Afternoon Tea (6/6/17)

The Wartime Spies Who Used Knitting as an Espionage Tool

How Cold Brew Changed the Coffee Business

Unsealed 75 years after the Battle of Midway: New details of an alarming WWII press leak

Premier League Proving Grounds

When Nova Scotia Almost Joined the American Revolution

Morning Coffee (6/6/17)

The U.N. asked for billions to avert four hunger crises. The money didn’t arrive.

Supreme Court Affirms Ruling Striking Down NC Legislative Districts

Oh: Trump Organization to Go Budget Friendly With ‘American Idea’ Hotel Chain

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Trump’s budget chief just disavowed a big part of Trump’s budget

How Climate Change Saved Steve Bannon's Job

I heard this story on the radio yesterday and it's just terrible all around: Concord Refugee Faces Charges, Barriers and Misunderstanding

Aww: Peter Sallis, Voice of Wallace in ‘Wallace & Gromit’ Films, Dies at 96

Very 2017: Man who mowed lawn with tornado behind him says he 'was keeping an eye on it'

Oh, Boston: A Former 7-Eleven Owner Opened a Rival Store Across the Street Named 6-Twelve

Whoa: A Stash of 30 Hidden Bayonets Was Discovered in Valley Forge

Afternoon Tea (6/5/17)

Did Dutch hordes kill off the early Britons who started Stonehenge?

The TV bubble isn’t about to pop. But there are needles everywhere.

Thar She Glows! How the Natural History Museum Cleans Its Blue Whale

The struggles of war babies fathered by black GIs

The Countess's Private Secretary

Morning Coffee (6/5/17)

Me elsewhere: Here's the week's TV news.

Here is the story you need to start your Monday: Hero Pitbull Uses Doggy Door to Save Neighbors from Violent Home Intruders

Indian teens pick up the phone to save their friends from child marriage

Hillary Clinton Must Not Be Silent

"The reason we don’t worry much about furious Clinton supporters is that no one’s afraid of them."

This is quite something: God and the Don

The Bullshitter-in-Chief

The Loneliness of Donald Trump

Silicon Valley’s basic income fans should spare a minute to defend the actual safety net

Aaah, the trailer for The Last Tycoon is super pretty.

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 (6/3/17)

I know there's SO MUCH to keep up with right now, but please read about this manmade famine if you haven't: 20 million starving to death: inside the worst famine since World War II

Related: Girls are increasingly being married off in war-torn Yemen

This has more signatories each time I look. As of this writing: 180 US Climate Mayors commit to adopt, honor and uphold Paris Climate Agreement goals

An incredibly telling thing Trump said at today’s Paris event wasn’t about climate at all

Haha of course: Nigel Farage is 'person of interest' in FBI investigation into Trump and Russia

Maybe Private Russian Hackers Meddled in Election, Putin Says

WELP: The Coat of Arms Said ‘Integrity.’ Now It Says ‘Trump.’

This story is hilarious because everyone's fine, and it includes the most Tony Kanaan quote ever: Teenagers arrested after Indy 500 pole winner Scott Dixon held up at Taco Bell

White supremacists love Vikings. But they’ve got history all wrong.

JFK's Russian Conspiracy

Afternoon Tea (6/2/17)

Miley Cyrus's Creepy Return to Wholesomeness

I expected this to be a joke but it was very interesting and well-reasoned! Dream President-Novelist Collaborations

The prom dress: An anthropological history of America’s sexual coming-of-age costume

Need some fiction for your Friday afternoon? I liked Curtis Sittenfeld's new New Yorker story.

The Wolf Must Be in the Woods

Morning Coffee (6/2/17)

Time for our traditional happy Friday links!

Aaah, we have a Murder on the Orient Express trailer! It's so gorgeous!

Victoria & Abdul also looks very pretty! JUDI DENCH EVERYWHERE.

Oh good - Hottest Heads of State has addressed Emmanuel Macron.

British GQ has a very cute new picture of Will and Kate and kids, and William is doing a really nice job of speaking out about mental health and his mother's death.

!!! Rainbow Rowell to write Marvel's new Runaways series (I don't have any particular Runaways feelings but yay Rainbow!)

In other exciting superhero news: The Flash and Supergirl to get middle-grade novels

This week in things I wish were relevant to my life right now: The best afternoon teas in London

Take a Long Walk Through the British Countyside With “Slow Radio” on the BBC

Wow: Architects have identified the 10 most beautiful gas stations in the world

! Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Professional Cat Cuddler?

Afternoon Tea (6/1/17)

During Ramadan, Home Cooks Shine

A Deep Dive into Goodreads’ Top 100 Mysteries & Thrillers

Edith Wharton Recruited the World’s Greatest Artists to Raise Money for WWI Refugees

The Feuds of Diana Trilling

The forgotten history of how ancient Zoroastrians helped create the old Silk Route

Morning Coffee (6/1/17)

I couldn't pick a quote because this whole thing is amazing and heartbreaking and inspiring: Hillary Clinton Is Furious. And Resigned. And Funny. And Worried.

Source: Comey to testify publicly about Trump confrontations

"Laughter erupted in the room, but it is impossible to report here at this time whether Spicer was smiling or actually meant what he said, literally. That’s because the White House decided to hold the press briefings with cameras turned off."

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Mike Flynn’s Firm Was Paid to Make a Pro-Erdogan Propaganda Film While He Advised Trump

You don't say: China Sees an Opening in Rift Between Trump and Germany

HEROES: These 8th-graders from New Jersey refused to be photographed with Paul Ryan

Someone complained to the mayor of Austin (!!) about the Alamo's women-only Wonder Women screenings and his response is great.

Ooh! A Lost Edith Wharton Play Emerges from Scholarly Sleuthing

Mummy DNA shows that the ancients don’t have much in common with modern Egyptians

Earth May Once Have Been a Donut-Shaped Mass of Vaporized Rock Called a Synestia