Morning Coffee (1/6/19)

Tension mounts as Congo’s election commission delays results announcement

They just . . . didn't know what the government does: "The Trump administration, which had not anticipated a long-term shutdown, recognized only this week the breadth of the potential impact, several senior administration officials said."

While federal workers go without pay, senior Trump administration officials are poised to get $10,000 raises

House Democrats Introduce Anti-Corruption Bill As Symbolic 1st Act

Talking about Pelosi’s pink dress isn’t sexist. It means you’re paying attention.

Justice Dept. admits error but won’t correct report linking terrorism to immigration

Heh: You may already be running

Huh (though this doesn't rule out an attack): The Sounds That Haunted U.S. Diplomats in Cuba? Lovelorn Crickets, Scientists Say

‘I Have Seen Many Crises’: Steel Magnate Stands Firm as Turmoil Hits Turkey

GOOD, because that Ellen thing was . . . not enough: Kevin Hart Won’t Host Academy Awards; Doesn’t Want To Be Oscar Night Distraction

Morning Coffee (1/5/19)

2019's Barrier-Breaking Politicians Get to Work

Sexism Claims From Bernie Sanders’s 2016 Run: Paid Less, Treated Worse (The most problematic part of this is Bernie's response - that he was too busy to care about any of this.)

Justice Dept. investigating whether Zinke lied to inspector general

Conservatives’ obsession with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s high school, explained

Hackers Leak Details of German Lawmakers, Except Those on Far Right

Congo's Catholic church says it knows election's clear winner

The Faces Behind Transgender Troops’ Struggle for Acceptance

Whee: Michelle Obama’s Book Is No. 1 Here — and No. 1 in Finland, Singapore and Portugal

Women in Hollywood Suffer ‘Radical Underrepresentation’ in Top 2018 Films, Study Says

An Elephant-Size Relative of Mammals That Grazed Alongside Dinosaurs

Afternoon Tea (1/4/19)

The Lady Is a Detective

Nancy, a 1930s comic strip, was the funniest thing I read in 2018

Inside the Royal Gossip Machine

22 Hot Cocktail Recipes for Cold Winter Nights

The NFL’s Home-Field Advantage Is Real. But Why?

Morning Coffee (1/4/19)

It's time for Friday happy links, but there's actually . . . happy political stuff?!?!

Nancy Pelosi’s first speech as House speaker celebrated women’s accomplishments

Kyrsten Sinema Makes History As First Openly Bisexual Person Sworn In To Senate

Democratic Majority Reinstates Gun Ban In New Hampshire House Chamber

New York gets a non-binary option on birth certificates starting today

!! Jamelle Bouie Joins The New York Times Opinion Pages as Columnist

Far side of the moon: China's Chang'e 4 probe makes historic touchdown

Mexican Archaeologists Discover Pre-Hispanic Temple of 'The Flayed Lord'

Obviously there are many more important things about Cecile Richards than her beauty routine but that was interesting too.

Check Out These 14 Adorable Library Cards

LET'S GO: Winter weekends away: 10 of the best country house hotels

Afternoon Tea (1/3/19)

Two Roads for the New French Right

How A Little Science And A Lot Of Shady Advertising Boosted Yeast's Popularity

Thomas Merton, the Monk Who Became a Prophet

The Best Thrillers Of 2018, According To One Of The Best Crime Writers

Two Distinguished Women and a Seasonal Greetings Card Mystery

My Favorite Books of 2018

Yay, time for a list! Let's start with the big caveat: I have read a TEENSY FRACTION of the books that came out in 2018, and I am 100% sure there are a ton I will love that I just haven't gotten to yet. But here are my favorites of the ones I read, split into some different categories for you! (Within each category, they're alphabetical by author.)

And hey, if you want to know what I'm reading all year - and what I'm thinking about books - come subscribe to my tinyletter!

Mystery:

Transcription by Kate Atkinson
The Witch Elm by Tana French
Sunburn by Laura Lippman
A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn
Hope Never Dies by Andrew Shaffer

Romance:

A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole
The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory
The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
The Duke I Tempted by Scarlett Peckham

Non-Fiction:

Dead Girls: Essays on Surviving an American Obsession by Alice Bolin
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara
Becoming by Michelle Obama
The World As It Is: A Memoir of the Obama White House by Ben Rhodes

Young Adult:

What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi
Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman
Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
The Spy with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke
Seafire by Natalie C. Parker
The Summer of Jordi Perez (And the Best Burger in Los Angeles) by Amy Spalding
Sadie by Courtney Summers

Morning Coffee (1/3/19)

Shutdown Leaves Food, Medicine and Pay in Doubt in Indian Country

What Is and Isn’t Affected by the Government Shutdown

This is great: Massachusetts Episcopal diocese buys shares in Smith & Wesson parent to influence gun debate

Heh: I Don’t Hate Women Candidates — I Just Hated Hillary and Coincidentally I’m Starting to Hate Elizabeth Warren

New Poll of U.S. Troops and Veterans Reveals Their Thoughts on Current Military Policies

Apple is basically blaming Trump’s trade war for disappointing iPhone sales in China

Women Form 385-Mile Human Chain to Protest Temple's Menstruation Ban

Ooh! NASA's New Horizons Mission Reveals Entirely New Kind of World

Ugh: Kristi Toliver, an N.B.A. Assistant Who’s Paid Like an Intern

Oh good: McNally Jackson Books will Remain at its Longtime Prince Street Shop

Afternoon Tea (1/2/19)

This is so interesting: How Much of the Internet Is Fake? Turns Out, a Lot of It, Actually.

How to make the Team USA women’s baseball team

A fascinating look at hell through history: Damn It All

The Otherworldly Beauty of a Dying Sea

“For conservatives, by conservatives”: the rise of right-wing dating apps

Morning Coffee (1/2/19)

Let's start with W.S. Merwin's "To the New Year."

Wow, what a story: Trump used her slain daughter to rail against illegal immigration. She chose a different path.

Meanwhile: U.S. Agents Fire Tear Gas Across Mexican Border

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu could be indicted. Here’s what you need to know.

Top Pentagon spokeswoman resigns amid internal investigation

The great Dahlia Lithwick on Brett Kavanaugh: What Goes Around Comes to a Halt

How Trump Fuels the Fascist Right

'Blatantly sexist': backlash against South Korea's sex education

Nancy Roman, ‘Mother of the Hubble’ Telescope, Dies at 93

Chilling discovery: ice house found under London street

Morning Coffee (1/1/19)

Happy New Year! And here we go: Elizabeth Warren Announces She Is Running for President in 2020

Pilots Kept Losing Oxygen and the Military Had No Idea Why. Now There’s a Possible Fix.

For Italy’s Populists, Everything Is a Nationalist Cause. Even Leonardo.

China’s State Media Finds Good News in Underwear

Liza Redfield, Who Broke a Broadway Barrier, Is Dead at 94

Today! For the First Time in More Than 20 Years, Copyrighted Works Will Enter the Public Domain

Celeste Ng Reflects on Our Era of Rage—and Illuminates the Path Forward

How To Make Good New Year’s Resolutions

Why eating less meat is the best thing you can do for the planet in 2019

Lincoln declared an end to slavery on New Year’s Day 1863. It went on for two more years.