Writer, Master Gardener, Genealogist-lover of Scandi Noir films

thezebra.org/2026/07/13/f...

All over bar the shouting.

Trump and Xi’s big summit was a huge pile of nothing. Just a publicity junket for Trump.

That’s a Premier League level of rule-breaking.

Financial stuff is understandably a turnoff for most people so let me just say this is alarm bell material. Keep an eye on the AI bubble and regional banks.

It’s the silly season

Tina Brown’s “Fresh Hell” 8.21, has the scoop- ( no the King is not on his deathbed ) she is the only writer worthwhile reading if you really are interested in this royal stuff…

It only took 19 months for RFK Jr to turn the once safe US food supply into a game of gastrointestinal Russian Roulette.

More on America’s growing food crisis. The FDA has upgraded a recall of frozen blueberries to the highest risk level, indicating a reasonable chance of "serious adverse health consequences or death" from E. coli contamination. What happens when you gut federal government protections.

Joint statement from the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway and Canada.

Author Noel-Marie Fletcher Brings an Untold Story of the Nuremberg Trials to Alexandria thezebra.org/2026/07/06/j...

🏁 IndyCars are coming to D.C.! The Freedom 250 will transform streets around the National Mall into a 1.7-mile circuit Aug. 22–23, with free public viewing areas for fans without tickets. Read more and see the course map at The Zebra Press. #Freedom250 #IndyCar thezebra.org/2026/07/13/f...

Grandstands Rise for Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, D.C. thezebra.org/2026/07/26/f...

George Washington’s Enduring Gift to Religious Freedom Honored at Basilica of St. Mary thezebra.org/2026/07/29/g...

The Hidden Genius of George Washington: Mount Vernon’s New Gardens Chief Reveals the Farming Secrets That Changed America thezebra.org/2026/08/02/g...

thezebra.org/2026/07/26/f... Have You Been To The National Mall Lately?

open.substack.com/pub/heatherc... Please Read

#RecipeOfTheDay is Spanish Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes. ¡Vamos la Roja! 🇪🇸 www.nigella.com/recipes/span...

NEW: Months after FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty cast a decisive vote approving Paramount’s historic $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, she and a guest accepted Kennedy Center gala tickets from the company worth more than $12,000.

Read my latest …

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson: “The other side keeps shifting its demands and sending contradictory messages which is dragging out negotiations. Israel's escalation in Lebanon is aimed at destroying any chance diplomacy could work. The US and Israel cannot be seen as separate.”

BBC analysis of satellite imagery shows Iran damaged 20 US military sites during the actual war, not the ceasefire-war.

A YouGov poll has the percentage of US adults who identify as MAGA as just 18% of citizens. However they account for 57% of Republicans. Both percentages are much lower than you would expect from the noise they make.

“There’s a big event coming” - super-El Nino driven by the climate crisis.

The genetic legacy of the 17th-century colonial capital of St. Mary’s City: Current Biology www.cell.com/current-biol...

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... Fascinating history lessons!

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... Listen Up!

"Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind."

Chinese newspaper cartoon (Today... 😂 )

London Mayor Sadiq Khan: UK should rejoin EU through an election, not a second referendum. “Inward investment is lower than it would be, trade is lower… In London our economy is about £30bn smaller than it would otherwise be, the average Londoner is about £3,400 poorer because of Brexit.”

My reporting finds that sexual violence against Palestinians by Israeli authorities is widespread. I'm grateful to these assault victims for sharing with me the brutality they endured. Whether we're pro-Israel or pro-Palestinian, we should unite in being anti-rape. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/11/o...

Proud of my students for their research, which for the first time located the descendants of those enslaved by Columbia University's founders. www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2026/05...

Retired Lt Gen Ben Hodges on the significance of Armenia hosting leaders from Europe, Canada and Ukraine for the European Political Community Summit: Your "future is much better if you're integrated into the West … than it is to continue to be handcuffed to a corpse like Russia." (IAM)

“The trip will reveal very clearly, particularly to those countries in the Global South, how China is in the ascendance and Trump has brought America down.”

The one thing that would reset the whole political debate would be if Keir Starmer announced on Monday that he wanted to rejoin the EU. Reform would have a field day, but he would unite the left and make politics a binary choice between the two.

Democrats convert empty warehouses into shelters for the homeless. Republicans turn them into concentration camps to torture people without due process. The two parties are not remotely the same.

If this is winning, I'd hate to see what losing looks like... my new column on Trump's Iran-war folly: www.newyorker.com/news/letter-...

America’s Orange Jesus… My new column: www.newyorker.com/news/letter-...

At 250 feet tall, Trump's arch would be the biggest such structure in the world. Asked last fall what this modern-day arch was meant to commemorate, Trump pointed to himself and replied, “Me.” @sbg1.bsky.social www.newyorker.com/news/letter-...

Tesla's admission that millions of its older cars can't support full self-driving underscores a new reality: software-driven vehicles are starting to age like smartphones — but without an easy upgrade path.

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... Listen Up!

More research is necessary but nearly all of the patients who responded to the personalised vaccine are still alive six years later.

A Pentagon competition to build out a killer drone fleet ended with a small British company crushing American contractors on their own turf

SCOOP: Before Trump posted an image of him as a Christ-like healer, he discussed the meme with his controversial housing finance chief Bill Pulte

Israel's relationship with Democrats on Capitol Hill is rapidly deteriorating, with a growing number of lawmakers saying they can no longer support U.S. funding for even the country's defensive weaponry.

The Iran war is hurting countries far from the Middle East that have no direct involvement in the conflict — and while the U.S. has largely escaped the worst economic impacts, experts warn this could soon change.

“Globally the Far Right exist in a supportive ecosystem, a transnational system of corruption, repression and hatred. From Trump to Putin, Milei to Bolsonaro and all the mini-Fuehrers of the European white supremacist parties, the success of one strengthens the others.”

One night that revealed Trump’s collapsing mental state. He’s getting worse.

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t... Worth a listen