Human-like fossils found in China appear to have extremely large brains, bigger than ours. / RNZ A study finds 55 percent of American 18 to 34-year-olds approve of the use of violence, property damage, or misinformation to enact change. / VICE College enrollment in the United States increased this
Biden's cabinet had a combined net worth of around $120 million, which is absolutely dwarfed by the $20 billion net worth of Trump's presumptive cabinet. / The Intercept Spencer Ackerman: What starts as temporary, emergency measures tend to become fixed in the firmament of American governance and
A round-up of President Trump's first day back in office, playing "ping-pong between the serious and the stunning." / The Wall Street Journal [+] Trump's political urgency may be slowed "by a more languid Congress." / Semafor The United States military debates possible
Qatar, Egypt, and the United States announce a cease-fire deal, though Israel has yet to convene ministers to discuss it. / Reuters Ilan Goldenberg: The most realistic scenario is that Hamas and Israel paper over their differences on post-conflict governance. / The Contrarian Fires continue to burn in Los Angeles,
Yoon Suk Yeol becomes South Korea's first sitting president to be arrested. / BBC News Stories from inside "Shein village," factories that supply the world's largest fast fashion retailer. / BBC News Spain has experienced a migration of outsiders thanks to its golden visa program, which
The National Weather Service issues a "particularly dangerous situation" warning for Southern California. / NPR Since 2021, state authorities have declined to fund wildfire prevention efforts in communities devastated by the Palisades fire. / The Los Angeles Times "Altadena Girls," a recovery fund for LA teenagers, is run
California Governor Gavin Newsom says "there's no fire season—it's fire year." / The Los Angeles Times A climate reporter in Pacific Palisades relates what it was like to lose her home. Similar: watching your home burn on a Ring camera. / New York Magazine, Curbed
Migrants who successfully reach the United States use TikTok to document their new lives. / The New Yorker New documents reveal how the CIA monitored Latino civil rights pioneers. / axios The Heritage Foundation wants to "identify and target" editors at Wikipedia who it says are "abusing their position.
An Italian village forbids its residents from becoming ill—to highlight the country's decimated healthcare system. / BBC News Unhoused people explain what it's like when city workers trash their belongings. / ProPublica New and ongoing programs may be solving Los Angeles's biggest problems: traffic and
In the 1660s, German alchemist Hennig Brand intended to turn urine into gold. But 1,500 gallons of dehydrated pee led him instead to discover phosphorus. From Wikipedia’s history of alchemy: “In the eyes of a variety of esoteric and Hermetic practitioners, alchemy is fundamentally spiritual. Transmutation of lead
