Category Archives: Travel

2025.03.15

Minneapolis set a record Friday (75 degrees, fondly Fahrenheit or ~24 C for the rest of you). Of course, snow is forecast, but it ain’t here yet.

‘Brain pacemakers’: implants to be tested to help alcohol and opioid addicts
Trial will determine whether electrical pulses can control and decrease yearnings
Robin McKie, Science editor
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/mar/15/brain-implants-alcohol-opioid-addicts-trial

‘Spreadsheets of empire’: red tape goes back 4,000 years, say scientists after Iraq finds
Ancient Mesopotamian stone tablets show extraordinary detail and reach of government in cradle of world civilisations
Dalya Alberge
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/mar/15/stone-tablets-mesopotamia-iraq-red-tape-bureaucracy

‘They’re on. They’re off. We can’t plan’ – bourbon makers dazed by Trump tariffs
The president’s chaotic policy on import duties makes planning impossible, says the CEO of a Kentucky distillery – and state Republicans are unhappy, too
Callum Jones in Louisville, Kentucky
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/15/bourbon-makers-trump-tariffs

Baby wombat-snatching US influencer apologises and says she was ‘concerned’ for Australian animal
Sam Jones, who left Australia on Friday, posted a 900-word statement questioning outrage in country where ‘slaughter of wombats’ is permitted
Nino Bucci
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/15/baby-wombat-snatching-us-influencer-apologises-and-says-she-was-concerned-for-australian-animal-ntwnfb

How a New Zealander working from her mum’s kitchen started a news service read by Madonna
The success of Shit You Should Care About has been down to Lucy Blakiston’s focus on social media at a time where news avoidance is growing
Eva Corlett in Wellington
https://www.theguardian.com/global/2025/mar/15/shit-you-should-care-about-lucy-blakiston-media

Clothes brand gets 100 complaints a day that models are ‘too fat’
Jennifer Meierhans
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2xjd41g33o

Trump is coming for your poppers: Major producer closes amid FDA crackdown
Several other companies seem to have followed suit.
By Mey Rude
https://www.out.com/news/poppers-fda-crackdown-double-scorpio

U of M Regents Pass Resolution Gagging Faculty
Plus the Wolves basketball boss, weird weed rulings, and don’t drive like a dumbass in today’s Flyover news roundup.
By Racket Staff
https://racketmn.com/university-of-minnesota-regents-pass-resolution-gagging-faculty-speech

Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for Lebanese moussaka with five-garlic-clove sauce
The Lebanese take on moussaka is a simple vegetable stew of aubergines, chickpeas, spices and herbs, here spruced up with a lively garlic sauce
Meera Sodha
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/mar/15/lebanese-moussaka-five-garlic-clove-sauce-recipe-meera-sodha

Wallace and Gromit on the couch:

Animators React to Wallace and Gromit!

2025.03.13

Paul Walsh at the Star Tribune reports: “More than two years after receiving their first tip about suspected sex trafficking at a downtown New Prague massage parlor, police raided the business and arrested its owner on allegations of promoting prostitution.” Via MinnPost

Walz outlines impacts of Trump’s plans to dismantle U.S. Department of Education By Aki Nace https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/us-department-of-education-dismantling-minnesota-impact-walz-trump/

Passing probe captures images of mysterious Mars moon
Hera spacecraft takes photos of red planet’s second moon, Deimos, while en route to asteroids 110m miles away
Ian Sample Science editor
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/mar/13/passing-probe-captures-images-of-mysterious-mars-moon

California atmospheric river threatens flooding in areas still reeling from fires
Parts of Los Angeles hit by January blazes under evacuation warnings as west coast braces for heavy rain and snow
Michael Sainato
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/13/california-atmospheric-river-wildfires-los-angeles

Woman who lived to age 117 had genes keeping her cells ‘younger’, study shows
Maria Branyas Morera, US-born supercentenarian who died in Spain last August, found to have microbiota of an infant
Ramon Antonio Vargas
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/13/supercentenarian-aging-genes-study

Baby wombat-snatching US influencer at risk of losing Australian visa
Video footage, described as ‘callous’ and ‘pretty dreadful’, shows Sam Jones grabbing the joey from its mother at night
Graham Readfearn
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/13/sam-jones-us-influencer-baby-wombat-stolen-from-mother-ntwnfb

‘In plain sight’: how The Hague museum was secret hideout from Nazi forced labour
Mauritshuis exhibition reveals how Dutch men hid in attic to avoid being taken to Germany in second world war
Senay Boztas in The Hague
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/13/hague-museum-secret-hideout-nazi-forced-labour-mauritshuis

Larry Stanton: the artist who captured New York’s gay scene at a time of crisis
A new exhibition in Los Angeles celebrates the life and work of a painter who died at 37 of Aids as he tried to preserve a record of those around him
Veronica Esposito
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/mar/13/larry-stanton-new-york-los-angeles-exhibition

What snow can teach us about street design
‘Sneckdown’ is a term used for when there is a build up of snow at a street intersection. These so called ‘sneckdowns’ are informing urban planners how to design safer and more pleasant streets for pedestrians and drivers in the US.
Produced by Cagney Roberts and Darryl Laiu
https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0kx9vx8/what-snow-can-teach-us-about-street-design

An Italian cultural ambassador’s guide to Rome
Andrea Carlo
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250310-alberto-angela-an-italian-cultural-ambassadors-guide-to-rome

Woman arrested in US for allegedly holding stepson captive for 20
Ana Faguy
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c05m01mp999o

‘He strangled me without asking’ – experts say choking during sex now normal for many
Sima Kotecha
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62zwy0nex0o

Now that Uptown’s killed and dead, it’s time to worry about Dinkytown: How Alive or Dead is Dinkytown in 2025? Depends on Who You Ask. Business owners, politicians, students, and longtime observers debate the health of the singular Minneapolis neighborhood. By Jay Boller https://racketmn.com/dinkytown-minneapolis-university-mn-in-2025

2025.03.12

The Star Tribune’s Elliot Hughes and Janet Moore report: “As expected, DFL candidate David Gottfried ran away with a victory in Tuesday’s special election for District 40B, securing shared power for his party in the Minnesota House.” Via MinnPost

Music icons Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys share their collection of Black art with Mia
“Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys” features works of canvas, sculpture and photography on display until July 13.
by Sheila Regan
https://www.minnpost.com/artscape/2025/03/music-icons-swizz-beatz-and-alicia-keys-share-their-collection-of-black-art-with-mia/

Carrie H. Lippincott: The Pioneer Seedswoman of America
Lippincott moved to Minnesota where she created a mail-order company focused on selling flower seeds to women.
by Marjorie Savage
https://www.minnpost.com/mnopedia/2025/03/carrie-h-lippincott-the-pioneer-seedswoman-of-america/

‘Carers need care, too’: Bruce Willis’s wife speaks out after deaths of Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa
Emma Heming Willis, who is primary carer for the actor since his dementia diagnosis in 2023, says there is ‘a broader story’ to tell about their plight
Catherine Shoard
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/mar/12/emma-heming-willis-carers-gene-hackman-death-bruce-willis

CDC expects measles outbreak in west Texas to ‘expand rapidly’
Two people have died in outbreak in Gaines county, and doctors fear the spread of the extremely contagious disease
Jessica Glenza
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/12/texas-measles-outbreak-spread

Vermont confirms first case of measles of year in school-aged child
Case is not related to three ongoing outbreaks in US and authorities say there is a low risk to public
Marina Dunbar
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/11/measles-outbreak-vermont

MS patients in England to benefit from major roll out of take-at-home pill
Cladribine tablet for those with active multiple sclerosis will reduce hospital visits and free up appointments
Andrew Gregory Health editor
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/mar/12/nhs-england-first-in-europe-roll-out-take-at-home-pill-multiple-sclerosis

‘We’re on the edge of chaos’: families with trans kids fight for care as bans take hold
A federal judge blocked Donald Trump’s executive order banning trans youth healthcare, but access remains uncertain
Melissa Hellmann
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/12/trans-kids-healthcare-ban-south-carolina

Nasa’s new Spherex telescope lifts off to map cosmos in unprecedented detail
The $488m Spherex mission aims to explain how galaxies evolved over billions of years
Associated Press
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/mar/12/nasas-spherex-telescope-launch

Rembrandt to Picasso: Five ways to spot a fake masterpiece
Kelly Grovier
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250311-rembrandt-to-picasso-five-ways-to-spot-a-fake-masterpiece

The art curator saving the world’s rarest fruit
Lucy Lovell
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250307-the-art-curator-saving-the-worlds-rarest-fruit

Her grandpa brewed beer in his cellar in Iran. Last month she canned 30,000 brews that taste like home
Zahra Tabatabai’s Back Home Beer features select Middle Eastern flavors, and she’s looking to expand its reach nationally
Katerina Liakos
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/mar/12/back-home-beer-new-face-of-small-busines

Checking out early: who is going to die in this season of The White Lotus?
The third season of Mike White’s delicious resort-set comedy drama has teased yet another murder but we don’t yet know the whos or the whys
Stuart Heritage
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/mar/12/the-white-lotus-theories-predictions

2025.03.10

This Modern World by Tom Tomorrow

Norfolk woman refuses to hand over 16th-century Italian painting identified as stolen
Exclusive: Barbara De Dozsa’s husband bought Madonna and Child by Antonio Solario in 1973 after it was stolen from a museum
Dalya Alberge
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/mar/10/norfolk-woman-refuses-to-hand-over-16th-century-italian-painting-identified-as-stolen

JD Vance’s cousin says vice-president and Trump are ‘useful idiots’ to Putin Nate Vance reportedly spent three years trying to help Ukraine repel Russian troops and has been alarmed by his cousin’s remarks Ramon Antonio Vargas
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/10/trump-vance-putin

Kleptocrats to benefit from Trump DoJ’s anti-corruption pause, experts warn
Former prosecutors criticize Pam Bondi’s decision to halt enforcement of bribery laws as short-sighted and dangerous
Peter Stone in Washington
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/10/trump-doj-pam-bondi-corruption

Alzheimer’s research centers face Trump-imposed $65m funding delay across the US
Researchers report difficulties retaining staff as White House cost-cutting stresses US medical research system
Jessica Glenza
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/10/alzheimers-research-trump-funding-cuts

US added to international watchlist for rapid decline in civic freedoms
Civicus, an international non-profit, puts country alongside Democratic Republic of Congo, Italy, Pakistan and Serbia
Anna Betts
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/09/watchlist-decline-civic-freedoms-civicus

Myanmar junta’s promise of elections denounced as ‘sham’ by experts
There are fears military will deploy further violence in run-up to any poll, which is unlikely to be viewed as credible
Rebecca Ratcliffe in Bangkok
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/10/myanmar-juntas-promise-of-elections-denounced-as-sham-by-experts

New treatment could cure one in 20 cases of high blood pressure
TTT therapy burns away nodules that lead to salt buildup in body, which increases risk of stroke or heart attack
Denis Campbell Health policy editor
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/mar/09/new-treatment-could-cure-high-blood-pressure-due-to-primary-aldosteronism

Watch: Tropical storm erodes iconic Australian beach
Ex-tropical cyclone Alfred caused huge swells and flooding as it hit Australia’s east coast over the weekend.
https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/ce8v6lzrn73o

Tourists leave India temple town after gang rape-murder
Imran Qureshi
BBC Hindi, Bengaluru
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9de6vqlwypo

Athol Fugard: Death of a great South African playwright
Farouk Chothia
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8j0rk1kl8no

2025.03.09

I suspect Harris growing a penis and turning white would have helped more:
Tim Walz says he and Harris were too ‘safe’ during 2024 presidential campaign
Former vice-presidential candidate claims pair should have held more in-person events around the US
Adam Gabbatt
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/08/tim-walz-2024-presidential-campaign

Northern lights sightings expected in Scotland over weekend
Met Office says aurora borealis may be visible across north of country and possibly even further south
Donna Ferguson
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/mar/08/northern-lights-sightings-expected-in-scotland-over-weekend

Wales on a plate: 10 of the best restaurants, hotels, pubs and food hubs
From market fare to fine dining – your gastronomic guide to the most delicious destinations around the country
Annabelle Thorpe
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/mar/09/wales-finest-food-10-best-restaurants-inns-hotels-and-gastro-hubs

Go outside, ditch the phone, get humble: my top 10 Scandi life lessons after a decade in Denmark
After 12 years, we’ve said goodbye to one of the happiest countries on Earth. From friluftsliv (the joy of the open air) to janteloven (realising you’re no better than others) here’s what I’ve learned
Helen Russell
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/mar/08/top-10-scandi-life-lessons-after-decade-in-denmark

Mass blackouts in storm-hit eastern Australia
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq8y3xgkpw9o

Deadly floods engulf Argentine city after fierce storm
Robert Plummer and Henri Astier
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g07dqep0ko

A very camp environment’: why Alan Turing fatefully told police he was gay
Ubiquity of then-illegal relations at King’s College, Cambridge, explains puzzling 1952 admission, says scholar
Donna Ferguson
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/mar/08/a-very-camp-environment-why-alan-turing-fatefully-told-police-he-was-gay

Can you solve these time puzzles from the ancient world?
Martha Henriques
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240228-leap-year-can-you-solve-these-time-riddles

Sole portrait of England’s ‘nine-day queen’ thought to have been identified by researchers
‘Compelling evidence’ suggests figure is Lady Jane Grey, making it only known depiction made before 1554 execution
Nadia Khomami Arts and culture correspondent
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/mar/07/sole-portrait-of-england-nine-day-queen-lady-jane-grey-thought-to-have-been-identified-by-researchers

Shamelessly stolen from Andrew Ducker:
Game-Changing Vaccine Offers Long-Lasting Protection Against COVID-19 & Flu
https://scitechdaily.com/game-changing-vaccine-offers-long-lasting-protection-against-covid-19-flu/

2025.03.08

Dustin Nelson at Bring Me the News reports the Twin Cities Book Festival is saying farewell to the State Fairgrounds. The Rain Taxi-run event will host its 25th fest at St. Paul’s Union Depot, organizers announced on Thursday. Via MinnPost

Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz bring Black art ‘Giants’ to the Minneapolis Institute of Art
Also this weekend: Digital art by a Japanese trans artist at FKM Gallery; art and poetry exploring the immigrant experience at Indigenous Roots, and a performance festival spotlighting composers of color at MacPhail Center for Music.
by Myah Goff
https://sahanjournal.com/arts/twin-cities-weekend-arts-events/

Texas cities run short of MMR vaccine as measles outbreak drives demand
Pharmacies are struggling with supplies as fatal outbreak expands and health secretary sows disinformation
Melody Schreiber
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/08/texas-mmr-vaccine-measles-outbreak

Mormon church rocked by child sexual abuse allegations in California
Look-back window results in nearly 100 allegations against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Edward Helmore
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/08/mormon-church-child-sex-abuse-allegations-california

‘She is evil’: Amy Coney Barrett under attack by the right wing after supreme court USAid ruling
Conservative justice who frequently votes with the far-right side of the supreme court faces backlash for recent ruling
Adam Gabbatt
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/08/amy-coney-barrett-under-attack-by-right-wing

‘Etched in my mind’: witness to South Carolina firing squad execution describes killing
Brad Sigmon was executed on Friday for the murders of his ex-girlfriend’s parents in 2001
Guardian staff
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/08/south-carolina-firing-squad

‘I’m on the side of the workers’: the Minnesota senator calling out Trump and Musk
Tina Smith is leaving at the end of her term, and says she would call Musk a dick even if she had to face re-election
Rachel Leingang
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/08/tina-smith-minnesota-senator-interview

Anora is nothing new – Hollywood has always been obsessed with sex workers
Anne Billson
Mikey Madison is the latest in a line of actors dating back to Janet Gaynor to win Oscars depicting the sex trade. Why this is, and whether it lessens the stigma of such work, is an open question
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/mar/07/hollywood-obsessed-with-sex-workers-anora-mikey-madison

Athena spacecraft declared dead after toppling over on moon
Robotic private spacecraft touched down about 250 meters from its intended landing site on Thursday
Richard Luscombe
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/mar/07/athena-spacecraft-mission-dead

‘We’re fairly different’: life in New Zealand’s remote self-declared ‘republic’
The tiny town of Whangamōmona on the North Island maintains some eccentric traditions – past ‘presidents’ have included a goat and a poodle
Anna Rankin in Whangamōmona
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/08/whangamomona-new-zealand-self-declared-republic-feature

This is how we do it: ‘After mutual cancer diagnoses we didn’t have sex for five years. Then we discovered toys …’
Jill and Bob became more like housemates than lovers during an illness-enforced break, but a delivery of sex toys brought back the fun
As told to Olivia Ladanyi
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/mar/08/this-is-how-we-do-it-mutual-cancer-diagnoses-sex-toys

MN’s Korean Adoptees, ‘More Confused Than Ever,’ Look for Answers Plus the end of the ‘All Are Welcome Here’ sign, an Ann Kim x Target collab, and a list of local orgs losing federal funding in today’s Flyover news roundup. By Em Cassel and Jessica Armbruster https://racketmn.com/mns-korean-adoptees-more-confused-than-ever-look-for-answers

The sweet smell of grift in the morning: White House to overhaul $42.5bn Biden-era internet plan – likely to Elon Musk’s advantage Billionaire cost-cutter’s Starlink service the likely beneficiary of Trump plan to alter rural internet program Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/05/trump-musk-rural-internet-starlink

Packed Pacs: how billionaires in the US are bankrolling Republicans at the state level Republicans are relying on ‘nameless’ donors who want to push a rightwing agenda and gain long-term hegemony David Smith in Washington https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/05/billionaires-funding-republicans

Interview Peter Wolf on Faye Dunaway, David Lynch and Bob Dylan: ‘My mission was to be an observer’
Jim Farber
The frontman of the J Geils Band has had an extraordinary life, living and working with celebrities along the way, detailed in a fascinating new book
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/mar/05/peter-wolf-j-geils-waiting-on-the-moon

Give Edinburgh fringe the same status as Olympics, departing head urges Shona McCarthy says public authorities have routinely ignored needs of world’s largest arts festival Severin Carrell Scotland editor https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/mar/05/edinburgh-festival-fringe-olympics-shona-mccarthy-chief-executive

Gordon and Jim after coming out to Gordon’s mum: Sage Sohier’s best photograph ‘They had been together for 21 years. They’re telling Margot, Gordon’s mum, that they’re about to appear in a Valentine’s Day issue of the local newspaper’ Interview by Lydia Figes https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/mar/05/sage-sohiers-best-photograph-valentines-day

World’s biggest iceberg runs aground after long journey from Antarctica Scientists are studying whether the grounded A23a iceberg might help stir nutrients and make food more available for penguins and seals
Agence France-Presse https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/05/a23a-iceberg-runs-aground-south-georgia-climate

2025.03.04

Janet Moore and Elliot Hughes at the Star Tribune reports: “A Republican-led bill to bar transgender girls from competing on girls and women’s elementary and secondary school sports teams in Minnesota was hotly debated on the state House floor Monday before failing to pass.” Via MinnPost

US Senate Democrats block bill to ban trans athletes from women’s sports
Democratic senator says trans athletes ‘deserve an ally’ after Republican-led bill quashed in razor-sharp 51-45 vote
Joseph Gedeon in Washington
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/04/democrats-block-trans-athletes-bill

‘I have witnessed people’s lives change’: How to find the colours that are perfect for you
Megan Lawton
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250303-how-to-find-the-colours-that-are-perfect-for-you

US supreme court weakens rules on discharge of raw sewage into water supplies
Ruling by the court, which has a Republican super majority, undermines the 1972 Clean Water Act
Nina Lakhani
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/04/epa-ruling-sewage-water

$5 a dozen: major egg companies may be using avian flu to hike US prices, new report finds
The highly concentrated egg market may be contributing to soaring consumer prices – and the spread of the virus, data shared exclusively with the Guardian shows
Nina Lakhani
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/04/egg-prices-bird-flu-corporate-profits

California charges 30 officers over ‘gladiator fights’ at juvenile facility
Staff at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall alleged to have allowed or encouraged nearly 70 fights involving young detainees
Associated Press
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/04/california-juvenile-detention-gladiator-fights-charges

New York City officials urge vaccination after two measles cases confirmed
Highly contagious respiratory illness was declared eliminated in US in 2000 but new cases have now risen
Marina Dunbar
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/04/new-york-city-measles

Scientists aiming to bring back woolly mammoth create woolly mice
Genetically modified mice have traits geared towards cold tolerance, in step towards modifying elephants
Nicola Davis Science correspondent
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/mar/04/genetically-modified-woolly-mice-mammoth

Federal layoffs hit the deep-red, rural US west: ‘Our public lands are under threat’
As layoffs under Trump bleed out, workers in the Mountain West fear devastating consequences for their communities
Cy Neff
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/04/trump-doge-federal-layoffs-national-parks

Midwestern cities fear fallout of Trump revoking Haitian residents’ status
Looming end of TPS could wreak havoc in Ohio urban areas revitalised by immigrants from the Caribbean country
Stephen Starr in Lima, Ohio
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/03/ohio-haitians-immigration-tps

Why Elon Musk is targeting a free tax-filing software package
Musk plans cost-cutting – and Americans will end up footing the bill; the business of immigration surveillance; and a fond farewell to Skype
Blake Montgomery
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/mar/03/techscape-elon-musk-skype

2025.02.24

Roberta Flack, soul and R&B icon behind Killing Me Softly, dies aged 88 Much-loved singer known for Killing Me Softly With His Song, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and duets with Donny Hathaway and Peabo Bryson, had suffered a stroke in 2016 Ben Beaumont-Thomas and Safi Bugel https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/feb/24/roberta-flack-soul-and-rb-icon-behind-killing-me-softly-dies-aged-88

Mitch McConnell is retiring from US politics. Good riddance
Moira Donegan
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/24/mitch-mcconnell-is-retiring-from-us-politics-good-riddance

2,000 year old book about Roman emperors enters bestseller charts The Lives of the Caesars, translated from Latin by The Rest Is History podcast co-host Tom Holland, details everything from ancient policy failures to sex scandals Ella Creamer https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/feb/24/book-sex-scandals-roman-emperors-bestseller-charts-the-lives-of-the-caesars-tom-holland

‘It stirred the people to breathless wonder and scalding abuse’: The tumultuous history of the Sydney Opera House Myles Burke https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250221-the-tumultuous-history-of-the-sydney-opera-house

‘The flying bum’: can a UK firm making huge airships finally get off the ground?Airlander maker HAV scales up to build world’s biggest aircraft, which it says will have 90% lower emissions than a conventional plane Jasper Jolly https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/feb/24/the-flying-bum-uk-firm-airships-airlander-hav

2025.02.22

Missouri lawmaker proposes registry of pregnant women ‘at risk’ for abortions Dubbed ‘eHarmony for babies’, bill would create connected databases for pregnant women and those looking to adopt Carter Sherman https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/22/missouri-abortion-registry-bill

Brazilian city in Amazon declares emergency after huge sinkholes appear In Buriticupu, about 1,200 people risk losing their homes, and residents have seen the problem escalate in 30 years Reuters in Buriticupu https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/21/amazon-brazil-sinkhole

Woman charged in dating app druggings and one death of older men in Las Vegas FBI says Aurora Phelps met men online for dating then drugged them and stole cars and money Associated Press https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/22/las-vegas-dating-app-druggings-death

‘My paedophile letters’: French surgeon to stand trial accused of abusing 299 patients, mostly children Joël Le Scouarnec’s ‘black books’ of handwritten notes in which alleged sexual abuse was recorded are at the heart of case against him Kim Willsher in Paris https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/feb/22/my-paedophile-letters-french-surgeon-to-stand-trial-accused-of-abusing-299-patients-mostly-children

‘You dream about such things’: Brit who discovered missing pharaoh’s tomb may have unearthed another Archaeologist believes his ‘find of the century’ – of Pharaoh Thutmose II – could be surpassed by ongoing excavation Donna Ferguson https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/feb/22/you-dream-about-such-things-brit-who-discovered-missing-pharaohs-tomb-may-have-unearthed-another

‘We’re clearly heading towards collapse’: why the Murdoch empire is about to go bang
An explosive succession trial and an astonishing interview with one of Rupert’s sons have exposed the paranoia and hatred at the heart of global media’s most powerful family. This could get messy…
Jane Martinson https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/feb/22/were-clearly-heading-towards-collapse-why-the-murdoch-empire-is-about-to-go-bang

UK soil breakthrough could cut farm fertiliser use and advance sustainable agriculture
Research group says discovery could lead to new type of environmentally friendly farming
Robin McKie, Science Editor https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/feb/22/uk-soil-breakthrough-could-cut-farm-fertiliser-use-and-advance-sustainable-agriculture

Historic England acquires collection featuring some of UK’s oldest photos
Janette Rosing built up pioneering trove of 8,000 images dating back to the early days of the Industrial Revolution
Lanre Bakare Arts and culture correspondent https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/feb/21/historic-england-acquires-collection-featuring-some-of-uks-oldest-photos