Mother Jones: Posts

Mother Jones

A CPAC Speaker Wants Transgenderism “Eradicated”

The Conservative Political Action Conference, the New York Times reported on Saturday, is not what it used to be. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis skipped out on what has for years been the conservative movement’s premier cattle call. Mike Pence will be at a donor retreat instead. Fox News will not be streaming the event, nor […]

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Donald Trump Enters the “What About Flying Cars?” Phase of His Career

Donald Trump has been running for president for more than three months, but it has sometimes been easy to forget. Fox News, which lent him an endless supply of on-air advertising during his last two campaigns, has all but blacklisted him, offering hours of free programming instead to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Although Elon Musk’s […]

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Is Florida’s Blogger Registration Bill Inspired by Viktor Orbán?

Earlier this week, Florida State Sen. Jason Brodeur introduced a bill that would require bloggers to register with the state government when they are paid to write about the governor and other political figures. After registering, bloggers would be forced to file monthly reports listing every one of their posts, how much they were paid […]

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When Is a “Sovereign Wealth Fund” Not “Sovereign”? When It’s Convenient

LIV Golf advertises itself as “Golf but louder.” Since its debut last year, LIV (which is not an acronym; it’s a Roman numeral) has sought to take over the market from the PGA Tour by playing music over the loudspeakers during tournaments, shooting t-shirts into the crowd, cozying up to Donald Trump, and—mostly—paying famous golfers […]

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Justice Department Sues Chemical Giants Over “Cancer Alley” Pollution

This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The US Justice Department has sued the two petrochemical giants behind a facility in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley” responsible for the nation’s highest cancer-risk rates caused by air pollution—a major lawsuit that seeks to substantially curb the plant’s emissions. Unveiled on […]

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Election-Denying Former Colorado Official Guilty of Misdemeanor Obstruction

Tina Peters, the former Colorado election official who has been charged with election fraud, could be going to jail for obstructing a government operation. Peters made national headlines last year when she pleaded not guilty to numerous felonies related to her alleged participation in a scheme to prove that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. […]

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South Carolina Woman Arrested For Allegedly Taking Abortion Pills

A South Carolina woman was arrested this week for allegedly taking abortion pills in October 2021 to end a pregnancy. The State reports the Greenville woman, who was 33 at the time, had sought medical care for labor pains. At the hospital, where she had a stillbirth, the woman informed medical staff that she had […]

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The Dishonest Accounting of Net-Zero Emissions

This piece was published originally by Capital & Main. What the hell is “net zero” anyway? “Zero” is an elegant word, the last word in a descending line down a scale from something to nothing. And so, among our nation’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters, it’s getting popular. ExxonMobil claims it’ll be heading there by 2050. So do Shell and […]

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These Images Tell the Stories of Families Reeling From the East Palestine Fiasco

In early February, days after a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying toxic chemicals including vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate and isobutylene derailed in the town of East Palestine, Ohio, authorities opted to burn off the materials to avoid an explosion. This prompted an evacuation of residents close to the site and images seen around the world […]

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California Is Racing to Electrify Trucks. Can the Industry Keep Up?

This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Before the sun rose on a cold January morning, Alex López navigated an 18-wheeler through busy traffic on the 710 freeway. He was headed to the Port of Long Beach, just south of Los Angeles, to retrieve a shipping container […]

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State Laws Favor Benefits for Firefighters With Cancer. Cities and Counties Keep Denying Them.

This story was reported by Public Health Watch and is being co-published by Investigative Reporting Workshop and Mother Jones. Even as wildfires intensify each year, the people who risk their lives to fight them are often denied workers’ compensation for what firefighters contend are job-related cancers. This is happening even though all 50 states have laws or […]

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Norfolk Southern Employees Suffering From Lingering Illnesses, Scathing Union Letter Says

In a scathing letter to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Norfolk Southern worker and Teamsters union rep denounced the rail company’s cost-cutting business model, alleging that workers who were deployed to clean up February’s vinyl chloride spill have experienced adverse health effects. “I am writing to share with you the level of disregard that Norfolk […]

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“You Are Living in Russia in Your Head”

“It’s a strange way to be,” Kate Abramova said. “You live in the city you are living in, but you are living in Russia in your head.” Kate is part of the Russian independent news organization Meduza, which was recently declared an “undesirable organization” by the Kremlin. We were introduced shortly after Putin’s troops began […]

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The Ancients Noted This Clever Whale Behavior 2,000 Years Before Scientists Did

This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Mysterious whale feeding behavior only documented by scientists in the 2010s has been described in ancient texts about sea creatures as early as two millennia ago, new research suggests. In 2011, Bryde’s whales in the Gulf of Thailand were first […]

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GOP Bill Aims to “Cancel” Florida’s Democratic Party Over Past Pro-Slavery Stance

A Republican lawmaker has filed a bill that, if passed, would, apparently, eliminate Florida’s Democratic Party. On Tuesday, Florida state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia filed the “Ultimate Cancel Act“—a bill that doesn’t mention the Democrats by name but would require the state’s Division of Elections to “immediately cancel” the filings and official status of any political party […]

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Does King Charles Want Harry and Meghan Evicted to Make Room for…Prince Andrew?

On the eve of his coronation, King Charles faces an apparent predicament: What ever to do with Prince Andrew, the disgraced brother accused of sexually abusing a teenage girl, who can no longer afford his massive estate? And what about the estranged son intent on publicly speaking out against the family’s alleged cruelty? Does one, […]

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Ron DeSantis’ War on Freedom

Editor’s note: The below article first appeared in David Corn’s newsletter, Our Land. The newsletter is written by David twice a week (most of the time) and provides behind-the-scenes stories about politics and media; his unvarnished take on the events of the day; film, book, television, podcast, and music recommendations; interactive audience features; and more. Subscribing costs just $5 a […]

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Eric Adams Brings God and a Sponge Into His Mess

New York City’s interfaith breakfast, an annual gathering of religious leaders hosted by the city’s mayor, is a typically staid event. But this is Eric Adams’ town now—and anything goes, including overt dismissals of fundamental, overwhelmingly supported U.S. Constitution doctrines and one deeply absurd sponge metaphor. “Don’t tell me about no separation of church and […]

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“Racial Intolerance” and “Hate” Are No Longer Banned on Coinbase

Using Coinbase to facilitate racism and hate is apparently no longer against the cryptocurrency platform’s rules under little-noticed revisions the company made to its terms of service several years ago. Until August 2021, the “Prohibited Uses” section of Coinbase’s user agreement banned customers from wielding the platform to “incite, threaten, facilitate, promote, or encourage hate, racial intolerance, […]

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How Climate Change Plagues Ordinary Americans

This story was originally published by Undark and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. What goes through a person’s mind when disaster strikes? In Jake Bittle’s The Great Displacement: Climate Change and the Next American Migration, an ambitious book that details the radical transformations climate change is wreaking on American life, we are given a glimpse. […]

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Sonia Sotomayor Just Nailed the Problem With the Student Debt Cancellation Challenge

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in two separate cases that challenge President Biden’s plan to wipe out more than $400 billion in student debt for approximately 40 million Americans. The two highly watched cases are both quite technical. But in the first argument of the day, Justice Sonia Sotomayor managed to cut through […]

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Another Santos Scandal? He Diverted Voter Registration Money to a GOP-Allied Gay Rights Site

During Rep. George Santos’ second run for a congressional seat on Long Island—he lost his first—he helped raise money for and direct a political action committee called Rise NY that was set up in 2020 under New York State law. Its declared mission was to focus on voter registration, education, and turnout. The PAC collected […]

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The Supreme Court’s Big Algorithm Fail

Last Tuesday, as the Supreme Court began hearing oral arguments in key case that could shape the future of the internet, it quickly became clear that some important information was missing. No one seemed able to explain how the algorithms that underlie the Internet actually function. “I was ripping my hair out.” “These are not […]

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Tulsi Gabbard Can’t Stop Comparing Biden to Hitler

President Biden’s cabinet is the most diverse in American history, according to the White House. But in Tulsi Gabbard’s view, the bragging right is anything but. In fact, the former Democrat believes it warrants comparison to Adolf Hitler. “They’re are proud to be judging people, hiring people, selecting people based on race,” Gabbard said during a […]

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Wanted: Someone, Anyone, to Play at This Big Boy’s Party

Preparations are underway for King Charles’ coronation, a lavish affair that’s expected to see the only G-7 economy likely headed for a recession this year dig deep into taxpayer funds to host an anachronistic pageant honoring hereditary rule. If that doesn’t smack of a grand old time to you, well, you’re in good company. Some […]

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Ron DeSantis Wants to Make Transporting Migrants a Felony

Last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a legislative proposal to “fight against Biden’s border crisis.” The bill, if approved by the Republican-dominated legislature, would make it a third-degree felony to “knowingly transport, conceal, or harbor” an undocumented migrant “within or into the state,” punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 […]

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The Prison Professor

In his 6.5-by-14-foot cell, Leo Hylton keeps an unopened cherry-flavored Hint seltzer. Since March 2022, he’s held on to the bottle as a prized possession, a “touchstone” that he says helps remind him of “the visceral feel” of the first day he spent outside the Maine State Prison in 12 years. Hylton left for work. […]

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Recent Deadly Storms Left California Farmworkers Reeling

This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. As a series of deadly storms whipped through California’s wine country, liquefying fields and turning vineyards into wading pools, thousands of farmworkers in the region were forced to stay home. Though the power has been long since restored and roads reopened—many […]

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Do We Actually Know That Dogs Are Getting High More Often?

Earlier this month, the New York Times published an article about the least pressing issue arising from the legalization of marijuana: Dogs are getting stoned. That might strike you as strange, since humans do not get high from eating raw weed. The cannabinoid receptors in our brains respond to cannabis only after its THCA has been heated […]

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Biden’s Climate Spending Is a Big Win for Red-State Economies

This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Georgia, a state once known for its peaches and peanuts, is rapidly becoming a crucible of US clean energy technology, leading a pack of Republican-led states enjoying a boom in renewables investment that has been accelerated by Joe Biden’s climate agenda. […]

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