Morning Coffee (3/23/19)

Last ISIS Village in Syria Falls, and a Caliphate Crumbles

This does a good job of clarifying what's going on right now: The brewing fight over making the Mueller report public, explained

New Zealand to Ban Military-Style Semiautomatic Guns, Jacinda Ardern Says

E.U. Approves Brexit Extension, but Chaotic Departure Still Looms

Trump Overrules Own Experts on Sanctions, in Favor to North Korea

Good: Judge Restores Wisconsin Governor's Powers, Strikes Down GOP Laws

Teen arrested over racist threat that closed Charlottesville schools

All the numbers here are awful: Only 7 Black Students Got Into Stuyvesant, N.Y.’s Most Selective High School, Out of 895 Spots

Beto O’Rourke’s border cred is genuine. It’s not the same as an immigration platform.

Good for them: GoFundMe Bans Anti-Vaxxers Who Raise Money to Spread Misinformation

Morning Coffee (3/2/19)

What’s next after the Trump-Kim summit? An expert explains.

U.S. and Taliban Begin Highest-Level Talks Yet on Ending Afghan War

Border Patrol Fed Pork To Muslim Detainee For 6 Days

Is It Cruel and Unusual to Execute a Man With Dementia?

No, Mark Meadows. Having a black friend doesn’t mean you’re not racist.

UGH: United Methodist Church votes to maintain its opposition to same-sex marriage, gay clergy

Bernie Sanders' Sexism Problem

André Previn, Whose Music Knew No Boundaries, Dies at 89

Whoa: Fox Rocked by $179M 'Bones' Ruling: Lying, Cheating and "Reprehensible" Studio Fraud

BAN MEN: Charles Dickens Tried to Banish His Wife to an Asylum, Letters Show

Morning Coffee (8/21/18)

Michael Cohen, Trump’s Ex-Lawyer, Investigated for Bank Fraud Over $20 Million

Korean Families, Separated for 6 Decades, Are Briefly Reunited

This study is fascinating: How Sexism Follows Women From the Cradle to the Workplace

Simone Biles wins every gold medal at U.S. Championships

Some great stuff here: Here are the winners of the 2018 Hugo Awards

Miss America: Leadership bullied, manipulated, silenced me

Aw, good for her. She was very good in Champions. My Name Is Josie Totah — And I'm Ready to Be Free

The caveats are important here, but this is still, you know, bad: Exclusive: Some Arctic Ground No Longer Freezing—Even in Winter

Ooh cool: A Walking Tour Discovered a Secret Section of the Berlin Wall 29 Years After Its Fall

Doctor Who Season Eleven Hires Diverse Group of Creatives, And We’re Thrilled

Morning Coffee (6/26/18)

This is good but NOT a policy change; we must keep fighting: Border Officials Suspend Handing Over Migrant Families to Prosecutors

Separated immigrant children are all over the U.S. now, far from parents who don’t know where they are

A Physician in South Texas on an Unnerving Encounter with an Eight-Year-Old Boy in Immigration Detention

Trump officials don't get to eat dinner in peace – not while kids are in cages

National Guardsman: Immigrants Are ‘Lucky We Aren’t Executing Them’

Supreme Court Won’t Hear North Carolina Partisan Gerrymandering Case

And: Supreme Court Upholds Texas Voting Maps That Were Called Discriminatory

Uh: At a Toast to Trump, the North Korean Anthem Has a Starring Role

Donald Hall, a Poet Laureate of the Rural Life, Is Dead at 89

Final Days of Ötzi the Iceman Revealed Through New Analysis of His Tools

Morning Coffee (6/14/18)

She says federal officials took her daughter while she breastfed the child in a detention center

Welp: Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen likely to cooperate as his attorneys leave case, sources say

Oh: Fox News now says criticizing Kim Jong Un amounts to criticizing Trump

This is NOT NORMAL: Trump Appointee Compiles Loyalty List of U.S. Employees at U.N., State

Nor is this: US launches bid to find citizenship cheaters

The fight over preexisting conditions is back. Here’s why the Obamacare battle won’t end.

Okay, some good news: The raccoon was okay.

PLEASE: Snitch tagging is ruining Twitter. Stop it.

Ooh, drama: German whisky Glen Buchenbach 'may mislead buyers into thinking it's scotch'

From Slavery to Sainthood: Julia Greeley Is the First Person to Be Entombed in Denver Cathedral

Morning Coffee (6/13/18)

Once again, SO MUCH NEWS.

Trump Was Outfoxed in Singapore

This piece on Trump and North Korea has some very good stuff from Chris Murphy.

Canada parliament condemns U.S. attack on Trudeau, country simmers

I..... President Trump Made a Fake Movie Trailer for Kim Jong Un with the Two Leaders as Heroes

Trump Campaign Manager Wants CNN Reporter Jim Acosta’s Credentials Stripped

The Trump Administration Is Completely Unravelling the U.S. Asylum System

Exclusive: Trump looking to erect tent cities to house unaccompanied children

Wow: Senior Justice Dept. lawyer resigns after shift on Obamacare

Chile sexual abuse scandal: pope accepts resignations of bishops

New Clues Emerge in Search for Stolen Caravaggio

Afternoon Tea (6/12/18)

Writing a romance novel with an autistic heroine helped Helen Hoang understand herself

Fear, loneliness, and duty — an American journalist on daily life in North Korea (I recommend her book as well!)

For Pride Month, the Medieval manuscripts blog has an interesting piece on medieval rainbows.

My Visit to the World’s First Gym for Your Face

You Love Wine Science Until it Detracts From the Magic in Your Glass

Morning Coffee (5/29/18)

Asylum seekers have flooded into Canada. The government is putting them to work.

After Ireland Abortion Vote, Northern Irish Ask, ‘Why Not Us?’

North Korea Nuclear Disarmament Could Take 15 Years, Expert Warns

This sounds like the worst TV season ever: ‘The only one’: In new West Wing season, Trump calls the shots and aides follow

The NFL’s “take a knee” ban is flatly illegal

Three Younger Veterans Stake a Generational Claim on the Democratic Party

Interesting interview: Chelsea Clinton: ‘I’ve had vitriol flung at me for as long as I can remember’

SO EXCITED: Tana French previews her thrilling new mystery The Witch Elm

‘Sesame Street’ Has Filed A Lawsuit Against The Raunchy Puppets Of ‘The Happytime Murders’

Heh: Rudy Giuliani went to watch baseball on his birthday and Yankees fans gave him the gift of boos

Morning Coffee (5/26/18)

Sigh: New Hampshire Just Created a “Death Benefit” for Teachers “Killed in the Line of Duty” (But God forbid we fund schools or do anything about our insane gun laws.)

Why did anyone ever take Trump’s North Korea diplomacy seriously?

Good for them: Families of Sandy Hook victims, FBI agent file defamation lawsuit against right-wing radio host Alex Jones

And good for him: Jets Owner Christopher Johnson Says He Will Pay Players' Anthem-Related Fines

After erasing all mentions of climate change, National Park Service releases uncensored report

Congressional candidate under fire for saying Puerto Rican evacuees shouldn't vote in Florida

How an author trademarking the word “cocky” turned the romance novel industry inside out

Ex-mayor of Ipswich denied citizenship after almost 40 years in UK

Neat: Nielsen’s Gracenote Uses Artificial Intelligence to Classify 90 Million Songs by Style

Huh: Snapchat Getting True-Crime Scripted Series From Elisabeth Murdoch’s Vertical Networks

Morning Coffee (5/22/18)

Ugh: Supreme Court Decision Delivers Blow To Workers' Rights

Trump Grappling With Risks of Proceeding With North Korea Meeting

I believe it's morally abhorrent to call ANY group of people "animals", and especially alarming when it comes from the government.

Diplomats Are Getting Away With Abusing Their Children's Nannies

Good for her: Instead of a moment of silence for gun violence victims, Kelly Clarkson went off-script

What an amazing story: Dovey Johnson Roundtree, Barrier-Breaking Lawyer, Dies at 104

What It’s Like to Be an Abortion-Rights Activist in Ireland

It's finally official: Obamas Ink Producing Deal With Netflix

Heh: The Royal Wedding's Most Remarkable Photo Features 10 Small Kids Actually Sitting Still

Whoa: Asteroid from another star system found orbiting wrong way near Jupiter

Morning Coffee (5/16/18)

This is just evil: Trump administration preparing to hold immigrant children on military bases

WHAT A SHOCK: North Korea cancels talks with South, and hints it could do the same with US

Suspect Identified in C.I.A. Leak Was Charged, but Not for the Breach

Asian-Americans Blast John Kelly’s Remark About Immigrants Who ‘Don’t Integrate Well’

Tom Wolfe, Author of ‘The Right Stuff’ and ‘Bonfire of the Vanities,’ Dies

Want a taste of my anthology? Maureen Johnson defines resistance in exclusive essay from ‘How I Resist’ collection

! Researchers Uncover Two Hidden Pages in Anne Frank’s Diary

His ex's comment here is GREAT: David Letterman Just Can’t Figure Out Why He Never Had Women Writers

The fraught gender and racial politics of the royal wedding, explained

Wikipedia’s top-cited scholarly articles — revealed

Morning Coffee (4/30/18)

Me elsewhere: TV news for the week.

Migrant Caravan, After Grueling Trip, Reaches U.S. Border. Now the Really Hard Part.

3 main takeaways from the historic North Korea-South Korea summit

Ronny Jackson won’t return to job as Trump’s physician

What a shock: Jill Stein says she won’t fully comply with Senate Russia investigation

Inside the secret U.S. stockpile meant to save us all in a bioterror attack

Good (if true): Claire Foy to receive £200,000 in back pay after 'The Crown' gender pay-gap dispute

I'm sure this will be better than the U.S. coverage: BritBox to Live-stream Royal Wedding

Ooh: Colin Firth and Julie Walters Join David Heyman-Produced ‘The Secret Garden’

Reading Thoughtfully With The Times’s Nonfiction Critic, Jennifer Szalai

AI App Helps Songwriters Mine Music History for the Perfect Sounds

Morning Coffee (4/29/18)

As Two Koreas Talk Peace, Trump’s Bargaining Chips Slip Away

Incel: the online cult for sad, sexless young men is terrorism by any other name

This is what life in #MeToo jail looks like

Unauthorized Immigrants Shy Away From Signing Kids Up For Food Aid

Shocker! Women not getting a fair say at academic conferences, research reveals

Why The Handmaid's Tale is more relevant one year after the first season

Wow: PopSugar Stole Influencers’ Instagrams — Along With Their Profits

Ooh! Nancy Dickerson Biopic From Stephen Colbert & Evelyn McGee Colbert In Works At Showtime

Amy Adams to Star in Joe Wright’s ‘Woman in the Window’

This made me say "Oh of COURSE it's in York": No One Knew There Were Dozens of Human Bodies Buried Under This Hotel Pool for Centuries

Morning Coffee (4/28/18)

Hmm: North and South Korea Set Bold Goals: A Final Peace and No Nuclear Arms

All 4 service chiefs on record: No harm to units from transgender service

Bill Cosby Found Guilty Of All Charges In Sexual Assault Retrial

Charlie Rose Is Getting A New Show Because We Don't Care About The Women He Hurt

This is good in THIS case but... not great as precedent in general: Relative's DNA from genealogy websites cracked East Area Rapist case, DA's office says

This case is so terrible in so many ways: Hart Family, Before Driving Off Cliff, Hid Dark Home Life From View

Conventions are NOT AN EASY THING TO PULL OFF and I don't know why people keep thinking they are: Universal Fan Con: Peeling Back the Layers

I hate him so much! Bernie Sanders Is Quietly Building a Digital Media Empire

Swedish archaeologists uncover brutal 5th century massacre

Guys. Yankees Spell Didi Gregorius' Name Wrong While Promoting Bat Day Giveaway

Morning Coffee (3/10/18)

I'm not TOO optimistic yet but this is a positive step: Supporters Optimistic As Transgender Rights Bill Passes N.H. House

The backstory here is as insane as you'd think and I'm very worried this is going to end TERRIBLY: North Korea Asks for Direct Nuclear Talks, and Trump Agrees

A top U.S. diplomat in Latin America leaves in protest, swelling an exodus

Of course: NRA sues Florida over new gun law in wake of Stoneman Douglas shooting

Russian propaganda is rampant on Reddit. Here's why that matters.

Your state’s teachers are underpaid. Find out by how much.

A New Publisher for Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Gaia Spacecraft Captures ‘Central Flash’ of Neptune’s Moon Triton

SIGH: Movie exec to Sorkin: If there's no sex, why cast Demi Moore in 'A Few Good Men' instead of a man?

I feel like they keep "discovering" stuff about her recently and now I'm skeptical of all of it: Amelia Earhart: Island bones 'likely' belonged to famed pilot

Morning Coffee (3/6/18)

North Korea Is Willing to Discuss Giving Up Nuclear Weapons, South Says

Welp: Former Russian spy critically ill in UK 'after exposure to substance'

That was far from the craziest story yesterday! "A Belarusian escort with close ties to a powerful Russian oligarch said from behind bars in Bangkok on Monday that she had more than 16 hours of audio recordings that could help shed light on Russian meddling in United States elections."

Plus Former Trump aide Sam Nunberg called before grand jury, says he will refuse to go

And then Former Trump campaign aide burns everything down in epic series of cable news interviews

Back in sane news: After Months of Deadlock, Germany’s Merkel Finally Secures a Fourth Term

Eeeee, Mary Poppins Returns teaser trailer! I'M SO EXCITED.

When Stars Were Born: Earliest Starlight’s Effects Are Detected

I LOVE today's Google doodle for Gabriel Garcia Marquez's birthday.

Hmm: Historical Doc With A Hint of ‘Game Of Thrones’ Sold To Global Broadcasters

Morning Coffee (2/28/18)

ICYMI, yesterday's Oscar Project posts: The Eleven O'Clock, A Fantastic Woman, Baby Driver

U.N. Links North Korea to Syria’s Chemical Weapons Program

Xi Jinping May Be President for Life. What Will Happen to China?

No Bail Hearings for Detained Immigrants, Supreme Court Rules

Trump’s Idea of Arming Teachers Is Crazy but Clarifying

Sounds normal: The Professor At The Center Of The Trump-Russia Probe Boasted To His Girlfriend In Ukraine That He Was Friends With Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

Tempers Flare as Panama Hotel Owners Try to Oust Trump Company

Well that's worrisome: Slovak Journalist Found Shot to Death at Home

California green lights fully driverless cars for testing on public roads

Ooh, look at the Fahrenheit 451 teaser!

I'm dying to try one of these: The Seductive Confinement of a Weighted Blanket in an Anxious Time

Afternoon Tea (2/26/18)

I love them: As Medals Pile Up, Norway Worries: Are We Winning Too Much?

Todd VanDerWerff's take on this is interesting: The case for and against every Oscars Best Picture nominee

The Fug Girls make a lot of good points here: How About We Don't Expect Meghan Markle & Kate Middleton To Get Along

What Really Happened on Easter Island?

North Korea’s graphic artistry – in pictures

Afternoon Tea (2/15/18)

I was waiting for someone to write about the theology of this show and I'm so glad it was Laura Turner: Are You There, God? It's Me, The Good Place.

Fascinating: Finding a Lost Strain of Rice, and Clues to Slave Cooking

In Post-Taliban Kabul, Haircuts Are an Expression of Freedom

Remembering Nicanor Parra, the Almost Immortal Chilean Poet

The Presbyterian Roots of Ice Hockey in North Korea

Afternoon Tea (2/9/18)

June Thomas is completely right: The Winter Olympics Are the Best Olympics

The Mesmerizing Spectacle of North Korea’s “Army of Beauties” at the Winter Olympics

This is a fascinating look at the racial narratives around witchcraft: White Magic

I'm not sure I've ever seen a Bergman film, so this seems useful! A Beginner’s Guide to Ingmar Bergman

Top 10 books about the Scottish Highlands and Islands