Experts Sound Alarm as North American Bees Start Unusually Early Swarm Season

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Experts Sound Alarm as North American Bees Start Unusually Early Swarm Season (Maria)

The author writes, “After a series of record-breaking U.S. heatwaves, the 2026 bee swarm season in North America has started 17 days earlier than last year, pushing beekeepers to adapt to a rapidly shifting season while raising new questions about how honeybees are responding to the climate crisis. According to a new report published by Swarmed, a network of more than 10,000 beekeepers, this year’s early swarm season follows years of record colony declines worldwide, [including] last year’s largest honeybee die-off in U.S. history.”

The Election Deniers Are Winning (Reader Jim)

From The Atlantic: “So many people are pressing debunked and unsubstantiated election theories from within the government that their presence has become a feature of the system. They range from those with immense power — including the president — all the way down to local officials.”  

Was the Mayor a Spy? L.A. Suburb Left Wondering About China’s Effort to Influence (Reader Steve)

From the Los Angeles Times:  “As Eileen Wang and her supporters tell it, the former Arcadia, CA, mayor was led astray by a man she trusted and loved. After chasing her political ambitions in the San Gabriel Valley suburb, Wang, 58, won a City Council seat in 2022 with the help of a campaign advisor who was also her romantic partner. Two years later, he was charged by federal authorities with secretly working on behalf of the Chinese government. Wang, a naturalized U.S. citizen, distanced herself from her ex and remained in office, becoming mayor earlier this year. The scandal had mostly quieted — until [last] Monday, on the eve of President Trump’s planned trip to Beijing, when a plea deal was unsealed revealing Wang’s own murky role as an agent for China.”

Alabama Jail Staff Didn’t Help When She Went Into Labor — Other Inmates Did, Lawsuit Says (Bethany)

From NBC News: “In a state with a long history of arresting pregnant women, one mom in custody says she was left to fend for herself.” 

Ordinary Lab Gloves May Have Skewed Microplastic Data (Dana)

The author writes, “Scientists researching the microplastics crisis may have unintentionally made it worse. Not by directly contributing to the problem, but by inadvertently skewing the data. The culprit, a new study published in the journal RSC Analytical Methods reveals, could be their gloves. A team of researchers from the University of Michigan discovered that nitrile and latex gloves traditionally worn by laboratory scientists of all stripes, can shed particles called ‘stearates’ that mimic microplastics. These hydrocarbons, added by the glove manufacturers to prevent the gloves from sticking to the molds, can fool spectroscopy machines and are nearly impossible to distinguish from polyethylene under electron microscopes.” 

‘Magical’ Objects From Iron Age Hoard Found in UK Go on Display (DonkeyHotey)

The author writes, “Iron age objects that tell a dramatic story of female power and that dispel the myth that northern Britain was a left-behind backwater have gone on display for the first time. The objects exhibited in York are from the Melsonby hoard, the largest trove of iron age metalwork ever found in the UK, which experts say could alter our understanding of life in Britain 2,000 years ago. The hoard, which comprises more than 800 items, was almost certainly associated with a tribe called the Brigantes, who controlled most of what is now northern England and whose most famous leader was Queen Cartimandua.”