‘Death Sentence:’ US Ruling To Open Habitats of Endangered Species

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‘Death Sentence’: US Ruling To Open Habitats of Endangered Species to Mining, Logging (Maria)

The author writes, “The Trump administration repealed a crucial part of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on Friday, finalizing a new rule that will open habitats of imperiled wildlife to development, logging, mining and other uses. For the last 50 years, the landmark environmental law included a broader understanding of the word ‘harm’ which ensured that not just the plants and animals were protected but also the places critical to their survival. The inclusion of habitat in the ‘harm’ definition was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1995.”

Women in the Army Are More Likely to Be Killed by Fellow Soldiers Than Enemy Combatants (Sean)

From The Intercept: “A first-of-its-kind analysis by The Intercept found that in the Army, women are more likely to be killed by their fellow service members than by enemy combatants, in a reversal of the threat soldiers are trained to face. Between 2011 and August 2025, at least 41 women died by homicide in the Army — more than half of them at the hands of other service members or veterans. Using Defense Department manpower data to calculate per capita death rates, The Intercept found that active-duty Army women face a higher risk of homicide than male soldiers, the opposite of national and global trends.” 

In Ruling Against Florida’s Stop Woke Act, This Trump Judge Took DeSantis to School (DonkeyHotey)

The author writes, “The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals’ 2-1 decision Tuesday upholding a lower court decision against Florida’s so-called Stop WOKE Act is a necessary rebuke of state lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has sought to make Florida a prototype for a conservative higher education agenda. His explicit indoctrination program has already included the takeover (and profound mismanagement) of Florida’s New College, the deletion of sociology from state schools’ core curriculum and the subsequent censorship of its introductory sociology textbook.” 

Rich, Educated Americans Are Suddenly the Most Scared About Losing Their Jobs (Mili)

From Quartz: “In March 2020, fears about unemployment spread evenly across the American workforce. Every income bracket, every education level, and every age group expected the same collapse. The pandemic made almost no one feel safe. Unemployment expectations have climbed again, but this time the fear is concentrated among educated, higher-income Americans, the group that has historically felt most insulated from it. This shift amounts to a kind of class shock, hitting millions of workers who never expected to feel this exposed.”

European Heatwave Is Worst Ever and Impossible Without Climate Crisis, Scientists Say (Laura)

The author writes, “The heatwave scorching western Europe is the most severe and widespread ever and is only possible due to the climate crisis driven by fossil fuel burning, scientists have said. Almost half of Europe’s 850 largest cities are also enduring their worst ever heat stress, a combination of temperature and humidity, they found. Muggier conditions mean sweating is less effective at cooling the body, making heatwaves even more dangerous.”

Scammers Sell Seeds for Exotic AI-Generated Flowers That Don’t Exist (Dana)

From 404 Media: “Scammers are selling seeds for plants that don’t exist with spectacular, AI-generated images of technicolor leaves that bloom in the shape of birds, butterflies, and cat heads. This type of fake seeds scam predates widespread access to AI image generators, but the ability to easily create these images has made the scam more widespread, especially on big online retailers like eBay, Amazon, and Etsy, which are unable to keep up with the flood of scam plant sellers on their platforms.”  

In Major Goof, Estate Sale Company Sold Paintings For as Little as $45. They May Be Worth Millions (Reader Steve)

The author writes, “An Oregon man is seeking to reverse the sale of dozens of pieces of Chinese artwork, arguing that an estate company made a multimillion-dollar ‘mistake’ by selling them for $45 to $275 apiece. In a lawsuit filed … in Clackamas County Circuit Court, John E. Moody claims that the estate sale company he hired to sell items from his late mother’s Lake Oswego area home used a Google image search to settle on prices that vastly undervalued ‘numerous’ Chinese scrolls and rubbings. Moody is now on a quest to get the artwork back.”