Mother Jones
After disgraced Rep. George Santos was expelled from Congress on Friday for alleged ethics violations, including spending donor money on Botox treatments, the writers of Saturday Night Live wasted no time roasting him. The show led off with a news conference by Santos, played by Bowen Yang, on the steps of the US Capitol. “I’m being […]
Mother JonesThe Biden administration pledged on Saturday to phase out coal power plants alongside dozens of other countries, a change that would go a long way toward curbing global warming. US Special Envoy John Kerry announced that the United States would join 56 other nations in the Powering Past Coal Alliance, a group launched by the […]
Mother JonesThis story was originally published by Undark and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Twice a year, members of a subspecies of red knots—salmon-colored sandpipers—migrate thousands of miles between their wintering grounds in northern Mexico and breeding sites in the Arctic tundra, encountering myriad obstacles along the way. Thought to migrate during both day and night, brightly […]
Mother JonesIn late October, a federal court ruled that Georgia’s electoral maps violated the Voting Rights Act by discriminating against Black voters. US District Court Judge Steve Jones ordered the state’s GOP-controlled legislature to draw new congressional and state legislative maps that would result in new majority-Black districts. But instead of boosting Black representation, Republicans released […]
Mother JonesThe Biden administration announced an ambitious new plan on Saturday to dramatically curb methane emissions, the second biggest cause of global warming after carbon dioxide. It would require oil and gas producers to detect and fix leaks of methane for the first time. The announcement came as the United Nations hosted the Cop28 climate summit […]
Mother JonesFederal Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled on Friday that Donald Trump does not enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution for his role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election. “Defendant’s four-year service as Commander in Chief did not bestow on him the divine right of kings to evade the criminal accountability that governs his fellow citizens,” Chutkan […]
Mother JonesThis story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The United Nations says the ongoing PFAS contamination of the Cape Fear watershed in North Carolina violates residents’ right to a clean and safe environment, and it has urged the Environmental Protection Agency to hold the polluters accountable. Its declaration marks the […]
Mother JonesThe Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Tuesday in Moore v U.S., a case that nominally involves the right of the US government to tax a couple, Charles and Kathleen Moore, on foreign corporate profits they have yet to receive. Sounds arcane, but the case, bankrolled by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, could potentially neuter […]
Mother JonesOn Friday, the United Nations held a panel on issues impacting the disabled community—ahead of its International Day of People with Disabilities, which falls on December 3. One increasingly urgent topic of discussion: Climate change. “The specific long-term consequences of climate change on persons with disabilities are poorly understood and usually overlooked,” said a moderator with […]
Mother JonesEditor’s note: The below article first appeared in David Corn’s newsletter, Our Land. The newsletter comes out twice a week (most of the time) and provides behind-the-scenes stories and articles about politics, media, and culture. Subscribing costs just $5 a month—but you can sign up for a free 30-day trial of Our Land here. Nikki Haley served six years as governor of […]
Mother JonesSandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the US Supreme Court, has died at the age of 93. O’Connor slipped away from public life in 2018 when she announced that she had been diagnosed with early dementia. This is the same disease that had prompted her to retire from the court in 2006 […]
Mother JonesAfter two indictments, a scathing House Ethics report, and countless scandals, George Santos has finally been expelled from the US House of Representatives. On Friday, in a 311-114 vote, the House removed the disgraced New York Republican, making Santos the sixth member of the House to be expelled in US history. “It’s over,” Santos reportedly told […]
Mother JonesEvery so often, the spiritual center of the internet shifts, as the locus where online culture is shaped and incubated before rippling out into the wider world cycles to a new home. Today, that shift is happening again, with Telegram taking the main stage. In recent years, the messaging app and digital platform has recurringly […]
Mother JonesThis story was originally published by Inside Climate News and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. In the arcane and often seemingly impenetrable bureaucracy of the US government, few agencies have as broad of a mandate to keep the American people safe as the Food and Drug Administration. In addition to protecting members of the public […]
Mother JonesAs Ohio’s Secretary of State, Frank LaRose is responsible for overseeing state election laws. But as he seeks the Republican nomination for a US Senate seat in 2024, LaRose has not complied with a federal law requiring US House and Senate candidates to submit information about their income and assets. And this has heightened a […]
Mother JonesWhere to even begin? The investigative journalism outlet Florida Center for Government Accountability has a story today alleging that Christian Ziegler, the chair of the Florida GOP, sexually assaulted a woman. This would be enough to attract attention, but this woman was allegedly having a ménage à trois with him and his wife Bridget, the erstwhile crusading […]
Mother JonesOn Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Texas heard arguments in a suit brought by the Center for Reproductive Rights challenging the state’s abortion ban—the case could have ripple effects across the country as state courts wrestle with exceptions to abortion bans after the fall of Roe. The Center for Reproductive Rights, representing 20 patients and […]
Mother JonesHenry Kissinger’s death at 100 on Wednesday, after a storied career drenched in blood and unchecked war crimes, has sparked both dutiful tributes and notes of justified revulsion from around the world. But in one corner of the internet, merchants of corporate aspiration have been activated, celebrating what appear to be random encounters with the former […]
Mother JonesThis story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Diplomats, academics, and activists from around the globe will gather yet again this week to try to find common ground on a plan for combating climate change. This year’s COP, as the event is known, marks the 28th annual meeting […]
Mother JonesDo not speak ill of the dead. That’s an honorable admonition. But what of the truth? When a person dies, should he be remembered accurately? That question is acutely posed by the demise of Henry Kissinger. The veteran diplomat passed away on Wednesday at the age of 100, leaving behind a long legacy that includes […]
Mother JonesOne helpful characteristic of Covid, if there is such a thing, is that those who become infected shed the virus through their poop. Over the last few years, public health officials capitalized on this fact, and built a system to track Covid levels across the country using our sewage. Now, nearly four years after the […]
Mother JonesFormer Minneapolis city council member Don Samuels, one of the primary challengers to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), mentioned a reason he thinks she’s unfit for office: Omar is allegedly “not cute enough.” During his appearance last week on “The Break Down,” a weekly politics podcast, one of the co-hosts asked Samuels to elaborate on his […]
Mother JonesThis story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Saudi Arabia is driving a huge global investment plan to create demand for its oil and gas in developing countries, an undercover investigation has revealed. Critics said the plan was designed to get countries “hooked on its harmful products.” Little […]
Mother JonesFor the first time in its two-decade history, Americans for Prosperity Action—an influential conservative organization backed by Charles Koch—has weighed in on the GOP presidential primary, crowning Nikki Haley as the best candidate to beat Donald Trump. “She has what it takes to lead a policy agenda to take on our nation’s biggest challenges and help […]
Mother JonesAs the author of a book about runaway wealth in America, I’ve thought a fair bit about the Giving Pledge, the exclusive do-gooder club Bill and Melinda French Gates launched in 2010 with their pal Warren Buffett and 37 other billionaires, all vowing to give away the majority of their fortunes. Now that the pledge […]
Mother JonesThis story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The United States is poised to extract more oil and gas than ever before in 2023, a year that is certain to be the hottest ever recorded, providing a daunting backdrop to crucial United Nations climate talks that hold the hope […]
Mother JonesThe ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will be extended for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip, a spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Monday morning. The State of Qatar announces, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian pause for an additional two days […]
Mother JonesThis story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Like many community-based solutions, the community lighthouse network in New Orleans can be traced back to a crisis moment when people realized that something had to change and they—not elected officials—would have to make it happen. “For [Hurricane] Ida we were […]
Mother JonesThis story was originally published by The Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Coal-fired power plants killed at least 460,000 Americans during the past two decades, causing twice as many premature deaths as previously thought, new research has found. Cars, factories, fire smoke, and electricity plants emit tiny toxic air pollutants known […]
Mother JonesThree students of Palestinian descent were shot and wounded in Burlington, Vermont, after a white man confronted the group Saturday night, shooting them at least four times, police said. Police said the gunman, who has not been identified or apprehended, shot the men “without speaking.” The victims are all 20 year old men; two of […]