Army removes Confederate Memorial from Arlington National Cemetery as Civil War-era controversies continue to roil national and local politics.

The danger of toxic side effects for two common chemotherapy drugs could be mitigated with a simple genetic test.

Berkeley chemists have created a reusable material that pulls carbon dioxide from the air and holds onto it until it can be stored.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) reflected on last week’s bruising electoral defeats in which Republicans flipped four seats, giving them a 53-seat majority in the Senate, emphasizing Democrats must do a thorough autopsy to understand “the things we did wrong.”  “We have to understand the things we did wrong and we must change,” Schumer […]

Along with Google and Facebook, the company has done more than most to undo privacy as we once knew it, creating an economy built on our personal data.

X, formerly known as Twitter, is closing its headquarters in San Francisco and moving some of its San Francisco employees to San José and Palo Alto. The departure is another blow to a city that has been buffeted by high-profile business departures.

The steps leading up to the Lincoln Memorial were vandalized with a message that read “Free Gaza” in red paint.

I've actually written a lot, but haven't wanted to publish most of it. So many reasons why the Dems lost. Maybe I should just list them.

1. Biden shouldn't have run again. There would have been a primary. Given the result of the election this week, we should have found out what support each candidate had with voters. We didn't get to choose the candidate. That said Harris ran a fantastic campaign.
2. Biden should not have shut down his campaign website. Rather than using it to raise money to feed to the media industry, they should have organized and listened, to develop new channels of communication with voters that were not dependent on journalism. Every time the Dems run a campaign, win or lose, they shut down their connection to the electorate. The voters' only role in the party was when they needed our money and our vote. We were not part of governing. Huge mistake. And I'm not just saying that now, I've said that about every Democratic campaign since Obama. This is probably the biggest single mistake the Dems keep making.
3. We needed a prosecutor at the top of Justice. I don't know what Garland actually did, but I'm sure it will all be swept out by whoever is Trump's AG.
4. Men's votes need to be sought and welcomed, specifically. So much has been done to alienate male voters, which is why so many voted for Trump. We could have had a bunch of them this year, if we had only spoken to them with respect.

I don't know if we can reboot the Democrats as an opposition party given all these problems. Whatever comes next is going to perform very differently from the party that lost this election. If we try to do it again the same old way, it will fail even worse. I think everyone knows this by now.

A new collection of Mercerised Cotton Socks from Supremo.

Supremo fine mercerized cotton patterned socks are designed for ventilation.

With hand linked toe for ultimate comfort. Reinforced stress areas for durability.

Freesize (size 6-10).

In the spring of 2020, Andrea Walker Warren and her husband, Matt Warren, found themselves in Munich, contemplating moving back to the United States…

A map of downtown Spokane's east end, circa 1910, would be barely recognizable to most locals today…

In a discussion with two Spokane sisters, Maureen Jones (née McKenna) and Sharon Mauch (also née McKenna), we are offered a perspective of two Spokanites who attended Expo '74 nearly every day between the two of them. What was the experience of the IMAX like?…

Documenting the moment her Seattle Seahawks player husband was wheeled out post-op, the 'Like a Boy' singer can be heard suppressing her giggle as she says, 'Oh my god, this is ridiculous.'

The 'Leftovers' actor struggled to remember his name and was mistakenly told that he needed a brain surgery following a serious accident in New York City.

The 'Saturday Night Live' member decides to 'burn off' his body inks because he's worried they would keep him from landing the onscreen roles that he wanted.

The 'Queen and Slim' actress talks about the challenges of filming her new action movie, claiming her pregnancy added 'a layer of complexity' to her role.

The big-screen version of the Japanese manga series and the live-action adaptation of the popular video game once again go neck and neck in their second week at the domestic box office.

Less than two weeks before his heist thriller hits select theaters, the 'Zack Snyder's Justice League' director also stresses that any references to the global health crisis were purely coincidental.

The 'Saturday Night Live' member decides to 'burn off' his body inks because he's worried they would keep him from landing the onscreen roles that he wanted.

In this episode of our podcast, Thomas Domville demonstrates the power of the Virtual Volunteer feature, set to come to the Be My Eyes app in late Q3 2023. Currently in beta testing, this feature, powered by OpenAI's GPT-4 model, has the potential to be a game changer for people with visual impairments. It offers a virtual sighted assistant that can generate context and understanding for images, allowing for a greater degree of independence in everyday tasks.

During the episode, Thomas showcases a variety of real-world use cases for the Virtual Volunteer, including identifying clothing; getting information from food packaging; describing greeting cards, photos from your photo library or places such as Facebook, and weather maps; reading restaurant menus, and more.

We thank the Be My Eyes team for allowing us to record and share this demonstration of the Virtual Volunteer.

In this episode, Majid Almaadeed gives us a demonstration of Cisco Packet Tracer for Mac, a versatile network simulation and visualization tool designed for learning and practicing networking concepts. It provides a virtual environment where users can create, configure, and simulate network topologies and devices, enabling them to gain hands-on experience with networking technologies without the need for physical hardware.

Cisco Packet Tracer for Mac allows individuals to design and simulate complex network setups. It supports a wide range of Cisco devices, such as routers, switches, and wireless access points, enabling users to configure and interconnect them to create functional networks. You can explore various networking concepts, including routing, switching, wireless communications, and network security. It facilitates the simulation of network protocols and their behaviors, allowing users to understand how data flows through different network layers and devices.

In addition to its simulation capabilities, Cisco Packet Tracer for Mac offers a range of learning resources and activities, making it an ideal tool for educational institutions and self-paced learning. It allows users to test their network configurations, troubleshoot issues, and visualize the impact of changes before implementing them in real-world scenarios.

In this episode, Tyler demonstrates how to create and use Safari website shortcuts or "Web apps" on macOS.

This feature allows you to create shortcuts to websites on your dock that when opened, behave as if the website was its own app. This may be useful for VoiceOver users, as web apps are included when pressing Command-Tab to cycle through open apps, making them easy to switch to and from. In addition, these web apps can be mapped to commands in Keyboard Commander so they can be accessed with a single keystroke.

To create a web app, go to a website in Safari and choose File > Add to Dock. Change the name and icon of the web app if you wish, and click Add. It can then be accessed via the Dock, or in the Applications folder in your Home folder, accessed by choosing Go > Home in Finder, or pressing Command-Shift-H. To map the web app to a command in Keyboard Commander, open Voiceover Utility > Commanders > Keyboard, click Add, type the key that you want to open the app when pressed, choose "Custom commands > Open application" from the menu, and navigate to and select the web app in the Open dialog.

In this episode, Tyler demonstrates some of VoiceOver's command customization capabilities on macOS.

If you find a particular VoiceOver command difficult to perform, or discover a function in the Commands menu that doesn’t have a default command, you can assign your own custom command to it. In addition, you can configure commands to open apps and run scripts, so you don’t have to locate them manually.

Commands can be configured by going to VoiceOver Utility > Commands, selecting the “Command set: user” radio button, and clicking “Custom commands edit.” For ease of navigation, you can choose the type of commands you want to view or change, such as numpad, trackpad, keyboard, etc from the "Filter commands" popup menu, or use the search field to locate a particular command.

In this dialog, commands can be presented in either column view, which organizes commands into categories like general, information, and navigation, or table view, which displays a list of all VoiceOver commands, including user-configured ones, which you can navigate with the up and down arrow keys. To add a command, in column view, locate the command, interact with the table of assignments, and specify your new one using the "Add input" popup menu. To add a command when in table view, click the Add button, interact with the table, and specify the input assignment from the popup menu labeled "None: edited." Then, press VO-Right-Arrow passed an empty cell to another popup menu, and choose the command you want your new input assignment to perform.

transcript:

Disclaimer: This transcript is generated by AIKO, an automated transcription service. It is not edited or formatted, and it may not accurately capture the speakers’ names, voices, or content.: Hey, Apple Vissers.

Tyler here.

With a demonstration and walkthrough of VoiceOver command customization on macOS.

Prior to macOS Sequoia, VoiceOver included several user configurable sets of commands, known as commanders, for the numpad, trackpad, keyboard, and quick nav.

With macOS Sequoia, these commanders have been consolidated into VoiceOver's broader command set, meaning in addition to the existing modifiers that you could use, like the option key for keyboard commander, you can also create your own command assignments using the VoiceOver modifier, which may be useful if you find a particular VoiceOver command difficult to perform, if you find a command in the commands menu, for example, that lacks a default assignment, or if you want to create a custom command to open an application.

So to demonstrate this, I'm going to open VoiceOver utility on my mac with VoF8.

Opening VoiceOver utility.

VoiceOver utility.

VoiceOver utility.

Window.

Utility categories.

C for commanders.

Commands.

Commands.

VRA.

VoiceOver modifier.

Control option or caps lock.

VoiceOver modifier.

VoiceOver modifier.

This is the setting that was located in the general category in prior versions of macOS, but options are the same.

Control option, caps lock, or control option, or caps lock, which is the default.

VRA.

Also control VoiceOver with.

Also control VoiceOver with.

Numpad.

Uncheck.

Checkbox.

Numpad, which was formerly known as Numpad Commander.

If you want to use, if you have a…

In this episode, Tyler demonstrates the basics of using iPhone Mirroring, a feature that allows you to use your iPhone from your Mac, with VoiceOver. Topics covered in this demonstration include:

• General description of the feature and its current issues and limitations
• System requirements and setup
• Navigating and dealing with various elements of the iOS user interface, such as the Home Screen, rotor actions, and context menus, using macOS
• Controlling which iPhone apps can forward notifications to your Mac

More general information about this feature can be found in the Apple Support article "iPhone Mirroring: Use your iPhone from your Mac."

Transcript

Disclaimer: This transcript was generated by Aiko, an AI-powered transcription app. It is not edited or formatted, and it may not accurately capture the speakers’ names, voices, or content.

Hey Apple visitors, Tyler here, with a demonstration and overview of iPhone mirroring. iPhone mirroring is a feature that allows you to essentially use your iPhone from your Mac.

This may be useful if you, for example, prefer a given service's mobile app over its desktop or web equivalent, or if what you're using doesn't have a desktop app or website.

In addition, as notifications from your iPhone can be forwarded to your Mac via iPhone mirroring, you may find it more convenient to receive and respond to the notification on your Mac than to switch devices if you're working on your Mac when the notification comes in.

With the initial release of Mac OS Sequoia 15.0, this feature was completely inaccessible with voiceover.

With the subsequent 15.1 update, it has become accessible to a point.

I say to a point because at the time of recording, October 2024, there are several issues that, in my opinion, make the experience less than refined from a voiceover perspective, which I'll elaborate on later in this demo.

To use iPhone mirroring with voiceover, you'll need an iPhone with iOS 18.1 or later and a Mac with Mac OS 15.1 or later.

All iPhones capable of running iOS 18 work with iPhone mirroring, as do all Macs capable of running Sequoia, with the exception of the 2019 iMac, as that model lacks the T2 security chip or Apple silicon.

To set up iPhone mirroring, just open the iPhone mirroring app on your Mac and follow the on-screen instructions.

I've already done that, so now I'm going to demonstrate the feature.

I'm going to open iPhone mirroring on my Mac.

So here I am prompted to authenticate.

By default, whenever you open the iPhone mirroring app, you are prompted to authenticate as a way to verify your identity before it gives you control of your iPhone.

If you'd rather, it didn't prompt you to authenticate each time you open the app, you can change this in iPhone mirroring settings.

Just choose settings from the menu bar or press command comma and it should be there.

But I'm going to authenticate with touch ID now.

Close button.

Okay, so here I am in the iPhone mirroring window.

Okay, so we have home screen and app switcher.

Now you can use those buttons to get to those locations, or I find it more convenient to use the view menu or keyboard shortcuts.…

Do we take democracy for granted? asks Alan Clawley.

Celebrating the life of a once vibrant lane, soon to be lost due to development.

Jabeur and Kasatkina to face off in LTA Viking Classic Birmingham.

Allowing local authorities to retain business rates only rights one of many wrongs imposed on them by central government writes Steve Beauchampé

Charter 400 project marks anniversary of historic landmark.

Steve Beauchampé mourns the closure of Birmingham’s finest, but little known, sausage emporium.

The sudden shutdown of all channels of Greece's national broadcasting company by the Greek government is 'unacceptable for an EU democracy', says West Mids and Warks Lib Dem MEP Phil Bennion.

Businesses in the region are being encouraged to find out more about the importance of the growing digital economy at a free event taking place at Coventry University in January.

Richemont, the owner of Cartier, fell short of profit projections for the first half of the year and expressed caution regarding China's recovery, causing a decline in European luxury stocks. The company's sales were impacted by a downturn in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in China, where consumer confidence remains low.

On Thursday, November 14, media and entertainment technology strategist Chris Pfaff will moderate the panel "Removing the Friction of Content Discovery on CTV." Incorporating viewership data into the content discoverability process can remove the pain points that have bubbled up in the new streaming landscape, lead to more engagement with the content, and open up more opportunities for advertisers to reach their target audiences. This panel of experts from NBCUniversal, Pluto TV, Revry TV, and Gatsby TV looks at the success of genre channels and provides attendees with insight into how they help their viewers find their content faster.

We (two non-Japanese speaking Americans) will be traveling in Japan in mid-November and are looking for a Japanese speaker to help us make a few restaurant reservations by phone or email/fax ahead of time, since we won't have a concierge who can do it for us. Ideally, we'd make the reservations by the end of the first week of October.

This is very speculative. I am assisting a faculty member where I work with the idea of establishing a Mastodon server (hosted by the university) to support a specialized intersection of a particular equity-seeking group and an area of study. The work would be to help run the server, and possibly promote it -- a combination moderator and marketer, both making sure the community is running smoothly and also reaching to people to encourage them to join. If this seems interesting to you, and in full knowledge that this might go nowhere, I'd love to hear about your moderation experience, how many hours a week you think you'd be able to put into the project, and your pay per hour expectations (in USD).

Looking to hire as an independent contractor a highly experienced backend software engineer with extensive experience with Node.js, and preferably with MongoDB as well. Familiarity with GCP would be a plus. This is a part-time, remote contract that will probably be for a minimum of three months and possibly a good bit longer. You must be a true high senior or expert level developer with extensive Node.js experience. A qualified candidate will most likely have at least ten years of solid software development experience. If you are not the right person but know somebody who might be, please feel free to have them contact me. Thank you.

Snabblån Express is a Swedish-based website looking to expand into the global audience. We specialize in money-management and personal economy. Our aim is to increase knowledge about money-lending and educating the public to avoid taking unnecessary risks. This is done via our vast knowledge database. We are now looking for editors who can read and write in English and German (Dutch), as well as Swedish. We have several hundred articles in the database, both published and ready-for-review status, which needs translating as we will launch our website on an international domain soon. The work is done remotely and we seek driven individuals who has the minimum of the following requirements met: You are a social and engaging person with high motivation and ability to perform your tasks individually. You have advanced knowledge from the field of finances and economy in the west, and know how to write compelling economy and finance articles. You are self-driven and efficient, and a fast writer :) - Experience in using Wordpress - Experience in writing before (add references) - Experience in SEO - Fluent in English, German languages - Advanced in Swedish language The payscale varies depending on the output of the work you provide. We are open to suggestions.

Don't know about you, but I had a pretty rough week so I'm indulging myself with Jinjer and Spiritbox, starting with one of the greatest collabs of the current millenium: Spiritbox - Circle With Me ft. Tatiana Shmayluk of Jinjer

Megan Thee Stallion - TYG (feat. Spiritbox) Jinjer - Who Is Gonna Be The One - Live Spiritbox - The Mara Effect - live Jinjer - Pisces - Live Spiritbox - The Mara Effect - live Jinjer - Just Another We will return to more varied programming next week, probably.

I asked a similar question a few months ago, but the "best answer" to that question no longer works because Facebook has changed the interface. I recently put a Facebook post (an article) into an album (using the relatively new feature that lets you do this with all kinds of links, not just photos/videos). But I changed my mind — I don't want it to be in any album. How do I remove it? I could use either a browser or the iPhone app.

Note that Facebook's album interface seems to have changed about a month ago, so older Facebook how-to posts might not be relevant.

I don't want to delete the post because it already has comments, etc.

Rows of armed agents were deployed around the protests in Washington, D.C. this past week, but it was not obvious who they were: They had no name tags, no badge numbers and no emblems to identify which agencies they worked for. Their arrival sparked shock and alarm. Now, Democratic lawmakers are calling for legislation that would make it illegal for these officers to not identify themselves. In the Senate, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) are cosponsoring a bill that would require officers to identify themselves while "engaged in crowd control or arresting individuals involved in civil disobedience or protests in the United States." In the House, Virginia Democrat Don Beyer, whose district is just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., is working on similar legislation. "How do we tell these alleged federal police officers from white supremacist militia groups?" Beyer said in an interview Sunday with NPR's Weekend Edition . "How do you ever

Bernie Sanders thinks he has a pretty good idea why Hillary Clinton and Democrats lost in the 2016 election. "Look, you can't simply go around to wealthy people's homes raising money and expect to win elections," the Vermont senator, who gave Clinton a surprisingly strong run for the Democratic nomination, told NPR's David Greene in an interview airing on Morning Edition. "You've got to go out and mix it up and be with ordinary people." That picks up on a criticism of Clinton devoting too much time to fundraising — and not enough to on-the-ground campaigning in traditionally Democratic states, like Michigan and Wisconsin. In the general election, Clinton never visited Wisconsin after she became the nominee and visited Michigan late in the game. The two Upper Midwestern states swung narrowly to Trump: Wisconsin by slightly more than 20,000 votes and Michigan by slightly more than 10,000. During the primary, Sanders boasted of his small-donor donations. "The Democratic Party swallowed

Label/Publisher is seeking songs for release, publishing, sync placement opportunities, and promotion. We have a proven record of placing songs with major networks and brands such as FOX, ABC, Roxy, Forever 21, Specialized, etc.

We are specifically seeking music from artists that have a timeless sound. The overall vibe of the label is one of honest music with warm vintage emotion. We are looking for Singer-Songwriter, Folk, Americana, Indie, and Alternative Country that evokes emotion. We lean toward a more melancholy sound so please no “fun” or overly “happy” songs. At the moment we are only seeking single unreleased songs by active artists or bands. By focusing on singles we can target specific markets when promoting and seeking sync placements. This also allows us to craft the labels’ “sound” while acting as a discovery vehicle for new and emerging artists.

Please DO NOT Submit more than one song. If I like what I hear I will dig around and find more of your material or contact you for additional music.

IMPORTANT: Artists must be willing to sign the master & publishing rights to the selected song over to the label and publisher. The songwriter/writers will retain 100% of the writing credit and will receive all royalties for their share. In addition, an advance will be paid to the writer/performer for the song in an amount to be determined. The advance then becomes a recoupable expense. After the advance is recouped, all income generated by the song will be split 50/50.

Our label is distributed by our digital aggregator, The Orchard, and releases will be available on every major retailer and streaming service including iTunes, Spotify, IHeartRadio, Amazon, YouTube, Google Music, rDio, Shazam, Flipagram, etc.

- Jason Currie / Dog Bites Wolf

Deal Type: Catalog Inclusion
Decision Maker: We are the final decision maker
Deal Structure: Exclusive
Compensation: $251 - $500
Song Quality: Rough Mixes, Fully mastered, Broadcast ready
Similar Sounding Artists: First Aid Kit, William Fitzsimmons, Gregory Alan Isakov, Nikki Lane, Molly Tuttle, Father John Misty

Hatching a plan for an 8-10ish week, self-contained, van-based cross-country solo journey in 2024 while maintaining a work schedule that absolutely requires me to be connected and on video for scheduled calls every workday. Now in the brainstorming and resource-gathering stages and open to creative ideas and tools. The short version:
Because I'm a worker bee and cannot take all of this time off, I feel like anything like this needs to be fairly well structured, with a good idea of where I plan to land most of the time. This is a really non-specific post, and I welcome all thoughts around apps (e.g., Google Maps with pins, VanAlert, iOverlander, Facebook groups) or other online resources or advice, that will help me plan and execute this.

In brief, the 39yo vanagon has a 100ah LiPo aux battery, a WeBoost cel booster, a fridge, propane heat, a kill switch and good mountain tires. She has a new-ish engine and my dearly departed husband was building her out for work-travel. I'm already set up to plug in and work comfortably from the back seat for a couple of days at a time.

The nitty gritty...
About trip planning:
-starting in the PNW and hoping to route thru New England and California;
-no specific time frame in mind, though I would like to avoid intense heat (no a/c) and extended days below freezing... off the cuff and since summers in the PNW are beautiful, it might be great to stay here and enjoy it while working out kinks with the van, and leave mid August. Loosely aim for a New England fall, down to the Carolinas, return (also loosely) via TN, KY, NM, AZ, and then San Diego and north;
-I'd like to largely avoid interstates, driving in the dark and more than 300-mile days;
-I plan to develop a rough itinerary around the results of outreach to my friend network via social media to ask who would like a visit. Something like: "hey friends, I'm exploring the idea of a big road trip in 2024 and want to know if you'd like a visitor." I would include some language around the fact that I have to work, and probe for what kind of visit they would like, if they could accommodate me and the van, if I could stay/play/work in their house, and if not do they have flat and safe off-street parking, access to an outlet, etc. Your ideas welcome around the framing of that post;
-for the parts of the trip that don't involve friends, I will seek out safe and beautiful camping destinations, stealth camping as needed, forest/BLM land, options that wrap in nature and beauty and hiking and making new friends, iOverlander solutions, driveway camping invitations (I know of just a couple van and women's networks that encourage this), etc;
-I really have zero interest in camping at Walmarts, Cracker Barrels, casinos, truck stops, etc., but I know it's a thing and I will if that's my best and safest option in the moment;
-I have an iPhone and general comfort with tech... is my best bet to create a Google map with pins, or is there something better? Any additional considerations if I would like to wrap in social media to share about my trip?
-I'd kind of love to learn more about driveway camping networks, where people add themselves to a map and welcome travelers to a safe camping spot and a friendly connection. I like meeting people who like meeting people;
-I am aware of networks like trustedhousesitters.com and would be open to engagements like that as I move about.

More about the van:
-I have been setting aside a little fund to add things this year like a suitcase solar panel that trickle charges the auxiliary battery. I don't quite know how that all works, but there are lots of resources out there to figure this out;
-Starlink? I can never not be available to connect for a video call on a workday, I pay extra on my cell phone to use it as hotspot, but that relies on excellent cellular connectivity (the WeBoost typically gets me one extra bar, but often that's not enough. I don't really know if it's supposed to do better than that).

About security:
-the van has a kill switch to reduce the chance of vehicle theft, but of course this does nothing to prevent breakins, theft and vandalization. There is a locking strongbox between the seats to hold my electronics and cash, and a hitchsafe to hold extra keys, ID and cash. I'm thinking I should hide an AirTag or have some other kind of tracking mechanism;
-I don't carry a gun and really don't want to. I have bear spray. I have thought that a trip like this might call for a small InReach or some other gps tracking device;
-as much as I would like to explore urban areas, I would be worried about the van. in the absence of a safe place to park, probably I will base the van outside of a city and take public transit in to be a tourist.

About me:
-50s, fairly extroverted, lover of outdoors, adventurous, though still new to widowhood and discovering a new timidity around taking risks without my adventure partner at my side;
-have driven solo across the country three times, but that was more than 25 years ago and all in less than 10 days;
-not self-employed. I work full-time from my laptop, with a balance of heads-down work and regularly scheduled calls. I also have a fair amount of flexibility in scheduling my day. I'm planning to stretch my PTO around 3- and 4-day weekends when friends have time to play or if I am wanting to linger and explore. I can also imagine on occasion driving for a couple of hours between meetings in the day and making up for it after it's dark and I'm parked;
-not a mechanic, though I can change oil, tires and filters, look up YouTube solutions and follow basic directions (like yesterday, changing an o-ring on my power steering pump). I do plan to take measures in the next year to learn more of the basics of mechanical troubleshooting;
-possess general common sense around safety, and want to take precautions. No plans to install an alarm system or a dash cam.

This is an unreasonably long post, I know. But I figured it couldn't hurt. Seeking your favorite resources for such a trip, your best advice, what do I need to know, what should I be thinking of, etc.

Over the summer, the Huron River Watershed Council conducted an extensive survey of freshwater mussels in the Huron River to determine potential impacts when the Peninsular Paper Dam is removed. It found that removing the Pen Dam could release sediment, potentially smothering downstream mussel populations. Once the dam is removed, though, the river will return to a more natural state, benefiting mussel species over time. WEMU's David Fair looked at the research and its implications with Huron River Watershed Council Ecologist Dr. Paul Steen.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: A bipartisan delegation of Congresspeople is just back from Ukraine. It was a trip designed to strengthen the U.S.-Ukraine alliance, and it was planned before news broke of the whistleblower complaint against President Trump involving that same country. Congressman John Garamendi led the delegation as a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee. And the Democrat from California joins us now. Welcome, Congressman. JOHN GARAMENDI: Good to be with you. SHAPIRO: One central question in the impeachment inquiry is whether President Trump demanded help investigating a political rival in exchange for U.S. aid to Ukraine. And I know that aid was a central topic on your trip, so what did you learn about Ukraine's reliance on American assistance? GARAMENDI: Well, first of all, Ukraine is an extraordinary country. These citizens of that country are determined to be independent. They have been fighting a war against Russia for the last five years. They've lost 13- to 14

I am very sad to let the MeFi community know that one of its staunchest supporters and all around good guy digaman (Steve Silberman) has passed away as reported by his spouse on Bluesky. For people who didn't know digaman well, you might know his book NeuroTribes (MeFi post), the Grateful Dead box set he co-produced So Many Roads, or one of his 184 posts to MetaFilter (all from 2010 and before). He was always a great internet friend to me especially lately over on Mastodon and I know I will miss his voice. May his memory be a blessing, we are lucky to have known him.

Ever wonder if a podcast could go to space ? Or ask why a $60,000 bag is always out of stock ? Or want to learn the secrets of snack vendors at a baseball game ? Do you want to find connections between a huge IPO and a Greek new age keyboardist ? Are you the kind of person who finds delight in a report from the Federal Reserve ? Are you a meticulous (and speedy) fact checker? Do you have ideas for improving our Twitter , Instagram and TikTok ( yes ) game? We are looking for TWO interns this fall: One to work on Planet Money , and one to work on The Indicator from Planet Money . You will be working remotely, like all of us. But you'll be part of our daily meetings, regularly scheduled edits, and weekly happy hour. This moment is unusual, we know. We consider it an opportunity. We are especially interested in candidates who might not otherwise be able to move to NYC for an internship, or people who might not usually apply at all. We still expect you to be a fan of the show, be eager to

Editor's note: This is an excerpt of Planet Money 's newsletter. You can sign up here . A health worker sprays disinfectant inside government offices as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus. ARUN SANKAR / AFP via Getty Images Last week, I went into Planet Money 's vacant office in midtown Manhattan to pick up some stuff. It felt like visiting the ruins of a bygone age. It reminded me of a time when you could hop in a crowded subway car, stroll into work without a mask, and interact with your colleagues without having to stare at their disembodied heads through a computer screen. Our building is still mostly abandoned, but our building's manager had already taken precautions for that elusive day when we might all return. There were stand-six-feet-apart circles in the lobby to encourage social distance. Our elevators could only fit four circles, and they didn't even seem like they were actually six feet apart. This being a skyscraper, it had always been a pain in the