![\"Jim](\"https:\/\/kewus.net\/yesterday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/e88e85a4-5b0f-4bec-af03-7e2c0865376e_1309x655.png\" "\\"Jim")
<\/a><\/p>\nBill McKibben: An El Ni\u00f1o is brewing<\/a><\/h2>\nAnd with it the next, pivotal, chapter of the climate fight.<\/em><\/p>\nAmerica\u2019s abandonment of the \u201cendangerment finding\u201d 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\u2019s not doing anything good on climate anyway it won\u2019t have deep immediate effect. (As is often the case, humorist Alexandra Petri had the best response<\/a>). What will matter more, I think, for America and for policy going forward, is the news<\/a> that we\u2019re likely to see another El Ni\u00f1o 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.<\/p>\nWe\u2019re still in a La Ni\u00f1a phase in the Pacific right now\u2014the cooler part of the cycle that meant that 2025\u2019s global temperature was \u201conly\u201d the second or third highest ever, trailing 2023, the last big El Ni\u00f1o year. But that hot phase seems to be returning, and somewhat faster than expected. …
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\n(Bill McKibben more…)<\/a><\/p>\nBloomberg: Trump\u2019s Coal Renaissance Comes at Cost for Taxpayers<\/a><\/h2>\nPaul Krugman: Turning Our Back on Clean Energy<\/a><\/h2>\nWhy does MAGA hate the planet?<\/em><\/p>\nAtlantic: Trump Administration Announces That We Don\u2019t Know Where the Sun Goes at Night<\/a><\/h2>\nAfter deciding carbon dioxide does no harm, it was the logical next move.<\/p>\n
\n\n![\"Gis\u00e8le](\"https:\/\/kewus.net\/yesterday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gisele-Pelicot.webp\" "\\"Gis\u00e8le")
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NY Times: \u2018They All Tried to Break Me\u2019: Gis\u00e8le Pelicot Shares Her Story<\/a><\/h2>\nIt is one of the most heinous sexual-abuse stories in history. Gis\u00e8le Pelicot was drugged and raped repeatedly by the person she trusted most in the world \u2014 her husband, Dominique Pelicot \u2014 who also invited dozens of men into their bedroom to rape Pelicot while she was heavily sedated.<\/p>\n
The abuse started in 2011, but Pelicot did not learn of it until 2020, after Dominique was caught secretly filming up women\u2019s 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 \u2014 assaults that Dominique had recorded and saved.
\n(NY Times more…)<\/a><\/p>\nUSA Today: Epstein accusers say Pam Bondi turned her back ‘on survivors everywhere’<\/a><\/h2>\nRobert Reich: The Squalor of the Epstein Class<\/a><\/h2>\n
![\"Philadelphia](\"https:\/\/kewus.net\/yesterday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Philadelphia-order.webp\" "\\"Philadelphia")
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Chris Geidner: A Presidents’ Day lesson from Philadelphia<\/a><\/h2>\n\u201cEach person who visits the President\u2019s House and does not learn of the realities of founding-era slavery receives a false account of this country\u2019s history,\u201c Judge Cynthia Rufe wrote.
\n(Chris Geidner more…)<\/a><\/p>\n
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Heather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American – February 16, 2026<\/a><\/h2>\nOn February 13 and 14, President Donald J. Trump\u2019s 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 \u201cPresident Donald J. Trump International Airport,\u201d \u201cDonald J. Trump International Airport,\u201d and \u201cDJT,\u201d including \u201cclothing, handbags, luggage, jewelry, watches, and tie clips.\u201d<\/p>\n
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, \u201cnever in the history of the United States\u201d has \u201ca sitting president\u2019s private company\u2026sought trademark rights\u201d before such a naming.
\n…<\/p>\n
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 …
\n(Heather Cox Richardson more…)<\/a><\/p>\n
![\"Steve](\"https:\/\/kewus.net\/yesterday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/a10d5dc1c892469b3273309a034ba3ea5dda4019.webp\" "\\"Steve")
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NY Times: Inside the Debacle That Led to the Closure of El Paso\u2019s Airspace<\/a><\/h2>\nThe F.A.A., citing \u201ca grave risk of fatalities\u201d from a new technology being used on the Mexican border, got caught in a stalemate with the Pentagon, which deemed the weapon \u201cnecessary.\u201d<\/em>
\n…<\/p>\nPublicly, 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.<\/p>\n
Senior administration officials described the incident as having been prompted by a drone<\/a> crossing into the United States from Mexico, an explanation repeated by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy this week.<\/p>\nWhite House officials declined to comment on Friday, and referred to a social media post<\/a> from Mr. Duffy, published on Wednesday, that said the administration \u201cacted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion.\u201d<\/p>\nBut that narrative was disputed by multiple people familiar with the situation who said the border protection unit ended up shooting down a party balloon<\/a>, rather than a drone. Military service members were present during the incident, the people said.
\n(NY Times more…)<\/a><\/p>\n
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Christina Pagel: How Trump administration has undermined fair elections in just the last month<\/a><\/h2>\n
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America\u2019s abandonment of the \u201cendangerment finding\u201d 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\u2019s not doing anything good on climate anyway it won\u2019t have deep immediate effect. (As is often the case, humorist Alexandra Petri had the best response<\/a>). What will matter more, I think, for America and for policy going forward, is the news<\/a> that we\u2019re likely to see another El Ni\u00f1o 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.<\/p>\n We\u2019re still in a La Ni\u00f1a phase in the Pacific right now\u2014the cooler part of the cycle that meant that 2025\u2019s global temperature was \u201conly\u201d the second or third highest ever, trailing 2023, the last big El Ni\u00f1o year. But that hot phase seems to be returning, and somewhat faster than expected. … Why does MAGA hate the planet?<\/em><\/p>\n After deciding carbon dioxide does no harm, it was the logical next move.<\/p>\n It is one of the most heinous sexual-abuse stories in history. Gis\u00e8le Pelicot was drugged and raped repeatedly by the person she trusted most in the world \u2014 her husband, Dominique Pelicot \u2014 who also invited dozens of men into their bedroom to rape Pelicot while she was heavily sedated.<\/p>\n The abuse started in 2011, but Pelicot did not learn of it until 2020, after Dominique was caught secretly filming up women\u2019s 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 \u2014 assaults that Dominique had recorded and saved. \u201cEach person who visits the President\u2019s House and does not learn of the realities of founding-era slavery receives a false account of this country\u2019s history,\u201c Judge Cynthia Rufe wrote. On February 13 and 14, President Donald J. Trump\u2019s 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 \u201cPresident Donald J. Trump International Airport,\u201d \u201cDonald J. Trump International Airport,\u201d and \u201cDJT,\u201d including \u201cclothing, handbags, luggage, jewelry, watches, and tie clips.\u201d<\/p>\n 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, \u201cnever in the history of the United States\u201d has \u201ca sitting president\u2019s private company\u2026sought trademark rights\u201d 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 … The F.A.A., citing \u201ca grave risk of fatalities\u201d from a new technology being used on the Mexican border, got caught in a stalemate with the Pentagon, which deemed the weapon \u201cnecessary.\u201d<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n Senior administration officials described the incident as having been prompted by a drone<\/a> crossing into the United States from Mexico, an explanation repeated by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy this week.<\/p>\n White House officials declined to comment on Friday, and referred to a social media post<\/a> from Mr. Duffy, published on Wednesday, that said the administration \u201cacted swiftly to address a cartel drone incursion.\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/a>, rather than a drone. Military service members were present during the incident, the people said.
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\n(Bill McKibben more…)<\/a><\/p>\nBloomberg: Trump\u2019s Coal Renaissance Comes at Cost for Taxpayers<\/a><\/h2>\n
Paul Krugman: Turning Our Back on Clean Energy<\/a><\/h2>\n
Atlantic: Trump Administration Announces That We Don\u2019t Know Where the Sun Goes at Night<\/a><\/h2>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nNY Times: \u2018They All Tried to Break Me\u2019: Gis\u00e8le Pelicot Shares Her Story<\/a><\/h2>\n
\n(NY Times more…)<\/a><\/p>\nUSA Today: Epstein accusers say Pam Bondi turned her back ‘on survivors everywhere’<\/a><\/h2>\n
Robert Reich: The Squalor of the Epstein Class<\/a><\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nChris Geidner: A Presidents’ Day lesson from Philadelphia<\/a><\/h2>\n
\n(Chris Geidner more…)<\/a><\/p>\n
\nHeather Cox Richardson: Letters from an American – February 16, 2026<\/a><\/h2>\n
\n…<\/p>\n
\n(Heather Cox Richardson more…)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nNY Times: Inside the Debacle That Led to the Closure of El Paso\u2019s Airspace<\/a><\/h2>\n
\n…<\/p>\n
\n(NY Times more…)<\/a><\/p>\n
\nChristina Pagel: How Trump administration has undermined fair elections in just the last month<\/a><\/h2>\n
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