Reading archive 2024-01-31

In Peru, a Mission to Save the Stingless Bee: Native to the tropics, these pollinators are taking a lead role in one of the latest efforts to conserve the Amazon rainforest.

Elmo asked how everyone’s doing and, um, they’re not great!

French tourist unearths 7.46-carat diamond at Arkansas state park: The lucky digger said he’ll turn his discovery into a wedding ring for his future wife

Everyone says trees are good for us. This scientist wants to prove it.: Nearly 8,000 trees and shrubs in southern Louisville and health data from about 500 residents fill out the urban science experiment

Opinion  If Trump wins, he will destroy the American-led world order - "The danger is that he would be more effective in his second term. The result could be the end of the Pax Americana. We would then enter a chaotic post-American world where rogue states committed aggression with impunity, democracies cowered and trade ties frayed. Sea lanes turning into shooting galleries would become the norm, not the exception, with the U.S. economy paying the price."

Michigan’s Arabs and Muslims push to defeat Biden in critical state: As the war in Gaza leads to the deaths of friends and relatives, anger at Biden’s refusal to call for a cease-fire has turned into political organizing - "The campaign’s organizers, who also oppose Donald Trump, have not yet coalesced around a strategy for the general election. They are still debating whether to encourage voters to support a third-party candidate or to skip the presidential contest altogether while still voting for other offices. Either way, the organizers are telling Muslim and Arab voters that they should show up and vote, rather than stay home, so it is clear that Biden specifically has lost their vote."

Inside Kyrsten Sinema’s reelection decision: Will ‘voters even care’ about her record?: As she pushes for another tricky bipartisan accomplishment, the deadline nears for the Arizona independent senator to decide on reelection

Gilded rage: Truman Capote’s vicious split with his ‘swans’: A new TV series revisits the real-life ‘Feud’ between the ‘tiny terror’ and his privileged pals after he penned malicious gossip about them

African production of natural gas poses a vexing climate challenge

Reading archive 2024-01-30

A Cyberattack Hits Software Used by Museums, Causing Online Collections to Go Down: The hack affected institutions including the Rubin Museum and Crystal Bridges Museum.

The uncomplicated, dumb engine driving political false claims about Taylor Swift: A team won a football game, which is obviously part of a devious plot for Democrats to retain power via a pop star

Police kill man after fatal carjacking spree in D.C., Maryland: A man was critically wounded in a second shooting, police say

Israeli agents disguised as doctors, patients kill 3 at West Bank hospital

Texas border city on edge as Gov. Abbott dials up battle with Biden: The border crisis has been reduced to a 2.5-mile stretch named after a Confederate general - "Despite the fearmongering of some politicians, crime rates have not gone up. But trauma is proliferating."

The dawn of the clean hydrogen economy — visualized

More than 100,000 trees to be planted in Devon to boost Celtic rainforest: National Trust says it hopes to establish 50 hectares across three sites close to surviving pockets of rainforest

Plug-in hybrids vs. electric cars: We did the math on which is better for you: Hybrids make sense for some people.

Iranian charged with hiring Canadian hitmen to kill exiles in Maryland

Congresswoman Cori Bush under investigation for alleged misuse of security funds

Reading archive 2024-01-29

Shooting hoops, changing perceptions: D.C. students face off vs. FBI: A long-time-in-the-making game was part of FBI officials’ efforts to build relationships with local communities — and recruit students to one day work at the the agency

Cross burning in South Carolina stirs debate over hate-crimes laws

Opinion  Sure, Trump and Biden are old. The similarities end there. - "This above-the-battle, “woe is us” posture makes those who adopt it look tough-minded, independent and clear-eyed. It puts Biden and Trump on the same level and then compares both with someone who doesn’t yet exist. Never mind that it’s far easier to imagine the perfect candidate than to find one."

Opinion  Want safer streets? Paint them.

Opinion  Gen Z might be the MAGA movement’s undoing - "A warning for those courting these voters: 'Gen Z adults (58%) and Millennials (60%) are significantly less likely than Gen Xers (70%), Boomers (80%), and members of the Silent Generation (85%) to agree that voting is the most effective way to create change in America.'

"Nevertheless, these younger Americans are hardly agnostic about politics. To the contrary, 'Gen Z adults are notably more likely than older generations to have signed an online petition (36% vs. 30% or less of older generations) or to have followed the social media profile of someone with different views (21% vs. 16% or less),' the PRRI poll found. 'Gen Z adults are also more likely than older generations (with the exception of millennials) to have posted on social media about an issue that matters to them (32% vs. 25% or less of Gen Xers and older generations) or encouraged others to be politically active on social media (18% vs. 12% or less of Gen Xers and older generations).'"

Lankford defends bipartisan border security bill after attacks by Trump, GOP: ‘We all have an oath to the Constitution and we have a commitment to say we’re going to do whatever we can to be able to secure the border,’ the senator from Oklahoma says. - "'So we actually locked arms together and said we’re not going to give you money for this. We want a change in law,' Lankford said. 'When we’re finally going to the end, they’re like, ‘Oh, just kidding. I actually don’t want a change in law because it’s a presidential election year.’ We all have an oath to the Constitution and we have a commitment to say we’re going to do whatever we can to be able to secure the border.'"

Trump brags about efforts to stymie border talks: ‘Please blame it on me’: The Republican front-runner slams bipartisan talks in the Senate for a deal as Biden calls for emergency authority to address surging crossings

Should I be taking collagen supplements? Here’s what the science says.: Brands claim collagen products can boost skin, nail and hair health. But there isn’t strong evidence behind these claims.

These GOP lawmakers hate federal spending, except for their own districts: Far-right Republicans who have pushed the government to the verge of shutdowns in recent months are set to win hundreds of millions of dollars for their districts in earmarks. - "Now a bloc of conservatives in the House — who have loudly opposed several measures to fund the government since the fall — are on track to direct a total of $371.8 million back to their home districts through individual requests. They stand to take credit for federal funding for projects important to their constituents even if they vote against the legislation that includes the money.

...

"'These projects are born of the most pure interests of the American people and I make no apologies for my success in the arena of [community project funding],' Higgins said in a statement. 'However, I will always oppose massive overspending in the federal budget that overwhelmingly does not meet those same standards, and for that principled opposition, I also make no apology.'" [ed. note: lol]

Russia projects confidence as it pursues alliances to undermine West - "'In terms of latent military power and economic strength, it is absolutely ridiculous that the West is being held hostage by something as relatively puny as Russia,' he said. 'Putin believes that if he is stubborn enough for long enough, we, the feeble West, will walk away — and he could be right. … That won’t just be shameful. That will be an act of strategic self-harm.'"

Falling inflation, rising growth give U.S. the world’s best recovery

Bayer ordered to pay $2.25 billion after jury links herbicide Roundup to cancer

Reading archive 2024-01-27

Frustrated by Biden, Black men ponder their options: Outside Detroit, some see little change from four years ago and have not decided how to vote in November

Ripples of hate: A chance encounter at N.Y. playground leaves a father asking, ‘What is justice now?’

Donald Trump is preparing for a massive new trade war with China: The former president has talked to advisers about imposing a 60 percent tariff sure to enrage Beijing

U.S. war plans for Ukraine don’t foresee retaking lost territory: The Biden administration is working on a long-term strategy for supporting Kyiv — despite the funding impasse in Congress. But those plans do not anticipate significant gains by Ukraine against Russia in 2024, officials say.

Reading archive 2024-01-26

Teamsters to meet with Trump, some members are furious The meeting comes as both Trump and Biden jockey for support of union members

Opinion  Push Israel now for a two-state solution? You must be kidding.

A H.S. wrestling evolution: Out with the vomiting, in with hydration: There’s a growing emphasis on feeling good rather than losing large amounts of weight

Maryland woman is charged in a blitz of stabbings and hit-and-runs

Reading archive 2024-01-25

Insect populations flourish in the restored habitats of solar energy facilities

What a hand-cranked drill just revealed about the West’s ‘megadrought’: A new study is part of an emerging field of tree-ring science that found the West’s two-decade drought is inextricably linked to rising temperatures

Jan. 6 rioter got his sentence thrown out. Then his prison time doubled.

Ukraine-for-border negotiations hit snag as Trump moves toward nomination: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledged that reality in a private meeting Wednesday - "Trump publicly encouraged Republicans on his Truth Social social media account to not accept any border deal with Democrats last week, pledging to get a better deal when he is president.

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"'I think the border is a very important issue for Donald Trump. And the fact that he would communicate to Republican senators and congresspeople that he doesn’t want us to solve the border problem because he wants to blame Biden for it is really appalling,' Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) told reporters Thursday."

Apocalyptic Optimism Could Be the Antidote for Climate Fatalism

Trump’s White House clinic improperly handed out narcotics, report finds - "It also provides new context to systemic problems in a clinic that made headlines when Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Tex.), who was Donald Trump’s personal doctor until 2018, was accused by almost two dozen colleagues of improper activities, including providing prescription drugs without proper paperwork — a habit that allegedly earned him the nickname 'Candyman.'

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"Aliases were used 'to provide free specialty care and surgery to ineligible White House staff members at military medical treatment facilities,' according to the report. Former staffers told the inspectors that an ineligible White House employee received free elective surgery and that 'the unit altered practices to cater to high‑ranking officials.'"

Opinion  We did not help build women’s tennis for it to be exploited by Saudi Arabia

Opinion  Vote for destruction in November - "This is insanity. Democrats are offering something Republicans have wanted for years, and might never be offered again: tougher border security without a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants already in the country, including 'dreamers.' But Dear Leader Trump says no and, suddenly, GOP senators are afraid to say yes."

Dog detects underground gas leak at home, alerts owner :‘I always thought he was special, but I really have a newfound respect for his intelligence,’ Chanell Bell said about her pup Kobe

Whey, pea or soy: Which protein powder is right for you: Protein powders are one of the most sustainable ways to pack protein into your diet

Tesla shares tumble as analyst decries ‘train wreck’ investor call: In an earnings call this week, CEO Elon Musk failed to allay concerns over falling demand and persistent price cuts

Opinion  Trump would drain the South Carolina wallets that Haley helped fill - [ed. note: a George F. Will oped worth reading, who'd have thought it]

Biden to deploy CIA director to help broker major Gaza deal: William Burns is looking to close gaps between Israel and Hamas on a deal that includes the release of all hostages in Gaza and a two-month cease-fire

An abortion ban turned a grieving Allie Phillips into a candidate - "In Louisiana, which also prohibited abortion with few exceptions, Nancy Davis is planning to run for office because of what she went through in 2022 after learning that the fetus she was carrying had no skull. Doctors denied her an abortion despite the lethal anomaly, and she had to leave the state to terminate the pregnancy.

...

"The following June, Phillips arranged to tell her story to her legislator, Rep. Jeff Burkhart, at the Clarksville library. She hoped a face-to-face conversation might persuade him to sponsor “Miley’s Law,” a measure she was drafting to add an exception for fetal anomalies to the state ban. 

"Phillips recorded their two-hour meeting. When she described Miley Rose’s condition, Burkhart said he thought miscarriages could only happen with first pregnancies. If his own daughter had been in Phillips’s position, he said, he’d have wanted her to continue the pregnancy. Phillips remembers him not making much eye contact and repeatedly focusing on how much a pregnant woman’s life would have to be at risk to necessitate an abortion."

Reading archive 2024-01-24

Her dried-up yard won an ‘Ugliest Lawn’ award. She hopes it inspires others.

How a Vietnamese bakery built a king cake empire in New Orleans

Obamacare enrollment hits record level as Trump vows repeal

Opinion  Donald Trump is very confused

Biden endorsed by United Auto Workers, shoring up union vote in automaking swing states - "Trump has also called himself 'pro-worker,' positioning himself as an ally of the working class, while also supporting numerous policies as president that constricted union power. He has received few union endorsements outside of law enforcement unions. His visit to Michigan during the UAW strike featured a rally with autoworkers at a nonunion shop, as union leaders warned the former president to stay away."