Monthly Archives: July 2025

2025.07.17

Vance Boelter — the man accused of killing late DFL Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband and wounding another lawmaker and his wife — plans to plead not guilty to the charges according to his attorney, WCCO TV reports. Via MinnPost.

Boelter, 57, is due in federal court for his arraignment on Sept. 12 under an order issued late Tuesday, hours after a grand jury indicted him on six counts of murder, stalking and firearms violations. The murder charges could carry the federal death penalty. Via MinnPost.
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/vance-boelter-plea-federal-trial-lawmakers-shootings/

Trump supporters burn Maga hats after he dismisses Epstein files furor as ‘hoax’
Mike Pence is latest prominent figure to call for release of files on sex offender once close to president
Joseph Gedeon in Washington
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/17/trump-jeffrey-epstein-republicans-maga

Maurene Comey: prosecutor in Jeffrey Epstein case fired by DoJ
There was no specific reason given for her termination from the US attorney’s office in the southern district of New York
Cecilia Nowell and agencies
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/16/maurene-comey-fired-sources

How Trump’s anti-immigrant policies could collapse the US food industry – visualized
The president is threatening to deport essential farm workers, grocery clerks and food delivery drivers. But without them, shelves could go empty and prices could soar
Rita Liu and Nina Lakhani
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/17/how-many-immigrants-food-industry-workers

Republicans wanted fewer abortions and more births. They are getting the opposite
Judith Levine
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jul/17/republicans-abortions-dobbs-births

Rodent wars: US city where ground squirrels outnumber people fights back
Residents of Minot, North Dakota, exasperated by proliferation of furry foot-long neighbors
Associated Press
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/17/ground-squirrels-minot-north-dakota

‘It feels cool to be a cog in change’: how doughnut economics is reshaping a Swedish town
A casual mention of Kate Raworth’s theory has grown into the basis for decision making in Tomelilla
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/17/doughnut-economics-tomelilla-sweden-decision-making-town-planning
By Abigail Sykes
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/17/doughnut-economics-tomelilla-sweden-decision-making-town-planning

Even Neanderthals had distinct preferences when it came to making dinner, study suggests
Analysis of bones from two caves shows prehistoric people butchered the same animals in different ways
Nicola Davis Science correspondent
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jul/17/even-neanderthals-had-distinct-preferences-when-it-came-to-making-dinner-study-suggests

‘Time to get excited!’ Why Stranger Things could be back to its best for its final episodes ever
The Netflix show’s last season just dropped a trailer full of heavy metal, demons, tornados and flamethrowers. And even better – it might have rediscovered its devastatingly emotional core
Stuart Heritage
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jul/17/time-to-get-excited-why-stranger-things-could-be-back-to-its-best-for-its-final-episodes-ever

‘He told us to just tell the truth’ – behind a revealing Billy Joel documentary
In HBO’s five-hour portrait, the chart-dominating singer-songwriter gives unusual insight into his career with support from his A-list friends and collaborators
Jesse Hassenger
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jul/17/billy-joel-documentary-hbo

Connie Francis was a trailblazing pop star haunted by tragedy
Bob Stanley
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jul/17/connie-francis-dead-pop-star-legacy

2025.07.14

Scientists detect biggest ever merger of two massive black holes
Ripples in space-time from collision recorded by gravitational wave detector forces a rethink of how the objects form
Ian Sample Science editor
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jul/14/scientists-detect-biggest-ever-merger-of-two-massive-black-holes

Call for British Museum to take Bayeux tapestry to ‘1066 country’
MP calls for region where Battle of Hastings took place to be included in events surrounding return of artwork
Nadia Khomami Arts and culture correspondent
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/14/call-for-british-museum-to-take-bayeux-tapestry-to-1066-country

Futra Days review – esoteric sci-fi romance offers lovers time-jump ‘happiness heists’ to save relationships
A man gets catapulted into the future to help him understand the future of his crush, but the sloppy chronology and gratuitous stylistic touches leave this film a little too infatuated with itself
Phil Hoad
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/jul/14/futra-days-review-esoteric-time-travel-romance-loses-its-thread

Wildfires destroy historic lodge on Grand Canyon’s North Rim, park says
Grand Canyon Lodge consumed by two wildfires that have burned more than 45,000 acres in area
Guardian staff and agencies
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/13/wildfires-destroy-grand-canyon-lodge-north-rim

Dig begins at site in Ireland believed to hold remains of nearly 800 infants
Archaeologists, anthropologists and forensic experts aim to identify infants buried at former mother and baby home in Tuam
Rory Carroll Ireland correspondent
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/14/ireland-excavation-tuam-mother-and-baby-home

‘Humanitarian city’ would be concentration camp for Palestinians, says former Israeli PM
Ehud Olmert says forcing people into camp would be ethnic cleansing, and anger at Israel over Gaza war is not all down to antisemitism
Emma Graham-Harrison in Tel Aviv
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/13/israel-humanitarian-city-rafah-gaza-camp-ehud-olmert

2025.07.13

The Texas way: why the most disaster-prone US state is so allergic to preparing for disasters
It faces hurricanes, heat, drought, rising seas and – as last week showed – deadly floods. But despite the clear need for preventive action, that is not the political mood
Ed Pilkington US chief reporter
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/13/texas-disaster-weather-preparations-us

Some gut microbes can absorb and help expel ‘forever chemicals’ from the body, research shows
Previously, the only way to reduce levels of Pfas was by bloodletting or a drug with unpleasant side effects
Tom Perkins
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/13/pfas-gut-microbes-forever-chemicals

Quality of scientific papers questioned as academics ‘overwhelmed’ by the millions published
Mainstream mockery of AI-generated rat with giant penis in one paper brings problem to public attention
Ian Sample Science editor
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jul/13/quality-of-scientific-papers-questioned-as-academics-overwhelmed-by-the-millions-published

Rosie O’Donnell dismisses Trump’s threat to revoke her US citizenship
Actor says she is latest in long list of artists, activists and celebrities to be threatened by US president
Rory Carroll Ireland correspondent
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/jul/13/rosie-odonnell-dismisses-donald-trump-threat-revoke-us-citizenship

Trump authorizes Ice agents to protect themselves using ‘whatever means’ necessary
Order comes after California raids resulted in clashes with protesters and a shooting outside a Texas detention center
Edward Helmore
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/12/trump-authorization-immigration-enforcement

Has America learned anything from the George Floyd uprisings?
Eric Morrison-Smith and David Turner III
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jul/13/has-america-learned-anything-from-the-george-floyd-uprisings

‘Alligator Alcatraz’ showcases Trump’s surreal brand of stylized cruelty
Moira Donegan
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jul/12/alligator-alcatraz-trump-cruelty

Where authors gossip, geek out and let off steam: 15 of the best literary Substacks
More and more writers are publishing newsletters – but which are worth your time? From Margaret Atwood to Hanif Kureishi, George Saunders to Miranda July, here’s our guide to the best
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/jul/12/where-authors-gossip-geek-out-and-let-off-steam-15-of-the-best-literary-substacks

It’s sexy! It’s Swedish! It’s everywhere! How princess cake conquered America
The retro Swedish dessert is popping up on US menus and TikTok feeds. The story of how we got here is as layered as the marzipan confection itself – and surprisingly subversive
Lois Beckett
https://www.theguardian.com/food/ng-interactive/2025/jul/12/princess-cake-sweden-america

2025.07.12

Three freeway closures planned in Twin Cities this weekend
MPR News Staff
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/07/11/twin-cities-freeway-closures-this-weekend

‘Tremendous uncertainty’ for cancer research as US officials target mRNA vaccines
Amid Trump cuts and state-level backlash, experts worry that progress in messenger RNA vaccines could stall
Melody Schreiber
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/12/mrna-vaccine-cancer-research-trump-administration

Engine fuel switches cut off before Air India crash that killed 260, preliminary report finds
Early investigation into accident in Ahmedabad in June also contains details of pilots discussing the switches
Hannah Ellis-Petersen in Delhi, Nadeem Badshah and agencies
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/11/engine-fuel-switches-cut-off-before-air-india-crash-that-killed-260-report-finds

Risotto rice under threat from flamingoes in north-eastern Italy
Farmers are seeking ways to fend off birds who are stirring up soil in flooded paddy fields in Ferrara province
Associated Press
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/12/risotto-rice-paddies-flamingoes-ferrara-italy

‘Sheer luck’: how German backpacker Carolina Wilga was found after 11 nights lost in dense Australian outback
With minimal food and water, the 26-year-old drank from puddles, sheltered in a cave and used the sun for navigation
Tory Shepherd
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jul/12/carolina-wilga-missing-german-backpacker-found-after-11-nights-dense-australian-outback

Stellan Skarsgård on Ingmar Bergman: ‘The only person I know who cried when Hitler died’
Actor spoke at Karlovy Vary film festival about his experience working with ‘manipulative’ director in the 80s
Adrian Horton
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/jul/11/stellan-skarsgard-ingmar-bergman-hitler

Georgia Republican’s Ponzi scheme defrauded people of $140m, say officials
Brant Frost IV’s First Liberty Building and Loan lied to investors about lending high-interest loans to small firms
Associated Press
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/11/georgia-republican-ponzi-scheme

Meera Sodha’s recipe for no-churn malted ice-cream and peanut cookie sandwiches
Soft, creamy ice-cream – light on fuss and subtly salted with soy – sandwiched between peanut cookies: an all-round winner of a summer dessert
Meera Sodha
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/jul/12/no-churn-malted-ice-cream-recipe-peanut-cookie-sandwiches-meera-sodha

2025.07.11

Paris rejoices as Moulin Rouge windmill sails turn again year after collapse
Cabaret venue marks restoration of red-painted windmill with 90-strong troupe performing signature can-can dance
Jon Henley in Paris
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/11/paris-moulin-rouge-windmill-sails-turn-again-year-after-collapse

DoJ whistleblower provides emails backing claim Emil Bove defied courts over deportations
Messages released by fired DoJ lawyer show officials were aware they might have to ignore judicial orders
Sam Levine
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/10/doj-whistleblower-deportations-emil-bove

‘I’d be proud to be thrown out of America!’ Eric Idle on Trump, life after Python and not talking before lunch
As told to Catherine Shoard
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/jul/11/id-be-proud-to-be-thrown-out-of-america-eric-idle-on-trump-life-after-python-and-not-talking-before-lunch

Denver museum known for dinosaur displays finds fossil under its parking lot
A hole drilled 750ft deep to study museum’s geothermal potential yielded an unexpected surprise
Associated Press
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/10/denver-museum-fossil-parking-lot

Trump’s inaugural fund received $19m from fossil fuel industry, analysis shows
President raised $239m for inauguration – more than previous three inaugural committees took in combined
Dharna Noor
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/10/trump-inaugural-fund-fossil-fuel-industry

The best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror – review roundup
Here and Beyond by Hal LaCroix; One Yellow Eye by Leigh Radford; I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman; The Reaper by Jackson P Brown
Lisa Tuttle
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/jul/11/the-best-recent-science-fiction-fantasy-and-horror-review-roundup

2025.07.10

Redrawing Texas: the Republican plan to stack the decks for the midterms
Tyler Hicks
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/10/texas-republican-redistricting-maps

The CEO who never was: how Linda Yaccarino was set up to fail at Elon Musk’s X
Ex-NBC executive was tasked with building an ‘everything app’, but billionaire owner was biggest obstacle in her path
Johana Bhuiyan and Nick Robins-Early
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jul/10/linda-yaccarino-resigns-x-elon-musk

Trump announces 50% tariff on Brazil, citing a ‘witch-hunt’ against Bolsonaro
Latest threats heighten fears that the president’s erratic trade strategy risks exacerbating inflation across the US
Callum Jones in New York
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/09/trump-tariffs-brunei-libya-moldova

US supreme court blocks Florida from enforcing anti-immigration law
Judge finds Republican-crafted law probably unconstitutional for encroaching on federal authority
José Olivares
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/09/supreme-court-florida-law-immigration

Think you know Trump’s new bill? Try this big, beautiful quiz
Lawrence Douglas
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jul/10/trump-bill-big-beautiful-quiz

Haze of confusion in Thailand as government flips on cannabis law
New rules banning recreational cannabis use have put Thailand’s $1bn cannabis industry in limbo, with some stores fearing they will have to close
Rebecca Ratcliffe in Bangkok
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/10/thailand-recreational-cannabis-ban-new-laws

Vienna has been declared a renters’ utopia – here’s why
Justin Kadi
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jul/10/housing-crisis-in-europe-vienna-renters-social-housing

DoJ subpoenas clinics and doctors who offer gender-affirming care to minors
It was not immediately clear to whom the requests were sent and the kind of information that was requested
Sam Levine in New York
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/09/gender-affirming-care-minors

High-risk HIV groups facing record levels of criminalisation as countries bring in draconian laws
Curbs on LGBTQ+ rights and a halt to US funding may reverse decades of progress in fight to end Aids epidemic, warns UNAids
Kat Lay, Global health correspondent
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/jul/10/unaids-high-risk-hiv-groups-lgbtq-record-criminalisation-usaid-funding

Discovery of ancient riverbeds suggests Mars once wetter than thought
Scientists spot traces of 10,000 miles of rivers in area where many believed ‘there wasn’t any evidence for water’
Ian Sample Science editor
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jul/10/mars-once-wetter-than-thought-surprise-discovery-10000-miles-ancient-riverbeds

Everybody’s favourite manic pixie dream aunt: Celia Imrie’s 20 best films – ranked!
As Imrie turns 73, and ahead of her star turn in next month’s The Thursday Murder Club, we revisit the greatest big-screen hits of the actor who is so much more than Miss Babs
Ryan Gilbey
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/jul/10/everybodys-favourite-manic-pixie-dream-aunt-celia-imries-20-best-films-ranked

2025.07.09

Local News
Cafe & Bar Lurcat in Minneapolis to close after more than 2 decades near Loring Park
By Eric Henderson
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/cafe-bar-lurcat-closing-minneapolis-loring-park/

Undocumented builders face unchecked exploitation amid Trump raids: ‘It’s more work, less pay’
In a new series on undocumented workers, construction laborers tell the Guardian fear is fueling wage theft and workplace abuse
Michael Sainato
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/09/construction-workers-builders-immigration-trump

Far-right conspiracy theories spread online in aftermath of the Texas floods
Some social media users falsely claimed that the extreme weather was being controlled by the US government
Ben Makuch
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/09/texas-floods-conspiracy-theories

Has the Trump-Putin bromance finally run its course?
US president appears to have run out of patience with his Russian counterpart – but how that transmits into practical support for Kyiv remains to be seen
Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/09/has-the-trump-putin-bromance-finally-run-its-course

How Miami’s city commission gave themselves an extra year in office without voters’ permission
Commissioners for the city of Miami rewrote their election laws to push the off-year 2025 local races to 2026 without input from voters. The decision has sparked outrage
George Chidi
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/09/miami-city-commission-elections

The end has no end: The Old Guard 2 and the curse of the cliffhanger ending
The sequel to the Netflix hit leaves viewers hanging with a tease for an unconfirmed sequel, highlighting a problem with the state of Hollywood
Spoilers ahead
Jesse Hassenger
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/jul/09/the-old-guard-2-cliffhanger-ending

US airports lift shoe removal requirement at security screenings
Brandon Drenon
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0m8p3e93m8o

You think our Post Office is bad?
Post Office Horizon IT scandal: five things we learned from the report
We look at what volume one of the inquiry report describes as the ‘disastrous’ human impact
Post Office scandal may have led to more than 13 suicides, inquiry finds
‘We lost so many along the way’: Horizon scandal victims welcome report
Julia Kollewe
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jul/08/post-office-horizon-it-scandal-five-things-we-learned-from-the-report

2025.07.08

Texas pediatrician ‘no longer employed’ after post about pro-Trump flood victims
Physician made a post wishing that Maga supporters in Kerr county ‘get what they voted for’ amid flash flooding
Ramon Antonio Vargas
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/08/texas-floods-pediatrician-maga

‘Deep rooted’ camp tradition continues in Texas despite flood devastation
Mothers say it is important to return to normalcy after deadly floods in which 27 campers and counselors were among those killed
Edward Helmore in Kerrville, Texas
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/08/texas-floods-campers-children-continue-camp

Floods are swallowing their village. Trump’s EPA cut a major lifeline for them and others
The administration has wiped over $2.7bn in climate grants, hitting underserved communities across the US the hardest
Ames Alexander for Floodlight
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/07/trump-administration-epa-grants-floods

‘Could become a death spiral’: scientists discover what’s driving record die-offs of US honeybees
Experts scrambling to understand losses in hives across the country are finally identifying the culprits. And the damage to farmed bees is a sign of trouble for wild bees too
Phoebe Weston
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/08/record-us-bee-colony-dieoffs-climate-stress-pesticides-silent-spring-aoe

The life swap dream – or a marketing gimmick? The Italian towns selling houses for €1
Frustrated with my life back in the US, I was captivated by the idea of a new home – and new life – for less than the price of an espresso. So I travelled to Italy to find out whether it was too good to be true
By Lauren Markham
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jul/08/the-life-swap-dream-or-a-marketing-gimmick-the-italian-towns-selling-houses-for-1

Studios are rewriting movies steered by Reddit. A dangerous development – or long overdue?
Ben Child
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/jul/08/spider-man-no-way-home-director-jon-watts-reddit

Is the New York Times trying to wreck Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral bid?
Margaret Sullivan
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jul/07/is-the-new-york-times-trying-to-wreck-zohran-mamdanis-mayoral-bid

Review
Hidden Master: The Legacy of George Platt Lynes review – eye-opening snapshot of New York’s queer scene
Documentary celebrates the American photographer who lived, breathed and captured the shimmering fever dream of NYC’s gay culture in the 1940s and 50s
Leslie Felperin
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/jul/07/hidden-master-the-legacy-of-george-platt-lynes-review-eye-opening-snapshot-of-new-yorks-queer-scene

A new start after 60: I quit my job, bought a camera – and became a successful wildlife photographer
On retiring at 56, Michelle Jackson needed a big new challenge. So she picked up her first proper camera and was soon spending 20 hours a week in the field, and winning awards
Paula Cocozza
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/jul/07/new-start-after-60-quit-job-bought-camera-became-successful-wildlife-photographer

First malaria treatment for babies approved for use
Dominic Hughes
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c89e872jdjxo

2025.07.07

Mosquitos with West Nile found in Twin Cities. From Bring Me The News: “The findings suggest West Nile activity is starting to pick up in the area. Officials say the timing of the positive tests aligns with when mosquitoes have historically first shown signs of the virus.” Via MinnPost
https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-news/first-west-nile-positive-mosquitoes-of-the-year-found-in-twin-cities-counties

Michael Douglas says he has ‘no real intentions’ of acting again: ‘I had to stop’
The 80-year-old, two-time Oscar winner said he had been ‘working pretty hard for almost 60 years’ – and is ‘quite happy’ watching his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones work
Sian Cain
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/jul/07/michael-douglas-says-he-has-no-real-intentions-of-acting-again-i-had-to-stop

‘Chipping away at democracy’: authors fear outcome of US supreme court’s LGBTQ+ book ruling
Some parents can now opt students out of LGBTQ+ book readings. The writers warn of increased book bans and bias
Melissa Hellmann
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/07/authors-lgbtq-book-ruling-supreme-court

The radical 1960s schools experiment that created a whole new alphabet – and left thousands of children unable to spell
Decades ago, a generation of UK schoolchildren unwittingly took part in an initiative aimed at boosting reading skills – with lasting consequences
Emma Loffhagen
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/jul/06/1960s-schools-experiment-created-new-alphabet-thousands-children-unable-to-spell

At least 81 dead and dozens missing in Texas floods as more rain looms
Gary O’Donoghue Chief North America correspondent
Ana Faguy BBC News
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cddzrj323zzo