April 20, 2025 at 10:02 AM EDT
'Bedrock principles': Major philanthropist urging charities to 'stand together' against Trump

Critics of President Donald Trump believe that too many Americans are capitulating to him out of fear, from media companies to tech CEOs to universities to Republicans in Congress. And those critics are applauding Harvard University and the law firm Perkins, Coie for, they saw, standing up to Trump rather than going along to get along. According to John Palfrey, president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, another group facing the choice of either capitulating to Trump or standing up to him is charitable organizations. And Palfrey is hoping they will refuse to be bullied.

April 20, 2025 at 9:43 AM EDT
Courage is contagious

Jo Ellen Grzyb, a member of this Substack community, noted in response to one of my posts that she's seeing a lot of the phrase "courage is contagious." She mentioned Bernie, AOC, Cory Booker, Tim Walz, Jasmine Crockett, and Elizabeth Warren. She's right. And in these darkening times, this contagion is critically important.

April 20, 2025 at 8:55 AM EDT
'Disruption is here to stay': How Trump is creating numerous 'problems for investors'

Investors are encouraged to think long-term, especially if they are younger and aren't planning to retire anytime soon. Some investors, depending on their circumstances, are more risk-averse than others. And a risk-averse investor might be in the stock market or have a 401k, but also have some investments that are considered low-risk but low-ROI (such as certificates of deposit or fixed annuities).

April 20, 2025 at 1:29 AM EDT
Busted: 'Serious questions' raised over Trump appointee's finances

Former Missouri Congressman Billy Long received $137,000 in campaign contributions -- just enough to pay off a personal loan to his campaign -- soon after he was tapped to lead the Internal Revenue Service. Some of the donations are connected to companies that will be policed by the agency Long has been nominated to run.

April 20, 2025 at 1:03 AM EDT
The GOP's new family values takes 'creepy' to a whole new level

-- Is Trump Helping Putin Defeat Ukraine? 'Lil Marco Rubio announced yesterday that the Trump administration is on the verge of simply handing Ukraine over to Russia, if Putin won't go along with the so-called peace deal Trump has offered. Zelenskyy has agreed to it, even though the price is huge (no NATO, Russia keeps the land they have, no security guarantees from the US at all, possible mineral/oil deals), but Putin clearly doesn't intend to stop until he's subjugated the entire nation, setting up his next drive into Poland and the Baltic states. To make things even worse, Zelenskyy has been virtually begging the US to sell him Patriot anti-air missiles, as they're about the only system available in the world that can stop Russian hypersonic glide missiles.

April 19, 2025 at 12:03 PM EDT
Behind the fatal Trump flaw MAGA can't even defend

Want to take down Trump? Demonstrate how corrupt he and his oligarch buddies are. I've spent a good chunk of my adult life doing international relief work for a nonprofit based out of Europe. From the mass slaughter in Darfur to the famine following the Civil War in Uganda to deeply impoverished rural Russia and Southeast Asia to hunt clubs in Colombia where young men shoot "feral" children for sport, I've seen horrors few can even imagine, much less would want to live through.

April 19, 2025 at 11:57 AM EDT
Right-wing network allegedly inspired teen accused of killing parents and plotting Trump assassination

A Wisconsin teenager accused of murdering two family members and plotting to assassinate President Donald Trump was inspired by Terrorgram, a white supremacist network that operated on the Telegram messaging and social media platform for half a decade, according to federal court records. The Terrorgram community, which has been linked to around three dozen criminal cases around the globe, including at least three mass shootings, was profiled last month in stories and a documentary produced by ProPublica and FRONTLINE.

April 19, 2025 at 7:37 AM EDT
Forget eggs: Behind the battle in Congress over milk

In 2010, United States lawmakers passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which aimed to tackle both childhood obesity and hunger by making school meals more nutritious. Two years later, the Department of Agriculture updated its guidance for schools participating in the National School Lunch Program, or NSLP, in accordance with the law. Whereas schools could previously serve fat-free, 1 percent, 2 percent, or whole milk and be eligible for federal reimbursement, now they could only recoup meal costs if they ditched 2 percent and whole milk, which were thought to be too high in saturated fat for kids.

April 19, 2025 at 7:17 AM EDT
'A cry of defiance': Urgent warning issued on 250th anniversary of Paul Revere's ride

On April 18, 1775, Paul Revere famously rode through the streets of Massachusetts to warn residents about the approach of British troops, which culminated in the Battle of Lexington and Concord that kicked off America's war for independence. Now, 250 years later, U.S. Sen. Angus King is giving his own warning over what he sees as the imminent collapse of American democracy under President Donald Trump.

April 19, 2025 at 7:07 AM EDT
Why a psychopath wouldn't hesitate to cause a global financial crisis -- according to science

Would you want a psychopath looking after your pension? Or what about your shares? In a recent talk at the Cambridge Festival of Science, I spoke about the latest research relating to a psychopath's love of money, greed for power, and willingness to harm other people financially for personal gain. Since I began researching corporate psychopaths and the global financial crisis, the idea of the financial psychopath, an employee in the financial sector acting ruthlessly, recklessly, greedily and selfishly with other people's money, has gained traction.

April 19, 2025 at 6:07 AM EDT
'Tax cheat' Donald Trump ripped by Dem Senator after IRS refuses to close loophole

The Trump administration quietly announced Thursday that it is abandoning a Biden-era effort to close a loophole that allows large business partnerships to repeatedly manipulate the value of their assets to minimize their tax obligations. The Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department announced the decision in a notice that received little attention in the mainstream press. The notice states that the administration, guided by an executive order President Donald Trump signed in February, intends to scrap so-called basis-shifting regulations that were finalized at the end of former President Joe Biden's White House term.

April 19, 2025 at 3:44 AM EDT
What you need to know with Mount Spurr likely to erupt

Volcanoes inspire awe with spectacular eruptions and incandescent rivers of lava, but often their deadliest hazard is what quietly falls from the sky. When a large volcano erupts, as Mount Spurr appears close to doing about 80 miles from Anchorage, Alaska, it can release enormous volumes of ash. Fine ash can infiltrate the lungs of people and animals who breathe it in, poison crops and disrupt aquatic life. Thick deposits of ash can collapse roofs, cripple utilities and disrupt transport networks.