Daniel Knowles

///BREAKING/// Federal prosecutors just moved to DISMISS all charges against Marimar Martinez and her co-defendant, Anthony Ruiz, a wild end to a controversial case.

Visa restrictions are bad for Indians—but maybe not for India Remittances may fall, but opportunities are opening up

Visa restrictions are bad for Indians—but maybe not for India
economist.com/finance-and-...

I've been avoiding reading about this story all week because it is too depressing

tomorrow's newsletter is literally called "aren't you tired of feeling insane all the time?" and boy isn't this a darling example, a phrase popularised by full-on racists on Elon Musk's Twitter now being bandied around in the mainstream press and sold as a Labour term

"Pay $1,000 more for the same camera only modified to have less capability" is basically the essence of Leica cameras

Not just left vs right: Most voters think about affordability and material wellbeing, not in ideological terms Most voters want a party that emphasizes cost of living issues and makes the world a better place. Few Americans think in solidly ideologically terms. "Moderates" are mostly non-ideological.

Good morning. I've got a banger new post out today that develops a new method for placing voters on the left-right ideological spectrum, and adds a new, "non-ideological"/affordability axis to usual way we chart & think about US voters (esp swing voters). www.gelliottmorris.com/p/not-just-l...

The CDC website now disseminates disinformation about vaccines, claiming erroneously that infant vaccines might cause autism, when we know conclusively that they do not. It is difficult to overstate just how dangerous this is. www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safe...

Worked on the January 6 investigations Investigated Trump for his connection to January 6th, or corrupt practices. Some agents working on corruption investigations were fired, rehired, and then fired again. Having a rainbow flag on their desk during the Biden administration. Taking a knee during a 2020 George Floyd protest Enforcement of FBI Covid policies Refusing to illegally fire other FBI employees Being in charge of the FBI jet after people figured out Patel was using it to see his girlfriend.

This are some of the reasons why people are being fired at the FBI right now. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/how-the-fb...

Of course it was Paul Ingrassia

The White House Intervened on Behalf of Accused Sex Trafficker Andrew Tate During a Federal Investigation Federal authorities were chided for seizing electronic devices from Tate and his brother, and told to return them, records and interviews show. Experts said the intervention was highly inappropriate.

Interviews and records show the White House intervened on behalf of accused sex trafficker Andrew Tate during a federal investigation.

The incident is the latest in a string of matters where the Trump administration has inserted itself to help friends and target foes.

An F.B.I. Trainee Hung a Pride Flag Near His Desk. He Says He Was Fired for It.

The letter, signed by Kash Patel, announced he was being “summarily dismissed” from the academy because of “political signage” he had displayed at his work space in LA, he said. The only thing that could be, he realized, was a pride flag that had been given to him as a gift by his former bosses.

Church members flee as federal agents arrive at east Charlotte place of worship Witnesses say one man was detained while doing yard work while his wife and child were inside.

Just vile: "About 15 to 20 church members were doing yard work on the property while their children played games and their spouses cooked meals... The agents asked no questions and showed no identification before taking one man away, whose wife and child were inside. They attempted to grab others."

Underrated thing that's been flying under the radar: ICE's hiring spree, by necessity since there are so few others willing and able, has been hiring away local cops, which infuriates the departments by causing manpower problems and is, ironically, removing the worst of the worst from their ranks.

He's not wrong, tbf. But "food, doctors and everything else are desperately needed". Well yes. I wonder if there are any US government agencies that used to provide that sort of support

Call me Luddite but it's mental that some American school districts have moved absolutely everything onto screens??

The new Phil Space is AI-assisted

Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era | The Local A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.

holy crap... @nickhunebrown.bsky.social with some great, important work

NEWS: During a hearing in federal court in VA, prosecutors confirmed that the operative indictment in the case against James Comey was never shown to or voted on by the entire grand jury before it was presented in open court.

Defense counsel argued that’s a complete bar to further prosecution

Transit fare taps on Paris region transit systems, 2019 through 2025.

Car traffic on the Paris ring highway (in blue) and within the city of Paris itself (in red), 2019–2025.

Cycling trips in Paris and western suburbs (Hauts-de-Seine), 2020–2025.

Ridership on Paris region transit systems is now generally at or higher than pre-pandemic levels. Bike use is much higher than pre-pandemic.

At the same time, car traffic in Paris and on its ring highway is substantially lower than it was pre-pandemic. www.institutparisregion.fr/mobilite-et-...

New: Reuters has tallied job losses, suspensions and investigations stemming from the reaction to Charlie Kirk's Sept. 10 assassination. Its findings: More than 600 Americans have been punished, and the figure is likely to be an under-count.

www.reuters.com/investigatio...

Feds Used Chemical Agents Dozens of Times in Chicago An investigation by reporters from six newsrooms found that agents used chemical irritants nearly 50 times during Operation Midway Blitz.

Several Chicago newsrooms spent two months collecting and analyzing evidence of ICE & Border Patrol's use of tear gas and pepper spray in Chicago.

They found that agents deployed chemical agents nearly 50 times. Most uses occurred after a judge ordered federal agents to restrict their use.

If my group chats are anything to go by, Treasury briefing "we're going to end the cycle to work tax break that enables people to buy a large family-sized e-bike" has done more than any other advertising campaign to boost the uptake of family-sized e-bikes. Sales must be through the roof this week.

Very true

Hah. I'd like to go. My skiing in the US has been primarily Colorado, that one day in West Virginia and one day in Utah

No idea about Mammoth! I've skiied in West Virginia - I assume Snowshoe? It wasn't that bad

But yeah I think I've been overoptimistic this year

I've had some truly excellent skiing in the Alps in the first week of December - at high resorts tbf, Tignes, Val Thorens. But... not in over a decade

I did a season in Whistler in 2006/7 and there was a metre at the bottom by December 1st. Those days are over

Yeah I am thinking mid-December, so it's one of those things where stuff could improve a bunch, but places I'd been considering - Whistler, Breckenridge - seem to have *nothing* yet. Last year skied Breck for Thanksgiving and it was powder down to the base (albeit, higher lifts all closed)

lol, tbf looking at the snow report for Stowe it looks alright