Duck moves in to Minnesota DNR EagleCam nest and lays eggs Star/Tribune
The oldest ant ever discovered found fossilized in Brazil ScienceDaily (Kevin W)
🚨#BREAKING: A wild report from a firefighter in Tennessee confirms that an Amish community whose sawmill completely burned to the ground on the night of April 8th…
…had been COMPLETELY REBUILT AND WAS ALREADY FUNCTIONING on April 17th, just 8 days later
Read that again. pic.twitter.com/EeaSQCUK15
— Matt Van Swol (@matt_vanswol) April 23, 2025
Who Were the Carthaginians? Ancient DNA Study Reveals a Stunning Answer Haaretz
A Strange Phrase Keeps Turning Up in Scientific Papers, But Why? ScienceAlert (Chuck L)
Computational analysis of US congressional speeches reveals a shift from evidence to intuition Nature (Paul R)
#COVID-19/Pandemics
How can this not worry people? HOW? pic.twitter.com/ZgclqUrSqR
— Cat (Solidarit1) (@CovidSolidarit1) April 25, 2025
We ELIMINATED measles in the US with safe & effective vaccines in 2000.
We are losing that status NOW.
Decades of progress: gone.
People listen to conspiracy theorists over scientists.
Measles killed millions before vaccines.
We are heading back there if this continues.
— Andrea C. Love, PhD (@dr_andrealove) April 24, 2025
Climate/Environment
Seeing lost winters, not just rising temperatures, shakes climate indifference PhysOrg (Chuck L)
84% of Earth’s Coral Reefs in Crisis as Worst Bleaching Event on Record Hits ScienceAlert (Chuck L)
From boiling hot to freezing cold: Sudden flips in temperature set to increase with climate change PhysOrg
Experiments to dim sunlight to fight global warming will be given the green light by the Government within weeks Telegraph
China?
China exempts some goods from US tariffs Reuters
China tells Trump: If you want trade talks, cancel tariffs BBC
China’s rare-earth mineral squeeze will hit the Pentagon hard Defense One (Kevin W)
Trump tariffs: President vents at China over Boeing as Beijing denies claims of trade deal talks Independent
Chinese companies are recruiting recently laid-off U.S. scientists—particularly those with expertise in artificial intelligence.
Companies are offering generous “full-cycle support” for relocation to Shenzhen.#Science #China pic.twitter.com/WpK1nwrDVK
— Jason Smith – 上官杰文 (@ShangguanJiewen) April 26, 2025
Rules on self-driving cars loosened in bid to challenge China The Hill (Kevin W)
India
US Seeks India Trade Deal on E-Commerce, Crops and Data Storage Bloomberg
India-Pakistan Row
Pakistan shuts airspace to Indian airlines and suspends trade RT (Robin K)
After deadly Kashmir attack, India reports exchange of fire with Pakistani soldiers NPR
Africa
Why the US can’t beat al-Shabaab in Somalia Responsible Statecraft (resilc)
Sudan War Is A Global Crisis In The Making – Analysis Eurasia Review
Joshua Craze, Sudan’s World War New Left Review (Robin K)
O Canada
Rising demand at food banks seen as ‘canary in the coal mine’ for affordability crisis CBC
European Disunion
Why Europe won’t splurge to ward off Russia Euractiv
Brussels rebuffs UK bid to prise open access to EU single market Financial Times
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) continues to rise in popularity, firmly establishing its leadership among political parties in the country UATV
🇷🇴 INCREDIBLE TURN OF EVENTS
The Constitutional Court of Romania’s decision to cancel the first round of the presidential elections in December has been overturned (!) by the Court of Appeal in Ploiești
The decision can be appealed within five days pic.twitter.com/5l1hhTYic6
— Daily Romania (@daily_romania) April 24, 2025
Old Blighty
Recruitment agencies are shutting for business at their fastest rate since the financial crisis as companies tear up hiring plans amid rising taxes and global economic uncertainty Staffing Industry
Israel v. The Resistance
This rally in Tel Aviv is just Huge: 10,000 Israeli citizens, Jews and Palestinians, that are holding together the pictures of these children who have been boned to death in Gaza. We will back down to the threats of the police, we will not surrender until Ending the killing. pic.twitter.com/TPirh21uma
— Alon-Lee Green – ألون-لي جرين – אלון-לי גרין 🟣 (@AlonLeeGreen) April 24, 2025
US Has Launched 750 Airstrikes on Yemen Since March 15 Antiwar.com (resilc)
Iran Doesn’t Want Rubio’s Fake ‘Compromise‘ Daniel Larison
New Not-So-Cold War
Ukraine may have to give up land for peace – Kyiv Mayor Klitschko BBC. resilc: “Temporary is like 50-100-1000 years?
Trump says Ukraine has not signed minerals deal Reuters
The Road to War in Ukraine — The History of NATO and US Military Exercises With Ukraine — Part 2 Larry Johnson
UK intel behind Ukraine’s disastrous Krynky invasion, leaked documents reveal GrayZone (Kevin W)
Ukraine silently encroaches on ‘friendly’ Moldova OpenTheMagazine (Kevin W)
* * *
In America?
— RationalInvestor (@Orangeman1992) April 25, 2025
Imperial Collapse Watch
If this gets confirmed and Trump indeed folds, this will be seen as one of those seminal events that confirm, beyond all the propaganda, a fundamental rebalancing of power between China and the US, and an end to the era of US economic dominance.
Factually speaking, the US…
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) April 23, 2025
US to spend $946B through 2034 to maintain, modernize nuclear military power Anadolu Agency
ONE WAR AT A TIME AND PLENTY OF MONEY TO BE MADE IN THE MEANTIME – THIS IS TRUMP’S GAME AS THE RUSSIAN AND CHINESE GENERAL STAFFS UNDERSTAND John Helmer
Trump 2.0
Trouble signs emerge for Trump in DDHQ/The Hill polling average The Hill
Hegseth orders makeup studio installed at Pentagon CBS (Dr. Kevin)
Musk-owned company says it qualifies for federal contracts reserved for small businesses Musk Watch
Trump cuts federal grants to plantation museum focused on reality of slavery Guardian
Tariffs
The White House has put itself and the country in a bad situation but doesn’t realize it yet.
Around April 10th China to USA trade shut down.
It takes ~30 days for containers to go from China to LA.
45 to Houston by sea, 45 to Chicago by train.
55 to New York by sea.
That… pic.twitter.com/8vnGDMWCpt
— molson 🧠⚙️ (@Molson_Hart) April 24, 2025
How to Prepare for the Coming Supply Chain Shock Matt Stoller
Uncertainty Over Trump’s Tariffs Paralyzes U.S. Businesses New York Times (resilc). Important.
Exclusive: US pharma tariffs would raise US drug costs by $51 billion annually, report finds Reuters (Kevin W)
Why China is taking a much tougher stance towards Donald Trump this time round South China Morning Post
China, Japan, Korea sense Trump trade war weakness Asia Times (Kevin W)
Tariffs imperil America’s status as world investment magnet Axios (Kevin W)
Product shortages and empty store shelves loom with falling shipments from China NBC (resilc)
DOGE
Elon Musk and DOGE’s Savings May Be Erased by New Costs New York Times (resilc). If you thought this was about savings, as opposed to ideology, you were not paying attention.
Steve Bannon wants Elon Musk to provide ‘specific accounting’ of government fraud uncovered by DOGE Semafor (resilc)
Inspector General Probes Whether Trump, DOGE Sought Private Taxpayer Information or Sensitive IRS Material ProPublica
Immigration
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan charged with 2 felonies in ICE case Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Pam Bondi’s striking comments on arresting judges Washington Post (Kevin W)
Trump administration reverses abrupt terminations of foreign students’ US visa registrations Politico (Kevin W)
ICE Cancels $3.8 Billion Contract for Immigrant Tent Detention Camp at Fort Bliss ProPublica (Robin K)
A plot so lost it may never be found The Racket (Randy K)
Our No Longer Free Press
New England Journal of Medicine gets swept up in U.S. attorney inquiry into alleged bias STAT (Dr. Kevin)
What the Doxxing of Student Activists Means For the First Amendment Progressive.org (Robin K)
The Obligations of Capacity Sam Husseini
California proposes to allow testing of driverless heavy-duty trucks Guardian (Kevin W)
Mr. Market Has a Nervous Breakdown
Consumer sentiment is now lower than during the 2008 financial crisis, reflecting worries that President Donald Trump’s tariff policies will create new inflationary pressures Investopedia
US home sales lowered more than expected in March — dropping to their slowest pace since 2009 as panicked buyers bail, new data out today shows Daily Mail
The Bezzle
Indicted ‘Bitcoin Jesus’ Pays Roger Stone $600,000 to Lobby for Him New York Times. resilc: “Nigeria has no where near the level of corruption we have in USA USA.”
Why Macro Forecasting Is So Hard Impossible Barry Ritholtz. resilc: “ez, if Trump is alive, it will be worse.”
Guillotine Watch
The Superrich Have Turned the Tiny Florida Town of Manalapan Into the Next Palm Beach Wall Street Journal
Luigi Mangione Enters Plea in CEO’s Murder Case MedPage Today
Class Warfare
Madrid’s Biggest Landlord? U.S. Investment Firms New York Times. resilc: “The cancer of capitalism needs chemo.”
New report cites ‘harmful effects’ of private equity firms buying nursing homes • Iowa Capital Dispatch (Robin K)
Antidote du jour (via):
And a bonus:
You don’t intimidate me, you’re going to be my best friend whether you like it or not! pic.twitter.com/pUEK30NxFL
— The Figen (@TheFigen_) April 25, 2025
A second bonus:
Here’s the proof of that story we’ve read in that book 😮 pic.twitter.com/ZHKf4dH7yr
— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) April 25, 2025
And a third:
Baby stoat discovers a trampoline.
📽: Robert E Fullerpic.twitter.com/YUzbTI9ffd
— Wonder of Science (@wonderofscience) April 24, 2025
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
