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Weekend Reads for January 31, 2026: Getting you up to speed on the week that was

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The Ink
Jan 31, 2026
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Happy Saturday, Ink readers! After a week of general strikes and pushback against ICE, you may have missed a few things — but no worries, we’ve been doing some research. In today’s edition of Weekend Reads:

  • How consulting firms and credit agencies steal healthcare dollars

  • How did a DJ end up providing scams as a service?

  • Want something done? Put a veteran punk on the case

  • How a glassblower fires up science

  • What taking care of immigrant neighbors really looks like

  • Can a rescue dog save your life?

  • Meeting the man who sets the Doomsday Clock

  • How the feds broke the law to arrest Don Lemon

  • Life under drone warfare

  • A full review of Melania

  • Words for Minneapolis from poet Carolyn Forché

  • And music from the late guitar innovator Kazuhito Yamashita

We hope you’ll put some time aside today to read along with us.

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Scamming as a service

When asked, Holman told his family the money came from “consultancy work for a computer company”. Given his technical background, they mostly believed him. But when he began paying for his own flat while still a student, doubts crept in. “How is he affording that?” one family member wondered.

By then, the answer was already travelling across Europe. [Dispatch]

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