curated news excerpts & citations
Bill McKibben: An El Niño is brewing
And with it the next, pivotal, chapter of the climate fight.
America’s abandonment of the “endangerment finding” undergirding national climate policy is not the most important thing that happened last week. That decision was an act of gross stupidity, but it was also perfectly predictable given the people making it, and since America’s not doing anything good on climate anyway it won’t have deep immediate effect. (As is often the case, humorist Alexandra Petri had the best response). What will matter more, I think, for America and for policy going forward, is the news that we’re likely to see another El Niño soon; take this as your first warning that not only the temperature but the politics of the planet are likely to change dramatically, and soon.
We’re still in a La Niña phase in the Pacific right now—the cooler part of the cycle that meant that 2025’s global temperature was “only” the second or third highest ever, trailing 2023, the last big El Niño year. But that hot phase seems to be returning, and somewhat faster than expected. …
(Bill McKibben more…)
Bloomberg: Trump’s Coal Renaissance Comes at Cost for Taxpayers
Paul Krugman: Turning Our Back on Clean Energy
Why does MAGA hate the planet?
Atlantic: Trump Administration Announces That We Don’t Know Where the Sun Goes at Night
After deciding carbon dioxide does no harm, it was the logical next move.
-
NY Times: ‘They All Tried to Break Me’: Gisèle Pelicot Shares Her Story
It is one of the most heinous sexual-abuse stories in history. Gisèle Pelicot was drugged and raped repeatedly by the person she trusted most in the world — her husband, Dominique Pelicot — who also invited dozens of men into their bedroom to rape Pelicot while she was heavily sedated.
The abuse started in 2011, but Pelicot did not learn of it until 2020, after Dominique was caught secretly filming up women’s skirts at a supermarket near their home in southeastern France. After the police arrested him, they discovered videos and photographs of his wife being assaulted by at least 70 men — assaults that Dominique had recorded and saved.
(NY Times more…)USA Today: Epstein accusers say Pam Bondi turned her back ‘on survivors everywhere’
Robert Reich: The Squalor of the Epstein Class
-
Chris Geidner: A Presidents’ Day lesson from Philadelphia
“Each person who visits the President’s House and does not learn of the realities of founding-era slavery receives a false account of this country’s history,“ Judge Cynthia Rufe wrote.
(Chris Geidner more…)
-
Heather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American – February 16, 2026
On February 13 and 14, President Donald J. Trump’s representatives filed three applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to trademark his name for future use on an airport. As trademark lawyer Josh Gerben of Gerben IP noted, the application also covers merchandise branded “President Donald J. Trump International Airport,” “Donald J. Trump International Airport,” and “DJT,” including “clothing, handbags, luggage, jewelry, watches, and tie clips.”
Because of the trademark filing, Gerben notes, any airport adopting the Trump name would have to get a license to use the name, potentially paying a licensing fee. Gerben emphasizes that while it is common for public officials to have landmarks named after them, “never in the history of the United States” has “a sitting president’s private company…sought trademark rights” before such a naming.
…The Trump grab for an airport named after him is just the latest grift in a presidential term that experts so far estimate has enriched the Trump family by at least $4 billion. That windfall includes …
(Heather Cox Richardson more…)
-
NY Times: Inside the Debacle That Led to the Closure of El Paso’s Airspace
The F.A.A., citing “a grave risk of fatalities” from a new technology being used on the Mexican border, got caught in a stalemate with the Pentagon, which deemed the weapon “necessary.”
…Publicly, the administration has yet to acknowledge that a departmental standoff over those weapons led to the airspace closure. Even the rationale for deploying the laser system is in dispute.
Senior administration officials described the incident as having been prompted by a drone crossing into the United States from Mexico, an explanation repeated by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy this week.
White House officials declined to comment on Friday, and referred to a social media post from Mr. Duffy, published on Wednesday, that said the administration “acted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion.”
But that narrative was disputed by multiple people familiar with the situation who said the border protection unit ended up shooting down a party balloon, rather than a drone. Military service members were present during the incident, the people said.
(NY Times more…)
-
Christina Pagel: How Trump administration has undermined fair elections in just the last month
Steve Vladeck: The President’s Lack of Power Over Elections
Joyce Vance: Context Matters: Trump Administration Summons Secretaries of State
Dan Rather: … And For His Next Offense
To maintain control of Congress Trump is trying to disenfranchise tens of millions of Americans
-
Rebecaa Solnit: Journalism Is Dead. Long Live Journalism
(Rebecaa Solnit more…)
-
Karen Attiah: The New School Cancelled Their Class on Soccer and World Politics. We Are Going To Teach it Anyway.
When institutions abandon critical thinking, we build our own classrooms
-
NY Times: Trump Risks Igniting a Nuclear Wildfire
The world is entering a dangerous new nuclear age. This month, the New START treaty between the United States and Russia — the last major restraint on the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals — expired. In its place, the Trump administration is substituting a policy of vague threats and dangerous brinkmanship that portends an unconstrained arms race not seen since the height of the Cold War.
(NY Times more…)
-
Daily Mail: Obama catches loose ball while sitting courtside with Michelle at NBA All Star game
(Daily Mail more…)
ICE deaths 2026 – They deserve remembrance and justice.- January 24: Alex Pretti
- January 14: Heber Sanchaz Dominguez
- January 14: Victor Manuel Diaz
- January 9: Parady La
- January 7: Renée Good
- January 6: Luis Beltran Yanez-Cruz
- January 5: Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres
- January 3: Geraldo Lunas Campos
- December 31, 2025: Keith Porter
Texas Tribune: A Walk for Peace: photos of Fort Worth monks’ journey to Washington
Walk for Peace – Dhammacetiya – The Ancient Sacred Buddhist Scripture Stupas
Margaret Chase Smith: Declaration of Conscience
NPR: January 6, 2021: A visual archive
Accountability Initiative ICE List
GriftMatrix
Trump Action Tracker
Timeline: Tracking the Trump Justice Department’s Anti-Voting Shift
Tracking the Lawsuits Against Trump’s Agenda
Trump Pardons Database
Project 2025 Tracker
DOGE Tracker
ProPublica: Elon Musk’s Demolition Crew
Wired: 6 Tools for Tracking the Trump Administration’s Attacks on Civil Liberties
Leave a Reply