Mother Jones: Posts

Mother Jones

New York Is Suing Crisis Pregnancy Centers For Promising “Abortion Reversal”

Abortion rights advocates might be surprised to learn that, in deep-blue New York, anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers outnumber abortion clinics. There are more than 120 such centers (known as CPCs, though they also go by other names) throughout New York, according to a coalition of abortion rights groups in the state, compared to a little […]

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Mother Jones

Kristi Noem Takes Aim at Second Target: Biden’s Dog

Fresh off the heels of attracting bipartisan repulsion over the admission that she killed her own dog, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem on Sunday suggested that President Joe Biden’s dog, Commander, should also be killed. “Joe Biden’s dog has attacked 24 Secret Service people,” Noem told CBS’s Face the Nation. “So how many people is enough people […]

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Mother Jones

The Promise of Health Chatbots Has Already Failed

Not long ago, I noticed a new term trending in social media wellness circles: “certified hormone specialist.” I could have investigated it the old-fashioned way: googling, calling up an expert or two, digging into the scientific literature. I’m accustomed to researching suspicious certifications for my podcast, Conspirituality, which covers how health misinformation metastasizes online. Instead, I […]

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Mother Jones

Forcing Workers Back to the Office Could Be Terrible for the Environment

This story was originally published by Grist and Fast Company and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. When office workers stopped working in offices in 2020, trading their cubicles for living room couches during COVID-19 lockdowns, many began questioning those hours they had spent commuting to work. All those rushed mornings stuck in traffic could […]

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Mother Jones

Kristi Noem’s Book Includes a Fake Story About Her Meeting Kim Jong Un

After it emerged recently that Gov. Kristi Noem recounts a graphic, disturbing story in her forthcoming book about killing her puppy with a gun, the Republican from South Dakota defended the violence as a “tough decision” she had to make. The dog, she wrote, had attacked some chickens. “I talk about it because what I’m […]

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Sen. Tim Scott, a Rumored VP Pick, Backs Trump’s Election Denial

As the November election approaches, several of Donald Trump’s vice presidential contenders have taken part in what seems to have become an unofficial loyalty test: question the legitimacy of an election that does not end with Trump winning. On Sunday morning, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC)—who NBC News reported in February was the leading candidate for […]

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Native Hawaiʻians Seek Self Determination After 2023’s Lāhainā Inferno

This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. On the evening of August 8, hours after a wildfire ravaged West Maui, Maui County’s top emergency management official, Herman Andaya, texted his secretary to ask about the status of other fires across the island. “Still burning,” she replied. “Wow … Lol,” […]

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Reproductive Rights Advocates Close in on Abortion Ballot Measures in Missouri and South Dakota

Reproductive rights organizers in two states with near-total abortion bans, Missouri and South Dakota, submitted roughly double the signatures needed to allow ballot measures that would put abortion before voters. In South Dakota, organizers have submitted 55,000 signatures in support of the ballot measure granting a limited right to abortion—far more than the 35,000 required. […]

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Mystery Group Announces $5 Million Fund to Pay for Reports of Election Fraud. What Could Go Wrong?

On Saturday, Fox News reported the launch of the Fair Election Fund, an apparently right-wing nonprofit that says it has a $5 million budget aimed at exposing election fraud. The project promises to pay election workers, organizers, and concerned citizens who have witnessed election fraud firsthand to share their stories. “Your voice could be what […]

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California Police Are Using a Controversial Tactic After Someone Dies in Their Custody

Bruce Praet is a well-known name in law enforcement, especially across California. He co-founded a company called Lexipol that contracts with more than 95 percent of police departments in the state and offers its clients trainings and ready-made policies. In one of Praet’s training webinars, posted online, he offers a piece of advice that policing […]

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Oil and Gas Production Is Booming. So Are Its GOP Donations.

This story was originally published by Capital & Main. August Pfluger, an Air Force veteran and member of the House, representing a small district in West Texas, isn’t exactly a household name on the national political scene, with little press coverage in the last two months outside a recent Fox News appearance. But he is […]

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Mother Jones

Orangutan Spotted Treating His Wound With a Medicinal Herb

This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The high intelligence levels of orangutans have long been recognized, partly due to their practical skills such as using tools to crack nuts and forage for insects. But new research suggests the primate has another handy skill in its […]

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TikTok’s Raw Milk Influencers Are Going to Give Us All Bird Flu

If you go on TikTok or Instagram, you’ll see legions of wellness influencers promoting the benefits of unpasteurized “raw” milk, which hasn’t been heated to kill off illness-causing microorganisms. Raw milk is risky business at the best of times, and despite what some influencers claim, there are no nutritional benefits to drinking it, according to […]

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The Weird Story of Ohio Senate Candidate Bernie Moreno’s $3.4 Million Car

To say the Aston Martin Vulcan is a luxury vehicle would be like saying Jeff Bezos is well-off. In other words, a vast understatement. The two-door, two-seater with a cherry-red carbon-fiber body can reach a max speed of 208 miles per hour and go from 0-60 miles per hour in 2.9 seconds. Vulcans are a […]

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Mother Jones

The Weird Story of Ohio Senate Candidate Bernie Moreno’s $3.4 Million Car

To say the Aston Martin Vulcan is a luxury vehicle would be like saying Jeff Bezos is well-off. In other words, a vast understatement. The two-door, two-seater with a cherry-red carbon-fiber body can reach a max speed of 208 miles per hour and go from 0-60 miles per hour in 2.9 seconds. Vulcans are a […]

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Mother Jones

How the Right Turned Protest Into A Criminal Enterprise

America’s police forces are at war with college students. Inspired by students who set up encampments on Columbia University’s lawn, more than 90 college campuses across 40 states have set up similar actions to protest their schools’ investments in Israel. Some have set up camps, while others have staged sit-ins or occupied buildings, but nearly […]

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Mother Jones

I Read Everything Elon Musk Posted For a Week. Send Help.

Last January, not long after agreeing with an actual Nazi that western Jews have brought antisemitism upon themselves by welcoming “hordes of minorities” to their countries, Elon Musk took a quick trip to Poland. The billionaire chief of SpaceX, Tesla, and X laid a wreath at Auschwitz and then preceded on to a symposium in […]

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Why Are Some Latinos Drifting to the Right?

On January 6, Gabriel Garcia—a first-generation Cuban American and former member of the Proud Boys—livestreamed his attempt to breach the Capitol. “How does it feel being a traitor to the country?” he screamed at police officers as he entered the building. Once inside the Rotunda, Garcia yelled, “Nancy, come out and play!” as insurrections searched for […]

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Mother Jones

Why Are Some Latinos Drifting to the Right?

On January 6, Gabriel Garcia—a first-generation Cuban American and former member of the Proud Boys—live-streamed his attempt to breach the Capitol. “How does it feel being a traitor to the country?” he screamed at police officers as he entered the building. Once inside the Rotunda, Garcia yelled “Nancy, come out and play!” as insurrections searched for House Speaker […]

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Mother Jones

Democratic Lawmakers Blast Fossil Fuel Industry’s “Denial” and “Duplicity”

This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The fossil fuel industry spent decades sowing doubt about the dangers of burning oil and gas, experts and Democratic lawmakers testified on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. The Senate budget committee held a hearing to review a report published on Tuesday with the […]

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The Governor of Kansas Vetoed Four Anti-Abortion Measures. Republicans Rammed Them Through Anyway.

On Monday, Kansas Republicans voted to override Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of four anti-abortion measures. Three bills—which will require doctors to gather and report information from patients about why they are getting an abortion; make it a crime to force someone to obtain an abortion; and allow people to receive tax credits for donations to […]

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This Anti-Trans, Pro-Life Activist Was Pardoned by Donald Trump. Now She’s Working for RFK Jr.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is best known for his famous family name, his anti-vaccine activism, and his unexpected third-party run for president. He’s not particularly well known for his passion for criminal justice reform. And yet, next month, he’s scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the Detroit stop on the New Dawn for Justice […]

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Feds Get a Guilty Plea From Aide to Chinese Mogul Guo Wengui. That’s Bad for Steve Bannon.

A longtime lieutenant and criminal co-defendant of far-right Chinese fugitive mogul Guo Wengui has agreed to plead guilty to fraud charges ahead of their upcoming trial. This development strengthens the position of federal prosecutors in a case in which they have called Steve Bannon, a vocal Guo ally, a “co-conspirator.” Yvette Wang, Guo’s former chief […]

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The NYPD’s “Outside Agitators” Narrative Is an Excuse for Force

The morning after the New York Police Department arrested pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University, the city’s mayor appeared satisfied. “This is not a department that was dealing with one production at a time,” Mayor Eric Adams said, flanked by top police officials, during a press conference on Wednesday. “You have to be a well-organized professional […]

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Trump Will Likely Face More Fines for Violating Gag Order

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 […]

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Cities Scramble for Trees That Can Adapt to a Changing Climate

This 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 […]

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United Methodist Church Repeals Ban On LGBTQ Clergy

On 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 […]

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Mother Jones

Catching Up With Columbia’s Student Radio Station After a Historic Broadcast

The 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 […]

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Mother Jones

Donald Trump Will Speak at the Libertarian Convention. It’s Not as Weird as It Sounds.

On 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 […]

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Many Universities Calling in Police Today Also Celebrate Campus Protests of the Past

When 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 […]

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