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Mercari and Pokemon Target Scalpers By Banning Listings of Sealed...

In partnership with The Pokemon Company, Japanese resale marketplace Mercari has announced a temporary ban on listings of sealed 30th Anniversary

Sep 15 • 11:52 AM EDT • Technology • pokebeach.com

Temporary storefronts to open on Lahaina's Front Street this fall

Ulu o Lele temporary marketplace will host up to 25 Lahaina businesses impacted by the 2023 wildfires, with vendor applications open through Sept. 28.

Sep 15 • 4:20 AM EDT • Business • bizjournals.com

Blazers Should Completely Ignore Channing Frye’s Ja Morant Prediction

Rather than treating their new star as a temporary trade chip, Portland must embrace Ja Morant as the long-awaited centerpiece capable of leading a young core toward contention.

Sep 14 • 2:00 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

US companies get creative as tariff refunds start flowing in

U.S. companies getting refunds after the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s import tariffs are using the temporary windfall in a range of creative ways. The refunds are being

Sep 14 • 11:53 AM EDT • Entertainment • thederrick.com

Judge shields more Catholic health providers as Illinois assisted suicide law takes effect

A federal judge on Sept. 11 temporarily blocked Illinois from enforcing the state's physician-assisted suicide law for Catholic entities that challenged it.

Sep 12 • 2:28 PM EDT • Health • osvnews.com

Ontario Science Centre axes 30 jobs including entire science department — what laid-off workers are owed

The cuts wiped out 540+ years of service. Here's how severance, EI and a temporary benefits rule apply

Sep 12 • 9:30 AM EDT • Science • ca.finance.yahoo.com

US-China decoupling could benefit other countries, Chinese study finds

The study suggests a complete severing of trade ties would hurt both superpowers while bringing temporary gains elsewhere.

Sep 12 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • scmp.com

Why Levi Onwuzurike’s Lions Release May Be Temporary

The Lions released Levi Onwuzurike, but an NFL salary rule could explain why Detroit may bring the veteran defensive lineman back quickly.

Sep 11 • 4:44 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

LeadingAge to CMS: Halt the Hospice, Home Health Moratorium

LeadingAge has urged the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to end the temporary hospice and home health moratoria in advance

Sep 11 • 3:56 PM EDT • Health • hospicenews.com

🚨 Stassin, Pepelu... Sevilla-Valencia XIs are in

Two fallen members of the league aristocracy face off today, hoping their bad spell is only temporary.Sevilla and Valencia kick off Matchday 5 in LaLiga with a real blockbuster at the Ramón Sánchez-...

Sep 11 • 1:52 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Texas health agency asks lawmakers for additional funding to address growing Medicaid, SNAP backlogs

Texas Health and Human Services is asking the state Legislature for the funding to make more than 600 temporary eligibility worker positions into permanent jobs. The ask comes as Texas' backlog of Medicaid and Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, applications continues to grow.

Sep 11 • 6:05 AM EDT • Health • keranews.org

With TPS in doubt for Salvadorans, businesses brace for turmoil

Some restaurants, hospitals and construction firms pushed forward with layoffs as the end of temporary protected status for 232,000 Salvadorans loomed.

Sep 11 • 5:00 AM EDT • Business • washingtonpost.com

Fact check: Trump, RFK Jr. and others make false claims on night 2 of GOP convention

(CNN) — President Donald Trump delivered another rapid-fire series of false claims on the second night of Republicans’ midterm convention on Thursday. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. did his own barrage of wrongness. And various other speakers uttered statements that were untrue, misleading or missing critical context.Here is a fact check of some of the assertions from the final day of the convention. This is not intended as a comprehensive list of Thursday’s falsehoods.Trump’s many false claimsTrump made numerous false claims, some of which he also made in his longer speech Wednesday.Trump claimed that there were “no empty seats” in the Dallas arena as he spoke Thursday, which was visibly untrue. CNN White House correspondent Alayna Treene, who was there, wrote in a live chat right after Trump made the claim that “I’m looking at rows of empty seats” and that “the idea that there are ‘no empty seats’ is just laughably untrue,” though she also said the room was mostly full. Trump has for years made false claims about supposedly never having had an empty seat.Trump further inflated one of his favorite fictional figures, claiming Thursday that “$22 trillion” in investment has come into the US; on Wednesday, he had put it at “over $20 trillion,” and even that lower figure has no apparent basis in reality. As of the time he spoke Thursday, the White House’s own website claimed there had been “$11.2 trillion” in “major investment announcements” this term, not “over $20 trillion,” and the White House figure was itself a major exaggeration of actual investment.Trump, talking about elections, lied that “there’s never been bigger cheaters” than Democrats; there is no basis for broadly describing Democrats as election cheaters. For the second straight night, Trump falsely claimed that the Biden administration allowed “25 million people” to pour into the country, though that number is nowhere close to correct. Trump again falsely claimed that former President Joe Biden and other Democrats “created the worst inflation in American history,” though even peak Biden-era inflation, 9.1% in June 2022, was far from the all-time record of 23.7%; it was a 40-year high, but the rate then fell sharply before Trump returned to office.Trump also baselessly claimed that Democrats would “defund the police” and give “voting rights and welfare to 25 million illegal aliens” if they won the midterms. Republicans will still control the White House in 2027 and 2028 and the president would be in position to veto any such changes if a Democratic-controlled Congress sought to make them, but there is no indication that Democrats want to do so. Also, even groups favoring strict immigration policies estimate that the total undocumented population is far less than “25 million” or even 20 million.As he did Wednesday, Trump claimed the US now has the world’s lowest prescription drug prices. The assertion is so broad that it is unclear what exactly Trump is referencing. But experts told CNN they highly doubt that the prices for brand-name drugs in the US are generally less than they are in other countries, and the Trump administration has not provided details to prove the claim.“It’s tough to claim that you’re getting the lowest prices anywhere in the world and then also not have any evidence to support that,” said Andrew Mulcahy, a senior health economist at RAND, while Diederik Stadig, senior healthcare economist at financial institution ING, said, “To say that the US now has the lowest drug prices in the world is at this moment not true.”And as he did Wednesday, Trump said “more Americans are working today than ever before” – which is true but nearly meaningless, since the number of people working in the US generally rises over time simply because the population rises over time.“There are more Americans working because there are more Americans. That’s the entire analysis,” Justin Wolfers, a University of Michigan professor of public policy and economics, wrote in his newsletter in August.RFK Jr.’s false claims on the pandemic, Trump’s record and moreFalse claim about Democrats and the 2024 electionKennedy unsuccessfully ran for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination before withdrawing to run as an independent and then eventually endorsing Republican candidate Donald Trump. In Kennedy’s Thursday convention speech, he complained of how the Democrats handled the nomination race.At one point, he said, “For the first time in history, they cancelled their own convention. No voter ever cast a primary ballot for Kamala Harris, no elected delegate was ever consulted; the party of ‘No Kings’ simply anointed a queen.”Kennedy is entitled to express unhappiness about how quickly Democratic leaders coalesced around then-Vice President Harris after Biden unexpectedly dropped out of the race in July 2024, after the primaries were over and less than four months from Election Day. But it’s not true that the party canceled its convention or that delegates didn’t get any say.The convention was held; it was a four-day event in Chicago in August 2024. Democratic convention delegates officially nominated Harris in a virtual roll call vote in advance of the convention. It’s true that Harris was the only candidate on the roll call ballot, but that’s because she was the only candidate who gathered enough delegate signatures to appear on the ballot.It’s clear that party elites’ backing of Harris played a key role in the unusual nomination process. But Kennedy’s specific allegations that the convention was abandoned and delegates were cut out of the process are not true.False claim that Democrats closed ‘every church’ during the Covid-19 pandemicWhile attacking Democrats, Kennedy claimed that, during the Covid-19 pandemic, “They closed every church in our country for a year.”It’s not true that every church in the country was closed for a year, nor even that every church in a Democratic state was closed for a year.Every state issued some type of guidance or order about social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic, but many states – including some led by Democrats and some led by Republicans – incorporated religious exemptions into those limitations on social interactions.According to a Pew Research Center analysis from April 2020, 15 states allowed religious gatherings to continue without a limit on their size. That set of states included Colorado, Michigan and Pennsylvania, which all had Democratic governors. And at least two states with Republican governors, Alaska and Idaho, were among the states that prohibited religious gatherings at least briefly.False claim that Trump ‘ended nine wars’Trump has repeatedly claimed that he has ended “eight wars.” Kennedy went one higher on Thursday, declaring, “President Trump has ended nine wars.”That’s false. Trump hasn’t even ended eight wars.Trump’s list of eight includes two situations that were never actually wars during his tenure: a diplomatic dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia and a mysterious supposed situation between Serbia and Kosovo. The list also includes a war, involving Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, that hasn’t actually ended despite a peace agreement brokered by the Trump administration.In addition, the list includes the war between Israel and Hamas, but Israel continues to conduct frequent attacks in Gaza despite a US-brokered ceasefire agreement. And it includes the brief 2025 conflict between Israel and Iran, though Israel proceeded to join the US in starting another war against Iran in 2026.Claim about reversing a decline in longevityKennedy speaking of the Trump administration, claimed Thursday: “We have now reversed a 30-year decline in longevity. “Kennedy referenced preliminary data that he said he had received from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week, but it’s unclear what metric of longevity he’s referring to.CDC data shows that US life expectancy had been steadily increasing for decades before a sharp drop during the Covid-19 pandemic. Life expectancy had already started to rebound in 2022, under the Biden administration, and reached a new record high in 2024 before Trump’s second term began.Preliminary data shared by the CDC in July suggests that life expectancy probably hit another record high in 2025.CNN has reached out to HHS for clarification on Kennedy’s comments.Claim that Democrats ‘lost 360,000 children’Speaking about Democrats, Kennedy said: “They somehow lost 360,000 children and they turned our federal government into the biggest child trafficking operation in world history.”Trump and other Republicans have made similar claims. But there’s no basis for the assertion that Democrats “lost” so many children or that the federal government was engaged in human trafficking.A 2024 report from the inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security said Immigration and Customs Enforcement had reported that more than 32,000 unaccompanied migrant children failed to appear as scheduled for immigration court hearings after being released or transferred out of custody between fiscal years 2019 and 2023 – a period that, notably, includes two years and four months under the first Trump administration. The report also said that 291,000 unaccompanied migrant children during this period were not given notices to appear in court.The report said that ICE had “no assurances” these children “are safe from trafficking, exploitation, or forced labor.” But it did not say all the children were actually “lost” and did not definitively assert that any of them were trafficked – let alone that the government was somehow involved in a trafficking operation. And, again, the report spanned parts of both a Republican administration and a Democratic administration.Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, told CNN in 2024: “Long story short, no, there are not 320,000 kids missing. 32,000 kids missed court. That doesn’t mean they’re missing, it means they missed court (either because their sponsor didn’t bring them or they are teenagers who didn’t want to show up). The remaining 291,000 cases mentioned by the (Office of the Inspector General) are cases where ICE hasn’t filed the paperwork to start their immigration court cases.”Vance on inflation, crime and taxes on Social SecurityA false claim about the media and Biden-era inflationVice President JD Vance mocked the media during part of his speech on Thursday. But he made a false claim about Biden-era inflation while lampooning how the media supposedly challenged him over another false claim on that subject.Vance said: “The president and I would go during a campaign, we’d say, ‘You know, inflation is as high as it’s been in 100 years,’ and the fake news would say, ‘No, no, no, it’s as high as it’s been in 68 years.’ That ain’t good, ladies and gentlemen.”Mainstream journalists, at least, wouldn’t say that inflation under Biden was as high as it had been “in 68 years.” Rather, CNN and others noted that peak inflation under the Biden administration, 9.1% in June 2022, was the highest in about 40 years.Vance is entitled to make his general point that this correction still doesn’t make Biden-era inflation sound good, but his specific number was, again, wrong. And he didn’t acknowledge that inflation fell sharply under Biden after hitting the 40-year high, declining to 2.9% in Biden’s last full month in office, December 2024, and 3.0% in January 2025, when Trump and Vance were inaugurated.The rate was 3.4% in July 2026, the most recent month for which data is available.Trump didn’t end taxes on Social SecurityVance claimed, “We’ve ended taxes on Social Security.” Several other convention speakers, including Rep. Lisa McClain of Michigan, Rep. Ryan Mackenzie of Pennsylvania and Ohio House candidate Derek Merrin, similarly said the administration has achieved “no tax on Social Security.”It hasn’t. The big domestic policy bill Trump signed in 2025 did create an additional, temporary $6,000-per-year tax deduction for individuals age 65 and older (which phases out for individuals earning $75,000 per year or more), but as the White House has implicitly acknowledged, millions of Social Security recipients will continue to pay taxes on their benefits even before the temporary new deduction expires after 2028.The Social Security Administration said in 2025 that “the bill ensures that nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits.Claim about violent crime rate under BidenWhile criticizing the Biden administration, Vice President JD Vance claimed Thursday that the US “became a country where violent crime exploded, unless, of course, you could afford private security.”But violent crime did not explode under Biden. In fact, as FactCheck.org reported last month, data collected and published by the FBI shows that the national violent crime rate was at a lower level in 2023 and 2024, the last two full calendar years of Biden’s term, than it was in 2020, the last full calendar year of Trump’s first term. The year 2020 was highly unusual in many ways – violent crime jumped amid the Covid-19 pandemic – but Biden nonetheless left office with violent crime lower than it was when he took over. In fact, the 2024 violent crime rate was even lower than the 2019 rate under Trump before the pandemic.There was an increase in violent crime during the earlier part of Biden’s term. But given the subsequent decline, it’s misleading at best to claim violent crime “exploded” with no further context.Asked earlier this month about Trump’s similar previous claims to have reversed a Biden-era upswing in violence, crime data expert Jeff Asher said in an email: “No, crime began dropping significantly in 2023 during the Biden administration. Murder fell at record rates in 2023, 2024 and 2025 and, while 2026 may not feature a record decline nationally, it is still on track to see a sizable double-digit decline this year. Violent crime similarly fell nationally in 2023 and 2024, though the drops were more muted than the decline that was recorded by the FBI in 2025.”Other GOP speakersMike Johnson’s false claim about the inflation Republicans inherited from BidenSome other speakers at the convention took aim at inflation under Biden. House Speaker Mike Johnson claimed that “Republicans inherited from the Biden administration record-high inflation.”That’s not true. The inflation rate was 2.9% in Biden’s last full month in office, December 2024, and 3.0% in January 2025, when Trump took over. That’s lower than the most recent rate, 3.4% in July 2026, and nowhere close to the all-time record of 23.7%, which was reached in 1920, or the highest point of Jimmy Carter’s presidency, 14.8%, which was reached in 1980.Johnson correctly said moments later that inflation reached “a 40-year high of 9.1% inflation” under Biden. But a 40-year high is not an all-time record. More importantly, Johnson didn’t explain that 9.1% was much higher than the rate Trump inherited or that the 9.1% rate occurred in June 2022, with roughly two-and-a-half years left in Biden’s term.The cumulative increase in prices from the beginning of the Biden administration to the end was also not the highest in US history. Federal figures show that beginning-to-end inflation under Biden was less than half of that during Carter’s term.What Johnson left out of his claim about a congressional resolutionWhile attacking Democrats as extreme, Johnson said: “Just last week, nearly every Democrat in the House of Representatives voted against condemning socialism and Marxism. They voted against it.”But the resolution didn’t use the word “Marxism.” And Johnson didn’t mention that the resolution wasn’t only about condemning socialism. Rather, it contained other language that Democratic leadership said was the focus of the party’s opposition to the resolution.The resolution’s first provision said it “condemns and denounces socialism in all its forms, including the Democratic Socialists of America, and opposes the implementation of socialist policies in the United States.” But its fifth provision said it “calls for enactment of the SAVE America Act,” Trump’s favored elections bill, which contains various provisions opposed by many Democrats.So while it’s very possible many Democrats would have opposed the resolution even without its expression of support for the SAVE America Act, the call to pass this elections bill served as a poison pill that ensured most Democrats wouldn’t support it.“House Resolution 1490 explicitly calls for enactment of the so-called SAVE America Act, which is the top legislative priority of far-right extremists,” Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement last week.A New Mexico candidate left out key context in an attack on his opponentGreg Cunningham, a Republican House candidate in New Mexico, used some of his Thursday speech to criticize his Democratic opponent, Rep. Gabe Vasquez. Cunningham said of Vasquez: “He even voted against a resolution honoring the sacrifices and service of the brave men and women in law enforcement who protect, every day, our communities.”But Cunningham left out important context about the resolution. While its focus was expressing support for law enforcement, its preamble contained statements praising the Trump administration and criticizing “leftist activists,” “progressive politicians” and “sanctuary city policies” for allegedly making law enforcement less safe.In other words, a House member might vote against such a resolution, as the vast majority of Democrats did, because they disagreed with conservative components of it, not the general expressions of support for law enforcement. (CNN has reached out to Vasquez’s campaign and House office for comment on his vote.) It’s common for parties to write resolutions in a way that would make it difficult for opponents to support but would open those opponents to campaign attacks if they voted “no.”An Ohio candidate’s misleading attack about Democrats and votingMerrin, the Republican candidate running against Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur for a House seat in Ohio, claimed in his speech, “While Democrats talk about letting illegal immigrants vote in our election, Republicans fight for proof of citizenship, photo ID and fair elections.”It’s a big country, so it’s possible some Democrat somewhere is talking about letting undocumented people vote in some election. But Merrin’s claim is misleading at best. There is no proposal from Democrats in Congress to let undocumented people vote in the 2026 midterms – the election Merrin appeared to be referring to when he said “our election” – or vote in future federal elections.CNN has reached out to Merrin’s campaign for an explanation of his claim.House Majority Leader Steve Scalise invoked a similar theme in his speech Wednesday, claiming that Democrats had voted last week “to allow illegals to vote in our federal elections.” But there was no congressional vote on letting undocumented immigrants vote in any elections.Rather, there was a vote on the non-binding Republican resolution that included multiple provisions, including one that “reiterates the notion that American elections are for American citizens only,” one supporting Trump’s favored elections bill and one denouncing socialism.Opposing that multi-clause resolution doesn’t necessarily mean someone supports voting by any non-citizens, let alone non-citizens in the country illegally.This article has been updated with additional items.CNN’s Deja Oliver contributed to this report.The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

Sep 10 • 9:46 PM EDT • Politics • applevalleynewsnow.com

Tarrant passes 1-year moratorium on data center business licenses

At Tuesday’s city council meeting, Tarrant city leaders passed a temporary moratorium against approving business licenses for data centers.

Sep 9 • 11:04 AM EDT • Business • wbrc.com

Herbert Simon Family Foundation to present experimental creative showcase with ‘Risky Business’

A new “experimental creative showcase” is coming to the Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi) this fall thanks to the Herbert Simon Family Foundation.

Sep 9 • 10:52 AM EDT • Business • indianapolisrecorder.com

Dutch staffing industry rates outpace wider business services

Overall revenue in the temporary staffing sector climbed 5.8% compared with the same period last year.

Sep 9 • 7:12 AM EDT • Business • staffingindustry.com

Salvadorans anxiously await news on whether TPS protections will end

The Department of Homeland Security has not yet announced whether it will end or extend Temporary Protected Status for some 170,000 Salvadorans, including 36,000 in California.

Sep 9 • 6:00 AM EDT • Politics • latimes.com

A (temporary) win for science and sanity

Congress rejects rule that would give Trump control over all research and academic grants—for now

Sep 8 • 9:12 PM EDT • Science • 48hills.org

Acclaimed pianist Danny Holt offers free concert

Renowned pianist Danny Holt will perform a concert of contemporary classical music at the Northeast Harbor Library on Monday, Sept. 14, at 5:30 p.m.

Sep 7 • 4:00 PM EDT • Entertainment • ellsworthamerican.com

Health Centre Rosenthal / kit

Completed in 2021 in Switzerland. Images by Ruedi Walti. The Rosenthal Health Centre translates the spatial qualities of a village into a contemporary setting for care, healthcare, and assisted living,...

Sep 7 • 2:00 AM EDT • Health • archdaily.com

The core anti-Pangram constituency is phony writers

Welcome to The Closing Argument, our verdict on the news, plus everything The Argument published and appeared in this week. The Verdict, by Kelsey Piper A lot of people hate AI for drowning the internet in slop and displacing human creatives. You might think that these people would be thrilled by a program that can identify and flag AI-generated work. But many people who hate AI also hate Pangram, an impressively accurate AI detector that produces very few false positives, according to high-quality independent research. This loathing found its most recent expression in a bizarre Wired article that amplifies a wide range of false arguments from Pangram skeptics: that AI detectors are racist (they’re not) or ableist (they’re not)1 or don’t work (this one does)2. Rather than starting from the premise that it would be really valuable to have a working AI detector and scrutinizing Pangram to make sure it lives up to that promise, the article starts from the premise that Pangram obviously has bad vibes and sets out to discover why. (One answer: The CEO microwaved lunch during an interview!) Why aren’t writers who resent Pangram more eager to distinguish themselves from posters who are having ChatGPT ghostwrite all their work? There are a few different things at play, but I think one key dynamic is this: These are often the same people. A core constituency for arguments like Wired’s is “writers” who are using AI to write their posts but resent this fact being made public. They stand to lose from AI detectors because AI detectors call them out. Share When Substack announced a partnership with Pangram, a sizable fraction of the platform’s authors rose up in outrage. Some people had experience with other AI detectors that didn’t work, and some felt that AI writing ought to be encouraged — both of which are fair enough. But the fury was fueled by authors passionately insisting that Pangram kept wrongly accusing them on almost every post they published. Pangram can be wrong, especially on short passages. But in the overwhelming majority of cases where Pangram looked at a whole blog post rather than a single paragraph, the program correctly detected work as AI. Even if we can’t be 100% sure in any individual case, we can notice the trend in the aggregate. Wired quotes Sam Illingworth, a professor of critical AI literacy at Edinburgh Napier University, who said, “I don’t think [AI detectors] work. … I think that detectors are prejudiced against certain people.” This spring, he said that he used AI for research and editing; this summer he acknowledged that in addition to research and editing, he also uses it “now and then for a turn of phrase I keep.” Pangram informs us that most of his posts are 100% AI-written (some are mixed AI-and-human) and that 100% AI-written posts started appearing last year. The favorable interpretation is that, as someone whose recent work Pangram consistently mistakes for AI, Illingworth sees Pangram’s flaws firsthand. The unfavorable interpretation is that the tool’s credibility trades off against his own, because its account of who writes his posts is not consistent with his. Illingworth is not alone in insisting the detector does not work. “It’s a Monday night in late July, and I’m pasting my own Substack draft into an AI detector for the first time. Not because I’m worried. Because I’m curious. I wrote every word of it myself, the way I write everything, out loud in my head first, in a rhythm that still carries the accent of a language I learned to think in before I learned to write in this one,” begins one Substack post by an author indignant that Pangram flags her writing as AI. “That’s the part I had to sit with before I could write this.” If you, like me, have worked with AIs a lot, you won’t even need Pangram there. The author of that piece is AI. It is obviously AI! I checked 10 other posts on the blog, and they were also obviously AI! “I have spent 22 years as an award-winning author and essayist. And now this bullshit tool that learned from MY writing is going to accuse me of plagiarism,” popular Substack writer Carlyn Beccia wrote in an anti-Pangram post. “For the last and final time, AI DETECTORS DO NOT WORK.” Here’s what her writing sounded like in 2020: “Most success stories revolve around one person who believed enough in you to say — give it a try. We call these people muses, but they are so much more than that. They are the strong man giants whose shoulders we stand on so we can see the horizon. Throughout the editing process, I am sure my editor felt less like a giant of greatness and more like Atlas with the world on her shoulders.” Pangram says it was 100% human-written. (So were other articles of hers in 2020.) And here’s what it sounds like now: “And then there is the reshuffling, which sounds like paperwork until you remember that empires have always loved paperwork. The Trump regime recently moved special education oversight from the Education Department to HHS. That is not a minor bureaucratic transfer. It changes the frame.”3 Pangram says this is mostly AI. I am not convinced that Pangram is wrong. In my own experience, Pangram is very effective on long texts — if it marks a long essay as AI, the essay was either written by AI or deliberately written to sound like AI. On tweet-length or paragraph-length texts, it’s not perfectly reliable. It seems to work just as well for non-native English speakers as for native speakers. While I have seen dozens of claims of pre-2022 text returning a positive result on Pangram, I have tried repeatedly to corroborate those and have never once succeeded. To be clear, I’m absolutely not saying that complaining about Pangram suggests a writer is a cheat. There are plenty of other concerns. Most are mistakenly premised, such as the false claim that Pangram trains on work you put into it, but others are reasonable: It’s unreliable on sufficiently short text segments; it creates an internet witch-hunt mentality when there are defensible uses of AI; people who are open about their AI use are sometimes blamed, when the only people really doing something wrong are the ones who hide it; and it isn’t perfect, so a single positive result shouldn’t be taken as decisive proof of misconduct. I’m happy to concede that Pangram is imperfect and possible to over-rely on. If an author’s posts are mostly non-AI and one scans as partially AI, this could be a mistake. It’s also possible to defeat Pangram with intentional effort. If you think we need something more robust and more reliable, fine! But if you don’t like AI and don’t like Pangram, your attitude really ought to be that it’s a shame that our existing tools for AI detection are imperfect, and it’s important to invent better ones. If your stance is instead that AI is evil and so is looking for AI, then ultimately you’re contributing to the sloppification of the internet. You’re making it harder for people who write their own text to distinguish themselves, and providing cover for authors who are definitely not writing their own text. Subscribe Top stories this week, by Kobe Yank-Jacobs Commentators often worry that the decline of reading could mean the decline of liberal democracy — but deliberative governance actually predated widespread literacy. This week, Maibritt Henkel pointed out that many liberal cultures thrive on a culture of raucous, interactive debate, which can happen in-person as easily, if not more so, than in text. Read on, dear reader, to learn more. It may actually cheer you up: [ ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/reading-wont-save-liberalism) [ Reading won’t save liberalism ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/reading-wont-save-liberalism) Maibritt Henkel · Sep 1 [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/reading-wont-save-liberalism) It used to be bad to downplay climate change (if we mean denying its reality). Today, it’s actually good to downplay climate change (if we mean keeping the issue out of political fights so we can make real progress). This counterintuitive view is called “climate hushing,” and contributor Alex Trembath argued that it’s the key to enacting good policy going forward. Get up to speed on the latest in climate politics: [ ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/we-wont-stop-climate-change-by-talking) [ We won’t stop climate change by talking about it ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/we-wont-stop-climate-change-by-talking) Alex Trembath · Sep 2 [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/we-wont-stop-climate-change-by-talking) Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney is standing up for the forces of liberalism against Donald Trump’s assault on our closest ally. So, why is one prominent left-wing commenter attacking Carney? Columnist Matthew Yglesias explains: [ ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/when-economic-liberty-means-central) [ When "economic liberty" means central planning ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/when-economic-liberty-means-central) Matthew Yglesias · Aug 31 [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/when-economic-liberty-means-central) 🌟Abundance Wins of the Week🌟 Shout out to my home state of California, whose legislature passed two housing bills this week. One requires a housing density minimum in transit-oriented areas of the state’s most transit-rich cities (Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, San Diego, and Long Beach). Another bill closes two common loopholes used by third parties to delay housing projects, including an opportunity to challenge maps of a given lot created by the developer after a project has been approved. Shout out to our big-state rival, Texas, where pro-housing SB 785 took effect this week. The new state law requires municipalities to have at least one district permitted for manufactured housing without a special permit. This will promote zoning changes in 44% of municipalities. The company Fervo Energy signed a deal with Google for what is set to be the world’s largest enhanced geothermal facility, proving a technology can work at a scale that could be crucial to a decarbonized, energy-abundant economy. Share Worth watching… This week, forecasting legend Nate Silver joined Jerusalem, Matt, and Jeremiah on a crowded episode of the pod. It was a party. And speaking of parties, our round table debated the factional lines within the Democratic Party: Is it possible to be center-left and also anti-establishment? Watch or listen to find out: The Rio Grande Valley in Texas is one of the areas that swung hardest toward Trump in 2024, but musician Bobby Pulido is running to flip it back. Right now, The Argument/Split Ticket’s model has him running 1.1 points behind his Republican opponent in a district Trump won by 18 points. Tune in to find out how he differs from national Democrats and what he thinks he can to do win this seat. On Thursday, Bernie Sanders was among the first politicians to call for a ban on superintelligence. My guest this week, Andrea Miotti, has been lobbying to ban superintelligence for several years, most recently in the U.K., U.S., and Canada. I asked him how he gets legislators to take speculative risks seriously, and we dug into what plans might look like to actually pass a ban. Listen to learn more: What’s News with The Argument The Argument recommends, by Kobe Yank-Jacobs If we ever lose track of Justin Zuckerman, I’ll have the team split up and check all the movie theaters in the city. I’m shocked (and a little jealous) at how often he gets out to see good cinema. This week, he brings us It Ends, a “horror-ish movie,” which he described as a “Gen Z Waiting for Godot.” I was intrigued before he added that it was “funny, dark and existential” — at which point I was fully locked in. I guess I also had existential themes on the mind this week. One morning, a single line from a poem I read long ago just came to me: “Is death a stretch of time in which a life is just a flash?” The poem is called “From 20,000 Feet” by Heather McHugh. I suggest the version in The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry, which, by tradition, my best friend and I always bring backpacking, extra weight be damned. We’ll stay thematically dark for just one more rec from senior editor John Robert Thomason, whose upcoming trip to Baltimore reminded him to suggest Michael Clune’s memoir White Out (about being addicted to heroin in Baltimore in the 1990s). Ben Lerner’s blurb called it _“_Disturbing, brilliant, hilarious—it’s as if Proust had written Jesus’ Son.” John told me this “seems accurate, with the caveat that I’ve never read Proust.” I, personally, have also shelved Proust until retirement. At this point, I was a little concerned for the team since all of us tossed out such psychologically grim material — maybe we’re all down about the end of summer — but thankfully, at least a few of us were into more upbeat selections. Milan Singh recommended Made In’s 5-quart stainless clad saucier, suggesting he had some fun in the kitchen. Jeremiah Johnson asked if he could recommend yet more Carly Rae Jepsen. Once denied, he offered up Game Changer instead_,_ calling it “the most wildly creative game show, maybe in the entire history of the genre.” Eli Richman mentioned _Lucky, “_a B-tier show with an A-tier cast and an S-tier theme song.” I suppose he was recommending the song, Horns of a Bull. Still, despite these cheerier recs, I couldn’t help but be concerned that we were subconsciously worried about racing toward summer’s end — the end of swim trunks and splashing around. Then a message landed reminding me of the three-day weekend to come. A whole extra day for sunshine. One more swim in the lake. I was grateful this called to mind yet another line from a poem, one by Mary Oliver, the patron saint of every gorgeous summer day (and about whom a documentary is now out). Speaking to God in the poem “Thirst,” she wrote: grant me, in your mercy,a little more time. Love for the earthand love for you are having such a longconversation in my heart. We have merch! We have quarter-zips, keychains, hats, and stickers. Each one is a great conversation starter in its own way. Buy them here. Subscribe More to read: [ The Opening Argument ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/seeing-like-an-elite)[ Seeing like an elite ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/seeing-like-an-elite) Kobe Yank-Jacobs · Sep 4 What do Americans hear when they watch Sen. Bernie Sanders or Vice President JD Vance rail against the elite? Are they thinking of right-wing tech billionaires? Imperious college professors? Liberal magazine writers? [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/seeing-like-an-elite) [ The Weekly Scroll ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/god-is-back-on-the-timeline)[ God is back on the timeline ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/god-is-back-on-the-timeline) Jeremiah Johnson · Sep 5 This week, we’re talking about Substack’s new religious debates, the continuing MAGA influencer scandal, how to retire from YouTube, and aura battles. [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/god-is-back-on-the-timeline) 1 This was a legitimate thing to worry about, but doesn’t seem to be a problem given the actual technology: Marijke Van Vlasselaer, Filip Van Droogenbroeck, and Bram Spruyt’s 2026 paper looks at whether Pangram is less accurate when evaluating the work of non-native speakers of English. It isn’t. That’s because Pangram isn’t really looking at how “unusual” a piece of writing is but whether it has the characteristic patterns of LLMs. The Wired article makes an odd gesture at a different Pangram-is-racist argument. There were several controversies this summer during which upcoming books were canceled after being discovered to be AI-written: “The three novels mentioned earlier — Shy Girl, Daggermouth, and Call Me, easily publishing’s biggest AI-detection scandals — were all written by writers of color.” But come on! As Zvi Mowshowitz put it: “They were not primarily written by people of color. They were primarily written by AIs.” That’s the whole problem! And as my colleague Jeremiah Johnson recently observed with respect to Cambridge’s Arday scandal, a community being unwilling to call out fraud if it’s perpetuated by people of color is not an anti-racist tendency; it is ultimately quite racist. 2 Many non-Pangram detectors don’t work, but many possible airplane designs also don’t work, and no one considers this a general argument against aviation; the thing that matters is whether any detection works. 3 The phrase “empires have always loved” mysteriously became all the rage in the last few years. See here, here, here, here and here. Before 2025, the only use of that phrase I have been able to find is a single Tweet. The logic of the sentence, too, is incoherent in an AI-characteristic way. “...sounds like paperwork, until you remember that empires have always loved paperwork”? Does remembering that make it sound less like paperwork? It’s a craft-ful sentence, but what is it actually saying??

Sep 6 • 6:05 PM EDT • Technology • theargumentmag.com

UVA Health first in Virginia to implant new temporary heart pump in pediatric patient

The new Impella device is placed in a vein and works longer than traditional heart pumps, and allows more mobility

Sep 6 • 6:45 AM EDT • Health • cvillerightnow.com

Wrightsville Beach police respond to armed man experiencing mental health crisis

Wrightsville Beach police responded Saturday morning to a report of an armed man experiencing a mental health crisis, prompting a temporary road closure and evacuation of nearby residents.

Sep 5 • 5:22 PM EDT • Health • wwaytv3.com

75th Street parking ban divides businesses, city over safety and survival

A temporary overnight parking ban stretching across several miles of 75th Street is pitting business owners worried about their survival against a city alderman who says the police-led strategy is helping keep guns off the street.

Sep 4 • 5:42 PM EDT • Business • fox32chicago.com

Sonoma County Indian Health Project secures expansion space as large clinic project delayed

Sonoma County Indian Health Project leases new space as temporary relief while the massive Santa Rosa clinic project faces delays.

Sep 4 • 3:34 PM EDT • Health • pressdemocrat.com

RV business donates temporary living quarters for Cape firefighters

McDowell South RV donates temporary living quarters to Cape Girardeau Fire Station 1 staff.

Sep 4 • 12:48 PM EDT • Business • kfvs12.com

Judge temporarily grants request for 5th year eligibility in NCAA case involving OU athletes

Former OU baseball player Dayton Tockey and seven other athletes from various schools were granted a temporary restraining order Thursday afternoon at the Cleveland County Courthouse in a case seeking

Sep 3 • 7:33 PM EDT • Sports • oudaily.com

VCU Health awards cleaning services contract to new vendor, to pay $26M in first year

The contractor transition means at least a temporary layoff of more than 500 employees, though many of them are expected to be rehired by the new vendor.

Sep 3 • 2:02 AM EDT • Health • richmondbizsense.com

Contemporary Christian singer, a Dove Award nominee, to play Modesto’s Gallo Center

Limited tickets remain available for the concert.

Aug 31 • 9:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • modbee.com

Texas judge could soon allow hemp businesses to sell THC products again

Texas smoke shops could soon be allowed to sell currently-banned THC products if a Travis County judge grants a temporary restraining order.

Aug 28 • 6:31 PM EDT • Business • fox4news.com

Eastern Washington agents balance business and wildfire disaster recovery

Residents who escaped the Eastern Washington wildfires now face insurance claims, temporary housing and difficult decisions.

Aug 28 • 3:43 PM EDT • Business • housingwire.com

A temporary COVID-era subsidy helped Americans afford health care. Then it vanished

Congress let enhanced ACA subsidies expire after months of political gridlock. Millions now face premiums they can no longer afford

Aug 28 • 1:20 PM EDT • Health • qz.com

Photos show Yayoi Kusama and artwork featuring her signature polka dots

Renowned contemporary artist Yayoi Kusama has died at age 97 in a Tokyo hospital. Kusama's work was shown in museums around the world. Repetitive motifs in various shapes were her

Aug 27 • 1:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • yakimaherald.com

Backlash Against Anti-Racism Is a Constant Force Shaping US Politics

Philosopher George Yancy analyzes the contemporary expression of what W.E.B. Du Bois called the “entrails of whiteness.”…

Aug 26 • 4:33 PM EDT • Politics • truthout.org

Trump administration proposes six-figure price tag for new H-1B visas

The Department of Homeland Security proposed making the $103,265 H-1B visa fee permanent after a federal judge blocked the temporary charge.

Aug 24 • 9:30 PM EDT • Politics • foxnews.com

GRAND OPENING: Science + You

Explore & More’s brand-new Temporary Exhibit Galley will open on September 26, 2026. The first exhibit to be displayed in the new space on the 2nd Floor will be Science + You, which offers a child-sized laboratory where children can explore how scientists impact health and wellness. Through hands-on, interactive machinery, processes and technology, Science + You demonstrates the role science plays in keeping the body healthy. A demonstration area of the exhibit also will allow visiting scientists and educators to perform fun and interactive scientific experiments appropriate for young children. The exhibit was created by Kohl Children’s Museum of Greater Chicago, located in Glenview, Illinois, working with scientists from Abbott Laboratories. Since its debut there in 2011, the exhibit has traveled to museums in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, as well as internationally to Germany and Brazil. Science + You will be on display September 26, 2026 through January 9, 2027. Other upcoming temporary exhibits include Hero Quest , Storyland , and Monsters on Vacation .

Aug 24 • 12:56 PM EDT • Science • iloveny.com

Supreme Court's Roberts allows work on Trump’s White House ballroom to continue

The temporary order comes hours before lower-court rulings would have forced a halt to aboveground construction

Aug 21 • 2:44 PM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com

Supreme Court's Roberts allows work on Trump’s White House ballroom to continue

The temporary order comes hours before lower-court rulings would have forced a halt to aboveground construction

Aug 21 • 2:44 PM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com

Supreme Court chief justice allows work on Trump’s $400M White House ballroom to continue for now

The temporary order comes hours before lower-court rulings would have forced a halt to aboveground construction.

Aug 21 • 2:42 PM EDT • Politics • pbs.org

Louisiana court order gives players signed by NFL teams a shot at returning to college sports

Several athletes, including some with NFL contracts, received a temporary restraining order from a Louisiana court that would allow them to return to college athletics, according to ESPN

Aug 19 • 7:54 PM EDT • Sports • foxsports.com

Indian restaurant in North Oakland closes after health inspection

The Allegheny County Health department this week shut down an Indian restaurant in North Oakland for several health code violations. Chaai and Chaatwala has a closure placard on the front of its building on Centre Avenue, signaling a temporary end to business operations after a failed health inspection. The restaurant

Aug 19 • 5:27 PM EDT • Health • triblive.com

Ex-Ole Miss starters granted restraining order for 5th year

Former Ole Miss starters Dae'Quan Wright, Zxavian Harris and Wydett Williams, all of whom signed with NFL teams this summer, are among a group of athletes who were granted a temporary restraining order Wednesday to return to college for one more season.

Aug 19 • 3:47 PM EDT • Sports • espn.com

Government Science Websites Shouldn’t Apologize for Scientists

The job of a government science website is to inform the public about what science has discovered, not to pass judgment on historical figures for their alleged failure to live up to contemporary progressive standards of opinion. Someone should make that distinction clear to the men and women at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI).

Aug 19 • 11:14 AM EDT • Science • donoharmmedicine.org

Baton Rouge man wanted in connection with theft at LaPlace business

Henderson fled the area in a 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee with a Louisiana temporary license plate of 22549153.

Aug 17 • 4:44 PM EDT • Business • wdsu.com

U.S. District Judge denies hemp business' plea for pause on new regulations

United States Western District of Virginia Judge Robert Ballou Friday ruled against a cohort of Virginia hemp businesses, denying their motions for a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order to prevent new hemp restrictions from taking place.

Aug 14 • 8:15 PM EDT • Business • insidenova.com

Perez Hilton’s Mother Files For Temporary Custody Of His Children After Hospitalization

Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton was hospitalized late Tuesday after fans called the police during a disturbing TikTok livestream.

Aug 12 • 2:56 PM EDT • Health • forbes.com

Luxury second-home tax survives temporary court block, for now

The tax applies to second homes worth more than $5 million.

Aug 11 • 12:15 PM EDT • Politics • ny1.com

US small-business sentiment rises to 11-month high in July, labor shortages a worry

U.S. ​small-business sentiment increased to an 11-month high in July amid a surge in the share ‌of owners reporting plans to boost hiring, suggesting that last month's slump in nonfarm payrolls was probably temporary.

Aug 11 • 6:03 AM EDT • Business • reuters.com

US small-business sentiment rises to 11-month high in July, labor shortages a worry

WASHINGTON, Aug 11 (Reuters) - U.S. small-business sentiment increased to an 11-month high in July amid a surge in the share of owners reporting plans to boost hiring, suggesting that last month's slump in nonfarm payrolls was ​probably temporary. The ...

Aug 11 • 6:03 AM EDT • Business • kfgo.com

49ers Injuries Continue to Mount as Training Camp Rolls On

The San Francisco 49ers are hoping their growing list of training camp injuries is nothing more than a temporary setback, but the number of players missing practice continues to be a concern as the regular season gets closer. The latest names to miss practice are two of the biggest stars on the roster. Running back…

Aug 10 • 10:30 PM EDT • Sports • sports.yahoo.com

Judge pauses pied-à-terre tax rollout after homeowners allege botched launch

Staten Island Judge Wayne Ozzi heard arguments on a motion for a temporary restraining order to block the rollout of the pied-à-terre tax.

Aug 10 • 4:45 PM EDT • Politics • crainsnewyork.com

UK employment market shows ‘rays of light’ for jobseekers with upturn in pay, study shows

Temporary vacancies rise for first time in two years, permanent job placements stabilise and temporary billings rise further

Aug 10 • 2:40 AM EDT • Business • theguardian.com

Former 'The Voice' contestant from Acadiana signs with Motown Gospel

The record label describes her voice as a "powerful bridge" between gospel, R&B and contemporary music.

Aug 9 • 8:30 AM EDT • Entertainment • theadvocate.com

"I bring receipts!" Sheriff Paula Dance says she will expose the "underbelly of politics"

Pitt County Sheriff Paula Dance posted to Facebook today for the first time since July 17th, stating that she took a temporary leave to protect her Peace."Hey e

Aug 8 • 9:35 PM EDT • Politics • wcti12.com

War, Erasure, and the Politics of Culture in Sudan - Georgetown Journal of International Affairs

Two millennia of inhabitation by indigenous groups, immigrant and diaspora communities, and many others who made the land their home have shaped Sudan’s cultural legacy along the two Niles. Today, over 120 languages connect Sudan’s territories and diasporas, exemplifying the country’s immense diversity as the result of its complex history. However, contemporary legislation, such as […]

Aug 7 • 11:00 AM EDT • Politics • gjia.georgetown.edu

Thousands of Haitians lose immigration status, face deportation

The temporary protected status many Haitians had has been cancelled as the country remains unstable

Aug 6 • 8:44 PM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com

What is Temporary Protected Status?

Aug 6 • 3:13 PM EDT • Politics • cnn.com

The Beauty Of Settled Science

Commenters convinced me I made a subtle mis-step in my framing of Psychology Research Is Mostly Fine. My framing emphasized that social priming studies had failed to replicate, but that many other subfields of psychology hadn’t. This naturally led commenters to point to failed replications in other subfields. Although none of these were as bad as social priming, few or none were entirely problem-free. Instead of emphasizing the difference between social priming and other subfields, I should have emphasized the difference between settled science and novel research. Here are some of my favorite psychology findings: The brain is sculpted by reinforcement learning, and a key driver of this learning is a prediction-error-based algorithm located in the nucleus accumbens and implemented through dopamine. Psychedelic drugs exert their effects through 5-HT2A receptors, pointing to a role for these receptors in some sort of construct like the balance between priors and new evidence. Certain cognitive functions are localized to certain brain areas (for example, impulse control to the frontal lobes; linguistic structure to Broca’s area, linguistic meaning to Wernicke’s area. But injure one of these areas, or render a certain function useless (eg a blind person having no more use for their visual cortex), and these mappings can gradually shift - suggesting that neurons are general-purpose compute whose specialization is a contingent fact about convenience and efficiency rather than a necessity. Most personality traits and general capabilities are about 50% genetic and 50% random, with little role for family environment or childhood history, with a few notable exceptions like partisan preference. Recent research complicates this story, but the further you go from this basic picture, the gnarlier the chains of indirect causation you require. Neurons fire together in “brain waves”, whose exact frequency corresponds with the character of consciousness; These divide neurons into natural subpopulations and linked graphs. The gamma rhythm corresponds surprisingly well to items in conscious awareness. GABA receptors seem to be involved in something like relaxation. By hitting different GABA receptors in different ways, you can modulate the exact type of relaxation you produce. Hitting GABA-A directly is too powerful and can cause dangerous levels of sedation, but allosteric modulation of GABA is an incredibly fruitful strategy that underlies drugs from benzos to barbituates to alcohol. If you know your GABA-A subunits, you can target specific subtypes of relaxation; for example, Ambien hits GABA-A1 and induces sleep. Memory divides somewhat fuzzily into bins of immediate-sensory, short-term, and long-term, with separate retrieval and storage functions, and separate systems for declarative vs. procedural learning. These can be harmed selectively, usually by hippocampal injury, so that some patients can remember their life stories but not form new long-term memories, or learn new skills like bike-riding but not new facts. The exact substrate of memory is unclear but seems to involve new synaptic connections between neurons in at least some way. The ability of modern psychology and psychiatry to treat mental illness is real but limited. SSRIs work for half or slightly fewer than half of patients; antipsychotics work with extreme side effects; benzodiazpines work but produce addiction and tolerance in many (not all) people. Most supplements are stuck in Poor Quality Study Replication Crisis Hell, but melatonin and l-theanine stand out as especially promising. Psychotherapy works with moderate effect size, but (with a few exceptions) seems to be more about the relationship with the provider than the details of the therapy itself. Mental hospitalization can sometimes defuse immediate crises but work less well than mental hospitals would like, with some studies showing overall negative effects. Schizophrenia is mostly genetic, but risk also increases with prenatal infection (especially rubella) and obstetric complications; there is suggestive evidence for roles of social stress and drug use (with psychedelics and marijuana making things worse, and nicotine if anything making things better). Bipolar and schizophrenia are so closely linked on a pathophysiological level that it seems like they might be the same disease; on the clinical level, they do seem to follow two separate courses/prognoses but can sometimes surprise clinicians by eg someone who seemed condemned to permanent schizophrenia unexpectedly recovering. The brain’s native reinforcement learning algorithms cash out in the phenomena of classical and operant conditioning; different reinforcement schedules reinforce at different levels, which can be exploited by bad actors to make especially compelling products (eg slot machines). None of these are immune to doubt. A few are speculative; one or two are genuinely unorthodox. But they’re all a step above one p = 0.049 paper that might not replicate. If they get overturned, they’ll be overturned by the same sort of genuine scientific shift that replaced Ptolemy with Copernicus or Lamarck with Darwin, not some sort of sordid discovery about someone entering random numbers into a spreadsheet. In 2008, Eliezer Yudkowsky wrote about The Beauty Of Settled Science: If you only care about scientific issues that are controversial, you will end up with a head stuffed full of garbage. The media thinks that only the cutting edge of science is worth reporting on. How often do you see headlines like “General Relativity still governing planetary orbits” or “Phlogiston theory remains false”? So, by the time anything is solid science, it is no longer a breaking headline. “Newsworthy” science is often based on the thinnest of evidence and wrong half the time—if it were not on the uttermost fringes of the scientific frontier, it would not be breaking news. Scientific controversies are problems so difficult that even people who’ve spent years mastering the field can still fool themselves. That’s what makes for the heated arguments that attract all the media attention. Worse, if you aren’t in the field and part of the game, controversies aren’t even fun. Don’t be embarrassed to read elementary science textbooks, either. If you want to pretend to be sophisticated, go find a play to sneer at. If you just want to have fun, remember that simplicity is at the core of scientific beauty [...] A steady diet of science news is bad for you: You are what you eat, and if you eat only science reporting on fluid situations, without a solid textbook now and then, your brain will turn to liquid. Psychology isn’t centrally the new paper in Annals Of Recently-Breaking News saying that an n=5 study showing that large portion sizes increase support for terrorism. Psychology is centrally ideas like brain waves, GABA receptors, reinforcement learning, twin studies, and connectionism. People who think differently are worrying too much about BREAKING NEWS!!!, and should stop. The key distinction isn’t “recent research in social psychology” vs. “recent research in cognitive/bio/behavioral psychology”, as my essay last week unfortunately implied. It’s recent research in general vs. the deposit of settled science, battle-tested hypotheses, and carefully-earmarked speculation. And part of the reason social priming in particular was such a disaster was that it defied that heuristic, building itself up over hundreds of studies until it approached or even entered the pantheon of settled science - before collapsing (5-HTTLPR was also sort of like this). This isn’t a claim that settled science is always right - Freud was “settled science” for a long time - just that there’s an intuitive distinction between the level of credence you should have in the existence of power posing vs. the existence of Broca’s Area. (I compounded this error by calling the last post “Psychology Research Is Mostly Fine”, which suggested I was talking about the new research rather than the settled science. I actually meant to distinguish between research-psychology-the-field vs. clinical-psychology-aka-therapy, but this framing unintentionally pushed against the point I wanted to make) Some commenters on the previous article understood this point, but challenged its weight. It’s very cool, they said, to know how many neurons are in which brain lobe, but the main way that Psychology affected their lives was through bad clickbait studies used to buttress dumb policies; some p = 0.049 study says that exposure to microaggressions makes minorities’ brains shrivel into raisins, and now their company has to implement punitive DEI or be sued for hazardous work conditions. I won’t dispute this as an accurate description of how the sausage gets made, but it’s worth examining the trains of thought that connect this observation to a campaign against psychology in general: The dumb woke psychology was wrong and bad, and I don’t have good heuristics for distinguishing dumb woke psychology from other psychology, so I’m going to assume it’s all wrong and bad. The dumb woke psychology was wrong and bad; it seems useful to punish/discredit psychology as a whole to assist my campaign against it, so for propaganda purposes I will try to discredit psychology as a whole. To people in the first camp, my response is: come on, your heuristics aren’t that bad. “Microaggressions makes minorities’ brains shrivel up like raisins” is in the woke category; “the hippocampal theta rhythm seems to be associated with both memory and pathfinding, suggesting an unexpected yet surprisingly compelling relationship between the two” is in the not-woke category, don’t play dumb here. To people in the second camp, my response is: deliberately exaggerated propaganda campaigns are bad and this is a confession, not an excuse. Inability to view science through anything but a political lens was what got us into this problem; doubling down on it is a temporary solution but a recipe for permanent disaster. If you pronounce entire fields of science to be acceptable collateral damage in your campaign against bad political actors, you will alienate not just scientists but patients, clinicians, and general lovers of truth. Instead, you can say the thing you mean - that woke partisans shouldn’t try to occupy and exploit the otherwise-noble science of psychology for their own political gain - and wage the same campaign with a halo rather than a comic-book-villain goatee. From the font of oracular wisdom that is Weird Sun Twitter: [ Vessel Of Spirit@VesselOfSpirit i love you all conditionally but i love the good part of you unconditionally. even if it becomes a very small part 2:11 AM · Jan 22, 2015 1 Reply · 5 Reposts · 29 Likes ](https://x.com/VesselOfSpirit/status/558084551772471298) This is how I feel about psychology1, too, but with a touch more optimism. The good part of psychology is enormous, a hoard of endless treasures. You just have to look past the headlines! 1 To play devil’s advocate - should one always be so magnamious? Astrology? Phrenology? These seem different in that their entire orientation was flawed from the start; they didn’t simply fail to find the correct constellation-personality connections, the whole project of searching for connections between constellations and personality was doomed from the start. More difficult might be asking the same question about education research, which is notoriously bad. I don’t know enough about education research to know if there’s some settled science of correct and enlightening results lurking in the background beyond the day-to-day froth of poorly-conducted and politically-motivated studies. I think if it’s 90% bad, 10% good, it’s correct to call it bad as a compact way of communicating a useful truth; I think psychology is better than that, but admit it’s a tough judgment call.

Aug 4 • 5:33 PM EDT • Science • astralcodexten.com

Buc-ee’s lawsuit sparks a beaver takeover across Ohio cities

Major gas station chain Buc-ee's is suing Beaver's Mini Mart in Beavercreek. Ohio businesses are adding temporary beaver logos in support.

Aug 4 • 2:31 PM EDT • Business • cincinnati.com

Atlanta’s One MusicFest will not return in 2026

Longtime Atlanta hip-hop festival One MusicFest won't return to Piedmont Park in 2026. Festival organizers said the event is taking a temporary hiatus.

Jul 31 • 2:45 PM EDT • Entertainment • ajc.com

Entertainment is a-foot as Zeitgeist Dance Theatre presents An Evening of Contemporary Dance

Santa Fe-based Zeitgeist Dance Theatre's biggest show of the season, featuring more than 75 dancers, is Saturday, August 1, at the Lensic Performing Arts Center.

Jul 31 • 7:00 AM EDT • Entertainment • santafenewmexican.com

The Trump administration is halting a Medicare drug subsidy. Will premiums rise?

A temporary subsidy that reduced monthly premiums will end, and insurance companies are examining the impact.

Jul 29 • 5:00 AM EDT • Health • washingtonpost.com

Scientists reveal what sparkling water really does to your teeth

Unsweetened sparkling water may offer a tooth-friendlier alternative to sugary soda, according to a small preliminary study tracking how different drinks change mouth acidity. Soda caused the strongest and longest drop in salivary pH, while sparkling water produced only a temporary decline before saliva restored normal conditions. Importantly, acidity remained above the level associated with enamel damage.

Jul 27 • 9:04 AM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com

A single dose reversed autism-like symptoms in adult mice within hours

Even mild inflammation during pregnancy led mouse offspring to develop persistent brain overactivity, sensory sensitivity, repetitive behaviors, and increased seizure risk. Remarkably, one dose of rapamycin improved nearly all of these problems within about two hours. The benefits were temporary, but they suggest that adult brain circuits may remain far more adaptable than previously believed.

Jul 25 • 8:00 AM EDT • Science • sciencedaily.com

Where N.C. political candidates stand on federal data center moratorium

Data centers have become an issue in the upcoming midterm elections, and as the centers rapidly expand around the country, more and more governments are putting temporary bans in place.

Jul 23 • 5:51 PM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com

Trump issues new double-digit tariffs on 60 countries

The new tariffs come as temporary 10% worldwide tariffs expire at 12:01 a.m. Friday

Jul 23 • 5:40 PM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com

Arts & Entertainment Agenda, July 25 to 30

‘Living Lines: Contemporary Native Voices,’ exhibition on view Casterline|Goodman Gallery is hosting “Living Lines: Contemporary Native Voices,” which opened July 20 at 611 E. Cooper Ave. It’s a landmark group exhibition featuring works by Cara...

Jul 23 • 12:29 PM EDT • Entertainment • aspentimes.com

The Mental Health Cost of Harsh Immigration Policy

Since January 2025, a wave of new policies has reshaped daily life for refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrant families across the country: the suspension of refugee resettlement, the possible return of "Remain in Mexico,” the end of humanitarian parole for thousands, temporary protected status at risk, and more. Each of these sounds like a policy headline, but in practice, these changes

Jul 23 • 9:40 AM EDT • Health • refugees.org

Cool Course: Mind Playing Tricks on Me—Mental Health in Contemporary Music

Student analyze and critique songs from diverse artists and genres to explore mental health topics and related stigmas

Jul 22 • 4:32 PM EDT • Health • nyu.edu

House passes temporary government funding bill months early

The deadline for action is more than two months away, but House GOP leaders are not leaving to chance another possible shutdown souring the mood of voters shortly before they go to the polls.

Jul 22 • 3:27 PM EDT • Politics • pbs.org

House passes temporary government funding bill months early

The bill funds the federal government through December 4

Jul 22 • 9:57 AM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com

House passes temporary government funding bill months early

The bill funds the federal government through December 4

Jul 22 • 9:57 AM EDT • Politics • spectrumlocalnews.com

Providing Contemporary Educational Programming Leads Business Law Section Chair’s Agenda - New York State Bar Association

Luca Melchionna understands the value of education and collaboration through his 30-year career working in higher education and as a transactional attorney. His background is the basis of his initiatives for the upcoming 11 months where his focus will be on increasing engagement through developing cutting-edge programming. “My priority is to connect our members with

Jul 21 • 8:07 PM EDT • Business • nysba.org

US judge temporary halts Paramount-Warner entertainment giant merger

Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin issues 14-day restraining order preventing $110B transaction, sets hearing on preliminary injunction for Aug. 3 | Anadolu

Jul 20 • 6:08 PM EDT • Entertainment • aa.com.tr

Paramount's WBD deal is on pause after judge orders merger delay

A judge issued a temporary restraining order stopping Paramount Skydance's acquisition of WBD after a lawsuit by California and 11 other states.

Jul 20 • 1:13 PM EDT • Business • businessinsider.com

Scientists are regrowing human teeth

While teeth play a greater role in health than many realise, current dental solutions for tooth loss are temporary and subpar. What if we could regrow our teeth instead?

Jul 19 • 5:01 AM EDT • Science • bbc.com

Scientists are regrowing human teeth

While teeth play a greater role in health than many realise, current dental solutions for tooth loss are temporary and subpar. What if we could regrow our teeth instead?

Jul 19 • 5:01 AM EDT • Health • bbc.com

Majority of Fort Worth Council supports data center pause. Will it happen?

The majority of Fort Worth City Council wants a temporary moratorium on data centers. A supermajority is needed. This comes after the Fort Worth Zoning Commission voted not to recommend new rules for data centers within the city. Lone Star Politics speaks with Councilwoman Elizabeth Beck, one of the leaders of the effort.

Jul 14 • 2:13 PM EDT • Politics • nbcdfw.com

Lindsey Graham’s sister to be temporary replacement

Graham Nordone has not previously held elected office

Jul 14 • 10:48 AM EDT • Politics • theweek.com

Businesses struggling as evacuated Glen Burnie office building remains closed

Businesses are struggling amid the temporary closure of a Glen Burnie office building. “If we don’t see patients, we don’t get paid,” one business owner said.

Jul 13 • 6:36 PM EDT • Business • baltimoresun.com

City looks to ban drive-thru businesses moving forward

The city adopted a temporary 45-day moratorium on new drive-thru permits.

Jul 13 • 4:44 PM EDT • Business • al.com

Trump urges S.C. governor to appoint Sen. Graham's sister as temporary replacement

Sen. Lindsey Graham died over the weekend at age 71, and Gov. Henry McMaster is expected to announce his pick later Monday.

Jul 13 • 1:15 PM EDT • Politics • pbs.org

Handover of Health Commodities

Joint Handover of Health Commodities Speech of Chargé d’Affaires Steve Bremner (…) Thank you for joining us. I am here today to demonstrate how U.S. foreign assistance under President Trump’s America First Global Health Strategy and our bilateral health MOU makes America safer and stronger while helping Madagascar build a more self-reliant health system. Through our bilateral Global Health Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in December 2025 with the Ministry of Public Health, our two governments outlined shared priorities and responsibilities, including a strong focus on infectious disease threats and Madagascar’s increasing ownership and co-investment in its own health system. The MOU outlines the structure and terms of U.S. support to Madagascar’s health sector from 2026 through 2030, with a total commitment of $134,305,000 from the U.S. government and $41,216,252 from the Government of Madagascar to work jointly to address malaria, maternal and child health, polio and global health security issues. Stronger health systems help prevent instability and reduce the risk that infectious diseases reach the United States, making both our countries safer. America First foreign assistance is clear and disciplined: It is a tool of strategic engagement, not global charity. Every U.S. taxpayer dollar must show measurable results, reduce long-term dependence on U.S. taxpayer resources, and support greater self-reliance in recipient countries. Support must be efficient and targeted, with zero tolerance for fraud, waste, or abuse. This year, through the U.S.-funded Global Health Supply Chain Program – Procurement and Supply Management project, we are distributing: 989,250 long-lasting insecticide-treated nets, worth $2,000,000 to 63 districts and 1,661 Community Health Centers across Madagascar, with the third and final delivery of these nets having arrived in late June. Through the U.S.-funded Momentum Country and Global Leadership (MCGL) project, we are funding: The full cost of Starlink internet connectivity equipment procurement, installation, and one-year subscription for 31 priority District and Regional Health Offices. Through the U.S.-funded Strengthening Infectious Disease Detection Systems project, we are supplying: 908,523 pieces of critical medical equipment and a modernized digital surveillance system to the Ministry of Public Health. These materials will strengthen health systems, improve response capabilities, and help those most in need of protection from mosquito-borne diseases — particularly malaria, which continues to claim the lives of children and women at an unacceptable rate. Deployed effectively, they will contribute to reducing maternal and newborn mortality in rural and hard-to-reach communities where the need is greatest. In these same underserved areas, Starlink connectivity will play a critical role in enabling the rapid transmission of health data and information to central levels, ensuring that decision-makers receive timely, actionable intelligence and can mount swift, coordinated responses to protect populations. For Americans, this support delivers concrete benefits. Stronger health systems in Madagascar help detect and contain infectious diseases before they spread across borders, protecting American and Malagasy families. More stable, healthier countries can expand trade and economic cooperation with the United States. Our goal is not permanent support; it is temporary, targeted assistance that helps Madagascar save lives while achieving greater self-reliance and independence from foreign assistance. To the health workers and community health agents here that will use the products we’re delivering today: your dedication and skills save lives. Your work exemplifies the kind of local ownership that will enable Madagascar to reduce dependence on foreign assistance and manage the country’s health challenges. This targeted support delivers results today while helping Madagascar build toward a future where it can sustain and expand those health gains independently, ensuring that today’s U.S. support leads to Madagascar’s self-sufficiency. Thank you, Misaotra.

Jul 13 • 4:49 AM EDT • Health • mg.usembassy.gov

West Virginia Department of Health pauses cleanup at Wood County warehouse fire site

The West Virginia Department of Health has issued a temporary cease and desist order pausing cleanup efforts at the site of the fire at Peoples Cartage Warehous

Jul 10 • 6:44 PM EDT • Health • wchstv.com

Hancher announces programs for 54th season

The schedule includes a Broadway series, traditional performing arts events, cutting-edge multidisciplinary arts, contemporary touring music and comedy, two festivals — Infinite Dream and Stop/Time — and a groundbreaking celebration

Jul 10 • 11:15 AM EDT • Entertainment • thegazette.com

What's next for immigrants with TPS status after Supreme Court ruling?

The legal status of nearly 1.3 million immigrants facing war or environmental disasters in their home countries is up in the air following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program. In a 6-3 decision, the high court ruled last month that the Homeland Security secretary’s decision to grant, extend or terminate a country’s TPS designation, which lets people from eligible countries legally live and work in the U.S. for periods

Jul 9 • 6:14 PM EDT • Politics • pbs.org

Reflecting on the World Cup's complex colonial politics

The Haitian team's heroic efforts were followed by news that the U.S. Supreme Court has greenlighted the end of Temporary Protected Status.

Jul 8 • 4:00 PM EDT • Politics • cascadepbs.org