The invention of the bus is in progress
America’s electricity disparity Applicitas economics
Climate/Environment
The invisible forces that reduce the nutritional value of food WaPo
After 37 years, the world’s longest soil warming experiment reveals the secret behind the onset of climate change
What happens when farmers lose soil? Food and Environmental Reporting Network
Physics-based models outperform record-breaking extreme science AI weather predictions. I remember this news from December.
Getting Older and Wiser: How Older Animals Help Species Survive at Yale Environment 360
pandemic
A brief background on the suspected hantavirus infection on a cruise ship (formerly Argentina) Avian Influenza Diary
toilet
Arizona, California, Nevada announce plans to conserve Colorado River water Arizona Daily Star
California will soon have more than 300 data centers. Where will they get water? grist
Japan
Japan to purchase Russian crude oil amid global energy crisis Anadolu Agency
China?
China’s unprecedented defiance of US sanctions sparks showdown over banks Business Times
Keep the Wolves Away China article. View from Hoover Institution and Palantir.
China’s push for ‘common prosperity’ faces reality test as inequality rises: South China Morning Post survey
India
The myth of meritocracy in India: Who really gets promoted? Backlash
Noida workers expose fault lines between India’s economic ambitions and labor market realities Financial Express
India burns more coal as heatwave and Iran war strain energy supplies CNBC
syrakistan
While Al Jazeera is in turmoil over the “ceasefire,” Israel threatens to outline a war in Gaza to force disarmament. Freys.
In East Jerusalem, “the entire Palestinian community is about to be expelled” +972 Magazine. As well as a Biblical theme park.
More than 20 people arrested in Jerusalem on suspicion of planning goat sacrifice on Temple Mount Swedish Herald
The Samson Files I: Dimona and the Birth of Nuclear Ambiguity Kautilya the Contemplator
***
Operation Project Freedom… Fraud of the War Powers Act Larry Johnson
That must be a joke. WSJ: https://t.co/sWhml9r4Ax pic.twitter.com/0D7YXDtgma
— America Nets 📉 (@ripplebrain) May 4, 2026
⚔️ Casas Belli
President Trump ordered the U.S. Navy to escort commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz and warned Iran to stand back.
Iran ordered ships anchored near the strait to leave the strait.
Iran will fire on US warships, which President Trump will call a “war incident.” https://t.co/oAnWl8MzmM
— Will Shriver (@imetatronink) May 3, 2026
discord in europe
The German government is struggling to explain: Where have the billions of dollars spent on defense gone? Ostdeutsche Allgemeine (machine translation)
Why did the Golden Lion die? About judgment and denial at the Venice Biennale e-flux
Africa
Two US military personnel participating in training in Morocco are reported missing on Al Jazeera
US launches 61st airstrike this year against war in Somalia
old blighty
Dominic Cummings’ ‘Moonshot’ agency awards £52m to US tech company Democracy for Sale
UK enters talks to join European Union’s £78bn loan to Ukraine Independent
A new war that’s not so cold war
Ukrainian drone attacks Russian Primorye port, oil tanker, warship Reuters
Leningrad Oblast repelled one of the largest attacks by Ukrainian drones since the launch of the SMO, with more than 60 drones shot down. All flights used the airspace of Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Finland.
The drone was launched from Lutsk… pic.twitter.com/CAppB0dMRf
— Mats Nilsson (@mazzenilsson) May 3, 2026
Sweden seizes tanker believed to be part of Russian shadow fleet in Turkje, Baltic Sea
Thank you, but no thanks. That’s enough. Stop! Maria Zakralova, Vedomosti. About the US State Department’s alleged threat to the children of Russian diplomats.
Mobilization to strengthen events in Ukraine
New NABU tape implicates Zelenskiy’s inner circle in corruption Intellinews
Trump 2.0
President Trump flexes executive power with unprecedented change in lower court ruling Associated Press
North Carolina mercenaries recently hired adviser to Trump UN ambassador while seeking full source role for peace committee
President Trump appoints Israeli lobbyist from Israeli intelligence to participate in Iran negotiations. dissident
President Trump’s crackdown on renewable energy hits legal wall Oil prices
Where will Republicans “draw the line” after more Social Security personal data is exposed by Team Trump? A common dream
Democrats are the worst
Kamala Harris bought a house in Malibu. Her neighbors think it means something. political
imperial collapse watch
Robots are building clay houses in central Texas using dirt from the ground
Fed up with high costs, some Americans are importing homes directly from China CNN
Sinophilia that hates China n+1
agriculture
Chart Book 445: Is a “China shock” coming to the “large-scale agriculture” food system? Adam Tooze
What is the price of meat? Why is beef different? enlightened omnivore
UAE fertilizer giant relies on trucks to move product from Gulf FT
Major fertilizer and grain bank sells $66 million in stock during Iran war desmog
American farm worker Orion
police state surveillance
New York City authorities criticize ICE for arresting 8 Gothamists after clash outside Brooklyn hospital. And Mamdani’s NYPD appears to be coordinating with ICE.
big brother is watching you
Ghost Operator: How an Israeli telecom company was exploited to track citizens around the world Haaretz
guns
At least 10 injured in shooting near Arcadia Lake, Oklahoma, US Anadolu Agency
our famous free news agency
Fox News is telling Americans that Iran is planting suicide bombs on dolphins.
Who would believe this propaganda anymore?pic.twitter.com/JPSwtcTpnj
— Ethan Levins 🇺🇸 (@EthanLevins2) May 3, 2026
A.I.
Wildfire-prone states in the western United States are using AI for early AP detection. AI that costs bundles and requires human validation.
health care?
The Paradox of Medical AI Implementation Eric Topol
economy
OPEC+ countries agree to ‘symbolic’ oil production increase The Cradle
US is oil supplier of last resort as Hormuz turmoil worsens, Bloomberg. “However, the U.S. export record also includes warnings that this supply cushion is rapidly reaching its limits. Many energy experts question how long shipments can sustain at such levels…”
antitrust law
Who killed Spirit Airlines?Matt Stoller
Nation Casino
Why most people lose in prediction markets, except for a few sharks WSJ. Nice chart:
class war
The gap between rich and poor has never been wider.
US private sector financial assets relative to US GDP are at a record high of 6.7 times.
This means that the total amount of stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments held by the private sector has never been so large relative to the real economy. pic.twitter.com/gReT4NS5Ig
— Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) May 4, 2026
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