Bo Petersen

reporter emeritus. Convicted poet and writer. Focus on science and environmental issues.

[Bo Petersen @bopete]

@leighhaber Trying for a while now to give someone over there a look at this book. Thank you. https://t.co/El1BcbU721

[ProPublica @propublica]

When the Pentagon announced a $620 million loan last year to a startup linked to Donald Trump Jr., defense officials and the company tried to tamp down suspicions of cronyism.

We found that the request came directly from the White House.
https://t.co/ejXPkLasNM

[Mental Floss @mental_floss]

The Time Europe Was Terrified of Tomatoes https://t.co/Z61JMNDNQT

[Emoluments Clause @Emolclause]

#BREAKING: Carol Leonnig: “…what we were hearing last night…was that the Ohio Organizing Collaborative…one of its offices in Cleveland was targeted and raided by FBI agents yesterday. In addition to that, what we learned was that a series of FBI agents were fanning out across the state…to interview people and approach them at their homes, who had worked as volunteers registering voters, or as canvassers for the collaborative, and those interviews, if you can call them that, were conducted often WITHOUT warrants…So FBI agents were essentially just going into people’s homes and saying we’d like to ask you a few questions, which is NOT how the FBI normally investigates these kinds of matters…their great concern is that this is part of a larger Trump administration effort to basically target swing states and to target pro democracy organizations who might register Democratic voters, or help them register to vote, and question and sow distrust in those swing states in the integrity of the elections.” 😳

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

The so-called “calculator riots” of 1986 serve as a powerful reminder that today’s anxieties about artificial intelligence replacing human thinking are far from new.

In April 1986, a determined group of math educators staged a vocal protest outside the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) annual convention in Washington, D.C. Led by influential textbook author John Saxon, demonstrators carried signs declaring, “The Button’s Nothin’ ’Til the Brain’s Trained.”

They were opposing the NCTM’s new recommendation to incorporate electronic calculators into mathematics education at every grade level, including homework and exams.

The protesters worried that reliance on calculators would erode students’ mental arithmetic skills, numerical intuition, and deep conceptual understanding, potentially creating a generation of “calcuholics” overly dependent on machines.

The NCTM countered that calculators would free students from repetitive, low-level calculations, enabling them to tackle more complex problem-solving and higher-order thinking. Ultimately, the debate led to a pragmatic compromise: students would first master core mathematical concepts and mental strategies before using calculators as tools for more advanced work.

This balanced approach allowed technology to enhance, rather than replace, mathematical reasoning.

Today, as schools navigate the rapid rise of generative AI, the 1986 calculator compromise offers a valuable blueprint: prioritize genuine understanding first, then thoughtfully integrate powerful new tools.

[Bo Petersen @bopete]

RT @SheaGibsonWx: 5/19/26 Tuesday 7:20AM:
This feature just northeast of the Bahamas is called a TUTT low (Tropical Upper-Tropospheric Trou…

[Niall Stanage @NiallStanage]

I am the reporter here — and imho the question should be asked more often.

More than 100 children were reported killed at Minab.

[Kenneth Roth @KenRoth]

Under Trump's illegal orders, the US military conducted its third boat strike in five days against supposed drug smugglers, killing at least two. Each of these is a murder. Drug suspects should be arrested and prosecuted, not summarily executed. https://t.co/BZBVUiCPUl

[Sarah Wilkinson @swilkinsonbc]

This is a group photograph of journalists in Lebanon: the israelis have killed every single one of them: every. single. one. says @sahouraxo

[ProPublica @propublica]

In all, at least 75 career federal officials who’d played important roles in elections have left, been fired or been reassigned.

In their place are roughly two dozen people Trump has installed in positions that could affect elections.
https://t.co/rGHgBhxjLS

[Nicholas Kristof @NickKristof]

Last year a record 129 media workers were killed worldwide, 2/3 by Israel -- reflecting "a persistent culture of impunity for attacks on the press," the Committee to Protect Journalists, @pressfreedom, said. Israel killed 10 times as many journalists as Sudan, and 20 times as many as Russia.

[John Cleese @JohnCleese]

Old KGB motto : Always accuse the opposition of what you are doing yourself

Trump's America was feeding EU secrets to its ally Russia

[ProPublica @propublica]

Vaccines were once so uncontroversial that McDonald’s restaurants put the childhood immunization schedule on their tray liners.

Now, as the U.S. government sows doubt, preventable diseases could come roaring back.
https://t.co/wwm116H4v6

[Daniel DePetris @DanDePetris]

Trump’s top two goals in the war:

(1) No Iranian nuclear weapon.

(2) The Strait of Hormuz is open for business.

Just a friendly reminder that we already had both before the war.

[Jonathan Haidt @JonHaidt]

If you come across someone asserting there is "no scientific evidence" that social media is causing harm, please send them this link.

We lay out seven lines of evidence, including RCTs, natural experiments, and testimony from victims & perpetrators of harm

https://t.co/lZsNalKZE5

[ProPublica @propublica]

Read on to find out which government officials then went on to work for Microsoft ⤵️

[brutal south @Paul_Bowers]

We should ban cops from using polygraph tests at all. They don't work.

[Extreme Temperatures Around The World @extremetemps]

More exceptional heat pulses from West to East are expected next week with widespread 100s again in the desert areas and parts of the Central States

Not even the Dust Bowl heat waves or anything else ever seen so far can compare to this:
All climatologists are baffled.

[@borenbears @borenbears]

Southwest US record heat "is what climate change looks like in real time: extremes pushing beyond the bounds we once thought possible,” said scientist @AJWVictoriaBC. “What used to be unprecedented events are now recurring features of a warming world.”
https://t.co/PjiRbbzOaX

[The Kobeissi Letter @KobeissiLetter]

BREAKING: Russia is now making an extra $150 million per day from its oil sales amid rising prices due to the Iran war.

The Russian government is set to receive up to $5 billion in extra revenue by the end of this month.

[NOAA @NOAA]

Just in: NOAA satellites helped rescue 300 people in 2025

See how: https://t.co/eBtyaPZ3wF

@NOAASatellites #SARSAT