Monthly Archives: July 2025

2025.07.05

Owning dog or cat could preserve some brain functions as we age, study says
Fish or bird ownership showed no significant link to slower cognitive decline in study with implications for ageing societies
Amelia Hill
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jul/05/dog-cat-ownership-could-preserve-specific-brain-functions-as-we-age-cognitive-decline

Trump is waging war against the media – and winning
Edward Helmore
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/jul/05/trump-attack-us-media

‘The vehicle suddenly accelerated with our baby in it’: the terrifying truth about why Tesla’s cars keep crashing
Elon Musk is obsessive about the design of his supercars, right down to the disappearing door handles. But a series of shocking incidents – from drivers trapped in burning vehicles to dramatic stops on the highway – have led to questions about the safety of the brand. Why won’t Tesla give any answers?
Sönke Iwersen and Michael Verfürden
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jul/05/the-vehicle-suddenly-accelerated-with-our-baby-in-it-the-terrifying-truth-about-why-teslas-cars-keep-crashing

US debt is now $37trn – should we be worried?
Simon Jack
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1lj8rmyn5eo

2025.07.04

Palmer’s Bar to close after serving beers for 120 years on West Bank
The bar didn’t give a reason for its closure, but said it will have a “jam-packed” calendar and “plenty of time to party and say farewell” before shutting the doors.
Author: Samantha Fischer
https://www.kare11.com/article/entertainment/palmers-bar-to-close-after-serving-beers-for-120-years-on-west-bank/89-0c845523-e6cc-4fed-8be2-82e7540144cc

Trump’s Medicaid cuts are coming for rural Americans: ‘It’s going to have to hit them first’
Experts worry the tax-and-spending bill will gut healthcare and hospitals, especially in states like North Carolina
Jessica Glenza and George Chidi
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/04/rural-americans-medicaid-cuts-trump-bill

Trump’s big bill achieved what conservatives have been trying to do for decades
Chris Stein
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/03/trump-spending-bill-conservatives-law

The Nazi bunkers hidden underneath Berlin
In this episode of The Specialist, historian Kay Heyne guides us through the haunting remnants of Nazi-era bunkers. From Hitler’s final shelter in Berlin to a hidden underground ring tunnel linking eleven modest-looking farmhouses just south of the capital, Heyne uncovers the forgotten architecture of a dark chapter in history
Produced and directed by Ana Catala, Filmed by Jan Rödger, Edited by Elisabetta Abrami, Executive Producer Anna Bressanin
https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0lmjjmb/the-nazi-bunkers-hidden-underneath-berlin

Wildfire forces evacuation of thousands on Greek island of Crete
Nikos Papanikolaou
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd0vdkry307o

Iron age settlement found in Gloucestershire after detectorist unearths Roman swords
When Glen Manning discovered two cavalry swords, a later dig revealed two distinct chapters of British history
Steven Morris
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jul/04/roman-swords-gloucestershire-villa-iron-age-settlement-discovery

Gaylaxicon 2025 PR2: https://mailchi.mp/67977d404acf/announcing-the-special-guests-of-gaylaxicon-2025?e=a000f39080

2025.07.03

A Wisconsin brewery owner wants to shut down Fourth of July parades, both in Minocqua, where the brewery is located, and across the nation. Kirk Bangstad “says he ‘will not allow this town to comfortably celebrate its most important event of the year’ because he believes he’s been targeted by city officials,” according to Bring Me The News. Via MinnPost
https://bringmethenews.com/wisconsin-news/wisconsin-brewery-owner-plans-to-disrupt-parade-over-feud-with-officials

Scientists warn US will lose a generation of talent because of Trump cuts
Political interference and chaotic cuts to staff, programs and grants at the National Science Foundation are producing ‘devastating consequences’
Nina Lakhani
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/03/national-science-foundation-trump-cuts

New Orleans teacher fired by Catholic school for being gay says ‘it’s just time’ for discrimination to stop
Mark Richards was fired from St Francis Xavier school after an obituary identified him as his late husband’s widower
Ramon Antonio Vargas in New Orleans
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/03/new-orleans-teacher-mark-richards

US couple could face trial in France over stolen shipwreck gold
Novelist and husband suspected of helping to sell bullion taken decades ago from ship that sank off Brittany in 1746
Agence France-Presse
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/03/us-couple-could-face-trial-in-france-over-stolen-shipwreck-gold

America is over neoliberalism and neoconservatism. Trump is not
Samuel Moyn
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jul/03/trump-neoliberalism-neoconservatism

US researchers launch new mission to solve mystery of Amelia Earhart’s fate
Researchers to follow fresh clues that suggest pioneering aviator may have crash-landed on remote Pacific island
Marina Dunbar
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/02/amelia-earhart-missing-plane

The Sandman season two review – Neil Gaiman’s emo drama is so pretentious it ruins everything
The return of the mopey goth hero sees him stroppily shuffle through what could be fantastic adventures as if they are tedious obligations. And some of the dialogue: oof!
Jack Seale
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jul/03/the-sandman-season-two-review-neil-gaiman-netflix

Is this the end for Easter Island’s moai statues?
Sofia Quaglia
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250702-the-indigenous-restorers-of-easter-islands-moai-in-the-face-of-climate-change

Ancient Egyptian history may be rewritten by DNA bone test
Pallab Ghosh
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1dnnyz0z6do

The European nation pioneering ‘beer diplomacy’
David Farley
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250627-the-european-nation-pioneering-beer-diplomacy

2025.07.02

Dinner du Nord invites diners to a 7-block-long table on Nicollet Mall
Dinner du Nord organizers share a toast at a model table in Minneapolis on July 1, featuring dishes from several local restaurants.
Estelle Timar-Wilcox
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/07/01/dinner-du-nord-invites-diners-to-a-7blocklong-table-on-nicollet-mall

Concerns about Uptown’s changing face are familiar and overwrought
Yes, the critical Minneapolis retail and entertainment hub is suffering. But the key to its future isn’t recreating the past.
by Bill Lindeke
https://www.minnpost.com/cityscape/2025/07/concerns-about-uptowns-changing-face-are-familiar-and-overwrought/

Judge blocks Kristi Noem from ending temporary protected status for Haitians
Homeland security secretary attempting to end legal status for approximately 521,000 Haitian immigrants
Reuters
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/01/kristi-noem-haitian-immigrants-tps

Kristi Noem failed to disclose $80,000 received while South Dakota governor – report
Homeland security secretary was paid by group listed as American Resolve Police Fund, according to Politico
Edward Helmore
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/01/kristi-noem-payment-south-dakota-governor

Trump team threatens to prosecute CNN over reporting on Ice-tracking app
Kristi Noem says ‘we’re working with [DoJ] to see if we can prosecute them’ while president fumes over Iran reporting
Edward Helmore
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/01/trump-kristi-noem-cnn-threat

Trump administration raises possibility of stripping Mamdani of US citizenship
Move comes after rightwing Republican accuses New York City mayoral candidate of concealing support for ‘terrorism’
Robert Tait
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/01/trump-zohran-mamdani-citizenship

How Mamdani connects climate policy to his affordability agenda as he runs for New York mayor
Many of the democratic socialist’s policies aim to slash carbon emissions and boost environmental justice
Dharna Noor
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/02/zohran-mamdani-climate-policy

The supreme court is cracking down on judges – and letting Trump run wild
Steven Greenhouse
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jul/02/supreme-court-judges-trump

Key climate change reports removed from US government websites
The national climate assessments help state and local governments prepare for the impacts of a warming world
Associated Press
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/01/climate-change-reports-removed-trump

Inquiry finds British committed genocide on Indigenous Australians
Lana Lam
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn413zlld4mo

Qantas data breach exposes up to six million customer profiles
Tabby Wilson
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd6gnyl9923o

Jimmy Swaggart, US televangelist brought down by scandal, dies aged 90
Swaggart, who amassed huge following and millions of dollars, gave tearful apology after sex worker revelations
Associated Press
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/01/jimmy-swaggart-dies

2025.07.01

Severe weather hits the US hard as key forecast offices reel from Trump cuts
This year marks the first time that local NWS offices have stopped round-the-clock operations in the agency’s history
Eric Holthaus
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/01/severe-weather-nws-trump-cuts

And everybody sez irony is dead?
Trump threatens to set Doge on Musk as pair feud again over budget plan
Aleks Phillips
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czdvv2qqlrqo