curated news excerpts & citations
… trying to ‘unbury the lede’
Shay Bottomley
@ National Security Journal:
Donald Trump Just Got Handed Proof of a Deeper Problem: Oil Is Flowing Out of the Gulf But Oil Prices Just Won’t Come Down
Oil exports have returned near pre-war levels despite Iran’s insistence that the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. This is partly because exporters are using alternative routes.
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Despite intensified strikes on shipping from Iran in recent weeks, smaller vessels have been able to transit through the Strait of Hormuz with their trackers turned off.
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Despite U.S. optimism, shipowners and captains remain reluctant to risk damage to their vessels and crews, leaving some cargo stranded in the Persian Gulf.
… Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, has remained above $100 per barrel for much of October.
(Shay Bottomley @ National Security Journal more…)
Heather Delaney Reese:
J.D. Vance told the truth
… Then he said something he might not have meant to about the direct correlation between gas prices and Donald Trump: “They skyrocket every time some tin-pot dictator decides to throw a tantrum.”
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Sarah Jones:
MAGA Republican Forced to Concede Elon Musk and Melania Trump Could Be Deported…
Berlie pressed the Republican on his dodge and finally got a concession: “I think anyone who was not honest in their immigration paperwork.”The MAGA Republican was quick to add, “I don’t know anything about the circumstances of the first lady or Elon Musk; I don’t know that there’s ever been allegations.”
…Musk himself once described his past immigration status as a “gray area” during a 2013 conference, though he has consistently denied allegations that he worked illegally, writing on his platform that he was “in fact allowed to work in the US”.
…As for Melania Trump, questions have been raised about her qualifying for a so-called “Einstein visa” as they are reserved for individuals with “extraordinary ability” in sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics.
(Sarah Jones more…)
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Heather Cox Richardson:
Letters from an American – October 27, 2026On Sunday a student-led democratic movement ousted Serbia’s Aleksandar Vučić, a key ally of Russia’s president Vladimir Putin, from power. Today Serbian TV started its news program by apologizing to viewers. “For years, we failed to fulfill our duty. We kept silent, turned a blind eye, reported events one-sidedly and failed to ask necessary questions. We owe our viewers an apology.”
Also on Sunday, right-wing presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro lost to leftist incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Despite what appears to have been the restriction by Meta, the company that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, of social media accounts that promoted Lula and its promotion of pro-Bolsonaro accounts, Lula pulled out a victory.
…Meanwhile, concerns are circulating about a manipulation of information in the U.S. before the midterm election, similar to what happened in Brazil. …
(Heather Cox Richardson more…)
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Greg Palast:
How Trump, Paxton can overturn the Midterms
(Greg Palast more…)
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Samantha Cole @ 404 Media:
In Leaked Audio, Flock CEO Tells Cops Backlash to the Company Isn’t Real
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Michele Hornish:
“And if we’ve learned anything over the last 10 years, it’s not to trust assumptions.”
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Jess Piper:
The GOP is frightened of an educated populace
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Molly Knight Raskin @ Wired:
Despite the agency’s human resources department saying he hadn’t even been onboarded, Jeremy Lewin oversaw the destruction of USAID. It’s not clear he had the legal authority to do so.
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Metafilter:
The rape allegations against Trump: what’s known and what’s hidden
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Malcolm Ferguson @ TNR:
Trump Proudly Declares He’s Ignoring Judge on Golf Course Takeover
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Katelyn Jetelina, Megan Maisano, MS, RDN, Elisabeth Marnik, PhD @ Your Local Epidemiologist:
Bird flu in mink, measles double last year, SNAP at an all time low.Here’s what’s happening in the world of health: measles rates are now more than double last year’s, flu continues to make its mark early (including a concerning bird flu outbreak), and CDC expects a winter about as heavy as last season’s for respiratory viruses. In this week’s spotlight, SNAP cuts are reaching school lunch lines and why your state matters.
(Katelyn Jetelina, Megan Maisano, MS, RDN, Elisabeth Marnik, PhD @ Your Local Epidemiologist more…)
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Rachel Santarsiero @ Mother Jones:
The EPA Is Quietly Killing its Web ArchiveTens of thousands of documents on contamination, clean power, and Trump’s climate deletions are now scheduled to disappear.
The January 6Memory Project
ICE Detention Expansion Tracker
A field guide to claims
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
Mourning Those Who Have Died in ICE Custody
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
- October 17: Emiliano Andrade-Covarrubias
- September 18: Carlos Josue Marchena Marchena
- 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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