Tom Steele

She said the minivan wasn’t hers. The registration disagreed. Then the surveillance cameras joined the conversation. Oak Lawn police were investigating a reported retail theft at Jewel-Osco when they stopped a woman nearby who matched the description. She denied being involved and claimed she’d been dropped off by Uber for a home-care shift. There was just one problem. The minivan sitting beside her was registered in her name. Her story changed. She admitted taking some lunch items without paying, but insisted she left most of the groceries inside after her phone payment declined. Then an officer reviewed the store surveillance. According to police, the footage showed her leaving with multiple bags and soda. She was taken into custody on an allegation of retail theft, and the minivan was towed. Then came the line nobody was expecting: “I just stole some stuff for Christmas…” Nothing says holiday spirit quite like finding out the security cameras kept the receipts.

Today, after 31 years, we are saddened to announce that Salon is ceasing publication. It has been an extraordinary privilege. salon.com/2026/11/05/goodbye…

Every night he set up the coffee maker before bed so it was ready in the morning. Then the coffee started tasting wrong. He bought pool test strips. The water from his coffee maker turned purple. His tap water tested normal. The coffee water showed high chlorine. Roby Johnson was a U.S. Air Force airman stationed in Germany with his wife Melody and their child. In March 2023 he noticed the bad taste. He kept drinking it for two or three weeks before he tested it. In May he hid a camera in the kitchen. It caught Melody checking that he had already prepped the machine, taking something from under the sink, and pouring it into the water tank. He didn't confront her. He pretended to keep drinking the coffee and kept filming. "Tonight's the night I caught her on video. It's going to be purple." It was. "Oh, you can smell it from here." He wanted to report it in the U.S. In June the family moved to Tucson, Arizona. He put up more cameras, some disguised as smoke detectors, in the kitchen and the laundry room. On July 6 he took his footage to police. They didn't act. The video didn't clearly show the liquid. He kept going. On July 18, 2023, he brought new footage: Melody pouring bleach into a container in the laundry room, walking to the kitchen, pouring it into the coffee maker. She was arrested that day. Under her bathroom sink police found a container that smelled like bleach. Court documents say he believed she wanted his death benefits. They were heading for a divorce. She was charged with attempted first-degree murder. In April 2024 she pleaded guilty to two counts of adding a harmful substance to food or drink. Prosecutors asked for two years. The judge gave her three years of probation. He survived because he trusted his taste in coffee more than his wife. If you caught your partner on camera doing this, would probation feel like justice?

Charlton Heston recorded this 20 or so years ago. I was prompted to look it up to respond to a tweet. But having found it, I had to watch it. I find it as powerful today as I when I first saw it. Please watch. #2A @NRA @NRAblog @FriendsofNRA youtu.be/MrnOFMk8NPM

go vote. polls are open until 9PM.

Ever wonder why @McDonalds Coke tastes BETTER than anywhere else? It’s not in your head. McDonald’s goes above and beyond to make their drinks elite. They even have their own division at @CocaCola HQ - no one else does. Let me break it down. 🥤🧵👇 1/8

Clearly, this young woman was groomed by radical political ideology. She was on a righeous path and even testified before Congress on Mongolian rights. Her story is interesting. Temulun Togochog is an 18-year-old U.S.-born Southern Mongolian human rights activist who advocates against cultural erasure and repression in Inner Mongolia. Exile Heritage: Born and raised in the United States, she has never been able to visit her family's homeland due to her parents' status as exiled political asylees. She worked alongside her father, Enghebatu Togochog, who is the director of the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center (SMHRIC). On December 5, 2024, she testified before the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), detailing the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) forced assimilation policies. This includes the rapid erosion of the Mongolian language in schools, the banning of cultural symbols, and the suppression of local spiritual traditions (Tibetan Buddhism and Shamanism). She has represented her community at high-profile international forums, serving as the youngest spotlight speaker at the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit 2026 and briefing global leaders at United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) events. WHAT WENT WRONG?!

One week from today!

My friend’s boomer dad sold the family lake house last year. The place they spent every summer growing up. The dock they built together using their grandfather’s old tools. The house my friend has a tattoo inspired by. His dad sold it without telling anyone. My friend found out when the new owners posted a renovation reveal on Instagram. They painted it white. Removed the dock. Built a privacy fence. His dad said he needed the liquidity. He made $365,000 on a property he bought for $52,000 in 1992. Not a dollar went to his son. He said the market was right and selling made financial sense. My friend is 34 and still renting. He watched a piece of his family’s history disappear, along with the possibility of something being passed down. The lake house was never just a house. It was supposed to be part of the family legacy. Now it’s just another Instagram renovation.

The Real Reason Britain Can't Turn The Migrant Boats Around Former Director General of the UK Border Force, Tony Smith explains. @FortinusGlobal.

Imagine how much fun ICE (or some other government agency) will have doing it to you.

Imagine being a 17yo kid. You're down 5 with 3.8 seconds left in the State Championship. Then this happens