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Mother Jones

US Wildlife Agency Explores Cryogenics as a Hedge Against Extinction

This story was originally published by Inside Climate News and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The world’s wildlife are facing a barrage of threats caused by climate change, from the loss of suitable habitat to dwindling food supplies. As a result, endangered species across the US are edging closer to extinction at alarming rates—and if they disappear, critical […]

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Biden Administration Appoints a Special Envoy for Gaza’s Humanitarian Issues

On Sunday, amid worsening conditions in Gaza, the US State Department named former Ambassador David Satterfield as a special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues. Satterfield, an Arabic-speaking veteran diplomat who previously served as ambassador to Lebanon and Turkey, will, the department said, “lead US diplomacy to urgently address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, including […]

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Mike Pence’s Presidential Campaign Is in Debt…

Former Vice President Mike Pence is reportedly facing an “existential cash squeeze” that could bring an end to his 2024 run for the White House. Pence’s campaign told NBC News that filings due at the Federal Election Commission by the end of Sunday will reflect some $620,000 in debt, and that Pence himself has resorted […]

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Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza Worsens Ahead of Expected Israeli Ground Offensive

The Israel Defense Forces has renewed evacuation orders for portions of Gaza as it prepares its announced plans for “coordinated attacks from the air, sea and land” in retaliation for last week’s Hamas attacks. Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to deteriorate as desperate families flee northern sections of the territory by car, bus, and […]

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Clock Is Ticking for the Black Residents of Flood-Prone Southwest Philadelphia

This story was originally published by Yale e360 and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Brenda Whitfield recalled the first major flood at her home in the Eastwick section of Southwest Philadelphia, when Hurricane Floyd filled her ground floor with five feet of water. “I was scared half to death,” she said of the […]

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Here Are Some Amazing Images of the “Ring of Fire” Solar Eclipse

A solar eclipse formed a “ring of fire” on Saturday on a trail from Oregon to Texas before moving down to Mexico, Central America, Colombia, and Brazil. Crowds gathered along a 125-mile wide path to watch the “moment of annularity,” when the moon was directly in front of the sun, leaving a halo of light. Annular […]

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“A Matter of Life and Death”: The UN Warns of a Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza

As hundreds of thousands of Gazans have fled their homes in response to Israel’s warnings of a massive ground invasion, the United Nations is warning of an escalating humanitarian crisis. Many are struggling to find shelter and food; Gaza has no electricity and is running out of clean drinking water. “It has become a matter of life and […]

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A Trump-Appointed Federal Judge Just Ruled a Texas County Violated the Voting Rights Act

On Friday, a Trump-appointed federal judge struck down an electoral map in Galveston, Texas, saying it violates the Voting Rights Act and amounts to “egregious” discrimination against Black and Latino voters. “This is not a typical redistricting case,” wrote Judge Jeffrey Brown in a 157-page ruling. “What happened here was stark and jarring…the enacted plan denies Black […]

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As Canada Explores Carbon Capture, Experts Warn of Health Risks

This story was originally published by Canada’s National Observer and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. A little over three years ago, a menacing fog crept into the valley surrounding the small village of Satartia, Missisippi, causing a mass poisoning. Within minutes of breathing the air, residents choked and dropped to the ground. Nearly […]

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Black Student Suspended Over Dreadlocks Removed and Transferred to a Disciplinary Program

A Texas high school that suspended a Black student for more than a month over the length of his dreadlocks is removing the student and transferring him to an alternative disciplinary program. Starting yesterday, Darryl George, an 18-year-old junior at Barbers Hill High School, will report to EPIC until November 29. “Your child has engaged […]

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Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Biden’s Crucial Climate Metric

This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the “social cost of carbon,” one of the most important calculations in US climate policy, on Tuesday. The controversial metric attempts to quantify the hidden price of emitting carbon dioxide, from flood damage to […]

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Sen. Bob Menendez Charged With Acting as a Foreign Agent for Egypt

The Justice Department on Thursday issued a new indictment against Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez and his wife, this time accusing the couple of acting as foreign agents for Egypt. The court filing adds detail to the astonishing allegations already lodged against the senior New Jersey senator. Those include charges that he and his wife Nadine accepted […]

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Trump Deceived Deutsche Bank, Former Exec Testifies

A former Deutsche Bank executive testified this week that the German financial behemoth only agreed to make massive loans to Donald Trump because of Trump’s vast personal fortune. The problem? The bank apparently thought, based at least partly on financial statements provided by Trump, that he was far wealthier than he really was. The Deutsche […]

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Virginia Democrats Push for DOJ Investigation After Voters Were Wrongfully Removed

Virginia Democrats are calling on the Justice Department to investigate the state’s elections department after the administration announced last week that it had mistakenly removed eligible voters from voter rolls after incorrectly listing them as convicted felons. The announcement, which came with early voting already underway for a pivotal state election, said that it had […]

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Virginia Democrats Push for DOJ Investigation After Voters Were Wrongfully Removed

Virginia Democrats are calling on the Justice Department to investigate the state’s elections department after the administration announced last week that it had mistakenly removed eligible voters from voter rolls after incorrectly listing them as convicted felons. The announcement, which came with early voting already underway for a pivotal state election, said that it had […]

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The Biggest Backlog in the US Diversity Visa Program? All the Broken Promises to Those Who Applied.

This story is the result of a partnership between The Investigative Reporting Workshop and The Center for Public Integrity. Osama Mohamed let out a sigh of relief as he and his wife stood at the steps of the US Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on the first day of September. Clutched tightly in his hands was […]

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EPA Opens Civil Rights Probe of Alabama’s Sewage Failures

This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Sewage collecting in crudely dug trenches. Failing septic tanks that send waste bubbling into backyards. These are some of the common sights across Alabama’s Black Belt, a strip of 24 continuous counties blessed with deep fertile soil but long plagued […]

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Group of Republicans to Launch First GOP Effort to Expel George Santos

On Wednesday, a group of New York House Republicans announced that they will introduce a resolution to expel Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), who was indicted yesterday on new charges that included campaign violations for a fake-donor scheme first reported by Mother Jones earlier this year. The resolution, which will be introduced by Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.), […]

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This Supreme Court Case Could Decide Control of Congress in 2024

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Wednesday in Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, a case that could help decide which party controls the House of Representatives in 2024, along with the future of minority representation and voting rights litigation in the South. In 2018, Joe Cunningham became the first Democrat […]

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Allen Weisselberg Still Wants to Be Trump’s Fall Guy

Last year, Allen Weisselberg did everything he could to protect Donald Trump from New York prosectors. With the Trump Organization facing tax evasion charges in Manhattan, Weisselberg—the former president’s longtime CFO—tried to take the fall for his old boss. It didn’t work. On Tuesday, Weisselberg was back on the witness stand, this time as part […]

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Study: Climate Change Is Coming for Europe’s Beer

This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Climate breakdown is already changing the taste and quality of beer, scientists have warned. The quantity and quality of hops, a key ingredient in most beers, is being affected by global heating, according to a study. As a result, beer […]

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Santos Indicted for Fake Donor Scheme Exposed by Mother Jones

On Tuesday evening, federal prosecutors charged already-indicted and disgraced Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) with several new crimes, including campaign finance violations for a fake-donor scheme exposed by Mother Jones earlier this year. These new counts added to the pre-existing indictment also include wire fraud and identity theft. The feds claim that Santos used his donors’ credit […]

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Biden Condemns “Pure, Unadulterated Evil” of Hamas’ Attack on Israel

In a White House address on Tuesday, President Joe Biden made clear that Israel will have the unequivocal support of the United States as it responds to the terrorist attack launched by Hamas over the weekend, adding that Israel had a right and duty to respond to the attacks. “In this moment, we must be […]

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Gavin Newsom Vetoed a Bill to Make Condoms Available at Schools

A California bill requiring public high schools to provide condoms to their students didn’t make it past Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk this week. The bill, SB 541, would have required schools to place condoms in at least two easily accessible places on campus. Students would not have needed assistance or permission from staff to take […]

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Chuck Feeney’s Legacy Is a Lesson for America’s Billionaires

The selfless billionaire is a rare creature indeed. Chuck Feeney, who died on Monday at the age of 92, was one of them. He is “my hero and Bill Gates’ hero,” Warren Buffett once remarked. “He should be everybody’s hero.” Indeed, Feeney was an inspiration for the Giving Pledge that Buffett and the Gateses launched […]

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Under New California Law, Big Firms Must Reveal Their Carbon Emissions

This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. A groundbreaking California law will force large companies doing business in the state—including major global corporations—to disclose their planet-heating carbon emissions. The measure, signed into law by the governor, Gavin Newsom, on Saturday, will be the nation’s first of its kind, serving […]

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How Accessible Sex Ed Helps Young Adults with Developmental Disabilities Form Healthy Relationships

When he was a teenager, Ben believed that he struggled with friendships and romantic relationships more than others his age. Discerning personal boundaries and finding ways to effectively communicate often bewildered him, and he wasn’t sure what certain signals meant or how many he may have missed. As someone with autism, cerebral palsy, and expressive […]

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RFK Jr. Is Officially Running as an Independent—Prompting Siblings to Once Again Disavow Him

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the prominent conspiracy theorist and anti-vaxxer, is officially running as an independent. On Monday, the Kennedy scion, who has been politically disowned by much of his family, announced that he was ditching his longshot efforts to defeat Joe Biden in the Democratic primary. The announcement prompted more family disavowal. Kennedy’s sister, […]

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How the Surveillance of Black Hair Can Kill a Child’s Spirit

In January 2020, Barbers Hill High School in Texas made national headlines after suspending a Black student over his dreadlocks, ordering DeAndre Arnold to cut them if he wanted to attend graduation. The incident partly inspired the CROWN Act, a state law that prohibits race-based hair discrimination in schools, housing, and workplaces. But on August […]

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Jim Jordan Tried to Help Trump Mount a Coup. Now He Gets To Be Speaker?

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), like Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the man he hopes to replace as House speaker, lies a lot. Jordan’s rapid-style monologues—on topics such as Russia’s attack on the 2016 election, Donald Trump’s 2019 effort to extort Ukraine, Hunter Biden, and internet censorship—are often loaded with allegations that are demonstrably false. He has […]

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