Morning Coffee (12/12/18)

Time got person of the year right this time.

The fiery meeting between Trump, Schumer, and Pelosi about the border wall, explained

Trump Can’t Stop Confessing

Paul Ryan's long con

Not to be a buzzkill, but that viral story about gay WWI soldiers buried together is fiction.

Ooh, good finalists for the Morris award!

Investigation of generic ‘cartel’ expands to 300 drugs

British politics has worst record for antisemitism in Europe, poll says

The Arctic Ocean has lost 95 percent of its oldest ice — a startling sign of what’s to come

Putin's East German identity card found in Stasi archives – report

Morning Coffee (7/29/18)

I'm away, so this was written in advance. Back to normal in a few days!

Mueller Examining Trump’s Tweets in Wide-Ranging Obstruction Inquiry

Paul Ryan is helping Trump undermine the rule of law

Alabama coal exec, lawyer found guilty of bribing politician to oppose EPA Superfund cleanup

NBC/WSJ poll: Support for Roe v. Wade hits new high

Birthright citizenship, explained: why some on the right want to end it, and what they get wrong

I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS: Court Enforces Codicil Written In Decedent's Blood (Yes, You Read That Correctly)

New study shines light on the racial ‘anger bias’ of educators

Discovered: Milky Way's long-lost galactic sibling

Construction on Rome’s Newest Subway Line Is Revealing a Trove of Ancient Treasures

Scientists uncover formula for box office movie success

Morning Coffee (5/12/18)

Sometimes good things happen: 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' Officially Revived at NBC

....um? At Rally, Trump Suggests That He Get An ‘Extension For The Presidency’

Giuliani’s Law Firm Undercuts His Statements as They Part Ways

Documents Reveal How Russian Official Courted Conservatives In U.S. Since 2009

And Now, For His Grand Finale, Paul Ryan Is Trying to Kick at Least a Million People Off of Food Stamps

America Is So Very Sorry for Profiling You (Again)

Trump seems confused about military pay, claims troops received no raises for a decade

Congressional Candidate Says ‘F**k The NRA’ In New TV Ad

Ronan Farrow to expand reporting on sexual abuse in bombshell new book

Broadway ‘Mockingbird’ Is Back on Track, as Court Dispute Ends

Morning Coffee (5/5/18)

WHOA: Kennedy Cousin Michael Skakel Wins At Connecticut Supreme Court, Conviction Vacated In 1975 Slaying Of Martha Moxley

Whoa! No Nobel Prize in Literature in 2018

Whoa. In a Reversal, Speaker Ryan say the House chaplain will remain in his post

Inside the Spectacular Implosion of Religion News Service

I AM VERY EXCITED FOR THIS: ‘The Catcher Was a Spy’ Trailer: Paul Rudd Goes From Baseball To Espionage

How a Common Interview Question Fuels the Gender Pay Gap (and How to Stop It)

Bursting the bubble: Spanish cava makers form breakaway group

Wow: Writer Picks Up Poker For Book Stunt, Wins So Much Money That The Book Is On Hold

Relic claimed to be bone from St Clement rescued from the bin

Humpback Whale Baby Boom Near Antarctica

Morning Coffee (4/12/18)

Raid on Trump’s Lawyer Sought Records on ‘Access Hollywood’ Tape

Paul Ryan's Awful Legacy

Bank of America to Stop Financing Makers of Military-Style Guns

What We Know And Don’t Know About Election Hacking

In a New Cold War With Russia, Balkans Become a Testing Ground

And a different kind of raid: European Authorities Raid Offices of 21st Century Fox Unit

The biggest Jewish gay “conversion therapy” organization has been operating in secret after US courts shut it down

I see some flaws in this plan: Man tries to woo Taylor Swift by robbing bank and throwing loot over her fence

WHAT OH NO: NECCO-Mania: Fans Stock Up On Chalky Wafers In Case Candy Company Folds

Ooh: ‘Bobby Kennedy For President’ Trailer: Netflix Docuseries Details Dashed Dream

Morning Coffee (3/29/17)

Now that the world is an unending hellscape of terrible news, I have a big backlog of links basically all the time. (Both because there's so much hard news and because the less urgent [and also more fun] stuff gets pushed back, though I try to fit in at least a few non-newsy links each day.) I figure more than about twelve links in a post will get overwhelming for you guys (maybe I'm wrong?), so... let's try something new! Morning Coffee will stay as it is, with a mix of current events and other stuff, so if you like that and don't want more, just keep reading what you're reading. But when I have a backlog I'm going to add in Afternoon Tea posts as well. They'll go up at 4pm Eastern on weekdays with a smaller batch of non-time-sensitive links, designed to provide you with a little afternoon break. Let me know how this works for you or if you have better ideas!

Trump is weighing a major escalation in Yemen's devastating war

Killing of a Hamas Leader Could Signal a New Conflict With Israel (Good thing we have Jared Kushner to solve this whole problem. Oh wait...)

Senate Committee to Question Jared Kushner Over Meetings With Russians

Sigh: Donald Trump Claims U.S. Constitution Bars 'Apprentice' Star's Defamation Suit While in Office

Paul Ryan is just not good at his job!

Useful: The Devin Nunes/Trump/wiretapping controversy, explained

Who Should Pay for Evan Karr's Heart?

Regretful Trump Voters Are (Mostly) a Myth

Kiersten White is doing a new Buffyverse YA book series!

This is so important and also FASCINATING: How to revive Massachusetts’ first language

The Trouble with Innocence

DNA Reveals an Early American Dynasty Centered on Women

Morning Coffee (1/23/17)

Me elsewhere: TV news for the week.

Preserve, Protect, and Defend

Today belongs to Trump, but Obama's vision will win in the end

Welcome to Donald Trump's Ignorant America

Trump made a lot of promises about what he will do as president. We’ve documented 663 of them.

New poll shows Obamacare is more popular than Donald Trump

And so: Paul Ryan promises to replace key Obamacare policy with that same policy

Rogue Scientists Race to Save Climate Data from Trump

Americans are losing a first lady who told men to “be better” and a president who listened

President Xi’s Great Chinese Soccer Dream

Ooh: Previously unpublished Mark Twain children's story to be released

Forme of Cury: A Medieval English Cookbook

Morning Coffee (10/11/16)

This is terrifying: Trump is reciting disinformation obtained from Russian state news as truth.

Also terrifying: "On Sunday, to an audience of tens of millions of Americans, Trump voiced his contempt for the norms that define and safeguard our democracy with a promise to jail his chief political opponent. This, again, was the most important moment of the debate."

In case you thought he was joking: Donald Trump wants his supporters to know he’s dead serious about putting Hillary Clinton in jail

Paul Ryan won’t defend Donald Trump, but he is still endorsing him

Go Warren Buffett!

Trump interrupted Clinton 18 times. She interrupted him once.

I remember this nonsense from 2008 and of COURSE it would come up again: Trump ally Alex Jones thinks Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are literally demons from hell

Superman appeared on Supergirl last night and I can't stop smiling: "But in its own way, watching a powerful man unquestionably respect the authority of a powerful woman is just as much of a feminist statement as watching a woman stand up to misogyny. ... It’s no small gesture to have arguably the most famous male superhero of all time model feminism in action."

This is so cool: Scientists use 'virtual unwrapping' to read ancient biblical scroll reduced to 'lump of charcoal'

Ha: Actress: ‘7th Heaven’ reunion can happen if they kill Stephen Collins (Pretty sure she means HIS CHARACTER, but still.)

Morning Coffee (8/14/16)

Trump's long dalliance with violent rhetoric

Nobody Should Be Surprised That Paul Ryan Is Supporting Donald Trump

Simone Biles, not a TV commentator, decides who her parents are

You should read this piece about the Olympics refugee team but make sure you are ready to cry.

The Phelps Files

‘Politically incorrect’ ideas are mostly rude, not brave

I don't know enough to have a sense of which side is right (if any) but this is fascinating: Dog eat dog: is a troubled expedition to Kenya causing the Smithsonian to devour its young?

I love this: In Defense of Villainesses

Mysterious magic spells unearthed by archaeologists in Serbia

Heh. The Onion: Report: Some People Actually Very Happy

Morning Coffee (6/26/16)

Some important stuff got a bit overlooked this week because of the sit-in and then Brexit, but: Colombia and Farc rebels reach agreement on bilateral ceasefire !!!!

And: A Supreme Court tie all but kills Obama’s plans to protect millions of immigrants

So when is Spain annexing Gibraltar?

The Most Overrated Intellect In Washington (Paul Ryan. It's Paul Ryan.)

Interesting: The Great Trump Tax Mysteries: Is He Hiding Loopholes, Errors, or Something More Serious?

Maharashtra State in India Grants Jews Minority Status

Kinda great: Scottish Grindr users on the EU referendum

Oh: House blocks amendment by Republican who said the Tubman $20 is “racist” and “sexist"

There's a lot going on in the New Yorker piece on UnREAL.

Huh, interesting: How much is Shakespeare worth in 2016?

Morning Coffee (5/1/16)

(I'm traveling, so this post was written in advance. So if it doesn't seem to take recent news or events into account... that's why.)

Because we don't have enough to worry about: Race for Latest Class of Nuclear Arms Threatens to Revive Cold War

Latvia Wants to Ban Face Veils, for All 3 Women Who Wear Them

Why next year is going to be a disaster for Paul Ryan's presidential dreams

This unicode consortium drama is actually pretty interesting but the story also made me realize how much we DO need a salad emoji, so I'm part of the problem.

I sincerely do not believe that what the world needs now is an Andrew Wakefield movie.

I tend to think Shakespeare theories are nonsense, but Derek Jacobi and Mark Rylance are so delightful they're almost convincing me here. (I mean. Cadfael and Thomas Cromwell could probably convince me of anything.)

It's the 400th anniversary of Cervantes's death, too, but he's getting way less attention.

The BBC ran a delightfully serious story on investigating lost socks.

The Onion but TOO REAL: Nation Relieved Insufferable Little ‘Game Of Thrones’ Fans Don’t Have Book To Lord Over Them This Season

How To Respond When You Suspect Someone Is Flirting With You