Ancient artifacts hint at earliest protowriting

Ancient artifacts hint at earliest protowriting

Science reports: In a series of caves at the base of the Swabian Alps in southwestern Germany, archaeologists have uncovered bone flutes, tools to make rope and clothes, the oldest known Venus figurines, and hundreds of handheld objects etched with intricate geometric designs. These engraved items, first discovered in the 1860s, were carved from mammoth ivory and bones of cave lions, cave bears, and other animals now long extinct. According to an analysis published online today in the Proceedings of…

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‘Peaceful dissent is not a crime’: A new lawsuit alleges DHS illegally tracked and intimidated observers

‘Peaceful dissent is not a crime’: A new lawsuit alleges DHS illegally tracked and intimidated observers

NPR reports: Last month, Colleen Fagan was observing an immigration enforcement operation at an apartment complex in Portland, Maine, when federal agents scanned her face with a smartphone and appeared to record her car license plate number. In a social media video she recorded, Fagan can be heard asking why the agent was taking her information. What the agent said next made the video go viral. “Cause we have a nice little database,” the masked agent said. “And now you’re…

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Trump’s top general foresees acute risks in an attack on Iran

Trump’s top general foresees acute risks in an attack on Iran

The Washington Post reports: As the Trump administration weighs an attack on Iran, the Pentagon’s top general has cautioned President Donald Trump and other officials that shortfalls in critical munitions and a lack of support from allies will add significant risk to the operation and to U.S. personnel, according to people familiar with internal discussions. Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, expressed his concerns at a White House meeting last week with Trump and his top…

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New polling data shows immigration enforcement is costing the GOP their own voters

New polling data shows immigration enforcement is costing the GOP their own voters

Austin Kocher writes: I came across a fascinating new national survey today from Morris Predictive Insights that I wanted to share. I have been paying closer attention to polling data lately, especially anything that tracks the relationship between immigration enforcement and how voters perceive the parties heading into 2026. This one stood out. It is a poll of 1,500 U.S. adults conducted February 6-10, and it offers some of the clearest evidence yet that the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agenda…

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Musk’s xAI and Pentagon reach deal to use Grok in classified systems

Musk’s xAI and Pentagon reach deal to use Grok in classified systems

Axios reports: Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI has signed an agreement to allow the military to use its model, Grok, in classified systems, a Defense official confirmed to Axios. Why it matters: Up to now, Anthropic’s Claude has been the only model available in the systems on which the military’s most sensitive intelligence work, weapons development and battlefield operations take place. But the Pentagon is threatening Anthropic in a dispute over safeguards and may soon need a replacement. Anthropic has refused the Pentagon’s demand that they…

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How AI agents could destroy the economy

How AI agents could destroy the economy

Bloomberg reports: Delivery, payments, and software stocks slid sharply Monday after Citrini Research published a report laying out the potential risks that artificial intelligence could pose to various segments of the global economy. DoorDash Inc., American Express Co., KKR & Co Inc. and Blackstone Inc all slumped more than 8%. Shares of other companies name-checked in the article, including Uber Technologies Inc., Mastercard Inc., Visa Inc., Capital One Financial Corp. and Apollo Global Management Inc. were all lower by at…

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Peter Mandelson’s downfall is one of fastest ever seen in British public life

Peter Mandelson’s downfall is one of fastest ever seen in British public life

Matthew Weaver writes: Just six months ago Peter Mandelson seemed unassailable as the UK’s ambassador to the US, one of the most vaunted positions in British diplomacy. As our man in Washington, Mandelson appeared to have used his skill for schmoozing, learned over years as a cabinet minister and a European commissioner, to secure a good relationship with the tricky Trump administration. He was considered instrumental in securing a relatively favourable US trade deal for the UK. He was also…

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The ideological connections between Stephen Miller, Calvin Coolidge, and Hitler

The ideological connections between Stephen Miller, Calvin Coolidge, and Hitler

To the following question, What are the ideological connections shared by Calvin Coolidge, Hitler, and Stephen Miller? Google AI responded: The ideological connections between Calvin Coolidge, Adolf Hitler, and Stephen Miller are primarily centered on strict immigration restriction based on eugenics, nativism, and the pursuit of national “homogeneity” or “racial purity”. While separated by different political contexts—1920s American conservatism, 1930s Nazism, and 21st-century American populism—they are linked through a chain of influence and shared admiration for the Immigration Act of…

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Ukraine is the biggest and most consequential of all the American betrayals

Ukraine is the biggest and most consequential of all the American betrayals

Simon Tisdall writes: Viewed from Europe, the US’s failure to defend the people of Ukraine against Russian aggression is the greatest and most consequential of a host of recent American betrayals. It’s not just the sickening subservience shown to Vladimir Putin, an indicted war criminal and mass killer. It’s not only the victim-blaming and bullying of Kyiv into making concessions. It’s not even Donald Trump’s crass attempts to monetise the war and milk the misery of millions for Nobel glory,…

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Ali Larijani says Iran isn’t looking for war but it’s ready

Ali Larijani says Iran isn’t looking for war but it’s ready

The New York Times reports: In early January, as Iran faced nationwide protests and the threat of strikes by the United States, the nation’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, turned to a trusted and loyal lieutenant to steer the country: Ali Larijani, the country’s top national security official. Since then, Mr. Larijani, 67, a veteran politician, a former commander in the Revolutionary Guards Corps and the current head of the Supreme National Security Council, has effectively been running the country….

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San Antonio Mayor Jones calls for answers from ICE on killing of Ruben Ray Martinez, a U.S. citizen

San Antonio Mayor Jones calls for answers from ICE on killing of Ruben Ray Martinez, a U.S. citizen

  Texas Public Radio reports: Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones is calling for transparency and accountability from U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Immigrations and Customs Enforcement regarding the March 2025 shooting death of San Antonio resident Ruben Ray Martinez, a U.S. citizen. Jones said the community deserves “a full and transparent accounting” of the events that led to Martinez’s death. Internal records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request show that an ICE agent fatally shot 23-year-old Martinez….

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In Gorsuch’s homage to legislative power, a subtle reproach of a neutered Congress

In Gorsuch’s homage to legislative power, a subtle reproach of a neutered Congress

Catie Edmondson writes: Justice Neil M. Gorsuch’s concurring opinion released on Friday after the Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s tariffs concluded with a paean to Congress that read like a requiem for a bygone era of legislative power. “Yes, legislating can be hard and take time,” wrote Justice Gorsuch, a Trump appointee who is part of the court’s conservative majority. “And yes, it can be tempting to bypass Congress when some pressing problem arises. But the deliberative nature of…

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In France, the far right has its martyr from whose death the Trump regime seeks political advantage

In France, the far right has its martyr from whose death the Trump regime seeks political advantage

Jacobin reports: A French far-right militant was pronounced dead on Saturday morning at a hospital in Lyon, succumbing to injuries inflicted during a street battle last Thursday with anti-fascist activists. Twenty-three-year-old Quentin Deranque was part of a contingent of local neofascist militants that gathered to oppose a talk by a prominent left-wing MP at a university campus in France’s third-largest city. Their counterprotest quickly escalated into clashes with left-wingers, in the latest episode of political violence in a city that…

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With foreign backing, Israel’s solar energy boom is powering apartheid

With foreign backing, Israel’s solar energy boom is powering apartheid

Sofia Fani Gutman, Carolina Pedrazzi and Andrey X report: “How do you charge your phones?” we asked. “With the sun,” Ahmad replied, nodding toward the small cluster of solar panels behind him. For 47 years, the tiny hamlet of Naba’a Al-Ghazzal, part of the community of Al-Farsiya, has survived on the northern edge of the Jordan Valley in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Home to around 20 members of the Daraghmeh family — including Ahmad, the community’s informal leader — all…

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