Monica Metzler

The White House starts demolishing part of the East Wing to build Trump's ballroom Dramatic photos show construction equipment tearing into the East Wing façade and windows, though the federal agency that oversees such projects has not approved President Trump's 90,000-square-foot, $250 million ballroom.

Dramatic photos show construction equipment tearing into the East Wing façade and windows, though the federal agency that oversees such projects has not approved President Trump's 90,000-square-foot, $250 million ballroom. n.pr/48AUON2

The Democrats need to get a hell of a lot of cameras on the White House and plaster the photos everywhere. It's not just the brazen symbol of a megalomaniac destroying national heritage; it's happening during a government shutdown when ordinary people aren't getting paid. Make every American see it.

Image of a human brain superimposed over a green forest background. Text is "The Brain & Nature" Wed., Oct. 8, 2025 at 6:30pm with Marc Berman. https://BrainAndNature.eventbrite.com

The Brain & Nature is third in ISC's 5-talk series on neuroscience topics relevant to all of us. Dr. Marc Berman, UChicago, will present very interesting research about nature's impact, not just on moods, but actually on attention, focus, and memory too.

Illinois election officials decline to give Justice Department sensitive voter data Illinois election officials late Tuesday told President Donald Trump’s Justice Department the state would not comply with the federal agency’s demand for sensitive data on the state’s roughly 8.3 mill...

Go fish.

Too many friends are now evangelists touting their use of AI for every ridiculous little thing. It makes me feel like the only one in the world with any concern or hesitation about insane levels of energy it requires. I'm no luddite but think it's going to take us in some nightmarish directions.

Chicago sees fewest summer murders since 1965, even as Trump cites high crime The Chicago Police Department’s criminal homicide tally for June, July and August is the lowest in 60 years. And overall violent crime remains near its lowest point in more than four decades.

A WBEZ analysis has found that a three-month summer span saw the fewest murders in 60 years in Chicago while overall violent crime remained near its lowest point in at least four decades. chicago.suntimes.com/news/2025/09...

“Twitter sucks now and all the cool kids are moving to Bluesky:” Our new survey shows that scientists no longer find Twitter professionally useful or pleasant My colleague Dr. Julia Wester and I have a new paper out in the journal Integrative and Comparative Biology reporting on the results of a survey distributed to over 800 scientists, science educator…

Along with Julia Wester, Shiffman surveyed over 800 scientists, science educators, and science communicators and found that Twitter—once the gold standard for online science discussion—is being abandoned by scientists in droves

www.southernfriedscience.com/twitter-suck...

Without a doubt, the best part of my job is when students stop by to ask questions that aren't about grades.

Your Emotional Brain | Illinois Science Council The first in our series on the brain, Dr. Robin Nusslock, Northwestern University, will give an intriguing tour of the three main systems of our emotional brain – fear, reward, and regulation – that m...

Chicago folks -- this great program will give you a "Tour of Your Emotional Brain" as the first in IL Science Council's series of neuroscience science talks with expert Q&A. Following this will be more 'Your Brain on...' programs about: Addiction; Fear; Nature; and on Misinformation. Get tix today!

I remember vividly the horrific coughing fits of an otherwise healthy 20-something colleague who got whooping. It was then that I wished someone would record audio of a child with whooping cough to play for any parent and see how many seconds they could last before begging for the vaccine.

Why isn't the media asking some of the *many* Florida residents over 65 who likely remember very well how their communities and families were thrilled to get vaccines when they were kids. Is this policy really what Floridians want??

Reader, I choked up

It worked for L. Ron Hubbard. Lucrative too.

Trump will learn Chicago isn’t a city you mess with. This is a place that saw regular pizza and said, “Hey, what if we make that about 2 inches deeper and put more cheese on it?” This is a place of bare knuckles and hard work, a place where resistance runs deep.

www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...

An endless field of flowers with an elk skull in the center looking over the length of Lamar Valley.

Somebody somewhere
Needs an endless field of flowers tonight

PS
Best seen
Full screen

Opinion | Jay Bhattacharya: Why the NIH is pivoting away from mRNA vaccines As a vaccine for broad public use, mRNA technology has failed to earn the public’s trust.

I cannot emphasize enough that the playbook being used against mRNA vaccines (and vaccines in general) is IDENTICAL to the playbook used to restrict voting rights after the 2020 election: actively sow public distrust, then cite the distrust you sowed as an independent reason for your desired policy

Pic of bluesky profile for Bill Caine. Clearly AI image of a white man with a billowing American flag header photo. 20k followers and following 26k. Has 2.2k posts. Bio: Web editor with a passion for quality content, storytelling, and engaging digital audiences Allchronology.com

🧵 Let's talk about "AI" - driven "news" sites and "AI" or scam journalist accounts and how to spot them, along with the disinformation they spew

I'll start with "accomplished magazine journalist" Bill Caine

1. Check followers: I've never seen a journalist with such a lopsided follower count

9 Federally Funded Scientific Breakthroughs That Changed Everything (Gift Article) The U.S. is slashing funding for scientific research, after decades of deep investment. Here’s some of what those taxpayer dollars created.

9 Federally Funded Scientific Breakthroughs That Changed Everything (Gift Article) www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/s...

🧪

If you're in Chicago next Wednesday, come hang out with us and talk science stuff. No speaker, no agenda, just people meeting and chatting with other people who like science! sciencesocial9.eventbrite.com

NASA Ordered to Remove Anything About 'Women in Leadership' From Its Websites: Report

NASA Ordered to Remove Anything About ‘Women in Leadership’ From Its Websites: Report gizmodo.com/nasa-ordered...

The world’s richest person, without any actual authority, is infiltrating entire govt agencies and gaining access to sensitive info.

And it's being done in an effort to slash federal spending in the name of "efficiency" so America’s wealthy can get another huge tax cut.

Very cool

Every day is Christmas for Putin now.

A memo listing all of the clubs eliminated by USMA.

The United States Military Academy has just eliminated all Cadet clubs and activities for POC. Most of these have existed for decades like the Society of Black Engineers. They were there when I was a Cadet in 1987. All of the religious ones remain. This isn’t DEI. It’s white Christian Nationalism.

The Young, Inexperienced Engineers Aiding Elon Musk's Government Takeover Engineers between 19 and 24, most linked to Musk’s companies, are playing a key role as he seizes control of federal infrastructure.

6 kids doing his illegal work with direct ties to his businesses, Thiel, and other mad men. www.wired.com/story/elon-m...

Interesting read. I like the use of the term "quisling" (i.e., a traitor, especially one who collaborates with an enemy for personal gain). It should be used frequently in reference to GOP members of Congress, business leaders, and every MAGA supporter of this administration.

bsky.app/profile/stev...

Fact check: RFK Jr. denied saying things he did say | CNN Politics Over and over at a confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Democratic senators confronted Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about controversial comments they said he had made in the past. And over and over, President ...

At a confirmation hearing, Democratic senators confronted Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about controversial comments they said he had made in the past. Kennedy, the nominee for secretary of health and human services, either denied having said those things or said he wasn’t sure he had said them.

Trump fires heads of TSA, Coast Guard and guts key aviation safety advisory committee President Donald Trump has moved quickly to remake the Department of Homeland Security by firing the heads of the Transportation Security Administration and Coast Guard before their terms are up while...

Trump fires heads of TSA, Coast Guard and guts key aviation safety advisory committee

apnews.com/article/coas...

Exclusive: NTSB scrambled to retain employees after Trump’s federal worker resignation offer | CNN Politics In the wake of the worst American air disaster in two decades, the understaffed and cash-strapped National Transportation Safety Board was scrambling to keep investigators from leaving after federal e...

In the wake of the worst American air disaster in two decades, the understaffed and cash-strapped National Transportation Safety Board was scrambling to keep investigators from leaving after federal employees received an offer by the Trump administration to resign and be paid through September.