“Gerrymandering, the political practice of carving up awkward-looking legislative districts to benefit one party’s political power, has slithered into the public conversation once again. Some of us remember the history behind this political practice, starting with the Governor of Massachusetts, Elbridge Gerry. Democratic-Republicans want to shore up their new power in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Federalist opponents of the maneuver mocked one of the serpentine-like districts created by the party, christened the shape with claws, wings, and razor-sharp mouth, calling the monstrosity ‘The Gerrymander.’ Why has the discussion roared into the public consensus this time? It started with the Texas legislature’s efforts to redraw its state’s districts after a request from the Trump Administration to review the fairness of the districts.” (08/11/25)
“The bones of a British man who died in a terrible accident in Antarctica in 1959 have been discovered in a melting glacier. The remains were found in January by a Polish Antarctic expedition, alongside a wristwatch, a radio, and a pipe. He has now been formally identified as Dennis ‘Tink’ Bell, who fell into a crevasse aged 25 when working for the organisation that became the British Antarctic Survey. … A team of scientists made up of Piotr Kittel, Paulina Borówka and Artur Ginter at University of Lodz, Dariusz Puczko at the Polish Academy of Sciences and fellow researcher Artur Adamek carefully rescued the remains in four trips.” (08/11/25)
“While there is nothing fundamentally funny about Donald Trump’s presidency, some of his policies, as Stephen Colbert and others regularly point out, register well above 9 on the Richter scale of ridiculosity. One current example of life under Trump imitating farce is his proposed 39 percent tariffs on Switzerland. The farce I have in mind is the musical comedy Strike Up the Band, with books (it had two versions, one in 1927, one in 1930) by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind (who also wrote the definitive Marx Brothers comedies) and a score by George and Ira Gershwin. It features an American cheese mogul so infuriated by Switzerland’s efforts to block U.S. tariffs on their cheese that he finances a war in which the U.S. conquers Switzerland … almost (it’s a comedy, after all).” (08/11/25)
“An explosion Monday at a US Steel coking plant near Pittsburgh has left people trapped under the rubble, with emergency workers on site trying to rescue them, an official said. There are no confirmed fatalities at the Clairton Coke Works, said Abigail Gardner, director of communications for Allegheny County. … The Clairton Coke Works, a massive industrial facility along the Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh, is considered the largest coking operation in North America. A coking plant processes raw coal into coke, a critical component in steelmaking.” (08/11/25)
“‘No one is above the law’ was the favorite refrain of Democrats as they pursued Donald Trump up hill and down dale in an effort to destroy his first presidency and ensure he could never serve again. They threw everything at him, manufacturing intelligence to frame him as a Russian stooge, weaponizing the FBI and DOJ against him, impeaching him, siccing the most unscrupulous prosecutors on him, contriving spurious civil cases against him and his family, trying to jail him and bankrupt him, all the while lying and assassinating his character. If that didn’t bring him down, two assassination attempts would have finished off a lesser mortal. But, sadly for Trump’s Democratic/deep state persecutors, they failed spectacularly. … As the saying goes: If you come for the king, you’d best not miss.” (08/10/25)
“The UN’s human rights office has condemned a targeted Israeli attack that killed six journalists in Gaza, calling it a ‘grave breach’ of international law. Five Al Jazeera journalists, including correspondent Anas al-Sharif, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Sunday. Two others were killed, including a freelance journalist, the broadcaster said. Israel’s military said it targeted Sharif, alleging he had ‘served as the head of a terrorist cell in Hamas’ — something Sharif denied. Israel provided little evidence.” (08/11/25)
“Ukraine and its European backers on Monday sought talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in an effort to protect their security interests ahead of his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin later this week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has so far been excluded from the U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska on Friday, and the Europeans are unlikely to be invited. All are wary that Putin and Trump might agree, without Ukraine’s participation, to land swaps of Ukraine’s territory or other terms that might favor Russia. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz organized a series of meetings for Wednesday. He invited Trump, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Zelenskyy, NATO’s chief and several European leaders to attend. The chancellery said the talks would focus on ‘further options for action to put pressure on Russia’ as well as ‘preparations for possible peace negotiations and related issues of territorial claims and security.'” (08/11/25)
“New York City’s municipal elections aren’t normally the hinge that defines national politics. We’ve been primed to limit our focus, every four years, to a handful of swing states that decide presidential outcomes. We generally consider anything else a sideshow, including the race to lead the largest city in the country. This year is different — and unexpectedly so. Those who claim that they knew that 33-year-old open socialist and advocate for Palestinian liberation Zohran Mamdani would far surpass favored candidate Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City are likely lying. Mamdani’s campaign was widely considered well-run, and his field operation — which boasted some 50,000 volunteers — had received significant press for its size and effectiveness. But even on the eve of the election, many believed the race would end predictably, with centrist Cuomo ahead.” (08/11/25)
“The US justice department has filed a subpoena ordering New York Attorney General Letitia James to testify about her civil fraud investigation into President Donald Trump, sources have told US media. James won a civil case against Trump in 2023 – before he returned to office – that accused him of overvaluing his properties in order to take out loans with favourable terms. He is currently appealing against the judgment. No charges have been filed against James. Both her office and Trump argue the other has abused their investigative powers. James’ office has also received another subpoena regarding her investigation of the National Rifle Association, according to CBS, the BBC’s US partner. The investigation into James is being led by the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, CBS reports.” (08/09/25)
“In one troubled region of Eurasia, the cause of peace and progress received a boost Friday. A framework for a peace deal signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan at the White House will set these longtime enemies on a path of cooperation. Under the pledge, Armenia is giving up a narrow sliver of land to create the Zangezur corridor, allowing Azerbaijan a transit link to its territory of Nakhichevan and, beyond that, to Turkey. In an unexpected twist, the United States will develop this corridor under a 99-year lease, which can help avoid the appearance of Armenia ceding territory to Azerbaijan. Yet a deeper significance than trade lies in the pact. Both of these former Soviet republics, sandwiched between Russia, Iran, and Turkey, have found common strength in trying to avoid the kind of big-power politics that have shaped their past.” (08/08/25)
