Trump says he passes cognitive tests. But the exam he describes is a tool of very basic questions (identify a camel), often performed due to family concerns. “Why has the president undergone this test numerous times?” asks Dick Cheney’s cardiologist www.nytimes.com/2026/08/12/o...
Opinion | I Was Dick Cheney’s Cardiologist. I Have Questions About Trump’s Health. (Gift Article)
The president has not been looking well. Americans should get answers to these seven questions.
nytimes.com
Hey, Wisconsin. Your Milwaukee Brewers are ranked No. 1 in the latest MLB Power Rankings by the NY Tmes/Athletic, displacing the Los Angeles Dodgers
I’m on a small-ship Alaska cruise with my son; our boat rescued a stranded vessel last night and apparently we did that after the Coast Guard radioed Mark Zuckerberg’s yacht - which was closer - and they repeatedly refused to respond. (There was near unanimous booing when the captain announced this)
The “pool, which was supposed to reflect the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, became a striking reflection instead of the second Trump administration’s willingness to skirt laws, expend millions of dollars, ignore facts and punish truth tellers” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/07/u...
How the Reflecting Pool Came to Mirror Trump’s Washington (Gift Article)
A hospitality manager for the Trump Organization traveled to Las Vegas to find a solution to problems at a national landmark. This is the untold back story of the fallout.
nytimes.com
We CAN clean up our messes whenever we put our minds to it. ‘The 100,000-pound carp cleanup that revived an urban lake too polluted for swimming www.startribune.com/the-100000-p...
The 100,000-pound carp cleanup that revived an urban lake
Once plagued by nutrient pollution, Upper Prior Lake now offers a blueprint for restoring troubled waters.
startribune.com
Don’t know about you but I like adding a guy who goes to say goodbye to the grounds crew when he finds out he’s been traded: Who is Antonio Senzatela and how can he help the Milwaukee Brewers? www.jsonline.com/story/sports...
Who is Antonio Senzatela and how can he help the Milwaukee Brewers?
Get to know Antonio Senzatela, the relief pitcher acquired by the Milwaukee Brewers on Aug. 3.
jsonline.com
This would amount to conditional surrender— by the United States of America www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/u...
An Emerging Deal Between Iran and Oman to Reopen Hormuz Would Come at a Cost for Trump (Gift Article)
The deal would address President Trump’s most urgent political problem by allowing ships to move again. But it would give Iran strategic leverage it did not have before the war.
nytimes.com
A $10 billion data center proposal in central Wisconsin quietly went away after being informed dealings would be conducted in public not private @wisconsinwatch.org wisconsinwatch.org/2026/08/wisc...
A $10 billion data center proposal in central Wisconsin quietly went away after a local official told the developer the process would have to be public
A Columbia County town chair said he refused to have one-on-one discussions with a developer.
wisconsinwatch.org
“But that requires us to do something that democracies have rarely, if ever, done successfully — see the catastrophe coming and act decisively before a terrible war swallows the world.“ You can read this without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/o...
Opinion | The War That Could Swallow the World (Gift Article)
Whatever is happening in Iran, it isn’t working.
nytimes.com
U.S. prosecutors moved to drop Trump Administration charges against David Hearn, a former Olympic canoeist accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, acknowledging a no-bid contractor hired by Trump had “botched” its renovation. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/u...
Charges to Be Dropped Against Ex-Olympian David Hearn Accused of Damaging Reflecting Pool
President Trump had repeatedly accused vandals of damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. On Friday, federal prosecutors acknowledged it was “the result of flawed installation.”
nytimes.com
A group in Oshkosh saw an opportunity to build community...and nailed it. 🪚🔨 The Oshkosh Tool Library lets residents borrow everything from hand trucks to power tools for free — helping neighbors help neighbors. wisconsinwatch.org/2026/07/wisc...
Excellent thinking here about finding long-term strategies for serving communities rather than quick-fix audience tactics for local news, by Richard Pufall open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...
Thinking Aloud About the Quiet Crisis in Audience for News
It’s not just search and AI
open.substack.com
The burden of America’s wars falls heavily upon a small percentage of our population: military families. Families Face Anxiety, Angst as Loved Ones Are Deployed to Fight Iran. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/29/u...
Families Face Anxiety, Angst as Loved Ones Are Deployed to Fight Iran (Gift Article)
As the war with Iran has continued, some are finding that the stress is bringing back old anxieties.
nytimes.com
Aaron Ashby already had a 5.18 ERA dating back to the start of June coming into today. Now it's 6.93 since June 1. It was 2.00 through May. Can they find some time off for this guy?
Bill Belichick has a losing record coaching teams not led by Tom Brady at QB, in both the NFL and college
The New York Times@nytimes.com · 2w agoFrom @theathletic.com: Bill Belichick's vision for North Carolina was supposed to transform the program. Instead, it "has been a remarkable dumpster fire," our columnist writes, after GM Michael Lombardi was placed on leave pending an HR investigation. nyti.ms/4beQTpQ
Also, Odysseus learns humility the hard way after the glory of winning the world as an arrogant commander brings not joy but emptiness, guilt & a longing for his true self & home www.nytimes.com/2026/07/24/o...
Opinion | Christopher Nolan’s ‘Odyssey’ Shows That Epics Are Better Without A.I. (Gift Article)
A.I. has rendered eye candy cheap. Viewers long for the visceral.
nytimes.com
What we know from six months of @wisconsinwatch.org reporting on Wisconsin data centers. wisconsinwatch.org/2026/07/wisc...
The public demanded data center news, and Wisconsin Watch is delivering
For the past six months we’ve produced multiple stories to inform the public debate about this hot topic.
wisconsinwatch.org
ICE officer who killed young father in Maine has serious mental health issues, a history of violent behavior, and never should have been given a badge and gun, several of his close relatives told AP. share.google/xvH8rb6ZihXe...
AP Exclusive: ICE officer in Maine shooting has history of violent behavior, family and records say
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who shot a Colombian man in Maine this week is an Army veteran who has struggled with serious mental health issues since early childhood, according to c...
share.google
How mighty is Russia? If you had put a snail on the Ukrainian-Russian border in February 2022, it would have made more progress into Ukraine than the Russian military has made: British chief of the defense staff, Adm. Tony Radakin www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/o...
Opinion | ‘A Million Men With Kalashnikovs Are Dangerous’ (Gift Article)
A Q&A with Kori Schake on the Russia-Ukraine war.
nytimes.com
Subpoenas of reporters over highy embarrassing leaks are a sign of weakness not strength …
Richard Tofel@dicktofel.bsky.social · 4w agoUnpacking the fight over those “national security” subpoenas to reporters. Including an old Harrison Ford movie clip revealing the big “secret.” This week’s Second Rough Draft newsletter open.substack.com/pub/dicktofe...
The work of building efficient, scalable AI systems hasn't been done, Alex Reisner argues. He explores the the industry's inefficiency, and how it’s costing the rest of us:
Generative AI Is an Engineering Disaster
A shockingly inefficient trillion-dollar project
bit.ly
Any vetting at all? One leading candidate for governor puts a person in financial ruin in charge of campaign finance. Another lost to Ron Johnson after not paying taxes. A third called 911 over a political display. Joel Brennan remains scandal free www.jsonline.com/story/news/p...
Rodriguez hired staffer with past financial woes to oversee finances
Sara Rodriguez tasked her governor's campaign manager to oversee the operation's finances after the staffer was evicted from her Madison apartment.
jsonline.com
Giannis Antetokounmpo spoke for two hours about his memories of the Bucks 2020-21 title run. He called “the workout” at Arizona St. before Game 1 of the finals a funny story. But back then? He was not having much fun. ⬇️
Jim Owczarski@jimowczarski.bsky.social · 4w ago“Just give me a f—— chance.” From an emotional pregame plea through the secret workout to clear him for the 2021 NBA Finals: How Giannis Antetokounmpo made of the greatest comebacks in league history. “It’s storybook. It’s superhero.” :bookmark: www.jsonline.com/story/sports...
Donald Trump pays E. Jean Carroll $5.6 million for sexual assault plus defamation share.google/M730unKwqxLW...
E. Jean Carroll receives $5.6 million from Trump in sexual abuse and defamation case
The payment comes three years after a jury found President Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming the writer.
share.google
Wisconsin election officials refer 2 complaints against Elon Musk to prosecutor, finding probable cause the billionaire violated state election bribery law in 2025 www.jsonline.com/story/news/p...
Wisconsin election officials refer 2 complaints against Elon Musk
The Wisconsin Elections Commission found probable cause Elon Musk violated the law by handing out checks to voters in the 2025 Supreme Court election.
jsonline.com
How does one love thy neighbor in 2026? For the interfaith community in Milwaukee, sharing stories over a communal meal makes the process easy. Read more from Jake Dale of @Milwaukeenns.org: wisconsinwatch.org/2026/07/milw...
@wisconsinwatch.org took a look at one impact of data centers: People who happened to be in the right place at the right time becoming millionaires. wisconsinwatch.org/2026/07/wisc...
In a Wisconsin land rush, data centers made them millionaires
Some sellers whose properties fetched several times the fair market value are dissatisfied, and their former neighbors aren’t happy either.
wisconsinwatch.org
A statement made by Joel Brennan, one of the Democratic candidates for governor, led us to look at how large the Department of Corrections is in terms of state employees. wisconsinwatch.org/2026/07/wisc...
Do more than a quarter of Wisconsin state employees work for the Corrections Department?
Yes. About 28.5% of state employees, excluding the UW System, work in the state prison system.
wisconsinwatch.org
