“The past was alterable. The past never had been altered. Oceania was at war with Eastasia. Oceania had always been at war with Eastasia.” - George Orwell’s 1984

US President Donald Trump said negotiations with Iran will resume on Monday, a day after he said he was canceling a planned attack contingent on the two sides “rapidly” making a deal. He touted progress in talks, including on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state media gave no indication that Tehran asked for the attacks to be called off or has changed its stance on the waterway. - CNN, 2026

On Saturday, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, a highly influential figure in the Revolutionary Guards, reeled off a maximalist set of demands.

That Iran is issuing such demands underlines the perception that Tehran believes it has the upper hand. CNN has reported on dwindling US munitions - something angrily denied by President Trump - and suggestions that his top general is looking for an “off-ramp” in the conflict.

It is also likely that Iran has taken notice of how many times Trump has threatened major strikes before not following through on the threat.- CNN, 2026

You want me to make an act of faith, risking myself, my wife, my woman, my sister, my children, on some idealism which you assure me exists in America, which I have never seen." - James Baldwin, 1969

Universities and companies are scaling back or eliminating women’s scholarships as a way to avoid scrutiny from the Trump Administration, even though officials haven't explicitly barred single-sex scholarships…

The impact has been especially pronounced in math- and science-related fields. Although women earn the majority of college degrees, they account for less than a quarter of degrees in engineering and computing. Some economists worry that the pullback could stymie efforts to grow the pipeline of scientists, engineers and technologists needed to the keep the US competitive. - Bloomberg, 2026

Attribution

The choir loses its way. The choir never returns home. The choir sings funeral instead of wedding, sings funeral instead of allegedly, sings funeral instead of help, sings Black instead of grace, sings Black as knucklebone, mercy, junebug, sea air. 
— from It Was Summer Now and the Colored People Came Out Into the Sunshine by Morgan Parker