“Like an interstellar rolling stone. NASA scientists were baffled after uncovering a rock on Mars that didn’t belong there — with a composition pointing to potentially interstellar origins. ‘This rock was identified as a target of interest,’ the space agency wrote in a recent blog post detailing the potentially intergalactic gravelstone. … while finding a stone on Mars might not seem groundbreaking, this particular specimen stood out due to its ‘sculpted, high-standing appearance that differed from that of the low-lying, flat and fragmented surrounding rocks.’ Subsequent analysis by the Rover’s SuperCam revealed that the Martian pebble was high in iron and nickel — an element combo associated more with ‘iron-nickel’ meteorites rather than more run-of-the-mill rocks.” (11/19/25)
“Gerrymandering has been a staple of the Republic since its beginning. The practice has such a storied tradition that it is named after Elbridge Gerry, one of our founding fathers who served as vice president under President James Madison. For decades, leftists attempted to outlaw partisan gerrymandering. Justice Anthony Kennedy could not make up his mind on the issue, so it languished until he retired. Fortunately for the Constitution, President Trump replaced Justice Kennedy — the Court’s swing vote for over a dozen years — with solid constitutionalist Justice Brett Kavanaugh. In 2019, thanks to Kavanaugh’s addition, the Court upheld partisan gerrymandering in Rucho v. Common Cause. Legislatures cannot gerrymander based on race, but they can do so based on partisanship.” (11/19/25)
“The government lawyer knew what was coming as she stood inside a courtroom and texted an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent waiting in a corridor a few feet away. ‘I can’t do this,’ the lawyer said in a text message as she looked at her docket of cases. ‘This is a new emotional load.’ ‘I understand,’ the agent responded. ‘Hopefully we meet again in a better situation.’ Nearby, a Cuban man who had lived in the United States for years stepped from an elevator and into the courtroom where the government lawyer was waiting for what the man thought was a routine hearing. The man was doing what the law required, and brought along his wife, a legal resident, and their 7-month-old infant. Then the lawyer quickly moved to have the man’s asylum claim dismissed and a judge agreed, making the man eligible for ‘expedited removal.'” (11/19/25)
“One thing I’ve been tracking this year is the areas where Wall Street and Silicon Valley are going to war. Tech firms clearly want to become banking apps and receive special charters, private equity and crypto are jostling for position in worker 401(k) plans, and the tech right in general wants to supplant big banks as the go-to director of conservative business policy. That’s all still going on. But in one area, Silicon Valley and Wall Street are in sync: conjuring up sketchy credit deals that are pointing us toward another financial crash.” (11/19/25)
“A veteran FBI employee training to become a special agent was fired last month for displaying at his workspace an LGBTQ+ flag, which had previously flown outside a field office, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court. David Maltinsky had worked at the FBI for 16 years and was nearly finished with special agent training in Quantico, Virginia, when he was called into a meeting last month with FBI officials, given a letter from Director Kash Patel and told he was being ‘summarily dismissed’ over the inappropriate display of political signage, Maltinsky’s lawsuit said. The suit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, said Maltinsky had been a decorated intelligence specialist working in the Los Angeles field office and most recently was pursuing a longtime dream of becoming a special agent.” (11/19/25)
“Miracles come in all shapes and circumstances, but here is a truly remarkable one: The New York Times has said something positive about President Trump. All he had to do was get most of the world to back his sweeping plan for bringing peace to Gaza. It was a long shot, but he and his skilled negotiating team pulled it off. So much so that a Monday Times headline called it ‘A Major Breakthrough.’ The story went on to declare that the United Nations Security Council vote to support the president’s plan represents ‘a major diplomatic victory for the Trump administration.’ It is that, and a helluva lot more, including the fact that it already has saved untold lives, both Jewish and Arab, and will save many more each day if it is fully implemented.” (11/19/25)
“Action is needed now to reduce ultra-processed food (UPF) in diets worldwide because of their threat to health, say international experts in a global review of research. They say the way we eat is changing – with a move away from fresh, whole foods to cheap, highly-processed meals – which is increasing our risk of a range of chronic diseases, including obesity and depression. Writing in The Lancet, the researchers say governments need ‘to step up’ and introduce warnings and higher taxes on UPF products, to help fund access to more nutritious foods. However some scientists say this review can not prove that UPFs directly cause health harms and more research and trials are needed to show that. Ultra-processed foods are defined as containing more than five ingredients you would not find at home in your kitchen cupboard, such as emulsifiers, preservatives, additives, dyes and sweeteners.” (11/19/25)
“Billionaire and climate change activist Tom Steyer is throwing his hat in the ring to become the next California governor, further crowding the pool of candidates seeking to lead the world’s fourth-largest economy. Steyer, the Democrat who once attempted to run for president and joined an effort to impeach Donald Trump during his first presidential term, announced on Wednesday a gubernatorial run focused on addressing California’s affordability issues. ‘I wanted to build a business here. Now, it’s worth billions of dollars. And I walked away from it because I wanted to give back to California,’ Steyer said in a video announcing his campaign. In his release, Steyer touts several achievements that include his roles in defeating a proposal to roll back California’s clean air and climate laws and raising the state’s tobacco tax to fund health care programs.” (11/19/25)
“Roughly two weeks before the New York City mayoral election, more than 1,000 rabbis signed onto an open letter against anti-Zionism in politics, and thus, against Zohran Mamdani, under the misnomer ‘The Jewish Majority.’ They wrote the letter ‘to declare that we cannot remain silent in the face of rising anti-Zionism and its political normalization throughout our nation.’ In doing so, they discredited themselves and expanded Jewish leftists’ opportunity to redefine the political — and spiritual – parameters of Jewish identity. Anti-Zionism has existed since the beginning of Zionism itself, and has, indeed, grown as Israel’s genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank remains deeply unpopular across the United States and around the world. Democrats’ refusal to contend with this fact – to actually represent their base – has become a symbol of the party’s overall inability to listen to, and fight for, its members.” (11/19/25)
“When I began TomDispatch in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and the invasion of Afghanistan, believe me, the world did not look good. But I guarantee you one thing: if you had told me then that, almost a quarter of a century later, the president of the United States would be Donald J. Trump (and had explained to me just who he was), I would have thought you an idiot first class or totally mad! Donald J. Trump as president of the United States, not just once, but twice? In what century? On what planet? You must be kidding! (And what a dreadful joke at that!) Now, of course, I would have to put all of that in the past tense (and probably add yet more exclamation points)!!” (11/18/25)
