Brad Neely’s debut novel, “You, Me, and Ulysses S. Grant,” is probably one of the funniest books I’ve read in the last decade. I was laughing so hard at one point while reading the book that my wife came from the other room to see what was going on. The book pulls off a remarkable feat—not only is it a hilarious, quick-moving account of Ulysses S. Grant’s life and war-time work, it’s also oddly moving. Beyond the jokes and riffs, the book reminds the reader of a trait that’s accidentally, but not essentially, American, and that also happened to be demonstrated by a host of Union soldiers during the Civil War: the willingness to sacrifice yourself for your belief in what is right and just—an idea of what your country could be—and to prevent the immiseration of oppressed people. The book is a portrait of an imperfect man who was striving, like many others at the time, to create a more perfect country than the one he was born into. Neely kindly agreed to speak about his book over the phone and answer follow-up questions by email.

The court weighed in on a dispute between the Biden administration and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who installed the wire in an effort to prevent illegal border crossings.

The temple inaugurated by the prime minister is on the disputed site of a centuries-old mosque destroyed in a Hindu mob attack that set a precedent of impunity in cases of violence against Muslims.

One evening in June 2023, Nicholas Wise, a fluid dynamics researcher at the University of Cambridge who moonlights as a scientific fraud buster, was digging around on shady Facebook groups when he came across something he had never seen before. Wise was all too familiar with offers to sell or buy author slots and reviews on scientific papers—the signs of a busy paper mill. Exploiting the growing pressure on scientists worldwide to amass publications even if they lack resources to undertake quality research, these furtive intermediaries by some accounts pump out tens or even hundreds of thousands of articles every year. Many contain made-up data; others are plagiarized or of low quality. Regardless, authors pay to have their names on them, and the mills can make tidy profits. But what Wise was seeing this time was new. Rather than targeting potential authors and reviewers, someone who called himself Jack Ben, of a firm whose Chinese name translates to Olive Academic, was going for journal editors—offering large sums of cash to these gatekeepers in return for accepting papers for publication. “Sure you will make money from us,” Ben promised prospective collaborators in a document linked from the Facebook posts, along with screenshots showing transfers of up to $20,000 or more. In several cases, the recipient’s name could be made out through sloppy blurring, as could the titles of two papers. More than 50 journal editors had already signed on, he wrote. There was even an online form for interested editors to fill out. “Jackpot!” Wise thought, and then, “Oh geez, I’m going to have to report this.”

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says an Oklahoma hospital did not violate federal law when doctors told a woman with a nonviable pregnancy to wait in the parking lot until her condition worsened enough to qualify for an abortion under the state’s strict ban. Jaci Statton, 26, was among several women last year who challenged abortion restrictions that went into effect in Republican-led states after the Supreme Court revoked the nationwide right to abortion in 2022

Protesters were allegedly sprayed with a hazardous chemical while attending a pro-Palestinian “divestment now” rally on Low Steps on Friday, according to nearly two dozen students who reported a foul smell, physical symptoms, or property damage after the protest.

Faculty are expected to walk out on the first day of spring classes, in a major test for recently installed Chancellor Mildred Garcia.

Jack Latham’s new photobook, Beggar’s Honey, is an unflinching look behind the curtain of the endless stream of content that dominates our lives.

He’ll be crying into his pudding tonight.

Muddled messages, hiring too many staffers and even a puzzle — how it all went wrong for DeSantis' presidential bid.

WASHINGTON – A former Internal Revenue Service contractor, who leaked tax information about Donald Trump and other wealthy individuals to news organizations, got his job to intentionally to spread the confidential records, according to Justice Department prosecutors. Charles Edward Littlejohn, 38, of Washington, pleaded guilty in October to unauthorized disclosure of tax return and return information. U.S. District Judge Ana Reye scheduled sentencing for Jan. 29. Prosecutors recommended Tuesday he receive the maximum sentence of five years in prison. “After applying to work as an IRS consultant with the intention of accessing and disclosing tax returns, Defendant weaponized his access to unmasked taxpayer data to further his own personal, political agenda, believing that he was above the law,” wrote prosecutors Corey Amundson, chief of the Justice Department’s public integrity section, Jennifer Clarke and Jonathan Jacobson.

Using a sample of 59 children aged 10 to 12, a team led by Dr Karen Froud asked its subjects to read original texts in both formats while wearing hair nets filled with electrodes that permitted the researchers to analyze variations in the children’s brain responses. Performed in a laboratory at Teachers College with strict controls, the study – which has not yet been peer reviewed – used an entirely new method of word association in which the children “performed single-word semantic judgment tasks” after reading the passages.

The university’s Peabody Museum exploited loopholes to prevent repatriation to the Wabanaki people while still staying in compliance with NAGPRA. The tribes didn’t give up.

The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office has removed a public service announcement from its website warning parents about their kids overdosing on fentanyl after a journalist approached the office with evidence that the central anecdote in the PSA never happened, according to a story published this week by Northern California Public Media. The audio story, a shocking warning to families about the supposed risks of fentanyl, featured a parent named “Lisa” claiming that she’d been at the playground with her 6-year-old daughter. The little girl found and touched a pile of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl, causing her to fall down and go limp, according to the PSA. But when a reporter for NorCal Public Media asked for proof that the incident had actually occurred, Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez admitted the announcement was “not based on a true story” and removed it from her office’s website.

“It’s pretty clear that someone didn’t want the community to read the news this week,” said Ouray County Plaindealer co-publisher Erin McIntyre.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained to President Joe Biden in a phone call Friday that the public comments he made a day earlier — in which he appeared to reject the idea of creating a Palestinian state — were not meant to foreclose that outcome in any form, a person familiar with the conversation told CNN.

The former president has previously mixed up President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama, among other flubs.

Furniture company The Brick faced a sentencing hearing Thursday in Halifax provincial court. It was convicted in September of three occupational health and safety charges linked to the death of 47-year-old delivery driver Martin David. In court, Crown prosecutor Alex Keaveny argued The Brick should be sentenced to $215,625 in fines, and ordered to do four safety presentations. Defence lawyer Ron Pizzo suggested a fine in the range of $20,000. In September, following a trial, Judge Elizabeth Buckle found The Brick guilty of three occupational health and safety charges, including two for failing to implement its policies around injury investigation and lighting, and one of failing to ensure the toilet facility was properly illuminated. Buckle ruled the lights were off in the washroom at the time. There was no switch either inside or outside the washroom, and the lights were on a timer and had not come on yet. David had fallen inside the washroom or in the darkened hallway outside. While finding the company guilty of breaking health and safety regulations, Buckle later ruled the Crown had not proven that the lack of lighting had led to David's fall.

The prices paid at the register do not match the price tags, according to a class action lawsuit working through the courts.

“If you have different methylation [patterns], then the gene expression during development is different,” explains Poo. “That’s why a cloned embryo does not develop well.”