Larry Sanderson

The best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror – review roundup Nowhere Burning by Catriona Ward; Pagans by James Alistair Henry; Pedro the Vast by Simón López Trujillo; Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman; A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing by Alice Evelyn Yang

The best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror – review roundup
Lisa Tuttle
www.theguardian.com/books/2026/f...

French police arrest nine people over suspected €10m Louvre ticket fraud Prosecutors’ office says two museum workers, several tour guides and suspected mastermind among those detained

French police arrest nine people over suspected €10m Louvre ticket fraud
Prosecutors’ office says two museum workers, several tour guides and suspected mastermind among those detained
Angelique Chrisafis in Paris
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

Gender studies courses are shutting down across the US. The Epstein files reveal why | Joan Wallach Scott Texas A&M University is the latest school to end women’s and gender studies programs and teaching race. We know why

Gender studies courses are shutting down across the US. The Epstein files reveal why
Joan Wallach Scott
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

‘A great wee place’: the small Scottish factory crafting Olympic curling stones All stones in Cortina are made from granite found on tiny island in Firth of Clyde and crafted in East Ayrshire

‘A great wee place’: the small Scottish factory crafting Olympic curling stones
All stones in Cortina are made from granite found on tiny island in Firth of Clyde and crafted in East Ayrshire
Libby Brooks Scotland correspondent
www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/f...

Week in wildlife: a thirsty raccoon, a superhero squid and a delinquent swan This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world

Week in wildlife: a thirsty raccoon, a superhero squid and a delinquent swan
This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world
Elena Goodinson
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

US paid $32m to five countries to accept about 300 deportees, report shows Some of the world’s most corrupt countries have received huge payments in controversial third-country deportation scheme

US paid $32m to five countries to accept about 300 deportees, report shows
Some of the world’s most corrupt countries have received huge payments in controversial third-country deportation scheme
Joseph Gedeon and Andrew Roth
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

PSA for non-Minnesotans: The politicians who are taking victory laps on TV today haven’t been in the streets and don’t know what’s happening right now. Please listen to the public servants who are on the front lines, like @elliottpayne.org @jchavezmpls.bsky.social @doronclark.bsky.social

7/10
Ketamine works on different brain chemistry — it blocks NMDA receptors and enhances neuroplasticity, helping the brain rebuild connection

Apocalypse no: how almost everything we thought we knew about the Maya is wrong For many years the prevailing debate about the Maya centred upon why their civilisation collapsed. Now, many scholars are asking: how did the Maya survive?

Apocalypse no: how almost everything we thought we knew about the Maya is wrong
For many years the prevailing debate about the Maya centred upon why their civilisation collapsed. Now, many scholars are asking: how did the Maya survive?
By Marcus Haraldsson
www.theguardian.com/news/2026/fe...

US border czar says immigration crackdown in Minnesota will ‘conclude’ Tom Homan says that Trump has backed ‘significant drawdown’ in the state, where two US citizens have died

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

This is Pamela Jo Bondi contemptuously flipping her hair (which is SCREAMING for some purple shampoo) when asked to acknowledge the Epstein survivors seated directly behind her. She couldn't even be bothered to turn her head.

What a rude and deeply unpleasant person.

Listening to the Attorney General of our country sitting as a witness in an Oversight hearing screech, scream and call sitting Representatives “that woman,” and refer to a Representative who is questioning her as “she” is truly a testament to how low Trump has brought all our institutions.

You can joke about Pam Bondi’s ridiculous unprofessionalism all you want, but I’m deeply shocked by it: She acts as if she fears absolutely no consequences, convinced that there will be no more political power transfers. — This should shake everyone to their core.

James Van Der Beek, star of Dawson’s Creek, dies aged 48 Actor who starred in Varsity Blues and Rules of Attraction revealed in 2024 he had been diagnosed with cancer

www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

DOJ tries and fails to indict 6 Democrats over video reminding military of illegal orders The effort was an extraordinary attempt to weaponize the criminal justice system to punish Trump's political opponents.

NEW: Federal prosecutors in D.C. tried to indict six Democratic lawmakers for reminding military service members in a video they are obligated to refuse unlawful orders.

The attempt marks yet another attempt from the criminal justice system to punish Trump’s political foes over dissenting speech.

the statute that Jeanine Pirro reportedly tried to indict congressional Dems under, 18 USC 2387, was originally passed as part of the 1947 Smith Act, a notorious law used to clamp down on free speech during the Red Scare

Wallace, Gromit and a new use for lentils: blockbuster Aardman exhibition opens at Young V&A Children are encouraged to get hands-on as the world’s leading stop-motion studio showcases its work in east London

Wallace, Gromit and a new use for lentils: blockbuster Aardman exhibition opens at Young V&A
Children are encouraged to get hands-on as the world’s leading stop-motion studio showcases its work in east London
Catherine Shoard
www.theguardian.com/film/2026/fe...

Debunked claims from election deniers influenced FBI raid in Georgia, affidavit reveals The 28 January raid of the Fulton county election office also came after a referral from a White House lawyer

Debunked claims from election deniers influenced FBI raid in Georgia, affidavit reveals
The 28 January raid of the Fulton county election office also came after a referral from a White House lawyer
Sam Levine in New York and George Chidi in Atlanta
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Bad Bunny's Super Bowl hidden messages, cameos, symbolism, and ratings The Puerto Rican superstar gave viewers one of the most fun, political, and daring Super Bowl Halftime Shows of all time.

Bad Bunny's Super Bowl hidden messages, cameos, symbolism, and ratings
The Puerto Rican superstar gave viewers one of the most fun, political, and daring Super Bowl Halftime Shows of all time.
By Bernardo Sim
www.out.com/gay-music/ba...

YouTube video by Sammi Tannor Cohen What I Learned Stocking Shelves at ALDI

Aldi: youtu.be/ji2sx5aCE3g?...

In your face: Close-up Photographer of the Year Awards 2026 – in pictures Animals, insects, flora and fauna – the world photographed in close-up in the annual competition dedicated to micro and macro photography. Cupoty 7 was won by underwater photographer Ross Gudgeon, tri...

In your face: Close-up Photographer of the Year Awards 2026 – in pictures
Sarah Gilbert
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...

Not many federal attorneys---and certainly no leadership---left in Minneapolis. I suspect a contempt order is imminent. Without middle managers, however, that contempt order may go pretty far up the chain.

Just a quick update from the Twin Cities. (Please forgive the unsolicited message). THINGS ARE NOT BETTER IN MINNEAPOLIS. The media is mostly moving on, Trump is focused on other stuff, BUT NOTHING HAS CHANGED ON THE GROUND. More than 2,000 DHS thugs continue to roam the streets, abducting people 24/7, assaulting legal observers with impunity, and routinely denying 1st, 4th, and 5th amendment rights. Drones and helicopters are overhead every day. Hundreds and hundreds of terrified families have not left their homes since mid-December ... relying on the community to bring them food and help with rent and other necessities. (Those people are NOT violent drug cartel sex offending murderers, as DHS would tell you. Most are legal residents or citizens.) If anything, things have just become more stressful and intractable (think trench warfare as a suitable metaphor): The resistance is better organized and numerous, but DHS has become more clever and better at disguise... and the county sheriff's office is increasingly supporting them . Do not let anyone tell you that Homans (the new person in charge of the occupation) is making anything better. Do not let anyone tell you that 700 ICE agents leaving the city has made much of a difference; the remaining force (again, ~2,000) is still larger than the entire city's police force (which is legally unable to do anything). Please call your congressional reps ... especially if there is any chance the administration might listen to them.

A desperate plea sent to me by a Minneapolis resident who's been on the front lines since the beginning of the ICE occupation:

Outrage after US Congress votes to slash $125m in funding to replace toxic lead pipes Move will hit Michigan, Illinois, New York and other states with highest levels of lead drinking water pipes the hardest

Outrage after US Congress votes to slash $125m in funding to replace toxic lead pipes
Move will hit Michigan, Illinois, New York and other states with highest levels of lead drinking water pipes the hardest
Tom Perkins
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Man arrested in immigration raid charged with cyberstalking Kyle Wagner, 37, was arrested by federal immigration agents who broke into a south Minneapolis apartment building early Thursday. He faces cyberstalking charges that federal officials widely touted.

Man arrested in early-morning Minneapolis federal raid is charged with cyberstalking
by Joey Peters
sahanjournal.com/public-safet...

Botox to nose vibrations: The new treatments offering hope to migraine patients More than a billion people worldwide struggle to find relief from the unbearable pain of migraine. But research is leading to new therapies against this debilitating condition.

Botox to nose vibrations: The new treatments offering hope to migraine patients (Paywalled?)
Sofia Quaglia
www.bbc.com/future/artic...

Japan cherry blossom festival cancelled because of unruly tourist ‘crisis’ Authorities scrap Arakurayama Sengen park cherry blossom festival near Mount Fuji because of tourists trespassing, littering and ‘defecating in private yards’

Japan cherry blossom festival cancelled because of unruly tourist ‘crisis’
Authorities scrap Arakurayama Sengen park cherry blossom festival near Mount Fuji because of tourists trespassing, littering and ‘defecating in private yards’
Maya Yang
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

Horror in Wellington as millions of litres of untreated sewage flow into the sea Residents of New Zealand capital advised not to enter the water, collect seafood or walk their dogs on local beaches after wastewater plant failure

Horror in Wellington as millions of litres of untreated sewage flow into the sea
Residents of New Zealand capital advised not to enter the water, collect seafood or walk their dogs on local beaches after wastewater plant failure
Maya Yang
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

'Do you love me?': The Viking messages unearthed on Sweden's rune stones Runic inscriptions from the Viking Age still turn up in Sweden 1,000 years after they were written – revealing fascinating stories of love, loss and epic battles.

'Do you love me?': The Viking messages unearthed on Sweden's rune stones (Paywalled?)
Matilda Welin
www.bbc.com/future/artic...

YouTube video by The Bulwark Trump is Leading America’s Global Collapse (w/ Robert Kagan) | The Bulwark Podcast

youtu.be/YTfhw69fy6U?...