Circling the world over the last couple of nights, the aurora borealis put on quite a spectacular show in the sky of the northern hemisphere.

This is a very good write-up / interview. It also goes into concepts like translation vs. transcription in the context of what science writers do. 🧪

Wow! A new low for Ken Paxton. His deranged press release claims that there cannot be any legitimate purpose for legal defense for people facing deportation — effectively saying that removal defense is not legitimate and only “radicals” would want people to have lawyers. Horrid stuff from him.

You think maybe this is a biggie as far as solar storms go? You'd be right. It is! One of the five biggest of the current solar cycle, SC25. In terms of rate of energy dissipation though it isn't up to the May 10-11 event of 2024. That was a G5-level storm. Stay tuned for tomorrow.

The aurora pix from my neighbors in interior Alaska are spectacular, but events far south as California it's not bad.

SEATTLE: If you know someone who lives in Seattle and guess they probably voted for Katie Wilson for Mayor, your contribution to this fight is to text them this information about making sure they voted with their signature on the envelope! TEXT them NOW.

Joyce Carol Oates: Demonstrating the Value of the Humanities through Public Ownership of the Richest Man on Earth

I'm a former political reporter and a former copy editor, so I think it's fair to say I'm pretty knowledgeable about both US politics and the English language, but I've spent the past five minutes trying to parse the second sentence here and I'm still not 100% sure I've done so correctly

In case you're interested, this unit from Khan Academy College Physics 2 looks like it has a pretty comprehensive treatment of the question of what magnets are. www.khanacademy.org/science/ap-p...

I’ve come to believe that we need to gather considerable forces and a campaign to demand the removal of face masks by ICE, Border Patrol, FBI and police. It is a practice in conflict with the principles of transparency & accountability that are central to the concept of democracy.

We're disappointed to see Ben Barres's powerful book "The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist" among the ~400 titles removed from the Naval Academy Library. Needless to say, we're proud to have published his book and will keep it — and his memory — alive.

This is correct.

What a banger

Did you know a former White House climate advisor flipped a GOP stronghold in Virginia by running entirely on putting a stop to more AI data centers? For @heatmap.news I profiled John McAuliff and a campaign that will be a roadmap for all future anti-AI politicians moving forward.

Did women ruin elections…for the fascists?

It would be funny if this incident saves the Subway company.

Dear GOD if you want to save money in the asylum system 1. LET ASYLUM SEEKERS WORK 2. FAST TRACK STATUS FOR EVERYONE FROM CLEARLY UNDAFE COUNTRIES like Sudan, Syria, etc 3. Run an asylum accommodation system that is NOT FOR PROFIT #r4today

Please do! Details about the fellowship and the link to apply can be found here: thenarwhal.ca/2026-indigen...

Indeed, he was allowed to to kill all those children because he is so rich

What is happening at Goddard is absolutely devastating. We are losing history. We are losing an incredible amount of human talent, skill, and knowledge. Rebuilding it will be impossible same for same. Industry can not absorb the people or the equipment. This is undoing space science in the US.

Impressively gray. #akwx @anisian.bsky.social

Aurora situation in Milwaukee tonight.

This really hasn’t gotten enough attention this week. @wired.com #ICE www.wired.com/story/fbi-wa...

Again, these maps have got to be causing a massive panic in any state where they're considering gerrymandering.

Looks like that power is finally back on at Akiak: www.kyuk.org/public-safet...

Well and there I've been wondering what she's up to now, given what an absolutely brilliant job she did in the Biden administration.

Absolutely amazing: they've got so much solar in Australia that they need more people to use more of it, so the gov't has instructed energy retailers to offer *at least three hours of free power* during the middle of the day. Meanwhile fossil-addled US struggles with an energy-price crisis ...

Is this like collateralized debt obligations?

For any unfamiliar with the quality of journalism at Teen Vogue, it's well known for hard-hitting stories on "politically sensitive" topics including climate. Then there's CBS: the only major network to increase climate coverage in the last few years. They just axed nearly their whole climate team.

This is striking, and evidence of something I've been saying speculatively for a while - I think there's actually every reason to think that federal operations in Chicago could *strengthen* hispanic organised crime groups like the Latin Kings, not weaken them www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/03/9...

This is what I've been trying to tell y'all for the past *checks notes* 20 years. And why Lori Lightfoot was awful. The data shows that the US murder rate is almost *entirely* driven by this dynamic. The murder rate in the US is *highest* wherever Black people trust the police *the least". 🙂🙃

These Inuit Maps Are Reimagining the Arctic “ 'It’s an approach that is intended to mirror real life on a map,' said Breanna Bishop, a lead researcher on the first sea ice travel map booklets of Nunatsiavut, or Inuit Labrador." www.sierraclub.org/sierra/these...

Canada had a very warm October, except in BC with near to slightly below seasonal temperatures. Record-warmest October for: Cambridge Bay -2.5° (previously -2.9 in 2021/2023) Churchill 4.7° (4.0 in 2021) Kuujjuaq 5.4° (3.8 in 2021) Nain 7.1° (5.3 in 2023) Wabush 4.9° (4.8 in 2022)

Kevin Roberts' defense of Nick Fuentes is a watershed moment: the right has officially declared open, unabashed Hitlerism to be an acceptable position in their coalition www.vox.com/politics/466...

First they came for the trans people but I’m cis so I’m sure it’ll be ok.

Really good! 👏🏻🤣

The OPERA InSAR dataset is a *phenomenal* resource. Check this out. This ground subsidence in southern California is likely due to ground compaction and aquifer depletion. 🧪⚒️🛰️

Alrighty, ready to see something really cool? (and maybe a little nauseating) The evolution of Hurricane Melissa's mesovortices at peak strength.

Needless to say, these people aren’t on the side of the Fellowship, the Shire, or the hobbits.

Thanks @polarsecco.bsky.social for the chance to present on #WiAA w/ many other wonderful orgs/initiative e.g. @usscar-antarctic.bsky.social @iassa.bsky.social @iasc-arctic.bsky.social and more at the "Overview of Polar Organizations for Early Career Scientists" event. Check out #PSECCO psecco.org

I’m sorry, if someone has a birth certificate that proves they were born here but a mobile app with face recognition software disagrees, they will side with the app? What?

The Korean article on the Hyundai raid explained MAGA as a movement seeking to overturn the civil rights movement and I still haven’t found a better description

I’m sure he said “melt” when it should have been “thaw”.

Good news for independent literary arts organizations. The guidelines are pretty strict, but this fund promises to open some doors for writers and readers alike!

Grapevine reports of suspected roofying, or date rape drugging, at the bars in Juneau this weekend, please be aware this Halloween. Sadly, this predatory behavior is nothing new in Alaska. I wrote about it in 2023 - watch out, and call out the creeps if you see them. www.kbbi.org/local-news/2...

Women farmers in Xochimilco and San Gregorio are restoring chinampas (high-yield island farms) using canal-mud fertiliser, biofilters and invasive-fish barriers. The program has certified 16 producers and buffers floods, cools the city and shelters the axolotl. buff.ly/0gIJjxl #ShareGoodNewsToo

this is exactly what's happening

On the ground reporting from the yk delta village of Tuntutuliak. I got to visit this wonderful place in September. Article really highlights immediate relief efforts. #halong #alaska #flooding www.kyuk.org/public-safet...

This is bad of course, but … there are few things I trust more than the ability of teens to poke holes into what their teachers want them to think. Better to take away that Gramsci, Zinn etc. are important enough that instructional time is spent on warnings than never to encounter this material.

Very good letter to the edition in our local paper.