Why We Exist, Etc.
“Inside a laboratory nestled above the mist of the forests of south Dakota, scientists are searching for the answer to one of science’s biggest questions:” Unfortunately those questions don’t include what I think are the biggest mysteries of the Anthropocene: What the hell happened in the past few months and how do we make it stop? But the questions do consider another pretty interesting question: Why does the Universe exist? “US scientists are hoping the answer lies deep underground, in the aptly named Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (Dune). The scientists travel 1,500 metres below the surface into three vast underground caverns. Such is the scale that construction crews and their bulldozers seem like small plastic toys by comparison. Dune’s science director Dr Jaret Heise describes the giant caves as “cathedrals to science.” (In 2025 parlance, we call them basilicas of budget cuts.) BBC takes you deep underground where scientists are in a race to discover why the Universe exists. Meanwhile, I’m in a race to develop the perfect, pithy headline to use when they figure it out. (So I totally get the pressure they’re feeling.)
Factories and Figures
“President Trump has been upending the global economy in the name of bringing manufacturing back. President Joe Biden signed into law massive investments aimed at doing something similar. The American manufacturing sector is reviving after decades of decay. But there’s something a bit weird undercutting this movement to reshore factory jobs: American manufacturers say they are struggling to fill the jobs they already have.” NPR: Why aren’t Americans filling the manufacturing jobs we already have? (And if we need more people to fill manufacturing jobs, is there some method by which we could get people who live in other countries to move here and take them?)
Folks, Here’s the Deal, No Joke.
“The people closest to Biden landed on some techniques to handle (or disguise) what was happening: restricting urgent business to the hours between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.; instructing his writers to keep his speeches brief so that he didn’t have to spend too much time on his feet; having him use the short stairs to Air Force One. When making videos, his aides sometimes filmed ‘in slow motion to blur the reality of how slowly he actually walked.’ By late 2023, his staff was pushing as much of his schedule as they could to midday.” (They could have limited his schedule to a fraction of a second a week and we’d still be better of with him in the Oval Office than we are now, but this is a bad look.) The NYT (Gift Article) on the new book, Original Sin, by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson: A Damning Portrait of an Enfeebled Biden Protected by His Inner Circle.
I Do Declare
“The United States had not even established air superiority over the Houthis. Instead, what was emerging after 30 days of a stepped-up campaign against the Yemeni group was another expensive but inconclusive American military engagement in the region. The Houthis shot down several American MQ-9 Reaper drones and continued to fire at naval ships in the Red Sea, including an American aircraft carrier. And the U.S. strikes burned through weapons and munitions at a rate of about $1 billion in the first month alone. It did not help that two $67 million F/A-18 Super Hornets from America’s flagship aircraft carrier tasked with conducting strikes against the Houthis accidentally tumbled off the carrier into the sea.” From the NYT (gift article), an in-depth and really interesting look at Why Trump Suddenly Declared Victory Over the Houthi Militia. (Spoiler Alert: Not because victory had happened.)
Extra, Extra
It’s Strictly Business: “Offering partnership to longtime foes, Trump said he would move to lift sanctions on Syria and normalize relations with the new government led by a former insurgent, and he touted the U.S. role in bringing about a fragile ceasefire with Yemen’s Houthis. But Trump also indicated his patience was not endless, as he urged Iran to make a new nuclear deal with the U.S. or risk severe economic and military consequences. With his carrot and stick approach, Trump gave the clearest indication yet of his vision for remaking the region, where goals of fostering human rights and democracy promotion have been replaced by an emphasis on economic prosperity and regional stability.” Trump lays out Mideast vision as he looks to revamp US approach in Iran, Syria and beyond. With economic news like the new $142 Billion Arms Deal with Saudi Arabia, and several US CEOs joining the trip, this is more of a business trip. For the involved countries. And for the Trumps. WaPo (Gift Article): Trump’s Middle East trip marked by potential private business conflicts. Coincidence alert: “The Trump Organization has entered into real estate deals in all three countries the president plans to visit this week.”
+ Til Death Do We Start: “Manfred ruled that MLB’s punishment of banned individuals ends upon their deaths.” In a move pushed by Trump, Pete Rose, ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson among players reinstated by MLB. (It could be worse. If Pete Rose were still alive he’d probably be the Secretary of the Treasury.)
+ I.V. League: “President Donald Trump’s administration is cutting another $450 million in grants to Harvard University a day after the Ivy League school pushed back against government allegations that it’s a hotbed of liberalism and antisemitism.” A guy who wants a plane as a gift from Qatar is worried about antisemitism? Please. This is about a broad attack on higher ed, one that will be felt far beyond Harvard Yard. “The hidden engine of the country’s illustrious track record has been the grants given to academic researchers by federal agencies that the U.S. DOGE Service has been decimating and that President Donald Trump proposes to shrink catastrophically in the next budget.” WaPo (Gift Article): RIP American innovation.
+ Habeas Corpse: “Where to start with the things that Stephen Miller, who is not a lawyer but happy to play one on the White House driveway, probably doesn’t know? As the Georgetown University law professor Steve Vladeck aptly summarized, ‘His argument is factually and legally nuts.'” (But that doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t be pursued.) The New Yorker: The Astonishing Threat to Suspend Habeas Corpus.
+ Help Wanted: “Some Israeli military officials have privately concluded that Palestinians in Gaza face widespread starvation unless aid deliveries are restored within weeks.”
+ It’s Reigning, It’s Boring: Elon Musk’s Boring Company Is in Talks With Government Over Amtrak Project. (The losses at Tesla will seem like less than a rounding error as all his other companies score major government deals.)
+ Lego Lands: “On Thursday, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University unveiled LegoGPT, an AI model that creates physically stable Lego structures from text prompts. The new system not only designs Lego models that match text descriptions (prompts) but also ensures they can be built brick by brick in the real world, either by hand or with robotic assistance.” (As long as the computer doesn’t brick…)
Bottom of the News
“He’s hardly alone. On TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, the toupee—once your weird uncle’s not-so-secret shame—appears to be having a moment. Barbers are sharing jaw-slackening before-and-afters and formerly self-conscious dudes are flaunting their transformations like just-copped Jordans.” GQ: Why the Toupee Is Making a Comeback With Millennial Men.
+ “According to Topps, the first US-born pope’s run of trading cards set an all-time record for any non-sports card under the brand.” Pope Leo XIV trading card sets Topps record. (It’s a strange world…)
