Mother Jones
Is the “parental rights” movement slowing down? In 2021, there was a broad push after the pandemic from the right to retake education institutions. Across the country, “Moms for Liberty”—a sprawling national organization the Southern Poverty Law Center labeled an anti-government extremist group—ran school board candidates to challenge inclusive policies and push book bans. The […]
Mother JonesIn 2021, the so-called “parents’ rights” conservative movement was ascendant. Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin ran on a platform based almost entirely on opposing the teaching of anti-racism and LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum in schools, marshaling the support of a group of self-proclaimed “Mama Bears” to propel him to victory. But last night, Democrat Schuyler VanValkenburg defeated Youngkin’s […]
Mother JonesOnce again, American voters in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision that last year nullified a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion have told the Republican Party what they think of its crusade to restrict reproductive freedom: Get lost. On Tuesday, abortion won. In Ohio, 57 percent of the Buckeyes who went to […]
Mother JonesYusef Salaam, one of the exonerated “Central Park Five,” earned a new title on Tuesday: New York City Council member-elect. Salaam, a Democrat who will represent a central Harlem district, ran unopposed after beating out a crowded primary field in June by a landslide. He campaigned on building more affordable housing to gentrifying Harlem, local […]
Mother JonesDemocratic victories in Tuesday’s off-year elections were also major triumphs for the efforts to protect democracy and expand voting rights—a continuation of a trend from last year’s midterms, when Republican candidates who had sought to undermine fair elections lost in key battleground states. In Virginia this year, Democrats won both houses of the state legislature, […]
Mother JonesRep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) on Tuesday became the 26th member in the history of the US House of Representatives to be censured after 22 Democrats joined nearly all Republicans in voting to punish the only Palestinian American in Congress for criticisms that, the resolution claimed, were tantamount to “calling for the destruction of the state […]
Mother JonesThis story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. A fashion industry push to reduce the environmental impact of the clothing it sells is being undermined by an ongoing addiction to buying new clothes, with the average British person buying 28 items every year. Asos and Primark are among the big names signed […]
Mother JonesOhio voters have approved Issue 1, amending their state constitution to enshrine the right to abortion—and proving, ahead of 2024, that support for abortion rights remains a compelling force among voters. The success of the measure, which was passing 58-42 as of 9 p.m. Tuesday night, is an encouraging sign for similar initiatives being prepared for next […]
Mother JonesThis story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Kentucky’s Democratic governor, Andy Beshear, has been called the state’s “consoler-in-chief.” He’s presided over a period of extreme weather in the state, from tornadoes that leveled entire towns in the farmlands of western Kentucky, to record flooding that washed out thousands of […]
Mother JonesWhen Donald Trump took the witness stand Monday as the defendant in a $250 million civil fraud case, he found himself on a public stage he had no control over—and he hated it. Facing direct questions from New York prosecutors about what role he played in fraudulently inflating his net worth, Trump struggled, and often […]
Mother Jones“Are you a Republican or a Democrat?” asked a Stafford County, Virginia voter as she stood inside her screened-in porch Thursday evening. “I’m firstly a person,” replied Leonard Lacey, the Democratic candidate running to represent District 64 in the Virginia House of Delegates. It was the start of Lacey’s elevator pitch to voters, one he’s […]
Mother JonesA record number of United Nations aid workers have been killed in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, according to information released yesterday. Eighty-eight people employed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East—tasked with providing essential services for Palestinian refugees—have been killed since Oct. 7, marking […]
Mother JonesWhen Lela Casey decided to speak up at a school board meeting of Pennsylvania’s Central Bucks School District in September, she was still troubled by an incident that had happened at a similar meeting in March. The mother of three who grew up in northeast Pennsylvania was sitting in the audience of about 50 or […]
Mother JonesOn a Thursday in September 2019, Philip Esformes arrived for his sentencing at the federal courthouse in downtown Miami looking pale and gaunt. The previous April, after an eight-week trial, Esformes, heir to a large, successful chain of nursing homes, had been convicted of fraud, kickback and money laundering crimes, and obstruction of justice. Citing […]
Mother JonesNew numbers from a New York Times/Siena College poll offer a grim portrait of the 2024 presidential election in five major swing states: Voters hate both candidates. But the bigger news is that despite having been impeached twice and indicted four times on criminal charges, former President Donald Trump is leading President Joe Biden in […]
Mother JonesSince getting fired from Fox News in April, Tucker Carlson has been slowly rebuilding his media empire. Last month, the conservative talk show host reportedly signed a revenue-sharing deal with X (formerly Twitter) that will mean a whole lot more Carlson content on Elon Musk’s dying platform. Then, in late October, Carlson signed his first […]
Mother JonesIn an interview Sunday morning on CNN’s State of the Union, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said that while “Israel has a right to defend itself,” its bombing campaign in the Gaza needs to come to an end immediately. As he told host Dana Bash: I think it’s clear to most people what Hamas did—and Hamas is […]
Mother JonesThis story was originally published by Hakai Magazine and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. In the world of carbon offset trading, kelp is a big buzzword. Golden-brown and glistening, certain seaweeds are catching the attention of investors for their seeming propensity to grab vast amounts of carbon and pack it away for the long haul. […]
Mother JonesTens of thousands of protestors on Saturday marched in Washington, D.C. to protest in support of Palestinians and against the Israeli siege on Gaza. The protestors, who converged at Freedom Plaza near the White House, voiced support for a ceasefire, which most American politicians have shied away from even as the body count in Gaza has […]
Mother JonesThe average Palestinian in Gaza is currently living on two pieces of bread a day, a United Nations official said on Friday. Thomas White, the Gaza director for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, noted in a briefing with other UN members that in addition to food being extremely scarce in Gaza, water is in short supply […]
Mother JonesThis story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. When Matt McFadden came of age in southwestern Virginia in the early 2000s, he wasn’t planning on working for a clean energy outfit. He grew up playing in a high school garage band, part of his increasingly Republican county’s small punk scene. […]
Mother JonesIn 1951, three years after Israel came into existence, Shibley Telhami was born in a village outside Haifa that lacked running water or electricity. Telhami, who comes from a family of Palestinian Christians, has said it was impossible not to be interested in war and peace while growing up: The Arab-Israeli War of 1967 broke […]
Mother JonesThe press freedom group Reporters Without Borders is requesting that the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigate the killings and woundings of journalists covering the Israel-Hamas war. The group, also known as Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF), filed the complaint with the ICC on Tuesday, focusing on the deaths of 9 journalists killed since the start of the […]
Mother JonesIn his first major initiative as GOP House speaker, Mike Johnson pushed through a bill to provide $14 billion in military assistance to Israel. “Israel doesn’t need a cease-fire,” he declared before the vote. “It needs its allies to…deliver support now.” As the legislation heads to the Senate, it’s an appropriate moment to look back […]
Mother JonesOn Saturday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israelis were united in their fight against Hamas, whom he described as an enemy of incomparable cruelty. “They are committed to completely eliminating this evil from the world,” Netanyahu said in Hebrew. He then added: “You must remember what Amalek has done to you, says our Holy […]
Mother JonesThis story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Humanity is messing with the Earth’s “salt cycle,” with potentially dangerous consequences for drinking water supplies, crop production, and ecosystems. That’s according to a new study published in the journal Nature Reviews Earth & Environment on Tuesday. It’s the first time that scientists have […]
Mother JonesNearly a month into a non-stop airstrike campaign by Israeli forces on the Gaza Strip, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has officially become the first member of the Senate to call for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. Since the October 7 attack by Hamas that killed more than 1,400 people in Israel, the nation’s military has […]
Mother JonesOn Wednesday night, uber-liar George Santos faced the ultimate penalty for a member of Congress: expulsion. Several of his fellow New York Republicans, who have come to believe he’s bad news for the GOP, pushed a measure to bounce him from the House—a bill that required a two-thirds majority vote. Lucky George looked on as […]
Mother JonesUber and Lyft will shell out $328 million in settlements to New York drivers after cheating them out of their fair pay for years, according to a settlement announced by the state Attorney General Letitia James’ office today. Uber will pay the lion’s share of the settlement funds—$290 million—after taking sales taxes and fees for […]
Mother JonesLive in a key battleground district in Virginia? Then look out for a call from Barack Obama—or at least his pre-recorded voice. Politico reports the former president has taped two robocalls reminding voters to head to the polls ahead of the state’s critical legislative elections next week. “The people we elect in the state Senate […]