Enigmas of the Cosmos, Part 3: Telescopes, Egyptian Mummy Cats and Toxic Maya Waters

From the invisible architecture of the universe to the hidden lives of ancient Egyptian cats and the toxic legacy of the Maya

By Yiannis Damellos and Mars Strangelove Jr.
November 12, 2026
Sources: ESA, Reuters, AP

1. Euclid: The Telescope That Is Mapping the Invisible Universe

The European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope is beginning to transform our understanding of the universe, producing an enormous cosmic map that could help scientists answer some of the most fundamental questions in modern physics.

Congress Owes Americans Change. Schumer Must Go. Jeffries Too. Democracy Depends on It.

November 12, 2026

Democrats owe America more than a victory celebration. 

They owe the voters the change they demanded.

By Yiannis Damellos and Mars Strangelove Jr.

The American people have spoken. After years of political confrontation, economic insecurity and growing disillusionment with Washington, voters have handed Democrats a historic opportunity to change the direction of the country. But winning an election is not the same as earning a mandate to govern. The mandate must be fulfilled. And that is precisely where the Democratic Party now faces its most consequential test: whether it will listen to the people who elected it or return to the familiar political arrangements that helped produce the crisis in the first place.

Exclusive: Bernie Sanders on Why It’s Vital for Democrats to Replace Chuck Schumer

In an interview with The Nation, the progressive icon says that the Senate leader is “way out of touch with where the American people are at.”

Politics

November 11, 2026

John Nichols

US Senator Bernie Sanders, who inspired and helped to elect many of the young insurgent candidates who surfed this month’s Democratic “blue wave,” announced Tuesday that he will not support New York Democrat Chuck Schumer’s bid to lead the party’s majority Senate caucus in the next term of Congress.

Reuters: North Korean hackers steal more than $400 million using video images, FBI says

By A.J. Vicens

November 12, 2026

2:40 PM PDT Updated 5 hours ago

Nov 12 (Reuters) - North Korean state-backed hackers have stolen more than $400 million in cryptocurrency over the past 18 ​months using surreptitiously recorded images of people which ‌are then used to target their contacts, the FBI said Thursday.

As part of a social engineering scheme, which the FBI refers ​to as “FaceStealer,” targets are lured to video chats ​on imposter versions of video meeting software such as ⁠Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet.

DemocracyNow!: Top U.S. & World Headlines — November 12, 2026

Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at democracynow.org Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET.

Nvidia shares tumble as Jensen Huang steps down as CEO

By Doloresz Katanich
Published on 12 November 2026 - 8:51 GMT+1•Updated 16:02
US stocks fell at the open, led by tech shares, as investors weighed what Jensen Huang’s resignation as CEO could mean for Nvidia and the wider AI industry.

Robert Reich: Thank you, Bernie!

By Robert Reich
You’re last week’s single biggest winner
18 hours ago
Substack

Friends, if there’s one person most responsible for last week’s blue tidal wave it’s Bernie Sanders. Thank you, Bernie. Let me just come right out and say it: I love Bernie. For years now, he has been leading us into the future. I love his authenticity. Some people have liked Donald Trump because he says whatever he wants, but he’s an asshole. Bernie’s authenticity comes from saying what he wants and speaking the truth. Although Bernie is blunt, when he growls “this grotesque level of income and wealth inequality is immoral,” he means it. And he’s right.

Reversal of Fortune at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

by Yiannis Damellos and Mars Strangelove Jr.

November 11, 2026

There is something almost Shakespearean about Hegseth's twist of fate. Pete fought hard to save his skin today and survived, with considerable help from both friends and enemies who, for their own reasons, helped keep him in place. Yet, on the very day he could have considered another battle won, amongst the many that he's lost, he found himself publicly reprimanded at Arlington National Cemetery, in a place where military discipline, dignity and respect are not optional courtesies but sacred obligations.

Now, Pete, as the country's top civilian defence official, responsible for overseeing the military establishment, should have known better. It does not look good for a man who gives lessons to his subordinates to experience such reversal of fortunes: after fighting so hard to remain standing, to be reminded, in front of an audience, that sometimes the fall begins not with a defeat, but with a moment of hubris. What goes up, after all, can come down.

At least 2 people dead, several more injured after Brooklyn building collapse

Wednesday, November 11, 2026 5:19PM

FLATBUSH, Brooklyn (WABC) -- A partial building collapse in Flatbush, Brooklyn has left at least two people dead, and at least 10 others injured as firefighters continue efforts to rescue any additional victims who may still be trapped in the rubble, according to officials.

The FDNY says it happened just after 4 p.m. after a three-story building at 1321 Flatbush Ave. collapsed into an open construction site at 2625 Bedford Ave.

Mississippi Blue: Scott Colom's Upset Victory Is One for the Ages

By Yiannis Damellos and Mars Strangelove Jr.

November 11 2026

JACKSON, Miss. — Democrat Scott Colom will win a U.S. Senate seat in Mississippi, unseating Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith in one of the biggest upsets of the 2026 midterm elections, according to projections by CNN on Wednesday.

The victory makes the 43-year-old Colom the first Black person elected to statewide office in Mississippi since the Reconstruction era, CNN reported. He will also be the first Democrat to represent the state in the Senate since John Stennis retired in 1989.

An Agent Provocateur Is Threatening European Civilian Infrastructure—and Doing a Good Job Disguising Himself

Hoax bomb alerts sent to schools in Italy, UK 

and Ireland in latest disruptions

By Yiannis Damellos and Mars Strangelove Jr.

November 11 2026

From bomb threats against thousands of schools to disrupted flights, hacked supermarkets, targeted blood banks and threatened broadcasters, Europe is facing a growing series of attacks on the institutions and services of everyday life. Whether they are all connected remains an open question, but the cumulative effect is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

Behind the Trump-Xi Bonhomie, a Fierce Spy War Rages

That the United States suspected Nvidia’s 

leader was a Chinese spy target underscores 

the deep distrust between the two powers, 

even as their leaders try to stabilize ties

By David Pierson

Reporting from Hong Kong

Nov. 11, 2026, 9:57 a.m. ET

As President Trump and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, prepare to meet next week to extend a fragile trade truce, a fresh espionage scandal has shown that behind their diplomacy is a fierce intelligence rivalry.

Stephen Miller Is a Problem

Press Pass

But only a few GOP senators will admit it

Joe Perticone

November 10

(Photo illustration by Bill Kuchman/The Bulwark)

(Photos: Getty, Shutterstock)

Run this town

As I was finishing this newsletter, word came from House Republicans that they settled on Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio to be their new leader as they move into the minority in January. With Speaker Mike Johnson saying he didn’t want the job, the choice came down to Jordan, the in-your-face chairman of the Judiciary Committee and Freedom Caucus cofounder, and the widely liked and relatively milder-mannered Steve Scalise, who has spent nearly four years as majority leader after about a decade as the Republican whip. Jordan and Scalise previously faced off in 2023, clashing over who would succeed Speaker Kevin McCarthy; ultimately, neither had enough support, and the job went instead to Johnson.

White House threatens Democrats over new Epstein investigation plans

Legal letter accuses opposition party of ‘abusing the legislative process to intimidate and to interfere’

Natasha Leake

US Reporter

Published 11 November 2026

The White House has threatened Democrats with legal action over their plans to launch investigations into the Epstein scandal and members of the Trump administration.

Iran War Updates: Iran vows not to part with "single particle of enriched nuclear material" as standoff continues

By Duarte Dias

Updated on: November 11, 2026 / 12:37 PM EST / CBS News

What to know about the Iran war today:

• The head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council vowed Wednesday that Tehran would not allow the removal of "even a single particle of enriched nuclear material" from the country, casting doubt on diplomatic efforts as the U.S. has long sought a peace deal that would see Iran give up its enriched uranium.
• President Trump has argued that he needed to launch the war with Iran to prevent the Islamic Republic from obtaining a nuclear weapon, which the regime has always denied any intention of doing. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters Tuesday that "crazy Islamists in Tehran will never ever have a nuclear weapon."
• The war with Iran will cost Persian Gulf nations, most of which are close U.S. allies, more than $200 billion in damages, insurer Allianz Trade said Wednesday. Economic losses could reach nearly four times that amount by 2030, the insurer added.

A Different Spain Needs a Stronger Labour Movement

By Yiannis Damellos

November 11, 2026

Source: Jacobin

Spain has made significant social and economic progress under Pedro Sánchez, but the housing crisis, wage pressures and insecurity show how much remains unfinished. The challenge for the labour movement is to defend what has been achieved while organising for what ordinary people still need.

Spain's streets are once again sending a message that politicians cannot afford to ignore. The housing crisis, rising rents and the growing difficulty of making a decent living have brought workers, tenants and young people into the streets, culminating in the November 11 general strike. The immediate trigger was the eviction of María del Carmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman known as Maricarmen, from the Madrid apartment where she had lived for seven decades. Her case became a symbol of a much wider conflict: the right to a secure home against a housing market increasingly shaped by speculation and investment.

Politicians Are a Lot Like Diapers: They Should Be Changed Frequently, and for the Same Reason

By Yiannis Damellos and Mars Strangelove Jr.

Inspired by Jacobin

November 11, 2026

Robin Williams delivered the line in the 2006 film Man of the Year. Nearly two decades later, it offers an unexpectedly useful way to examine Xi Jinping’s China, where political continuity has increasingly come to mean the continuity of one leader.

There is a joke, delivered by Robin Williams in the film Man of the Year, that politicians are a lot like diapers: they should be changed frequently, and for the same reason. It is a crude observation, but one with a surprisingly serious political message. No political system can remain healthy if leadership becomes permanent, renewal is discouraged and the future of an entire country is tied too closely to the person occupying its highest office.

I Guess We’re Going Have to Deal with Pete Hegseth for Another Two Months

The House vote to impeach the Secretary of Talking About War failed yesterday, partially because Democratic members were stuck in traffic and missed it. Great work by all.

By Charles P. Pierce

Published: Nov 11, 2026 10:33 AM EST

Well, as of Tuesday evening, we learned that we will continue to be blessed with Secretary of Talking About War Pete Hegseth and his raging, bubbling hormones for at least two more months. The Republicans in the House of Representatives, undoubtedly exhausted from leaking anonymously what a shtunk Hegseth is, ran and hid when it was time to vote on Rep. Thomas Massie's resolution to impeach Hegseth and get his hands off the American military. From Politico: