Mother Jones
Former president Donald Trump will likely face additional sanctions for violating the gag order in his criminal case in New York City after a brutal contempt hearing Thursday morning. He had already been fined $9,000 on Tuesday for nine violations. Trump is facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records for his role in a […]
Mother JonesThis story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Last fall, I invited a stranger into my yard. Manzanita, with its peeling red bark and delicate pitcher-shaped blossoms, thrives on the dry, rocky ridges of Northern California. The small, evergreen tree or shrub is famously drought-tolerant, with some varieties capable […]
Mother JonesOn Wednesday, the United Methodist Church repealed its 1984 ban on LGBTQ clergy with an overwhelming 692–51 vote by church leaders at its general conference. The conference, which ends on May 3, has also resulted in the church rolling back several other anti-LGBTQ policies, including bans on performing gay marriage and funding queer-friendly ministries. The […]
Mother JonesThe student-run radio station at Columbia, WKCR, has been praised widely for its coverage of campus protests. The station’s popularity even led the website to, briefly, crash. And some have said the students should win a Pulitzer Prize. (This point helped poke at an irony embedded in such a situation: The prizes are given at […]
Mother JonesOn Wednesday, the Libertarian Party revealed a special guest speaker at its convention in late May. Surprise! It’s former President Donald Trump. “This momentous occasion will mark the first time a former President directly addresses our members, candidates, and executive committee,” the party announced. “Don’t miss this opportunity to hear insights from a prominent figure […]
Mother JonesWhen Columbia students began occupying Hamilton Hall early Tuesday morning, they said their “escalation” builds on past campus protests that “Columbia once repressed yet celebrates today.” There is an irony here. Columbia students often hear about the history of dissent on campus. The university explains the student sit-ins of 1968—when protesters occupied buildings (including Hamilton […]
Mother JonesThis story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. In the summer of 2022, heavy rainfall damaged a water treatment plant in the city of Jackson, Mississippi, precipitating a high-profile public health crisis. The Republican Governor Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency, as thousands of residents were told to boil […]
Mother JonesDerrick Evans had served only 37 days as a freshman West Virginia state legislator when he livestreamed himself storming the US Capitol on January 6. “Derrick Evans is in the Capitol!” he yelled, after pushing his way into the building with the mob. He was soon arrested, and in February 2022, he pleaded guilty to […]
Mother JonesPolice cleared and arrested protesters occupying Hamilton Hall at Columbia University on Tuesday night at the request of university administrators, marking a dramatic climax to the antiwar protesters’ occupation of the building. As the drama unfolded, campus officials asked police to remain on campus until at least May 17. The NYPD’s arrival on campus was its […]
Mother JonesThe first criminal trial of a former US president is underway, with Donald Trump facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments allegedly made in 2016 to cover up an affair he had with adult film star Stormy Daniels. Here’s the latest—the key updates and absurd moments—from the historic trial. Threats of jail […]
Mother JonesOn Tuesday, the Associated Press reported that the Drug Enforcement Administration is proposing that cannabis be reclassified from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, a classification that comes with steep penalties, to the less severe Schedule III, for drugs with significant medical use. If the White House Office of Management and Budget approves the decision, the DEA […]
Mother JonesIn early 2021, Stephen Miller—former White House senior adviser to Donald Trump and architect of the 45th president’s hopeful second-term mass deportation agenda—announced his next venture: America First Legal (AFL). Paraded as “the long-awaited answer to the ACLU,” AFL fights for Trumpist values in the legal system. And the group is prolific: In its three years […]
Mother JonesEight years ago, in his 2016 run for president, Donald Trump said that women who have abortions should be criminally charged. “There has to be some form of punishment,” Trump said at the time. The comment caused a firestorm and his campaign walked it back within hours. It marked one of the few times that […]
Mother JonesEarly Tuesday morning, Columbia student protesters took over a building on campus, pledging not to leave until their demands—for the university to divest from Israel, financial transparency from Columbia’s endowment, and amnesty for pro-Palestinian protesters—are met. The group of “autonomous protesters” took over Hamilton Hall, an academic building on the Morningside Heights campus, shortly after midnight, […]
Mother JonesThe judge overseeing Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial fined the former president $9,000 on Tuesday for violating a gag order—and he warned Trump that any further violations might result in jail time. Trump is facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records for his role in a 2016 scheme to cover up an alleged […]
Mother JonesThis story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. A new tax on fossil fuel companies based in the world’s richest countries could raise hundreds of billions of dollars to help the most vulnerable nations cope with the escalating climate crisis, according to a report. The Climate Damages Tax report, […]
Mother JonesBelow are five video game recommendations from the journalist, comic-book writer, and video game narrative designer Evan Narcisse, with commentary in his own words. Read more about Narcisse and his worldview in Jamal Michel’s Mother Jones profile, “One Man’s Mission to Make Video Games a Little Less White.” Rez United Game Artists (2002) In this […]
Mother JonesThey might not know his name, but millions of video gamers have encountered narrative designer Evan Narcisse’s handiwork in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, which showcases more Black and Brown characters in its first few minutes than most popular games do in their entirety. The action-packed 2020 release opens on a Harlem street scene where our […]
Mother JonesThis story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The more plastic a company makes, the more pollution it creates. That seemingly obvious, yet previously unproven, point, is the main takeaway from a first-of-its-kind study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances. Researchers from a dozen universities around the world […]
Mother JonesCivil Rights icon Ruby Bridges is an integral part of U.S. history lessons in classrooms nationwide, given her status as the first Black child to integrate an elementary school in the South. But to the right-wing culture warriors behind efforts to ban books about American history—including systemic racism and discrimination against LGBTQ people—Bridges has become […]
Mother JonesBefore guests could get inside last night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, they had to wade through a crowd of pro-Palestinian protesters who reminded them of the journalists who have been killed covering Israel’s war on Gaza. The annual dinner, nicknamed “nerd prom,” is hosted by the group of journalists who cover the White House and […]
Mother JonesOn Saturday, just as Utah Republicans were gathering for their annual nominating convention, former President Donald Trump endorsed Senate candidate Trent Staggs, an upstart small-town mayor who has been carefully cultivating endorsements from national MAGA celebrities. The endorsement helped Staggs prevail over nine other candidates in the crowded convention race to replace retiring Sen. Mitt […]
Mother JonesIt turns out that not even a famous last name, support from the conservative Federalist Society and its powerful leader, and a boatload of dark money can turn a Republican candidate into the next senator from Utah. In early January, Brent Orrin Hatch threw his hat into a crowded GOP primary race that will decide […]
Mother JonesThis story was originally published by High Country News and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Nine years ago, Glenn Olson joined a panel whose members, in ordinary circumstances, would rarely appear in the same room together—let alone work as a collaborative team. Olson, chair of bird conservation and public policy at the National Audubon […]
Mother JonesHere at Mother Jones, we respect a wide spectrum of views when it comes to dogs. But a line must be drawn somewhere, and that somewhere is revealing that you killed your 14-month-old wirehair pointer for acting like a puppy. That’s what South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem admitted to in graphic detail in her forthcoming […]
Mother JonesKnown for its investigative reporting, El Faro has been referred to as “a breakthrough digital newspaper blazing an independent and ethical trail in Central America.” So when reporters at the Salvadoran news outlet noticed their cellphones acting strange all of a sudden—batteries draining, unexplained overheating—they had a weird feeling that someone was accessing their messages. […]
Mother JonesOnce again, there’s not much love lost between Bill Barr and the man he accused of betraying the Oval Office, Donald Trump. When the former attorney general confirmed this week that he would support the Republican presidential ticket in November, his former boss took the opportunity to mock Barr as “slow-moving” and “lazy.” “That’s classic Trump,” […]
Mother JonesThis story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Climate experts fear Donald Trump will follow a blueprint created by his allies to gut the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), disbanding its work on climate science and tailoring its operations to business interests. Joe Biden’s presidency has increased the profile of the […]
Mother JonesLast week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in what could end up being its most consequential abortion decision since Dobbs. In a case pitting Idaho’s extreme abortion ban against a federal law known as EMTALA—that since 1986 has required hospitals to provide emergency care—conservative justices seemed to embrace the idea that states can deny […]
Mother JonesIn the early morning, one can hear the birds perched on trees around the Gaza Solidarity Encampment at Columbia University. Farther off, there are sounds of protest and counterprotest. But inside the camp itself—technically the second camp after the New York Police Department cleared out the first and caused even more national attention to focus […]