Our Afghan allies provided critical support to U.S. forces for over 20 years, but the Trump-Vance Administration has turned its back on them and their families, shutting down key resettlement programs. The idea that we’re now in talks to send as many as 1,100 Afghans, whom we have already evacuated, to the DRC—a country with severe political instability, violence, and a massive refugee and humanitarian crisis—is insane. [1/2]

We told these Afghans that we would help ensure their safety after they helped us. We have an obligation to follow through on our promise because it’s the right thing to do, and because going back on our word will only make it harder for us to build the kinds of partnerships we may need to advance our national security in the future. [2/2]

My statement on reports that the Trump-Vance Administration may send Afghans, including those who served with the U.S. military and more than 400 children, to the Congo:

Why Planes Flying Like Geese Could Cut Back on Aviation Emissions Geese use this trick to save energy on long journeys—soon, airplanes could too.

Airbus is testing flying airliners in pairs, saving energy in the same way as geese. UC Davis engineer Christina Harvey says that while airplanes and birds aren't directly comparable, we can still get useful ideas inspired by biology @ucdavisengineering.bsky.social www.cntraveler.com/story/why-pl...

Among the Academies: The World’s Historical Lessons Historian Andrés Reséndez’s career is, appropriately, an exercise in moving backwards through time.

Among the Academies: Historian Andrés Reséndez's work reframes the history of exploration and colonization in the Americas and Pacific @ucdlands.bsky.social www.ucdavis.edu/news/among-a...

Early Career Faculty Program | Freeman Hrabowski Scholars | HHMI The Freeman Hrabowski Scholars Program offers comprehensive support to outstanding early career faculty committed to scientific excellence in their own research, and to fostering labs that expand the ...

@hhmi-science.bsky.social's
#FreemanHrabowski Scholars Program offers early career faculty up to $10M over 10 yrs, plus salary & benefits

Stable, sustained support can transform your career:

Senior Postdoc? This year's competition has a program for you too. Applications open 11/3! bit.ly/4vhC0LA

Before they were arrested- Vets are demanding an end to the war on Iran at the Cannon Building in Washington, D.C.

Chinook salmon found naturally hatching in Upper Klamath River for first time in a century The Klamath Tribes are celebrating evidence of Chinook salmon spawning in Klamath River tributary.

After big dams on the upper Klamath River in far northern CA were removed in 2024, Chinook (king) salmon migrated upstream for the first time in 100+ years--and now they have hatched.

Ditto re: #NIH and #NSF grants that fund programs to prepare students as the next generation of scientists and innovators. Thank you to the public!

“The attacks on science also created a new talent pool for Silicon Valley to exploit: newly displaced STEM researchers. “

Postdoctoral Researcher-- Foundations of a Resilient Microbiome (2 Positions) University of California Santa Barbara is hiring. Apply now!

🚨Job Alert!🚨 Please share widely! We are hiring *two* postdocs (one ASAP, one Oct '26) using models and data to identify pathways involving the gut-brain axis that link the infant microbiome with neurodevelopment and Autism Spectrum Disorder. 1st review date: April 24!

recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/JPF03089

150 years later, progressive Episcopalians remain pioneers in Mormon Utah For nearly two decades after their 1847 arrival, Mormon settlers held practically a theological monopoly in the Utah Territory. If you went to church on Sunday, it was to hear the gospel according to ...

Umm… they look like a bunch of Episcopal bishops

Plot comparing awardees and honorable mentions by field of study

The folks on the GRFP subreddit have also made an interesting plot, comparing awardees to honorable mentions by field: www.reddit.com/r/GRFPApps/c...

American science is at risk not because of budget cuts, but because of executive interference In this clip excerpted from my recent livestream, I explain why American science is currently at existential risk, and how the current crisis stems not primarily from budget cuts from Congress, but instead from direct interference from the executive branch. I discuss the immediate implications of th

I've excerpted a ~5 minute segment from my recent livestream discussing my deepening concerns regarding on the ongoing (and accelerating) threats not only to weather and climate science, but American science leadership and continuity at large.

Map showing snow water equivalent percent of the 1991-2020 median for the Western United States on April 10, 2026.

This is a frightening map, especially given the fact that this is normally near the peak in snowpack across the West. There are many far-reaching consequences from this historic snow drought, ranging from increasing risk of summer wildfires to major water concerns.

Map by nwcc-apps.sc.egov.usda.gov

U.S. Forest Service unveils extensive closures of research facilities Cost-cutting move is expected to cause resignations and turmoil

What will happen to the 82 USFS experimental forests around the country? Many sites have decades-long experiments that are tracking how forests are changed by timber harvesting practices and climate change. As I say here, “you can't just pick up an experimental forest site and move it to SLC.”

Clear, engaging, and overall great video that explains the importance of supporting science and scientists. Well done @rogerslabucd.bsky.social!

We have the Twenty-Fifth Amendment. Now is the time to use it. It's past time for Trump to be removed from office. This is a global crisis. It's time for J.D. Vance and the Cabinet to invoke the Twenty-Fifth Amendment.

NEW: We have the Twenty-Fifth Amendment. Now is the time to use it.

It's past time for Trump to be removed from office. This is a global crisis. It's time for J.D. Vance and the Cabinet to invoke the Twenty-Fifth Amendment.

Now, at Law Dork:

The Warmonger of Easter Don't let evil force us back into the tomb

I wish I could report that the empty tomb had forced imperial powers to their knees and that peace, the shalom of God, had become the song of all humanity. Instead, we are shrouded by the wails of war.

Trump is threatening war crimes and even genocide against Iran.
open.substack.com/pub/dianabut...

Q&A on Re-applying to PhD programs in the sciences

🎓 Q&A: Re-Applying to PhD Programs in the Sciences
We'll cover the current grad school landscape, strategies to strengthen your application, and tips to set yourself up for success in the next round.

🗓️ When: Tuesday, April 21st at 4pm ET
🔗 Register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/qa-re-appl...

EEB Scholars - run by our wonderful Princeton EEB graduate students, now open for applications: eeb.princeton.edu/graduate/eeb...

For non-scientists, LTER programs run for decades, so scientists can learn how ecosystems change over time. These programs cover ecology, evolution, systems biology, and it includes animals, plants, even microbes, and more. We learned so much about how our world works with LTERs. This sucks :(

Flip this around.

"American researcher in China dies after 'hostile questioning' by government authorities"

How would the U.S. react?

BREAKING: Another person has died in ICE custody, per required notification to Congress, marking 15 deaths in detention this year and 45+ since Trump took office again.

NSF LTER program “archived”.

LTER=“Long Term Ecological Research”.

This program has been incredibly successful, incredibly frugal for what they accomplish, and…of course…targeted by evil know-nothings.

My heart is breaking.

This brought a much needed smile to my face.

The FY 2027 budget request for NASA is an insult to the four astronauts currently risking their lives to explore the Moon. The world should be celebrating humanity's return to deep space, as well as the space agency and partners that put them there. [1/2]

I Work Very Hard, And I Would Like To Try Cake By A Horse Hello. I am a horse. I work very hard at my job of being a horse. When humans say move the heavy thing, I move the heavy thing. When humans sit on top of me and pull on my head, I carry them where they want to go. The main food the humans give me is hay and oats. But I am thinking it would be nice to have a different food. I am thinking I would like to try cake. Yes, yes. Cake. I know all about it. When humans eat cake, it is in glad times. It is the food for a celebration, such as when a woman becomes 47. I have seen cake on the Fourth of July. When humans have a cake, they stand around it and clap hands and smile and say happy birthday at each other. Sometimes there are beautiful markings on a cake, such as balloons or a pink shape. Sometimes the top of a cake is on fire and a boy must blow on the fire with mouth wind. This is the scariest cake. I do not want this kind. But I will eat any other cake. Any cake that is not the fire cake that tries to kill the boy. Please understand: I do not get money for doing work. I do not get to go inside the house. All I am either doing my horse job or standing in my pen or eating food off the floor. I always do these things. But I have never once gotten cake and I would like it very much. I have noticed that human children get to eat cake. But I am bigger than the children. I am more helpful to the farm. Children do not move the heavy things like me or let anyone ride on them. And yet they get cake. Maybe the humans will realize this. Maybe they will say, "You know who deserves cake? That horse. That horse whose back we are always on." Every day I dream about what it will be like if I get to eat cake. Here is what will happen. First, I will walk to the cake and putt my nose at it like hrrfff to make and stomping my hooves to make sure it is not a snake. Then I will trot in a circle to show that I am a horse and I am large. After that, I will nuzzle the cake to …

The horse op-ed is an instant classic. I can't tell you how much joy this piece gives me.

It should be taught in every introductory writing class in no small part because the horse arguments are so compelling. "I have noticed that human children get to eat cake. But I am bigger than the children."

That's home. That's us.

This image of home just came down from the Artemis II crew.

Taken after their translunar injection burn, there are aurorae at top right and lower left, and zodiacal light at lower right.

Credit: NASA/Reid Wiseman

Is today your birthday??

Map depicting ECMWF ensemble predicted temperature anomalies for mid-April across the American West. Widespread anomalous warmth is again depicted, with some regions again more than 10-15 degrees F above seasonal norms.

After this cooler & wetter interlude, there are once again strong signals than anomalous April warmth will dominate the West for much of rest of April. It won't be as extreme as March, relatively speaking, but return of warmth & dryness will likely allow rapid snowmelt to resume.

BREAKING: Trump Administration Orders Dismantling of the U.S. Forest Service The headquarters is going to Utah. Every regional office is being shuttered. The research program is being destroyed.

the trump administration is selling this country wholesale to rapacious, extractive industries that will destroy our collective resources for private profit morethanjustparks.substack.com/p/breaking-t...