Reading archive 2026-01-13

Trump is trying to change how the midterm elections are conducted: Many of these endeavors go far beyond typical political persuasion, challenging long-established democratic norms.

You’re the reason your home is disorganized. Here’s how to fix that.: Sixteen pieces of tough love from professional home organizers.

New federal spending bill for D.C. seeks to prevent repeat of 2025’s $1B cut: The House and Senate appropriations bill also boosts funding for a D.C. scholarship program and includes $90 million in police funding.

Congress agrees to fund Voice of America, bucking Trump shutdown order: The Trump administration has tried to eliminate funding for the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA. Appropriators in Congress have had other ideas.

EPA says it will no longer consider health costs in pollution regulations: The EPA weakened emissions standards for new power plants and said it would no longer consider the economic impacts of public health in rule making.

The EPA’s shock and awe deregulatory push learns from past mistakes: The EPA aims to push its rules changes into court as fast as possible to cement the administration’s agenda with final judgments before Trump leaves office. - "In addition, the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the size of government may be slowing down its deregulatory agenda, simply because there are not enough people on staff to do the work."

Congressional staffer allegedly stole 240 cell phones from government: Officials say Christopher Southerland had the phones shipped directly to his Maryland home before selling them.

Once-revered trans activist Ruby Corado sentenced for defrauding government: A federal judge ordered the founder of Casa Ruby to serve 33 months in prison, pay more than $900,000 in restitution and report to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Why you should consider a jumping spider as your next pet: If we can get beyond our fears, spiders, beetles, caterpillars and other creepy-crawlies can make for fine family companions.

Trump picks up the phone and calls Sen. Elizabeth Warren: The unlikely conversation came after years of antipathy between the two politicians, including the president’s derogatory use of the nickname “Pocahontas” to describe her.

Trump’s Shrinking Coalition: The president can no longer present himself as anti-system, because he has become the system.

The YIMBY Hero Everyone Is Shouting At: Scott Wiener—a pro-trans Zionist who wants California to allow more homes—has an extreme tolerance for pushback. - "In Democratic cities, people demand 38 meetings and three dozen environmental assessments before tearing down a crack den to build a nursery for sad orphans. Voters, Wiener argues, want politicians who are 'willing to break glass to get those things done.'"

The Hole in Trump’s Rationale for Acquiring Greenland: The office dedicated to countering China and Russia in the Arctic has been axed.

Big Oil Knows That Trump’s Venezuela Plans Are Delusional: The president’s thinking is stuck in the 1980s.

Reading archive 2026-01-12

New NASA head appears to slow controversial Discovery shuttle move: Jared Isaacman, the new NASA administrator, signaled he was open to offering other spacecraft to Texas instead of the one housed at the Smithsonian. Opponents of the transfer welcomed his comments. - "The Smithsonian said in September that it had been approached by the Office of Management and Budget to work with NASA to prepare for the relocation of Discovery within 18 months. The Institution cautioned the transfer would require 'significant disassembly' of the shuttle that they feared 'will destroy its historical value.' Along with NASA, the institution estimated the move would cost from $120 million to $150 million. Sen. Cornyn’s office has called the estimate 'purposefully overblown' and accused the Smithsonian of going outside of its purview in raising concerns."

California is adding a supplement to tortillas. RFK Jr. calls it ‘insanity.’: California now requires corn masa flour to contain folic acid to reduce birth defects among Latinos. Some conservatives oppose it, citing government overreach. - "The new requirement is part of national effort to add folic acid, already required in other types of flour, to corn masa. Alabama’s version of the law takes effect in June, and lawmakers in Florida, Georgia and Oklahoma are considering similar legislation.

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"Since the start of those efforts, the rates of neural tube birth defects for White women and other groups dropped 40 percent, but remained high for Latinas, studies have found."

Exxon CEO calls Venezuela ‘uninvestable’ without ‘significant changes’: At Trump meeting with oil executives, he vows they will spend $100 billion. The companies worry the numbers don’t add up. - "'It would be like going to Brazil, taking them over for their cattle, and then flooding the American beef market with it,' he said. 'That’s the analogy we see in the oil and gas business.'"

The Iranian regime is caught in a death spiral: Tehran tamps down the unrest again, but the protesters will be back.

D.C. police arrest man in death of officer hit by car while on duty: Jerrold Coates, 47, was charged with second-degree murder, two weeks after Officer Terry Bennett was fatally injured while aiding a stranded motorist

Former D.C. officer sentenced to 27 years in sex trafficking of teen girls: The case marks the second time in a decade that Linwood Barnhill Jr., now 59, was ordered imprisoned for recruiting underaged girls to be sex workers.

Suspect arrested after fire damages Mississippi’s largest synagogue: The suspect is facing an arson charge in the state, and the FBI and ATF are considering opening a federal case, Jackson’s chief fire investigator said.

Running deficits larger than during the Great Depression is reckless: A bipartisan group of House members are rallying behind a welcome and reasonable target for 2030.

Eyes are on Gorsuch as Supreme Court weighs rights of trans athletes: The conservative justice has provided the key swing vote on recent cases involving gay and transgender rights

A powerful force has been holding back the housing market. It’s finally easing.: The U.S. housing market recently reached a key milestone that could lead to more buying and selling.

Scientists are inventing treatments for devastating diseases. There’s just one problem. Genetic therapies could be used to treat hundreds of diseases. The path to patients is tricky.

Smithsonian removes Trump impeachment text as it swaps his portrait: A Trump official previously complained about a caption beside his National Portrait Gallery photo mentioning his impeachments and the U.S. Capitol insurrection.

Hundreds of Iranian protesters feared killed; U.S. considers military strikes: Trump administration national security officials were preparing to meet on potential responses, including a range of military options.

Ukraine’s ex-commander in chief, envoy to Britain and maybe next president: Gen. Valery Zaluzhny’s distance from Kyiv, possibly an attempt to sideline his political ambitions, has left him at a safe remove from tensions back home. - "Ukrainian law prohibits presidential elections under martial law, and democracy experts have noted the seeming absurdity of Putin complaining that Zelensky has stayed in office beyond the normal length of a term because of a war that Russia started, while Putin rewrote Russia’s constitution to eliminate term limits and has long won elections widely derided as neither free nor fair."

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 2026-01-08

The Smithsonian Faces New Pressure to Submit to Trump’s Will: The institution, long regarded as independent, is facing a White House deadline to hand over records about its content and will see turnover that could reshape its governing board.

D.C. leaders push back on U.S. DOT proposal to ban city traffic cameras: The proposal could cost D.C. more than $100 million and strike at the heart of traffic safety efforts.

Can AI do your job? See the results from hundreds of tests.: Comparing how AI systems and humans did on real work assignments shows how close tools like ChatGPT really are to taking jobs away from people.

U.S. vows to control Venezuela oil sales ‘indefinitely’: The move comes as officials struggle to persuade U.S. firms to invest in expansive drilling operations there. - "Using taxpayer-funded cash subsidies to incentivize oil companies to pump abroad would be unprecedented, industry analysts say. But the White House faces a steep challenge persuading firms to drill in a politically and economically unstable country that has burned them in the past by expropriating assets worth billions and then leaving U.S.-built oil infrastructure to rot."

The McMansion Got a New Look This Year. Enter: the McModern: The mass-produced version of the American dream is sleeker and more private than ever - "Whatever does make the cut determines the building’s massing. 'If you look at McMansions, the form follows the function, and the function is the accumulation of amenities,' says Wagner. 'It’s the interiorization of the city into a single building.' Amenity proliferation represents a more extreme definition of contemporary luxury living, she adds. 'The mindset of the rich in America is that they have no obligation to social life,' Wagner says. In other words, they want to create a space where everything is at their fingertips and there’s no need for them to mix with the outside world.

"This 'castle doctrine,' Wagner calls it, finds its roots further back in history, as does the showiness of the mass, scale, amenities, and views offered by McModerns. At the front, these homes are screened for privacy with plants or behind gates. 'After a maze of gardens or pathways, when you finally step into the entrance and foyer, you want the money shot,' says Ippolito. Once inside, 'you want to design glimpses of it through all the windows as you pass the house.'"

Why is crime plummeting in the most liberal places in the world?: Plus: less has changed than people expected in 1998, falling American death rates, and more

Eleanor Holmes Norton’s longtime staffer to run for her seat in Congress: Trent Holbrook, who most recently was the congresswoman’s senior legislative counsel, joins a crowded field hoping to serve as D.C.’s nonvoting delegate.

Why D.C.’s next council member will be chosen by lawmakers, not voters: In an unprecedented situation, the D.C. Council will select an interim member to serve until a special election is held. How exactly to proceed is causing infighting. - "Council member Kenyan R. McDuffie (I-At Large) resigned from the council effective Monday to set up a mayoral run. D.C. law says it is up to the council to select an interim replacement, but the law is vague on exactly how lawmakers should go about choosing their new colleague."

Five years after Jan. 6, officers describe the toll of defending the Capitol: In his first day in office, Trump pardoned nearly 1,600 people in the Jan. 6th Capitol riot. The country has moved on, but for some the day still looms large.

Senate passes bill to block further military action in Venezuela: Though largely symbolic, the vote was a rare assertion of Congress’s role in using lethal force after the stunning raid to capture Nicolás Maduro.

Tony Dokoupil Eats Heaps Of Shit In First Week As CBS News Anchor - "The key to Weiss's professional success has always been her self-absorption, her ability to convince herself, and those in positions of wealth and influence, that her own strange perspective is the dominant one."

Pardon my coup: Accurate political journalism requires a bias toward democracy - "Donald Trump and his supporters do not believe in the fundamental aspect of democracy: the legitimacy of the opposition. Members of the MAGA tribe are authoritarian in their wielding of power. They have a weak, at best, commitment to free speech and expression. They believe in the unrestricted use of military power. And their leader is a liar and a cheater who has teased countless times to remain in power beyond his last term in office."

The Military Isn’t MAGA: The Trump administration attempts to silence veterans. - "When criticizing the leader becomes a crime, being a criminal becomes an obligation."

The Giant, Voracious Sea Lions That Humans Cannot Stop: Killing the protected animals may be the only way to stop them from eating too many of the Pacific Northwest’s endangered salmon.

The Friend-Group Fallacy: Many people yearn for a crew, but having one is not actually the norm.

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.

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"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 2026-01-05

Trump Almost Has a Point About the Federal Reserve: The central bank has long abused its power in ways that benefit the financial sector at the expense of everyone else. - "If, however, the Court rules against Trump—as it is widely expected to do—congressional Democrats should not consider the matter of Fed independence resolved. Instead, a future Democratic administration and Congress should pass legislation preserving the Fed’s independent power to set monetary policy, while stripping most other authorities away from the central bank. The logic of central-bank independence simply does not apply to such matters as bank regulation and payment systems, which ought to be subject to democratic control.

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"Trump’s attacks on America’s bedrock institutions deserve a thoughtful response, not a defensive one. Trump often identifies real problems, even if he offers terrible solutions. The Federal Reserve has abused its independence for decades, substituting its judgment for the law with no mechanisms to hold it accountable. As a spate of recent insider-trading scandals among senior Fed officials demonstrates, the institution can’t even hold its own personnel accountable."

Suspect in Jan. 6 pipe bomb case indicted on federal charges: Brian Cole Jr. was charged with planting explosive devices near the RNC and DNC headquarters on Jan. 5, 2021. He was ordered jailed pending trial.

D.C. police sergeant accused of waving gun in Md. road-rage encounter: Authorities said Sgt. Kaila Crews has been placed on leave by the department after being charged with assault and other crimes in the December incident.

How the Smithsonian’s National Zoo feeds its animals

Progressives, don’t force 20th-century rules on 21st-century workers: Gig work is facing death by a thousand regulatory cuts. [ed. note: Manhattan Institute hack. From comment section: "We need to classify these innocent sounding gig 'apps' as technology monopolies that control large chunks of the labor force, but refuse to follow well established employment practices under Labor Law."]

Evangelicals’ support for Israel is dropping. 1,000 pastors want to reverse that.: Alarmed by anti-Israel sentiment from conservative influencers, the religious leaders traveled en masse to Israel to counter podcasters’ messaging. - "Carlson in recent months has hosted a range of anti-Israel conspiracy theorists. Among them were: amateur historian Darryl Cooper, who implied on the show that Jews’ deaths in the Holocaust were a result of poor Nazi planning, not genocidal intent; Owens, who said Israel is a 'demonic nation' and that it had a role in the killing of Charlie Kirk; and Fuentes, who told Carlson the major roadblock to American unity is 'organized Jewry.' They all frame their comments on Israel as part of an 'America first' agenda that they say has been unfairly framed as antisemitic."

Perennials for the Shady Side

‘Blind Into Caracas.’: Less than 24 hours in, members of the Trump team are celebrating victory. None of them seem to have wondered what happens a day, a month, a decade from now. - "Special horseshit award for Marco Rubio. He claimed that the Trump team couldn’t let anyone in Congress know about the Maduro mission ahead of time, for fear of leaks. And that this caution extended even to the “Gang of Eight” in Congress. These are the select, bipartisan assemblage of leaders who are supposed to be briefed on the most sensitive security matters—and who (in contrast to the Trump team) have had over the decades zero cases of leaking sensitive information before military operations. 

"Rubio knows full well that the most grievous leaks in the Trump era have come either from Trump himself or from Pete Hegseth. (Including the pathetically incompetent WhatsApp Signal group chat.) To be clear, Rubio knows that what he was saying today was false—his claim that elite Congressional intelligence committees cannot keep secrets. But he said it anyway, because it is what Trump wanted to hear. This is what we call lying in normal life." [ed. note: also a couple great comments for understanding just how difficult Venezuala's ultra-heavy crude is to process]

A Criminal Empire: The United States launches a conquest and occupation of Venezuela to extract its oil wealth. The neocon dream is the America First dream

Trump's Critics Are Falling Into an Obvious Trap: The capture of Nicolás Maduro is a show of ambition that calls for an effective response. [ed. note: good critique, no solution offered]

Iranians Have Had Enough: The demonstrations erupting across the Islamic Republic reflect deep economic and political discontent. - "Opponents of the Islamic Republic remain hopelessly disorganized and disunited. Some protesters have chanted slogans in favor of Reza Pahlavi, Iran's exiled crown prince. But Pahlavi remains a divisive figure among anti-regime Iranians. Many reject his claim to leadership. Pahlavi's supporters and top advisers routinely criticize popular domestic dissidents including the Nobel Peace laureate Narges Mohammadi, actress Taraneh Alidoosti, and rapper Toumaj Salehi. Earlier this month, Mohammadi was physically attacked by pro-Pahlavi protesters in the northeastern city of Mashhad. 

"Regardless of their politics, all opposition factions have failed to build powerful organizations or lasting networks that could direct the protests. Without such direction, the current protests are likely to lose momentum and fizzle out, just like previous rounds. Even if they were to last, it is far likelier that figures from inside the regime's ranks would take the initiative and wrest power from Khamenei, than that the protesters would succeed in bringing about a change to the regime's basic structures."

Britain Should Have Read the Tweets First The case of Alaa Abd el-Fattah is a test of Britain’s values. - "The situation is deeply embarrassing for Starmer, who welcomed Abd el-Fattah's arrival in Britain so warmly. He now claims not to have known about the "absolutely abhorrent" tweets and is promising to 'review the information failures in this case.' Apparently, despite years of campaigning for this guy, the combined might of the British civil service never thought to search his Twitter handle. If the authorities had conducted even a cursory background check, they would have found opinions such as this (now-deleted) assertion from 2012: 'I'm a racist, I don't like white people so piss off.'

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"Starmer, a former human-rights lawyer, approaches every problem with an arid obsession with process rather than outcome-as if, when people follow every dot and comma of the rules, nothing bad can happen and no one should complain."

Reading archive 2026-01-02

Quest for a drug that lowers an artery-clogging particle nears finish line: A clinical trial will soon reveal whether lowering high levels of lipoprotein(a) can reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Behold, a Democrat who doesn’t preach from the Church of Progressivism: Rep. Jake Auchincloss has an exemplary way of talking about topics that resonate with centrist voters.

Trump says the job market is booming for U.S.-born. The data doesn’t show it.: Immigrants left the labor force in 2025, but U.S.-born workers aren’t enjoying a jobs boom, according to government data and economists.

He exposed myth of the South’s ‘Lost Cause.’ His death shook Richmond.: William J. “Bill” Martin, director of the Valentine museum in Richmond, died after being struck by a car Dec. 27.

These farmers are cutting pollution and fighting hunger — with bacteria: Mariangela Hungria won the 2025 World Food Prize for her work on microbes that feed plants nitrogen, allowing farmers to slash fertilizer costs and pollution.

Longtime MAGA ally Boebert lashes out at Trump over veto: The Colorado Republican said she hopes Trump’s action on a water infrastructure bill benefiting her district “has nothing to do with political retaliation.”

‘I Was Just So Naïve’: Inside Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Break With Trump: How the Georgia congresswoman went from the president's loudest cheerleader to his loudest Republican critic [ed. note: she claims to hate the toxic politics but still embrace the toxic policy, but they are the same]

What America Might Look Like With Zero Immigration: The Trump administration's efforts to reduce the foreign-born population are being felt in hospitals and soccer leagues and on Main Streets across the country, with hints of what's to come.