Clear It With Sidney

The best of the week’s news by Lindsay Beyerstein

July 2026

July 17, 2026

Sidney's Picks: Killer ICE Agent was a Mentally Ill, Brain-Damaged Domestic Abuser

Photo credit:

The Reflecting Pool in better days, grahamvphoto, Creative Commons.

The Best of the Week’s News

Killer ICE agent was a mentally ill, violent, brain damaged domestic abuser when he got the job. (AP)
Bags in the van of a Houston man killed by ICE contained salt for homemade Gatorade, not drugs, lawyer says. (NYT)
Shoddy application doomed the coating of the Lincoln Memorial’s reflecting pool, not vandals with boxcutters. (WaPo)
A preliminary hearing for Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin undermines conspiracist narratives. (MSNow)
Climbing Workers United protest Northface over partnership with Movement Gyms. (Fashion United, Athletech News)

July 10, 2026

Sidney's Picks: Paxton May Have Voted Illegally

The Best of the Week’s News

Some DOGE records were deleted, federal investigators say. (WIRED)
Trump’s deregulation could stuff your 401(k) with risky investments. (ProPublica)
Republican senate hopeful Ken Paxton may have cast six illegal votes despite vowing to crack down on election fraud. (ProPublica)
Hachette Book Group workers vote to unionize. (NYT)
Pioneering labor leader Lillian Roberts has died. (AFSCME)
An ICE agent pointed a gun at a Montana motorist during a large raid near a summer camp. (Daily Montanan, NFTS)

July 3, 2026

Sidney's Picks: AI is Breaking Bosses' Brains

Photo credit:

Conor Ogle, Creative Commons.

The Best of the Week’s News

AI is breaking bosses’ brains. (Futurism)
Workers at the Guggenheim Museum vote to authorize a strike. (Art Newspaper)
Prediction markets are giving arsonists a profit motive by letting people bet on whether their towns will burn. (HCN)
This disabled lawyer built an independent life, Trump’s Medicaid cuts could take it all away. (NBC)
Trump is using a secret no-bid contract to build his corrupt ballroom. (WaPo)