Lafayette police said Judge Steven P. Meyer of Tippecanoe County Superior Court and his wife, Kimberly, are in stable condition. The shooter remains at large.

She helped him flee a rally, then learned he was a right-wing provocateur: Jake Lang, a pardoned Jan. 6 rioter, jumped into a stranger’s car after he was driven from his anti-immigrant march in Minneapolis by a large counterprotest.

The White House wanted an ICE spectacle. It backfired.: The shooting of Renée Good in Minneapolis may mark a turning point in public opinion.

I found the most complete protein. It’s not meat.: The most “complete” protein is probably one you’re already eating.

Officials showed off a robo-bus in D.C. It got hit by a Tesla driver.: The automated vehicle display was part of a push from the White House to advance automated driving.

These prophets of economic doom are worried about another collapse" The current investment boom is triggering déjà vu for some economists and traders who successfully predicted past economic crashes.

This company says it has produced the Holy Grail of batteries: New batteries in electric vehicles could store more energy, charge faster and last longer, while lowering fire risk

Colorado’s wolves in the political crosshairs as Trump targets the state: A program to reintroduce the predators is essentially blocked, with Colorado leaders saying the state is being punished for jailing election denier Tina Peters.

"What Is Going to Happen?": How to reject a new normal.

Reading archive 2026-01-09

Blistering report says D.C. police lost public trust by working with ICE: A D.C. Council committee accused the Bowser administration of not being transparent enough. The mayor says outrage about ICE should be directed at the feds.

Police arrest 20-year-old following fatal 5-car collision in downtown D.C.: D.C. police said the driver had fled a traffic stop before the crash. - "Magistrate Judge Dorsey G. Jones denied the request, citing the fact that Matthews was already on probation for two 2024 cases involving gun and drug charges. He pleaded guilty twice to carrying a pistol without a license, court records show." [ed. note: sounds like police gave chase]

Why some people are wired to help strangers, and what their brains reveal: One striking finding is altruistic kidney donors tend to have a larger amygdala, a part of the brain critical to processing emotions.

Tell alarmists this secret about voter ID: Despite the wild reactions voter ID sparks on the left and right, what if it’s actually no big deal?

A president who treats Washington like his chew toy: Trump’s triumphal arch will be harder to undo than his gilding of the Oval Office. - "Trump has the terrible strength peculiar to people who are incapable of embarrassment, and cannot fathom that they look ridiculous."

Mercosur deal: French farmers roll tractors into Paris: Scores of tractors were driven into Paris in protest over an EU deal that would create the world's largest free-trade area. Some farmers fear they will be undercut with cheaper goods from South America.

Trump vs. Every Member of Congress: The president could face a notable defeat on the House floor today.

A High-Seas Gambit Humiliates Putin: Trump has pushed Russia out of Latin America and seized tankers while conceding nothing in Europe.

Change May Be Coming to Iran: Trump’s ouster of Venezuela’s president has the Islamic Republic on edge and the opposition energized.

First the Shooting. Then the Lies.: The Trump administration has perfected the smear campaign.

A Jan. 6 Rioter Returned to the Capitol Seeking Forgiveness: Pamela Hemphill, who said she rejected President Trump's pardon for her role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack, apologized to a Capitol Police officer who was assaulted during the mayhem.

The Constitutional Case against Exclusionary Zoning: America is suffering from a severe housing shortage. A crucial tool may lie in the Constitution.

DC council moves to crack down on rat infestations with new legislation: DC's new RAT Act targets the city's exploding rat problem, aiming to streamline agency responses and hold property managers accountable.

The Collins D.C. Council Report: Vaccinations, Public Charter School Board Appointments, An At-Large Council Member Selection Process, and Business in the Soul of the City

Reading archive 2025-12-03

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reading archive 2025-11-05

Neil Gorsuch speaks up for a fading Congress in the tariffs case" One Supreme Court justice was especially tough on Trump’s lawyers in Wednesday’s hearing.

At the Supreme Court, the truth of Trump’s tariffs is revealed: Most of the justices seem to understand there is no distinction between tariffs and taxes.

Be afraid, Republicans. Be very afraid.: Democrats don’t agree on their message or who should deliver it. They won everywhere anyway. - "The exalting of Jan. 6 rioters and the self-enriching crypto schemes, the transformation of law enforcement agencies and the Justice Department into a personal harassment squad, the paving of the Rose Garden and the demolition of the East Wing, the erratic trade policies and brutal immigration raids — all of it adds up to chaos and lawbreaking, and the public generally disdains both."

GOP senators assail Trump Pentagon pick in rare show of disunity: A contentious episode on Capitol Hill exposed the growing frustration among Republicans who say they have been cut out of important national security decisions.

Maine Democrat won’t run again for House, blames threats, toxic politics: Rep. Jared Golden, whose district is the most pro-Trump in the country represented by a Democrat, says he has “grown tired of the increasing incivility and plain nastiness” in politics.

Republicans shaken by election losses — and split on how to fix things: Trump urges GOP to pass legislation to make them unbeatable; Vance says no more “infighting.” Others in the party have different views.

D.C. man charged with murder in 2024 death of 3-year-old: James Crawley, 31, is accused of fatally smothering his girlfriend’s daughter.

D.C. Council reinstates expanded youth curfew for 90 days: Lawmakers renewed the policy after a series of large gatherings, including a viral incident in Navy Yard that resulted in the arrests of 10 teens.

FBI fires, rehires, then fires again agents assigned to Trump case: The FBI has fired several agents involved in the investigation that led up to the special counsel case against Donald Trump. - "FBI Director Kash Patel had initially fired the agents Monday, but after pushback from District of Columbia U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and others he reinstated them the same day, the people familiar with the matter said. Patel fired them again Tuesday morning."

Reading archive 2025-10-21

‘It broke me’: Inside the FBI hunt for the online predators who persuaded a 13-year-old to die

After Israel’s war halted, who is clashing with Hamas in Gaza?: The Doghmush clan reportedly fought against Hamas in a clash that killed at least 27 people.

My Gaza is ready for peace. Hamas is trying to destroy it.: Trump’s ceasefire created two Gazas: one striving for a better future, the other ruled by fear.

Video shows Hamas fighters executing Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel

Trump’s attempt to gut special education office has some conservative parents on edge: The president called the layoffs a part of cuts to “Democrat programs,” but children across the nation would be impacted.

New English exam sidelines 6,000 truckers, testing U.S. supply chain: The Trump administration withheld $40 million in funding for California, saying the state was not enforcing a language requirement for long-haul drivers.

Government shutdown showcases Mike Johnson’s increasingly bold style: Johnson, nearly two years into his speakership, is taking a hard line in shutdown negotiations.

Rubio promised to betray U.S. informants to get Trump’s El Salvador prison deal: To secure Washington’s access to El Salvador’s most notorious prison, the secretary of state made an extraordinary offer to President Nayib Bukele. - "The deal would give Bukele possession of individuals who threatened to expose the alleged deals his government made with MS-13 to help achieve El Salvador’s historic drop in violence, officials said. For the Salvadoran president, a return of the informants was viewed as critical to preserving his tough-on-crime reputation. It was also a key step in hindering an ongoing U.S. investigation into his government’s relationship with MS-13, a gang famous for displays of excessive violence in the United States and elsewhere."

With a phone call, Putin appears to change Trump’s mind on Ukraine. Again.: It was the latest swing in Trump’s position on the war that often shifts following contact with Putin, who has shown skill in influencing the U.S. president.

In tense meeting, Trump told Zelensky to concede land, meet Putin’s demands: Following the trip to Washington, Zelensky has set up a series of calls and meetings with his main European backers.

Trump keeps getting played by Putin. Will Budapest be different?: A Russia-Ukraine ceasefire might be possible if only Trump would apply more pressure on Putin.

Budapest bust shows pressure works on Putin: Russia blinks again.

Trump says he doesn’t want ‘wasted meeting’ with Putin, delaying summit: The decision came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Trump’s call for a ceasefire contradicted the understandings he reached with Putin.

Climate change is coming for D.C.’s trees, and the city won’t look the same: The Post examined data that shows how the decisions being made now about what trees to plant in place of dying ones will change the city’s treescape.

Travel ban separates Cuban families, divides community loyal to Trump: Cuban Americans trying to bring relatives from the island to the U.S. are seeing their claims rejected. The denials have exacerbated tensions in Florida over Trump’s immigration policies.

Fatal shooting is third D.C. killing in a week: Despite the recent killings, the rate of homicides in Washington has declined substantially over more than two months.

How China weaponized soybeans to squeeze U.S. farmers — and spite Trump: China, the world’s biggest importer of soybeans, has stopped buying U.S. crops to put pressure on Trump ahead of his trade-focused meeting with Xi Jinping.

Reading archive 2025-09-25

Trump, Kimmel and the upside of ignoring big-government coercion: Progressives untroubled when the Biden administration was throwing its weight around might be having an epiphany. [ed. note: embarrassing, it's not the same thing]

Russia hits back at Trump after his abrupt swing toward Ukraine: Trump’s statement that Ukraine could retake all of its territory lost to Russia with NATO’s help was a dramatic change in U.S. rhetoric on the war.

Virginia governor’s race puts ‘they/them’ back on the ballot: Republican Earle-Sears’s campaign sees votes in transgender issues. But have voters moved on?

A frustrated Sen. Van Hollen urges Democrats to take bigger risks: Finding Democrats’ response to Trump’s presidency lacking, the Maryland senator has emerged as a surprising advocate for stronger stands on politically risky issues like the war in Gaza and illegal immigration.

This therapy for chronic back pain can be surprisingly effective A personalized approach that uses physical and psychological coaching may help some people manage their chronic, disabling pain. [ed. note: "cognitive functional therapy"]

Wall Street bets against Trump on tariff refunds, while importers suffer: Some investment firms are so confident that the Supreme Court will strike down some of Trump’s tariffs that they are buying the rights to refunds.

Trump administration rehires hundreds of federal employees laid off by DOGE - "The General Services Administration has given the employees — who managed government workspaces — until the end of the week to accept or decline reinstatement, according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press. Those who accept must report for duty on Oct. 6 after what amounts to a seven-month paid vacation, during which time the GSA in some cases racked up high costs — passed along to taxpayers — to stay in dozens of properties whose leases it had slated for termination or were allowed to expire."

US border patrol collected DNA from thousands of US citizens for years, data shows: CBP officers took DNA samples from about 2,000 citizens, some as young as 14 and many who never faced criminal charges, new analysis shows

Reading archive 2025-09-23 pt 2

Democrats think they can win a government shutdown. That's a lousy bet.: While there are reasonable arguments for a shutdown, it’s a fight Democrats would most likely lose.

Why Democrats are making Obamacare central to their shutdown strategy: Democratic leaders have given Republicans an ultimatum on support for federal funding to avoid a government shutdown.

Trump’s tariffs, deportations and climate change are making groceries more expensive

World’s first AI-designed viruses a step towards AI-generated life: Scientists used artificial intelligence to write coherent viral genomes, using them to synthesize bacteriophages capable of killing resistant strains of bacteria.

Black Christians confront Charlie Kirk’s religious legacy: Conservative evangelicals’ embrace of Charlie Kirk’s legacy is forcing some Black Christians to reconcile the activist’s divisive comments on race with the Christian values of tolerance and empathy.

Why Democrats are holding firm on conditions ahead of shutdown: The minority party is using its limited leverage, hoping to convince Americans that GOP spending priorities are the real danger.

The chilling reason the military is silent now: This is what happens when you purge the JAGs.

Harris book draws blowback from Shapiro, Buttigieg. Here’s what’s in it.: The same people criticizing what she said about them in her new book about the 2024 campaign could be among those she faces in 2028 if she runs again.

Man charged with hate crime in killing of trans woman in D.C.: Edgar Arrington, 38, was arrested in North Carolina last week in connection with the killing of a 28-year-old transgender woman. - "A tipster told investigators the shooter had tried to 'holler' at Johnson, then became enraged upon learning she was transgender, court records show. One witness recalled overhearing someone telling Johnson “no disrespect but you are a male” in the moments before her death, while another said the gunman hurled homophobic slurs at Johnson before shooting her."

D.C. changes tenant laws to spur investment in affordable housing: The D.C. Council passed a law tightening eviction laws and overhauling the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, all intended to attract housing investment.

Senators call on Congress to roll back flights at National Airport: Citing Washington Post reporting, Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine say cutting the number of flights could reduce safety risks.

Eleanor Holmes Norton faces mounting pressure to retire: Donna Brazile, a veteran political strategist and close confidante of D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, joined a growing chorus calling on the 88-year-old not to seek another term in Congress.

House votes for D.C. police chases, against city’s input on judges: The bills passed — one with bipartisan support — despite universal opposition among top D.C. elected officials as the GOP tightens its grip on the nation’s capital.

Reading archive 2025-09-23 pt 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reading archive 2025-08-29

Social Security official says DOGE compromised Americans’ data: Chief Data Officer Charles Borges said sensitive data was uploaded to a digital cloud, risking the security of critical personal information for more than 300 million people.

My workers voted for Trump. Now they’re absorbing the impact.: Business was growing for our aluminum foundry. Then came the tariffs.

D.C. tourism was already struggling. Then the National Guard arrived.: The city’s image is taking a hit with the National Guard and ICE in town, analysts say.

The ‘Saturday Night Live’ cast is being shaken up. Who is leaving, and why?: Devon Walker, Michael Longfellow, Heidi Gardner, Emil Wakim and writer Celeste Yim are all leaving SNL after creator Lorne Michaels promised changes ahead of Season 51. Today at 11:03 a.m. EDT 4 min Summary 46

Reading archive 2025-08-28

Trump officials discussing ownership stakes in defense firms, Lutnick says: The commerce secretary said there is a “monstrous discussion” among administration officials about making deals similar to what the president announced with Intel this week.

D.C. mayor praises federal surge, angering residents and pleasing Trump: “We know that we have had fewer gun crimes, fewer homicides and we have experienced an extreme reduction in carjackings,” D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser said Wednesday.

States are tracking ‘impostor nurses,’ a growing problem since the pandemic: Aliases in different states. A contract under a classmate’s name. Experts say a challenging form of health-care fraud is endangering patients.

Trump floats an unusual Republican National Convention before the midterms: Democrats are also considering holding such a gathering before the November 2026 elections.

‘De minimis’ loophole is ending; here’s what it means for online orders Consumers may see higher costs and potential delays as the Trump administration halts an exemption that allowed goods below $800 to enter the country duty-free.

At the world’s biggest bug farm, 10 billion maggots recycle food waste: An industry based on insects’ natural recycling abilities could help limit the environmental damage from our food system.

No, the White House Is Not Getting a 90,000-Foot Extension: But Trump’s doomed proposal does give us a revealing glimpse into his state of mind.

Scientists hail major breakthrough in developing holy grail of renewable energy: artificial photosynthesis: New discovery addresses one of biggest obstacles to artificial photosynthesis – a technology long seen as a potential source of carbon-neutral fuels

Trump’s federal stake in Intel prompts GOP complaints

Reading archive 2025-08-19

Now it is the Old World’s turn to rescue the United States: As Trump met with European leaders on Ukraine, Churchill’s words from days long ago came to mind.

Maine police officer arrested by ICE agrees to voluntarily leave the country: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says a Maine police officer arrested by immigration authorities has agreed to voluntarily leave the country

Sherrod Brown raises $3.6 million in 24 hours for Senate campaign: The total includes $3 million raised by Brown’s campaign, and about $600,000 raised by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Ohio Democratic Party.

People Are Trying to ‘Deprogram’ Their MAGA Parents Through Book Clubs: Divisive politics have led people to go “no contact” with their right-wing parents. Some hope reading together could help bridge the gap.

The Only Plausible Path to End the War in Ukraine: Has the Trump administration misread Moscow? - "Ultimately, the diplomatic problem the Trump administration faces is how to persuade Russia to accept an independent and sovereign Ukraine. All the signs from Moscow are that it has not backed off from a maximalist position. The only plausible way to end the war is to create a battlefield reality that convinces Putin that he cannot make more gains, that he will pay a massive price for continuing the war, and that this reality is unlikely to change. That means that the United States and its allies need to, paradoxically, get serious about arming Ukraine for a protracted conflict and putting pressure on Russia. That is the only way to create the conditions for successful negotiations to end the war."

The Mainstreaming of Zohran Mamdani: Which flavor of socialism would the mayoral candidate bring to New York City? - "DSA's national political platform, rewritten when Mamdani was an assemblyman, is a gumbo of left-wing positions, many of which sit miles from the political mainstream. The organization would free all inmates from prisons and jails and decriminalize the drug trade, prostitution, and squatting in unoccupied homes. DSA endorses cutting police budgets 'annually towards zero,' disarming cops, and decertifying their unions."

A Nation of Lawyers Confronts China’s Engineering State: As the Chinese economy surges forward, the U.S. has lost its capacity for physical improvement. - "How did America lose so much productive capacity to China and end up in such a vulnerable position? Think about it this way: China is an engineering state, which treats construction projects and technological primacy as the solution to all of its problems, whereas the United States is a lawyerly society, obsessed with protecting wealth by making rules rather than producing material goods. Successive American administrations have attempted to counter Beijing through legalism levying tariffs and designing an ever more exquisite sanctions regime while the engineering state has created the future by physically building better cars, better-functioning cities, and bigger power plants.

...

"The engineering state is effective at making military goods too. China produces about 80 percent of the world's consumer drones, which can easily be adapted for the battlefield. China has approximately 200 times the shipbuilding capacity of the United States; according to the Government Accountability Office, many classes of U.S. Navy ships are delayed by up to three years. Last December, then National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said bluntly that the United States will experience 'exhaustion of munition stockpiles very rapidly' if it were ever to face the Chinese military. America has lost the productive capacity to sustain a major war. American manufacturing output has never recovered to its highs from 2008; the manufacturing workforce has shrunk by a million people since then."

Reading archive 2025-08-11

Trump readies federal moves on D.C. crime, takes over D.C. police: The president is planning to flex his law enforcement power over Washington, declaring that he would clear the city of homeless people and crack down on crime. - "U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, whom Trump appointed to the job in May, has called for lowering the age limit for charging juveniles as adults to 14." [ed. note: this is way too low]

FBI dispatching agents to D.C. streets as Trump weighs calling National Guard: The Trump administration has temporarily assigned FBI agents to work overnight shifts to combat carjackings and other crimes. - "The deployment of FBI agents to deal with local crime puts agents from the bureau’s counterintelligence, public corruption and other divisions with minimal training in traffic stops out on the streets in potentially dangerous encounters, diverting them from their typical jobs at the bureau.

...

"The reassignment of FBI agents has further demoralized some agents in the Washington Field Office, who believe they have little expertise or training in thwarting carjackers and were already angered by a spate of firings inside the agency that they deemed unwarranted. Last week, the Trump administration ousted with no explanation FBI personnel across the country, including the head of the Washington Field Office."

Why your skin needs sunscreen all year long: Beyond the cancer risk, most of the skin changes we see as we get older don’t come from the aging process but from the sun’s UV rays.

The anti-sunscreen movement and what to know about its claims: A growing anti-sunscreen movement on social media is causing concern among dermatologists, who warn that avoiding sunscreen increases long-term health risks.

Democrats with an eye on 2028 reject some parts of liberal orthodoxy: Some presidential prospects have embraced “Sister Souljah moments” that demonstrate their independence.

Footage shows two Chinese ships colliding while chasing Philippine boat: A China coast guard ship barreled into a Chinese navy destroyer Tuesday as the two vessels chased a Philippine coast guard ship.

A family opened a town’s first bookstore. A bathroom bill is driving them away.: The Phelans ran the only bookstore in Vermillion, South Dakota. They sold it and moved after a new law would have required their daughter to use a boy’s bathroom.

Why does travel make me constipated? A gastroenterologist explains.: We all poop weirdly on vacation. Fiber supplements can help.

Smithsonian restores Trump to impeachment display in American history museum: The museum last month removed a placard describing the president’s two impeachments. The new text makes minor changes — and offers slightly less detail.

New mapping reveals D.C. region’s growing vulnerability to flood risk: As the region experiences more extreme weather, an increased number of roads and rail lines could flood, not just those in low-lying areas.

Substack's extremist ecosystem is flourishing: Yup, they're still at it. - "The role of Substack’s ecosystem in our larger politics was made clear last month in the New York Times. The paper reported that the Democratic candidate for New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, had checked both the “Asian” and “Black or African American” boxes on an application for Columbia in 2009. (Mamdani is Indian-Ugandan-American. He did not get into Columbia.) As The Verge’s Elizabeth Lopatto uncovered, the information for this story—which the Times framed as a major scandal—was the product of a hack by a self-described 'violently racist' neo-Nazi. 

"The relevant information was passed to the Times by Jordan Lasker, a Substacker with a reported neo-Nazi past of his own, who contributes to the eugenicist Substack Aporia as well his own, published under the pseudonym “Cremiuex.” (The latter is currently the No. 7 fastest rising Substack in “Science.”) Lasker in turn passed the information on to Benjamin Ryan, the writer of the anti-transgender Substack Hazard Ratio (No. 66 in Science.) The Times then hired Ryan to write the story, giving him the lead byline and allowing him to grant Lasker partial anonymity. He made no mention of the neo-Nazi origin of the information."

The Media’s Urge to Be “Fair” to Trump Is Killing the Republic: Seventy percent of Republicans understand that Trump’s tariffs will raise prices. Why is the press acting like they’re a huge success? - "Uh, no. Here are a few facts and figures, none of which appear in the article. Federal revenue from all sources in recent years has been around $4.7 trillion (it varies from year to year depending on the strength of the economy). Typically, customs fees account for about 2 percent of that revenue. Commit that to memory, please: 2 percent. So that even if tariff revenue doubles, it will account for 4 percent of all federal revenue. It could double again—which, incidentally, would mean tariffs so high as to stifle much international trade—and still account for only 8 percent of all federal revenue. 

"So where does federal revenue come from? About half—that is, around $2.4 trillion or so—comes from the personal income tax. Another third, or roughly $1.6 trillion, comes from payroll taxes. And then about 10 percent, or just under $500 billion, comes from corporate taxes. I know all these numbers off the top of my head, and if I know them, the guy who covers tax policy from Washington for The New York Times ought to know them too. Maybe he does, which would make his decision not to include them in a piece like this all the more bewildering because they provide vital context. But all Duehren has to say on this point is that 'income and payroll taxes remain by far the most important sources of government revenue.'"

Spain Is an Example to the World

Union Leaders Get Tough With Democrats as Members Drift Toward Trump: Doubtful that President Trump has their best interests in mind, top union officials are redoubling efforts to push the Democratic Party to appeal more to their rank and file.

California is pushing the limits of crowdsourced energy

Reading archive 2025-08-05

D.C.’s Zoning Commission approves developer’s reworked McMillan site plan Jair Lynch’s plan to scale back the size of a grocery store in the new Reservoir District neighborhood is given the green light.

Momentum builds toward Netanyahu’s plan to occupy all of Gaza: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to discuss the move with top defense officials today, and Defense Minister Israel Katz is promising to “professionally implement” whatever the government decides.

Scientists say they’ve solved the mystery of starfish that turn to goo: Sea star wasting disease has killed billions of starfish and destroyed kelp ecosystems. In a study published Monday, researchers say they found the culprit.

One gene reveals clues to why humans thrived and Neanderthals didn’t: Humans and Neanderthals are virtually identical at the genetic level. Scientists are probing the differences to understand why we are here, and they aren’t.

Woman who ran over children in crosswalk on their way to school given 4 months: The judge in the case called the punishment ‘woefully inadequate.’

China is winning the trade war Trump started: On many fronts, Trump is inadvertently aiding China’s anti-American dictatorship. - "The countries that have done trade deals with Trump can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that their situation could be much worse. But Trump’s bullying is leaving hard feelings in its wake. One former Japanese trade official called the U.S. deal “humiliating,” while a Japanese economist called it 'completely unacceptable for Japan.' That’s an odd way to treat allies that the United States needs to contain China."

The AI spending boom could have real consequences for the U.S. economy: As revisions to U.S. jobs numbers call into question economic growth, Big Tech is becoming an even more important part of American prosperity.

This isn’t the same Democratic Party as Trump’s first term: Polls show a base of voters who are growing more liberal and less trusting of leaders in both parties.

D.C. area is feeling toll of federal spending cuts. These charts show how.: Amid signs of a broader economic slowdown, unemployment is up, spending is slowing and signs of strain are emerging across key sectors that once helped prop up the national capital region.

Latino GOP lawmakers voice worry about Trump’s mass deportation campaign: They expressed fears that the inroads Trump and the GOP made with Latino voters in 2024 could erode.

Smithsonian to restore Trump to impeachment exhibit ‘in the coming weeks’: A placard referring to Trump’s two impeachments was removed from the National Museum of American History in July, after the Smithsonian agreed to perform a “content review.”

Reeling over alleged child sex ring, Alabama community asks: ‘Did no one know?’: At prayer meetings and other gatherings, Bibb County residents have grappled with the realization that horrific crimes may have been happening in their town.

The simple way Democrats should talk about Trump and Epstein

Texas Democrats decamp to Illinois to deny Republicans a quorum on redistricting: In response, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to try to remove the Democrats from the state Legislature and said some of them may even be "felons."

Supreme Court tees up Louisiana redistricting case that could undercut Voting Rights Act

The Billionaire Behind Mysterious Immigration Ads Targeting Miami Republicans: “Deporting immigrants is cruel,” some of the ads against Cuban Americans in Congress read. Michael B. Fernández wanted to “wake up” Miami’s conscience.

Sneaking Into the Spy Museum’s New Vault

Reading archive 2025-07-27

‘Buckingham Nicks,’ the missing link of the Fleetwood Mac saga, is back: Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham’s 1973 album prefigured their pop triumphs in Fleetwood Mac but was lost in the streaming era. That changes Sept. 19.

The Harry Potter play goes big on special effects — and fan nostalgia: Now on tour, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” has the gang all grown up with kids — who are well-versed in their parents’ lore.

Toddler shot and wounded in Southeast D.C., police say: The 1-year-old girl’s injury was described as non-life-threatening.

Walgreens manager sentenced for role in robberies that shook Chinatown: The Walgreens, located at Seventh and H streets NW, was robbed seven times between July 2023 and February 2024.

Trump visits the Federal Reserve in escalation of pressure campaign: The president visited the central bank as the White House criticizes an extensive $2.5 billion renovation project.

Denied federal flood relief, a Maryland town is left on its own: The residents of Westernport, Maryland, overwhelmingly voted for Trump. But after FEMA denied its aid request, the town feels like the president has turned his back on them.

The 12 days that turned back the clock on Iran’s nuclear program: Israeli and American assessments agree Tehran’s infrastructure to finish a bomb is shattered.

Trump’s tariffs are promoting free trade — in Canada: Politicians and industry leaders have long pushed to remove barriers to interprovincial trade. Trump’s tariffs are giving the effort new momentum. - "With few exceptions, alcohol producers in one Canadian province are prohibited from selling directly to consumers in another. Vintners in British Columbia, for instance, can often more easily sell their merlots to oenophiles in other countries than within their own."

An American mega-influencer flew to Lithuania. Then the chaos began.: The streamer IShowSpeed drank pink soup in the Baltics and marveled at cars in China. Are his tours propaganda, or just good advertising? - "Speed’s lighthearted visits to China, Saudi Arabia and other countries have drawn criticism as propaganda exercises that promoted the countries in ways they wanted, rather than reckoning with their more complicated reality.

...

"Speed’s sprint through the Baltics drew frustration from some locals, including in Latvia, where he did a backflip at the Freedom Monument honoring soldiers killed in the country’s 1918 war for independence and sung to fans from the balcony of the nation’s ailing public radio station. One journalist there wrote that the moment — in which 'an unregulated content creator [was] peacocking at the home of Latvian broadcasting' — offered a foreboding symbol of how modern media had changed."

The last wholesalers of Union Market: In a changing D.C. neighborhood, these business owners are still holding on.

Gabbard and White House 'lying' about intel on Russian interference in 2016, ex-CIA official says: "We definitely had the intel," Susan Miller, who helped oversee the 2017 intelligence assessment of Russia's efforts in the 2016 election, told NBC News.

‘Commanders Saw Us as Expendable’: A Russian Soldier’s View of the War: Mikhail Simdyankin wasn’t prepared for the reality of Moscow’s brutal war machine in Ukraine when he enlisted, lured by propaganda and a big sign-on bonus

The World Has Too Much Steel, but No One Wants to Stop Making It: A global plunge in prices, led by increased production from China, and U.S. tariffs threaten steel manufacturing, which has long been a symbol of national might.

Reading archive 2025-07-25

This tariff court case could rein in the rampant Trump presidency" Trump is a hare, and the federal courts are a tortoise. We know how that fable turned out.

What scrapping a $3 billion coastal project means for Louisiana’s future: As the state continues to lose land, advocates argue that the demise of the Mid-Barataria diversion project will leave coastal communities only more vulnerable.

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 2025-07-14

Tariffs give the U.S.’s only native caffeinated plant a shot at stardom: Yaupon, a holly, may be little-known outside Indigenous groups, but that may soon change thanks to tea and coffee tariffs.

The CIA reveals more of its connections to Lee Harvey Oswald: New documents show an officer known only as Howard managed a Cuban group that interacted with Oswald in the months before the JFK assassination. - "He said a plausible theory was rogue CIA officers created the conspiracy to assassinate Kennedy, unknown to the agency, and that 'the CIA covered it up not because they were involved, but because they were trying to hide the secrets of that period.' He said many in the CIA were angry with Kennedy after he withdrew support for the agency’s Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961 as well as for his gradual move toward peace with the Soviet Union after the Cuban missile crisis of 1962."

Putin took Trump for granted. He’s going to pay for his mistake.: After the president’s startling, welcome shift on Ukraine, there’s more to do.

Budget woes jeopardize plan for costly new D.C. Archives building: Supporters of new building discouraged as D.C. mayor’s spending plan envisions more affordable option to house Duke Ellington’s birth certificate, Frederick Douglass’s will and other pieces of history.

Two men sentenced in killing of D.C. girl, ending years of prosecutions: In all, eight men and one woman, most convicted of murder, have been sent to prison for the 2018 shooting of 10-year-old Makiyah Wilson, a crime that stunned the city.

Where D.C. Council Ward 8 candidates stand on key issues: The four candidates, all Democrats, were asked questions on issues such as the redevelopment of RFK Stadium, housing and policing in the ward.

A clinic blames its closing on Trump’s Medicaid cuts. Patients don’t buy it.: A clinic in rural Nebraska has become a political flash point after tying its looming closure to Trump’s law cutting Medicaid. - "Down the road on the town’s main street lined with American flags, Kerri Kemp said she didn’t like the Medicaid cuts either. The 47-year-old got Medicaid coverage after Nebraska voters chose to expand eligibility for the program in 2018, adopting an optional part of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. But it was hard to document all her work as a bartender, county worker and rancher, and recently she’d struggled to submit the paperwork. Now she is uninsured. 

"Work requirements could make it harder to qualify when they take effect in 2027, just after the 2026 midterms. But Kemp, a lifelong Republican and Trump supporter, doesn’t hold that against Trump and suggested he might change course. 'I really think he’s gonna do something,' she said." [ed. note: perfect, no notes]