"A childhood friend, who asked to be identified only as Muhammad because he feared Taliban reprisals, said that Mr. Lakanwal had suffered from mental health issues and was disturbed by the casualties his unit had caused." gift link 🎁 www.nytimes.com/2025/11/27/u...

Next week, Tennessee will hold a special election to replace Republican U.S. Representative Mark Green. In 2024, the district voted for Trump by 22 percentage points, but Democrats are talking up their chances in light of major wins in November.

ICYMI: A "friend of the court" brief for our lawsuit, Trump v. Slaughter, was recently filed by former GOP White House lawyers and senior officials saying that no president should have the power to fire independent watchdogs at will. Read their message to SCOTUS: https://protdem.org/3JX8JmK

Firefighters battled a blaze at a high-rise residential complex in Hong Kong for the second day, as the death toll rose to 65 in one of the deadliest blazes in the city’s modern history. Hong Kong leader John Lee said contact had been lost with 279 people earlier Thursday.

While some pretend that Israel's conduct can singularly be pinned on Netanyahu, an Israeli lawmaker just called for merciless bombing of Gaza. "We have no hostages [left]... We no longer have to be precise. We can attack without mercy. Merciless! MERCILESS!"

"John Quigley, senior fellow at the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, pointed to the “data center frenzy” as the primary driver of higher electricity prices for households" Definitely a strong consensus among researchers that data centres *do* make bills higher

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that volunteers aged 18 and 19 will start serving next year in a 10-month new military service program as France seeks to bolster its armed forces to address growing threats.

"We followed everything we were supposed to do" Legitimate green card applicants with US spouses are being arrested by armed, masked men at scheduled immigration interviews, taken away from their children, sent to prison www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...

Tyson plans to eliminate 1,761 jobs at its Amarillo plant while shuttering a Nebraska beef plant—part of a sweeping restructuring prompted by dwindling cattle supplies and industrywide pressure.

Huge news today, if you missed it; Chris Duncan was released from Louisiana prison after being wrongfully convicted for nearly three decades. @psfrench.bsky.social wrote this devastating but important read this spring on Louisiana’s rush to kill Jim despite junk science.

Severe flooding in southern Thailand killed at least 33 people and displaced and stranded tens of thousands more amid record-setting rainfall in parts of the country. It’s the latest in a string of deadly weather across Southeast Asia.

Reupping from earlier, Jia Cobb's November 20 opinon ruling that the Guard deployment was unlawful. She had stayed it herself until December 11. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

"Agents are arresting foreign-born spouses when they report for the final step to obtain permanent residency, and charging them with visa violations that could result in deportation." www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...

⚠️ After posting that the National Guard members had both died, the governor of West Virginia now says they’re “receiving conflicting reports about the condition of our two Guard members”:

Layoffs are piling up, raising worker anxiety. Here are some companies that have cut jobs recently

Other than that, it’s gonna be great. 🤡 @cnbc.com

NEW data I've received: Just 5% of people detained by ICE since October 1 have had violent criminal convictions, 3/4 had no criminal convictions at all. Most "criminals" had immigration, traffic, and vice offenses. Not the "worst of the worst"...

Breaking news: At least 13 people were killed after a huge fire engulfed several high-rise buildings in an apartment complex in Hong Kong, the city’s emergency services said.

"Weeks of watching Florida insurance lawyer Lindsey Halligan flail around like a toddler trying to teach calculus should serve as a warning about the perils of crowdsourcing legal research to literal randos on the internet. *But it won’t.*" — @lizdye.bsky.social

Cold and flu season typically happen during the fall and winter. Though it comes around every year, there's still a lot of confusion about viruses, vaccines and how to avoid getting sick. Experts and providers offer advice.

"My story is an extension of the Palestinian struggle." Mahmoud Khalil speaks to @simonerzim.bsky.social about the ways that Palestinian existence is fundamentally criminalized in the US. Watch the new episode of 'Beyond Israelism' here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlXr...

From the @TexasTribune, the state's DMV is implementing more stringent photo identification requirements for all vehicle registrations and renewals in an abrupt shift that could shut out undocumented residents from legally owning vehicles.

British finance minister Rachel Reeves is likely to announce tens of billions of pounds of new tax increases in her annual budget speech. Follow Reuters live page for updates throughout the day: reut.rs/4iwO9Gz

NEWSLETTER: In the spirit of Thanksgiving, this week’s newsletter is stuffed with fresh recaps of the Trump 2.0's latest corrupt policymaking — plus our top publications from the past month. Dig in!

“When the economy slows, the folks that are hurt most are almost always vulnerable groups.” And that context leads me to be doubly worried by the recent sharp rise in Black women's unemployment.

The US stranded a pair of astronauts on the International Space Station for months. After an accident stranded three taikonauts, the Chinese launched their rescue mission in less than two weeks. arstechnica.com/space/2025/1...

Here we go again.

To combat bird flu spread, other countries have authorized poultry vaccines. The U.S. hasn’t, amid political and economic pushback. Without a vaccine, experts say the virus poses an escalating threat: “The minute it transmits to humans, it’s done.” By @natlash.bsky.social

NEW: 20 million Americans face health care premium spikes. Trump briefly floated a fix, but House Republicans instantly revolted. @citizencohn.bsky.social dives into the GOP’s health care chaos and the abortion fight now threatening any deal in The Breakdown. lnk.thebulwark.com/3LZ5Hz0?utm_...

Beyond Meat owes $39 mln for violating 'plant-based' trademark, jury says reut.rs/4pAOFG0

Third infant in Kentucky dies of whooping cough as national cases stay high for second year in a row There are more than 25,000 cases of whopping cough reported so far in 2025. www.cidrap.umn.edu/t... Photo: Dan Higgins/CDC

Senate Republicans are going after basic vehicle-safety mandates, like automatic brakes and child safety alarms. They claim that these safety protocols are the real reason for the car affordability crisis. The solution they're proposing instead is autonomous vehicles.

“.. The suit, filed in a federal court in Washington, alleges that due to Swalwell’s criticism of President Donald Trump, Pulte began ‘scouring databases at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’ in order to acquire Swalwell’s private mortgage records.” @politico.com www.politico.com/news/2025/11...

“Electing and voting for Donald Trump made things worse.” Children's hospital chaplain Ayman Soliman who was detained by ICE agents this past summer discussed how Muslims were wrong to vote for Trump thinking he was the lesser evil. zeteo.com/p/trump-ice-...

A great piece on the once-arcane discharge petition, which has now been used five times during Johnson’s tenure — “more than in the prior 30 years combined.” A signal of his waning influence, via @politico.com www.politico.com/news/2025/11...

Yikes. (via @steverattner.bsky.social)

The AI boom is inflating the cost of memory chips everywhere. And it’s showing up in moves like this. @bloomberg.com $HPQ www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Experimental mRNA #flu vaccine shows superior efficacy against symptomatic illness The vaccine is 100% effective against both symptomatic and febrile flu, compared with 85% and 100% with the conventional 4-strain vaccine. www.cidrap.umn.edu/i...#flu Photo: Penn State / Flickr cc

LIVE: Venezuela government holds marches to reject potential US escalation youtube.com/live/pCnGv3h...

LIVE: Protest in Madrid to demand end of violence against women youtube.com/live/KprFw8x...

Spend the day listening to Jimmy: www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...

🎉 Big news! Project Drawdown’s Executive Director, @globalecoguy.bsky.social, has won the 2025 Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication! 🌍 Presented by Climate One, don't miss the live event in San Fran or you can register to attend virtually: https://bit.ly/4nDDACF

Campbell Soup Company has now placed the executive who reportedly mocked its "poor" customers and said the company's meat "came from a 3D printer" on leave.

Plane carrying food aid crashes in South Sudan, three dead reut.rs/4ilPnUT

Should national parks be fully funded and staffed? Reply: 1. Agree 2. Disagree 3. Neutral 4. Not Sure

Instead of triangulating, or just shutting up and taking what credit he can, Trump is doubling down on his most paranoid and aggressive tendencies. (Almost sounds familiar.) Read about it in @eggerdc.bsky.social's contribution to today's Morning Shots: lnk.thebulwark.com/4aa3qLd

Great news if you're a fan of my stuff in @mcsweeneys.net (and bad news if you're not): I have written a WHOLE BOOK of academic satire! It's available NOW from the good people at @humoristbooks.bsky.social.

Cristiano Ronaldo has magically had his ban reduced so he can start the World Cup. There is no precedent...but then he met the President. How depressing... Column: inews.co.uk/sport/footba...

Pulses of activity bring nutrients and other inputs to ecosystems around the world, but these pulses are being altered by climate change. Better studying fluxes in fragile ecosystems will show us what might happen next. 🧪