Redaing archive 2024-06-07

Coalition calls for delay to Rock Creek golf course rebuilding plan: D.C. residents and environmental groups say the National Park Service needs to engage more with the community about the proposed overhaul. - "The Park Service says that about half of the trees marked for removal were either dead, rotting, compromised by invasive vines or creating conditions that hampered turf growth on the course." [ed. note: dead and rotting trees are an important part of the ecosystem, and invasive vines are a problem that NPS and National Links Trust have allowed to fester]

Opinion The Biden administration is the most progressive in U.S. history: Biden’s aim: minimize the market by maximizing government’s role in allocating society’s resources

Opinion How to cover an abnormal presidential race: Could the media coverage adhere closer to reality? Hard questions must be asked. - "The United States has never had an election in which: a felon runs for president; a presidential candidate lays out a detailed plan for authoritarian rule; an entire party gaslights the public (e.g., claiming the president was behind their candidate’s state prosecution; pretending they won the last election); and, prominent leaders of one party signal they will not accept an adverse outcome in the next election. Yet, the coverage of the 2024 campaign is remarkably anodyne, if not oblivious, to the unprecedented nature of this election and its implications."

Retired judge David Tatel issues a stark warning about the Supreme Court: In a memoir, the retired D.C. Circuit judge reflects on his career and the high court, regret about initially hiding his blindness, and his love for his guide dog, Vixen.

Opinion As Biden rallies the free world, Trump serves a higher cause: Himself: In Phoenix, at his first post-conviction campaign rally, Trump portrayed a dark and desperate America.

Trump plans to claim sweeping powers to cancel federal spending: In a second term, allies said the former president would look at unilateral funding cuts for the World Health Organization and green energy initiatives.

Congress weighs delaying farm bill over SNAP and climate disputes: The sweeping agriculture law hasn’t been renewed since 2018.

Has tipping gone too far? Here’s a guide on when to tip.: Many Americans have tipping fatigue, with 1 in 3 adults calling the practice “out of control” in a recent survey. But there are good reasons to leave a gratuity.

Sen. Kaine wants more career, fewer political-fundraising ambassadors: Kaine’s bill says presidents should make competence, rather than political donations, the main qualification for ambassadors.

Reading archive 2024-06-06

NYC had a plan to make it hard for cars to enter the city. Here’s why the governor blocked it.: What would have been America’s first congestion pricing experiment has been delayed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, leaving public transit in a financial hole.

Even Sean Hannity can’t get Trump to back away from wanting revenge: Somehow, nine years into the Trump era, even his most fervent media ally thinks the former president requires some mainstream polish.

Biden, world leaders and veterans mark D-Day’s 80th anniversary in France: While the U.S. president’s speech was directed at a global audience, it came against the backdrop of a fierce domestic political battle with his predecessor, Donald Trump.

Opinion More evidence of the idiocy of Vladimir Putin: The war in Ukraine has turned Russia’s biggest company into a massive money loser. - "With spigots to the West turned off and China dragging its heels, the report concluded, according to the Financial Times, that Gazprom will not return to profitability before 2035."

Opinion The Biden immigration order exposes MAGA hypocrisy: The executive order likely won’t survive legal scrutiny, but politically, it’s already doing its job.

Giant Joro spiders are invading the East Coast. Don’t worry, they’re shy.: The arachnids from East Asia are a familiar sight in parts of Georgia and are on the move. Here’s what to know.

Several Pa. House Republicans boo officers who defended Capitol on Jan. 6: Harry Dunn and Aquilino Gonell were invited to Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives — but several GOP lawmakers booed and some walked out, Democratic lawmakers said.

Senate confirms 2 D.C. Superior Court judges, filling lengthy vacancies: The U.S. Senate confirmed two magistrate judges to the D.C. court’s top ranks this week, reducing the number of lengthy judicial vacancies

Israel used U.S. munitions in deadly strike on U.N. school, experts say: Weapons experts reviewed verified video from the scene and identified the munitions fragments as U.S.-made small diameter bombs.

Reading archive 2024-06-05

Microplastics Are Everywhere. Here’s How to Avoid Eating Them.

Juror says someone left her bag with $120,000 cash and promise of more if she’ll acquit: She was serving on a case involving seven people charged with stealing more than $40 million from a program meant to feed children during the pandemic.

Why Mexico City’s thirst is causing it to sink: The demand for water in Mexico’s capital is draining its underground aquifers — and fueling some of the fastest subsidence rates in the world.

Casa Ruby founder set to plead guilty to wire fraud over pandemic funds: Ruby Corado is accused of diverting $150,000 in federal pandemic relief from her LGBTQ nonprofit to her own accounts in El Salvador and fleeing D.C. in 2022.

Alito’s account of the upside-down flag doesn’t fully add up. Here’s why.: A look at the major discrepancies in Justice Samuel Alito’s comments about controversial flags flown at his property and what he still has not fully answered.

Senate Republicans vote against making contraception a federal right: The bill was introduced by Democrats seeking to put Republicans on the spot in an election year over their unpopular positions on reproductive rights.

Biden, in France for D-Day anniversary, to stress contrast with Trump: The president will join other leaders in praising the fight against authoritarianism.

Gunman opens fire at U.S. Embassy in Lebanon and is shot by army: The gunman, who has been hospitalized, was identified as a Syrian national. No motive for the attack has been reported yet.

Opinion For The Post, a Supreme black eye: Deference to Justice Alito hands a scoop to the New York Times.

India’s low-caste voters humbled its powerful prime minister: Modi’s stunning setback in elections this week reflected the power of low-caste Hindus who rebelled against his ruling BJP.

He went viral for driving with a suspended license. The case isn’t so simple.: The case that led Corey Harris to become famous after he attended a Zoom hearing about his suspended license while driving is more complicated than it appeared. [ed. note: actually he never had a driver's license at all, just a Michigan state ID. Dude is a liar and a POS]

Would a reelected Trump prosecute his opponents? He already tried.: Trump and his allies are pretending that his recent conviction gives him moral space to target his enemies. But he tried that the first time around. - "The reality, as Mueller established and as a report from the Justice Department inspector general reinforced, was that there were numerous links between Trump’s team and Russia and that there was an obvious effort by Russia to upend the election. Durham brought charges against an attorney linked to Clinton. The attorney was acquitted. 

"Last year, the New York Times’s Charlie Savage explained that the pivot to focusing on Clinton came only after Durham was unable to uncover nefarious intent on the part of the FBI. 

"'By keeping the investigation going,” Savage wrote, 'Mr. Barr initially appeased Mr. Trump, who, as Mr. Barr recounted in his memoir, was angry about the lack of charges as the 2020 election neared.'"

Conservative attacks on birth control could threaten access: Far-right conservatives are sowing misinformation that inaccurately characterizes IUDs, emergency contraception, even birth-control pills as causing abortions - "Because hormonal IUDs and birth-control pills can thin the uterine lining, which could prevent a fertilized egg from implanting, some antiabortion activists falsely claim that the birth-control methods cause abortions. Between 30 and 70 percent of fertilized eggs never implant successfully, even without birth control, according to Belmonte’s review of medical literature."

GOP plans aggressive ‘weaponization’ investigations in wake of Trump conviction: House Speaker Mike Johnson vowed to use House oversight powers and other measures to target jurisdictions pursuing prosecutions of the former president.

Reading archive 2024-06-04

Woman charged with murder, kidnapping after carjacked vehicle crashed: Police said the woman stole an occupied SUV at the hospital entrance after the victim’s daughter stepped out to bring her mother a wheelchair.

Yellowstone bison gores 83-year-old while ‘defending its space,’ park says: The woman was lifted a foot into the air by the bison’s horns and was seriously injured, the park said. Officials have long warned tourists to stay away from bison.

Never wait in the school car line again. Here’s how.: For the first time in decades, a small but critical mass of children are riding their bikes safely to school again.

Former U.S. soldier extradited from Ukraine over ‘international crime spree’: U.S. authorities said Craig Lang and another man robbed and killed a Florida couple in 2018 while trying to fund travel to Venezuela to fight the regime there.

Netanyahu strains to keep government together amid spreading rebellions: A string of standoffs, schisms and ultimatums have brought Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s emergency war cabinet to the brink of collapse.

Indian election delivers stunning setback to Modi and his party: The BJP is still poised to form a government in coalition with allies. But this is the first time Modi has failed to win a majority over a 23-year political career.

Former Trump aides charged in Wisconsin over 2020 elector plot: Attorney Kenneth Chesebro is among three aides charged in Wisconsin. Separate cases related to Trump’s 2020 efforts have been filed in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada and Georgia.

In a first, noncitizens are voting in D.C. Here’s what it means to them.: More than 500 noncitizen District residents have registered to vote, according to the D.C. Board of Elections.

Lawmakers expensed millions in 2023 under new program that doesn’t require receipts: Critics say the program’s lack of transparency and record-keeping opens it up to abuse. - "'I wish members would give themselves a raise that they probably deserve and then we’d all move on,' said a staffer involved with congressional accounting, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the program publicly. 'But they don’t have the backbone to do that, so [they gave] members a raise through this backdoor way that allows for abuse because there is no record keeping and there’s no receipts.'"

Opinion The Pentagon is learning how to change at the speed of war: The dynamic Ukraine battlespace has provided a needed jolt to a system that has long been too slow to change.

Reading archive 2024-06-03

Billions in taxpayer dollars now go to religious schools via vouchers: The rapid expansion of state voucher programs follows court decisions that have eroded the separation between church and state. - "Voucher programs, which vary in their details, have grown particularly large in a half-dozen states. In each of these, participating families have overwhelmingly chosen religious schools, sometimes using the subsidy for schools their children were already attending before the programs began.

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"To critics, the burgeoning number of taxpayer-financed religious students adds up to an unwelcome mingling of government and religion, and a drain on dollars that could support public schools, which unlike private schools are required to serve all students. That occurs both when public school students use vouchers to attend private schools — meaning their public schools lose per-pupil funding — and when the state spends large amounts of money on students whose families would otherwise pay private school tuition themselves."

Opinion Democrats must defend Trump’s guilty verdict against MAGA jury denial: The danger of delegitimizing jury verdicts is real.

Curious about a poop transplant? So are many of my patients.: At my clinic, people often ask me if fecal microbiota transplants can cure their gut health issues. Here’s what to know about the treatment.

OMG your hair looks so cute! Young Chinese love American ‘praise culture.’: Even as China cools on the United States’ fashion and entertainment trends, one aspect of American life is sparking admiration: American “praise culture.”

Biden’s science adviser explains the new hard line on China: Arati Prabhakar, director of the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, discusses Washington’s newly tough consensus on China.

Russia co-opts far-right politicians in Europe with cash, officials say: A Kremlin-backed media outlet — the Prague-based Voice of Europe — funneled hundreds of thousands of euros to far-right politicians, officials say.

Child shot self after finding loaded ghost gun under bed, police say: Prince George’s County Police have arrested and charged a child’s relative with multiple gun offenses after the child found the gun while playing hide-and-seek.

Bitcoin billionaire, firm to settle D.C. tax fraud suit for $40 million: The D.C. attorney general says the settlement with Michael Saylor and MicroStrategy marks the largest income tax recovery in city history.

Reading archive 2024-06-02

Maryland diner turns leftover bacon grease into soap to save money: Sam Delauter makes his great-grandmother’s Great Depression soap recipe using bacon grease from his diner that he used to throw away

Basic training in Ukraine is barely covering the basics, commanders say: Ukrainian commanders in the field say they are bracing for most of the new troops under a new conscription law to arrive with poor training.

Why restaurants are so loud, and what science says we can do about it

Opinion How an outrageous smear of U.S. troops wound up in history books: Remarkably, the propaganda has come into academic vogue on both sides of the Pacific.

Biden’s cease-fire plan tightens political squeeze for Netanyahu in Israel: Hostage families are calling for an immediate cease-fire deal, while far-right Israeli politicians are threatening to collapse Netanyahu’s government if it’s accepted.

Reading archive 2024-06-01

The elite ancient Greek fighting force made up entirely of gay couples: As Pride Month kicks off, the story of how the Sacred Band of Thebes defeated Sparta and changed history. - "Excavation of a mass grave on the battlefield at Chaeronea uncovered the bodies of 254 soldiers believed to be the band’s war dead. Amid the broken bones and fractured skulls, some pairs of skeletons lay linked arm in arm, a tribute to a love that outlasted death."

In a swing county, Trump’s faithful are angry. But they believe he’ll get even.: In Saginaw County, Mich., Democrats worry — and Republicans boast — that even 34 felony convictions won’t stop the former president from retaking the White House.

Investors, worried they can’t beat lawmakers in stock market, copy them instead: A loose alliance of investors, analysts and advocates is trying to let Americans mimic the trades elected officials make — but only after they disclose them. - "The penalties for those who violate the law are minimal: Members who are late to disclose stock activity, or sales and purchases of cryptocurrencies, generally face a $200 fine prescribed by the Stock Act. Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Tex.), who failed to disclose 122 transactions valued between $9 million and $21 million in 2021 in a timely manner, paid $600 in late filing fees and corrected the record though he refused to cooperate with the review conducted by the Office of Congressional Ethics.

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"The Senate Ethics Committee has not issued a disciplinary sanction against a senator in over 15 years, even after a stock-trading scandal roiled the upper chamber. Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) came under scrutiny at the start of 2020 after they dumped vast stock holdings ahead of the coronavirus-induced market plunge. Neither the Senate Ethics Committee nor the Justice Department, whose investigators launched probes into the stock sales, pursued charges."

The Great Honeybee Fallacy: For years, people have understood them to be at imminent risk of extinction, despite evidence to the contrary. Why? - "A true truth about the bees: The modal American honeybee is, essentially, a farm animal—part of a $200-billion-a-year industry that’s regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is as sophisticated and professionalized as any other segment of the sprawling system that gets food on our plates. The nation’s largest beekeeping operation, Adee Honey Farms, has more than 80,000 colonies, facilities in five states, and nearly 100 employees. Its bees, and those at other large-scale apiaries, do produce honey, but more and more, the real money is in what the industry calls “pollination services”: the renting-out of bees to fertilize the farms of Big Ag, which have seen their indigenous pollinators decline with urbanization and industrialization."

Lawns Draw Scorn, but Some See Room for Compromise: Conventional turf lawns have come under attack. Landscape designers are using water-wise and native plants to balance green with “green.”