NEW—I got an exclusive excerpt from a USAID whistleblower's new book that made me gasp multiple times. It details Trump's dismantling of the humanitarian aid agency & his team/DOGE's shocking ignorance to public health.
'Into the Wood Chipper' by Nicholas Enrich is out tomorrow. Read excerpt here:
There's no legal basis for these boat strikes, and US officials involved in them should be prosecuted for attempted murder and murder. The OLC memo green-lighting the strikes is still secret, but there's nothing it could say that would make these strikes lawful. www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
96 years ago tonight, CBS’s first breaking news broadcast went out from the scene of one of the deadliest fires in US history, in a voice identified only as “Convict X-46812.”
For @columjournreview.bsky.social, I wrote about how this forgotten Black prisoner spurred the creation of CBS News. 🗃️
I have wanted digital access to these for years. Now the wait ends. Thank you.
Master and commander
Like a growing number of health care companies, Prospect Medical saved money by “self-insuring” against malpractice claims.
Instead of paying premiums to an insurer, Prospect pledged to pay directly for the defense of its facilities and doctors.
the strait of hormuz is neither opened nor closed, but a secret third thing
It’s not entirely clear from the article whether these sources were cited by the litigants (the strong implication is no), but if not, seeking out facts about a pending case through independent investigation and then relying on them would be judicial misconduct under many state ethics rules.
New: This morning, 34 members of congress sent an inquiry to DHS and ICE demanding detailed and specific information about how they use Palantir and surveillance technology like facial recognition:
www.wired.com/story/congre...
BREAKING: Newly released emails reveal Maricopa County's elections director told staff to give the FBI unrestricted access to facilities months before the bureau issued a subpoena tied to the 2020 election.
Staff were also instructed not to “film or record any activity.”
https://bit.ly/4cHm7H0
i ordered through bookshop, I get a plate?
Its been gorgeous in Seattle for like a week and then yesterday...
I'm sure this is already happening in Trump's administration given that they took the time to declare the Presidential Records Act unconstitutional
Calvin Duncan, a man imprisoned for 30 years before he was exonerated, won an election in New Orleans promising to fix a judicial system that failed him
Now, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and the GOP-controlled Legislature are racing to eliminate his job before he can be sworn in
there is no level of hell deep enough for RFKjr
Literally every time FISA 702 needs to be reauthorized, some leak about an attack thwarted by FISA 702 magically comes out
I mentioned before that the $375M verdict against Meta wasn't the end of its woes because the State still gets to try a public nuisance claim to the bench. A filing today reveals that the State intends to seek injunctive relief that includes "provisions to address Meta's algorithm"
oh hey i'll be talking single stair at AIA Seattle's 2026 Housing Design Forum - Getting to Abundance: Unlocking the Future of Housing.
Unlocking Livable Homes with Single Stair Regulations
ohh yeahh
aiaseattle.org/events/2026h...
I’ve heard it said:
If you’re explaining, you’re losing.
Forest Service leadership has a lot of explaining to do— and they know it.
Looking forward to seeing Chief Shultz answer to Congress.
It took a minute to find a public health success among lots of setbacks during national public health week. Let's hope this effort continues toward a publicly available, accessible, affordable vaccine.
The First Battle Over Military AI
A contract dispute between the Pentagon and an AI company may determine who controls the technologies shaping surveillance, targeting, and the future of war before laws or treaties ever catch up. Danger ahead.
theintellectualistofficial.substack.com/p/the-first-...
This is one of the most important stories of the week that you probably missed. The trump admin is basically taking something that belongs to all of us & giving it to political hacks & corporate donors. It’s an outrage & we should push back hard.
Making LLMs the substrate of computer programming feels of a piece of "entire economy is gambling" to me
The obscenity of a budget that cuts the forest service to fund the re-opening of Alcatraz as a prison.
NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman took this picture of Earth from the Orion spacecraft's window on April 2, 2026, after completing the translunar injection burn.
Lot of recalled products down there.
FEMA Official Says He Teleported to Waffle House. Experts Are Dubious. Gregg Phillips, who is in charge of responding to fires and floods, says the hand of God suddenly and mysteriously moved him to a 24-hour breakfast spot in Rome, Ga.
Folks, I give you the New York Times
It is somewhat reassuring to notice that it's been a few months since I last read DOJ work product that made me think, “if this counts as practicing law, then what is the point of anything, really?” Still, the feeling SUCKS.
Why would anyone ever design a legal system in which the legislature lacks the constitutional authority to require the president to preserve records for posterity? The unitary executive theorists have completely lost the plot.
I think the reason AI propagandists are so flustered by the fact that no real writer wants to use their idiotic tools is that they themselves don't enjoy writing. They see it as a boring arduous chore to be avoided, while real writers actually enjoy writing and actually care about the quality of it.
This new OLC memo slaps.