OMB tries to evade law that Trump signed guaranteeing backpay to furloughed feds

OMB tries to evade law that Trump signed guaranteeing backpay to furloughed feds

Government Executive reports: The Office of Management and Budget on Friday quietly revised a shutdown guidance document to remove references to a law passed in 2019 to guarantee that all federal workers are provided backpay at the conclusion of a lapse in appropriations. Prior to Oct. 3, OMB’s Frequently Asked Questions During a Lapse in Appropriations document highlighted the Government Employees Fair Treatment Act, the law enacted in 2019 as part of the deal to end the 35-day partial government…

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Global renewable energy generation surpasses coal for first time

Global renewable energy generation surpasses coal for first time

The Guardian reports: The world’s wind and solar farms have generated more electricity than coal plants for the first time this year, marking a turning point for the global power system, according to research. A report by the climate thinktank Ember found that in the first six months of 2025, renewable energy outpaced the world’s growing appetite for electricity, leading to a small decline in coal and gas use. The world generated almost a third more solar power in the…

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Only 1% of people are eating a healthy and sustainable diet, major report finds

Only 1% of people are eating a healthy and sustainable diet, major report finds

BBC Science Focus reports: A major report on the global food system has found that less than 1 per cent of the world is eating a diet that’s good for the planet and human health. But switching to a healthier eating pattern could prevent up to 15 million premature deaths per year, while cutting global greenhouse gas emissions by up to 20 per cent. These are the findings of a report by the 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission. The report brings together…

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Trump’s plan to invoke the Insurrection Act

Trump’s plan to invoke the Insurrection Act

Robert Reich writes: The direction we’re going is either martial law or civil war. Americans from so-called “red” states, with the backing of their Republican governors and legislatures, are on the brink of using lethal force against Americans in so-called “blue” states, whose Democratic governors and legislatures strongly oppose the moves. I pray we don’t come close to this but Trump has now ordered the deployment of 400 members of the Texas National Guard to several states, including Oregon and…

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Donald Trump is destroying the Constitution

Donald Trump is destroying the Constitution

Chris Edelson writes: Donald Trump has effectively declared war on U.S. cities that he perceives as enemy territory, expanding the military offensive he started this summer in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Last week, he ordered federal troops to Portland, Oregon, instructing them to use “full force” if necessary in order to respond to what he falsely described as a “war ravaged” city. After threatening to send the Texas National Guard to Chicago for over a month, the first wave of troops is set to deploy this week. Trump has also…

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It’s time for California’s soft secession

It’s time for California’s soft secession

Clara Jeffery writes: California, and the country, cannot await the outcome of the midterms to repel Trump’s siege on democracy. More drastic action is required. Unfortunately, especially as Trump berates generals and admirals on “the enemy within” and suggests they use US cities as “training grounds,” it’s all too easy to imagine a world where the commanders of California’s military bases are compelled to choose sides. (If you think such scenarios are out of the realm of possibility, ask yourself…

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Trump officials can’t keep their mouths shut about DOJ’s biggest prosecutions — putting cases in jeopardy

Trump officials can’t keep their mouths shut about DOJ’s biggest prosecutions — putting cases in jeopardy

Politico reports: President Donald Trump is deploying the Justice Department to punish and prosecute his perceived enemies and advance his political agenda. But his color commentary — and that of senior members of his administration — about the cases is threatening to derail them in court. Public comments by Trump and high-ranking officials including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have already become flashpoints in high-profile cases. Judges overseeing criminal proceedings against Luigi Mangione, charged with…

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Elon Musk gambles billions in Memphis in a struggle to catch up on AI

Elon Musk gambles billions in Memphis in a struggle to catch up on AI

The Wall Street Journal reports: For Elon Musk, ground zero of the artificial intelligence arms race is a 114-acre tract of grass and swamp on the state line of Tennessee and Mississippi. This once-sleepy plot of land, filled with groves of water-rooted tupelo trees at its western edge, is now part of a growing empire Musk is accumulating in the Deep South, just a few miles from Elvis Presley’s homestead at Graceland. Labor crews hired by Musk’s xAI were excavating…

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Marine mammals are dying in record numbers along the California coast

Marine mammals are dying in record numbers along the California coast

The Los Angeles Times reports: On a spit of sand 12 miles north of Santa Cruz, a small, emaciated sea lion lay on its side. The only sign of life was the deep press of its flippers against its belly, relaxing for a few seconds, then squeezing again. “That’s a classic sign of lepto,” said Giancarlo Rulli, a volunteer and spokesperson with the Marine Mammal Center, pointing to the young animal’s wretched self-embrace. The corkscrew-shaped bacteria, leptospirosis, causes severe abdominal…

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The neuroscience of making sense

The neuroscience of making sense

Asif Ghazanfar writes: Picture someone washing their hands. The water running down the drain is a deep red. How you interpret this scene depends on its setting, and your history. If the person is in a gas station bathroom, and you just saw the latest true-crime series, these are the ablutions of a serial killer. If the person is at a kitchen sink, then perhaps they cut themselves while preparing a meal. If the person is in an art studio,…

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The Israeli right’s ‘time of miracles’ is over. The Palestinians are going nowhere

The Israeli right’s ‘time of miracles’ is over. The Palestinians are going nowhere

Meron Rapoport writes: We should know better than to take any so-called peace proposal presented by U.S. President Donald Trump along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at face value. But as the world awaits Hamas’ response to Trump’s 20-point plan for ending the war in Gaza, published in conjunction with the pair’s White House press conference on Monday, it is possible to begin drawing some early conclusions about what this all means for Israel and the Palestinians. Before any…

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Pope Leo urges Christians in the West to offer migrants ‘hospitality and welcome, compassion and solidarity’

Pope Leo urges Christians in the West to offer migrants ‘hospitality and welcome, compassion and solidarity’

Reuters reports: Pope Leo urged the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics on Sunday to care for immigrants, pressing ahead with a message of welcome for migrants days after criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump’s hard-line anti-immigration policies. Leo, the first U.S. pope, told thousands of pilgrims celebrating Mass in St. Peter’s Square that immigrants should not be treated with “the coldness of indifference or the stigma of discrimination”. The pope, who did not single out any country for its treatment of migrants,…

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How Chief Justice Roberts and his accomplices rewrote the Constitution and took away our rights

How Chief Justice Roberts and his accomplices rewrote the Constitution and took away our rights

Lisa Graves writes: John Roberts ascended to the Supreme Court and for nearly two decades maintained a reputation as a fair referee. But most people really have no idea who Roberts is, what a destructive force he is to American jurisprudence, and how he has helped fracture our political system and our society. In 2002, as part of my work for the Senate’s Judiciary Committee, one of my first tasks was to evaluate Roberts, whom George W. Bush had nominated…

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Inside Stephen Miller’s war on political dissent

Inside Stephen Miller’s war on political dissent

Rolling Stone reports: They didn’t waste a day. In the aftermath of conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk’s assassination, Donald Trump’s government immediately got to work crafting its road map for cracking down on liberal groups and the president’s domestic foes. According to sources with direct knowledge of the matter, within 24 hours of the Kirk shooting, top Trump officials and administration lawyers — at the White House, Justice Department, and so forth — had already put pen to pad, drafting legal…

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