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A Very Good Summer for Butterflies or a Return to Average? (Maria) 

The author writes, “Is it a superlative summer for butterflies or simply a return to normal? Plenty of nature lovers have delighted in the abundance of gatekeepers, red admirals and peacocks this year, particularly after the dire summer of 2024, the second-worst for common butterflies since scientific records began in 1976.”

New York City Wants Subway Cameras To Predict ‘Trouble’ Before It Happens (Sean) 

From The Verge: “New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority says it’s exploring the use of AI systems for ‘predictive prevention’ of crime and dangerous behavior on the city’s subway platforms. MTA chief security officer Michael Kemper said that the agency is ‘studying and piloting technology like AI to sense potential trouble or problematic behavior on our subway platforms.’ ‘If someone is acting out, irrational, it could potentially trigger an alert that would trigger a response from either security and/or the police department,’ he explained during an MTA safety committee meeting Monday, emphasizing that the police response could come ‘before waiting for something to happen.’”

Inside the Rise of the Multiracial Right (Al) 

The author writes, “Mr. Trump nearly doubled his support among Black voters from 2020 to 2024, won some 40 percent of the Asian American vote and took almost half of the Latino vote. Many of those I have spoken with recently — students, lawyers, mechanics, pastors and others — sounded…angry at a system they contend is indifferent to their lives, they express ideas that were once seen only on the far-right fringe. The rightward drift of minority voters is not a story of just one election. It is a phenomenon years in the making, one that is reshaping the American political landscape.” 

24 Senators Vote for Sanders Resolution To Stop Bombs Sale to Israel (Reader Jim) 

From Truthout: “‘The tide is turning. The American people do not want to spend billions to starve children in Gaza,’ said Sanders after the vote. ‘The Democrats are moving forward on this issue, and I look forward to Republican support in the near future.’ There has been a small shift among Democrats in recent days, with an increasing number denouncing Israel’s starvation crisis in Gaza. However, the number of ‘yes’ votes is far fewer than the number of Senate Democrats who signed a letter to the Trump administration this week that urges officials to alleviate the starvation catastrophe in Gaza. The letter, signed by 40 senators, expresses alarm over starvation deaths and the ‘acute humanitarian crisis’ in Gaza.”

Trump’s Texas Gerrymander Is Supercharging a New War on Democracy (DonkeyHotey) 

The author writes, “Donald Trump’s plan to rig the 2026 midterms became crystal clear on Wednesday, as Texas Republicans introduced a new congressional redistricting map that would give their party five new seats in the US House, making it much more difficult for Democrats to retake the chamber next November. The map is designed to give Republicans control of nearly 80 percent of the state’s House delegation, though Trump only won 56 percent of the vote there in 2024. The plan creates 30 districts that Trump would have carried by 10 points or more, up from 25 seats in the current map.”

The World’s Richest Woman Has Opened a Medical School (Laura) 

From Time: “Named after its founder — the world’s richest woman and an heir to the Walmart fortune — the school will train students over the next four years in a radically different way from the method most traditional medical schools use. And that’s the point. Instead of drilling young physicians to chase symptom after symptom and perform test after test, Alice Walton wants her school’s graduates to keep patients healthy by practicing something that most doctors today don’t prioritize: preventive medicine and whole-health principles, which involve caring for (and not just treating) the entire person and all of the factors — from their mental health to their living conditions and lifestyle choices — that contribute to wellbeing.”