Morning Coffee (7/29/19)

Me elsewhere: TV news for the week.

Trump says Daniel Coats, director of national intelligence, to step down

‘I Have a Moral Responsibility to Come Forward’: Colonel Accuses Top Military Nominee of Assault

A controversial deal between US and Guatemala could reshape the asylum process

In Congo, a New Plan to Fight Ebola Follows a Government Power Struggle

RT fined £200,000 for breaching impartiality rules

Moody’s Buys Climate Data Firm, Signaling New Scrutiny of Climate Risks

Sen. Chris Murphy announces new book on violence and guns

Your Data Were ‘Anonymized’? These Scientists Can Still Identify You

Nasa fast-tracks habitation module for planned moon landing

A Shipwreck, 500 Years Old, Appears on the Baltic Seabed

Morning Coffee (5/13/18)

This is a very good read: American democracy has faced worse threats than Donald Trump

Clashing Views on Iran Reflect a New Balance of Power in the Cabinet

Schneiderman said his alleged abuse was “role playing.” As a sex educator, I’m horrified.

Chris Murphy was my favorite already but now he has a CHEESE BILL.

How The Fake News Industry Weaponizes Women

The Diversity Gap in Children’s Book Publishing, 2018

I... can see why: Burberry Is Suing Target for Knocking Off Its Iconic Plaid Pattern

I still can't quite believe this is a real show: ‘A Very English Scandal’ Trailer: A Violin-Playing Hugh Grant Purrs To Ben Whishaw In BBC & Amazon Drama

This is lovely! Buckingham Palace shares an image of the Instrument of Consent for Harry & Meghan’s marriage

Bradley Cooper To Star In & Direct Leonard Bernstein Movie As Dueling Biopics Tune Up (Honestly, "dueling Bernstein biopics" is not necessarily where I expected 2018 to go.)

Morning Coffee (10/3/17)

Chris Murphy, great as always: Mass shootings are an American problem. There’s an American solution.

Sad news on top of... everything else: Tom Petty, Heartbreakers frontman who sang 'Breakdown,' 'Free Fallin'' and other hits, dies at 66

Barcelona in the strange and symbolic eye of a storm over Catalonia

Uh... Special Report: HP Enterprise let Russia scrutinize cyberdefense system used by Pentagon

11%!! Early Medicaid Expansion Associated With Reduced Payday Borrowing In California

This was a fascinating profile: Gloria Allred's Crusade

I agree that it IS important to understand this: The best economic case for the GOP's new tax plan

Japan is having an election next month. Here’s why it matters.

Aw: A kid walked into a GameStop wearing a Kaepernick jersey. Two NFL players bought him an Xbox.

Ancient Greeks May Have Deliberately Built Sacred Sites on Earthquake Faults

Morning Coffee (9/16/17)

Me elsewhere: My first pilot review of the season - The Orville!

Exclusive: Russia Used Facebook Events to Organize Anti-Immigrant Rallies on U.S. Soil

U.S. Military: American Fighting for ISIS ‘Surrenders’

Child soldier recruits double in one year in Middle East and North Africa

Chris Murphy’s stealthy single-payer pitch

Nancy Pelosi Will Not Be Talked Over by Men

Congress’ Far Right Melts Down Over Trump’s DACA Deal With Democrats

And here's the final National Book Award longlist - fiction!

This was great: Joy Reid Wants to Argue With You

I honestly think this is more enlightening about the ways people are surprised by how tech works, rather than anything Facebook-specific: Facebook Enabled Advertisers to Reach ‘Jew Haters’ (i.e. Rather than actively enabling anything, this shows what happens when you don't think to place restrictions on things like "popular search terms", etc.)

The Eighteenth-Century Custard Recipe That Enraged Trump Supporters

Morning Coffee (8/1/17)

Welp. John Kelly, Asserting Authority, Fires Anthony Scaramucci

Oh. Trump dictated son’s misleading statement on meeting with Russian lawyer

Oh. White House officials tricked by email prankster

This doesn't sound important or anything: State Department head of diplomatic security resigns

This by Chris Murphy is definitely worth a read: Behind the Scenes of Last Night’s Health Care Vote

Sally Yates: Protect the Justice Department From President Trump

Interesting: Auschwitz: First travelling exhibition will visit Europe and US

The Hot New Thing in Guatemala, Land of Coffee? It’s Coffee

Uh... Steven Soderbergh's New Movie Writer Likely Doesn't Exist

Hilarious: 20 Literary Would-You-Rathers

Morning Coffee (2/4/17)

Good for Senator Hassan: Why I Won’t Vote for Betsy DeVos

And Senator Murphy: A Reckless Slide Toward War With Iran

How Assad Is Winning

Uh... Justice Dept. lawyer says 100,000 visas revoked under travel ban; State Dept. says about 60,000 Either way, that's way more than the supposed 109 people affected.

Wow: Inside the White House-Cabinet battle over Trump’s immigration order

Kellyanne Conway made up a fake terrorist attack to justify Trump’s “Muslim ban”

Dear Lord: White House Aide Won’t Say If Trump Even Considers Islam A Religion

Trump Vows to ‘Destroy’ Law Banning Political Endorsements by Churches

Hee: Sweden trolls Trump with all-female legislator photo

I can't believe this is a real headline: At the last reading of exiled Iranian poet Mohsen Emadi before he is barred from the U.S.

Curiosity Finds Fossilized Slab of Cracked Mud on Mars

Archaeologist defies sceptics in pursuit of lost city of Trellech

Morning Coffee (12/26/16)

(I'm traveling, so this post was written in advance and does not take into account whatever additional horrors have recently been unleashed upon the world.)

Out With The Old, In With The New: Meet The Dems Who Will Defend Obamacare

Russia, NATO, Trump: The Shadow World

Important: After a Crime, the Price of a Second Chance

This is completely fascinating: The Most Politically Dangerous Book You’ve Never Heard Of

“In my defense,” he said, “I thought you were 13.”

The story behind The New York Times’ largest and most ambitious crossword puzzle

Kathleen Kennedy doesn’t think women are ready to direct ‘Star Wars.’ She can fix that.

Dungeons & Dragons’ Gradual Shift Away From Monster Boobs

Whoa: Found: A Roman Tombstone Buried in the New York City Suburbs

Deliver Me from Disneyland

Wow: Mahler's second symphony manuscript sells for record £4.5m

Feathered baby dinosaur tail found trapped in amber

Morning Coffee (12/11/16)

Some good news! Senate approves Murphy mental health bill

Obama orders review of Russian hacking during presidential campaign

All of Donald Trump’s known conflicts of interest in one place

This has some interesting information but I feel the need to point out that the specific thing it says is like Game of Thrones is the complete opposite of Game of Thrones: Trump’s Transition Team ‘Is Like Game of Thrones’

“I like beautiful women eating burgers in bikinis. I think it’s very American.”

"But banning access to public land for protesters days after the inauguration is 'extremely unique'..."

This is SO well-deserved: The Washington Post honors David Fahrenthold with inaugural Ben Bradlee Prize

Jamelle Bouie is always worth reading: Keep Hope Alive

I'm going to miss them so much: An Inside Look at Michelle Obama’s Final White House Holiday Decorations

I started watching this the night before this article came out so I feel VERY ON TOP OF THINGS: Will ‘Skam,’ a Norwegian Hit, Translate?

WHAT EVEN: Hatchimals scheme 'ruins' novelist Sara Gruen and angers Christmas shoppers

Heh: Scottish politician says Brexit changed Toblerone and government should fix it

Morning Coffee (6/16/16)

ICYMI: I updated my Emmy nomination explainer.

As a Connecticut native, I'm very proud of Sen. Chris Murphy's filibuster. Obviously much more work is needed, but this was the first glimmer of hope in quite a while that people might be taking gun control seriously.

WHAT: "Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn on Tuesday went a step further than McConnell, telling POLITICO he will no longer talk about Trump until after Nov. 8."

Among the many reasons we should not just write off Gawker: This Looks Like the DNC's Hacked Trump Oppo File

Good for him: Prince William Becomes the First Royal to Pose for a Gay-Magazine Cover

INCREDIBLE lineup: Broadway Stars Join to Record "What the World Needs Now Is Love" as Orlando Charity Single

!!! Bradley Whitford, Courtney B. Vance Board TNT Drama Pilot 'Civil' (And Toby Jones and Brian D'Arcy James! In a political show! Amazing.)

Ooh, Walgreens terminated its deal with Theranos. I hope some sort of juicy tell-all comes out of this whole thing.

Huh: Does Rodarte actually exist? The vaporous business plan of a fashion industry darling.

Fascinating and relevant: Citizen Khan

Oh well: Sunken Lost City? Not Really

Morning Coffee (12/8/15)

"Oh, for the love of God." Constitutional law experts are, uh, having some trouble with Trump's Muslim entry ban idea. AS YOU'D THINK.

Meanwhile: Donald Trump thinks he can call Bill Gates to 'close up' the internet

This New Yorker Rubio profile is great, and here's the most baffling line: "One afternoon, they played flag football at a nearby sports complex, and Rubio was the quarterback on both teams."

With his speech on San Bernardino, Obama is confronting a problem he's long feared

Related: How Obama Thinks About Terrorism

Chris Murphy's Long War: What He Says It Will Take to Tackle Gun Violence

Related: Here's the real reason we don't have gun reform (it's not campaign contributions)

What's Going on at Conde Nast?

Can you imagine browsing the library and finding a King James Bible?!?!

This story just gets crazier: The CEO Paying Everyone $70,000 Salaries Has Something to Hide

Morning Coffee (5/22/15)

Happy Friday!

Neville Longbottom And J.K. Rowling Had A Perfect Twitter Exchange Over His Half-Naked Photo Shoot

I have never been so proud to be from Connecticut.

New emoji are coming! I'm excited about some of the food ones, and "face palm" will be useful.

I tend to be somewhat skeptical of new Oreo flavors, but brownie batter has potential.

As we sort of unofficially start summer this weekend: The Brief History of the Ferris Wheel

Apparently everyone who's anyone is turning up in car parks these days.

9 Great Science Fiction Books For People Who Don't Like Science Fiction

IT'S FRIDAY: What Wine-Cat Combo Matches Your Personality?

If Shakespeare’s Richard III were your coworker, he’d say things like, “Thanks for flagging that!” and “Good catch!” and “Just let me know if you need anything else from me on that front,” and you’d know in your bones that he was imagining throwing your lifeless body down the elevator shaft.