This giant of biology has recently passed at the age of 97. What's the verdict? Gifted pioneer of scientific inquiry or scheming, bigoted plagiarist? There is no middle ground.

https://www.irishtimes.com/science/2025/11/19/an-irish-perspective-james-watson-1928-2025-the-dna-titan-with-a-downside/

> Thread theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ifzu7EV5XAs

https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/19/us/woman-fire-chicago-train-blue-line

>tl;dr Black man sets white woman on fire in Chicago public transit.

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday charged a man with committing a terrorist attack for allegedly setting a woman on fire on a Chicago train.

Lawrence Reed was sitting at the back of a car on a Blue Line L train on Monday night when he approached a woman as she sat with her back to him, according to a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrest affidavit. Reed removed the cap from a plastic bottle, then doused the woman with what was believed to be gasoline, the affidavit said.

The 26-year-old woman then ran to the back of the train car. Reed ignited the bottle, approached the woman and set her on fire, according to the affidavit. Surveillance video showed Reed at a gas station about 30 minutes before the attack, filling a small container with gasoline, the affidavit says.

The federal charge against Reed, 50, of Chicago, carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Federal court records do not show whether Reed has an attorney representing him in the federal case. Chicago outlets reported that Reed was disruptive during his first appearance in a federal court on Wednesday afternoon, including yelling over the judge that he wanted to represent himself and claiming that he was a Chinese citizen.

Reed shouted, “I plead guilty!” repeatedly as the judge tried to advise him of his rights, according to local news reports.

After the attack, the train the woman was on pulled into a stop downtown. Reed walked away and the woman stumbled out and fell on the ground, police said. She was taken to a hospital in critical condition with severe burns to her head and body, authorities said. Officials have not released her name.

WASHINGTON — A new cargo screening requirement by the Trump administration marks a major – and costly – shift for global air logistics by forcing a much higher level of transparency on carriers, shippers, and marketplaces worldwide.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) interim final rule (IFR), effective immediately when published in the Federal Register on Friday, is a response to evolving terrorist tactics, according to CBP.

The Enhanced Air Cargo Advance Screening (ACAS) IFR targets vulnerabilities in high-volume, anonymous e-commerce shipments, with compliance estimated by CBP to cost the industry between $877 million and $1.04 billion.

Every major player in the global air logistics pipeline – including Amazon Air (NASDAQ: AMZN), UPS (NYSE: UPS), and FedEx (NYSE: FDX), as well as major freight forwarders like C.H. Robinson (NASDAQ: CHRW) and Kuehne+Nagel (SWX: KNIN) – is required by the rule to reprogram their technology platforms to collect and transmit new sets of data or face penalties.
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/air-cargo-faces-1bn-overhaul-to-comply-with-new-cbp-rule

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-house-vote-epstein-files-release-trump-drops-opposition-2025-11-18/
WASHINGTON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted almost unanimously on Tuesday to force the release of Justice Department files on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, an outcome President Donald Trump had fought for months before ending his opposition.
Two days after Trump's abrupt about-face, the vote passed by 427-1, sending a resolution requiring the release of all unclassified records on Epstein to the Republican-majority Senate for consideration. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters the resolution could pass his chamber by unanimous consent, possibly later on Tuesday.

The public and increasingly bitter feud among Republicans over the Epstein files had fractured relations between Trump and some of his most ardent supporters.
Before the vote, about two dozen survivors of Epstein's alleged abuse joined a trio of Democratic and Republican lawmakers outside the U.S. Capitol to urge the release of the records. The women held photographs of their younger selves, the age at which they said they first encountered Epstein, a New York financier who fraternized with some of the most powerful men in the country.
After the vote, they stood to applaud lawmakers from the House's public gallery, some of them crying and hugging each other.
The Epstein scandal has been a political thorn in Trump’s side for months, partly because he amplified conspiracy theories about Epstein to his own supporters. Many Trump voters believe his administration has covered up Epstein’s ties to powerful figures and obscured details surrounding his death, which was ruled a suicide, in a Manhattan jail in 2019.

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-tells-reporter-quiet-piggy-when-asked-about-epstein-files-11063525

Donald Trump Tells Reporter ‘Quiet, Piggy’ When Asked About Epstein Files

President Donald Trump told a reporter "quiet, piggy" during an exchange with media on Air Force One on Friday about the Epstein files.

In video footage of a gaggle with the press on November 14 released by the White House, Trump says, "Quiet, quiet piggy," as a female reporter, stood off camera, begins to ask a question about the files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The president then appears to wave a finger in her face.

The reporter was from Bloomberg, CBS News' Jennifer Jacobs later wrote on X.

Why It Matters

The exchange adds to ongoing scrutiny of how Trump responds to questions about the Epstein files, which lawmakers and transparency advocates are pressuring the White House to release. His comment has also drawn renewed attention to his treatment of journalists, an issue that has repeatedly surfaced during his interactions with the press.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9wv4dx05q5o
President Donald Trump has withdrawn all support for Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a firebrand conservative who long supported Trump's agenda but recently criticised several of his policies.

Trump said in a nearly 300-word social media post that the Georgia lawmaker had gone "far left", and called for her to be unseated in next year's midterm election by a Republican challenger.

The falling out comes after Greene questioned whether Trump was still putting "America First" on his agenda. She criticised his focus on foreign policy and handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Greene said Trump was lashing out to try and deter other Republicans from voting to release the files.

"All I see "Wacky" Marjorie do is COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN!" Trump posted, while en route to his home in Florida on Friday night.

He claimed that she turned on him after he suggested that she shouldn't run for governor or senator.

"She has told many people that she is upset that I don't return her phone calls anymore," Trump said, adding, "I can't take a ranting Lunatic's call every day."

Trump also said that voters in her district "are fed up with her and her antics and, if the right person runs, they will have my Complete and Unyielding Support".

Trump has long faced criticism from both parties over his handling of the US Department of Justice's files related to Epstein, the late financier and convicted paedophile.

Trump was a friend of Epstein's for years, but the president has said they fell out in the early 2000s, two years before Epstein was first arrested. Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.

Greene is one of four House Republicans - including Nancy Mace, Lauren Boebert, and Thomas Massie - who joined Democrats in signing a discharge petition calling for the release of the Epstein files.

https://thehill.com/homenews/5609014-comey-wins-grand-jury-materials/

Judge orders DOJ to turn over grand jury materials to James Comey, cites ‘disturbing pattern’

A federal magistrate judge has ordered the Justice Department to turn over grand jury materials to former FBI Director James Comey as he fights criminal charges, pointing to possible government misconduct as reason to grant the unusual relief.

Judge William Fitzpatrick referenced several apparent missteps by Lindsey Halligan, the interim U.S. attorney hand-picked by President Trump to pursue charges against his foe, that may have threatened the proceeding’s fairness.

He said that Comey’s right to due process outweighs the typical secrecy afforded to grand jury proceedings, directing prosecutors to hand over the materials by the end of Monday.

“The Court recognizes that the relief sought by the defense is rarely granted,” Fitzpatrick said. “However, the record points to a disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps, missteps that led an FBI agent and a prosecutor to potentially undermine the integrity of the grand jury proceeding.”

Comey faces false statements and obstruction charges stemming from 2020 testimony he gave to Congress about leaks at the FBI. He has pleaded not guilty, and a trial is set for Jan. 5.

Though Fitzpatrick did not name Halligan, a different federal judge confirmed at a hearing last week that Halligan was the only prosecutor to present evidence against Comey to the grand jury. Fitzpatrick also said that just one prosecutor was present.