NPR (Geoff Brumfiel) - The Trump administration has secretly rewritten nuclear safety rules
The rewrite was done to speed up the construction of a new generation of nuclear reactors. Critics warn it could compromise safety and public trust.
NPR (Martin Kaste) - CBP has a history of excessive force. Critics say they were unprepared for Minnesota
Experts say federal immigration agents' skills are a dangerous mismatch for urban settings such as the Twin Cities
NYTIMES (Esther Perel, Nadja Spiegelman and Vishakha Darbha) - Esther Perel on Why A.I. Intimacy Feels Safe but Isn’t Real
Perel, a renowned psychotherapist, doesn’t really think society can — or should — fall in love with a machine.
NYTIMES (Michelle Cottle) - These Democrats Want Clinton to Answer for Epstein. Good.
As Democrats work to regain the public trust and to shed their image as the party of elites, they cannot be seen as treating elites in their party as above the law.
AXIOS (Zachary Basu) - Minneapolis killings cut short America's post-election apathy
The killing of Alex Pretti has destabilized the cultural settlement that took hold after the 2024 election, dragging non-political actors and institutions back into the eye of a national reckoning. Why it matters: America may never return to the mass social activism of 2020. But the vocal re-engagement of corporations, athletes and apolitical corners of the internet suggests a red line was crossed in Minneapolis. The big picture: American public opinion famously behaves like a thermostat — rising and falling in response to perceived excess by one side. - In 2020, George Floyd's murder triggered a surge of protests, corporate activism and police reforms that pushed institutions sharply toward social justice causes. - By 2024,…
AXIOS (Madison Mills) - Exclusive: Inside Google's push to sell AI to cities
Google is rolling out an updated "Mayors AI Playbook " with the U.S. Conference of Mayors at the group's Winter Meeting in Washington today, the company first told Axios. Why it matters: Cities are spending more on technology, but many lack the expertise to deploy AI safely and at scale. Whoever helps them cross that gap could lock in years of government contracts. The big picture: Google's first AI playbook for mayors was about awareness. Now, it's about action: a blueprint for implementing AI strategies at the local level. What they're saying: "…the most important step you can take now is to just start. Don't wait for the perfect moment, the opportunity is now," Tom Cochran, USCM CEO and executive director said in a statement. - "AI…
AXIOS (Andrew Solender) - Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked at town hall, sprayed with "unknown liquid"
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) was rushed by a man during a town hall Tuesday and sprayed with "unknown liquid" from a syringe, according to video of the incident and statements from Omar and local law enforcement. The big picture: The attack comes just days after Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) was punched in the face as the Sundance Film Festival, and amid a broader surge in threats and acts of violence against members of Congress. - The Capitol Police announced Thursday night , just hours after the incident involving Omar, that the number of cases into threats against members of Congress rose from just under 9,500 in 2024 to nearly 15,000 last year. Driving the news: In video of the incident , a man can be seen charging towards Omar as she…
WASHINGTONPOST (Theodoric Meyer) - John Kennedy’s book achieves a rare distinction for a senator: It’s selling
“How to Test Negative for Stupid: And Why Washington Never Will” has spent 15 weeks on the New York Times hardcover nonfiction bestseller list, including several weeks at No. 1.
WASHINGTONPOST (Dan Balz) - Trump is dealing with an immigration mess of his own making
The killing of Alex Pretti on Saturday, coming just two weeks after the shooting death of Renée Good, represents a crisis moment for Trump’s immigration policy.
AI:The recent killings of Alex Pretti and Renée Good have become convenient ammunition for the mainstream media's relentless assault on the administration. While the establishment press scrambles to frame these tragedies as a direct consequence of President Trump’s immigration enforcement policies, they conveniently ignore the underlying chaos caused by uncontrolled borders. The left-wing narrative is working overtime to blame executive action for criminal violence, attempting to gaslight the public into believing that law and order are the primary drivers of instability rather than the influx of undocumented individuals.Open
WASHINGTONPOST (Marianne LeVine, Beth Reinhard, Aaron Schaffer) - The rise and fall of Border Patrol ‘commander at large’ Greg Bovino
A year ago, Greg Bovino was the little-known head of a Border Patrol office in California. He rose quickly to become the face of Trump’s immigration policy.