Mother Jones: Posts

Mother Jones

The House Just Voted to Impeach Mayorkas. How Did We Get Here?

After failing to muster enough votes last week, House Republicans can now say they got nothing done and approved two articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. Democrats and constitutional law experts have decried the proceedings, which charge Mayorkas with “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” and “breach of public trust,” […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

My Dad Was a White Slave, Kentucky Republican Tells NAACP

A Kentucky Republican politician made an audacious claim on the first day of Black History Month, according to a local report: her white father, she said, was a slave. State Rep. Jennifer Decker made the comments, first reported by the Louisville Courier Journal, while speaking to a local chapter of the NAACP on Feb. 1 […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Elise Stefanik’s Latest VP Audition? Seeking to Have Letitia James Disbarred.

The Trump veepstakes rages on. The latest apparent audition? Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) on Monday filed an ethics complaint against New York Attorney General Letitia James over her handling of the state’s $370 million civil fraud trial against Trump. Stefanik, the fourth-highest-ranking House Republican and chair of the House GOP Conference, alleges that James conducted a “biased […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Let Your Friendships Radicalize You

Over the past year, the question of whether or not to try and have a second child has plagued me. I constantly calculate what resources I’ll have to raise two humans, and whether similar resources will be around to care for me when I’m old. This accounting, which always induces mild panic, invariably refracts a […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Joe Biden’s Age Is an Issue. So Is How the Media Cover It.

Editor’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. Joe Biden’s age has become a black hole. […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Charlie Kirk Doesn’t Really Seem to Mind White Nationalism

In 2012, Charlie Kirk deferred his acceptance to Baylor University to found Turning Point USA and establish himself as a young conservative whisperer who could convince his peers of the wonders of capitalism. In early 2016, the organization’s website argued that through “non-partisan debate, dialogue, and discussion, Turning Point USA believes that every young person […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Like ‘Em or Not, Climate Defiance Is Determined To Get In Your Face

This story was originally published by Inside Climate News and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The Wellesley Rotary Club was having a perfectly ordinary country club dinner on Thursday, Jan. 25, until about 18 climate activists hopped on stage and started talking about fossil fuels. “Brian Moynihan is one of the top five funders of […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Joe Biden’s Garage Is the Most American Thing About Him

On Thursday, Special Counsel Robert Hur dropped a bombshell report concluding his investigation into whether President Joe Biden had illegally retained classified documents when he was vice president. The report sent shudders through the Democratic establishment, not because it found Biden guilty, but because the report had editorialized about the 81-year-old president’s cognitive abilities. But […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

This Pennsylvania Special Election Is a 2024 Litmus Test

Democrats claimed a clear majority in Pennsylvania’s house of representatives in 2022, ending a decade-plus streak of GOP control in the lower chamber. And they’ve successfully defended their razor-thin upper hand in three special elections just in the last year. On Tuesday, that majority hangs in the balance again when a special election will determine […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

As Israel Attacks Rafah, Biden’s Warnings to Netanyahu Seem “Meaningless”

Using a “wave of attacks” this weekend, Israel bombed Rafah—a southern city in Gaza holding more than 1 million displaced people—killing dozens. The reason? The Israeli government said it was, at least in part, to provide cover for a military operation that successfully liberated hostages. The calculus is haunting: Israel killed 67 people to free two people. With […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

The Trouble With Convicting Parents for Their Children’s Violent Crimes

While some advocates have heralded a Michigan jury’s decision to convict Jennifer Crumbley of involuntary manslaughter as an important step in the right direction to stop mass shootings, others fear the legal precedent will stretch far beyond mass shooting prosecutions and be weaponized against Black and low-income families. “The principle being established here is that […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

These Four States Want Big Oil To Pay for Climate Damage

This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Last July, the normally warm and humid but still pleasant New England summer was disrupted by a series of unusually heavy rain storms. Flash floods broke creek banks and washed away roads, inundating several cities and towns. Vermont and upstate […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Super Bowl Tix: $9,000. Pay for the Workers Pouring $18 Beers: $14.25 an Hour

The median price of a Super Bowl ticket this year is nearly $9,000, putting the game on track to be the most expensive on record. Billionaires are expected to have trouble finding parking spots for their planes. But many workers at Allegiant Stadium, in Las Vegas, make barely more than minimum wage. A San Francisco […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

If Elon Musk and His Buddies Think Delaware Is Too Strict, We’ve Got a Problem

There’s a piece in today’s Wall Street Journal about how billionaires like Elon Musk are now whining about Delaware—which literally has more corporations than people—because it imposes too many rules. Musk is fretting because a Delaware business court ruled that his $50 billion-plus Tesla compensation package, which was approved by a loyalist board, was excessive […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Trump Says He Told US Allies to Pay Up, or He’d Let Russia “Do Whatever the Hell They Want”

On Saturday, former president Donald Trump claimed that, as president, he told America’s NATO allies that the United States wouldn’t protect them against Russia if they hadn’t contributed enough money to the military alliance. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has long criticized defense spending by NATO allies, falsely claiming they owe unpaid debt to the […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

These Scientists Are Racing to Improve Forecasts of Deadly Atmospheric River Storms

This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The storm raged over California for more than five days. As the powerful atmospheric river made landfall, furious winds and torrential downpours ripped trees from their roots, turned streets into rivers and sent mud cascading into homes. Along with chaos, the storm brought […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Stop Doomscrolling and Check Out the World’s Tiniest Critters

This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. In the 19th century, the German zoologist Christian Bergmann pondered a simple question: Why are some animals so small? His answer, that a warm-blooded animal’s size increases as its habitat cools, remains a rule in biology to this day. “Bergmann pointed out […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

How the FBI Infiltrated Denver’s Racial Justice Movement

In case you missed it, Mother Jones has officially merged with the nonprofit investigative news outlet Reveal. Among many other exciting changes, this means that going forward we’ll be bringing our readers more hard-hitting audio journalism from Reveal‘s award-winning podcast and radio show. This week’s episode, a partnership with Western Sound and Alphabet Boys, uncovers the FBI’s efforts to infiltrate […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Instagram and Threads Will Make It Harder to See Political Posts

Instagram and Threads will no longer recommend political content to users, the websites’ parent company, Meta, announced Friday, in a change that will make it harder for people to see journalism during a presidential election year. “This announcement expands on years of work on how we approach and treat political content based on what people […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

The Kansas City Chiefs Still Have a Racist Name

As the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers head to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl on Sunday, Native activists will for the fourth time in five years travel to the stadium where the championship game is played to protest the Chiefs’ name and other racist traditions. While the NFL’s Washington Commanders (whose […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Climate Changed Caused the Storms. Our Failing Infrastructure Made Them Lethal.

When snow hit Nashville this January, residents were almost cheerful as they noted the rare occurrence. A local musician posted a video, singing in the snow, with the caption “I thought when we moved South we did not have to worry about snow…too hot to be cold!” But the upbeat demeanor in Music City dissipated […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Climate Change Caused the Storms. Our Failing Infrastructure Made Them Lethal.

When snow hit Nashville this January, residents were almost cheerful as they noted the rare occurrence. A local musician posted a video, singing in the snow, with the caption “I thought when we moved South we did not have to worry about snow…too hot to be cold!” But the upbeat demeanor in Music City dissipated […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

At Hillary Clinton’s Panel on Sexual Violence, a Clash Over the War in Gaza

“You’re no feminist. You’re a white supremacist!” That’s what a protester had to say to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday at a Columbia University-hosted conference on conflict-related sexual violence, where dozens of demonstrators, including feminist scholars, showed up to criticize what they saw as an effort to justify the US’s support of Israel’s […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Climate Scientist Michael Mann Awarded $1 Million in Defamation Case

This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The high-profile climate scientist Michael Mann has been awarded $1 million by a jury in a defamation lawsuit against two conservative writers who compared his depictions of global heating to the work of a convicted child molester. The case […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

What Makes People Willing to “Fight or Die” in an Election?

What makes people want to participate in coup attempts like January 6—and fight or die for a politician, even after they lose? With November’s impending election, it’s a timely question for a divided country. California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, social psychologist Amber Gaffney and a team of collaborators took on the question of what makes […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Atlanta Keeps Putting Up Roadblocks as Organizers Push to Vote on Cop City

This article is produced as a collaboration between Bolts and Mother Jones. On January 29, two activists locked themselves to construction equipment belonging to the main “Cop City” contractor, shutting down the work site in downtown Atlanta for hours. “Myself and countless other residents have tried every legal avenue to Stop Cop City—but the City […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Kansas Plans to Phase Out Subminimum Wage for Disabled People

On Thursday, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly signed legislation into law that would start to phase out subminimum wage for disabled people in the state. For decades, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 has made it legal to pay disabled people less than minimum wage if they have a certificate. Only thirteen other states have passed […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

A Bunch of New Research Puts This Winter’s Wild Weather In Frightening Context

The earth is already breaking all sorts of records this year, and they’re not good ones. As I type, California’s historic rainfall pours down the coast and residents face over 300 mudslides, on top of widespread flash flooding. At the peak of the storm, over 800,000 lost power. Just weeks before, snowfall across the US […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Biden’s Justice Department Just Handed the Trump Campaign a Gold Mine

On Thursday afternoon, the US Department of Justice special counsel’s office released its long-awaited report on the investigation into President Joe Biden’s alleged retention of classified documents. The gist of the 388-page document is clear: the special counsel uncovered evidence that Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency, but determined that […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Trump Killed Abortion Rights. But Voters Still Don’t Blame Him.

Despite Trump appointing three of the Supreme Court justices that were part of the majority that overturned the constitutional right to abortion established in Roe v. Wade, most voters don’t hold him responsible for rising abortion restrictions nationwide, according to the results of a new poll released Monday. The poll, conducted in December by the […]

Continue Reading…