Morning Coffee (2/27/19)

Congress just got one step closer to blocking Trump’s national emergency

Thousands of migrant youth allegedly suffered sexual abuse in U.S. custody

Mark Harris, Tainted by Fraud Allegations, Will Not Run in New North Carolina Election

U.S. Cyber Command operation disrupted Internet access of Russian troll factory on day of 2018 midterms

Venezuela’s Food Crisis Reaches a Breaking Point

Exposing Amy Klobuchar’s Mistreatment Of Staff Is Not Sexist

SIGH: Harvey Weinstein Tells Female Lawyers Repping Him at Discount Will Be Good for Their Careers: Report

The Lesson of the Jussie Smollett Case

The Washington Post announces the launch of the Jamal Khashoggi Fellowship

The Magnitude of Black Panther’s Technical-Oscar Wins

Morning Coffee (10/8/18)

Me elsewhere: TV news for the week.

Brazil Election Heads to Runoff as Far-Right Candidate Falls Just Short of Outright Win

Ugh I hate him: Grassley explains all-male, all-white Senate Republican judiciary panel: women don’t want to do the work

Bloomberg’s spy chip story reveals the murky world of national security reporting

From Orwell to ‘Little Mermaid,’ Kuwait Steps Up Book Banning

Research Study Concludes That Russian Bots And Trolls Helped Fuel ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Outrage

This author also works as a janitor. She just won a prestigious literary prize from the university she cleans.

Berlin recreates Nazi-baiting art exhibition from 1938

Role models tbh: Life With No Males? These Termites Show That It’s Possible

Imaging tool unravels secrets of child's sock from ancient Egypt

First Look: Helen Mirren as Catherine the Great in HBO, Sky Miniseries

Morning Coffee (3/1/18)

Happy March! I have a NEW Patreon reward for all $3+ patrons... an exclusive themed list of recommendations each month! If you like my blog, please check out my Patreon - honestly, these posts take a lot of time to put together, and with Patreon for as little as $1 a month you can make sure I get paid for that time AND you get fun extra content. Win/win, I hope!

ICYMI, yesterday's Oscar Project posts: The Silent Child, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Faces Places

This is not good! NSA Director Testifies Trump Has So Far Refused to Protect American Democracy From Future Russian Interference

Very normal: Trump aides keep folders documenting criticism by fellow Republicans

Hope Hicks to Leave Post as White House Communications Director

Progress... Walmart and Dick’s Raise Minimum Age for Gun Buyers to 21

Wow: Inside the Russian effort to fuel American secessionists

Anti-Semitic Incidents Surged 57 Percent in 2017, Report Finds

Must Tech Firms Provide Data Held Abroad? Justices Struggle to Apply 1986 Law

Good for her: Meghan Markle pledges to 'shine a light' on women's rights

Aaah, look at the cover reveal for Nicole Chung's book!

I love this headline (but the story is cool too): Electric wave engulfs brain at first blush of consciousness

Morning Coffee (2/19/18)

Me elsewhere: TV news for the week.

Last February, Trump signed a bill making it easier for people with mental illness to buy guns

The Security Clearance Situation in the White House Is Bonkers

A widening conflict between herdsmen and farmers is redefining Nigeria’s geopolitics

! The FDA Has Approved the First Blood Test for Concussions

Very interesting, from Dahlia Lithwick: The Judicious RBG

'Last Men in Aleppo' Team Prevented From Attending Oscars

Whoa: Museum Employee’s Will Points to a Long-Lost Klimt Drawing

Laser scanning reveals 'lost' ancient Mexican city 'had as many buildings as Manhattan'

Step Into Your New Virtual Office

I hope it's as bonkers as her description of her life in her book: Netflix Orders Reality Show From Organization Guru Marie Kondo

Morning Coffee (1/31/18)

ICYMI, yesterday's Oscar post: The Shape of Water

A FARC Rebel Commander Runs For President. Many Colombians Aren't Ready To Forgive

Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown is a recipe for national decline

2018 State of the Union Fact-Check

There’s a Typo on Tickets for Trump’s First State of the Union. Obviously.

The worker behind Hawaii’s missile scare thought there was a real missile

You have to read the details, because it's weirder and stupider than you think: they valued the property WAY LOWER than he said (of course) but he's suing because the taxes based on that LOWER figure are, he claims, too high: Trump sues over property tax bill for Florida golf club

Hmmmm: Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JP Morgan Chase join forces to tackle employees’ health-care costs

I finally had a chance to read the Times' expose on buying Twitter followers; as someone who pays attention to social media stuff this wasn't surprising, but the details are interesting: The Follower Factory

This is horrifying: Toronto police charge landscaper as serial killer, find human remains in flower pots

A D-Day Plane Lost for Years Is About to Fly Again

Morning Coffee (12/21/17)

I wasn't even going to link to this because I'm sure you've seen but UGH: Sweeping tax overhaul clears Congress

The True Lesson of the Tax Bill: This Country Is for Rich People

China left wondering what ‘America First’ foreign policy actually means

This situation is insane: The one-vote win for Democrats in a Virginia state house race may have just slipped away

In Honduras, Calls Rise for New Presidential Elections

Obviously this made me think "Oh, I should watch Spotlight, that's a good Christmas movie": Bernard Law, Former Archbishop Of Boston, Dies In Rome At 86

A Federal Ban on Making Lethal Viruses Is Lifted

Catt Sadler quits E! News after finding out she made half as much as her male co-host

EU Rules Sorbet Can Use the Champagne Name, Much to the Chagrin of French People

Oooh, Chappaquiddick trailer.

Morning Coffee (12/19/17)

Europe’s Plan to End Its Migrant Crisis Is Failing

Of course: Trump Administration Dropping Climate Change As National Security Threat

Glowing Auras and ‘Black Money’: The Pentagon’s Mysterious U.F.O. Program

Dahlia Lithwick on Alex Kozinski is an important read: He Made Us All Victims and Accomplices

How the Facebook Sharing Habits of Democrats in Congress Changed After Trump Won

What a headline: Twitter Starts Banning Extremists Under New Rules, Which Exempt Trump

Oh awesome: NASA will screen Star Wars: The Last Jedi for astronauts in space

Safely Ship Your Holiday Cookies With These Tips

Oh, always interesting to see what makes it: War horse grave and Skegness gardens join Historic England list

Astronomers to check interstellar body for signs of alien technology

Morning Coffee (11/30/17)

223 Women Working in National Security Sign Open Letter on Sexual Harassment

Congratulations to Afghanistan's All-Girls Robotics Team, Which Trump Wouldn't Let Into the US

Uh... Autopsy Doctor Quits, Alleges Sheriff Interfered in Death Probes

The Trump Administration and Hoover-Era Paranoia

Ha: The Theme for the White House Christmas Decorations Is Fear!

More Than 180 Women Have Reported Sexual Assaults at Massage Envy

As Walmart Buys Online Retailers, Their Health Benefits Suffer

Meanwhile in Canada: Justin Trudeau apologizes for Canada's program targeting LGBTQ civil servants

This is hilarious: Trader Joe’s Wants You to Know Its Jingle Jangle Is, in Fact, Not the Drug From Riverdale

!! “Lost” 17th-Century Portrait by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo Found in a Welsh Castle

Morning Coffee (7/10/17)

Me elsewhere: The week's TV news.

U.S. officials say Russian government hackers have penetrated energy and nuclear company business networks

Trump’s Son Met With Russian Lawyer After Being Promised Damaging Information on Clinton (AND ADMITTED THAT WAS THE REASON, just to be clear.)

Life in Bangladesh’s Former Caliphate

State Department Tries to Start “Fake Twitter Feud,” Understands Neither Feuds nor Twitter

We Need to Stop This “Andrew Cuomo 2020” Nonsense Immediately

Sigh: A Muslim activist referenced jihad and the right freaked out because they don’t know what it means

Heh: Scientists are about to change what a kilogram is. That’s massive.

This Agatha Christie miniseries is casting everybody I like. Thanks!

I really cannot blame him: Edward Albee’s Final Wish Was for His Unfinished Work to Be Completely Destroyed

Found: Evidence That Humans Have Been Eating Potatoes in North America for Over 10,000 Years

Morning Coffee (7/1/17)

Some good news! German Parliament Approves Same-Sex Marriage

Russian Hackers Reportedly Discussed Getting Hillary Clinton's Emails To Michael Flynn

Trump’s voter-fraud commission wants to know voting history, party ID and address of every voter in the U.S.

(Satire, BARELY:) After the president’s tweet, I must withdraw my support for everything but his agenda

MTV News: The Good, the Bad, and the Contradictions of an Ill-Fated Experiment

This is great: Paddington Bear, Refugee

Ooh, Jezebel is starting an advice column!

Heh: A Guide to All the Lifestyle Concepts You’ll Be Forced to Know About Soon

New Sentences: From ‘Supercut,’ by Lorde

Ooooh: Avebury stone circle contains hidden square, archaeologists find

Morning Coffee (6/24/17)

A must-read: Obama’s secret struggle to punish Russia for Putin’s election assault

Intel chiefs tell investigators Trump suggested they refute collusion with Russians

If you're looking for a good summary: The Better Care Reconciliation Act: the Senate bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, explained

Republicans’ Obamacare repeal would be one of the biggest cuts to the social safety net in history

Saudi Arabia's Game of Thrones

Heh: WhatsApp: the go-to messaging tool for parliamentary plotting

TV in breakaway Ukraine has a distinct Soviet tint to it

Does NASA not have enough to worry about?? NASA Calls Bullshit on Goop's $120 'Bio-Frequency Healing' Sticker Packs

Why the Los Angeles Times Accidentally Tweeted About an Earthquake That Happened 90 Years Ago

Archaeologists unearth prehistoric ritual area around Bryn Celli Ddu

Morning Coffee (6/15/17)

Well. Special counsel is investigating Trump for possible obstruction of justice, officials say

Congressional Democrats to file emoluments lawsuit against Trump

By one definition, the GOP baseball shooting is the 154th mass shooting this year

Kamala Harris Got Shut Down After Asking an Incredibly Important Question. Again. WONDER WHY.

Who Needs Rule of Law?

Revealed: reality of life working in an Ivanka Trump clothing factory

Bared Breast Enthralls a Future Czar, and Stokes a Russian Culture War

SIGH: An Uber board member interrupted a presentation about sexism to make a sexist joke

I'm so excited to read this: Anthony Horowitz’s Whodunit Within the Whodunit

!!! ‘Bake in Space’ Experiment Aims to Make Crumb-Free Bread on ISS

Secret Mexican diary sheds light on Spanish Inquisition

Morning Coffee (6/4/17)

As usual when news is breaking, I recommend The Guardian's London Bridge attack liveblog.

Macedonia Has New Government, but Rocky Road Ahead

How Republicans Are Helping Trump Destroy the U.S.’s Global Credibility

Trump administration to Supreme Court: give us the travel ban now, rule on it later

Trump’s ‘Pit Bull’, With Biz Ties To Ukrainian Emigres, Is Back In Spotlight

Please read my friend Nicole's story: To Speaker Ryan and the GOP, From a Woman With Multiple Sclerosis

"At some point, the record of talented politicians lying at Trump’s feet requires more explanation than 'they all screwed up.'"

A 2016 Review: Why Key State Polls Were Wrong About Trump

White Fear’s Avatar: Chris Hayes on Trump and American Law and Order

A Golden Age for Dystopian Fiction

Morning Coffee (4/11/17)

Here's some background on the teacher who was murdered (along with one of her students) by her abusive husband at an elementary school yesterday: 'She thought she had a wonderful husband, but she found out he was not wonderful at all'

I missed this over the weekend: McFarland Out at NSC

California Moves to Become ‘Sanctuary State,’ and Others Look to Follow

Does Trump Want Syria’s Assad to Go? Depends Who You Ask.

Sorry, Missile Strikes Don’t Make Trump a Serious Man

Inside the Emerging Trumpian Alt-Right Snuff Novel

Why the alt-right loves single-payer health care

Pulitzer Prize winners! I'm happiest about the one for David Fahrenthold.

Spain Arrests Russian Thought to Be Kingpin of Computer Spam

‘He has caused chaos’: How Netanyahu’s media war nearly split his government

It’s Not Just Fox: Why Women Don’t Report Sexual Harassment

Medieval villagers mutilated the dead to stop them rising, study finds

Morning Coffee (4/6/17)

The Holes in Russia’s Account of the Syria Chemical Attack

Trump, Putin, and the New Cold War

A famine is threatening 20 million lives in Africa. Trump’s budget cuts would make it worse.

Bannon Taken Off Trump National Security Council in Shake-Up

Pence's Obamacare diplomacy fails to yield a deal because he TOLD DIFFERENT GROUPS DIFFERENT CONFLICTING THINGS, lolol.

"Indeed, the only real puzzle of the Kushner trip is which particular Trumpian political vice it best illustrates: deluded self-aggrandizement or a callous indifference to other people’s lives; conflicts of interest or a lack of any interest in the consequences of the use of power."

An important read about domestic abuse and immigration: “I Wish I’d Never Called the Police”

A federal court just made a very big decision for gay rights. Seriously, it’s huge.

This is AWESOME: These high school journalists investigated a new principal’s credentials. Days later, she resigned.

Hrm: Russia Moves to Ban Jehovah’s Witnesses as ‘Extremist’

World's largest dinosaur footprints discovered in Western Australia

I love that there are still archaeological finds being made in Egypt: Remains of an ancient Egyptian pyramid discovered south of Cairo

Morning Coffee (3/15/17)

This is awful: New Hampshire GOP Pushes Voter Intimidation Bill That Would Send Cops to Registrants’ Homes

Despicable: A region in Italy wants to ban veiled women from being treated at hospitals

The GOP health plan is an act of class warfare by the rich against the poor

And: White House analysis of Obamacare repeal sees even deeper insurance losses than CBO

And: Trump signals his willingness to put even deeper cuts into Trumpcare

Trump rejects push to oust NSC aide

Trump Sold America a Miracle Cure: But when miracle cures fail, the patients don’t blame the salesman.

This is thorough and important: Why Is Silicon Valley So Awful to Women?

The Woolly Mammoth’s Last Stand

How The Americans Became the Most Relevant Drama on TV

Unearthing Armenia’s Giant, Ancient Earthenware

Hee: Ed Sheeran Songs That Should Have Been Sung By Somebody Else

Morning Coffee (2/14/17)

Michael Flynn has resigned, which is obviously good in itself as well as some evidence that there is a line for this administration, somewhere.

Heartbreaking: Drone Footage Shows New Destruction at the Syrian World Heritage Site of Palmyra

Um. This is a terrible idea: Donald Trump used a phone flashlight to read his briefing on a North Korean missile test

Also: Mar-a-Lago Members Got a Front Row Seat to Trump's Nuclear Crisis This Weekend, and They Took Pictures

Here Are 21 Times The White House And Media Allies Explained That The Muslim Ban Was About Muslims

Hmmm: How Trump can be held accountable for violating the Constitution, even if Congress doesn’t care

How the USSR’s effort to destroy Islam created a generation of radicals

Oklahoma lawmaker: pregnant women’s bodies aren't their own, because they are “hosts”

Ooh! Jake Tapper is writing a thriller set in '50s-era Washington, D.C. (It's called The Hellfire Club, so obviously at first I assumed he was writing a Regency romance, and am sad he is not.)

GOOD: Yale to Rename Calhoun College After Pioneering Computer Scientist Grace Hopper

Oooooh: Apple takes a big step toward wireless charging on iPhones

Science, Art and Insects: Maria Sibylla Merian

Morning Coffee (2/13/17)

Me elsewhere: TV news for the week.

This is terrifying: Turmoil at the National Security Council, From the Top Down

Trump Promised White Supremacy. Now He’s Delivering It.

This has been a highlight of Twitter recently: Chelsea Clinton finally finds her political voice — and it’s edgy

Of... course: Steve Bannon Carries Battles to Another Influential Hub: The Vatican

Right-Wing Hoteliers in Japan Anger China With Radical Historical Views

How Donald Trump Made The Cable News Chyron Operator A Washington Power Player

This is very interesting: Faultlines, black holes and glaciers: mapping uncharted territories

The Human Toll of Protecting the Internet from the Worst of Humanity

So cool: Metropolitan Museum of Art Places 375,000 Works Under Creative Commons

Great Literature Is Surprisingly Arithmetic

Succession in the Silk Roads

Morning Coffee (2/9/17)

Yemen Withdraws Permission for U.S. Antiterror Ground Missions

Not ‘Lone Wolves’ After All: How ISIS Guides World’s Terror Plots From Afar

TSA screening program risks racial profiling amid shaky science – study

SIGH: Poll: One-Third Of Americans Don’t Know Obamacare, ACA Are The Same Thing

Ornery Senate Republicans Just Handed Elizabeth Warren Her Campaign Slogan

Today in things I hadn't even thought to worry about: The uncertain future of concussion research under Donald Trump

“Thank You Lord Jesus For President Trump” – Apostolic Theology And The Evangelical Vote

Why Angry White America Fell for Putin

Zuckerberg 2020?

A bit of good news: Cave Squeaker, Rare Frog Last Seen in 1962, Is Found in Zimbabwe

The Student and the Spy: How One Man’s Life Was Changed by the Cambridge Five

Heh. Let's go to the Hotel Angst.

Morning Coffee (2/7/17)

There’s Something Very Weird Happening Inside Russia’s Cybersecurity World

Government by White Nationalism Is Upon Us

Bipartisan group of national security officials argue Trump’s Muslim ban makes America less safe

That MSNBC Interview Was Not the First Time Kellyanne Conway Referred to the "Bowling Green Massacre"

Melania Trump reveals plan to leverage presidency to ink ‘multi-million dollar’ endorsement deals

Eric Trump’s business trip to Uruguay cost taxpayers $97,830 in hotel bills (Note: I don't begrudge the money to protect presidents' families, regardless of whether I like them, but the issue here is that the trip was to do business things FOR THE TRUMP BUSINESS.)

Resistance from within: Federal workers push back against Trump

Do women matter to national security? The men who lead U.S. foreign policy don’t think so.

Breitbart News Tries to Go Mainstream

Daniel Ellsberg, Edward Snowden, and the Modern Whistle-Blower

Ancient Stonehenge-Like 'Calendar Rock' Aligns With Winter Solstice

How Beatrix Potter Invented Character Merchandising