We’ll be off on Monday for Labor Day, and will see you again on Tuesday! Lake America, the Dept. of War, nicknames for political enemies: President Trump’s renaming obsession would be outright dumb if it didn’t have sinister, Orwellian connotations. / The Ringer Under new proposed regulations, the
Defense Secretary Hegseth quietly extends troop deployments in Iran into 2027. / The Wall Street Journal [$] Among war basics being ignored by the White House—make sure you have enough weapons, keep your friends on your side, define your ultimate goal—the most important is “know your enemy.” / Politico Magazine A
An analysis of fossilized Galápagos corals shows the current Super El Niño is the strongest in 1,000 years. / Ars Technica “When power is mobilized by an appliance to do work, heat will be shed somewhere.” Keeping a Parisian apartment cool during record heatwaves. / Places Journal A “guerrilla subway heat
Sweden orders warships from France, Greece orders air defense from Israel, China pledges stronger ties to Russia. / DefenseNews, Reuters Meanwhile, President Trump is “sending a message” to Iran by posting AI-generated videos. / Al Jazeera The reliability of Census Bureau information during the Trump administration is once again under question,
More than a dozen people remain missing, and at least one person is dead, from flash floods that hit a remote area of the Grand Canyon yesterday. / NBC News Over the past year, the Trump administration has been working with the National Park Service to sell off a corner of
How the US-Israel war on Iran has weaponized the global economy, turning the world’s shipping routes into theaters of conflict. / The Wall Street Journal [$] Scientists say Australia is the best place to go if an unprecedented global disaster strikes. / ScienceAlert Indonesia launches a plan to develop 100 gigawatts
ICE is arresting a record number of people by hiring more agents, deputizing cops, and targeting immigrants without criminal records. / The New York Times [$] During this month’s IndyCar event, the White House ordered the press to stop filming the president and first lady—which they did—in a clear
The one and only Dolly Parton dies at 80. / The New York Times [$] According to Jane Fonda, she was the voluptuous embodiment of empathy, ”and then she’d stick her butt out the car window and moon Kenny Roger’s home.” / Instagram Ann Powers: Her greatest works, considered together, are
Internal documents show Kennedy Center ticket sales and fundraising fell after the Trump takeover, then cratered after his name was added to the center. / The Washington Post [$] World Bank aid disbursals spark a surge in crypto activity exactly along the lines of what you’d expect to see in money
Entering this year’s Super El Niño, it’s worth remembering we live on a water planet, and “the ocean is the atmosphere, but upside down and wet.” / Our Blue Frontier Ninety percent of energy building in the United States in the first half of 2026 was either solar, storage,
The USS Abraham Lincoln is headed home following its nine-month deployment—the same ship where sailors reportedly attempted to jump overboard. / NBC News, Navy Times A new aircraft carrier scheduled to be named after a Black war hero may be renamed for President Trump. / The Guardian Jamelle Bouie: It
Because of their high win rate, 152 Polymarket wallets are suspected of trading in US military intelligence—and likewise providing an open book to foreign adversaries. / Reuters Last year, the largest number of Americans born in a single year headed to college; now, universities are bracing for the cliff of
The regional order that has prevailed in the Middle East since 1991 is said to be crumbling, if not finished. / Foreign Affairs Israel bombs an airbase in Syria to stop Turkey from rebuilding it. Turkey, it would seem, decides not to feel attacked. / The Associated Press, Reuters Related: Why did
Maps from satellite imagery show how record heat and drought are depleting Europe’s rivers, threatening regional economies and energy production. / The Wall Street Journal [$] “With 20 minutes and enough rifles,” it would only take knocking out nine substations on three electric grids to plunge America into darkness. / The New
President Trump orders a reduction in joint military exercises with South Korea, citing its unwillingness to help in the Iran war and his “very good relationship” with Kim Jong Un. / The Associated Press Watch: A documentary on how North Koreans are getting jobs as IT workers at American companies and
Since the start of the summer, nearly 500 people have been arrested in France on suspicion of starting wildfires. / The Guardian Drought is declared in three-quarters of England and all of Wales. / NPR A new study finds that swapping even a two-year-old gas car for an electric
ICE plans to equip officers with shock gloves that can incapacitate people, and it’s obvious from the manual that some of those people will be badly injured or worse. / 404 Media At least two Florida sheriff’s offices have purchased Meta glasses, but it’s not entirely clear how
Nearly two and a half million girls have been denied access to secondary education since the Taliban returned to power five years ago. / DW UNESCO says over 90% of 10-year-olds in Afghanistan can’t read, with national literacy rates around 37%. / Reuters Regarding this summer’s record-breaking
Construction on President Trump’s wall in Texas will bulldoze the site of the Porvenir massacre, “a hundred-year-old crime scene” and a sacred place for the victims’ descendents. / Texas Monthly An interactive overview of plans for how the gaps will be filled in Trump’s border wall. / The
Turkey says its new pact with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is basically the same as NATO’s mutual defense agreement. / Reuters Worth noting, the accord doesn’t appear to include Pakistan’s nuclear capabilities. / NBC News Iran says it won’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the United States
