curated news excerpts & citations
… trying to ‘unbury the lede’
Miles Taylor:
We built a machine to protect Americans after 9/11. The president has turned it against us.
Twenty-five years ago, nearly three-thousand Americans were murdered by terrorist hijackers. The national security apparatus I helped build in the aftermath is now being used to spy on, harass, and intimidate Americans instead of protect them.
Every year around this anniversary, I make my way to Ground Zero if I can. If I cannot, I watch the Today Show coverage of the attack from that morning. It’s playing in the background right now as I write this. I do that ritual because I made a vow — like millions and millions of Americans — to “never forget.” And on this 25th Anniversary, that vow is more important than it’s ever been.
(Miles Taylor more…)
Rebecca Solnit:
The Real 9/11: Citizens Succeeded, Institutions Failed
A quarter century ago, 2,600 people lost their lives in Manhattan, and then several million people lost their story. The al-Qaeda attack on the Twin Towers did not defeat New Yorkers. It destroyed the buildings, contaminated the region, killed thousands, and disrupted the global economy, but it most assuredly did not conquer the citizenry. They were only defeated when their resilience was stolen from them by clichés, by the invisibility of what they accomplished that extraordinary morning, and by the very word “terrorism,” which suggests that they, or we, were all terrified. The distortion, even obliteration, of what actually happened was a necessary precursor to launching the obscene response that culminated in a war on Iraq, a war we lost, and the loss of civil liberties and democratic principles that went with it.
(Rebecca Solnit more…)
Chris Geidner:
The first deportation of the constitutionally suspect Alien Terrorist Removal Court happened weeks ago, following a secret plea deal
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Heather Cox Richardson:
Letters from an American – September 11, 2026Last night was the second night of the Republican midterm convention Trump staged to fire up his base. …
Although the crowd was small enough that it did not fill the arena, Trump got the absolute loyalty he demanded from those who had turned out. At the event, he led the crowd in an oath. …
Once again, he promised that if the Republicans held control of the House and Senate after the midterms, he would distribute a $5,000 check to all adult U.S. citizens, a plan that would cost more than a trillion dollars even if it were legal for him to do so (which it is not).
But while the Trump show in Dallas was being broadcast to the president’s fans, reality was very much on the minds of those watching events in the Middle East.
There are two main shipping routes for oil and other products out of the region, and both have strategic chokepoints. The Strait of Hormuz sits on the eastern side of the Arabian Peninsula where the Persian Gulf empties into the Arabian Sea. The Bab el-Mandeb strait sits on the western side of the Arabian Peninsula. It pinches the outlet of the Red Sea on its way to the Arabian Sea and from there to the Indian Ocean and world markets.
When Trump struck Iran in February 2026, Iranian forces took control of the Strait of Hormuz, largely stopping traffic of oil through the outlet. And so Saudi Arabia, which is the world’s largest oil exporter and a close ally of the United States, relied on sending exports via the Red Sea route, passing through the Bab el-Mandeb strait. …
Yesterday Iran-backed Houthi militants swept along the shoreline of the Red Sea toward the Bab el-Mandeb. …
Although the Houthis do not control the Djiboutian side of the strait, they now threaten shipping through the passage. Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline has also come under attack.
(Heather Cox Richardson more…)Morgaan Sinclair, Ph.D.:
Trump’s offer of a $5,000 “dividend” for a Midterm win was illegal for him to make–and it’s illegal for you to take!You can go to jail for up to two years if you cash this … uh, dividend … check.
… 18 U.S. Code § 597 – Expenditures to influence votingJennifer Rubin:
53 Days to the MidtermsLisa Needham:
It’s not “disputed.” He’s delusional.Joyce Vance:
The First Circuit Protects Voting By Mail From the Trump AdministrationJim Saksa @ Democracy Docket:
In ominous sign, USPS initially rejected Florida county’s mail ballot over spacing issue
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James Eagle:
Britain must plan beyond 40°C [104°F]
(James Eagle more…)Patrick Sisson @ Bloomberg:
US Water and Sewer Systems Can’t Cope With Climate ChangeWater and sewer systems from the 19th century are struggling with storms, heat and drought.
…
This July, in the middle of the night during one of Southern California’s 2026 heat waves, a 36-inch utility pipe gave way beneath West Hollywood, sending 17 million gallons of water coursing past the nightclubs of the famed Sunset Strip and opening up a massive sinkhole that flooded nearby homes and garages.The size of the deluge made national headlines, but it was hardly unprecedented: There were at least five other significant water system leaks around Los Angeles that week, a spate of failures that brought scrutiny of the system’s advanced age. The Sunset water main that ruptured had been installed in 1916.
Meanwhile, municipal water systems in at least a dozen US states, including Minnesota, Michigan and Georgia, reported a very different threat that month. They were targeted in cyberattacks — believed to be the work of Iranian hackers — that disrupted service in several cities, triggering boil-water advisories and fears of more malicious actions. In 2021, hackers gained control of a water system in Oldsmar, Florida, and tried to raise the level of sodium hydroxide — an ingredient in drain cleaner used to control water acidity — in a mass poisoning attempt.
(Patrick Sisson @ Bloomberg more…)Hans Christensen:
August 2026 was the warmest month ever recorded globallyJohn Timmer @ arsTECHNICA:
Trump’s forced coal plant extensions thrown out by judgeThe Department of Energy declared an “emergency” when none existed.
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Adrian Carrasquillo @ Bulwark:
Trump Is Forcing Her to Self-Deport.Daysi Gonzalez has built a life here for 25 years, and a career as a formidable political operative. Now she is planning an exit she never chose.
(Adrian Carrasquillo @ Bulwark more…)
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Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund:
Submit a public comment: Demand the USDA keep environmental protections in place and respect Tribal sovereigntyTell Google and Apple: The “lake of shining waters” belongs to Mother Earth, not Trump’s America
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Erich Wagner @ Government Executive:
Judge halts ‘favorite EO’ question on federal job applicationsU.S. District Judge George O’Toole issued a stay blocking federal agencies from asking an essay question civil service advocates call a “loyalty question,” but found he could not prevent consideration of answers already provided by job applicants.
Last Days in Two Nations
Climate.us
formerly Climate.gov
Climate Solutions Explorer
Have I Been Flocked?
Brockovich AI Data Center Reporting
resources tracking the “Andes” hantavirus outbreak
Apocalypse Early Warning System
Al Jazeera Death toll and injuries live tracker
Mike Ludwig @ truthout: ICE Says 51 People Died in Custody Under Trump. Experts Say That’s an Undercount.
ICE Accountability Project
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, Ximena Bustillo, Jasmine Garsd @ NPR: Deaths of migrants in ICE custody hit record high under Trump
- August 31: Pierre Damas Bel
- August 1: Edwin Lopez-Cornejo
- July 19: Jose Chajon-Raxon
- July 14: Juan Jairo Coronilla Duran
- July 13: Joan Sebastian Guerrero
- July 7: Lorenzo Salgado Araujo
- June 4: Mamuka Artmeladze
- April 16: Aled Damien Carbonell-Betancourt
- March 25: Jose Guadalupe Ramos-Solano
- March 16: Royer Perez-Jimenez
- March 14: Naseer Paktiawil
- February 25: Nurul Amin Shah Alam
April 1 – Jennifer Peltz and Jake Offenhartz @ AP: Death of a refugee left at a Buffalo doughnut shop by Border Patrol is ruled a homicide - 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
Suffering Under President Obama
NACDL Criminal Case Tracker
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
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