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The MacArthur Foundation named 20 recipients for its $800,000 “genius grants.” They included climate scientist Marika Holland and Kate Spradley, an anthropologist whose work focuses on migrants who have died at the border.

washingtonpost.com

MacArthur Foundation names 20 recipients for the ‘genius grants’

Saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins and climate scientist Marika Holland are among the new fellows who will each receive $800,000.

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David Harvey @topladave.bsky.social · 13h

Researchers from the Smithsonian have sequenced Thomas Jefferson's genome to substantiate the accepted idea that the third U.S. president fathered children with Sally Hemings, a Black woman he enslaved. One of Hemings's descendants criticized the work and withdrawn her participation in the study.

scim.ag

DNA analysis strengthens evidence that Thomas Jefferson fathered children with Sally Hemings

Researchers sequenced president’s genome from a lock of hair taken shortly after his death, then compared his DNA with that of Hemings’s living descendants

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David Harvey @topladave.bsky.social · 13h

A new initiative promises an Amazon-wide, regularly updated picture of what's happening to plant and animal populations as development threatens one of the most species-rich parts of the world. Learn more: scim.ag/4xPiHti

scim.ag

Project will harness technology to track Amazon biodiversity in real time

Leaders of $100 million effort will use automated detection methods and computer models to monitor species’ trends

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David Harvey @topladave.bsky.social · 13h

The heart’s constant beating may actively suppress tumor growth in cardiac tissues. This is because cellular pathways in these tissues alter gene regulation in cancer cells to keep them from proliferating. The findings shed light on the role of mechanical forces in protecting the heart from cancer

scim.ag

Mechanical load inhibits cancer growth in mouse and human hearts

The heart rarely develops cancer, and, at the same time, it lacks regenerative capacity, as cardiomyocytes stop proliferating after birth. This suggests that mechanisms limiting cardiac regeneration m...

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David Harvey @topladave.bsky.social · 13h

CD1 proteins on so-called antigen-presenting cells display lipids from pathogens to T cells to drive protective immune responses, but they also trigger skin inflammation in response to some lipids. Learn more: scim.ag/4iSH8lQ

scim.ag

Little-known arm of immune system could be key to better vaccines, cancer therapies

The CD1 system responds to lipids, not proteins, driving reactions to bee stings, bacteria, and possibly poison ivy

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David Harvey @topladave.bsky.social · 13h

Scientists analyzed hundreds of encounters between bears and canines. The results raise the suggestion that dogs may not always protect people in the wild. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/27/s...

nytimes.com

Dogs Will Fight Bears. But Not Because of the Reason You Might Think.

Scientists analyzed hundreds of encounters between bears and canines. The results raise the suggestion that dogs may not always protect people in the wild.

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David Harvey @topladave.bsky.social · 13h

"Rest" Stop. A man desperate to use the bathroom at a Kroger supermarket in Texas intentionally crashed his 2006 Chevrolet HHR through the building’s front doors because the store was closed, the authorities said. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/28/u...

nytimes.com

A Driver Desperate to Use the Bathroom Plows Into a Kroger in Texas, the Police Say

The driver, James Mansell Lancaster Jr., was upset to find the supermarket in Rosenberg, Texas, closed early Sunday morning, the police said.

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David Harvey @topladave.bsky.social · 13h

From The New York Times Opinion Section “America’s A.I. boom, and the industry’s voracious appetite for electricity, makes the grid a highly attractive target for China and other hostile states seeking to weaken this country,” write Harry Krejsa and Phoebe Benich. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/28/o...

nytimes.com

Opinion | Hackers Could Overwhelm Our Power Grid. This Is How to Stop Them.

The Trump administration should build a stronger alliance with clean energy companies in spite of its culture war with them.

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David Harvey @topladave.bsky.social · 13h

The Department of Veterans Affairs announced new measures that will require written informed consent by patients before they are prescribed certain psychiatric drugs. Medical groups fear the moves may stigmatize mental health treatment. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/28/s...

nytimes.com

V.A. Institutes New Consent Requirements for Some Psychiatric Drugs

Veterans under 30 will have to sign forms before being given antidepressants. Medical groups fear the moves may stigmatize mental health treatment.

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David Harvey @topladave.bsky.social · 13h

Trump's War on Canada. The Trump administration's import ban on certain Canadian products took effect Tuesday, escalating a damaging trade fight between the two North American allies. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/b...

nytimes.com

US Hits Canada With Ban on Some Dairy and Liquor Products

An outright ban on certain Canadian products took effect Tuesday, escalating a damaging trade fight between the two North American allies.

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David Harvey @topladave.bsky.social · 13h

Trump's America. Sidi Wang's daughter knew little English upon first entering daycare. She had a hard time making friends and couldn't understand most of what her teacher said. Switching to a bilingual Head Start program this year gave her confidence and a new enthusiasm for school.

latimes.com

How Trump's plan to make Head Start English-only would hit L.A. classrooms

The Trump administration wants to make Head Start English-only, altering learning for two-thirds of California children enrolled in the federal early childhood program. Critics say the plan goes again...

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David Harvey @topladave.bsky.social · 13h

Cruelty is their Point. A growing number of conservative books are arguing about the harms of empathy in political decision making, offering “a theoretical framework for selfishness,” Elizabeth Bruenig argues. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

theatlantic.com

Why Empathy Is Now ‘Toxic,’ ‘Suicidal,’ and a ‘Sin’

According to Gad Saad and his powerful acolytes, compassion is a recipe for “the collective suicide of the West.”

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David Harvey @topladave.bsky.social · 13h

Storms driven by El Niño are pulling huge chunks of California’s coast away—and the situation is likely to get worse. theatln.tc/7efmHvo1

theatln.tc

The Edge of California Is Falling Into the Ocean

Storms driven by El Niño are pulling chunks of coast away.

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David Harvey @topladave.bsky.social · 14h

Back to Trump's Concentration Camps in El Salvador. El Salvador is still imprisoning deportees from the U.S., even after Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s case sparked a backlash. Some are disappearing, Kevin Sieff reports: www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

theatlantic.com

El Salvador’s Mass Incarceration of U.S. Deportees

The world moved on after Kilmar Abrego Garcia, but people continue to disappear in a black hole of imprisonment.

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David Harvey @topladave.bsky.social · 14h

Putin's Puppet. Exclusive: Donald Trump supports a new plan to offer Russia sanctions relief in exchange for the release of political prisoners—a move likely to outrage Ukraine, Europe, and even some of his allies in Congress, Simon Shuster reports. theatln.tc/ZzP2P7Dj

theatln.tc

A Most Trumpian Plan to Make Nice With Russia

Trump’s envoy wants to trade Russian political prisoners for U.S. sanctions relief, creating a path to business deals before the war in Ukraine ends.

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David Harvey @topladave.bsky.social · 14h

Keep Suing the Bastards. CNN, MS NOW and Politico have asked a federal court to block President Trump’s media ban beyond the current 14-day order while legal proceedings play out. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

washingtonpost.com

CNN, MS NOW and Politico ask judge to extend block on Trump’s media ban

The current 14-day order is due to expire Oct. 8, and the media outlets say the White House is preventing CNN from fulfilling its television pool duties.

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David Harvey @topladave.bsky.social · 14h

From the Southwest to the Plains, flood watches were in effect for around 28 million people as of early Tuesday, after Hurricane Polo made landfall in Mexico’s Baja California Sur on Monday night while hurtling toward the United States. www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2026...

washingtonpost.com

Life-threatening flash floods may soon hit the Southwest, driven by Polo remnants

As of early Tuesday, flood watches were in effect for around 28 million people, as moisture from Hurricane Polo could soon cause life-threatening flash floods.

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David Harvey @topladave.bsky.social · 14h

Fuck Mike Lee. No One Will Build a Memorial for Him. A bipartisan effort to ban the demolition of presidential memorials — including the Kennedy Center — was blocked Monday night in the Senate by an objection from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

washingtonpost.com

GOP senator blocks bill to stop Trump from demolishing Kennedy Center

The bipartisan effort to ban the demolition of presidential memorials was thwarted in the Senate by an objection from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah).

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David Harvey @topladave.bsky.social · 14h

Back to Trump's "Affordability". A sweeping bill that aims to remake college sports and impose order on a system transformed by athlete payments, frequent transfers and years of litigation cleared a major hurdle Monday night, passing the Senate with bipartisan support.

washingtonpost.com

Senate passes a sweeping college sports bill. Here’s what it would change.

The Protect College Sports Act was approved by a vote of 77-22. The bill now heads to the House, which is divided over how Congress should intervene in college athletics.

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David Harvey @topladave.bsky.social · 14h

The Data on Data. Data centers across the United States being built to power AI require far more electricity because of the powerful chips inside. That’s pushing construction into rural areas, where costs are lower but still near fiber internet lines. wapo.st/4hBbPtj

wapo.st

See how data centers are changing the American landscape

Satellite imagery shows what was once farmland and desert taken over by warehouselike structures.

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David Harvey @topladave.bsky.social · 14h

Macklemore announced the “Free Palestine Tour,” with shows in Dublin, Paris and London set for October. It comes after the rapper was dropped from Ed Sheeran’s tour after making pro-Palestinian comments during an opening set. wapo.st/3Vhxtve

wapo.st

Macklemore announces ‘Free Palestine’ tour after Ed Sheeran dismissal

After he was dropped from Ed Sheeran's tour, rapper Macklemore announced the “Free Palestine Tour,” with shows in Dublin, Paris and London set for October.

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David Harvey @topladave.bsky.social · 14h

Back to AI. ChatGPT-maker OpenAI canceled the planned launch of a new artificial intelligence model after it was found to take actions beyond the instructions it received and not accurately communicate to human users what it did. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

washingtonpost.com

OpenAI cancels new AI launch, citing safety issues

The cancellation of the new release comes days after OpenAI said it stopped training powerful new AI after safety incidents.

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