Reading archive 2025-05-05

10 ducklings hatch in rooftop nest at D.C.’s Planet Word museum: A live webcam captured the moments they emerged from their eggs. All are fine.

Wild stats about America’s place in the world, plus what people actually ask AI: This week, we dive deep into new datasets from the World Bank and artificial intelligence researchers at Anthropic. - "Anthropic might dispute this, but the queries paint a disorienting picture of a world where teachers turn to chatbots to churn out educational materials, students press-gang those same bots into answering those same materials, and then teachers go back to the chatbots to create academic scoring systems and rubrics and to 'evaluate and score academic writing.'"

These 6 Republican ‘red lines’ could complicate Trump’s policy plans: “Some of these are clearly in conflict,” one former Republican aide said.

Prosecutors decline to charge officer who fatally shot man in February: Authorities say Surafel Zerihun was brandishing a knife when he tried to carjack a woman in D.C. after ramming his vehicle into a police cruiser.

Teen killed, another wounded in Petworth shooting, D.C. police say: The shooting left Laverne Wright, 64, mourning her grandson, who turned 18 in January, and stunned residents in the Petworth neighborhood.

Robbers are taking more headphones, D.C. police say: Three teenagers were arrested in bike trail cases, according to police.

Youngkin trims $900 million from Virginia budget to hedge Trump actions: Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) made clear he supports President Trump’s tariffs and cuts to federal jobs and spending, but took money from colleges to cushion impact.

Spat over gay nominee aims Virginia GOP ire at unusual target: Youngkin: Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) faces criticism within his party for a messy week-long drama over John Reid, the GOP nominee for lieutenant governor who has refused to drop out.

Bowser urges action to prevent D.C. Medicaid cuts: ‘This is a real threat’: D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser, city officials and healthcare providers Friday outside Children’s National Hospital in Northwest D.C. to amplify the voices of those who would most acutely feel cuts and to urge residents to take action. - "'If we want a cleaner, safer and stronger city,' Bowser said, 'we cannot undercut the safety net services that help us support public safety.'"

D.C. pushes Park Service to keep Rock Creek Parkway’s rush hour lanes: The District is siding with commuters who say the reversible system is necessary and against those who deem the nearly century-old arrangement unsafe.

How to get a good night’s rest, according to NASA sleep scientists: “Is it easier to fall asleep in low gravity?” and other spaceflight questions, answered by two NASA sleep scientists.

This billionaire could unify the Democrats against Trump: JB Pritzker might not be the party’s choice in 2028, but he’s crucial for the Trump resistance. - "'Do-nothing Democrats want to blame our losses on our defense of Black people, of trans kids, of immigrants — instead of their own lack of guts and gumption,' Pritzker said in his New Hampshire speech. 

"Similarly, in a March speech to activists with the Human Rights Campaign, a group that advocates LGBTQ+ rights, the governor said, 'I know that there are transgender children right now looking out at this world and wondering if anyone is going to stand up for them and for their simple right to exist.'

"He continued: 'Well, I am. We are. We will.'"

Weren’t F-16s supposed to change things for Ukraine? I answered your questions.: David’s live chat with readers started at 12 p.m. ET on Monday. Submit your questions now.

Trump envoy praises fraudulent Russian referendums as real: A possible Trump-backed Ukraine-Russia deal, pushed by Steve Witkoff, hinges on letting Russia keep territory it seized.

‘At this point, we are a liberal democracy in decline’: A conversation with scholar Larry Diamond about the state of U.S. democracy.

Who’s Afraid of Gen Z’s Squeaky-Clean, Backflipping Bro?: Benson Boone has charmed his way to the top—and that really seems to bother some people.

Inside Mike Waltz’s White House Exit: Signalgate was the national security adviser’s most glaring mistake. But his problems ran deeper.

Fox and Frenemy: Trump may lash out at the network. But the two will always make up.

The Missing Part of Trump’s Minerals Math: Without demand from clean energy, the U.S. market for rare earth, graphite, and lithium will falter. - "Under the Biden administration, the Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office put up a $102 million loan to back the facility. The State Department, intent on competing with China to court mineral-rich African countries, had laid out a 10-year strategy for strengthening U.S. ties with Mozambique, from which Syrah obtains ore to refine. (The plan included improving transportation infrastructure, for instance, which would help get those rocks to port.) And the nation's landmark climate-infrastructure law, the Inflation Reduction Act, was set up to redirect mineral supply chains away from China: Its electric-vehicle tax credit gave a major bonus for cars with batteries composed of American-made minerals.

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"Already this year, companies have scrapped plans for nearly $8 billion worth of clean-energy projects, most of which were factories for batteries and electric vehicles, according to a Canary Media analysis of data from the research group E2. In his attempt to fulfill his campaign pledge to 'terminate' what he called the 'Green New Scam,' Trump appears to be jeopardizing the domestic supply of minerals for the military and industries he supports.

"'The administration is clearly worried about rare earths from a defense and aerospace perspective, and I've seen battery-industry players that are, in their rhetoric and advocacy in Washington, distancing themselves from EVs and selling themselves as strategic technology for grid resiliency and defense,' Seaver Wang, a researcher at the Breakthrough Institute, a think tank focused on policy around climate technology, told me. 'But we know EVs are like 80 percent of the demand.' (According to the International Energy Agency, electric-vehicles will account for 80 percent of global battery capacity in the future.)

''Meanwhile, China is following its own logic, in which it controls more variables. In March, the Financial Times reported that "at least half of China's 34 provincial-level governments, including those of top resource-producing regions such as Xinjiang, have announced increased subsidies or expanded access for mineral exploration" over the past year. Even outside China, Beijing sets the prices for global contracts. When financiers determine the price for a ton of lithium, they turn to where those prices are set, which thanks to China's dominance is typically in Asia. That means the price of a deal between a Tesla factory in Texas and a lithium mine in Quebec is ultimately determined by how much of the metal China is selling in a place like Vietnam. 

"The U.S. could find a way around that, Datta told me, by building an alliance with other producers and establishing an integrated market for contracts, with countries such as Australia, Brazil, and Canada, that could set prices for selling materials to battery makers in Europe, South Korea, and Japan. That's what the Biden administration aimed to do; the electric-vehicle tax credits treated allies that had free-trade agreements with the United States as domestic sources. For those countries, U.S. minerals were supposed to offer a less risky alternative to China. But now, Datta said, 'we've pissed everyone off, and all these countries are looking to hedge away from the U.S.'" [ed. note: devastating]

Reading archive 2025-05-04

Attorney General Schwalb Sues Dangerous Maryland Driver Who Owes $187,200 In Tickets & Four Dangerous Virginia Drivers Who Amassed 800+ Traffic Violations

Inside Waltz’s ouster: Before Signalgate, talks with Israel angered Trump" The fired national security adviser engaged in intense coordination with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about military options against Iran ahead of an Oval Office meeting between the Israeli leader and Trump, two people said.

Catholic leaders recoil from Trump’s pope post: “It’s sad both for the White House and for the president,” one cardinal said. “I mean, he makes themselves ridiculous, right?” - "'This is an image that offends believers, insults institutions and shows that the leader of the global right enjoys being a clown,' former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi wrote in a social media post Saturday."

We figured out where gold comes from. The answer is explosive.: A new study has found that such heavy metals may have formed through eruptions on a rare type of star called a magnetar.

This U.S. manufacturer doesn’t mind Trump’s tariffs at all: But even companies with mostly U.S. supply chains face challenges in tariff-proofing.

Trump says ‘I don’t know’ when asked if he’s required to uphold Constitution: The president also downplayed fears of a recession and spoke of potential successors when his four-year term ends in an NBC interview. - "'I think the good parts are the Trump economy and the bad parts are the Biden economy, because he’s done a terrible job,' he said. 'He did a terrible job on everything.'"

This common phrase is widely misused. Is it worth salvaging?: When a phrase has been misused into uselessness, maybe avoiding it is the best policy.

Congress needs an expansion. A ‘high line’ could make it possible.: An elevated pathway linking Capitol Hill’s offices would ease staff movement and attract visitors. - "To improve accountability, strengthen the link between representatives and constituents and reduce the influence of large special interests, Congress should reinvest in its own capacity — starting by expanding the House. Increasing the number of representatives would reduce the number of constituents each member serves, easing the influx of constituent service requests and potentially reducing the constant pressure to fundraise. Rather than shrinking everything else in Washington, Congress should focus on expanding its ability to govern effectively."

Reading archive 2025-05-02

My Gen Z daughter asked if now is the time to invest as the market dips: Buying stocks when they’re cheap is fine, as long as it’s a minor tactical shift on top of a steady investing strategy.

New tariff sparks tomato war between importers and Florida growers: Cherry, grape and vine-ripened specialties are popular in the United States, but most of them will be subject to new duties being slapped on tomatoes from Mexico.

As wreckage piles up, Trump and his aides retreat to fantasyland: Every remark spins a different strand of make-believe.

Russia worries about a U.S. tilt toward Ukraine after minerals deal: Since the beginning of the new administration, it seemed Russia’s needs and views of the war were being promoted by Trump officials, but the tone appears to be changing.

GOP balks at approving even a fraction of Musk’s DOGE cuts: Republican lawmakers have told administration officials that pushing sweeping cuts through Congress will be difficult.

Your online orders may cost more now that a tax loophole has closed: The Trump administration’s elimination of the “de minimis” exception has implications for businesses ranging from Etsy sellers to e-commerce behemoths.

Senate overturns EPA rule on seven highly toxic air pollutants: If also passed by the House as expected, the action will be the first time Congress has weakened protections under the Clean Air Act.

Trump once joked about a third term. Now, he says it’s no laughing matter.: The president’s mixed message makes it hard to know how much he is seriously toying with the idea, which most legal scholars say is expressly forbidden by the Constitution.

White House budget calls for $163 billion in federal cuts next year: The document will tee up new spending battles with Congress as the administration seeks a range of policy changes.

Why preserving old-growth forests is a complex task: Conservation projects save more than just trees, but different forests require very different caretaking strategies.

Suspect who targeted Shapiro cited views on Palestinians, warrant says: Cody Balmer, 38, described his views in a call to 911 reporting the attack. His brother said that Balmer suffered from mental illness. - "Dan Balmer also said Cody Balmer was politically independent and had urged his family to vote for Donald Trump in November."

Mother duck lays 8 eggs on downtown D.C. building’s rooftop terrace: Staff at the Planet Word museum decided to set up a duck cam, where viewers can watch the bird hang out.

Amid Trump’s trade war, China launches a PR blitz (and it might win): China has long tried to present itself as the world’s true champion of globalization, with little success. Now Beijing has a new opening to push its message.

Trump’s folly is piling up. And America is weaker for it.: The president just gave China a get-out-of-jail-free card. - "China was rapidly detaching itself internationally by dumping chaos on its trading partners. Beijing’s mercantilism was to its economic policy what the wolf warriors were to its foreign policy: a recipe for isolation.

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"Attacking alliances and allies left the U.S. alone in its China contest. At a moment when Trump could have further set China back, his tariffs have isolated America instead."

Reading archive 2025-05-01

House inaction leads D.C. mayor to order spending freezes, prepare furloughs: Cuts could include furloughs of government employees and the closure of certain government facilities — except for schools, homeless shelters or health care facilities.

A Trumpworld power struggle muscles Waltz out: Jockeying for influence in the administration, the national security adviser held a losing hand.

Metro officer stabbed ahead of transportation chief’s visit for safety talk: Incident occurred at Navy Yard station

In wake of assault, Metro’s leader tries to win over Trump appointee: The two had a “productive” meeting as feds focus on transit crime, an administration official said.

Man arrested in stabbing of D.C. transit officer at Navy Yard Metro station: The altercation occurred ahead of a visit to the station by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to discuss safety on public transit.

GOP senators voice doubts over Trump D.C. U.S. attorney nominee Martin: Facing a May 20 deadline for Senate confirmation, Ed Martin met with Capitol Hill staffers Thursday as several Republican senators aired concerns.

A whistleblower's disclosure details how DOGE may have taken sensitive labor data - "An aide for the Democratic minority on the House Oversight Committee who was not authorized to speak publicly told NPR that the committee is in possession of multiple verifiable reports showing that DOGE has exfiltrated sensitive government data across agencies for unknown purposes, revealing that Berulis' disclosure is not an isolated incident." [ed. note: jfc]

What Parents of Boys Should Know: Daughters tend to receive higher levels of affection and patience at home than sons. But the sons might need it more. - "Whippman cites research by the UCLA psychology professor Allan N. Schore, whose work explains that the brain circuits regulating stress mature more slowly in the prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal periods for boys compared with girls. Schore's findings echo observations made by the British child-and-adolescent psychiatrist Sebastian Kraemer, who in 2000 published an article in The British Medical Journal in which he wrote that 'even from conception, before social effects come into play, males are more vulnerable than females.' From a physiological perspective, Kraemer wrote, boys are born about a month behind girls developmentally. They also tend to be less proficient at regulating their emotions and more affected when things go wrong - and things go wrong, in part, when parents feel overwhelmed by boys' behavior, or when they neglect, intentionally or not, sons' need for affection and attention.

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"'A wide body of research shows that it is not masculinity itself that makes men violent, but the sense of shame that they are not masculine enough,' Whippman wrote. 'Men who score high on measures for what researchers call masculine discrepancy stress meaning, stress derived from a belief that they fall short of society's standards for manhood are significantly more likely to be violent in a variety of ways, including intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and gun violence.'"

Well, That’s One Way to Address America’s Vaping Problem: Millions of Americans are inhaling e-cigarettes illegally imported from China. Because of tariffs, they’re about to get a lot more expensive.

This Is the Way a World Order Ends: Americans once associated spheres of influence with a cynical, volatile European past. Now Washington is resurrecting them. - "We should never underestimate the power of example in human affairs. In our own time, we are seeing one country and then another flouting what had been a basic rule since the end of World War II: that ownership by one country of territory seized by force from another would not be recognized. President Vladimir Putin of Russia took parts of Georgia in 2008, and in 2014 invaded Ukraine to seize Crimea and part of the Donbas region to further his mission of rebuilding the czarist empire. The peace negotiations under way between Ukraine, which is being abandoned by the United States, and Russia seem almost certain to allow Russia to keep that territory and very likely acquire even more. Israel seems to be maneuvering toward annexing parts of Gaza and maybe even southern Lebanon, while in Africa, Rwandan troops are pushing into neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo. China can only be encouraged to think that the world will accept its bringing Taiwan under its rule. 

"A new world order with new rules is taking shape."

Something Alarming Is Happening to the Job Market: A new sign that AI is competing with college grads

Import, Immature. - "Bottled water is, incredibly, Fiji’s single biggest export by a factor of more than two. The United States is Fiji’s single biggest export destination by a factor of more than two. In 2024 we imported about a hundred and forty-two million dollars worth of bottled water from Fiji."

USA's robot building boom continues with first 3D-printed Starbucks

Kilmar Abrego García’s tattoos alone do not prove MS-13 membership, experts say: Several were skeptical of the claim that knuckle tattoos highlighted by President Trump suggest gang affiliation. - "... any discussion about the tattoos and their significance was missing the broader picture on Abrego García’s case, which is centered on his right to due process and the fact that the Trump administration has admitted that it mistakenly violated an immigration judge’s 2019 order that he not be deported to El Salvador."

The 35 definitive rules of train travel: From boarding to riding to getting around town, these are the essentials of train etiquette.

FBI reassigns agents who knelt during 2020 Black Lives Matter protests: Conservatives have pointed to the photo, taken during President Donald Trump’s first term in the White House, as proof that the FBI harbors a liberal agenda. - "The reassignments have angered current and former colleagues, who say that FBI agents are not trained for riot control and that these officers were unjustly punished for trying to defuse a tense situation. Some of those interviewed, speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid retribution, said they see it as another example of the Trump administration punishing personnel whom it considers part of the liberal 'deep state.'

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"FBI leadership reviewed the matter and ultimately concluded that no disciplinary action was necessary 'because there was no violation of policy that they could point to,' the former official said."

Singer Michael Bolton has incurable brain cancer. What is glioblastoma?: The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter has been battling glioblastoma, an aggressive and often deadly brain cancer, since late 2023. He plans to keep fighting.

The Diddy allegations are shocking. Were they also business as usual?: Dominate. Intimidate. Silence. It’s a familiar playbook for powerful men in the music industry. The allegations against Sean “Diddy” Combs are a disturbing twist.

Reading archive 2025-04-30 pt 2

The Maltese Falcon Poachers: How European hunters brought death and destruction to Egypt's migratory birds: 15-month-long investigation sheds light on how the EU is spending money to protect the same birds that are being gunned down in Egypt.

"I was shocked" by dominance of luxury brands in Milan says Philippe Starck

Which home energy upgrades will save you money? We did the math. Upgrades will cut carbon pollution, but even with tax credits, it can be difficult to save money.

These ferries speed commutes and cut pollution — and they fly: The battery-powered boats rise above the waves on hydrofoils, making them faster and better for the climate than traditional diesel ferries.

Trump is killing one of our strongest exports The president wants to balance U.S. trade deficits? He can’t do it without this industry he hates. - "Colleges and universities are among America’s most competitive international exporters. In dollar terms, last year, the United States sold more educational services to the rest of the world than it sold in natural gas and coal combined."

Colossal squid captured on video in deep sea for first time: The mysterious creature was filmed in the ocean near Antarctica. Scientists documented the juvenile, which could grow to more than 1,000 pounds.

Scientists work to save disappearing woodrats in eastern U.S.: Woodrats, which look like a cross between a rat and a hamster, are important to mountain ecosystems.

In a town inundated by flood water, one house remained dry: A family in western Tennessee built levees around their home -- and managed to keep floodwaters from deluging it earlier this month.

Trump’s D.C. U.S. attorney pick appeared on Russian state media over 150 times: Nominee Ed Martin did not initially disclose his RT and Sputnik appearances from 2016 to 2024 to the Senate. The State Department has said the networks act like arms of Russian intelligence. - "In early 2022, Martin told an interviewer on the same arm of RT’s global network that 'there’s no evidence' of a Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s borders, criticizing U.S. officials as warmongering and ignoring Russia’s security concerns. Russia invaded nine days later, igniting a war that continues today.

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"Martin has omitted far more from his nomination materials than other recent U.S. attorney nominees, two people familiar with the process said Monday, one of them estimating omissions of about 350 events, interviews and media appearances."

The Harem of Elon Musk: The DOGE leader is offering the Republican Party a very different vision of fatherhood.

America Is Watching the Rise of a Dual State: For most people, the courts will continue to operate as usual—until they don’t. - "The list of measures purpose-built to cleave off a domain in which the law does not apply grows by the day: the pardons that bless and invite insurrectionary violence; the purges of career lawyers at the Justice Department and in the Southern District of New York, inspectors general across the government, and senior FBI agents; the attorney general's command that lawyers obey the president over their own understanding of the Constitution; the appointment of people such as Kash Patel and Dan Bongino, who seem to view their loyalty to the president as more compelling than their constitutional oath; the president's declaration that he and the attorney general are the sole authoritative interpreters of federal law for the executive branch; the transformation of ordinary spending responsibilities into discretionary tools to punish partisan foes; the stripping of security clearances from perceived enemies and opponents; the threat of criminal prosecutions for speech deemed unfavorable by the president; and the verbal attacks on judges for enforcing the law."

‘This Is What We Were Always Scared of’: DOGE Is Building a Surveillance State - "Over the past 100 days, DOGE teams have grabbed personal data about U.S. residents from dozens of federal databases and are reportedly merging it all into a master database at the Department of Homeland Security. This month, House Democratic lawmakers reported that a whistle-blower had come forward to reveal that the master database will combine data from federal agencies including the Social Security Administration, the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Health and Human Services. The whistle-blower also alleged that DOGE workers are filling backpacks with multiple laptops, each one loaded with purloined agency data."

Reading archive 2025-04-30 pt 1

Federal workers required to report their daily location, email says “Unlike the ‘5 bullets’ this is not a strong encouragement. All employees are required to submit this daily information,” read an email to election commission staff.

Republican Medicaid cuts could mean ‘Armageddon’ in D.C., official says: House Republican proposals to slash government spending on Medicaid could devastate the insurance program that covers 40 percent of District residents. - "Federal Medicaid payments for states are based on a formula that considers average per capita income, but in D.C., the rate was fixed in 1997 when the District teetered on the edge of financial collapse. Then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Thomas M. Davis III, a GOP congressman from Northern Virginia, brokered a deal that said the federal government would pay 70 percent of Medicaid costs and the District 30 percent.

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"The arrangement recognized that the District’s tax revenue is limited by the amount of tax-exempt federal property within its borders and the inability to levy a commuter tax on people who work in the District but live elsewhere, said Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District’s nonvoting representative."

Is brown rice actually healthier than white rice?: Recent concerns over the health risks of eating brown rice are mostly overblown. - "Christian Scott, the lead author of the Michigan State study and a postdoctoral research associate at the university, said the average American adult would need to eat more than three servings of brown rice — one-and-a-half cups — 'every day for years' to be at an increased risk of developing health problems from the arsenic in rice."

In Virginia, a gay GOP candidate is proving difficult for MAGA to accept: John Reid, set to be the GOP’s candidate for lieutenant governor, has been spurned by members of his own party.

Pass the D.C. budget fix: House GOP leaders should stop stalling and see that the District gets its money back.

How to get more of a nutrient that might help your memory: A deficiency of choline, which is related to B vitamins, might increase the risk of Alzheimer’s and cognitive decline.

Read The Atlantic’s Interview With Donald Trump: A conversation with the president about executive power, Signalgate, and 24-karat gold [ed. note: I mean, the guy thinks he sent Javelins to Ukraine. It's nuts.]

DOGE Was Bad. Schedule F Will Be Worse.: An executive order will convert 50,000 government employees into de facto political appointees who serve only at the president’s pleasure.

American Panopticon: The Trump administration is pooling data on Americans. Experts fear what comes next. - "A worst-case scenario is easy to imagine. Some of this information could be useful simply for blackmail - medical diagnoses and notes, federal taxes paid, cancellation of debt. In a kleptocracy, such data could be used against members of Congress and governors, or anyone disfavored by the state. Think of it as a domesticated, systemetized version of kompromat - like opposition research on steroids: Hey, Wisconsin is considering legislation that would be harmful to us. There are four legislators on the fence. Query the database; tell me what we've got on them."

Russia Is in Demographic Free Fall. Putin Isn’t Helping.: The Russian president is enacting one of the world’s most extreme natalism programs—and one of the weirdest.

The Liberals Who Can’t Stop Winning: Trump isn’t the only reason Canada’s center-left has stayed in power.

Trump Is Paving the Way for Another ‘China Shock’: The MIT economist David Autor helped fracture the old free-trade consensus. But he thinks that what’s replacing it is even worse. - "Autor: Absolutely not. I think the Trump folks are asking the right question. But they've come up with just about the worst answer. It's a classic case of fighting the last war. They're looking over their shoulder, wishing we hadn't made the mistakes we made 20 years ago. But what they are doing now is just compounding the errors. 

"The jobs that we lost to China 20 years ago: We're not getting those back. China doesn't even want those jobs anymore. They are losing them to Vietnam, and they aren't upset about it. They don't want to be making commodity furniture and tube socks. They want to make semiconductors and electric vehicles and airplanes and robots and drones. They want those frontier sectors. 

"As it happens, those are the sectors we've actually held on to. But we could lose those too. We could lose Boeing. We could lose GM and Ford. We could lose Apple. We could lose the AI sector. These are the parts of manufacturing that generate good jobs but also so much more than that. They are where innovation occurs, where the big profits are, where technology and military leadership come from. And those are the sectors that we stand to lose next."

Why China Won’t Give In to Trump Xi Jinping, like his American counterpart, needs to be the top dog.

Can You Really Fight Populism With Populism?: The American left’s favorite double act hopes it has the key to rallying the anti-Trump resistance—and timid Democrats.

Why My Firm Is Standing Up for the Constitution: Big Law should remain independent rather than have the government dictate who it represents.

Republicans Are Right About Soda: Public-health groups are tying themselves in knots over a GOP crackdown on the sugary drink. - "Nowhere is the Republican Party's about-face on soda more stark than in West Virginia. In July, the state removed its soda tax. And now, less than a year later, it is pushing forward with a SNAP soda ban as part of an effort to decrease consumption of 'ultra-processed crap that barely qualifies as food,' Republican Governor Patrick Morrisey said late last month. Banning the use of SNAP funds to purchase soda has become so popular because it combines the 'Make America healthy again' focus on America's diet problems with the conservative desire to reform the welfare state."

What Jonathan Haidt Thought When He Watched Adolescence: “The internet is just not a good place to let your child roam free 24/7.” - "Direct one-to-one communication is great. It's very important to separate the internet from social media. One-to-one synchronous interaction is great. What's not healthy is any sort of one-to-many performance, especially when it's asynchronous, because that's where the girls in particular get sucked into perfectionism and careful editing and carefully thinking through every word. It's posting that seems to especially have a bad effect on teen girls."

Iran’s Negotiating Position Gets Worse and Worse: Events have forced the Islamic Republic to negotiate with the United States.

The Roman Way to Trash a Republic: When you’re the emperor Augustus, they let you do it. - "He took control of the government gradually but completely, with the support of those wealthy aristocrats who valued fortune above principle and with the complaisance of a population exhausted by conflict and disillusioned by a system that favored the rich and connected. Perhaps most salient for us today, Augustus consolidated his power with the institutional blessing of the Senate."

Grover Norquist Can’t Believe What He’s Hearing: Is the GOP about to raise taxes?

The Force That Holds Trump’s Coalition Together: Traditional Republican elites tolerate the authoritarianism because they want the tax cuts. - "Randy Barnett, a right-leaning libertarian law professor at Georgetown, posted on X a few days ago a list of 'bullets we dodged' by avoiding a Democratic-run government that, he believes, would abolish the filibuster, establish single-payer health care, and fulfill other liberal goals. The president might be claiming the power to whisk any person he chooses to a Central American Gulag without due process, but at least he isn't doing something as horrific as Medicare for All."

Reading archive 2025-04-29

How Gen Z Became the Most Gullible Generation: The almighty algorithm is fueling conspiracy theories among young people and ruining their ability to tell fact from fiction on the internet.

Trump complained to Bezos over report Amazon would show tariff impact: Amazon said staff had considered listing tariff costs on its low-cost Temu competitor, Amazon Haul, but it won’t proceed with the move. The Trump administration had condemned the idea after a news report.

let's FART girls 💩💨: On a rising flatulent trend that could be political while exploring what we lose in the loss of process. - "Become unscammable, an anti-con artist. Foster the life of a plant by growing plants, by taking the time to watch something grow in real time, to remind yourself of the work that only you can do alone with a little sun and a little water. Can you do that? Or will you buy one of those planters or plant people to do the job for you?"

The End of Chicken-Breast Dominance: The price of boneless chicken thighs is finally catching up with the price of white meat.

Radio Atlantic: In the Oval Office With Donald Trump: A conversation with Jeffrey Goldberg, Ashley Parker, and Michael Scherer about their recent interview with the president of the United States