The Golden Hour: climate, children, mental health

The Golden Hour: climate, children, mental health

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The Golden Hour: climate, children, mental health
The Golden Hour: climate, children, mental health
June 8: What Really Happened Last Week

June 8: What Really Happened Last Week

Kilmar is coming home

Anya Kamenetz's avatar
Anya Kamenetz
Jun 08, 2025
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The Golden Hour: climate, children, mental health
The Golden Hour: climate, children, mental health
June 8: What Really Happened Last Week
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Hello friends.

Welcome to my weekly paywalled news roundup!

Don’t worry and please don‘t hit unsubscribe: my Friday essays will remain free for all. If you want to read this but can’t swing $5/month, simply pay what you CAN afford here and drop me a line so I can comp you!

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The Golden Hour: climate, children, mental health is a reader-supported publication. To read this full post, please become a paid subscriber.

Quick reminder: each week I bring you real events that have real consequences for real people now.

I’m trying to avoid pseudo-events, purely symbolic gestures, speculation, and things where everyone for some reason needs to have a take. Like this week: Nothing on the Elon/Trump feud.

And this week I’m also going to add in 5 things that delighted me. Because life is beautiful and complicated, and summer is warm and dangerous.

This week:

1. Trying to clean up DOGE’s mess

2.Kilmar is coming home, Trump travel ban, illegal removals and some wins

3.New CO2 peak

4.Boulder attack

5.Wild card

1. Trying to clean up DOGE’s mess—including their weed stash

Talking Points Memo and AP reports from the US Institute of Peace, which is technically an independent nonprofit think tank, not part of the federal government working in 26 conflict zones in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. A court ordered the agency completely restored after DOGE took it over.

On taking possession of the building again, the staff found leaks, infestations, and a trash can with a huge amount of discarded marijuana. They are trying to recover access to about $13 million in funds, and some of their staffers may have taken other jobs.

The Washington Post similarly reported on the chaotic “scramble” to rehire federal workers who were fired or invited to leave with little thought.

The administration is seeking work-arounds and stopgaps, including asking remaining staff to serve in new roles, work overtime or volunteer to fill vacancies, according to interviews with 18 federal workers…

recent messy re-hirings at agencies including the Food and Drug Administration, the IRS, the State Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In some cases, the government is posting new online job listings very similar to positions it recently vacated...

2.Trump travel ban, illegal removals and some wins

Mistakenly deported Salvadoran native Kilmar Abrego Garcia is on his way back to the United States where he will face criminal charges for allegedly transporting undocumented migrants within the U.S., according to sources familiar with the matter.

Trump has banned people from Afghanistan; Myanmar, also known as Burma; Chad; Republic of the Congo; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Haiti; Iran; Libya; Somalia; Sudan; and Yemen from entering the US. He has restrictions on people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Amnesty International called it “discriminatory, racist, and downright cruel” on X.

The Washington Post reported on the sorrowful impact on immigrant communities already here in the US, for whom this means not bringing any family members or loved ones to join them.

A court reinforced that those removed to CECOT in El Salvador deserve due process to challenge the use of the “Alien Enemies Act” against them. Meanwhile Trump is removing people to South Sudan.

Day by day, incident by incident, the nation is getting more used to having ICE grab people. Some individuals continue to be released from immigration detention after media attention, public outcry, and some government actions. Like Carol in Missouri. And a high school student in Massachusetts. New York City is filing an amicus brief on behalf of another high school student.

If and when Congress passes this bill that has a huge increase in $ for harassing and imprisonment of immigrants, all of this will increase and become even more visible. How will people respond?

3.New CO2 peak

“For the first time, the seasonal peak of carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere exceeded 430 parts per million (ppm) at NOAA’s Mauna Loa Observatory on Hawaii.”

4.Boulder attack

A man originally from Egypt used homemade incendiary devices to attack people in Boulder, CO, who were there as part of the national group “Run For Their Lives,” a nonviolent event bringing awareness to the Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

Among the 12 people injured was an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor, who told the press, "We are better than this."

Trump has gutted the federal office dedicated to preventing terrorism, according to ProPublica, leaving states on their own responding to threats.

I’m left wondering how many more of these tragic attacks we are going to see as they play so usefully into divisive statements and actions by this administration about anti-Semitism.

This week, my kid’s Hebrew school teacher suggested holding class outside considering the nice weather, and one of the parents said it was too scary for our kids to be publicly Jewish in that way.

5.Wild card

Orien McNeill—an artist, a New Yorker who lived on and around the water, a mythic, larger than life figure—was part of my extended community. We never met personally but I attended a Swimming Cities performance/event that he was a key part of many years ago, and my Facebook feed is full of heartfelt tributes this week. His New York Times obituary is a really lovely read.

Swimming Cities of Serenissima, via Swoon

And! Five things that delighted me this week

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