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Astronomers Believe They’ve Detected an Atmosphere Around Tiny, Icy World Beyond Pluto (Maria)
The author writes, “A new study suggests that a tiny, icy world beyond Pluto harbors a thin, delicate atmosphere that may have been created by volcanic eruptions or a comet strike. Just 300 miles (500 kilometers) or so across, this mini Pluto is thought to be the solar system’s smallest object yet with a clearly detected global atmosphere bound by gravity, said lead researcher Ko Arimatsu of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.”
ICE Has Not Paid for Detainee Medical Care for 7 Months (Dana)
The author writes, “On October 3, 2025, the Trump administration abruptly stopped paying third-parties for medical care provided to detainees in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Third-party providers are used to provide ‘medically necessary’ care including ‘dialysis, prenatal care, oncology, [and] chemotherapy,’ according to ICE. A document posted to an official government contracting website by ICE on November 12, described the situation as an ‘absolute emergency’ that needed to be resolved ‘immediately’ to ‘prevent any further medical complications or loss of life.’ According to the ICE Health Service Corps (IHSC), payments to third parties were supposed to resume on April 30, 2026. ICE has contracted with a private firm, Acentra Health, to process reimbursements.”
Iran Has Damaged Bonkers Number of US Military Sites (Sean)
From The New Republic: “The majority of US military positions in the Middle East have been damaged by Iranian strikes, according to a CNN investigation released Friday. At least 16 American installations across eight countries have been struck as part of Iran’s retaliatory strikes against the US and Israeli military onslaught. A US source familiar with the situation told CNN that the scale of the damage was unprecedented. ‘I’ve never seen anything like this before.… These are rapid, targeted strikes, with [advanced] technology,’ the source said. The main targets appeared to be multimillion-dollar aircraft. At the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, a Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft, which provides surveillance, command, control, and communications to the U.S. military, was destroyed. That aircraft is worth nearly half a billion dollars, and is currently out of production.”
Musk’s ‘Universal High Income’ Serves Tech Oligarchs More Than Workers (DonkeyHotey)
From The Hill: “Elon Musk recently proposed giving government payouts to people who lose their jobs to AI. Specifically, he called for ‘universal high income via checks issued by the Federal government.’ It’s not often that there are so many things wrong with an idea that I don’t quite know where to start. Even Sam Altman, who once spent $14 million to fund a study on universal basic income, said this week that he had changed his mind about the concept. We live in a culture that often elevates successful individuals to a kind of universal authority, amplified by social media. So I think it’s important to note that there are people who are accomplished in one area but incompetent in others. Just because Michael Jordan can dunk a basketball doesn’t mean we should put him in charge of NASA. Likewise, just because Musk is a successful entrepreneur does not make him all-knowing in economics or public policy.”
Mississippi Reveals Its Full History for America’s Anniversary Year, a Contrast to Federal Efforts (Al)
From Politico: “The glass panels of the Lynching Victims Monolith are simple, etched with the names of more than 600 victims of documented racial killings in Mississippi, along with the attackers’ motives. One man, Malcolm Wright, was beaten to death in front of his family in 1949. His offense? ‘Hogging the road.’ Further research revealed that his mule-drawn wagon was, to his killers, moving too slowly. The panels are among thousands of exhibits and artifacts inside the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the adjoining Museum of Mississippi History. Called the Two Mississippi Museums, the massive complex in sight of the state Capitol is a central part of the state’s America 250 celebration. … Mississippi’s warts-and-all approach to reflecting its history as part of the state’s official commemoration of the nation’s 250th anniversary is a stark contrast with what has taken place at the national level since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.”
Mexico City Is Sinking So Quickly, It Can Be Seen From Space (Laura and Reader Steve)
The author writes, “Mexico City is sinking by nearly 10 inches (about 25 centimeters) a year, according to new satellite imagery released this week by NASA, making it one of the world’s fastest-subsiding metropolises. One of the world’s most sprawling and populated urban areas, at 3,000 square miles (about 7,800 square kilometers) and some 22 million people, the Mexican capital and surrounding cities were built atop an ancient lake bed. Many downtown streets were once canals, a tradition that continues in the rural fringes. Extensive groundwater pumping and urban development have dramatically shrunk the aquifer, meaning that Mexico City has been sinking for more than a century, leaving many monuments and older buildings — like the Metropolitan Cathedral, where construction began in 1573 — visibly tilted to the side. The contracting aquifer has also contributed to a chronic water crisis that is only expected to worsen.”
500-Year-Old Slave Revolt of 1526 Redefines Freedom as US Turns 250 (Reader Jim)
From Truthout: “There is another anniversary this year — one twice as old, largely forgotten, and far more dangerous to remember because it shows us true liberation. In 1526 — long before the more renowned dates that anchor the nation’s story of 1619 and 1776 — enslaved Africans rose up and freed themselves on the land that would eventually become the United States. You would expect MAGA memory-hole historians — obsessed with banning books, declaring that slavery was of ‘personal benefit’ to enslaved people, and firing educators who teach honestly about systemic racism — to erase any accounts of this event. What is more troubling is how rarely it appears in mainstream history books, or even in spaces committed to truth-telling — among educators and even within movements for Black liberation — muting the earliest act of resistance to the enslavement of Africans on this land.”