Pretzels Twisting on the Hill

It was painful to see two middle-aged men in suits humiliating themselves by trying to avoid admitting that Joe Biden won the 2020 election.

Todd Blanche is 52 and wants to be Attorney General. Jay Clayton is 60 and hopes to be Director of National Intelligence.

They appeared before Senate committees Wednesday seeking confirmation but managed to make fools of themselves in the process.

All in the service of the man who lost that 2020 election but can’t get over it. Trump remains obsessed with his loss, so would-be Cabinet members like Blanche and Clayton are forced to twist themselves into verbal pretzels or risk his ire.

Trump promises to address the nation tonight about the issue of “free and fair elections.” He says he has “really big news.” 

Republicans are scared. We probably all should be.

HEADLINES:

• ‘Scared s–tless’: Republicans brace for Trump’s primetime speech (Politico)

• Protests in Ukrainian cities against Zelensky’s removal of defence minister (BBC)

• US strikes Iran, tanker, as Tehran hits Kuwait, Jordan (Al Jazeera)

• Hegseth announces new policy to test troops for low testosterone (CNN)

• Blanche’s slip-up on his Trump relationship: ‘I’m his lawyer’ (Politico)

• Blanche Faces Crucial Hurdle After Rocky Hearing (NYT)

• White House overturns DHS halt to ICE traffic stops despite killings of two men (Guardian)

• What we know about the 26-year-old father from Colombia who was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Maine (CNN)

• Houston prosecutor “more than prepared” to bring charges against ICE agents if wrongdoing is found in fatal shooting (CBS)

• ‘Misuse’ of crowd-control weapons on ICE protesters led to blindings and traumatic brain injuries, report finds (Guardian)

• Investigative journalist reports on the abuse inside ICE’s largest detention facility (NPR)

• A man running from an encounter with immigration and other federal agents in Florida was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer, authorities said. It was the third death in a week involving encounters with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, following shootings in Texas and Maine. [AP] 

• Texas Hispanics swung hard to Trump. A new poll shows they’re furious at his deportations. (Politico)

• Almost Half of House Democrats Vote to End Aid to Israel (NYT)

• Hegseth’s Study of Women in Combat Is Designed to Reach One Conclusion (Mother Jones)

• Civil rights leaders announce ‘March on Washington’ to defend voting rights (NBC)

• Donald Trump has no good options for reopening the Strait of Hormuz (Economist)

• U.S. launches new daylight attacks on Iran, upping pressure alongside naval blockade (NBC)

• Trump held Situation Room meeting on massive new Iran strikes (Axios)

• Putin, now losing in Ukraine, may resort to a desperate gamble in the Baltics (The Hill)

• South Korean company paid Trump $2 million amid trade investigation (WP)

• China Aggressively Patrols Disputed Waters. Now the U.S. Coast Guard Is Moving In. (WSJ)

• Federal Court Hearing Set For State AGs’ Emergency Motion To Halt Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger (Deadline)

• FCC Officials Took Pricey Gifts From Paramount as the Company Needed Approval for Billion-Dollar Deals (ProPublica)

• From Sea to Singeing Sea: The U.S. at 250 (Daily Kos)

• Boomers, not Gen Z, are the generation cutting back most on alcohol (FT)

• Scientists discover what kept ancient campfires burning for generations (SciTechDaily)

• How Vibe Coding Is Transforming Tech (BI)

• An Ivy League professor suspected AI cheating, so he gave the final exam in person (WP)

• Barack Obama Pretends To Be Canadian While Traveling Abroad (Onion)

 

The Backwards Man

Trump reverses himself more often than a kid driving a bumper car.

One day he says he’s going to charge fees for ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz. The next day he reverses it.

One day he says he will slap new tariffs on our European allies. The next day he reverses it.

Yesterday his administration said it was halting almost all traffic stops by ICE after two more civilians have been gunned down by its agents.

This morning Trump says ICE should continue with the traffic stops.

He has lost all credulity in the eyes of the world. American prestige is at an all-time low.

The world. There’s a concept. Thinking globally is beyond Trump’s capacity. He’s a two-year-old in an 80-year-old’s body.

Cut that. It’s an insult to two-year-olds. And to 80-year-olds.

***

There’s really nothing much you can do to console kids after their team loses a big game. They simply are heartbroken. Anything you say just seems to make matters worse.

While there were glum faces around here, supporters of Spain were ecstatic after they beat France handily in yesterday’s World Cup match. Spain will play the winner of today’s match between England and Argentina for the championship on Sunday.

But as sad as the kids were yesterday, today they’ll be waking up ready to move on. Unlike Trump, they know when you lose, you lose. There’s no reversing reality.

And besides, today is a new day.

HEADLINES:

• U.S. launches fresh wave of strikes on Iran, as analysts warn conflict risks becoming ‘forever war’ (CNBC)

• Trump scraps his Hormuz shipping charge idea but presses ahead with an Iran blockade (NPR)

• US and Iran intensify conflict, with naval blockade hours away (CNN)

• The push to bypass Hormuz (Axios)

• ‘Enough Is Enough’: Lawmakers Criticize Trump Over Resumption of Iran War (Time)

• The Iran war and McConnell’s absence are complicating government funding talks (NBC)

• ICE halts most vehicle stops after Maine, Texas shootings, sources say (CBS)

• Trump says ICE should resume traffic stops after his own administration suspended them (CNN)

• ICE agent’s killing of Maine motorist is at least the ninth death in US immigration sweeps (AP)

• Supreme Court Justice Barrett says ‘the threat level is really high’ in budget testimony (CNBC)

• ‘I Am Frustrated’: Emails Show Blanche’s Role in Trump’s Retribution Campaign (NYT)

• RFK Jr. faces Hatch Act complaint after intervening in congressional races (WP)

• Opportunities Narrow for Women as Hegseth Blocks More Promotions (NYT)

• Outbreak of diarrhea from parasite expands to more states as US cases soar beyond last year’s level (CNN)

• WHO warns DR Congo Ebola outbreak may be double the official tally (Al Jazeera)

• The Ebola epidemic is getting out of control (Economist)

• Emails detail confusion in State Department over Trump plan to destroy contraceptives (WP)

• E. Jean Carroll Receives $5.6 Million Payment From Trump in Civil Case (NYT)

• Argentina court recognizes two goldfish as sentient beings with rights (CNN)

• This tech start-up is hiring local reporters and feeding their work to AI (WP)

• I used ChatGPT to build a personal operating system using a single prompt — now I can’t imagine working without it (Tom’s Guide)

• SoftBank Group's CEO says $5 trillion a year needed globally to meet AI demand (AP)

• China’s exports ride AI boom as domestic economy struggles (Reuters)

• New York becomes first state to impose data center moratorium (WP)

• Kash Patel Calls For Public’s Help Using Computer (Onion)

Tuesday Mix

 HEADLINES:

• Trump says US will blockade Iran in the Strait of Hormuz and charge ships for safe passage (AP)

• US bombs Iran again, Tehran strikes Gulf, tankers (Al Jazeera)

• Oil prices surge as Trump says blockade reinstated, U.S. to impose fees on Strait of Hormuz (CBS)

• Trump proposes 20% toll on cargo through Strait of Hormuz; restarts Iran blockade (CNBC)

• ICE agent shoots dead Colombian immigrant in Maine (EuroNews)

• ‘A key link’: Trump’s Senate whisperer is gone (Politico)

• Senate again confronts the challenges of an aging membership (WP)

• Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, set to be tapped to serve out Senate term (CBS)

• Lindsey Graham: The Good, the Bad, and the Banality of Evil (Bulwark)

• Trump’s sons invest heavily in defense tech as father’s administration pours money in (WP)

• Another Person Dies in Fatal ICE Shooting—a Week After the Last One (TNR)

• Judge says Trump sued IRS for ‘improper purpose’; refers his lawyer to bar (CNBC)

• The Supreme Court Isn’t Even Trying to Hide Its Worst Trait Anymore (Slate)

• How Putin Turned Japan Into a Den of Spies (NYT)

• Putin’s Spiraling Crisis Exposed by Russia’s Military Records (Daily Beast)

• Russia and America Are Rediscovering the Limits of Nuclear Weapons (Atlantic)

• Counterterrorism Police Take Over Investigation Into U.K. Lawmaker’s Death (NYT)

• European countries reported more than 10,000 excess deaths during the record-breaking heatwave that engulfed the west of the continent in late June, official data showed. (Reuters)

• California And 11 Other States Sue To Block Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger (Deadline)

• Prosecutors Went to Prison to Ask the Prisoners How to Fight Crime (NYT)

• Eat your ice cream for a long, healthy life? This doctor says so (NPR)

• One of sci-fi’s most difficult questions about AI is becoming real (WP)

• Massive AI buildout poses latest inflation threat as consumers pay more for laptops and electricity (AP)

• ‘Time To Become Immortal,’ Announces RFK Jr., Exposing Perineum Atop Solar Tower (Onion)

Wild Strawberries

 

There he is — my Dad. His birth is listed on the registry for London, Ontario 110 years ago.

My oldest child, Laila, obtained the form from Ancestry.com, and the journalist in me loves a document like this — definitive truth — especially when it confirms the information we’ve been seeking for a story.

This particular story is about me reclaiming my Canadian roots and documents in order to become a citizen of Canada. Once that is accomplished, Laila and my other five children and nine grandchildren can also become Canadians.

I only visited London with my Dad once. It was 60 years ago, and the small farmhouse where he was born was still there. So was his neighbor, a guy whose first name was Weir who was also his cousin.

Dad told me so many stories about growing up in that place but the one that stuck with me was how he would roam the countryside, including the nearby train tracks, where wild strawberries would grow.

He said there was nothing like the taste of a wild strawberry.

On the occasion of our visit, we walked out to those railroad tracks and sure enough the wild strawberries were still there too. They were tiny, a fraction of the size of the commercial varieties we’re accustomed to buying from grocery stores.

“Just try one,” said Dad.

I did and the taste was amazing, more like a raspberry or blueberry off the vine than the water-logged, pesticide-ridden varieties my grandkids have grown up with.

They love strawberries, my grandkids, so maybe if they ever ask me why we’re becoming Canadians, I’ll tell just them that there’s nothing like the taste of a wild strawberry.

HEADLINES:

• Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally and foreign policy hawk, dies after a brief illness (AP)

• Senator Lindsey Graham died of aortic tear, examiner says (BBC)

• Inside Lindsey Graham’s final push for Saudi-Israel peace (Axios)

• Ceasefire disintegrates as US pounds Iran following intense weekend of strikes (CNN)

• U.S. conducts another round of strikes on Iran as Trump, supreme leader exchange threats (CBS)

• An emboldened Iran tests Trump, risking renewed war (WP)

• McConnell says a fall led to his hospitalization, breaking weeks of silence about health condition (AP)

• Mexico-US relations are already strained, but experts say they’re about to get worse (CNN)

• An O.M.B. Plan to Defund Science—and Anything Trump Doesn’t Like (New Yorker)

• The Supreme Court Broke Independent Agencies. Here’s a Way to Slow the Damage. (Bulwark)

• Voice of America’s exiled journalists find meaning in work outside the newsroom (WP)

• How Marco Rubio Is Running Venezuela From Afar (NYT)

• American Infected With Ebola as WHO Warns Outbreak Far Larger (Newsweek)

• Elon Musk and Sam Altman spar on X after Apple files OpenAI lawsuit (CNBC)

• The Most Famous AI Writing Tic Is Also the Most Mysterious (Atlantic)

• A Study Tried to Quantify How Many LinkedIn Posts Are 100% AI. It’s a Lot (Gizmodo)

• AI Just Uncovered a Hidden Secret Inside Water (SciTechDaily)

• World Cup Reinvigorates Nation’s Interest In Kicking Things (Onion)

Young Men Who Embrace Religion

Catholics illuminated by candlelight attend the Easter Vigil at Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in San Francisco on Saturday, April 4, 2026. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)

Late in 2013,, an old friend and colleague, Raul Ramirez, established an endowment for journalism students at SF State, where he had taught for many years while also working as an executive at KQED News.

Raul called it a diversity internship, meaning that it was meant to promote diversity in journalism, a notion that almost sounds quaint in today’s fiercely anti-DEI environment created by the Trump administration.

But seeing the world through each other’s eyes is how we develop empathy for each other and how we learn about the many things we have in common with those who on the surface may appear to be quite different from us.

Over the years, a number of people have benefitted from Raul’s generosity. The latest is Paula Sibulo, whose piece, “For These Young Men in the Bay Area, Religion Is Gaining Ground,” was published Saturday by KQED.

Close readers of this newsletter may recall last year’s intern Cami Dominguez, whose project involved giving disposable cameras to kids in the Tenderloin so that they might capture daily life in one of the poorest and densely populated neighborhoods in San Francisco.

Cami’s piece, Photos Capture SF’s Tenderloin Through the Eyes of Kids Who Live There, was also published by KQED. 

One of the primary functions of journalists is to report on under-covered communities and give a voice to the voiceless. In my view, a healthy society welcomes this work, which strengthens our democracy and reminds us that we’re all in this together, no matter how hard some try to divide us.

NOTES: Raul Ramirez died of cancer in 2013, soon after establishing his endowment. I co-authored this memorial of his life and career with his close friend, KQED editor Pat Yollin, who passed away in 2020. I miss both of them. The very first Ramirez intern was the multi-talented Ericka Cruz Guevarra; she is now the host of KQED’s podcast, “The Bay.”

HEADLINES:

• Iran Fires on a Ship and Says It Is Closing the Strait After Inconclusive Talks (NYT)

• Trump and Iran’s supreme leader trade threats as mediators try to save their crumbling deal (AP)

• Araghchi in Oman for talks as Tehran vows Khamenei revenge (Al Jazeera)

• Iran’s leader remains unseen, and it’s becoming a liability (Reuters)

• Justice Department subpoenas New York Times reporters over Air Force One reporting (NPR)

• Conflicting court orders over citizenship data stir more midterm confusion (WP)

• Mitch McConnell Mystery: What Happens If He Dies or Resigns the Senate (Newsweek)

• Democrats are growing bullish on retaking the Senate. Here are the races to watch. (WP)

• Judge vacates convictions of 4 Proud Boys in Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection (CBS)

• ICE Killing in Houston Puts Focus on Surge in Immigration Arrests (NYT)

• For These Young Men in the Bay Area, Religion Is Gaining Ground (KQED)

• 200 children and staff rescued by Black Hawk helicopters from Missouri summer camp after catastrophic flooding (Independent)

• SCOTUS’s shadow docket is eroding the public’s waning trust in the courts (Reveal)

• Ukraine faces a long wait for Patriot missiles (Reuters)

• Nicaragua strips lawyers of certification in latest crackdown on dissent (Al Jazeera)

• Humans Have a ‘Sixth Sense’ You’ve Probably Never Heard Of – And It Appears to Be Key For Mental Health (ScienceAlert)

• Royal Rapprochement: Harry and Meghan Pay a Rare Visit to the King and Queen (NYT)

• Burned to death in their cars (Reuters)

• So your boss is AI-pilled (NBC)

• AI is rewriting the hiring playbook for coders (BI)

• Apple sues OpenAI, two former employees (Reuters)

• The Work of Helping A.I. Destroy Work (NYT)

• Secret Service Urges Trump Not To Use Qatari-Gifted Jet Pack (Onion)

 

It's All in the Telling

Over the years, I’ve developed a fondness for the singer Norah Jones, the soulfully exotic way she sings, and her large lovely dark eyes that always seem to convey wisdom beyond her years (she’s now 47).

But I never did the basic homework to understand her family roots. When I finally did, it turned out she is the daughter of the great Indian sitar master Ravi Shankar, who had such an enormous influence on George Harrison and the Beatles that it spread out to all the rest of us in the western world.

Her birth name was Geethali Norah Jones Shankar.

So that helps explain a few things. She is gifted at solo performances but she really comes alive in duets with just about anybody. Via YouTube I’ve seen her perform with Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Dolly Parton, Bonnie Raitt, Tony Bennett, John Mayer, Wynton Marsalis, and many more, but maybe my personal favorite is when she performed “Love Hurts” with Keith Richards.

I don’t know how to categorize her singing -- jazz, rock, country, folk -- but I’m not sure that matters, because in my mind she’ll always be that person who could have stolen any show if she chose to but instead helped others to shine.

That is how it goes in life and work -- collaborators and partners invariably accomplish more together than they ever would have alone.

And for those who like Jones as much as I do, check out the one movie she starred in -- “My Blueberry Nights,” a 2007 romance directed by Wong Kar-wai, and co-starring an all-star cast of Jude Law, David Strathairn, Rachel Weisz, and Natalie Portman.

One of my favorite parts of the film concerns two lovable (and frustrating) addicts she meets on the road --an alcoholic and a gambler. Rarely have I seen addicts portrayed with a more honest human touch than in this gem of a film.

The soundtrack is also great, including a song Jones wrote called “The Story.” And this is one story that has a happy ending.

HEADLINES:

• Trump trades threats with Iran’s leader as mediators struggle to save talks (Al Jazeera)

• Trump reiterates that ceasefire is over, but says U.S. to continue negotiating (CBS)

• US demands Iran publicly state that Strait of Hormuz is open and Tehran won't attack ships anymore (AP)

• Iran’s Supreme Leader Remains Absent, a Void at the Top of the Regime (NYT)

• Trump’s Forever War Is Finally Here (TNR)

• Aftermath: War’s On (American Prospect)

• Quills and conflict: How protection in the Strait of Hormuz is bought and sold (CNN)

• Times Journalists Subpoenaed as Trump Escalates Pressure on Media (NYT)

• Trump ousts election commission members in latest push to reshape US voting process (AP)

• Bipartisan Housing Bill Becomes Law Even Though Trump Refuses to Sign It (NYT)

• What we know about the Houston ICE shooting (NBC)

• Migrants who saw man killed by ICE in Houston say he did not ram officers (WP)

• Platner formally withdraws from Maine Senate race and Democrats announce process to name new nominee (AP)

• ‘No one planned for this’: The rapidly-evolving 18-day primary to replace Platner (Politico)

• The Supreme Court has ruled: One jury shouldn’t write the nation’s warning labels (The Hill)

• Believe the Hype About Teen Takeovers (Atlantic)

• Trump plan would fence Pennsylvania Avenue outside White House (WP)

• Trump’s fake “convention” in Dallas will choose neither a candidate nor a platform, but state parties are charging thousands for the privilege of a floor seat. [HuffPost] 

• 8 men indicted in planned drone and sniper attack on White House UFC cage-fighting show (AP)

• New Air Force One Lacks Defensive Countermeasures of Previous Model, Officials Say (NYT)

• What to know about ‘explosive diarrhoea’ parasite outbreak in US (BBC)

• Dozens hospitalized with cyclosporiasis as cases of gastrointestinal illness spike in 31 states (NBC)

• At least eleven people have died and 19 are missing in one of Spain's deadliest wildfires (Reuters)

• Anthropic found a hidden space where Claude puzzles over concepts (TR)

• Haves, have-nots and know-nots: Inside AI’s new class divide (Axios)

• China, Russia and Others Seek to Inflame Debate Over A.I. Data Centers (NYT)

• How exposed is your job to AI? (SFC)

• Apple Sues OpenAI, Accusing It of Stealing Company Secrets (NYT)

• FIFA Admits It Has No Idea Why Soccer Players Walk Out On Field With Little Kids (Onion)

Dance of the Narratives

In the old days, writers worked with photographers at newspapers and magazines to produce stories. Some editors seemed to expect the photographers to simply illustrate the stories told by the writers. But the better ones devised a different process with a richer outcome.

They saw that the visual and editorial narratives worked together more like interlocking vines, snaking in and out to produce a product much greater than the sum of its parts.

When we got the mixture right, there was an interactive chain that moved, much like how musical notes flow with words in a song.

And that’s true for good story-telling in any form. 

The process becomes more complex when you move from the world of print into multimedia — radio, TV, and the movies. Now, the actual or mediated voices and images of people enter the space between you and your audience.

It’s easy to overdo it. Then the story becomes preachy or melodramatic like in a soap opera. Good editors know that in most cases, less is more. Just let the sounds and the pictures tell the story. Silences become magnified, which is useful on any level.

In the end, in any good story, what the teller leaves out, the listener will fill in.

HEADLINES:

• U.S. and Iran Sink Into Violent Cycle After Latest Strikes (NYT)

• How a push to disarm Hezbollah is deepening divisions in Lebanon and raising fears of civil war (AP)

• U.S. intensifies strikes on Iran’s coast along Strait of Hormuz (WP)

• Man fatally shot by ICE in Houston was not intended target, DHS says (BBC)

• It’s not me, it’s them: Platner goes down snarling with graceless exit video (Guardian)

• Who will replace Graham Platner on the Maine ballot? These Democrats are raising their hand (AP)

• Trump targets Spain, NATO backs Ukraine: Is the alliance still united? (Al Jazeera)

• U.S. Olympian David Hearn pleads not guilty to charges in Reflecting Pool vandalism case (NBC)

• Trump ‘immediately’ asking US Supreme Court to reconsider birthright citizenship case (BBC)

• Who Can Hold ICE Accountable? (Atlantic)

• Losing in Ukraine, is Putin finally down to his nukes? (The Hill)

• LGBTQ+ cruise ship refused entry to Egypt days after Turkey turned it away (Guardian)

• Security Precaution Led Trump to Use Old Air Force One in Leaving Turkey (NYT)

• Judges block Trump administration’s attempts to deny access to public service loan forgiveness to its perceived foes (The Conversation)

• High earners are rushing to use this vacation-rental tax break (BI)

• The secret to good questions (Economist)

• Colombia's court on the conflict with FARC rebels in limbo as president-elect vows to dismantle it (AP)

• China and Taiwan were bracing for possibly the most destructive tropical storm in years as Typhoon Bavi churned southeast of Taiwan, with winds near 124 mph, and as parts of China were still reeling from Typhoon Maysak. (Reuters)

• ‘Hysteria’ Grips San Francisco’s Housing Market as A.I. Wealth Pours In (NYT)

• News outlets urge a judge to sanction OpenAI in a high-stakes AI copyright fight (AP)

• Can A.I. Keep a Parent Alive? (New Yorker)

• National Opera Lays Off 200 Phantoms (Onion)