Breaking Down: Collapse

Sources:Judge blocks Trump’s new USPS rules for mail-in ballots with just weeks before midterm elections | The Independent2026 midterms: Trump is getting the mail-ballot chaos he wants.US House passes bill penalizing universities that participate in boycott of Israel | House of Representatives | The GuardianJimmy Kimmel Says James Talarico Interview Won't Air After FCC ThreatsMeagan Morris Speaks From Jail After Being Sentenced to 50 Years by the Trump Administration for an Alleged Terrorist Attack [WATCH]ICE Arrests Soar as People With No Criminal Record Are Increasingly Targeted - The New York TimesTrump Pushes to Rename New Mexico ‘New America,’ but He Can’t Do It by Executive Order | Law CommentaryDonald Trump pledges $5K dividend if GOP wins CongressJudge reinforces order banning immediate work on Trump’s 250-foot archConstitution Doesn’t Cover Right to Clean Water, Court Rules (1)

Am I alone in imagining a better future? A whole bunch of data says no:Support for changing the current economic system | Pew Research CenterAmericans stand out internationally for their pessimism about the nation’s political system | Pew Research CenterAP-NORC America 250 Poll - AP-NORCHarvard Youth Poll Finds a Generation Under Pressure — and Losing Faith in the System | The Institute of Politics at Harvard University51st Edition - Fall 2025 | The Institute of Politics at Harvard UniversityAmericans End Year in Gloomy MoodNew poll: Just 13% of youth feel America is headed in the right direction | Harvard Kennedy SchoolYoung Voters Have Growing Power, but Broken Politics Leave Them ‘Fatalistic,’ Studies Find | Research UC BerkeleyThe State of Public Trust in Government 2025 - Partnership for Public ServiceNew Low in U.S. 'Very Satisfied' With Personal Life

If collapse is inevitable, is there a point to trying? FYI the episode contains spoilers for the musical "Hadestown".

Renewables have made massive strides in the 2020s. I answer the question that still comes up from time to time: Can a successful rollout of renewables save society from collapse?Tracking the energy transition: Where are we now? | McKinseySo, where exactly does the US energy transition stand? | Canary Media

A new UN report officially announced that limiting warming to +1.5C is no longer a viable goal:Global heating will hit at least 1.8C, UN warns, and there are ‘no good outcomes’ | Climate crisis | The Guardian

Sources:Judge Tells RFK Jr. to Stop Using Fake AI Studies on Teen Pregnancy | The New RepublicJudge Rules Trump Unlawfully Targeted Stanford Students Who Criticized Israel - The New York TimesThe U.S. Has Killed 227 Civilians in Boat Strikes During “A Year of Murders”IRS Softens on Businesses in Wake of Agency Worker ExodusWyoming judge weighs transgender woman’s self-defense | Advocate.comThe Trump Administration is Now Claiming That Being a Trans Ally Makes You More Violent. Yes, Really.James Talarico: "Nothing terrifies them more, than people who show up to vote...Wyoming Governor Objects to ‘Very Odd’ D.O.J. Election Monitoring - The New York TimesICE Plans to Pay $5 Million to Create National Voting Database | WIREDDHS chief says ICE could make arrests at polling places — ignoring federal ban on armed agents at voting sites - Democracy DocketMail voting live updates: Judge weighs fate of Trump’s anti-voting executive order - Democracy DocketICE owes millions to hospitals and detainees can't get treatmentICE holds man with stage 4 cancer in detention despite permanent US residency | ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) | The Guardian'Who is Profiting from ICE?' Texas mom's site sparks secret DHS note

The US military is simultaneously contributing to collapse, as it also says it's working to fight against it (climate change and resulting instability). Meanwhile, it's also tying up its resources, firing all its best people, and opening the world to destabilization.Sources:West Point’s only climate scientist fired after insisting on human causes of climate change | US news | The GuardianDOD Preparing for Climate Change Impacts, Official Says > U.S. Department of War > Defense Department News | U.S. Department of WarThe US military’s fatal stance on climate change - Bulletin of the Atomic ScientistsMission impossible? Quantifying military emissions - Bulletin of the Atomic ScientistsExperts raise concerns of Army readiness amid Pentagon changes under HegsethDan Driscoll’s Parting Shot - The AtlanticMilitary leaders warn Hegseth against extending Iran war operations - The Washington PostPentagon furious over Washington Post’s Iran war scoop

A collection of articles highlighting the current mess that is the US. And we're just getting started:Gary, Indiana’s Suffering in a Blackout Brings a Global Crisis Home - BloombergUS kindergarten vaccination rates dip as exemptions hit record high | Vaccines and immunisation | The GuardianBaby goats had rabies at NC petting zoo, attendees urged to contact health officials | CNNNew Mexico’s largest reservoir shrinks to its lowest level in 55 yearsThe US has a plan to save the Colorado River. Experts say it won’t be enough to stop the crisis | Colorado river crisis | The GuardianICE purchasing Boston Dynamics robots to support operations - Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7NewsNearly 300K California students are homeless, enough to fill 5 Dodger Stadiums: UCLA | KTLA

A look at stories across the world related to climate change, including the story of a landslide/flash flood along the Tibet/Nepal boarder that has resulted in the deaths of hundreds, and likely thousands.It's all gone. Flash Flood in Nepal sweeps away cities after cities. : r/collapsePanama Canal to cut daily ship traffic as drought worsens from El Nino - France 24Japan's farmers go nocturnal as deadly heat intensifies‘Like smoking a cigarette’: Indonesia chokes on haze as blazes intensify amid super ‘El Niño’ | Indonesia | The GuardianBrazil's President Lula hails oil discovery near Amazon riverA melting glacier contributed to the deadly Nepal floods. We can expect more like this : NPR