Why did Democrats just join Republicans in voting to give a second Trump presidency new authoritarian powers? What newspaper fought to kill a law that would have made it easier for its own reporters to expose political corruption? Who in the Senate is no longer accepting Boeing’s campaign cash? How do undersea fiber optic cables ever get repaired? Why are EV cars so much better for the environment than gas-powered cars? How many homes are threatened by climate change?

The answers to these questions and much more can be found below in today’s edition of Sirota’s Signals, a weekly dose of must-read stories, missed nuggets, and fun-but-worthwhile distractions from Lever founder David Sirota, exclusively for paid subscribers.