THE 21ST CENTURY ISN’T TURNING OUT AS I’D HOPED: British secondhand booksellers see mystery bulk buys of obscure titles, suspect AI.

ANCESTORS: Researchers identify traces of two ‘ghost’ ancestors in modern human DNA.

WELL, GOOD: FDA approves new pancreatic cancer drug that could extend patients’ lives.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: “What I Wish I’d Known About a Hysterectomy”: A Patient’s Experience with an Expert Doctor’s Insight.

NEWS YOU PROBABLY CAN’T USE: Polynesian Wayfinding: How these sailors navigated the open Pacific with no compass or GPS. “Piailug was born in 1932 and became a master navigator, or palu, by the time he was 18. He practiced the art of wayfinding for nearly 60 years until shortly before his death in 2010. Having become concerned that the old knowledge would be lost, Pialiug worked with the Polynesian Voyaging Society to recreate lost techniques, passing on his wisdom to sailors like Thompson.”

Vikings navigated to America in similar fashion, though I haven’t heard that anyone is practicing their methods now.

EVERYTHING THE LEFT CONTROLS IS UGLY: Viral video of huge homeless encampment near UC Berkeley prompts alarm.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Minnesota State Mankato set to lay off employees and raise tuition to combat deficit.

DON SURBER: Hillbilly Elegance: Barbara Walters did Dolly Parton a big favor that people in the 21st century just don’t understand.

LIKE THE MEASLES BREAKOUT, WHAT’S OFTEN PRESENTED AS A U.S. PHENOMENON IS ACTUALLY A GLOBAL ONE, AND WORSE ELSEWHERE: Think Treasurys Are Having a Rough Summer? It’s Even Uglier Abroad: Countries with large debt burdens—France, Italy, the U.K., Japan—have come under the heaviest pressure in recent months.

The selloff in U.S. Treasurys has captured global attention, but bond markets overseas have been getting hit even harder.

The jump in U.S. borrowing costs—and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s intervention to bring them back down—has shone a spotlight not just on America’s growing debt problem but the world’s.

Global debt has surpassed $350 trillion, according to the Institute of International Finance, or about 305% of global gross domestic product. Governments in advanced economies alone are expected to borrow $18 trillion this year, according to the OECD, and are increasingly competing for buyers with stocks and bonds issued by U.S. tech companies.

While global bond yields have eased this week, they remain near their highest level in more than a decade in several countries. Countries with large debt burdens—France, Italy, the U.K., Japan—have come under the heaviest pressure in recent months.

Something that can’t go on forever, won’t.

TEACH WOMEN NOT TO RAPE! (CONT’D):

An interesting result of taking the 4th Wave "sex you did not particularly want, or had while you were high" definition of rape seriously is that it produces this result – 47% or so of "rapists" are female.

Is this true, or is the definition worthless? https://t.co/TESUi52C2O pic.twitter.com/DHnTmGuHpK

— Wilfred Reilly (@wil_da_beast630) August 26, 2026

MY NEW YORK POST COLUMN: Tech bros must channel the moguls of old to get back in America’s good graces. “At the heart of the widespread bipartisan resistance to data centers and Flock cameras is our distrust of the people behind them.”

#LIES: Soros-Funded Fake News Site Falsely Identified Abdul El-Sayed as ‘Veteran’ in Mailer Sent to Michigan Voters: The ‘Michigan Independent’ is part of a left-wing network of purported local media outlets that target voters with partisan messaging.

PRIZE MONEY: IT’S NOT JUST FOR HISTORICAL NAVAL FICTION ANYMORE: US Aims to Revive Civil War-Era Court to Claim Iran Oil as Prize.

The Justice Department is preparing to activate a long-dormant maritime war court to streamline military capture of Iranian oil tankers as US prizes, according to three people familiar with the plans.

Reviving prize courts, which is expected to face legal challenges, is intended to strengthen the blockade of Iran and offset the cost of the conflict.

Aaron Reitz, the Houston-based US attorney whose office is partnering with department headquarters on the initiative, confirmed DOJ is “now reviving” prize courts, which he described as an “ancient body of maritime law.”

The unfinalized plans, if adopted, would offer a faster path for federal prosecutors to claim oil and other cargo taken from enemy or neutral vessels as US property. The seized goods would then be sold with proceeds transferred to the treasury.

The anticipated revival is the second time this year the administration has turned to an obscure court system to carry out its agenda, after bringing the first-ever case before the Alien Terrorist Removal Court in July. . . .

Once a regular feature of 18th and 19th century naval combat, prize courts have gone largely unused since the Spanish-American War of 1898 and lain entirely dormant since World War II. In recent decades, the US has shifted to relying on civil forfeiture law as the mechanism for seizing ships and obtaining their assets to enforce sanctions violations.

DOJ’s planning, which has been coordinated with the Pentagon, comes as US forces have intercepted and seized multiple Iranian-owned or linked ships since imposing a blockade in April.

Does the captain still get 3/8, with smaller shares for the officers and crew?

I ALREADY LIKE THEM, YOU DON’T HAVE TO SELL ME.

I have not seen a better argument for the AfD than the beginning of this hit piece from The Atlantic
I'm not kidding pic.twitter.com/xCgmuDC0SY

— Michael Malice (@michaelmalice) August 26, 2026

HOW CAN CANADA HAVE A MEASLES PROBLEM IF THEY DON’T HAVE TRUMP, RFK, JR., OR MAHA? Canada Is Losing The War On Measles: Canada losing their elimination status for measles is a nerve-wracking reminder of the fragility of modern civilization.

I’m sure none of this has to do with mass immigration from countries where measles is common and vaccination isn’t.

21ST CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS:

News you can use, folks. Sad that it needs to be said, but here we are. pic.twitter.com/L05vetFgUi

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) August 26, 2026

HERE’S ONE: Not That You Needed Another Reason to Love Dolly Parton, But . . .

OPEN THREAD: Hump Day.

MY NEW YORK POST COLUMN: Tech bros must channel the moguls of old to get back in America’s good graces. “At the heart of the widespread bipartisan resistance to data centers and Flock cameras is our distrust of the people behind them.”

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Starbase Louisiana: SpaceX announces enormous $100 billion Starbase launch site.

MORE ON VITAMIN C AND COLDS.

TESTED: Tested! The Tesla Model Y Offers Swift 0–60 MPH Speed, but Is It Fun? “The Model Y also has some of the least helpful door handles on the market. No proximity sensor senses your approach and pokes out the thin handle to make entering easier, like the Ioniq 5. Normal door handles may cost a bit in aerodynamic efficiency and don’t look futuristic, but they’re way easier to live with.”

A lot of cars have this problem. Bring back traditional handles.

WHY ARE THEY ANTI-SCIENCE? Gun Control Industry Shrieks As CDC Restores Defensive Gun Use Stats, Hilariously Claims Gun Violence Archive is the Gold Standard.

NONSENSE, THE ONE IN “JAWS” WAS BIGGER: Atlantic’s largest-recorded adult white shark ‘Contender’ moves into cool Atlantic waters off Canada.

YES, PLEASE: NASA aims to put astronauts back on the moon by 2028.