Revealed: International ‘race science’ network secretly funded by US tech boss: Andrew Conru previously gave >$1 million to the ‘Human Diversity Foundation’.

Undercover police officer admits spying on Keir Starmer when he was a barrister: I’d maybe have been more actively excited about Starmer in his ‘radical barrister’ phase of life.

Armed man arrested near Trump’s California rally was plotting to kill him, police say: Are there usually quite so many assassination attempts on a US presidential candidate?

Starmer’s Brexit “Reset” is Not What the Public Wants: Starmer’s transition from committed defender of our previous European freedoms to someone content to make the most minor tweaks to the relationship.

Five Reasons People Who Claim PR Will Help the Far-Right are Wrong: Rebuttal to a common claim that well-meaning opponents of proportional representation in the British electoral system make.

Trump’s rampant lies about FEMA’s Hurricane Helene response, briefly explained: Once again, disinformation can have deadly consequences.

New enforcement agency will protect workers’ rights as part of ‘watershed’ bill: Big fan of anything that shifts the balance of employer:employee power away from the total dominance of the former.

I’ve missed Sam for a long time (or: Pick Your Battles): A wonderful written tale of what happens when your best friend starts to part ways from you in important ideological ways.

Democrats launch new campaign attack on ‘weird’ Republicans: Seems legit.

Representation of the People Act 1948: The act that abolished the right of some people to vote twice in UK general elections amongst other things.

MPs to get historic vote on the legalisation of assisted dying: Almost certainly a good idea as long as done alongside a huge improvement in later-life social and medical care.

Labour to commit almost £22bn to carbon capture and storage projects: Glad to see them putting serious investment into something ‘environmental’, tho I don’t know enough about the technology to know if this is is the best option.

Keir Starmer pays back £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality: Oh boy, Taylor Swift tickets are real expensive.

Melania Trump passionately defends abortion rights in upcoming memoir: Must make for some interesting conversation around the family dinner table, if they ever speak to each other.

Apple is Silently Removing VPN Apps from Russia’s App Store: Presumably at government request, limiting the ability to access uncensored information and privacy of Russian internet users.

Tory gasps as Robert Jenrick reveals daughter’s middle name is Thatcher: New level of weird Conservative obsession with Margaret Thatcher achieved.

Is UK maternity pay excessive and how much does it cost the taxpayer?: No, it’s nowhere near ‘excessive’.

Maternity pay is ‘excessive’, says Tory leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch: No, ‘personal responsibility’ is not a substitute for statutory maternity pay (tbf she’s subsequently backtracked a bit on this).

‘Not all cultures equally valid’ when it comes to immigration, says Badenoch: I hope this was just bad phrasing, (but I’m not optimistic on that front).

Iran vows vengeance after assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah: Israel’s assassination of Nasrallah seems destined to be another step on the path of an increasingly terrifying escalation of the conflict.

Rosie Duffield resigns as Labour MP: Furious both at Keir Starmer’s political style and the ‘cruel and unnecessary’ policies that he supports.

The True Story of “Hidden Figures,” the Forgotten Women Who Helped Win the Space Race: Not all 1960s NASA brainiacs were bespectacled White men.