What Happened When Scientists Raised Temperature of Rocky Mountains Meadow?

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‘Like Flowers on Steroids:’ What Happened When Scientists Raised Temperature of Rocky Mountains Meadow? (Maria)

The author writes, “Every summer, people descend on the wildflower capital of Colorado to see grasslands flush with corn lilies, aspen sunflowers and sub-alpine larkspur. In January 1991, scientists set up a unique experiment in these Rocky Mountain meadows to work out how the changing climate could affect an ecosystem. It was believed a [3.6F] temperature increase could lead to longer, lusher grasses. But instead of flourishing, the grasses and wildflowers started to disappear, replaced by sage brush. The experimental meadows morphed into a desert-like scrubland, according to the published findings.”

The Treasury Just Declared the US Insolvent. The Media Missed It (Dana)

From Fortune: “The US government is insolvent. That’s not hyperbole — it’s the conclusion drawn directly from the Treasury Department’s own consolidated financial statements for fiscal year 2025, released last week to near-total media silence. The numbers: $6.06 trillion in total assets against $47.78 trillion in total liabilities as of September 30, 2025. Importantly, the $47.78 trillion in reported liabilities does not include the unfunded obligations of social insurance programs like Social Security and Medicare — those are disclosed separately in the off-balance-sheet Statement of Social Insurance (SOSI). The government’s consolidated balance sheet position, excluding the SOSI, deteriorated by nearly $2.07 trillion between FY 2024 and FY 2025, reaching a staggering negative $41.72 trillion. Total liabilities are now nearly eight times the value of reported assets.”

Traders Bet $500 Million on Oil Price Just Before Trump’s Post on Delay to Iran Attack (DonkeyHotey)

From Reuters: “Traders bet half a billion dollars ​on the price of crude only 15 minutes before U.S. President Donald Trump announced a five-day delay to attacks ‌on Iran’s energy infrastructure that sent the market plunging, exchange data and Reuters calculations showed. Having issued Iran with a Monday deadline to reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz or face its power plants being ‘obliterated,’ Trump’s post on Truth Social at 1105 GMT on Monday unleashed a powerful selloff in oil and natural gas. Brent ​crude fell as much as 15% in a matter of minutes as Trump indicated constructive talks between Washington and ​Tehran were ongoing, prompting investors to price in the possibility of a de-escalation that could unblock the ⁠millions of barrels of oil now choked off in the Gulf.”

In Trump’s War Messaging, Veterans See Something New — And Disturbing (Reader Jim)

The author writes, “When the retired US Army colonel Joe Buccino first saw White House posts mixing Iran war footage with clips from cartoons and video games, he felt something he had rarely experienced from American military messaging: disgust. The 27-year veteran of four tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, a former spokesman for US Central Command, had seen firsthand the sacrifices the nation’s service members made in combat. He had closely followed the reports of the 13 Americans killed and more than 200 injured in the US and Israeli campaign in Iran. But President Donald Trump’s top communications team, he said, had decided to treat the international conflict like a big joke. Veterans who were already questioning the war’s strategy and endgame, he added, were unnerved to find the nation’s highest office posting pop-music-scored clips of missile strikes, mixed with footage from Call of Duty and ‘SpongeBob SquarePants.’” 

A California Sheriff Seized 650,000 Ballots. Election Experts Say It’s a Big Deal (Reader Steve)

From the San Francisco Chronicle: “Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco’s acknowledgement Friday that he seized more than 650,000 ballots in his inland county has drawn parallels to FBI raids in Georgia and Arizona and evoked a worst-case scenario for democracy monitors about how the Trump administration could undermine this year’s midterms. Election security expert Gowri Ramachandran said the seizure by Bianco, a Republican candidate for governor investigating a group’s disputed claim of a 45,000-vote miscount in the November Prop. 50 election, resembled what happened in Fulton County, GA, where the FBI seized ballot boxes in January over President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of fraud in his 2020 loss. As in Riverside County, the FBI based its Georgia investigation on claims by local election deniers and submitted an that was said to have omitted important information about those claims being deemed unfounded.”

Human Waste Backing up in Basements Is a Gut-Churning Sign of US Infrastructure Problems (Laura)

From the AP: “The January collapse of a pipe as wide as a car dumped so much sewage into the Potomac River that officials tracked a spike of gut-wrenching bacteria drifting slowly past Washington for weeks, prompting an emergency declaration and federal assistance. It was a disaster of historic scale — 244 million gallons (924 million liters) spilled — spotlighting the severe consequences of old, failing infrastructure. But smaller sewer overflows that draw far less notice are common. Tens of thousands occur every year across the US, contaminating rivers, flooding streets and sometimes causing backups into homes that threaten human health. … At least 18.7 million people are served by one of roughly 1,000 utilities that are in serious violation of pollution limits. At least 2.7 million live with a system that violated federal clean water rules continually over the last three years, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal data.”

How Often Do People Really Fart? Scientists Built Smart Underwear To Find Out (Mili)

The author writes, “Researchers have created ‘Smart Underwear,’ a wearable device that measures flatulence by detecting hydrogen produced by gut microbes. Early tests suggest people may pass gas about 32 times a day — much higher than previous estimates. The device gives scientists a new way to track gut microbial activity in everyday life. It will power a new nationwide study called the Human Flatus Atlas to map normal patterns of gas production.”