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As student vote surges, Republicans make efforts to suppress it

As student vote surges, Republicans make efforts to suppress it

The New York Times reports: At Austin Community College, civics is an unwritten part of the curriculum — so much so that for years the school has tapped its own funds to set up temporary early-voting sites on nine of its 11 campuses. No more, however. This spring, the Texas Legislature outlawed polling places that did not stay open for the entire 12-day early-voting period. When the state’s elections take place in three weeks, those nine sites — which logged…

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At the heart of the impeachment investigation: A powerful oligarch with close ties to Vladimir Putin

At the heart of the impeachment investigation: A powerful oligarch with close ties to Vladimir Putin

BuzzFeed reports: If you were wondering how Vladimir Putin’s “mafia state” was involved in the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, look no further than the Ukrainian oligarch wanted by the US. Dmytro Firtash is usually described as a Ukrainian oligarch with admitted ties to organized crime, but he is much more than that. He has direct ties to Russia, and to President Vladimir Putin in particular, and those have only grown since he was arrested five years ago, awaiting…

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Is Rudy Giuliani going to be indicted?

Is Rudy Giuliani going to be indicted?

CNN reports: Rudy Giuliani has been approaching defense attorneys for possible representation, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The move by Giuliani, who is President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, is notable because last week he said he would not be seeking a new lawyer unless he felt one was needed. His previous lawyer, John Sale, was helping him deal with congressional inquiries. “If they take me to court I would then have to get another lawyer,” Giuliani told…

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Trump administration to begin official withdrawal from Paris climate accord

Trump administration to begin official withdrawal from Paris climate accord

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration is preparing the formal withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement on climate change, according to three people briefed on the matter, a long expected move that nevertheless remains a powerful signal to the world. The official action sets in motion a withdrawal that still would take a year to complete under the rules of the accord. Abandoning the landmark 2015 agreement in which nearly 200 nations vowed to reduce…

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Why Zuckerberg’s embrace of Mayor Pete should worry you

Why Zuckerberg’s embrace of Mayor Pete should worry you

Noam Cohen writes: We recently learned that Elizabeth Warren is the kind of presidential candidate Mark Zuckerberg considers an existential threat to Facebook. She is, after all, determined to break up the sprawling social-networking empire. But what about the others? What sort of presidential candidate does Zuckerberg consider an existential asset to Facebook? We may have an answer: Step right up, Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Bloomberg recently reported that Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, privately recommended…

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Most witches are women, because witch hunts were all about persecuting the powerless

Most witches are women, because witch hunts were all about persecuting the powerless

Seventy-eight percent of the people executed for witchcraft in New England in the late 17th and early 18th centuries were women. Jef Thompson/Shutterstock.com By Bridget Marshall, University of Massachusetts Lowell “Witch hunt” – it’s a refrain used to deride everything from impeachment inquiries and sexual assault investigations to allegations of corruption. When powerful men cry witch, they’re generally not talking about green-faced women wearing pointy hats. They are, presumably, referring to the Salem witch trials, when 19 people in 17th-century…

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Ukraine knew of aid freeze by early August, undermining Trump defense

Ukraine knew of aid freeze by early August, undermining Trump defense

The New York Times reports: To Democrats who say that President Trump’s decision to freeze a $391 million military aid package to Ukraine was intended to bully Ukraine’s leader into carrying out investigations for Mr. Trump’s political benefit, the president and his allies have had a simple response: There could not have been any quid pro quo because the Ukrainians did not know the assistance had been blocked. Following testimony by William B. Taylor Jr., the top United States diplomat…

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Indicted Giuliani associate ties case to Trump

Indicted Giuliani associate ties case to Trump

The New York Times reports: One of the two indicted associates of President Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, on Wednesday tied the case to the president himself, saying that some of the evidence gathered in the investigation could be subject to executive privilege. The unusual argument was raised by a defense lawyer in federal court in Manhattan as the two associates, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, pleaded not guilty to federal charges that they had made illegal campaign contributions…

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As president, Trump can’t be prosecuted for murder, Trump’s lawyer asserts

As president, Trump can’t be prosecuted for murder, Trump’s lawyer asserts

Politico reports: Even if President Donald Trump shot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue, New York authorities could not punish him while he is in office, the president’s lawyers argued Wednesday. Attorneys for Trump made the claim while arguing before a federal appeals court in their suit against Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, who has subpoenaed Trump’s tax returns. Trump is fighting the subpoena on the grounds that as president, he has absolute immunity from criminal indictment or investigation….

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AG Barr should recuse himself from Ukraine-related issues, or resign, or be removed from office, says New York City Bar Association

AG Barr should recuse himself from Ukraine-related issues, or resign, or be removed from office, says New York City Bar Association

Law & Crime reports: The New York City Bar Association has called on U.S. Attorney General William Barr to stand down and recuse himself from any further review by the Department of Justice (DOJ) of issues related to the Trump Administration’s massive and snowballing Ukraine scandal. In a statement, the organization blasted Barr’s continued presence. The DOJ “has a unique role in safeguarding the rule of law under the Constitution,” the statement’s summary begins. “Barr has undermined that role,” by…

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Sondland seeks to align himself with Taylor after bombshell testimony

Sondland seeks to align himself with Taylor after bombshell testimony

Politico reports: What did Gordon Sondland know and when did he know it? The bombshell testimony of veteran diplomat William Taylor, President Donald Trump’s top envoy to Ukraine, has raised a crucial question of whether Trump admitted to Sondland that he was withholding military aid in exchange for an investigation into political rivals. Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the E.U., indicated as much in a phone call between the two in September, Taylor says. Sondland, however, had said previously he…

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Economists greatly underestimate the price tag on climate change

Economists greatly underestimate the price tag on climate change

Naomi Oreskes and Nicholas Stern write: For some time now it has been clear that the effects of climate change are appearing faster than scientists anticipated. Now it turns out that there is another form of underestimation as bad or worse than the scientific one: the underestimating by economists of the costs. The result of this failure by economists is that world leaders understand neither the magnitude of the risks to lives and livelihoods, nor the urgency of action. How…

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How to halt global warming for $300 billion

How to halt global warming for $300 billion

Bloomberg reports: $300 billion. That’s the money needed to stop the rise in greenhouse gases and buy up to 20 years of time to fix global warming, according to United Nations climate scientists. It’s the gross domestic product of Chile, or the world’s military spending every 60 days. The sum is not to fund green technologies or finance a moonshot solution to emissions, but to use simple, age-old practices to lock millions of tons of carbon back into an overlooked…

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Trump’s top Ukraine envoy testifies about deep-seated push for quid pro quo

Trump’s top Ukraine envoy testifies about deep-seated push for quid pro quo

Politico reports: President Donald Trump’s top envoy to Ukraine told House impeachment investigators on Tuesday of intense efforts by administration officials to secure politically-motivated investigations of Trump’s rivals in exchange for a White House meeting with Ukraine’s president and critical military aid, according to sources in the room for the testimony. William Taylor prompted sighs and gasps when he read a lengthy 15-page opening statement, two of the sources said. Another person in the room said Taylor’s statement described “how…

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