"Two of the cities most frequently called out by federal officials — Washington and New York — both posted crime rates far below the national average. The rail systems with the worst security rates were in Dallas, San Diego and Houston, followed by Chicago, Miami and Los Angeles."

Trump officials say public transit is unsafe, but their data says otherwise

A new federal dashboard shows that New York and Washington have relatively low rates of serious crimes.

washingtonpost.com

"Sophie Dennison-Gibby...considers herself “rather obsessed about picking up litter.” So, when she visited the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in June and noticed what appeared to be trash floating in the water, her first instinct was to remove it to help local wildlife."

Arrested at Reflecting Pool, woman details ‘heartbreaking’ toll case has taken

Sophie Dennison-Gibby was one of three defendants charged with a misdemeanor related to Reflecting Pool damage. The charges were all dropped.

washingtonpost.com

“The U.S. Marshals Service told McConnell they had identified at least six credible death threats. One specifically menaced McConnell’s wife. Another turned up on the dark web…where someone was looking for McConnell’s home address, saying Smith & Wesson wanted “to pay him a visit.””

This federal judge ruled against Trump. Then the threats began.

U.S. District Judge John McConnell’s experience is emblematic of the climate facing jurists, whether nominated by Democratic or Republican presidents.

washingtonpost.com

“...butterflies are shifting their ranges on every continent in response to climate change, with 80% of species expanding their habitats. Most of the range changes are linked to climate change and severe weather, with agriculture and human disturbance also playing significant roles.”

Climate change is pushing butterflies into new habitats

Climate change is pushing butterflies into new places around the world, according to a global study of 1,758 species.

earth.com

“The brain preservation paradox — the discovery of well-preserved human brains among otherwise skeletal remains — has puzzled archaeologists and pathologists alike for decades. Now, new research finally provides a scientific explanation for this longstanding mystery.”

Brains don't always rot: Scientists may finally know how human brains have evaded decay for thousands of years

Thousands of skeletal human remains have been discovered with their brain tissue unexpectedly intact. Now, a team of scientists may have finally figured out why.

livescience.com

“Beginning in the 1950s, malaria control programs sprayed a powerful insecticide…on the inside walls of homes, where Anopheles mosquitoes—the insects that spread the disease—often rested. Within a few years the bugs had developed a genetic mutation that made them impervious to the poison.”

Antimalaria pesticide may have backfired, helping mosquitoes find love

Poison appears to have caused mutation that helps insects home in on mates in noisy cities

science.org

On Oct. 1 2016 Jesse Farrar then a freelance scribe...issued a tweet that would define the next 10 years of American politics. I’ll reproduce it as a poem: Well, I’d like to see ol Donny Trump wriggle his way out of THIS jam! *Trump wriggles his way out of the jam easily* Ah! Well. Nevertheless,

"On Friday night, a court filing from Capital One denied there was any political motivation behind the closure of more than 380 bank accounts in the names of Donald Trump and the Trump Organization. Instead, it stated, the accounts were closed “for anti-money laundering reasons.”

August 4, 2026

On Friday night, a court filing from Capital One denied there was any political motivation behind the closure of more than 380 bank accounts in the names of Donald Trump and the Trump Organization.

heathercoxrichardson.substack.com

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY from A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg: "Every government has as much of a duty to avoid war as a ship's captain has to avoid a shipwreck." Guy de Maupassant, short story writer and novelist (5 Aug 1850-1893)

RFK Jr. says a blood clot five months after a Covid shot must have come from the shot...Fox News immediately declares it a "vaccine injury." It shows "you can’t trust anything these people say." Fox's coverage of Fauci and his diary has been lie after lie. In this video, I take it apart.

Will Saletan (@saletan)

RFK Jr. says a blood clot five months after a Covid shot must have come from the shot. And Fox News immediately declares it a "vaccine injury." It shows "you can’t trust anything these people say." ...

substack.com

"The reality is that congressional funding can provide troops with what they need for success, but it cannot replace the obligation and accountability of the elected and appointed civilian leaders who place our military in harm's way."

Dave Petri (@davepetri)

Secretary Hegseth presented a false choice to the Senate Appropriations Committee last week when he stated that "Either you do, or you don't" when faced with tough questions regarding the military ope...

substack.com

"Ms. Murillo needs something more secure than a fraudulent election. She needs a system in which no authentic opponent may run, no unexpected political movement may emerge and no electoral result — even a manipulated one — can become a public judgment on her claim to inherit the country."

Opinion | What Do Dictators Fear Most? Just Ask Nicaragua.

Nicaragua shows what happens when even dictators fear a rigged election.

nytimes.com

Impossible to summarize this one - Have fun and enjoy!

Opinion | The 25 Objects That Explain America

Want to understand this country? Look at our stuff.

nytimes.com

"The link between broad-based literacy and the rise of democracy is well known: People who can read and write for themselves have, historically, also been good at choosing and advocating for themselves. What happens when the process goes into reverse?"

Opinion | I’m Begging You: Never Write With A.I.

It’s bad for your brain and worse for democracy.

nytimes.com

“The Justice Department filed charges on Tuesday against Dr. Stephen Dubin, a doctor in Nevada, alleging that he orchestrated a $95 million Medicare fraud scheme that involved applying expensive and unnecessary wound coverings to elderly patients.”

Justice Dept. Charges Doctor in $95 Million Skin Substitute Fraud Scheme

Dr. Stephen Dubin, a wound care doctor in Nevada, is accused of applying unneeded, expensive wound coverings to seniors. He used the profits to buy yachts, the department said.

nytimes.com

“In 1875, Darwin published a treatise on carnivorous plants that featured several species he thought could be flesh-eating flora. Among them were hardy alpine plants in the genus Saxifraga that had sticky hairs…but he was ultimately unable to prove that the species were carnivorous.”

Darwin Was Right: These Plants Are Carnivores

Scientists have proved that a species of plant covered with sticky hairs is carnivorous, confirming Darwin’s 150-year-old hunch.

nytimes.com

“The video is haunting: A dolphin carries the deceased body of her two-week-old calf amid a pod of dolphins south of Perth, Australia…“It’s absolutely clear that this is a mother grieving for her child,” Dr. Marino said…Scientists say such expressions of grief are ordinary behavior for cetaceans.”

Video: Dolphin Carries Dead Calf in What Experts Call Mourning

Footage posted by a conservancy group offers an unusual glimpse of a common behavior by dolphins that often goes unobserved.

nytimes.com

“A federal judge expressed deep regret on Tuesday as he granted a request by the Justice Department to throw out criminal charges against...the far-right Oath Keepers militia who were charged with seditious conspiracy for the central role they played in the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.”

Judge Pained as He Grants Dismissal of Jan. 6 Charges Against Oath Keepers

The judge, Amit P. Mehta, blasted the administration’s request for a dismissal in the case, saying it bestowed “unearned grace” on the Oath Keepers defendants “by wiping their records clean.”

nytimes.com

“Jeanine Pirro had had it up to here with Doug Burgum. The famously voluble U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia strode into the Oval Office late Monday with her future on the line and the interior secretary, whom she privately called an incompetent liar, in her cross hairs.”

Inside the Oval Office Showdown Between Trump and Jeanine Pirro

Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, told President Trump that his interior secretary, Doug Burgum, had misled him with a self-serving cover story for his own mistakes.

nytimes.com

“For-profit trade schools that educate military veterans under the GI Bill have bilked the federal government out of more than $300 million, often by charging eye-popping sums for basic classes that last only a few days or weeks."

How predatory trade schools drained $300 million from the GI Bill and cheated veterans

Trade schools fleeced VA — and taxpayers — of more than $300 million, often by teaching short and easy courses, a Post investigation finds.

washingtonpost.com

“...three of Neptune's moons may have formed from the remnants of ancient icy worlds destroyed by Triton. Researchers found clay minerals on the moons and rings using data from the James Webb Space Telescope, indicating significant heating in their past.”

3 moons of Neptune may be remnants of ice worlds shattered in a catastrophic crash

"We've had only a single flyby — Voyager 2 in 1989 — and these results make clear there's much more to learn."

space.com

"...the structure of male humpback whale songs is directly linked to their diving patterns, including depth and buoyancy. Researchers tagged 16 whales off Maui, Hawaii, finding some sang for up to 16 hours, with different themes corresponding to descending, ascending and hovering at the bottom."

Humpback whale songs are choreographed to match deep dives, study finds

A new study led by Dr. Julia Zeh at Syracuse University reveals that male humpback whales align specific themes of their songs with distinct phases of a dive.

interestingengineering.com

“Physicists have set a new record for quantum entanglement achieving matter-to-matter entanglement over 420 kilometers of optical fiber. This experiment involving laser-cooled rubidium atoms as quantum memories demonstrates the potential for quantum communication over metropolitan-scale distances.”

Physicists Shatter Quantum Entanglement Distance Record With 420 Kilometers of Optical Fiber

Maintaining a long-distance relationship may be difficult for humans, but it's even more difficult for entangled states.

sciencealert.com

“…test whether humans infected with dengue fever and Zika virus are more attractive to mosquitos...mosquitoes become more attracted to hosts that are infected with both flaviviruses…a chemical [acetophenone] produced by bacteria in the skin is responsible for this increased allure to the insects.”

Dengue Fever and Zika Virus Make Humans More Attractive to Mosquitoes

Scientists conducted human and mouse studies to find the skin bacteria responsible for the draw

smithsonianmag.com

"When Mr. Trump signaled in recent days that a major escalation was imminent if no concessions were made, two former Iranian officials said Tehran’s leadership told him to go right ahead. “They are ready for the war, and they won’t back down,” said Amir al-Mousawi, a former Iranian diplomat..."

For Iran, Trump’s Reversal on Escalation Shows Who Has the Upper Hand

nytimes.com

“Every time you look, Trump seems to have drifted further from our reality. Reading his Truth Social posts these days is like looking at a red-shift star. His poll numbers have never been worse, but don’t try to tell him that: “My REAL Polling Numbers” “are the best they have ever been.””

Ground Control to Major Don

The president’s planet is getting farther and farther from our own.

thebulwark.com

“When President Trump sharply reduced the size of Bears Ears National Monument in Utah by more than 1.2 million acres, he claimed...recreation was virtually impossible within the site’s boundaries…But recreation has been allowed in Bears Ears since President Barack Obama designated the monument.”

Documents Undercut Trump’s Claims About Bears Ears National Monument

President Trump said recreation in Bears Ears National Monument was virtually impossible. Documents reviewed by The New York Times show officials knew otherwise.

nytimes.com

“The Trump administration is preparing a major rollback of federal requirements for Head Start. The proposed changes would remove most of Head Start’s...requirements for math and literacy curriculums, class sizes, medical screenings, home visits and even a requirement that children brush…”

Trump Administration Plans to Upend Head Start by Deregulating It

The White House tried but failed to block funding for preschool for poor children. Instead, it will seek to strip away standards on health, literacy — and brushing teeth.

nytimes.com

“The first time I came out as gay to a client on death row, he said: “Josh, I don’t care what you do with your ass, as long as you’re helping mine.” That joke did something legal arguments and moral philosophy rarely could: it made him impossible to keep at a distance.”

I was a death row lawyer. Here’s why I now joke about capital punishment

In my standup, I’m not trivializing the death penalty. I’m getting people to stay engaged when the subject is uncomfortable

theguardian.com

From Time magazine: "New York City recorded the fewest murders in recorded history during the first seven months of 2026, according to figures released by the NYPD. The city recorded 149 murders and 381 shooting incidents through July, both record lows."