Money Is Not Wealth: News Posts - By A.R. Miller

MONEY IS NOT WEALTH

News Posts
Subsection 1 of Money Is Not Wealth.
AVOID SITES that track you or share your personal data:
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A few of our Go-To News Sources (latest updates, photos, video, links):
NEW: Earth From Space (live-stream from the ISS)
Computer - Wired
Environment - AP News
Financial - Forbes
Russia-Ukraine War - BBC News
Science - SciTechDaily
Trump Insurrection - The World-Wide Web

But First, A Few Picks From The Past (new selection, begun April 3, 2024):
[All articles in this set are from January 2014. Ten years later, it's the same but more so. Must civilization be doomed, so the grossly-rich can become even wealthier by investing in politicians?]

NEW: Will A Higher Minimum Wage Really Reduce Income Inequality? (CNN, January 15, 2014)
Raising the federal minimum wage could help bring many low-wage workers above the poverty line. It also could help restore the value of the minimum wage, which hasn't kept pace with inflation over the past 40 years.
But can it really address income inequality? "It will reduce inequality. The question is how much and for whom. It's not going to have a huge impact, but that's because there's no politically-feasible policy that would have a big impact", said poverty and fiscal expert Isabel Sawhill, co-director of the Center on Children and Families at the Brookings Institution.
It's the gap between very low-wage and middle-wage workers where advocates say some progress may be made if the minimum wage is raised sufficiently. At its peak in 1968, the minimum wage was equal to 54% of average hourly earnings in the private sector. Today, it comes in at 36%, according to the Congressional Research Service.

John Nichols: The Trans-Pacific Partnership Is A "Fast Track" To Less Democracy And More Economic Dislocation (The Nation, January 10, 2014)
Congress should not surrender its role in shaping of trade agreements - or a fair economy. The framers of the Constitution were wise to include Congress in the process of framing and approving trade agreements made by presidents. That authority to provide advice and consent should, the wisest legislators have always argued, be zealously guarded.
Unfortunately, in recent decades, Congress has frequently surrendered its authority when it comes to the shaping of trade agreements. By granting so-called "fast-track authority" to the White House, Congress opts itself out of the process at the critical stage when an agreement is being struck and retains only the ability to say "yes" or "no" to a done deal.
The result has been a framing of U.S. trade agreements that is great for multinational corporations but lousy for workers, communities and the environment. Instead of benefiting the great mass of people in the United States and countries with which it trades, deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and the permanent normalization of trade relations agreement with China de-emphasize worker rights, human rights, environmental and democracy concerns and clear the way for a race to the bottom.

Richard Smith: Beyond Growth Or Beyond Capitalism? (Truthout, January 15, 2014)
We can save capitalism or save human civilization. There is no possible future that contains both. We either continue with rising emissions and reap the radical repercussions of severe climate change, or we acknowledge that we have a choice and pursue radical emission reductions: No longer is there a non-radical option. Moreover, low-carbon supply technologies cannot deliver the necessary rate of emission reductions – they need to be complemented with rapid, deep and early reductions in energy consumption.

Occupy's Top 10 Of 2013 (Occupy Wall Street, January 10, 2014)

John Michael Greer: Seven Sustainable Technologies (The Archdruid Report, January 15, 2014)

Banished For Questioning The Gospel Of Guns (NY Times, January 4, 2014)

Exclusive: More Well-Known U.S. Retailers Victims Of Cyber Attacks. (Chicago Tribune, January 14, 2014)

Alain Damasio On the NSA: 701,000 Hours In Custody (January 21, 2014)
(French sci-fi author Alain Damasio, translated by Yves Smith)
We cannot calculate at what point reading our private exchanges, our emails, our chats, the histories of our phone calls, and web navigations becomes a very profound way of ransacking our souls – in a much-deeper way than being filmed in the street or interrogated in a police station. On the web, surveillance is perfectly hidden and asymmetrical and no one really knows when we are actually being watched; exactly as in Bentham's Panopticon as analyzed by Foucault. It's this very uncertainty which creates anxiety and is psychologically very effective in terms of self-control.
Right to free content. A letter, a web-surf, a text does not have to fatten databases and does not have to define profiles and tastes. This information should not have to produce added-value for targeted advertisements which will mobilize our available brain time towards selling us our own desires in an endless loop. I've had more than enough of feed-backs and back-ups!
Right to obscurity. Because obscurity is what allows us to be born again every day; to evolve, to reinvent ourselves differently. To escape the permanent link between our lives and the traces we leave, to actions done, to our habits taken. To resist being eternally referenced back to predict our future actions and desires and to freeze forever our attitudes based on what has already been recorded about us.
Right to freedom, quite simply. I was not born in a democracy to spend the 80 years of my life-expectancy under constant stake-out from a totalitarian electronic eye that will decide algorithmically what can be taken and kept against me. I did not come into this world to spend 701,000 hours in custody. My lifespan.

NEW: Bruce Schneier: How The NSA Threatens National Security (Schneier On Security, January 6, 2014 - and published in The Atlantic, same date)
Secret NSA eavesdropping is still in the news. Details about once-secret programs continue to leak. The Director of National Intelligence has recently declassified additional information, and the President's Review Group has just released its report and recommendations. With all this going on, it's easy to become inured to the breadth and depth of the NSA's activities. But through the disclosures, we've learned an enormous amount about the agency's capabilities, how it is failing to protect us, and what we need to do to regain security in the Information Age.
Our choice isn't between a digital world where the agency can eavesdrop, and one where it cannot. Our choice is between a digital world that is vulnerable to any attacker, and one that is secure for all users.


Prior Picks From The Past (soon to be removed from this section):
NEW: Kevin Loria: The Amount Of Carbon Dioxide In The Atmosphere Just Hit Its Highest Level In 800,000 Years, And Scientists Predict Deadly Consequences. (Business Insider, June 12, 2018)
Humans like us - Homo sapiens - evolved about 200,000 years ago, but ice-core records reveal intricate details of our planet's history from long before humans existed. By drilling more than 3 kilometers deep into the ice sheets over Greenland and Antarctica, scientists can see how temperature and atmospheric carbon-dioxide levels have changed.
From that record, we know the atmosphere and the air that we breathe has never had as much carbon dioxide in it as it does today. For the first time in recorded history, the average monthly level of CO2 in the atmosphere exceeded 410 parts per million in April, according to observations at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. In May, that number climbed above 411 ppm, according to researchers from Scripps Institute of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The record is not a coincidence - humans have rapidly transformed the air we breathe by pumping CO2 into it over the past two centuries. In recent years, we've pushed those gas levels into uncharted territory. That change has inevitable and scary consequences. Research indicates that if unchecked, increased CO2 levels could cause pollution-related deaths to increase by tens of thousands, and lead to the slowing of human cognition (especially when you take into account the fact that CO2 levels tend to be higher indoors in cities). Carbon dioxide also contributes to warming that causes sea-level rise, searing heat waves, and super-storms.
Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist, said, "As a scientist, what concerns me the most is what this continued rise actually means: that we are continuing full-speed-ahead with an unprecedented experiment with our planet, the only home we have."
[Reminder: This article is from 2018; as she says: "Is Anybody Listening?" Or more to the point, "Who is in charge?"
Answer: Big Business. Or, as Shakespeare warned somewhat earlier, "What FOOLS these mortals be!"]
Bob Brown: Natick's Best Benches (Natick Report, September 18, 2020)
Take a load off and park yourself on one of Natick's best benches. These are seats recognizable for their style, significance or unusualness.
Mark Puleo: When The Skies Went Dark: Historians Pinpoint The Very-Worst Year Ever To Be Alive. (Accuweather/Yahoo!News, April 9, 2021)
Next time you think you have it hard, consider what life was like when a cataclysmic event shrouded part of the earth. Even after it ended, a decade of pain and suffering followed. Despite countless human-caused nightmares throughout history, if historians have to pinpoint one year that would have been the worst to live through, it all goes back to a pair of volcanic eruptions.
[We highly recommend this comprehensive account of the decade beginning in 536 AD.]
English Teacher Grades ChatGPT "Homework". (8-min. video; Wired, February 6, 2023)
Andrew Marzoni, a high-school English teacher, grades homework created by the artificial-intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT. Andrew provides a variety of assignments for ChatGPT, including writing a limerick, a Shakespearean sonnet about Taco Bell, and a five-paragraph essay. How well will the chatbot perform? Can it get an A?
John Oliver: Artificial Intelligence (28-min. HBO video; Last Week Tonight, February 27, 2023)
Artificial Intelligence is increasingly becoming part of our lives, from self-driving cars to ChatGPT. John Oliver discusses how AI works, where it might be heading next, and, of course, why it hates the bus.
[A half-hour of educational fun on a very serious topic; despite a few nasty words, a recommended video to view and to share.]
NEW: Sergio Hernandez, Alex Mierjeski, Al Shaw and Mollie Simon: Supreme Connections: A New Tool To Trace Who Channels Private Money To "Our" Supreme Court Justices (ProPublica, December 21, 2023)
Every year, the Supreme Court's nine justices fill out a form that discloses their financial connections to companies and people. Using our new database, you can now search for organizations and people that have paid the justices, reimbursed them for travel, given them gifts and more.
[Thank you, ProPublica, for this illuminating year-end gift to the people, not the justices!]

Now, Starting with the Latest News Posts:

Aurélie Boucher and Mar Estarellas, McGill University: How Stepping Into Nature Affects The Brain (Medical Xpress, February 26, 2026)
Spending time in nature, even briefly, triggers changes in the brain that calm stress, restore attention, and quiet mental clutter, a new study has found. Researchers at McGill University and colleagues at Adolfo Ibáñez University in Chile have examined more than 100 brain-imaging studies from various disciplines. The result is one of the most comprehensive reviews to date of how the brain responds to nature.
The findings add neuro-scientific weight to the emerging field of Nature Connectedness, which seeks to better understand how humans relate to the natural world, an experience long recognized across cultures as central to well-being. The work is published in the journal Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.
"We know intuitively that nature feels good, but neuroscience gives us a language that lends credibility to shaping decisions about how nature is considered in health policy and the spaces we build", said co-lead author Mar Estarellas, a postdoctoral researcher in the Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, McGill University.
By synthesizing results from a wide range of studies, the researchers identified what they call a cascading pattern in how the brain responds to nature:
1. Shift in Sensory Processing: Fractal patterns in nature are easier for the brain to process and require less mental effort than the fast-paced and visually-dense stimuli found in cities or online.
2. Stress Systems Settle: As sensory load eases, the body shifts out of fight-or-flight mode:
- Heart rate slows,
- Breathing deepens, and
- Brain regions involved in threat detection, such as the amygdala, show reduced activity.
3. Attention restores itself: With stress reduced, the task-driven attention used in everyday life gives way to a more restorative mode of attention guided by the environment.
4. Mental rumination quiets: Brain networks linked to repetitive self-focused thinking become less active, supporting a calmer sense of self.
What Counts as "Being In Nature"?
Nature exposure exists along a spectrum, from time spent in parks or near water to full immersion in forests or waterfalls. It also extends to smaller encounters, such as keeping plants at home or looking at pictures of nature.
"As little as three minutes in a natural environment can lead to measurable changes, but more immersive, real-world experiences and longer exposure are generally associated with stronger and longer-lasting effects", Estarellas said.
Sadie Harley: ALMA Reveals Milky Way's Core In Largest-Ever Mosaic, Tracing Cold Gas Filaments. (BIGastro-photograph; ESO, February 25, 2026)
Astronomers have captured the central region of our Milky Way in a striking new image, unveiling a complex network of filaments of cosmic gas in unprecedented detail. Obtained with the Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA), this rich data-set - the largest ALMA image to date - will allow astronomers to probe the lives of stars in the most extreme region of our galaxy, next to the super-massive black hole at its center.
It's a place of extremes, invisible to our eyes, but now revealed in extraordinary detail", says Ashley Barnes, an astronomer at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Germany who is part of the team that obtained the new data.
Paul Arnold, Phys.org: Bio-Inspired Chip Helps Robots And Self-Driving Cars React Faster To Movement. (images, 7-min. and 3-min. videos; TechXplore.com, February 11, 2026)
Robots and self-driving cars could soon benefit from a new kind of brain-inspired hardware that can allegedly detect movement and react faster than a human. A new study published in the journal Nature Communications details how an international team built their neuromorphic temporal-attention hardware system to speed up automated-driving decisions.
The problem with current robotic vision and self-driving vehicles is a significant delay in processing what they see. While today's top AI programs can recognize objects accurately, the calculations are so complex that they can take up to half a second to complete. That may not sound like a lot, but at highway speeds, a one-second delay means a car travels 27 meters before it even begins to react. That is too long and too slow a reaction time.
To solve this problem, the team worked on a hardware solution rather than tinkering with software, modeling it on how human vision works. When we view a situation, our visual system doesn't analyze every detail at once. It first detects changes in brightness and movement, then processes the more complex details later.
The researchers built a chip that essentially does the same thing. It has a 4x4 array of specialized transistors that act as a filter. Instead of sending a whole video to the main computer, it identifies key changes in a scene. Because the computer only has to look at these regions rather than the entire image, the entire visual system runs faster.
In laboratory tests, this new system processed motion data four times faster than current state-of-the-art algorithms. Consequently, the hardware reduced visual processing time to around 150 milliseconds, roughly in the range of human visual perception.
Bert Gambini, University at Buffalo: Only Humans Have Chins; Study Shows It's An Evolutionary Accident. (Phys.org, February 11, 2026)
Chimpanzees, humans' closest living relatives, do not have a chin. Neither did Neanderthals, Denisovans, or any other extinct branch of genus Homo. Humans are uniquely in possession of the chin; that exclusive nature makes the chin well suited for identifying Homo sapiens in the fossil record.
In simplest terms, a chin is a bony projection of the lower jaw. So why is it there? How and why did it evolve?
The answer, part of a study published in the journal PLOS One by a team led by a University at Buffalo biological anthropologist, broadens the holistic understanding of the human body as an amalgamation of adaptations and random byproducts of evolution.
"The chin evolved largely by accident and not through direct selection, but as an evolutionary byproduct resulting from direct selection on other parts of the skull", says Noreen von Cramon-Taubadel, Ph.D., professor and chair of the UB Department of Anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Krystal Kasal: New Experiments Suggest Earth's Core Contains Up To 45 Oceans' Worth Of Hydrogen. (Phys.org, February 11, 2026)
Scientists have long known that Earth's core is mostly made of iron, but the density is not high enough for it to be pure iron, meaning lighter elements exist in the core, as well. In particular, it's suspected to be a major reservoir of hydrogen. A new study, published in Nature Communications, supports this idea with results suggesting the core contains up to 45 oceans' worth of hydrogen. These results also challenge the idea that most of Earth's water was delivered by comets early on.
University of Michigan: Noise Pollution Is Affecting Birds' Reproduction, Stress Levels And More: The Good News Is, We Can Fix It. (Phys.org, February 10, 2026)
New research led by the University of Michigan is painting a more comprehensive picture of how noise pollution is impacting birds around the world. "The major takeaway from this study is that anthropogenic noise affects many aspects of bird behavior, with some responses more directly tied to fitness", said Natalie Madden, lead author of the new study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
While earning her master's degree at the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability, or SEAS, Madden launched an extensive analysis encompassing data from more than 150 studies published since 1990. These studies covered six continents and 160 bird species.
"Several of the studies we pulled data from focus on a single species and a single noise source," said Madden, who is now a conservation science and policy analyst with Defenders of Wildlife. "Based on our assessment of this meta-analysis, we were able to generate a broader statement about trends we're seeing."
Generally speaking, the noises made by humans - coming from traffic, construction and other activities - are impacting birds' behavior, physiology and even their reproduction.
Since 1970, bird populations have declined at a staggering rate, with 3-billion breeding adults across a range of species lost in North America alone. While human activities like land development and pesticide use have more obvious direct impacts on bird populations, the new study highlights that our noise pollution is also affecting how birds survive alongside us.
"Birds rely heavily on acoustic information. They use song to find mates, calls to warn of predators, and chicks make begging calls to let their parents know they're hungry," Madden said. "So if there's loud noise in the environment, can they still hear signals from their own species?"
In collecting the data, the team also dug into how shared traits across species mediated certain noise impacts. For instance, birds that live in cavity nests appear more likely to experience negative effects on their growth compared with birds that live in open nests. And birds living in urban areas tend to have higher levels of stress hormones than those living outside of cities.
Although noise is creating all sorts of negative consequences for birds, understanding this can be turned into a positive, said the study's senior author, Neil Carter, associate professor at SEAS.
"By synthesizing across these studies in a meta-analysis, we find that there are predictable effects," he said. "And if we can predict them, then we can mitigate them, we can reduce them, we can reverse them."
Furthermore, Carter said, there are already solutions at our fingertips. Just as buildings are integrating new materials and techniques to increase visibility and prevent birds from colliding with windows, there are ways we can adapt our built environments to stifle sound.
"Knowing all this, combined with the fact that it is technically possible to reduce and manage noise, this feels like it's relatively low-hanging fruit," Carter said.
"So many of the things we're facing with biodiversity loss just feel inexorable and massive in scale, but we know how to use different materials and how to put things up in different ways to block sound. We know what to use and how to use it, we just have to get enough awareness and interest in doing it."
MA Biologist Has This Advice For Feeding Wildlife This Winter: Don't! (Metrowest Daily News, January 27, 2026)
Advice from Meghan Crawford, Community-Engagement Biologist at the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife):
MassWildlife officials advise against your (even with good intentions) feeding wild animals during winter.
- Feeding wildlife can lead to the spread of diseases and cause animals to become less cautious around humans.
- Bird feeders can also be harmful, attracting predators and other unwanted wildlife like bears and coyotes to homes.
- Instead of providing food, people can help wildlife by growing native plants or contributing to habitat restoration.

Protests Against Deadly ICE Intrusions Into States
Brad Brooks, Daniel Trotta and Andrew Goudsward: Thousands Demonstrate In Minnesota And Across US To Protest ICE. (Reuters, January 30, 2026; updated January 31, 2026)
Summary:
- Protesters brave freezing cold to demonstrate in Minneapolis.
- Springsteen lends support with benefit concert, new song.
- Local chief of FBI field office forced out.
- ICE given broader power to arrest people without a warrant.
Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Minneapolis and students across the United States staged walkouts on Friday to demand the withdrawal of federal immigration agents from Minnesota following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens.
Students and teachers abandoned classes from California to New York on a national day of protest, which came amid mixed messages from the Trump administration about whether it would de-escalate Operation Metro Surge.
Under a national immigration crackdown, President Donald Trump has sent 3,000 federal officers to the Minneapolis area who are patrolling the streets in tactical gear, a force five times the size of the Minneapolis Police Department.
Protesting the surge and the tactics used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, several thousand people gathered in downtown Minneapolis in sub-freezing temperatures, including families with small kids, elderly couples and young activists.
Katia Kagan, wearing a "No ICE" sweatshirt and holding a sign demanding the agency leave the city, said she was the daughter of Russian Jews who immigrated to America seeking safety and a better life. "I'm out here because I'm going to fight for the American dream that my parents came here for", Kagan said.
Kim, a 65-year-old meditation coach who asked that her last name not be used, called the surge a "full-on fascist attack of our federal government on citizens".
In a Minneapolis neighborhood near the sites where Alex Pretti and Renee Good, two U.S. citizens, were fatally shot this month by federal immigration agents, about 50 teachers and staff members from local schools turned out to march.
Rock star Bruce Springsteen lent his voice to the protest, taking the stage at a fundraiser for Good and Pretti in downtown Minneapolis and playing his new song "Streets of Minneapolis".
Protests stretched well beyond Minnesota as organizers forecast 250 demonstrations across 46 states and in major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington under the slogan, "No work. No school. No shopping. Stop funding ICE."
Trump in turn offered a vote of confidence for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department oversees ICE. Critics have called for her resignation but Trump said on social media that Noem "has done a really GREAT JOB!", asserting that "The Border disaster that I inherited is fixed."
Local FBI Chief Forced Out:
Meanwhile, events in Minneapolis reverberated through the federal government.
The acting head of the Minneapolis FBI field office, Jarrad Smith, was removed from his post, according to two sources familiar with the move. Smith was reassigned to FBI headquarters in Washington, according to one of the sources.
The Minneapolis field office has been involved in:
- the federal surge as well as
- investigations into the Pretti shooting and
- a church protest that led to charges against former CNN-anchor Don Lemon.
The FBI arrested Lemon on Friday and the Justice Department charged him with violating federal law during a protest inside a St. Paul, Minnesota church earlier this month in what his lawyer called an attack on press freedom. After pleading not guilty, Lemon told reporters, "I will not be silenced. I look forward to my day in court."
The New York Times, citing an internal ICE memo it reviewed, reported on Friday that federal agents were told this week they have broader power to arrest people without a warrant, expanding the ability of lower-level ICE agents to carry out sweeps rounding up suspected undocumented immigrants they encounter.
Backlash against the administration's immigration policy also threatened to spark a partial U.S. government shutdown, as Democrats in Congress opposed funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE.
Public Opinion Shifts:
Weeks of viral videos showing the aggressive tactics of heavily armed and masked agents on the streets of Minneapolis have driven public approval of Trump's immigration policy to the lowest level of his second term, a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll showed.
As uproar over the ICE operation grew, Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, was dispatched to Minneapolis, saying his officers would return to more targeted operations, rather than the broad street sweeps that have led to clashes with protesters.
Echoing protesters' sentiments, Minnesota's Democratic Governor Tim Walz on Friday questioned whether that would happen and said more drastic changes were needed. "The only way to ensure the safety of the people of Minnesota is for the federal government to draw down their forces and end this campaign of brutality", Walz said on X.
Trump said earlier this week he wanted to "de-escalate a bit" - but when asked by reporters on Thursday if he was pulling back, Trump said: "Not at all."
- High-school students bearing anti-ICE signs staged a walkout in Long Beach, California.
- In Brooklyn, a long parade of high-school-age protesters marched and chanted anti-ICE obscenities.
- In Aurora, Colorado, public schools closed on Friday due to large anticipated teacher and student absences. The Denver suburb saw intense immigration raids last year after Trump claimed it was a "war zone" overrun by Venezuelan gangs.
- In Tucson, Arizona, at least 20 schools canceled classes in anticipation of mass absences.
- At DePaul University in Chicago, protest signs read "Sanctuary Campus" and "Fascists Not Welcome Here."
Federal Investigation Into The Shooting Of Pretti Appears Limited. (New York Times, January 26, 2026)
The Trump administration appeared to acknowledge today that its investigation into the killing of a Veterans Affairs nurse, Alex Pretti, by federal agents this weekend was limited to a "use-of-force" review meant to establish whether government employees had violated training standards. Such a move, disclosed in court filings, would represent a much-narrower inquiry focused on tactics and conduct than one that would examine whether federal agents should face criminal charges.
As part of the administration's efforts to block a judge from ordering it to preserve evidence, Mark Zito, who leads the Homeland Security Investigations office in St. Paul, Minnesota, provided the court with a sworn statement that noted that his agency, which belongs to the Department of Homeland Security, is investigating the shooting. "H.S.I. is the lead investigatory entity reviewing the use-of-force encounter at issue in this case", Mr. Zito's declaration said. "H.S.I. agents tasked with this investigation are required to preserve all evidence collected, including physical evidence collected by other federal agencies, which are then properly transferred to the custody of H.S.I."
Minnesota state officials have sought a court order to preserve evidence for their own investigation of the killing of Mr. Pretti, who was repeatedly shot by Border Patrol agents two days ago. The Trump administration is fighting such an order, claiming that it is already preserving the relevant evidence.
The critical terms in Mr. Zito's statement are "use of force" and "reviewing". Among federal law-enforcement agencies, a use-of-force review is focused on:
- whether law-enforcement personnel followed agency rules and regulations,
- where and when to use force, and
- how much force.
That is distinct from a criminal investigation. F.B.I. agents could, for example, investigate to determine if Mr. Pretti's civil rights were violated by federal agents acting under color of law, a crime that carries the possibility of a death sentence.
The F.B.I. could also investigate whether Mr. Pretti assaulted or impeded a federal law-enforcement officer, although there is limited practical use to such an investigation, given that Mr. Pretti is dead and cannot be charged.
There is no indication yet that the F.B.I. is doing either.  Whatever the Trump administration investigates, their determinations may not be the last word, since there is no statute of limitations on murder.
An F.B.I. spokesman declined to comment. A D.H.S. spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.
Court filings suggest that, so far, the F.B.I.'s involvement is limited to assisting the Department of Homeland Security in its use-of-force review. F.B.I. agents arrived quickly on the scene of Mr. Pretti's killing, and secured his weapon and his phone.
Live Updates: Border-Patrol Official Who Led Crackdown Is Expected to Leave Minnesota. (New York Times, January 26, 2026)
Gregory Bovino, who became a target of fierce criticism, is set to depart as President Trump moves to deflect anger over a second fatal shooting. Mr. Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, will now direct ICE operations in Minnesota.
The decision to move Bovino out of the city came two days after he made the unsubstantiated claim that a man who was shot and killed there by federal agents was planning to "massacre" law enforcement officers. Some of the federal agents in the city are also expected to begin leaving tomorrow, Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis said after a phone call today with President Trump, without providing details.
Mr. Trump and his top aides have faced intense scrutiny over the death of the man, Alex Pretti, including from some of the president's most ardent supporters.
Minneapolis ICE Shooting Sparks Protests In Several Major U.S. Cities. (20-min. YouTube video; KATVchannel7, January 26, 2026)
A protest erupted in downtown Seattle at around 6:00 p.m. Saturday, with the group blocking southbound traffic on 2nd Ave. at Madison St., in front of the Henry Jackson Federal Building.
The demonstration was organized by Seattle Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (SAARPR) in response to the death of 37-year-old Alex Pretti, who was reportedly killed by a federal officer this morning.
Protest organizers issued a news release earlier in the afternoon, stating, "On behalf of Seattle community organizers, we would like to invite the media to cover a time-sensitive event. Following the murder of 37-year-old Alex Pretti this morning by ICE, organizations across Seattle have come together to hold an emergency protest and vigil at the Federal Building."
Today (Sunday), people also protested outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement facility in South Portland, for the second night following the shooting and killing of a man by federal agents in Minneapolis. Protesters tried to block cars from entering the facility, and federal agents in Portland detained at least five people outside the facility. Two people detained told KATU crews that they were charged with disorderly conduct and have a court date scheduled.
Bernie Sanders: The President Of The United States Is Using His Domestic Army To Invade And Occupy Cities Across Our Nation. (BernieSanders.com, January 25, 2026)
As you are no doubt aware, over the last several weeks, ICE officers and federal law enforcement agents have shot three people and killed two American citizens in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
When I talk about authoritarianism in this country, I am talking about:
- a President of the United States who is using his domestic army to invade and occupy cities across our nation. His goal is to intimidate the American people and make us afraid to stand up for our rights.
- how Trump uses the concept of the Big Lie in a way that has never, in this country, been done before. Day after day, blatantly dishonest statements and conspiracy theories are propagated - and we are once again seeing it in Minnesota.
- He and his administration will call violent insurrectionists "peaceful", and then his administration labels a mother of three a "domestic terrorist" and a VA nurse an "assassin".
- a president and an administration using the full weight of the federal government to harass and prosecute his political opponents ... something happening in Minnesota right now.
Trump And Federal Officials Try To Blame Minnesota Authorities And Slain Man. (6-min. audio version; by Katie Rogers and Hamed Aleaziz, New York Times, January 24, 2026)
Before An Investigation Could Be Conducted, They Called Alex Jeffrey Pretti A "Domestic Terrorist" And Said The Governor And Minneapolis Mayor "Were Inciting Rebellion".
[More lies!]
President Trump moved swiftly today to try to shift the blame for another shooting death in Minneapolis away from the federal agents involved in the incident, claiming instead that it was the result of inflammatory rhetoric by local officials and the victim himself.
Members of Mr. Trump's administration also quickly labeled the man, who Minneapolis police said was 37 and an American citizen, as a "domestic terrorist" and would-be assassin hours after the morning shooting, before all the facts were known or an investigation could take place. Videos taken by bystanders appeared to contradict the account of federal officials.
In a pair of social-media posts, Mr. Trump accused local politicians, including Gov. Tim Walz and Jacob Frey, the mayor of Minneapolis, of "inciting Insurrection", in an attempt to divert attention from an unrelated fraud scandal. He called Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents "patriots" who were left unassisted by the local police as they sought [and still seek] to detain what Mr. Trump described as violent immigrants. "If they were still there, you would see something far worse than you are witnessing today!", the president wrote.
Mr. Trump also shared a photo of a firearm that federal officials claim belonged to the man who was killed. The police in Minneapolis said the man, whom law enforcement officials identified as Alex Jeffrey Pretti, had a firearms permit. It is legal to openly carry a weapon in Minnesota.
The Department of Homeland Security said the episode began when a man approached Border Patrol agents "with a 9-mm. semi-automatic hand-gun" and they tried to disarm him. BUT, footage from the scene verified by The New York Times shows that the man was holding a phone in his hand when federal agents took him to the ground and shot him. A Times analysis found that at least 10 shots were fired.
A U.S. official said the Department of Homeland Security would investigate the shooting, with the help of the F.B.I. The Justice Department's civil-rights division, which has historically investigated shootings involving federal law-enforcement officials, is not expected to be involved, said two senior law-enforcement officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal decision-making.
Despite that, top Department of Homeland Security leaders weighed in on the shooting today with assertions of what had occurred:
- Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol official in charge of agents in Minnesota, claimed that the man was attempting to murder agents. "This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law-enforcement", Mr. Bovino said at a news conference today.
- The defiant and angry response by the president and members of his administration further inflamed tensions in a city that has for weeks been racked by conflicts between protesters and government agents sent there to enforce the president’s crackdown on immigrants. Increasingly, U.S. citizens have taken to the streets to protest what many have described as a military-style occupation of an American city in which federal agents are using aggressive and violent tactics.
- The shooting further deepened a calcifying rift between federal officials and their counterparts in Minnesota, where local and state officials said they have been given sparse information about the actions of federal agents.
- Shortly after the shooting, Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, posted messages on social media claiming the man was seeking to murder federal agents. "A would-be assassin tried to murder federal law enforcement and the official Democrat account sides with the terrorists", Mr. Miller said.
Earlier, he responded to a social-media post from Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota, that criticized the administration's crackdown in her state. "A domestic terrorist tried to assassinate federal law enforcement and this is your response?", he wrote. "You and the state's entire Democrat leadership team have been flaming the flames of insurrection for the singular purpose of stopping the deportation of illegals who invaded the country."
- Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem echoed the idea that Mr. Pretti was a domestic terrorist in a news conference today. "This looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law-enforcement", she said, despite no known evidence of his intent. She called her assertion of "domestic terrorism", just the facts.
- The fatal shooting today came a little over two weeks after Renee Good, a 37-year-old woman, was shot three times while she was driving in her S.U.V. In the hours after she was shot and killed, Ms. Good was also labeled a "domestic terrorist" by members of the Trump administration, as officials moved quickly to exonerate the ICE official who shot her, BEFORE an investigation could determine what had occurred.
- A supervisor in the F.B.I.'s Minneapolis field office resigned after F.B.I. leadership in Washington pressured her to discontinue a civil-rights inquiry into Jonathan Ross, the immigration officer who shot Ms. Good, The Times reported.
- Mr. Trump and top officials were following a similar playbook in their response to the shooting of Mr. Pretti today, even as videos emerged that challenged their accounts.
- Today, angry Minnesota officials demanded that Department of Homeland Security officials leave the state. "How many more residents, how many more Americans, need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end?", Mr. Frey asked.
- On social media and in a later news conference, Mr. Walz said he had spoken with Susie Wiles, Mr. Trump's chief of staff, after the shooting. He had argued for state officials to lead the investigation. He accused "the most powerful people in the federal government" of "spinning stories and putting up pictures." Of immigration agents, Mr. Walz added: "They killed a man, created chaos, pushed down protesters, threw gas indiscriminately and then left the scene - and then we're left to clean up."

Jimmy Kimmel: Trump Has A Nasty New Bruise, Launches Board Of Peace, And Jimmy Kimmel Breaks Down The FCC's Threats. (16-min. of YouTube video, starting at 1:50 min.; Jimmy Kimmel Live, January 22, 2026)
- A tortilla that looked just like Donald Trump.
- Donald and Melania celebrated their 21st anniversary.
- Trump has a nasty bruise on his hand, which doesn't exactly square up with his recent excuses.
- He finally gave up on America acquiring Greenland.
- He came up with a new thing called the "Board of Peace", which many normal countries fear he is forming to replace the UN.
- Jared Kushner is spearheading the work to rebuild Gaza.
- Former Special Counsel Jack Smith testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee.
- The Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on whether or not to put the kibosh on Trump's big, beautiful tariffs.
- JD Vance was in Minneapolis today for a round-table with community leaders (a.k.a. "damage control").
- Ted Cruz was spotted on a flight to California, as his home state is about to be hit with terrible weather.
- Trump and Brendan Carr from the FCC are coming for us again.
- Jimmy breaks down the "equal-time rules" in question, and
- This Week in Unnecessary Censorship.

Trump's History Of Grossly Mis-Stating His Asset Values
Historic Ruling: Trump's Empire Under Siege. Judge Orders Immediate Asset-Seizure. (20-min, YouTube video; The USA Watch, based in India and joined YouTube on January 7, 2026, and Jack Unfiltered Show, January 24, 2026)
Trump's empire is under siege, following an historic court ruling that paves the way for New York authorities to begin seizing marquee properties to satisfy the $450-Million fraud judgment.
In this video:
- We analyze the breaking order that declares Trump's latest appeals "frivolous", and
- gives Federal Marshals the green light to move on assets like 40 Wall Street and Trump Tower.
We break down the timeline of this historic financial ruling:
- The judge's scathing opinion dismantling Trump's defense as "insulting to the court".
- Why the $450-Million penalty (plus interest) has put a stranglehold on the Trump Organization's liquidity.
- The specific role of Federal Marshals in taking control of physical properties - a first in American history for a President.
What happens next: Can Trump secure a last-minute bond, or will we see "For Sale" signs on 5th Avenue?
Also see, from earlier:
NY State's 8-page detailed list of same (2018

Rachel Maddow: MOSCOW IN FLAMES As Putin Signals "Withdraw". Massive Strike Hits Russia's Capital. (15-min. YouTube video; The Gavel, January 21, 2026)
🔥 BREAKING: Moscow is BURNING tonight as Ukraine executes the most audacious strike of the entire war - hitting targets in the KREMLIN DISTRICT itself. And for the first time in three years, Vladimir Putin has uttered a word he has systematically avoided: "LOSSES."
Tonight, we reveal what:
- Kremlin officials declared impossible,
- Western intelligence agencies monitored in real-time, and
- Ukrainian special forces executed with surgical precision. Ukrainian long-range drones penetrated Moscow's "impenetrable" air defenses and struck military coordination centers within SIGHT of the Kremlin walls.
The stakes are far higher than the public has been told.
This wasn't just a drone attack. This was a coordinated, multi-domain operation that has shattered the myth that Putin can protect his own capital.   
🔥 WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS VIDEO:
- The precision strike that hit Moscow's Kremlin district at 03:15 hours.
- Why Putin's acknowledgment of "losses" has stunned intelligence analysts.
- How Ukrainian drones penetrated Russia's "impenetrable" air defenses.
- The three significant targets destroyed - including a hidden military coordination center.
- Why Russian state media went SILENT for over four hours.
- How Ukraine demonstrated intelligence penetration at the highest levels.
- The psychological warfare strategy behind striking Moscow itself.
- Putin's internal pressure: oligarchs, generals, and security officials demanding answers.
- NATO's carefully calibrated response, and what it signals.
- Zelensky's powerful address: "Distance does not provide immunity."
- Why Western analysts say Russia's security posture is now "psychologically shattered".
- The coordinated strikes on Crimea happening simultaneously.
- What this means for the next phase of the war.
🔥 THE SITUATION RIGHT NOW:
- Ukrainian precision weapons struck KREMLIN DISTRICT targets.
- Putin publicly acknowledged "LOSSES" for the first time in 3 years.
- Russian air defenses FAILED to stop the attack.
- State media went SILENT for over 4 hours, unprecedented!
- Moscow placed on HIGHEST ALERT status since war began.
- Emergency security protocols activated across the capital.
- Western intelligence confirms: multi-domain operation (drones + cyber).
- NATO monitoring situation with HEIGHTENED attention.
- Ukrainian intelligence released precise target coordinates AFTER strike.
💥 WHY THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING:
- For three years, Russian citizens in Moscow lived normal lives while their military devastated Ukrainian cities.
- Tonight, Ukraine ended that asymmetry.
- Fires burning within sight of the Kremlin.
- Explosions audible in central Moscow.
- The war arriving on doorsteps that believed themselves safe.
One former intelligence officer said: "Ukraine didn't just hit targets tonight. They hit the MYTH that Putin could protect his own capital."

Trump's Reluctant Greenland Climbdown, As Mark Carney Steals Show At Davos! (22-min. YouTube video; Untold Money Secrets, January 21, 2026)
Something extraordinary happened at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. Two speeches, 24 hours apart, same venue - but they revealed a seismic shift in global power dynamics that most people completely missed:
- On Tuesday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered what international observers are calling one of the most consequential speeches by a Western leader in years. He declared the rules-based international order "ruptured" and laid out a new strategy for middle-powers to resist great-power coercion. Without mentioning Trump's name once, he dismantled the entire logic of America's Greenland threats.
- 24 hours later, Trump took the same stage. And what followed was a masterclass in retreat disguised as victory.
For weeks, Trump had:
- threatened military action against Greenland,
- demanded Denmark surrender sovereign territory, and
- threatened tariffs against eight NATO allies.
But Europe called his bluff. They:
- deployed troops,
- unified their response, and
- made clear they would defend Denmark under Article 5 of NATO.
Trump blinked. His "framework deal" with NATO isn't the victory he claims. It's a face-saving climb-down that gives the US what it already had, repackaged as a new agreement.
- The territorial demands? Gone.
- The military threats? Abandoned.
- The tariffs? Cancelled.
This video breaks down:
- exactly what happened,
- why it matters, and
- what it reveals about the changing nature of global power.
This isn't just about Greenland. It's about:
- whether American threats still work,
- whether alliances can resist pressure, and
- whether the post-WWII order is truly dead, or just transforming into something new.
If you want to understand what actually happened beyond the headlines, this is the analysis you need.
KEY TOPICS:
- Mark Carney's defining Davos speech on the "rupture" of world order.
- Trump's escalating Greenland threats and tariff warnings.
- Europe's unified military response to defend Denmark.
- The vague "deal" and what it actually means.
- Why this represents a fundamental shift in global power.
- What comes next for NATO and US-Europe relations?

Mass Shootings In USA
Emily Crane: Shootings At Brown University And MIT "Cracked", By Homeless Hero "Now Entitled To $50K Reward": Feds. (good links and images; New York Post, December 19, 2025)
A homeless hero has been credited with cracking the shootings at Brown University and MIT wide open after he confronted the gunman - and the feds say he is now entitled to the staggering $50,000 reward.
The tipster, known only as John, was key to police eventually identifying Claudio Neves Valente as the suspect, after John offered up key information on the 48-year-old perp's car following an odd encounter with him on the day of the shooting, officials said. "He blew this case right open", Rhode Island Attorney-General Peter Neronha said as he praised the tipster.
Until John's tip came through, investigators had been scrambling to ID the gunman, who killed two Brown students on December 14 and then gunned down a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor just two days later.
It wasn't immediately clear if John - whose image was initially put out by police as someone they wanted to speak to - would receive the hefty reward on offer, but Ted Docks, special agent in charge of the FBI, said he should be eligible. "It would be logical to think that, absolutely, that individual would be entitled to that", Docks said when asked about the possibility.
John's tip first came to light when he started posting on Reddit that he recognized the images of the perp that had been blasted out by authorities in the wake of Saturday's bloodshed. "I'm being dead serious", the Reddit post said, according to court documents. "The police need to look into a grey Nissan with Florida plates, possibly a rental. I know because he used his key fob to open the car, he approached it, and then something prompted him to back away", he added. "When he backed away, he re-locked the car. I found that odd, so when he circled the block, I approached the car - and that is when I saw the Florida plates."
Until that point, authorities had zero details on a vehicle possibly tied to the shooter.
After John's image was put out by police as the hunt continued, he sat down with investigators and divulged that he'd had a strange "cat-and-mouse" interaction with the gunman on the day of the first shooting. He said he encountered Neves Valente in the bathroom of Brown's engineering building just hours before the attack - and noted the suspect's clothing was "inappropriate and inadequate for the weather".
Sources told Fox News that John had been living in the basement of the engineering building at the time. He later bumped into Neves Valente outside the building and opted to follow him, according to his affidavit. At one point, John says he yelled out, "Your car is back there, why are you circling the block?"
"The Suspect responded, 'I don't know you from nobody', then Suspect repeatedly asked, "Why are you harassing me?'", court  files state.
Working off John's information, authorities tapped into additional surveillance footage that ultimately led them to the gunman. Nearly 24 hours later, investigators found Neves Valente dead from a self-inflicted gunshot.
"When you crack it, you crack it!", the attorney-general said.

December 14th Father-Son Attack On The Hanukkah Festival In Australia That Killed 15 People
Emily Crane: Bondi Beach Hero Ahmed el Ahmed Speaks Out From His Hospital bed, Despite Being "Riddled With Bullets". (photos; New York Post, December 16, 2025)
Bondi Beach hero Ahmed el Ahmed, the Muslim dad who tackled a terrorist to stop his slaughtering of Jewish worshippers, has broken his silence from his hospital bed to urge well-wishers to pray for him as he recovers from being riddled with bullets.
The 43-year-old Muslim father of two is recovering in the hospital as Australian Prime-Minister Anthony Albanese called him "a true Australian hero" for attacking the terrorist despite assuming he'd be killed.
The tobacco-shop owner hid behind parked cars before courageously charging at one of the gunmen from behind - seizing the rifle and knocking the killer to the ground, while taking shots from the other attacker.
Bondi Beach hero Ahmed el Ahmed was visited in the hospital Monday by New South Wales Premier Chris Minns. "Thank you to everyone", the bedridden hero said in Arabic in a video obtained by TRT World. "May Allah reward you and grant well-being. Through Allah, I went through a very difficult phase; only Allah knows it. I ask my mother, the apple of my eye, to pray for me. Pray for me, my mother. God willing, it will be a minor injury. Pray for me that Allah eases our situation, and delivers us from this hardship."
Despite being in immense pain, Ahmed - who has so inspired people around the world that he's had more than US$1.25-million raised for him - said he had no regrets about trying to thwart the attack, according to his lawyer. "He doesn't regret what he did. He said he'd do it again. But the pain has started to take a toll on him", Sam Issa, Ahmed's former immigration lawyer, said after visiting him. "He's not well at all. He's riddled with bullets. Our hero is struggling at the moment. He's a lot worse than expected. When you think of a bullet in the arm, you don't think of serious injuries, but he has lost a lot of blood."
"We are a brave country. Ahmed al Ahmed represents the best of our country. We will not allow this country to be divided. That is what the terrorists seek", Albanese said. "We will unite. We will embrace each other, and we'll get through this."
What To Know About The Attack On The Hanukkah Festival In Australia That Killed 15 People. (1-min. podcast, update with links; AP News, December 15, 2025)
A father and son are suspected by officials to have killed 15 people on a popular Australian beach, shocking a country where gun violence is rare. Today, a day after the shootings, the government proposed tougher new gun laws amid criticism that officials didn't take seriously enough a string of anti-semitic attacks.
Here's what to know about the attack at Bondi Beach:
- The suspects attacked a Jewish beach-side gathering. Little is known about the suspects in the attack on Sydney's famous Bondi Beach, but there was wide-spread shock when officials said that the two men pictured firing weapons in social media videos were related. The 50-year-old father, who was killed, arrived in Australia in 1998 on a student visa, authorities said, and was an Australian resident when he died. Officials wouldn't confirm what country he had migrated from. His 24-year-old Australian-born son, who was shot and wounded, is being treated at a hospital.
- The father held a firearms license and he was a member of a gun club, which suggests he was a target shooter.
- The target was a Hanukkah celebration where hundreds had gathered to celebrate the first day of the eight-day Jewish holiday. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called it an act of antisemitic terrorism.
- Australia's main domestic spy agency, the Australian Security Intelligence Agency, had investigated the son for six months in 2019. The Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported that the agency had examined the son's ties to a Sydney-based Islamic-State cell. Albanese did not describe the associates, but said the spy agency was interested in them rather than the son.
- The dead included a 10-year-old girl, a rabbi and a Holocaust survivor. Dozens of others were injured, some seriously.
- Praise for a man who dared to help. One dramatic clip showed a man appearing to tackle and disarm one of the gunmen, before pointing the man's weapon at him, then setting the gun on the ground. The man was identified as Ahmed al Ahmed. The 42-year-old fruit shop owner and father of two was shot in the shoulder by the other gunman and survived.
- Hate crimes targeting Jews in Australia are on the rise. A wave of anti-semitic attacks have shocked and angered many in Australia over the last year. Australia has 28-million people and about 117,000 Jews. Anti-semitic incidents, including assaults, vandalism, threats and intimidation, surged more than threefold in the country during the year after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel launched a war on Hamas in Gaza in response, the government's Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal reported in July. Last year, there were antisemitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne. Synagogues and cars have been torched, businesses and homes vandalized with graffiti, and Jews attacked in cities where 85% of the nation's Jewish population lives.
- Israel urged Australia's government to address crimes targeting Jews. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he warned Australia's leaders months ago about the dangers of failing to take action against antisemitism. He claimed Australia's decision - in line with scores of other countries - to recognize a Palestinian state "pours fuel on the antisemitic fire".
Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop and Anton Rose: ASIO Examined Bondi Beach Gunman Naveed Akram In 2019 For Close Ties To Islamic-State Cell. (updated; ABC News, December 15, 2025)
One of the Bondi Beach gunmen came to the attention of Australia's domestic intelligence agency six years ago for his close ties to a Sydney-based Islamic State (IS) terrorism cell.
Earlier today police revealed the two Bondi Beach gunmen were a father and son: Naveed Akram, 24, who is in hospital under police guard; and Sajid Akram, 50, who died exchanging gunfire with officers on Sunday.
What's next? Police will have 328 officers around places of worship across Sydney, as they call for calm in the wake of the attack.
Sydney, Australia: Father-Son Terrorists Kill 15, Injure At Least 40, Of 1,000+ Jews Celebrating Start Of Hanukkah At Bondi Beach - Until A Brave Muslim Disarmed One Of The Gunmen. (Updates expected, many links; Wikipedia, December 14, 2025)
A terrorist mass shooting occurred today at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, during a large Hanukkah celebration hosted by the Chabad of Bondi. The shooting was reported in the late afternoon near Campbell Parade, prompting widespread panic as people sought shelter. Sixteen people were killed, including a child and one of the two alleged shooters, with the second shooter in custody. At least 40 were injured and taken to the hospital, including at least two police officers. The New South Wales Police Force responded to the incident, and police later found and removed a suspected improvised explosive device from a car belonging to one of the shooters. Authorities declared it a terrorist attack, and numerous world leaders and news outlets described it as antisemitic. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was a deliberate attack on Jewish people during Hanukkah.
Jessica Gorman, Kevin Shalvey, Helena Skinner, David Brennan and Somayeh Malekian: 16 Killed In Shooting In Australia Targeting Jewish Community. 42 People Were Injured, Including Two Police Officers. Officials Say: "Act Of Pure Evil!" (1-min. video; ABC News, December 14, 2025)
At least 15 people were killed on Sunday as two gunmen opened fire at Australia's Bondi Beach in an attack that targeted a Jewish event, according to police in New South Wales, Australia. One of the alleged gunmen is also dead, police said. Forty-two people were injured in the attack, police said, with the victims ranging in age from 10 to 87.
The attack occurred while event-goers were celebrating the first night of Hanukkah.

Bloomberg News, Akshat Rathi and Marilen Martin: Electricity Is Now Holding Back Growth Across The Global Economy. The Increase In Grid Stress Leads To A Decline In Capital Outlay, According To New Research. (Bloomberg News, December 15, 2025)
The chip equipment maker ASML Holding NV is so crucial that a swing in its fortunes can sway the Dutch economy and the global development of artificial intelligence. Now one of the company's biggest growth plans - building a new campus that will employ as many as 20,000 people in the country's Eindhoven region - depends on whether or not it can get an electricity connection.
Despite the high stakes, there's no guarantee ASML will get the electricity it needs. That’s because the company is one among 12,000 businesses in the Netherlands waiting to secure a link to the electric grid. Netbeheer Nederland, the association of Dutch grid operators, estimates that congestion issues are likely to continue for as many as ten years, even with grid operators investing €8-Billion (US$9.3-Billion) annually.
One reason is that electricity consumption has risen far faster than was estimated. "The Netherlands is already using as much electricity as was originally projected for the year 2030", said Netbeheer Netherland's Debby Dröge. "The physical grid cannot keep pace with societal ambitions and developments - unless we fundamentally change how we design and use it."
This type of constraint typically shows up in developing countries, and decades of research has shown that reliable electricity supports economic growth. Rich countries hadn't faced these questions, because deindustrialization kept electricity demand flat or falling for the past decades despite economic growth.
Now
- the rise of AI,
- rapid sales of electric cars, and
- broader electrification of most economic sectors
are causing even rich countries to panic. An exclusive analysis from Bloomberg Economics finds that almost all Group of 20 countries are seeing a rise in grid stress over the last few years. Those stresses include:
- supply not keeping up with demand,
- volatile price-swings,
- damages from climate impacts and
- losses in transmission.
NEW: The GIST/University of St. Andrews: Massive Pit Circle Near Durrington Walls Henge Confirmed As Neolithic Structure. (links, maps, 1-min. video; Phys.org, December 1, 2025)
New research from the University of St. Andrews, as part of a team led by the University of Bradford, has confirmed the details of a massive, Neolithic pit structure recently discovered during a geophysical survey around the Durrington Walls Henge, Wiltshire, England.
The site, situated to the north of Stonehenge, is located in a landscape that is well-known for its Neolithic monuments. Following the original discovery of the pits as what may be the largest structure of its type in Britain, researchers from St. Andrews' School of Earth and Environmental Sciences have since returned to confirm the details of the pit circle and to provide more precise dating and environmental information.
This work, published in Internet Archaeology, has confirmed that Durrington Walls henge, itself one of the largest prehistoric enclosures in Britain, was ringed by a far-larger structure of at least 16 massive pits, many of which measured 10 meters in diameter and up to 5 meters in depth.
The recent work confirms that the very-large features were likely dug and filled during the later Neolithic. Specifically, optically-stimulated luminescence studies now indicate a date near 2480 BC.
Dr. Tim Kinnaird, who conducted these analyses at the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences Dating Laboratory at the University of St. Andrews, said, "The new dating evidence, coupled with the remarkably consistent geochemical signature seen within the fills at the pits provides definitive evidence that they were constructed by people living at the site over a very short time period. The synchronous timing of this could only have been achieved by a dedicated and coordinated action."
The application of sedimentary DNA studies has also provided new evidence for the plants and animals associated with the chalk landscape surrounding these features. Even within a landscape as exceptional as that surrounding nearby Stonehenge, the results of this work emphasize that these pits are a cohesive structure, which represents an elaboration of the Durrington Walls monument complex at a massive - and completely-unexpected - scale.
Professor Richard Bates from the University of St. Andrews, who was part of the geophysical investigation team, said, "The skill and effort that must have been required not only to dig the pits, but also to place them so precisely within the landscape is a marvel. When you consider that the pits are spread over such a large distance, the fact they are located in a near-perfect circular pattern is quite remarkable."
Professor Bates also believes that these multi-disciplinary investigations are key to understanding the past, adding, "It is rare to have the opportunity to apply so many geophysical and geochemical techniques together to investigate a site, but demonstrates the power of doing so when you do."

Thanksgiving Is Time For Straight Talk, Not A Myth:
Jesse Hagopian: The Thanksgiving Myth Hides The US's Inability To Reckon With Its Own History. "I'm Not Against Giving Thanks. I'm Against Celebrating A Falsehood", Says Choctaw Historian A. S. Dillingham. (Truthout, November 27, 2025)
"The assault by the Trump administration on honest history is hitting everyone", A. S. Dillingham, a tribal member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and a historian at Arizona State University, says.
This assault on history is particularly glaring this week, as repression and censorship push teachers and politicians alike to acquiesce to the celebration of a sanitized falsehood instead of using the Thanksgiving holiday as an opportunity to reckon with the dispossession and genocide that white settlers inflicted upon Indigenous peoples after arriving in the Americas.
In the interview that follows, Alan Shane Dillingham - the author of Oaxaca Resurgent: Indigeneity, Development, and Inequality in Twentieth-Century Mexico, who often shares his analyses on his website - explains how Thanksgiving functions to whitewash the history of settler colonialism. As a scholar whose work centers Indigenous history, colonialism, and education, Dillingham also has invaluable insights to share on how we can teach honestly about Indigenous history, even amid the current political climate.
NEW: Johnnie Jae:    
(Truthout, November 28, 2024)
For many Americans, Thanksgiving is a time to gather with loved ones, share a meal, watch football and express gratitude. Some Native Americans celebrate Thanksgiving this way as well, because feasting is Indigenous - we also love eating and watching football.
Still, the holiday carries a much heavier weight: It is a stark reminder of the violent colonization that began with the arrival of European settlers. The idyllic myths surrounding Thanksgiving align with broader strategies of historical revisionism used to justify settler colonialism by distorting and erasing histories of violence, exploitation and resistance. They reinforce settler identity and national pride, and discourage critical engagement in our complex histories. These strategies serve to normalize colonization, valorize settlers and silence Indigenous voices.
Yet, even in the shadow of these painful histories, Native communities have found ways to challenge the sanitized myths of Thanksgiving and call for a reckoning with the true history of the United States, encouraging reflection, accountability and action to support Indigenous rights and justice. At the same time, the holiday serves as:
- an opportunity to correct white-washed narratives and
- assert Indigenous presence,
- reminding the world of the unbroken spirit of Native nations.
In November 1969, a group of young Native activists, who became known as "Indians of All Tribes", sought to draw attention to the federal government's failure to honor treaties, the dire conditions on reservations, and the systemic erasure of Indigenous cultures by occupying Alcatraz Island after a fire destroyed the American Indian Center in San Francisco. From November 20, 1969, to June 11, 1971, activists took control of the island, citing the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868), which they argued gave them the right to claim unused federal land.
During their 19-month occupation, they transformed Alcatraz into a symbolic space of resistance, using it as a platform to advocate for sovereignty, education and cultural renewal. Though the protest ended when federal authorities forcibly removed the occupiers, it was a pivotal moment that reinvigorated the Indigenous rights movement.
[This article, first posted in 2024, makes excellent reading - and sharing - every Thanksgiving holiday!]

NEW: Avi Loeb: The Acid Test of 3I/ATLAS at Perihelion (Medium, October 28, 2025)
Perihelion is just 2 days before Halloween. Is 3I/ATLAS wearing a costume of a comet, or is it a truly icy rock of natural origin?
On December 19, 2025, 6 days before Christmas, 3I/ATLAS will get to its closest distance of 267-million kilometers from Earth, IF it has a purely-gravitational trajectory. Will 3I/ATLAS send mini-probes towards Earth as Christmas gifts to humanity?
(The article includes:Mercury transiting the Sun in 2006, as imaged by the Hinode spacecraft. Image credit: JAXA/NASA/PPARC. Press enter or click to view image in full size.)
On October 29, 2025, the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS will get to its closest distance of 203-million kilometers to the Sun, completing half of its journey through the Solar System.
That is, half of the journey IF nothing dramatic happens to it at that time. For a spacecraft, perihelion is the optimal time for either acceleration or deceleration by an impulse from an engine, thanks to the gravitational assist from the Sun. This is also true of a mother-ship releasing mini-probes that maneuver towards the planets. Unfortunately, we cannot observe 3I/ATLAS from Earth at this opportune time, which raises the question: Was its trajectory fine-tuned by extra-terrestrial intelligence?
The fundamental question is whether 3I/ATLAS is a Trojan Horse - with the external appearance of a natural comet, but carrying a potential threat in its interior. For that reason, I co-authored with Omer Eldadi and Gershon Tenenbaum a White Paper (accessible on Fox News), which encouraged policy makers to take seriously the potential threat from a black-swan event involving an unusually-massive object moving along the ecliptic plane - like 3I/ATLAS.
Thus, perihelion constitutes the acid test of 3I/ATLAS. IF it is a natural comet glued together by weak forces, its heating by 770 watts per square meter may break it up into fragments which evaporate more quickly as a result of their large surface area per unit mass. The resulting fireworks might generate a much brighter cometary plume of gas and dust around it.
However, if 3I/ATLAS was technologically manufactured - as suggested by ITS HIGH ABUNDANCE OF NICKEL RELATIVE TO IRON, it might maneuver or release mini-probes. Other technological signatures include artificial lights or excess heat from an engine.
We will know the nature of 3I/ATLAS better in the coming months.
University of St. Andrews: Worse Than Predicted: Coastal Waters Are Acidifying At An Alarming Rate. (SciTech Daily, November 24, 2025)
New research from the University of St. Andrews indicates that certain coastal regions will experience far-greater acidification than previously estimated. As atmospheric CO2 continues to rise, these areas are becoming acidic at an accelerated pace, creating a serious long-term risk for coastal communities and the economies that depend on them.
A new paper, released November 13th in Nature Communications, reports that this process intensifies within ocean up-welling systems. Using the California Current as a representative example, the research team found that up-welling regions do not simply follow global acidification trends but actually amplify them.
Up-welling occurs when cold, nutrient-rich and naturally-acidic deep waters move upward along continental coastlines. Organic matter that sinks from the surface is broken down by microbes in the deep ocean, producing CO2 and further increasing the acidity of these waters. When this water rises during up-welling, it carries that high acidity back to the surface, where it interacts with atmospheric CO2 and becomes even-more acidic.
To understand how acidity has shifted over time, the team examined historic coral samples and measured boron isotope signatures preserved in their skeletons. These records reveal how pH changed throughout the 20th-Century. The researchers then used a regional ocean model to project how acidity in the California Current is likely to evolve during the 21st-Century.
The results show that up-welling regions experience ocean acidification at rates that surpass the level "expected" from rising atmospheric CO2 alone. The deep waters that surface during up-welling begin with high acidity, and the continuing increase in human-produced CO2 intensifies this effect even further.
Up-welling systems are among the most-productive systems on our planet and support much of the world's fisheries. Understanding how they respond to increasing human-produced CO2  is therefore not only critical for ocean science, but also carries major implications for fisheries and their potential vulnerabilities.
Jesse Hagopian: If Capital Strikes Against Mamdani, Organized-Worker Power Can Strike Back. Let's Study How Wall Street Sank Mamdani-Style Municipal Plans Back In 1975 - And Get Prepared For A Similar Fight. (Truthout, November 10, 2025)
If you had told me in September 2001, when I was a new teacher in Washington, D.C. - the smoke from the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon still visible from my classroom window - that one day a Muslim socialist would be elected mayor of New York City, I might have thought you cruel for raising my hopes.
I remember:
- the tanks rolling down the street by my house,
- the flags unfurled from every porch demanding loyalty.
- The air was thick with fear and vengeance.
- Islamophobia became the nation's unofficial religion.
- The Patriot Act deputized that hatred,
- giving the government license to spy on Muslims,
- to entrap them,
- to raid homes and mosques.
All under the banner of national security. People were beaten in the streets for wearing a hijab, or for simply being perceived as Muslim - Sikh, Arab, South Asian, anyone who fit the script of American fear. In those years, to call oneself a socialist was to invite exile, and to speak of our shared humanity was to stand accused of disloyalty to the nation.
It was not an easy time to believe in human possibility. Being a young Black socialist who wanted to help build a world based on solidarity was widely understood as a dangerous betrayal. But now, take note: The city once believed to be the sole possession of Wall Street - a city steeped in Islamophobic backlash - has elected a Muslim socialist. History, with its sly grin, has once-again mocked despair.
Zohran Mamdani's victory as the new mayor of New York City has awakened a jubilant spirit among working people daring to dream of a better city and a better world. A candidate:
- who ran in support of Palestine,
- who stood before the world as an unapologetic Muslim,
- who named himself an open socialist,
- and who named the mega-rich as the primary barrier to justice, has accomplished something that once seemed impossible.
Mamdani didn't just promise relief; he named the forces that made life unaffordable, and offered a plan to take them on.
Yet his victory was not a miracle; it was a mandate. In a city where the rent is too damn high and billionaires build empty towers while working families sleep in shelters, Mamdani didn't just promise relief; he named the forces that made life unaffordable and offered a plan to take them on. He won because tenants believed him, because workers recognized themselves in his campaign, and because the grassroots movement led by the Democratic Socialists of America organized one of the most disciplined, door-to-door mobilizations in New York's modern history.
Politics & Elections:
His victory also marked a clear rebuke to Donald Trump - and to the rising tide of fascism he represents. In an age of fear and manufactured division, New Yorkers chose solidarity over scapegoating. That spirit of resistance did not stop at the city limits. It echoed the defiance of Gaza, where steadfastness amid genocide has awakened the conscience of the world - what Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda calls "the Gaza effect", the contagion of courage that crosses borders.
The elation surrounding Mamdani's victory is heightened by the joy that accompanies the fall of Andrew Cuomo - a shill for the 1% whose record of protecting the powerful was matched only by his record of sexual harassment and abuse. His defeat marks not just the end of a man, but also the crumbling of a political order that mistook cruelty for competence.
A Campaign Against Elite Capture:
Many have found hope in the historic firsts that occasionally punctuate our politics - individuals whose presence has diversified the halls of power and widened the story of who counts as American. There's no doubt representation can expand the horizons of who sees themselves as included and what people imagine possible. Yet when representation is detached from strategies for collective liberation, it risks becoming another tool of the very order we seek to challenge. The system has learned to decorate itself with diversity, while leaving its foundations of inequality intact. This is what Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò calls elite capture; when the language of justice is emptied out and re-purposed to serve those already in power.
Mamdani's victory is something else entirely. He did not run to become only a symbol; he ran to change the conditions of people's lives. His campaign refused the comfort of representation without redistribution. He called for:
- taxing luxury real-estate to fund social housing,
- canceling medical debt, and
- placing renewable energy under public ownership.
He promised:
- fare-free public transit and
- publicly-owned grocery stores to end food deserts and corporate price-gouging.
He:
- pledged to increase support for mental health care and
- proposed a Department of Community Safety to expand our understanding of public safety beyond policing.
This is not elite capture; it was a campaign about reclaiming power from the elites.
Power Concedes Nothing Gracefully:
Once we have taken some time to revel in the fact that a new political portal has opened - pried open by years of socialist organizing and struggle made visible in Mamdani's victory - we must roll up our sleeves and walk through it. Zohran Mamdani, brilliant and skilled as he is, will not be able to save us. His victory can widen the field of struggle, opening space for organizing and for social movements to flourish. But that promise will only be realized if he leans into it - if he gets to work turning the office of the mayor from its traditional role as a pedestal into a springboard for mass political participation. Only we - the collective power of our organized communities, workplaces, and campuses - can save ourselves.
I wish the rich white enslavers who designed our political system, and the billionaires who have maintained it, hadn’t anticipated that ordinary people might one day elect leaders who honored the needs of the working class. But while the architects of racial capitalism, and the state that serves it, have understood well the value of keeping the political representatives of the rich in power, they also built contingency plans for the moments when their money failed to buy an election.
Even now, the richest people in the world are preparing their attack. When workers organize and, against all odds, manage to elect representatives who serve their interests, capital can go on strike - halting investment, withholding credit, and manufacturing scarcity until attempts at democracy kneel before financial elites. Power concedes nothing gracefully. City Hall may be at the podium, but true power has always resided in the boardrooms, the banks, and the back rooms where the economy is directed and policy is quietly strangled.
We've seen this playbook before. During New York City's 1975 fiscal crisis, developers and financiers staged what David Harvey called "a coup by the financial institutions against the democratically-elected government of New York City". Pressured by the Black-freedom struggle and other social movements of the 1960s and ’70s, New York's mayors and city council expanded investments in housing, education, and health care. Those in power - liberals like Mayor John Lindsay, a Republican-turned-Democrat who sought to calm unrest with reform - were not radicals, but they had been forced, by the political fire of the era, to spend public money in ways that advanced racial and economic justice.
That brief experiment was met with swift retribution. Wall Street:
- launched a capital strike,
- refused to finance the city,
- dumped its bonds, and
- used the manufactured fear of insolvency to impose its will. Moody's twice-downgraded the city's credit rating, locking it out of the bond market and forcing austerity.
The federal government soon stepped in - on Wall Street's terms. Thousands of teachers, firefighters, and municipal workers were fired, and public services were gutted. Union power was broken, and the city's social contract was rewritten in the language of austerity.
The crisis, Harvey argued, was as decisive for the rise of neo-liberalism as the 1973 coup in Chile that toppled Salvador Allende's socialist government - a reminder that markets can enforce their will as ruthlessly as armies.
If Capital Strikes, the People Must Strike Back:
That history is not past; it is prelude. The same forces that once strangled a city daring to invest in racial and economic justice are preparing their assault again. The moment Mamdani begins taxing the rich, expanding rent control, or putting essential services under public ownership, that machinery will roar into life.
Trump's threat to withhold federal funding from New York is only the blunt edge of that power. The sharper, quieter blade belongs to capital itself. Whether or not Trump ever acts, corporate power already knows how to make cities bleed:
- Developers can threaten to halt construction - holding the city's housing-supply hostage to protect their profits, and manufacturing scarcity to make solidarity look like failure.
- Hedge funds whispering "instability" can send investment fleeing, tank the local economy, and turn hope into panic.
- The bond-rating agencies - those un-elected high-priests of austerity - can punish redistributive policy by downgrading the city's credit, making it more expensive to borrow and forcing cuts to schools, transit, and housing in the name of "fiscal responsibility".
- The business press will rediscover "fiscal realism", declaring the experiment of a government daring to serve its people a failure before it has even begun.
- The police, too, have their tricks: the sudden spike in crime numbers, the nightly theater of fear, the orchestration of panic that keeps justice at bay.
The system was designed by the wealthy so that, even if the working-class majority won elections, the wealthy would still control the real levers of decision-making - credit, investment, and employment - ensuring escape routes for the 1% whenever democracy threatened to become real.
Yet difficulty is not defeat. We have learned, across generations, that when organized people confront organized money, when truth walks shoulder to shoulder with courage, even the most unyielding walls begin to crack. If capital strikes, the people must strike back. Elected socialists can challenge capital through legislation and public leadership, but organized workers can confront it at its source. Workers make life itself, by:
- driving the buses,
- teaching the children,
- healing the sick,
- building the homes, and
- producing the food and energy that sustain us all.
Only through unions and collective organization can people gain control over the production and distribution of life's essentials. Politicians can be constrained or replaced, but a mobilized working class can keep the city running when markets try to shut it down.
These are not fantasies; they are precedents. In the depths of the Great Depression, workers in 1934 led general strikes in Minneapolis, Toledo, and San Francisco that shut down entire cities and forced the federal government to recognize industrial unions. Their victories paved the way for the era's greatest reforms:
- from collective-bargaining rights, to
- Social Security and
- unemployment insurance.
The rebellious spirit of 1934 is not confined to the past; it rises whenever workers unite to claim what is theirs:
- In 2018, West Virginia teachers - among the lowest-paid in the nation - shut down every public school in the state. They fed students from makeshift kitchens, rallied their communities, and refused to return until they'd won. Their wildcat strike sparked the "Red State Revolt" that spread across Oklahoma, Arizona, and beyond - proving that even in conservative strongholds, mass strikes can defeat austerity.
- In 2023, the United Auto Workers revived that spirit with their "stand-up strike", rotating walkouts to keep corporations off-balance while turning picket lines into a national classroom on inequality. When it ended, they'd won historic gains - and reminded the country that the real economy runs on those who turn the wheels, not those who own the stock.
Elections matter. Socialist campaigns can turn ideals into concrete demands, win reforms that improve people’s lives, and expose the greed of the ruling class. But the ballot box is not the beating heart of democracy; the workplace is. Our task is not only to win elections but also to organize workers, tenants, and students into the kind of power that no legislature can ignore or co-opt. And that organizing must reach across every line that capital uses to divide us - race, gender, sexuality, nationality, ability, and more - building a multiracial working-class movement with the collective power needed to create a society based on human need, not profit.
Mamdani will need these kinds of movements at his back - not just cheering from the sidelines, but flooding the streets, organizing tenants, defending workers, and building the kind of pressure that makes retreat impossible. We are beginning to see the faint outline of a new political imagination - one that asks not how to make peace with power, but how to dismantle it and rebuild something humane in its place.
The ballot box is not the beating heart of democracy - the workplace is.
Mamdani cannot carry that vision alone. As Howard Zinn taught us, history is not the story of great individuals but of "countless small actions of unknown people", and that "Democracy does not come from the top. Democracy comes from ordinary people…. They protest together, they demand things together, they form a movement - and that is how change takes place." James Baldwin reminded us, "Freedom is not something that anybody can be given. Freedom is something people take, and people are as free as they want to be." He did not mean that oppression is a choice, but that liberation begins when people refuse to wait for permission to be free. The great victories of labor, civil rights, feminism, and abolition were never gifts from the powerful; they were won by people whose collective power was the decisive factor in making material gains for their communities.
If the dream of a democratized economy and of a city free of white-supremacy and greed is to live, it will require more than the charisma of leaders - it will require the collective determination of the people.
A New Dawn
I have lived long enough to see what once seemed set in the dried concrete of the impossible turn out to be planted in fertile soil; when given the sunlight of struggle and watered by hope, it could still bloom.
Mamdani declared in his victory speech, "Thank you, my friends. The sun may have set over our city this evening, but as Eugene Debs once said, 'I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity.'" The line comes from a speech Debs gave in 1918, just before he was sentenced to prison for opposing World War I. A labor organizer and socialist, Debs stood shoulder to shoulder with the working class - leading strikes, organizing across color and creed, and even running for president from his jail cell, earning nearly a million votes. In the final lines of the speech Mamdani referenced, Debs continued with words that further explain our moment and our task today: "As the midnight approaches, the southern cross begins to bend, the whirling worlds change their places, and with starry finger-points the Almighty marks the passage of time upon the dial of the universe … Let the people everywhere take heart of hope, for the cross is bending, the midnight is passing, and joy cometh with the morning."
If this moment reveals anything, it's that we must let our imagination rise like the sun - radiating strategies for the full illumination of our humanity:
- electoral, no doubt, but also rooted
- in culture and artistic endeavors,
- in the power of unions and workplace struggles, and
- in community and campus organizing.
The future will belong to those who dare to see beyond the boundaries of what power calls possible - those who know that another world can be built by our own hands.
As the great Afrofuturist composer Sun Ra once said, "The possible has been tried and failed. Now it's time to try the impossible."
NEW: Susan Kang: Mamdani Ignited NYC's Political Imagination. Grassroots Work Can Make It Real. (Truthout, November 7, 2025)
Free child-care and buses will take collective action to achieve - and a grassroots movement is gaining momentum.
NEW: Krystal Kasal: Scientists Find An Explanation For Oddball, Water-Rich Exoplanets: They Make Their Own Water. (Phys.org, October 30, 2025)
As more and more exoplanets are discovered throughout the galaxy, scientists find some that defy explanation - at least for awhile. A new study, published in Nature, describes a process that might explain why a large portion of exoplanets have water on their surface, even when it doesn't make sense.

Troubles at Harvard University:
Matan H. Josephy and Laurel M. Shugart: Authorities Investigating Explosion At Harvard Medical School, Believed To Be Intentional. (The Harvard Crimson, November 1, 2025)
Harvard's Longwood campus in Boston houses the Harvard Medical School, the School of Public Health, and the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. A device exploded inside the Goldenson Building in Harvard's Longwood medical campus early this morning, according to a message from the Harvard University Police Department to University affiliates.
The Boston Fire Department Arson Unit responded to the incident and determined the explosion to be intentional.
The explosion took place on an area of the fourth floor of Goldenson, a Harvard Medical School building on the school's main quad. An officer who responded shortly before 3 a.m. observed two individuals fleeing the building. HUPD sent a subsequent email to Harvard affiliates shortly after 5 p.m. asking for assistance identifying two men, who they described as suspects. The images were captured on security footage. Both men are shown wearing sweatshirts with hoods and ski masks.
The Boston Police Department performed a sweep of the building and determined there were no additional devices in the building. No injuries were reported in relation to the incident.
HUPD is actively investigating the incident with local, state, and federal authorities. The FBI was on scene this afternoon, assisting HUPD.
Wyeth Renwick and Nirja J. Trivedi: "Soul-Crushing": Students Slam Harvard's Grade-Inflation Report. On Monday, Harvard College Students Received A New Grading And Workload Report In An Email From Dean Of Undergraduate Education, Amanda Claybaugh. (The Harvard Crimson, October 30, 2025)
Harvard students pushed back forcefully against a new University report condemning grade inflation, arguing that it misrepresented their academic experience and would add pressure to an already-demanding campus environment.
The 25-page report suggested that Harvard's grading system had become so lenient that it no longer meaningfully distinguished between students. It warned that current practices were "failing to perform the key functions of grading" and were "damaging the academic culture of the College."
But in interviews with The Crimson, more than 20 students said the report missed the complexity of academic life at Harvard. Many objected to its suggestion that students were not spending enough time on coursework and warned that stricter grading could heighten stress without improving learning.
The report called on Harvard affiliates to work with officials to "re-center academics" and devote time towards tougher and more-strictly-graded courses. But many students said the push felt misguided, warning that tougher grading, without attendant changes in academic quality, would shift their focus from learning to chasing grades.
Kayta A. Aronson '29 said stricter standards could take a serious toll on students' mental health. "It makes me rethink my decision to come to the school", she said. "I killed myself all throughout high school to try and get into this school. I was looking forward to being fulfilled by my studies now, rather than being killed by them."
Zahra Rohaninejad '29 added that grading already felt harsh and raising standards further would only erode students' ability to enjoy their classes. "I can't reach my maximum level of enjoyment just learning the material, because I'm so anxious about the midterm, so anxious about the papers, and because I know it's so harshly graded", she said. "If that standard is raised even more, it's unrealistic to assume that people will enjoy their classes."
Spokespeople for Harvard College and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences did not respond to a request for comment. Claybaugh briefly acknowledged in the report that surveys showed undergraduates were working "as hard as they ever have" - but students said that note was cursory and minimized the intensity of their workloads.
"If you go to Lamont or Cabot at 12 a.m., that place is packed every single night", Rohaninejad said. "People care about their work. People sacrifice sleep. People sacrifice friend activities. People sacrifice so much already, for their grades."
The Monday report came months after a Faculty of Arts and Sciences committee threw talk of grade inflation at Harvard into the limelight, concluding in a separate report that many students sought out easier courses to make time for extra-curriculars. Claybaugh echoed that sentiment on Monday, pointing to students expanding extra-curricular commitments rather than focusing on their existing course load.
But several students said their involvements outside of the classroom were integral to Harvard's identity.
"What makes a Harvard student a Harvard student is their engagement in extra-curriculars", Peyton White '29 said. "Now we have to throw that all away and pursue just academics. I believe that attacks the very notion of what Harvard is."
Hudson C. McCarthy '29, a member of the men's lacrosse team, said the report ignored the realities faced by student-athletes. "It's doing students a disservice because it's not really accounting for what we have to do on a day-to-day basis, and how many hours we're putting into our team, our bodies, and then also school", he said.
Some students were sympathetic towards the report and acknowledged that Harvard's grading has trended upward. Still, they warned that lowering grades in isolation would leave them at a disadvantage in the job market and graduate admissions.
"Addressing it only at Harvard is potentially dangerous for these students that are looking to go on to the next level or need these high grades", Stephen A. Behun '28 said. "I just worry that we're putting the cart before the horse, when it comes to fixing this without fully understanding how it's going to impact students professionally, even if it academically helps them master subjects."
Necati O. Unsal '26 said the current system already creates punishing pressure to maintain near-perfect GPAs - a sign, he argued, of a deeper problem. "There is a reason we're in this situation in the first place, and the fact that you're so scared of your GPA dropping .1 or .2 shows that there is a real crisis going on", he said.
Abigail S. Gerstein and Ella F. Niederhelman: Government Shutdown Cuts Off Data Access, Stalls Grant Applications For Harvard Researchers. (The Harvard Crimson, October 28, 2025)
As the federal government shutdown enters its fourth week, researchers across Harvard have been left uncertain about whether they will regain access to federal funds and government data for future studies.
The shutdown began on October 1, just less than two weeks after the Trump administration began to restore frozen funding to Harvard. A majority of Harvard's federal funding was restored in September and October, with grants flowing to Harvard researchers for the first time since April, but some researchers have been left in the lurch as they seek new grants. All except crucial operations of many federal agencies - including the National Institutes of Health - are currently paused as a result of the shutdown.
Researchers said they have been unable to reach any NIH employees or program officers - who release grant notices and assist researchers in submitting annual progress reports - since the shutdown began. As deadlines to renew funding approach, researchers said they've been left in the dark without guidance and advice on grant applications from the agency.
Also, many researchers have been unable to access data essential to their research, due to the closure of the U.S. Census Federal Statistical Research Data Center in Cambridge. Some faculty at Harvard's Center for Astrophysics - a collaboration with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory - who are employed primarily by the Smithsonian, have told students that they lost access to their email accounts and office spaces due to the shutdown. The CFA employs more than 900 staff members.
[TrumPutin plays very dirty; best money Putin ever spent!]

NEW: Edward Harrington: The Moment Russia Lost The Future: Denmark Just Brought Putin's Nightmare To Life. (Medium, October 16, 2025)
When the Danish flag appeared over a Ukrainian drone-testing site, the war quietly turned inside-out. NATO soldiers were no longer teaching Ukrainians how to fight. They were learning from them.
Denmark, a country of only six-million people, has done something extraordinary. It has turned the most battle-hardened nation of the world into its closest military teacher, partner, and in some sense, producer. Through three bold moves - reverse-flow training, joint defence production, and F-16 integration - Denmark has created a kind of alliance that Putin invaded to prevent - and now honestly cannot stop.
Al Letson: How A Climate Doomsayer Became An Unexpected Optimist. Environmentalist Bill McKibben Examines How The Remarkable Rise Of Solar Power Could (Finally) Begin To Slow Climate Change. (Mother Jones, October 15, 2025)
Bill McKibben isn't known for his rosy outlook on climate change. Back in 1989, he wrote "The End of Nature", which is considered the first mainstream book warning of global warming's potential effects on the planet. Since then, he's been an ever-present voice on environmental issues, routinely sounding the alarm about how human activity is changing the planet while also organizing protests against the fossil fuel industries that are contributing to climate change.
McKibben's stark and straightforward foreboding about the future of the planet was once described as "dark realism". But he has recently let a little light shine through - thanks to the dramatic growth of renewable energy, particularly solar power. In his new book, "Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization", McKibben argues that the planet is experiencing the fastest energy transition in history from fossil fuels to solar and wind - and that transition could be the start of something big.
JTA Staff: Three More Hostages' Remains Returned To Israel - As Hamas Reasserts Control In Gaza, Potentially Threatening Truce. There Are Still About 21 Deceased Hostages In Gaza. (The Forward, October 15, 2025)
Israel has identified the remains of three more hostages following a second release by Hamas yesterday, bringing the number of deceased hostages still in Gaza to 21.
But even as the conditions of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement were still being met, both President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that further fighting could be in the future if Hamas does not move forward with disarming - as footage from Gaza shows it is far from doing.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who pressed for the deal, called attention to Hamas' delay in returning the deceased hostages in a post on "Truth Social" yesterday. But he also said that the second phase of the ceasefire, in which a lasting peace and plan for Gaza's future governance is supposed to be negotiated following the release of all hostages, was already underway.
Meanwhile, video footage showed Hamas operatives emerging from hiding in Gaza and reasserting themselves in the enclave, including by executing those seen as having opposed Hamas during the war with Israel.
Trump's peace proposal called for Hamas to disarm and not play a role in governing Gaza, but the group has not agreed to those terms. Trump said, before traveling to Israel on Monday, that Hamas had been given temporary approval to act as a police force in Gaza. "Well, they are standing because they do want to stop the problems, and they've been open about it, and we gave them approval for a period of time", he told reporters. Yesterday, he said the show of force "didn't bother me much, to be honest with you", because the group had targeted rivals "that were very bad".
But both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that a long-term failure to demilitarize by Hamas could risk a return to fighting. "They're going to disarm, and because they said they were going to disarm. And if they don't disarm, we will disarm them", Trump told reporters at the White House yesterday. He was then pressed on how he knew the group would do something it has said it would not do. "I don't have to explain that to you, but if they don't disarm, we will disarm them. They know I'm not playing games", Trump said. "If they don't disarm, we will disarm them, and it'll happen quickly and perhaps violently. But they WILL disarm."
Netanyahu told CBS News that he understood Trump's comments to be a version of the threats Trump made on social media that coincided with a ceasefire-deal moving forward: Disarm or "all hell breaks loose", Netanyahu said. The Israeli prime minister said he hoped it would not come to that. "We agreed to give peace a chance", Netanyahu said, adding, "I hope we can do this peacefully. We're certainly ready to do so!"
Hannah Feuer: "It Never Goes Away.": A Former Hostage Describes The Paradox Of Freedom For Israelis Who Returned Home From Gaza. Barry Rosen, A Survivor Of The Iran Hostage Crisis, Reflects On Life As A Free Man Decades After His Captivity. (The Forward, October 15, 2025)
Barry Rosen knows what it means to wait for freedom. He spent 444 days as a hostage, one of 52 Americans held prisoner at the U.S. embassy in Iran from 1979 to 1981. He described when he was reunited with his family as "one of the greatest moments" of his life.
But Rosen also knows from experience that the psychological scars of captivity endure long after that celebratory moment. So when he heard that the remaining living hostages held by Hamas in Gaza were being released this week, he felt "overwhelmingly relieved". But his joy was also tempered by worries of what comes next, and the memory of the difficulties HE faced re-entering society after being stripped of freedom for so long.
"It never goes away", said Rosen, now 81. "Being a hostage is part of my DNA."
Hannah Feuer: How New Laws Are Shaping What Schools Teach About The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. A New "Antisemitism Prevention" Law In California Requires Curricula To Be "Factually Accurate" And Free Of Bias. (The Forward, October 14, 2025)
Teachers, parents and schools have long debated what students should learn about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But lesson plans have typically been discussed in PTA gatherings, faculty meetings and curriculum committees - not determined by legislation.
That's changing, as new laws around the country seek to regulate how narratives about the conflict are taught. The measures are testing the boundaries of classroom free speech, teeing up legal battles between teachers who want to express pro-Palestinian viewpoints in the classroom and those who see such lessons as unprofessional or antisemitic.
The latest flashpoint is in California, where a new "antisemitism prevention" bill was signed into law this month over the objections of the state's largest teachers union, partly in response to controversy created by the state's ethnic studies curriculum, which Gov. Gavin Newsom made a graduation requirement in 2021. That bill, with the requirement that curricula be "factually accurate" and "consistent with accepted standards of professional responsibility, rather than advocacy, personal opinion, bias, or partisanship", just passed.
Other states are also grappling with how best to address alleged bias in schools. Rebecca Schgallis, K-12 director at CAMERA Education - which describes itself as "fighting antisemitism and anti-Israel bias in education" - cites many examples in arguing for closer review of classroom materials nationwide. "I think teachers have an obligation to teach curriculum and not to insert their personal viewpoints", Schgallis said. "Everyone has the right to free speech outside of the classroom, but when teachers are teaching, they have a job to do."

[Gaza-War Numbers article goes here.]

Greg Myre and Daniel Estrin: Hamas Releases Israeli Hostages, Trump Gets Standing Ovation In Israel's Parliament. (NPR, October 13, 2025)
TEL AVIV - President Trump declared the Gaza War over, and received a standing ovation in Israel's parliament on Monday for his leading role in bringing about a ceasefire in the war-ravaged territory.
In a crucial part of the agreement, Hamas released the last 20 living Israeli hostages who had been captive for just over two years. In turn, Israel freed nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. The Palestinians released included some convicted of killings who had been in prison for decades. Israel was also sending some abroad, effectively placing them in exile.
"This is the historic dawn of a new Middle East", Trump told the members of Israel's parliament, the Knesset. "Generations from now, this will be remembered as the moment that everything began to change, and change very much for the better", Trump said in a speech frequently punctuated with applause. "Like the U.S.A. right now, it will be the golden age of Israel and the golden age of the Middle East." Israeli lawmakers chanted Trump's name, and he received a prolonged standing ovation at the end of his lengthy speech filled with grandiose language.
Since taking effect Friday, the ceasefire has been holding after the deadliest fighting ever between Israelis and Palestinians. And if Israel and Hamas can complete the exchange of prisoners and hostages as outlined in the agreement, that should provide additional momentum for an agreement that still faces many obstacles.

Brittney Melton: Highlighting Indigenous Stories From Across NPR's Network. (NPR, October 13, 2025)
For Indigenous Peoples' Day, the Up First newsletter is recognizing the work NPR's member stations do to uplift Indigenous voices. NPR network member stations are independent and locally-operated. They determine their own schedules and base their reporting on the needs and interests of their communities, many of which feature large Indigenous populations.
- Lily Hope, a Lingít master weaver, is using the popular Labubu dolls to raise awareness of Chilkat and Ravenstail weaving. She has dedicated her life to reviving this craft. So far, Hope has assisted hundreds of Alaska Native individuals in establishing their own weaving practices. (via KTOO)
- For her senior thesis, Natalie Zenk researched a Native American statue that had been in Cornell College's art collection for more than a century. But her project quickly shifted when she discovered its origins were from the Etowah Indian Mounds, a Mississippian burial site in Georgia, hundreds of miles from where the college is located in Iowa. (via Iowa Public Radio)
- One hundred and seventy years ago, the U.S. Army massacred a Lakota village near Lewellen, Neb., and soldiers took dozens of the Lakota people's belongings. The historic possessions were later donated to the Smithsonian Institution. After serious negotiations, these items have now been returned to the descendants of the tribe. (via Nebraska Public Media)
- Andre StrongBearHeart Gaines-Roberson Jr. is a Nipmuc cultural steward who teaches traditional Indigenous arts and advocates for Indigenous communities to have access to and manage conservation land. His efforts have brought attention to the declining supply of Atlantic white cedar trees in Nipmuc territory. These cedar saplings are essential for constructing the traditional dwellings of Eastern Woodlands tribes. (via WBUR)
- President Trump's recent Pentagon DEI directive has resulted in the erasure of some Native American war heroes' legacies from military history records. Although some previously-removed photos and stories have been restored, this three-part series by KJZZ's Gabriel Pietrorazio focuses on the impact of the administration's actions on the families and descendants of Arizona icons Ira Hayes, Lori Piestewa, and the Navajo Code Talkers.

NEW: Simon Whistler: The Dam That Drowned A Wonder And Powered A Continent. (21-min. Megaprojects video; MS News, October 10, 2025)
It began with one of the world's greatest natural spectacles – the Guaíra Falls – and ended with one of humanity's largest engineering feats. This episode retraces the birth of the Itaipu Dam, a bi-national mega-project between Brazil and Paraguay that diverted a river, drowned 18 waterfalls, displaced 40,000 people, and forever altered the region. We explore its construction, politics, environmental toll, and legacy as both a marvel of cooperation and a monument to irreversible loss – a story where power and progress came at an extraordinary cost.

(On Human Intelligence, etc.):
Christa Lesté-Lasserre: Evolution Of Intelligence In Our Ancestors May Have Come At A Cost. By Tracing When Variations In The Human Genome First Appeared,
Researchers Have Found That Advances In Cognitive Abilities May Have Led To Our Vulnerability To Mental Illness. (New Scientist, October 10, 2025)
A timeline of genetic changes in millions of years of human evolution shows that variants linked to higher intelligence appeared most rapidly around 500,000 years ago, and were closely followed by mutations that made us more prone to mental illness.
The findings suggest a "trade-off" in brain evolution between intelligence and psychiatric issues, says Ilan Libedinsky at the Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Ingrid Fadelli: Schizophrenia IS Linked To Iron And Myelin Deficits In The Brain, Neuroimaging Study Finds. (Phys.org, October 9, 2025)
Overview of the team's hypotheses: The researchers combined magnetic susceptibility (rises with iron, falls with myelin) with mean diffusivity (higher values = less myelin) and susceptibility anisotropy (higher values = more myelin) to test whether lower magnetic susceptibility in schizophrenia reflects excess myelin (Hypothesis 1) or iron loss (Hypothesis 2).
Schizophrenia is a severe and debilitating psychiatric disorder characterized by hallucinations, disorganized speech and thought patterns, false beliefs about the world or oneself, difficulties concentrating and other symptoms impacting people's daily functioning. While schizophrenia has been the topic of numerous research studies, its biological and neural underpinnings have not yet been fully elucidated.
Researchers at King's College London, Hammersmith Hospital and Imperial College London recently set out to further explore the possibility that schizophrenia is linked to abnormal levels of iron and myelin in the brain. Their findings, published in Molecular Psychiatry, uncovered potential new biomarkers of schizophrenia that could improve the understanding of its underlying brain mechanisms. The recent work by Dr. Vano and his colleagues could soon pave the way for further investigations exploring how iron and myelin deficiencies might play a role in the various symptoms of schizophrenia. In the future, it could also potentially contribute to the development of alternative treatments for the disorder, which could, for instance, promote myelin repair or try to raise iron levels.
Grace Wade: There Are Five Types Of Sleep. Here's What That Means For Your Health. (New Scientist, October 7, 2025)
Scientists have identified five sleep profiles, each of which is linked to distinct mental-health symptoms and brain-activity patterns.
Different people may experience one of five types of sleep, and these profiles each highlight how our shut-eye affects our health.
Previous research has found associations between sleep and cognition, mental health and physical conditions, such as heart disease. But these studies often looked at the relationship with just one aspect of sleep, such as its duration or quality.
To take a more holistic approach, Valeria Kebets and her colleagues at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada analysed the association between seven factors related to sleep – such as sleep satisfaction and the use of sleeping aids – and 118 other measures, including cognition, substance use and mental health. They collected data - including cognitive tests, sleep surveys and brain scans - from 770 healthy adults aged between 22 and 36 in the U.S.
From this, the researchers identified five distinct sleep profiles...
[Why, yes! There IS more...]

Lloyd Lee: Flying Taxis Take Flight In Front Of A U.S. Crowd For The First Time, As Two Companies Race To Take On Passengers. (Business Insider, October 5, 2025)
Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation are creating Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing vehicles (eVTOLs). The California companies made their first flight demos at a Monterey County airshow yesterday.
Joby Aviation's eVTOL has demonstrated a 150-mile range, but the company's air-taxi service will be optimized for 20- to 30-mile trips in cities. Both companies plan to fly their first passengers within the next few years.

Neo-Nazi Attack On Australian Aboriginal Sacred Site:
STOP NEO-NAZI VIOLENCE! (Avaaz, September 25, 2025)
Neo-Nazis attacked a sacred Aboriginal site, shouting "White Power" and beating women with metal bars. The police did nothing to stop it – and Aboriginal leaders are calling for a massive solidarity response NOW. Let's sign to join Australians rising up for justice, and demand this horrific attack be investigated as a hate crime:
Dear friends,
They tore down flags, desecrated an ancestral fire, and beat women attending a peaceful ceremony at Camp Sovereignty – a sacred site and burial ground for Aboriginal communities in Naarm (Melbourne) in Australia.
Eyewitnesses say the police knew the attack was coming but failed to act. When officers finally arrived, they drew pepper spray on the victims – and despite racial slurs and organised neo-Nazi violence, authorities haven't treated this as a hate crime.
This is racism, plain and simple – and Aboriginal leaders are demanding justice. Let's stand with Aboriginal communities today against this attack, and push Australia's new police chief to investigate this as a hate crime, to prevent more racist violence:
Incoming Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett: Investigate NOW!
In recent hate-fueled attacks on a church and synagogue, the federal police set up task-forces to investigate – but Camp Sovereignty hasn't received the same treatment, even though it is a burial site and sacred place of healing, resistance, and ceremony for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Police are investigating the attack, and some perpetrators are on trial – but the federal government hasn't declared it a hate crime, and the state government hasn't investigated the deep failures in police response that allowed far-right extremists to terrorise the camp.
We have a short window to push for real action: On October 4, Krissy Barrett becomes Australia's new Federal Police Commissioner. We need to build massive global support in response to Aboriginal calls for solidarity before then – so it's a crisis too big to ignore by the time she takes charge.
Let's demand she takes this attack seriously – as the federal government has done with attacks on other sacred sites – and takes action so it can't happen again:
Incoming Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett: Investigate NOW!
This fight is bigger than one camp or one country. Around the world, the far-right is rising – dismantling human rights, fueling racism, and destroying our planet for profit. Avaaz was built to confront this threat: from defending Indigenous rights in the Amazon to challenging anti-democratic movements in Afghanistan, Europe, Brazil and beyond, our community has proven again and again that people-power works. Now let's stand behind Aboriginal leaders in Australia, as part of a global movement that refuses to let authoritarian hate define our future.
--With hope and fierce determination,
  Liliana, Raveena, Mo, Nate, Antonia and the whole Avaaz team
NEW: Fourth Person Charged Over Camp Sovereignty Attack, Neo-Nazi Leader Held In Custody. (5-min. video; RNZ News, September 4, 2025)
A fourth person has been charged alongside neo-Nazi leader Thomas Sewell over an alleged attack on a First Nations camp in Melbourne. Neo-Nazi leader Thomas Sewell is being held in custody following his arrest earlier this week over the incident which occurred at a camp set up for the First Nations community and was a place of rest for some ancestors.
Victoria Police said a 29-year-old man had also been arrested on Wednesday. He was interviewed by detectives and has been charged with violent disorder, affray, unlawful assault and discharging a missile. The man was due to appear before the Melbourne Magistrate's Court on Thursday.
Sewell, 32, and two other men, aged 20 and 23, were arrested and charged on Tuesday. police continue to investigate the Camp Sovereignty attack.
Sewell has been remanded in custody, after police argued he was too dangerous to be allowed to walk the streets. Sewell, who was born in New Zealand but raised and lives in Australia, faces 25 charges over the incident at Camp Sovereignty, including violent disorder, affray, assault, discharging a missile and other offences. Police told the Melbourne court that Sewell's white-supremacy group had a "documented history of hate crimes" and there was a risk of "serious injury or death" to anyone who stood up to them. On Friday, a judge will decide whether Sewell's bail request will be granted.
NEW: Charges Laid, But Melbourne, Australia's Camp Sovereignty Remains On High-Alert Amid Fears Of Another Attack. There's Grief And Anger. But There's Also Resilience. (SBS News, September 4, 2025)
On Sunday afternoon (August 31), about 30 men dressed in black stormed Camp Sovereignty, after an anti-immigration rally in Melbourne's CBD. Police allege Thomas Sewell, leader of the neo-Nazi group the National Socialist Network (NSN), led them.
Sewell has been charged with 25 offences including violent disorder and affray, after being interviewed on Tuesday over the alleged attack. At a bail-application hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday, detective senior constable Saer Pascoe said members of the network held down occupants of the camp and began to kick them. He said another person was struck with a pole, kicked and punched by members of the network.
NEW: Indigenous Affairs Team's Carly Wiliams and Dana Morse: Calls For Inquiry Into Camp Sovereignty Attack, After Melbourne March-For-Australia Rally. (ABC News/AU, September 1, 2025)
Camp Sovereignty organisers say a group of far-right demonstrators attacked the camp on Sunday afternoon.
In short:
- Indigenous leaders have called for Sunday's attack on Aboriginal protest site Camp Sovereignty to be investigated as a hate crime.
- They also want an inquiry into the police response to the attack, accusing police of failing to adequately monitor the group.
What's next?
- Counter-terrorism police will help investigate the attack, according to the Victorian government.
Victorian Government Condemns Far-Right Attack On Camp Sovereignty After Anti-Immigration Rally. (photos, 1-min. video; ABC News/AU, August 31, 2025)
In short:
- Far-right demonstrators attacked people at a First Nations protest camp in Melbourne after today's anti-immigration rally.
- Camp Sovereignty organisers said four people were injured in the incident, which they said was unprovoked.
- Victoria Police said sticks and flagpoles were used in the attack, which is now under investigation.

NASA: Live Stream Of Planet Earth From The International Space Station (afarTV, LIVE)
The International Space Station is 260 miles (420 kilometers) above the planet in a low Earth orbit, and it takes 90 minutes for it to complete one orbit around Earth. During half of that time, it passes into the dark side of Earth. During the dark period, you'll be able to view lightning storms and the light from towns and cities.
Note: Regularly, the ISS will stop transmitting due to a connection loss; it will come back up automatically, once it regains the connection. While the connection is lost (OFFLINE), the picture will switch to simulation of where the ISS is above Earth.
[You can turn off the audio. (Or, replace it with "The Music of the Spheres", which Rued Langgaard orchestrated in 1918 - long after Edgar Allan Poe's 1842 poem, "The Conqueror Worm". :-)
About 1968, I was privileged to see almost the same view - from as high as that era's airplanes could fly. Now YOU can see it, at the tap of a button! Enjoy, admire, and FIGHT TO STOP Mankind's insane destruction of the only home we have!]
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