![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thesleepingbeauty posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
icons
little_mermaid ♥ flemmingsysabetwordsmith
dialecticdreamer
stonepicnicking_okapikoshka_the_catshadowkatoliviacircemodzilla posting in fffxasoftermeme posting in bakerstreet
![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
wtfjht_feed
Today in one sentence: Trump said new U.S.-Iran talks could resume in Pakistan “over the next two days”; a woman publicly accused Eric Swalwell of raping her in a West Hollywood hotel room in 2018, saying she was “already incapacitated” when she arrived and that, as “he was choking me,” she “lost consciousness” and “thought I died”; a divided federal appeals court shut down U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s contempt investigation into whether the Trump administration defied his order to stop deportation flights carrying Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador; Trump’s nominee to replace Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve disclosed financial holdings worth well over $100 million; House Republicans accused the main Democratic fundraising platform of misleading Congress and withholding subpoenaed records tied to an investigation into possible foreign donations; the Justice Department released its first “weaponization” report, accusing the Biden administration of selectively enforcing the FACE Act against anti-abortion activists; and the Justice Department asked to vacate the Jan. 6 convictions of 12 former Proud Boys and Oath Keepers members, including several convicted of seditious conspiracy.
1/ Trump said new U.S.-Iran talks could resume in Pakistan “over the next two days” as the U.S. continued to enforce a blockade on Iranian shipping. No new meeting had been officially scheduled, and the main dispute remains unchanged: U.S. negotiators reportedly want a 20-year suspension on Iranian uranium enrichment, while Iran has agreed to a three to five years pause. Trump, however, wants a permanent ban on nuclear enrichment, saying “I’ve been saying they can’t have nuclear weapons. So I don’t like the 20 years.” JD Vance, who failed to secure a deal over the weekend, said “the ball is in the Iranian court,” while Iranian officials accused the U.S. of “maximalism” and “shifting goalposts.” The temporary ceasefire deal expires April 21. (CNBC / Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News / Bloomberg / ABC News / CNN / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press)
2/ A woman publicly accused Eric Swalwell of raping her in a West Hollywood hotel room in 2018, saying she was “already incapacitated” when she arrived and that, as “he was choking me,” she “lost consciousness” and “thought I died.” The allegation surfaced as Swalwell’s resignation from Congress took effect, after at least two women had accused him of nonconsensual sex or sexual assault and at least three others had accused him of other sexual misconduct, including unsolicited explicit images and an unwanted kiss. Swalwell’s lawyer, meanwhile, said he “categorically and unequivocally denies” all allegations and called them false. (New York Times / Associated Press / CNBC / NBC News / Washington Post / Reuters)
3/ A divided federal appeals court shut down U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s contempt investigation into whether the Trump administration defied his order to stop deportation flights carrying Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador. The 2-1 D.C. Circuit ruling said Boasberg’s probe was an “abuse of discretion” that improperly intruded on executive branch decision-making over national security and foreign affairs. The majority said Boasberg’s March 2025 order wasn’t clear enough to support criminal contempt over the migrants’ transfer to El Salvador. The decision, for now, ends a yearlong effort to determine why the flights happened despite the order. Lawyers for the migrants said they’d seek review by the full appeals court. (New York Times / Politico / NBC News / Reuters / Associated Press / Bloomberg / CNN / Washington Post)
4/ Trump’s nominee to replace Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve disclosed financial holdings worth well over $100 million. Kevin Warsh’s Senate ethics filing, submitted as part of his confirmation process, shows he received about $10 million in consulting fees from Stanley Druckenmiller’s family office and holds two Juggernaut Fund stakes valued at more than $50 million each. Sen. Thom Tillis, meanwhile, has said he will block Fed nominees until the Justice Department closes its probe tied to Powell. (Wall Street Journal / New York Times / Washington Post / CNBC)
5/ House Republicans accused the main Democratic fundraising platform of misleading Congress and withholding subpoenaed records tied to an investigation into possible foreign donations. The demand from the chairs of the House Administration, Judiciary, and Oversight committees followed reporting that ActBlue’s outside counsel had warned that the company may have misstated parts of its 2023 letter to Congress explaining its anti-fraud procedures. ActBlue denied wrongdoing and dismissed the inquiry as a partisan effort to damage Democrats’ main online fundraising operation, which raised has $568 million in the first quarter of 2026. (New York Times / Politico / CBS News)
6/ The Justice Department released its first “weaponization” report, accusing the Biden administration of selectively enforcing the FACE Act against anti-abortion activists. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department will dismiss some pending cases and approve new FACE Act prosecutions only in “extraordinary” circumstances. The 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act makes it a crime to use force, threats, or physical obstruction to stop people from entering or providing services at reproductive health clinics. The 900-page report claims Biden-era officials worked too closely with abortion-rights groups, sought harsher sentences for anti-abortion defendants, and paid little attention to attacks on pregnancy centers and churches. The department also fired 4 prosecutors tied to FACE Act cases. (CNN / Associated Press / New York Times / Bloomberg / Washington Post / CBS News)
7/ The Justice Department asked to vacate the Jan. 6 convictions of 12 former Proud Boys and Oath Keepers members, including several convicted of seditious conspiracy. Trump already commuted many of their prison terms last year, but the new filings asked the court to dismiss the convictions and the indictments with prejudice, meaning the cases couldn’t be brought again. (CBS News / Associated Press / NBC News / The Hill)
The 2026 midterms are in 203 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 938 days.
Support today’s essential newsletter and resist the daily shock and awe: Become a member
Subscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free
which_chickstarwatcher posting in fandom_checkinHow are you doing?
I am OK.
7 (63.6%)
I am not OK, but don't need help right now.
4 (36.4%)
I could use some help.
0 (0.0%)
How many other humans live with you?
I am living single.
5 (45.5%)
One other person.
3 (27.3%)
More than one other person.
3 (27.3%)
rocky41_7I don’t know how I keep timing these so that I finish my audiobook and my paper book one right after the other. This weekend I also wrapped up The Black Fantastic, an anthology compiled by Andre M. Carrington. Thank you to pauraque for bringing this one to my attention! This is a collection of “Afrofuturist” stories by Black authors. If you want more detail, Pauraque has done individual reviews of each story which you can read here; I won’t get that specific.
With the usual caveat that all anthologies vary in quality, I enjoyed this one. There were a lot of very different stories, from some really fantastical stuff to ones that are just a little bit to the left of the world as it stands. On the high end of things, pieces like A Guide to the Native Fruits of Hawai’i by Alayna Dawn Johnson, where the protagonist grapples with her decision to collaborate with a group of vampire invaders to prey on the locals (and the metaphor of vampirism for the way Hawaii is treated by wealthy Americans is not lost in the shuffle); or The Orb by Tara Campbell, which was both strange and unexplained, choosing to focus not on the “why” or “how” of the situation but again on the moral quandary of its main character.
On the lower end, ones like The Ones Who Stay and Fight by NK Jemisin, which felt…narratively unclear, to say the least. It is either a satire of the kind of utopia writers create where its status as utopia is essentially dependent on eliminating any disagreement or contact with the outside world…or it’s a whole-hearted endorsement of that view. And if I can’t tell which, I tend to think the author’s failed at their purpose; or Ruler of the Rear Guard by Maurice Broaddus, which seemed to end just as it was getting to the plot.
Overall, I had fun with this anthology. SFF short story collections, done well, are such a scintillating showcase of creativity and I felt that here.
memeboogeyman posting in bakerstreet In most vampire media, the relationship between maker and fledglings is many things: parental, sibling, an apprenticeship, even antagonistic. Just as often, there's a romantic undertone, as well. For what could connect anyone more than the sharing of blood, of the dark gift?
† UNDEFINED → The nature of your bond is complex and unclear to outsiders. Perhaps even to both of you, as well. † DYSFUNCTIONAL → There's a lot of bad blood between you, yet you can't hate each other fully. † FORBIDDEN → Any sort of relationship beyond the vampiric-familial would be frowned upon by both human society and the underworld. † LOVERS → Why not? No one else will understand you like they do, and you probably won't have to worry about outliving them. |
thesleepingbeauty in icons - 45 Multi-fandom iconsflemmings - (no subject)ysabetwordsmith - Half-Price Sale in Polychrome Heroicsdialecticdreamer - Unraveling the Chaos (part 1 of 1, complete)stonepicnicking_okapi - Views & News: we're all real tired editionhannah - Timing.koshka_the_cat - Time is weirdshadowkat - Happy First Annual International Buffy Day!!oliviacirce - but yet the body is his bookbluapapilio - 🌈 BL Game Check-in: NU: Carnival Event "White Storm"questionable_content_feed - Pet Namemodzilla in fffx - Comments Please! -And Pinch Hitter Promptsasoftermeme in bakerstreet - In other wordswtfjht_feed - Day 1911: “Maximalism.”ranalore - Water is for healingwhich_chick - Are your taxes done? It's getting to be that time of year...starwatcher in fandom_checkin - Daily Check-Injames - Stargate SG1rocky41_7 - Recent Reading: The Black Fantasticmemeboogeyman in bakerstreet - The kindredmomijizukamorizaluzianskya
