The Household Battery Revolution That Could Change Energy Bills… and the World

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The Household Battery Revolution That Could Change Energy Bills… and the World (Maria)

The authors write, “The timing was rich with symbolism. As heatwaves pummeled Europe and Asia and oil markets around the world leapt and sputtered, the two big chimneys of one of Australia’s largest power stations were being demolished. Meanwhile, the Australian energy minister was holding a media conference to hail a fall of up to 10% in the benchmark electricity price in parts of the country. Quietly, Australia is pioneering a revolution in home renewables and battery use, proving what is possible with the right policies.”

Jill Biden Says She Thought Husband Was Having a Stroke During 2024 Debate (Reader Jim)

The author writes, “Former US First Lady Jill Biden says she thought her husband, President Joe Biden, was having a stroke during his infamously faltering presidential debate in 2024. ‘I was frightened, because I had never ever seen Joe like that before or since. Never,’ Jill Biden told CBS News. … ‘I don’t know what happened,’ she said. ‘As I watched it, I thought, “Oh, my God, he’s having a stroke.” And it scared me to death.’” 

The Democrats Are Determined Not to Learn From Their Failure (Bethany)

From Jacobin: “The Democrats’ botched 2024 autopsy doesn’t just leave out Gaza. It also simply pretends the left-populist upsurge embodied by Zohran Mamdani isn’t happening, while coveting its achievements.” 

The Pentagon Knew Enemies Could Track Troops’ Phones for Years. Now They Are (Mili)

The author writes, “For nearly a decade, the Pentagon was warned — by its own contractors, analysts, and intelligence agencies — that anyone with a credit card could buy a map of where American troops sleep, work, and store nuclear weapons. Now the bill has come due in a war zone. A newly disclosed letter shows the warnings went unheeded: US Central Command now confirms it has received ‘multiple threat reports concerning adversary exploitation of commercial location data to target or surveil US personnel in theater’ — the first official acknowledgment that the data-broker economy is being used to hunt American forces in the Middle East.”

Something Startling Is Happening in the Gulf of Mexico (Laura)

From Yale Climate Connections: “In 2012, the temperature of the Gulf of Mexico began rising along a shocking upward trajectory. Climate change is causing oceans worldwide to warm. But that year, summertime sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico began heating up at about twice the rate seen in the global oceans. The trend has continued into the 2020s, with sea surface temperatures hitting record highs in both 2024 and 2025. The shift has huge implications for the hurricanes that form in the Gulf — and the people who live along its shores and on the islands that dot its waters.”

Why Your Airline Voucher Barely Covers Your Expenses Anymore (Reader Steve)

The author writes, “A $10 voucher. That’s what Angela Justice got after her recent flight from Boston to Chicago was delayed and then canceled. ‘Let’s be honest, that barely covers a bottle of water,’ says Justice, a consultant who advises biotech executives. But the true cost of an airline delay — or the delay tax — isn’t always about business-class travelers missing high-stakes meetings. Sometimes it’s just people like you and me trying to hold together plans, budgets and expectations in a system built to offer vouchers instead of accountability from airlines.”

This Chick Hatched From an Artificial Egg (Dana)

From National Geographic: “Whether blue as a robin’s egg, or speckled like a Carolina wren’s, the humble eggshell is a masterpiece of natural design. For years, scientists studying evolution and developmental biology have tried various methods to recreate the eggshell, or to hatch birds without eggshells entirely, each scheme with key limitations. Now the private company Colossal Biosciences claims to have mastered a synthetic shell design — which they say is a key step toward their goal of resurrecting extinct species like New Zealand’s giant moa and Mauritius’s dodo.”