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When Trump turns the Justice Department into his own political weapon, no American remains safe

When Trump turns the Justice Department into his own political weapon, no American remains safe

Joyce White Vance writes: Among the Founding Fathers’ chief goals was to do away with a government where the king was above the law and had absolute power over the lives of his subjects. In our system, the President, like every other citizen, is meant to be subject to the law. The Founding Fathers were explicit about that intention when they debated the shape the new government they were creating would take. And that quintessentially American view that no man…

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Trump’s Justice Department on ‘deep state’ crusade targeting the CIA

Trump’s Justice Department on ‘deep state’ crusade targeting the CIA

The New York Times reports: Trump administration officials investigating the government’s response to Russia’s election interference in 2016 appear to be hunting for a basis to accuse Obama-era intelligence officials of hiding evidence or manipulating analysis about Moscow’s covert operation, according to people familiar with aspects of the inquiry. Since his election, President Trump has attacked the intelligence agencies that concluded that Russia secretly tried to help him win, fostering a narrative that they sought to delegitimize his victory. He…

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Scientists find evidence of ‘ghost population’ of ancient humans

Scientists find evidence of ‘ghost population’ of ancient humans

The Guardian reports: Scientists have found evidence for a mysterious “ghost population” of ancient humans that lived in Africa about half a million years ago and whose genes live on in people today. Traces of the unknown ancestor emerged when researchers analysed genomes from west African populations and found that up to a fifth of their DNA appeared to have come from the missing relatives. Geneticists suspect that the ancestors of modern west Africans interbred with the yet-to-be-discovered archaic humans…

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Trump’s greatest vulnerability is the economy – just ask poor Americans

Trump’s greatest vulnerability is the economy – just ask poor Americans

Reverend William Barber writes: Rather than offer a report on the State of the Union, Donald Trump used his annual primetime slot in the House of Representatives to host a re-election rally. The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, summed up the sentiment of the House majority when she stood behind Trump and ripped the text of his speech in half. “I tore up a manifesto of mistruths,” she later said. But of all the lies he told, the president is proudest…

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During coronavirus epidemic, Trump proposes slashing budget for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

During coronavirus epidemic, Trump proposes slashing budget for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Ars Technica reports: Amid an explosive outbreak of a novel coronavirus in China that has killed over 1,000 and sickened over 43,000 worldwide, US President Donald Trump proposed a nearly 19 percent budget cut to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—the agency primarily tasked with preparing for and responding to such outbreaks and other serious health threats. In the president’s proposed 2021 federal budget released Monday, the administration says that the changes to the CDC’s funding are intended to…

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A conservative judge’s blistering opinion rebuking William Barr for overstepping his constitutional authority

A conservative judge’s blistering opinion rebuking William Barr for overstepping his constitutional authority

Kimberly Wehle writes: President Donald Trump has defanged Congress’ oversight authority. That became clear when the Senate acquitted the president of obstruction. But one conservative judge isn’t willing to let the executive branch steal power from his branch of government. In a jaw-dropping opinion issued by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago on January 23, Judge Frank Easterbrook—a longtime speaker for the conservative Federalist Society and someone whom the late Justice Antonin Scalia favored to replace him…

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Trump fires Defense official because she attempted to follow the law

Trump fires Defense official because she attempted to follow the law

Jonathan Chait writes: Two days after Senate Republicans acquitted President Trump on both counts of impeachment, the Trump administration fired a number of national-security officials: European Union ambassador Gordon Sondland and Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, the National Security Council staffer, for voluntarily testifying before the House, as well as the latter’s twin brother, Lieutenant Colonel Yevgeny Vindman, for being related to Alexander. Now, the “Friday Night Massacre” is extending into this week. The New York Post reports that the administration…

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More evidence of ‘insect apocalypse’

More evidence of ‘insect apocalypse’

The Guardian reports: Two scientific studies of the number of insects splattered by cars have revealed a huge decline in abundance at European sites in two decades. The research adds to growing evidence of what some scientists have called an “insect apocalypse”, which is threatening a collapse in the natural world that sustains humans and all life on Earth. A third study shows plummeting numbers of aquatic insects in streams. The survey of insects hitting car windscreens in rural Denmark…

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Global financial giants stop funding production from destructive oil sands

Global financial giants stop funding production from destructive oil sands

The New York Times reports: Some of the world’s largest financial institutions have stopped putting their money behind oil production in the Canadian province of Alberta, home to one of the world’s most extensive, and also dirtiest, oil reserves. In December, the insurance giant The Hartford said it would stop insuring or investing in oil production in the province, just weeks after Sweden’s central bank said it would stop holding Alberta’s bonds. And on Wednesday BlackRock, the worlds largest asset…

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UK could ban sale of combustion-engine powered cars in 12 years, says transport minister

UK could ban sale of combustion-engine powered cars in 12 years, says transport minister

The Guardian reports: The government could ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars in 2032, three years earlier than previously suggested, the transport secretary has said. A consultation launched last week suggested all cars with internal combustion engines could be banned from 2035 but Grant Shapps told BBC radio on Wednesday the ban could come within 12 years. The ban would happen by 2035 – or even 2032, subject to consultation, he said. The comments will add to the…

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Coronavirus ‘could infect 60% of global population if unchecked’ says leading epidemiologist

Coronavirus ‘could infect 60% of global population if unchecked’ says leading epidemiologist

The Guardian reports: The coronavirus epidemic could spread to about two-thirds of the world’s population if it cannot be controlled, according to Hong Kong’s leading public health epidemiologist. His warning came after the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said recent cases of coronavirus patients who had never visited China could be the “tip of the iceberg”. Prof Gabriel Leung, the chair of public health medicine at Hong Kong University, said the overriding question was to figure out the…

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Experts worry as a germ-phobic Trump confronts growing coronavirus epidemic

Experts worry as a germ-phobic Trump confronts growing coronavirus epidemic

The New York Times reports: When an outbreak of the Ebola virus touched the United States’ shores in mid-2014, Donald J. Trump was still a private citizen. But he had strong opinions about how America should act. Mr. Trump, who has spoken openly about his phobia of germs, closely followed the epidemic, and offered angry commentary about what he said was the Obama administration’s dangerous response. He demanded draconian measures like canceling flights, forcing quarantines and even denying the return…

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Prosecutors quit case after DOJ says it will cut Roger Stone’s recommended prison sentence

Prosecutors quit case after DOJ says it will cut Roger Stone’s recommended prison sentence

CNBC reports: Three federal prosecutors in the criminal case against Republican operative Roger Stone dramatically quit the case Tuesday shortly after the Department of Justice said it will force prosecutors to cut their recommendation that the longtime ally of President Donald Trump serve as long as nine years in prison. Jonathan Kravis, who delivered the closing argument at Stone’s trial last fall, resigned as an assistant U.S. Attorney, according to a court filing Tuesday in Washington, D.C., federal court. Kravis,…

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Russians think triumphant Trump is more their man than ever

Russians think triumphant Trump is more their man than ever

Julia Davis writes: Russian state media have welcomed enthusiastically the recent U.S. Senate acquittal of President Donald J. Trump. Having predicted this outcome for his impeachment trial, Russian experts and state-media pundits are anticipating beneficial side effects for the Kremlin as Trump is more Trump—and more Russia’s Trump—than ever. Dmitry Kiselyov, the host of Russia’s popular Sunday news program Vesti Nedeli, said, “Democrats are openly raging, but while they’re licking their wounds, Trump can now objectively afford to pursue a…

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