Mother Jones: Posts

Mother Jones

Curl Up With the Best Books We Read This Year

Nonfiction “In a sense all stories are about the same thing, and that thing is thwarted desire,” the literary critic Becca Rothfeld writes at one point in All Things Are Too Small. The same could be said of this collection of essays, which offers a celebration of our unruly desires and an ode to the […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Malaria Is Rising With a Vengeance, Killing Massive Numbers, Most in Africa

This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Malaria killed almost 600,000 people in 2023, as cases rose for the fifth consecutive year, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO). Biological threats such as rising resistance to drugs and insecticides, and climate and humanitarian disasters continue […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Biden Commutes Nearly 1,500 Prison Sentences in Record-Breaking Clemency

Today, President Joe Biden announced that he will commute the sentences of almost 1,500 Americans for non-violent offenses—the most ever granted in one day. Those affected by the commutations are people released to in-home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic, whom some Republicans have pushed to send back to prison. Biden also announced that he would […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Kash Patel Claims He Played a Major Role in the Benghazi Case. Former Colleagues Say He Didn’t.

In his 2023 book, Government Gangsters, which claims a supposed Deep State has been plotting against Donald Trump for years, Kash Patel, whom Trump has tapped to replace Chris Wray as FBI director, recounts his three-year stint as a mid-level attorney at the Justice Department. For him, this gig was apparently a radical learning experience. […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

A North Carolina Judge Won Two Recounts. Republicans Are Still Trying to Overturn Her Election.

After trailing by more than 10,000 votes on election night, Democratic North Carolina State Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs pulled off an unexpected victory by 734 votes after absentee and provisional ballots were counted and the results were affirmed by two recounts, including a hand count completed on Tuesday. “Let this race serve as a […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

A North Carolina Judge Won Two Recounts. Republicans Are Still Trying to Overturn Her Election.

After trailing by more than 10,000 votes on election night, Democratic North Carolina State Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs pulled off an unexpected victory by 734 votes after absentee and provisional ballots were counted and the results were affirmed by two recounts, including a hand count completed on Tuesday. “Let this race serve as a […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

The Bipartisan Bill Fighting Trump’s Attempts to Silence Critics

Last week, Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Kevin Kiley (R-Calif) introduced federal anti-SLAPP legislation, in a bid to protect journalists, whistleblowers, and individual internet users from those who use lawsuits as an intimidation tactic. SLAPP suits—formally, Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation—are designed to prevent people from exercising their free speech. A common example is a person […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Why Describing Climate Shifts as “Tipping Points” May Backfire

This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Climate tipping points are a specter looming over our future—thresholds beyond which the Earth’s systems switch into new states, often abruptly and irreversibly. The long-frozen soil beneath the Arctic could rapidly thaw and release vast amounts of carbon dioxide and methane stored within […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

“It’s the Economy, Stupid” Is Never Just About the Economy

Amid the inevitable Democratic identity crisis this post–presidential election winter, there have been exasperated calls for the party to return to “the economy.” The op-ed writers, angling for their future role, are painting the usual scene. The party must sit once again at the kitchen table and talk pocketbook issues. It is a long-held idea. […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Arizona Sues Saudi-Owned Farm Draining Groundwater in the Desert

Arizona’s attorney general has sued a Saudi-owned farm operating a massive hay operation in the middle of the Arizona desert, alleging that the business is hastening the loss of the rural community’s rapidly depleting groundwater supply. The farm owned by Fondomonte uses billions of gallons of groundwater in La Paz County each year to irrigate […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Donald Trump Will Need a Police State to Implement His Agenda

Mr. Smith, please come in, have a seat. Our records show you’ve been with the State Department for 17 years, the past five in the Bureau of National Security and Nonproliferation. Now it has come to our attention through an anonymous tip to the America First Compliance Program that you made a derogatory comment about […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

The Onion’s Bid to Buy Infowars Is Rejected in Court

After a grueling hearing that stretched over two days, a federal bankruptcy judge declined to approve the sale of Infowars to Global Tetrahedron, LLC, the Onion’s parent company late on Tuesday. The result was precisely what the conspiracy mega-peddler hoped for. Last month, Infowars was sold at bankruptcy auction to the company; Onion CEO Ben […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

This Florida County Just Adopted a New Sex-Ed Curriculum—Minus the Sex

This story was originally published on Judd Legum’s Substack, Popular Information, to which you can subscribe here. A new middle school sex education curriculum in Orange County, Florida, obtained by Popular Information, eliminates previous lessons on the reproductive system, contraception, and consent. What remains is a discussion of the benefits of abstinence and a cursory review of […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Eleven Organizations to Support if You Care About Climate Change

This story was originally published by Vox.com and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. If you’re reading this, chances are you care a lot about fighting climate change, and that’s great. The climate emergency threatens all of humanity. And although the world has started to make some progress on it, our global response is still extremely lacking. […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Hospitals Gave Women Medications During Childbirth—Then Reported Them for Using Illicit Drugs

This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. Amairani Salinas was 32-weeks pregnant with her fourth child in 2023 when doctors at a Texas hospital discovered that her baby no longer had a heartbeat. As they prepped her for an emergency cesarean section, they gave […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Hospitals Gave Women Medications During Childbirth—Then Reported Them for Using Illicit Drugs

This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. Sign up for their newsletters, and follow them on Instagram, TikTok, Reddit and Facebook. . Amairani Salinas was 32-weeks pregnant with her fourth child in 2023 when doctors at a Texas hospital discovered that her baby no longer had a heartbeat. As they […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Dr. Oz’s Healthcare Investments Could Blow Up His Nomination to Oversee Medicare

Seven Democratic senators are demanding answers from Dr. Mehmet Oz, Donald Trump’s nominee to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, over his long-held support for private Medicare plans and his financial ties to those programs. In a letter first obtained by NBC News, Democrats referred to a 2020 op-ed Oz published wherein he […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

“It’s a Crisis”: Federal Cuts Threaten Services for Child Abuse Survivors

When children in rural Hayward, Wisconsin, suffered abuse, the small community of 2,500 people was ready with an important resource: a child advocacy center with a team of experts prepared to guide them through the trauma. For nearly eight years, the Marshfield Child Advocacy Center satellite clinic was the only place in a more than […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

“Waging War on Science”: Researchers Worry About Their Jobs Under Trump 2.0

Over the years, Donald Trump hasn’t exactly been a champion of science. As president and on the campaign trail, he called climate change a “hoax“; oversaw the rolling back of more than 100 environmental policies; directed agencies to cut down on expert guidance; pushed unproven Covid treatments; pulled out of the Paris climate agreement (and […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Here’s Trillions in Federal Waste the DOGE Bros Could Actually Target

As you may know, our felonious president-elect put billionaire Elon Musk and wannabe billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy in charge of a commission—though not an actual government department, because only Congress can create those—named for the same silly dog meme as Musk’s favorite “shitcoin.” But even in an advisory role, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency could […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Here’s Trillions in Federal Waste the DOGE Bros Could Actually Target

As you may know, our felonious president-elect put mega-billionaire Elon Musk and mere billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy in charge of a commission—though not an actual government department, because only Congress can create those—named for the same silly dog meme as Musk’s favorite “shitcoin.” But even in an advisory role, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency could […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

There’s Still Time for Biden to Clear Death Row. Will He?

Joe Biden made history as the first president to openly oppose the death penalty, vowing on the campaign trail to push legislation to abolish the practice at the federal level. That promise was never fulfilled, and advocates against the death penalty remain disappointed. But now with only 42 days left in office, more than 130 […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Where’s Pedro Moreno’s Pardon?

On November 19, 1996, Pedro Moreno’s life was upended when federal officials burst into his Texas home, arresting him and his wife, Melba, on charges related to marijuana distribution and taking them away from their three children. Melba was released after 13 years, but her time with her children was cut short: she passed away […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Daniel Penny Was Just Acquitted in Subway Choking Trial

Daniel Penny, a former Marine accused of fatally choking a man on a New York City subway in May 2023, has been found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide. The trial, which began in late October, lasted seven weeks and featured more than 40 witnesses. The death of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old Black man who […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

How Kash Patel Became a Useful Idiot for Vladimir Putin

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. With Donald Trump tapping Kash Patel, the MAGA provocateur, conspiracy theory monger, and grifter, […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Trump Promises to End Birthright Citizenship, Suggests Deporting “Kids Who Are Here Legally”

In an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press aired on Sunday, Donald Trump doubled down on two of his main campaign promises: mass deportation and ending birthright citizenship. “You promised to end birthright citizenship on day one,” Kristen Welker asked. “Is that still your plan?” “Yes,” Trump responded, “absolutely.” Welker pushed back, reminding Trump that […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

What Local Texans Pay to Subsidize New Gas Terminals: $4 Million Per Job

This story was originally published by Inside Climate News and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Three low-income school districts in Texas have granted more than $2 billion in tax relief to new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals on the Gulf Coast, according to a report released Monday by the Sierra Club, which tallied publicly […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

How Democrats (Just Barely) Flipped America’s Most Expensive House Seat

In late November, more than three weeks after Election Day, GOP Rep. Michelle Steel conceded to Democrat Derek Tran in one of the most hotly contested US House races in the country. In the end, Tran won by roughly 650 votes in Southern California’s 45th congressional district, making it one of the country’s closest contests […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

President Bashar al-Assad Has Fled Syria and His Brutal Regime is Finally Over

In an unexpected development Saturday night, Syrian rebels who had been fighting government forces for over a decade, captured the capital city of Damascus, bringing an end to a more than decade-long civil war and an even longer reign of terror by the family of President Bashar al-Assad. Opposition forces reportedly announced on national television, […]

Continue Reading…

Mother Jones

Trump Just Provided Details for His Dystopic and Sweeping Presidential Agenda

President-elect Donald Trump appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday to deliver his first televised interview after winning the 2024 election. In a wide-ranging conversation with moderator Kristen Welker, filmed at Trump Tower on Friday, he outlined some of his priorities for social policy, immigration, his plans to use the presidential pardon, the economy, […]

Continue Reading…