Saturday Mix

— By my friend, the Pulitzer-Prize-winning Mark Fiore. Please consider subscribing to his page on Substack.

HEADLINES:

• “The first domino”: Comey indictment sets MAGA retribution in motion (Axios)

• ‘Dangerous abuse of power’: lawmakers sound alarm over Comey indictment (Guardian)

• The Flimsy, Dangerous Indictment of James Comey (New Yorker)

• Des Moines Schools Chief Is Detained and Accused of Living in U.S. Illegally (NYT)

• As Our Generals and Admirals Fly Home, Our Adversaries Watch and Wait (Bulwark)

• Sinclair-owned ABC stations will bring ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ back to air Friday (CNBC)

• Jimmy Kimmel offered Trump a reality check after his ratings surged, thanks in part to criticism from the president himself. [HuffPost]

• Justice Department Seeks Information on Georgia D.A. Who Prosecuted Trump (NYT)

• DOJ official directs prosecutors to prepare probes of George Soros’ foundation (ABC)

• Supreme Court Allows Trump to Slash Foreign Aid (NYT)

• Civil society helps uphold democracy and provides built-inresistance to authoritarianism (Conversation)

• Kristi Noem Fast-Tracked Millions in Disaster Aid to Florida Tourist Attraction After Campaign Donor Intervened (ProPublica)

• Paxton could lose Trump’s House majority, top Republicans claim (Axios)

• As delegates walk out, Netanyahu tells UN Israel must ‘finish job’ in Gaza (Al Jazeera)

• Trump said he will put import taxes of 100% on pharmaceutical drugs, 50% on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, 30% on upholstered furniture and 25% on heavy trucks starting next month. [AP]

• New Tariffs Shock Countries Reeling From Trump’s Chaotic Trade War (NYT)

• Trump’s TikTok deal payment criticized as ‘shakedown scheme’ by experts (NPR)

• ‘Science demands action’: world leaders and UN push climate agenda forward despite Trump’s attacks (Guardian)

• Shane Tamura, gunman in shooting at NFL headquarters, had CTE: Medical examiner (ABC)

• From Goebbels to Trump’s Christian Nationalists: Glorifying Motherhood, Promoting Female Submission (Daily Kos)

• 4 Reasons Why Music Isn’t as Good as It Was in the 1960s, According to Bob Dylan (American Songwriter)

• A Startup Used AI to Make a Psychedelic Without the Trip (Wired)

• Can AI do your job? OpenAI’s new test reveals how it performs across 44 careers (Can AI do your job? (Tom’s Guide)

• Limbless, Slippery RFK Jr.: ‘Becoming An Eel Is A Sign Of Good Health’ (Onion)

 

It Can't Happen Here

“This may be the tipping point toward authoritarianism.” — Ty Cobb, attorney, CNN

Donald Trump is angry, which is never good news. The Kirk assassination, the ICE shooting in Dallas, his failed move against Kimmel, the widely ridiculed escalator incident at the UN, the unprecedented indictment of a former FBI director, and a pending government shutdown are just a few of the factors that may combine to propel him to take further radical action very soon.

But what?

It may become clear next week. The mysterious gathering of military leaders and the plan for a new round of mass layoffs portend something. What is it? Perhaps yet another declaration of a national emergency?

Trump has already shown he has an itchy finger in such matters. Now he’s bluntly warning that mythical “radical left wing” that “bad things” are going to happen to them.

In TrumpSpeak, “left wing” means anyone who opposes him. That’s why his inability to shut down Jimmy Kimmel (so far) is particularly galling.

“Trump could double down on his attacks against the media and other perceived opponents,” notes Business Insider. 

So yes, the indictment of James Comey is a very bad sign —and an extremely dangerous one.

This may be the beginning of the end of the rule of law, which is to say, the death of democracy. 

HEADLINES:

• Former FBI Director James Comey indicted days after Trump demanded his DOJ move ‘now’ to prosecute enemies (ABC)

• Team Retribution (Mark Fiore)

• Hegseth is said to summon top U.S. military leaders from around the globe to Virginia. (NYT)

• Hegseth orders rare, urgent meeting of hundreds of generals, admirals (WP)

• White House to agencies: Prepare mass firing plans for a potential shutdown (Politico)

• Trump: “Bad things happen” when Democrats provoke the right (Axios)

• It’s Watergate, Every Day (Bulwark)

• Ukraine’s Plan to Starve the Russian War Machine (Atlantic)

• Amazon will refund $1.5 billion to Prime subscribers in $2.5 billion FTC settlement (WP)

• Justice Dept. Official Pushes Prosecutors to Investigate George Soros’s Foundation (NYT)

• Jimmy Kimmel showed the one line Corporate America can’t cross (Business Insider)

• Jimmy Kimmel’s ratings bonanza continues (CNN)

• Trump is raving mad about “very sinister events” he endured at the U.N. General Assembly, including an escalator that broke down and faulty teleprompters. His administration says the Secret Service is investigating these heinous acts as intentional. [HuffPost]

• China, world’s largest carbon polluting nation, announces new climate goal to cut emissions (AP)

• At Global Climate Summit This Week, U.S. Isolation Was on Full Display (NYT)

• Why the brain hangs on to some memories but lets others fade (WP)

• How should AI be used in Berkeley schools? (Berkeleyside)

• Is Life a Form of Computation? (MIT)

• How to stop AI’s “lethal trifecta” (Economist)

• Trump To Travel With Own Escalator Following U.N. Embarrassment (The Onion)

 

Better Vibes

Until Tuesday night, I don’t think I’d ever stayed up to watch Jimmy Kimmel’s show before. 

It was well worth it. He delivered as heartfelt a defense of free speech and our free press as anyone has during the First Amendment crisis created by the Trump administration. He was funny, eloquent and determined to stand his ground.

For anyone who thinks late-night comedy is not a serious matter, it’s worth remembering that political humor and satire have a long, rich history in this country — every previous president has endured withering criticism of the sort Trump is getting now.

But Trump alone threatens to use the government’s licensing powers to shut it down. For now, his attempts to muzzle Kimmel have backfired, which is one small positive step in the building of a resistance to authoritarianism.

But in that fight we have a long way to go.

Watch Kimmel’s Tuesday night monologue. Or, here’s a transcript.

***

Cami Dominguez, the reporter who gave kids in the Tenderloin disposable cameras to record how they see daily life in their neighborhood, has appeared on “The Bay,” a podcast for KQED.

It was an uplifting conversation, and a reminder that where adults may see only the problems, kids can see the joy.

And let’s face it — we probably all could use a little more joy in our lives.

HEADLINES:

• Trump OMB orders preparation for mass firings of federal workers if government shuts down (CNBC)

• Missed Kimmel’s return? Here’s a transcript of his monologue (CNN)

• Typhoon Ragasa Floods Hong Kong and Slams Into Southern China (NYT)

• Ukraine issues a stark warning about a global arms race and AI war (NPR)

• Iran’s president blasts US, Israeli attacks for dealing ‘grievous blow’ to peace as sanctions loom (AP)

• Trump’s ‘right about everything’ rant offers no answers to a world on the brink (CNN)

• Trump administration rehires hundreds of federal employees laid off by DOGE (AP)

• The Pentagon, the Press and the Fight to Control National Security Coverage (NYT)

• The Pentagon’s bunker mentality (Axios)

• Jimmy Kimmel Ran Right at His Critics (Atlantic)

• ‘America Is Not a Safe Place to Work’: Koreans Describe Georgia Raid (NYT)

• Inside the Trump administration’s sweeping crackdown on legal immigration (CNN)

• Harvard’s Public Health Dean Was Paid $150,000 to Testify Tylenol Causes Autism (Harvard Crimson)

• 76 percent of Americans say Trump does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize (WP)

• From Nazi Germany to Trump’s America: why strongmen rely on women at home (Guardian)

• The result of a special election in Arizona means the Jeffrey Epstein files may now be made public. [HuffPost]

• CDC warns of surge in dangerous, highly antibiotic-resistant bacteria (WP)

• Dallas ICE facility shooting: 2 detainees killed and 1 injured, officials say (CNN)

• OpenAI to Join Tech Giants in Building 5 New Data Centers in U.S. (NYT)

• AI “workslop” sabotages productivity, study finds (Axios)

• When “no” means “yes”: Why AI chatbots can’t process Persian social etiquette (ArsTechnica)

• Meta Ramps Up Spending on A.I. Politics With New Super PAC (NYT)

• ‘You Think You Can Talk About Our Dad That Way?’ Scream Trump Boys, Beating TV With Bat (The Onion)

MUSIC: Bob Dylan - She Belongs To Me (Live HD Footage) [Birmingham 1965]

Wonderland

"Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality." -- Lewis Carroll

So I have to admit something. As part of my day routine putting together this newsletter, I spend many hours reading, listening and watching the news.

And I’ve been doing that for years.

But I have to admit that I can barely tolerate any more of Trump’s nonsense. His rant before the U.N. Tuesday was, as always, filled with threats and lies. As Americans, we’re beyond embarrassment with this guy now.

He’ll spout any manner of nonsense like linking Tylenol with autism, or calling climate change a “con job,” or claiming that our grocery prices are coming down.

The problem is that a stubborn portion of the country believes whatever he says, or at least pretends they do.

So the rest of us are stuck in a mad country with a mad would-be king.

Well, I started this with Lewis Carroll so the only fitting thing to do is end with him as well:

“But I don’t want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”

P.S. Jimmy Kimmel was brilliant last night. 

HEADLINES:

• Multiple fatalities in apparent sniper attack at Dallas ICE facility, acting ICE director says (ABC)

• Kimmel Returns to Air as President Threatens Legal Action (NYT)

• 'We have to speak out,' Jimmy Kimmel says in his late-night return (NPR)

• 'Your countries are going to hell': Trump bashes United Nations, world leaders in speech (ABC)

• A Warning for Those Ready to Capitulate to Trump (Atlantic)

• Why Jimmy Kimmel’s Suspension Was No Joke Abroad (Hollywood Reporter)

• ‘The View’ Hosts Criticize Trump Administration Over Kimmel (NYT)

• Even without formal charges, Trump’s DOJ can punish critics (WP)

• U.S. Secret Service disrupts telecom network that threatened NYC during U.N. General Assembly (CBS)

• Israel's military pushed deeper towards the most populated areas of Gaza City, a painful reminder for Gazans that Western powers' recognition of a Palestinian state does not mean an end to the horrors of war. (Reuters)

• The Supreme Court has abandoned federal judges on the front lines of justice (The Hill)

• Exclusive: US could hit entire International Criminal Court with sanctions soon (Reuters)

• Trump makes unfounded claims about Tylenol and repeats discredited link between vaccines and autism (AP)

• Murdoch Paper Warns RFK Jr. Henchman Will ‘Cost Many Lives’ (Daily Beast)

• Tuesday’s special election in Arizona set to deliver a decisive US House vote for Epstein files release (CNN)

• Kamala Harris endorsed California Gov. Gavin Newsom's efforts to engage in redistricting in the state, emphasizing that Democrats needed to "fight fire with fire." [HuffPost]

• Hegseth’s shaving policy is racist, outdated, and won’t make the military more lethal (The Hill)

• Trump’s allies still waiting for him to land his hardest climate blow (Politico)

• After Meeting With Zelensky at U.N., Trump Shifts Stance on Russia (NYT)

• Climate change results in rare hybrid bird between green jay and blue jay (ABC)

• MLB will use robot umpires in 2026 (AP)

• Mercor’s Brendan Foody breaks down AI’s impact on hiring (TechCrunch)

• Figma made its design tools more accessible to AI agents (Verge)

• Republicans Distract From Epstein Controversy By Each Sharing Most Embarrassing Moment Of Life (The Onion)

Telling Stories

To the best of my recollection, of all the courses I taught over a long teaching career, only one was explicitly about writing.

All of the others focused on some aspect of journalism methodology -- how to gather information, validate it, organize it, and defend it once published.

In the course of considering all of that, we spent a great deal of energy studying how to obtain and interpret documents, identify and interview sources, attend and describe events, notice patterns, pick up details, stay attention to nuances and instincts, and how to investigate people and organizations.

But there is another component to the whole process and that is how to tell a story once you’ve got it. Accordingly, as I became a better writer myself, I incorporated "how to investigate the story" into my teaching curriculum.

Partly this was in reaction to receiving too many poorly-told story drafts as a teacher and as an editor.

The problem was and is that journalists (and most everybody else) gets too caught up in the twists and turns of a reasonably complicated story to stay in control of the narrative.

So we spent time discussing pace, rhythm, structure, character development and transitions. We talked about beginnings and endings. If I were to teach a course on story-telling today we would read short stories by writers like Chekov and listen to songs by writers like Dylan and watch movies like Casablanca.

Some people are natural story-tellers but everyone can learn to be better. At least that’s the story I told myself as their teacher.

And time after time my students proved that to be the case.

HEADLINES:

• Why Trump's comments on vaccines and paracetamol risk child health (BBC)

• The president is wrong on Tylenol (Economist)

• In Targeting Common Painkiller, Trump Oversteps His Own Advisers’ Guidance on Autism (WSJ)

• The drug Trump plans to promote for autism shows real (and fragile) hope (WP)

• Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee could hurt US growth, economists warn (Guardian)

• Over 70% of H-1B visa holders are Indian citizens. Its government says Trump jacking the fee to $100,000 is ‘likely to have humanitarian consequences’ (Fortune)

• President Trump’s $100K H-1B fee disrupts Silicon Valley’s hiring machine (Business Insider)

• South Korea’s President Lee says U.S. investment demands would spark a financial crisis (CNBC)

• Jimmy Kimmel’s Show to Return to ABC on Tuesday Night (NYT)

• A Rogue Nation on the High Seas — Trump is treating the military like his personal mercenaries. (Atlantic)

• Trump’s legal arguments in a case challenging his deployment of troops to U.S. cities could disable laws banning the military from interfering in elections, including the 2026 midterms. [HuffPost]

• Trump Might Be Losing His Race Against Time (Atlantic)

• Supreme Court Allows Trump to Fire F.T.C. Commissioner (NYT)

• Trump ramps up retribution campaign with push for Bondi to pursue cases against his foes (AP)

• US will complete TikTok deal ‘in coming days’ and control its algorithm, White House says (CNN)

• Trump reveals Murdochs and Dell could potentially take part in TikTok deal (AP)

• US Government faces September 30 shutdown deadline: Democrats push healthcare protections amid funding standoff (Mint)

• France and Saudi Arabia will convene dozens of world leaders to rally support for a two-state solution, with several of them expected to formally recognise a Palestinian state - a move that could draw harsh Israeli and US responses. (Reuters)

• GOP considers changing and extending ACA subsidies (Axios)

• Under new guidelines, more Americans meet the criteria for high blood pressure (PBS)

• RFK Jr. Has a Prescription for America: Pure Chaos (Bulwark)

• In Assault on Free Speech, Trump Targets Speech He Hates (NYT)

• John Oliver: ‘Everyone knew the administration had it in for Kimmel’ (Guardian)

• Distillation Can Make AI Models Smaller and Cheaper (Wired)

• How are MIT entrepreneurs using AI? (MIT)

• ‘Chief Of War’ Producers Confirm Season 2 Will Show Hawaiians Battling Mark Zuckerberg (The Onion)

 

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

On Saturday, I watched the film "Before Sunset," one of my favorites. The first time I saw it was in the summer of 2004, soon after its release, when my new girlfriend and I went to watch it at the Opera Plaza Theatre on a Monday afternoon.

We had just declared our love for each other the night before, about half a year after meeting in a group therapy session. It was the first serious relationship after my divorce, and I felt that I loved her with all of my being.

We kept our own places but saw each other every day and night for the next year and a half. We took trips to Mexico, Hawaii and New York, where she shopped the second-hand shops on the lower east side for shoes and vintage clothes, and we ate the incomparable lunches at Katz's.

She was a few years younger than me but she didn't want to have kids. Her approach to my three young ones at home was matter-of-fact -- she always talked with them as if they were adults. She was never condescending.

When my youngest at the age of six got into a funk because she couldn't read, my girlfriend researched the issue, bought a gaggle of the appropriate books and told her, "You're going to read these."

She did.

All the time we were together, I could tell that sooner or later I was going to lose her, not to another man but to her ambition to work with people who really needed her help.

Eventually, she did just that, on the other side of the country in New Orleans.

"Before Sunset" is such a romantic story, where a couple meet after a ten-year hiatus and discover they still love each other. It's Hollywood, and the ending is happy.

Even though my own love story didn’t have a happy ending, I still liked the movie.

(From 2021.)

HEADLINES:

• Trump’s $100,000 Visa Fee Spurs Confusion and Chaos (NYT)

• UK recognises Palestinian statehood 108 years after Balfour Declaration — The decision, announced alongside recognition by Canada and Australia, comes as Israel continues its deadly destruction in Gaza. (Al Jazeera)

• Trump Demands That Bondi Move ‘Now’ to Prosecute Foes (NYT)

• Schumer slams Trump pressure on Bondi: ‘Real threat to democracy’ (The Hill)

• News outlets, lawmakers condemn new Pentagon restrictions on journalists (WP)

• California bans most law enforcement including ICE from wearing masks (BBC)

• Sen. Murphy says Trump using presidential power to punish political opponents (ABC)

• This Is the Most Withering Indictment of the Supreme Court Ever By a Sitting Judge (Slate)

• Donald Trump promises ‘important’ announcement on autism findings (Independent)

• Web of business interests shows that Kimmel’s future rests on far more than his jokes (AP)

• Country Legend Calls Out ‘The Regime’ After Jimmy Kimmel Suspension (Parade)

• Trump is breaking US diplomacy, State Department staffers say (Politico)

• Albania’s mischievous AI stunt (WP)

• Minor League Play-By-Play Announcer Just Sounds Like Normal Guy (The Onion)

 

Farmers

Watching a bit of the 40th Farm Aid concert last night, I was reminded of the many stories we did about farming and agricultural issues in the early years of the Center for Investigative Reporting.

We were able to raise grants from foundations to support this work but it was difficult to convince major media outlets to carry our work.

Ever since World War II, the portion of the population engaged in farming had been steadily decreasing until it reached crisis proportions in the 1980s, when Willie Nelson organized the first Farm Aid concert.

From a high of 5.6 million farms in 1950, today we have only 1.88 million. But here and there, new groups of small farmers are attempting to bring back, or perhaps reinvent, the family farm. This nascent trend is one of the many things threatened by the Trump administration.

The combination of ICE raids, tariffs, and foreign aid cuts are undermining farmers, including the small growers of seasonal, sustainable, organic crops. Maybe that’s why at last night’s concert, in addition to the overall good vibe there was an undercurrent of anger.

HEADLINES:

• Big Tech companies, foreign governments scramble after Trump slaps $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visas (CNBC)

• Trump Justice Dept. Closed Investigation Into Tom Homan for Accepting Bag of Cash (NYT)

• Trump threatens to take away broadcasters’ licenses (Reuters)

• Seeing Enemies Everywhere (New Yorker)

• Trump says U.S. military fatally struck another alleged drug-smuggling boat (NPR)

• Trump: ‘It’s no longer free speech.’ The president doubled down on his claims that critical media coverage of him is "illegal." (Politico)

• National parks axe signs about climate, slavery and Japanese internment (WP)

• RFK Jr.’s anti-vaccine panel realizes it has no idea what it’s doing, skips vote (ArsTechnica)

• Health Insurance Premiums Could Rise More Than 80% Next Year (Newsweek)

• Defense Secretary Hegseth requires new 'pledge' for reporters at the Pentagon (NPR)

• Bureau of Labor Statistics postpones key data report with no explanation (Axios)

• Social Security chief walks back remark on raising retirement age (The Hill)

• Protesters and Federal Agents Clash Outside an ICE Detention Facility Near Chicago (NYT)

• EPA tells scientists to stop publishing studies, employees say (WP)

• Poland scrambles jets as Russia launches massive aerial assault on Ukraine (CNN)

• Russian military jets fly over Estonia (Reuters)

• Can France’s Palestinian Proposal Change 75 Years of Failed Diplomacy? (NYT)

• Gaza City residents fear permanent removal (Reuters)

• The health benefits of sunlight may outweigh the risk of skin cancer (Economist)

• New book claims superintelligent AI development is racing toward global catastrophe (ABC)

• Fearful Americans Stockpiling Facts Before Federal Government Comes To Take Them Away (The Onion)