Blog/Commentary
Politics
How Fox Chased Its Audience Down the Rabbit Hole - The New York Times
Rupert Murdoch built an empire by giving viewers exactly what they wanted. But what they wanted — election lies and insurrection — put that empire (and the country) in peril.
Clarence Thomas Secretly Accepted Luxury Trips From GOP Donor — ProPublica
For more than two decades, Thomas has accepted luxury trips virtually every year from the Dallas businessman without disclosing them.
Alternative Energy
The US got more electricity from renewables than coal last year | Canary Media
It's a major milestone, but fossil gas remains the market leader by a wide margin.
Photography
Photos of the Week: Stork Nesting, Kart Crash, Frosty Blossoms - The Atlantic
Tomb Sweeping Day in Hong Kong, a new 125-foot-tall bronze statue in India, the arraignment of former President Donald Trump in New York City, wildfires in Spain, and much more
Markets & Economy
How a Trump-Era Rollback Mattered for Silicon Valley Bank’s Demise - The New York Times
An under-the-radar change to the way regional banks are supervised may have helped the bank’s rapidly growing risks to go unresolved.
Chemicals spills in East Palestine and Philadelphia caused by oil and gas - Vox
The growing oil and gas industry means more incidents like East Palestine.
Climate Change
How an Early Oil Industry Study Became Key in Climate Lawsuits - Yale E360
For decades, 1960s research for the American Petroleum Institute warning of the risks of burning fossil fuels had been forgotten. But two papers discovered in libraries are now playing a key role in lawsuits aimed at holding oil companies accountable for climate change.
Health/Biotech
How Cigna Saves Millions by Having Its Doctors Reject Claims Without Reading Them — ProPublica
Internal documents and former company executives reveal how Cigna doctors reject patients’ claims without opening their files. “We literally click and submit,” one former company doctor said.
Scientists warned a decade ago American lives were shortening. Then it got worse : Shots - Health News : NPR
A decade after a landmark report on Americans' shorter lives, the problem has only gotten worse. Unlike other wealthy nations, U.S. life expectancy has not bounced back from the pandemic.
Science
The Electron Is Having a (Magnetic) Moment. It’s a Big Deal | WIRED
A new experiment pulled off the most precise measurement of an electron’s self-generated magnetic field—and the universe’s subatomic model is at stake.
Technology
How the U.S. Came to Use NSO Spyware It Was Trying to Kill - The New York Times
The Biden administration has been trying to choke off use of hacking tools made by the Israeli firm NSO. It turns out that not every part of the government has gotten the message.
Culture
The U.S. Built a European-Style Welfare State. It’s Largely Over. - The New York Times
Medicaid and food stamps are the latest of the pandemic relief policies to expire. But some benefits, even if temporary, made way for more generous social policies.
Inside TurboTax’s 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans From Filing Their Taxes for Free — ProPublica
Using lobbying, the revolving door and “dark pattern” customer tricks, Intuit fended off the government’s attempts to make tax filing free and easy, and created its multi-billion-dollar franchise.
Food
‘Hot Ones’ Was a Slow Burn All Along - The New York Times
This YouTube talk show’s premise is simple: Disarm celebrities with deep-cut questions and scorchingly spicy wings. Nearly 300 episodes later, the recipe still works.