The invention of buses Works in Progress
America’s Electricity Gap Apricitas Economics
Climate/Environment
The invisible force making food less nutritious WaPo
After 37 Years, the World’s Longest-Running Soil Warming Experiment Uncovers a Startling Climate Secret SciTech Daily
What happens when a farmer loses his soil? Food and Environment Reporting Network
Physics-based models outperform AI weather forecasts of record-breaking extremes Science. Brings to mind this news from December.
Older and Wiser: How Elder Animals Help Species to Survive Yale Environment 360
Pandemics
Brief Background on the Suspected Hantavirus Outbreak On A Cruise Ship (ex Argentina) Avian Flu Diary
Water
Ariz., Calif., Nev. announce plan to save Colorado River water Arizona Daily Star
California will soon have more than 300 data centers. Where will they get their water? Grist
Japan
Japan to purchase Russian crude oil amid global energy crisis Anadolu Agency
China?
China’s rare defiance of US sanctions sparks showdown over banks Business Times
Keep the Wolves Away China Articles. The view from the Hoover Institution and Palantir.
China’s ‘common prosperity’ push faces reality check as inequality rises: study South China Morning Post
India
Meritocracy Myth in India: Who Really Gets Ahead? Countercurrents
Noida’s workers expose the fault line between India’s economic ambition and labour market reality Financial Express
India is burning more coal as extreme heat and the Iran war squeeze energy supplies CNBC
Syraqistan
Israel threatens Gaza war resumption to force disarmament as ‘truce’ frays Al Jazeera. Frays.
In East Jerusalem, ‘a whole Palestinian community is about to be expelled’ +972 Magazine. For a biblical theme park no less.
Over 20 arrested in Jerusalem suspected of planning goat sacrifice on the Temple Mount Sweden Herald
The Samson Files I: Dimona and the Birth of Nuclear Ambiguity Kautilya The Contemplator
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Operation Project Freedom… Scamming the War Powers Act Larry Johnson
You have to be kidding me. WSJ: https://t.co/sWhml9r4Ax pic.twitter.com/0D7YXDtgma
— Amerikanets 📉 (@ripplebrain) May 4, 2026
⚔️ Casus Belli
Trump has ordered the US Navy to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, and warned Iran to stand down, or else.
Iran ordered ships anchored near the strait to move away from it.
Iran will fire on US warships, and Trump will call it a casus belli. https://t.co/oAnWl8MzmM
— Will Schryver (@imetatronink) May 3, 2026
European Disunion
The German government is struggling to explain: Where have all the billions spent on defense gone? Ostdeutsche Allgemeine (machine translation)
What Did the Golden Lion Die Of? On Judgment and Disavowal at the Venice Biennale e-flux
Africa
US military says two service members taking part in Morocco drills missing Al Jazeera
Old Blighty
Dominic Cummings’ “moonshot” agency awarded £52m to US tech firms Democracy for Sale
UK to enter talks on joining European Union’s £78bn loan for Ukraine The Independent
New Not-So-Cold War
Ukrainian Drones Hit Russia’s Primorsk Port, Oil Tankers And Military Ships Reuters
Leningrad Oblast repelled one of the most massive attacks by the Ukrainian UAVs since the start of the SMO, more than 60 drones were shot down. All of them used the airspace of Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland.
The unmanned aircraft were launched from Lutsk… pic.twitter.com/CAppB0dMRf
— Mats Nilsson (@mazzenilsson) May 3, 2026
Sweden seizes suspected Russian shadow fleet tanker in Baltic Sea Türkiye Today
Thanks, but no thanks. That’s enough. Stop! Maria Zaklarova, Vedomosti. On the US State Department allegedly threatening the child of a Russian diplomat.
Mobilization to intensify Events in Ukraine
New NABU tapes implicate Zelenskiy’s inner circle in corruption Intellinews
Trump 2.0
Trump flexes executive power with unprecedented flouting of lower court rulings AP
North Carolinian mercenaries hired recent advisor to Trump’s UN ambassador while pressing for Board of Peace role All-Source Intelligence
Trump Taps Israel Lobbyist From Israeli Intelligence Cutout To Join Iran Negotiations. The Dissident
Trump’s Renewable Energy Crackdown Hits Legal Wall OilPrice
After More Private Social Security Data Exposed by Team Trump, Where Will GOP ‘Draw the Line’? Common Dreams
Democrats Suck
Kamala Harris bought a Malibu home. Her neighbors think that means something. Politico
Imperial Collapse Watch
Robots are building clay homes in Central Texas using dirt from the ground kxan
Tired of high costs, some Americans are importing homes straight from China CNN
Agriculture
Chartbook 445: Is a “China shock” coming for the “big ag” food regime? Adam Tooze
What’s the Deal with Meat Prices? And Why Is Beef Different? Enlightened Omnivore
UAE fertiliser giant resorts to trucks to shift product out of Gulf FT
Fertiliser and Grain Bosses Bank $66 Million Selling Shares During Iran War DeSmog
American Farmworkers Orion
Police State Watch
NYC officials criticize ICE after clash outside Brooklyn hospital leads to 8 arrests Gothamist. And it would appear that Mamdani’s NYPD is coordinating with ICE.
Big Brother Is Watching You Watch
Ghost Operators: How Israeli Telecoms Were Exploited to Track Citizens Worldwide Haaretz
Gunz
At least 10 injured in mass shooting near Lake Arcadia in US state of Oklahoma Anadolu Agency
Our Famously Free Press
Fox News is telling Americans that Iran is strapping suicide bombs to dolphins.
Who believes this propaganda anymore?pic.twitter.com/JPSwtcTpnj
— Ethan Levins 🇺🇸 (@EthanLevins2) May 3, 2026
AI
States across the wildfire-prone Western US are using AI for early detection AP. AI that costs a bundle and requires human verification.
Healthcare?
The Paradox of Medical AI Implementation Eric Topol
Economy
OPEC+ members agree to ‘symbolic’ oil production hike The Cradle
US Is Oil Supplier of Last Resort as Hormuz Disruptions Worsen Bloomberg. “But record American exports also come with warnings that this supply cushion is rapidly being pushed to its limits. Many energy experts are questioning how long shipments can be sustained at such levels…”
Antitrust
Who Killed Spirit Airlines? Matt Stoller
Casino Nation
Why Almost Everyone Loses—Except a Few Sharks—on Prediction Markets WSJ. Lovely chart:
Class Warfare
The wealth gap has never been wider:
US private sector financial assets relative to US GDP are up to a record 6.7x.
This means that the total value of stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments held by the private sector has never been larger relative to the real economy.… pic.twitter.com/gReT4NS5Ig
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) May 4, 2026
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
