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Marine mammals are dying in record numbers along the California coast

Marine mammals are dying in record numbers along the California coast

The Los Angeles Times reports: On a spit of sand 12 miles north of Santa Cruz, a small, emaciated sea lion lay on its side. The only sign of life was the deep press of its flippers against its belly, relaxing for a few seconds, then squeezing again. “That’s a classic sign of lepto,” said Giancarlo Rulli, a volunteer and spokesperson with the Marine Mammal Center, pointing to the young animal’s wretched self-embrace. The corkscrew-shaped bacteria, leptospirosis, causes severe abdominal…

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The neuroscience of making sense

The neuroscience of making sense

Asif Ghazanfar writes: Picture someone washing their hands. The water running down the drain is a deep red. How you interpret this scene depends on its setting, and your history. If the person is in a gas station bathroom, and you just saw the latest true-crime series, these are the ablutions of a serial killer. If the person is at a kitchen sink, then perhaps they cut themselves while preparing a meal. If the person is in an art studio,…

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The Israeli right’s ‘time of miracles’ is over. The Palestinians are going nowhere

The Israeli right’s ‘time of miracles’ is over. The Palestinians are going nowhere

Meron Rapoport writes: We should know better than to take any so-called peace proposal presented by U.S. President Donald Trump along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at face value. But as the world awaits Hamas’ response to Trump’s 20-point plan for ending the war in Gaza, published in conjunction with the pair’s White House press conference on Monday, it is possible to begin drawing some early conclusions about what this all means for Israel and the Palestinians. Before any…

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Pope Leo urges Christians in the West to offer migrants ‘hospitality and welcome, compassion and solidarity’

Pope Leo urges Christians in the West to offer migrants ‘hospitality and welcome, compassion and solidarity’

Reuters reports: Pope Leo urged the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics on Sunday to care for immigrants, pressing ahead with a message of welcome for migrants days after criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump’s hard-line anti-immigration policies. Leo, the first U.S. pope, told thousands of pilgrims celebrating Mass in St. Peter’s Square that immigrants should not be treated with “the coldness of indifference or the stigma of discrimination”. The pope, who did not single out any country for its treatment of migrants,…

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How Chief Justice Roberts and his accomplices rewrote the Constitution and took away our rights

How Chief Justice Roberts and his accomplices rewrote the Constitution and took away our rights

Lisa Graves writes: John Roberts ascended to the Supreme Court and for nearly two decades maintained a reputation as a fair referee. But most people really have no idea who Roberts is, what a destructive force he is to American jurisprudence, and how he has helped fracture our political system and our society. In 2002, as part of my work for the Senate’s Judiciary Committee, one of my first tasks was to evaluate Roberts, whom George W. Bush had nominated…

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Inside Stephen Miller’s war on political dissent

Inside Stephen Miller’s war on political dissent

Rolling Stone reports: They didn’t waste a day. In the aftermath of conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk’s assassination, Donald Trump’s government immediately got to work crafting its road map for cracking down on liberal groups and the president’s domestic foes. According to sources with direct knowledge of the matter, within 24 hours of the Kirk shooting, top Trump officials and administration lawyers — at the White House, Justice Department, and so forth — had already put pen to pad, drafting legal…

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Federal thugs assault 84-year old couple during Portland protest

Federal thugs assault 84-year old couple during Portland protest

The Oregonian reports: An elderly couple says they were charged and knocked down by federal agents as they peacefully protested on Saturday in front of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in South Portland, just blocks from their home. Laurie Eckman, 84, said she and her husband Richard Eckman, also 84 and a Vietnam war veteran, were rushed by federal officers “for no apparent reason.” She said her husband was leaning on his walker and wearing his Vietnam veterans…

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Portland Police are recognized nationally and internationally as leaders in public order management

Portland Police are recognized nationally and internationally as leaders in public order management

Portland Police Chief Bob Day writes: Five years ago, some city and state leadership left the police bureau isolated. Today, that has changed. The bureau is part of a united statewide effort, backed by strong leadership from the mayor, city council, city administrator, governor, our congressional delegation and fellow Portlanders. Yet there is no ignoring that we are facing an extraordinary time in our city’s history, with the deployment of both federal law enforcement and the Oregon National Guard. One…

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White House officials are increasingly concerned about Laura Loomer’s influence

White House officials are increasingly concerned about Laura Loomer’s influence

The Wall Street Journal reports: President Trump confidante Laura Loomer has successfully campaigned for the ouster of more than a dozen national security officials and others she has accused of secretly working against the president’s “Make America Great Again” agenda. Now she is training her considerable firepower inside the MAGA tent. In recent weeks, the right-wing conspiracy theorist has: Gone after former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, dubbing him “Tucker Qatarlson” who is being “bought off by the Muslim Brotherhood,”…

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Stephen Miller accused of ‘incitement to violence against judges’

Stephen Miller accused of ‘incitement to violence against judges’

Raw Story reports: U.S. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller Saturday was accused of “incitement to violence against judges.” Miller, who has been accused of making his subordinates cry at work, took to social media over the weekend to make several proclamations related to “leftist” judges. “The Democrat Party has filled our legal and judicial system with radicals who protect leftwing terrorists,” Miller wrote Saturday. “This is a very real and dire crisis for our Republican form of…

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Trump officials discussed sending Army’s 82nd Airborne division to Portland, text messages show

Trump officials discussed sending Army’s 82nd Airborne division to Portland, text messages show

Minnesota Star Tribune reports: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth considered sending an elite U.S. Army strike force to Portland, Ore., to quell protests that President Donald Trump has characterized as “lawless mayhem,” according to images of messages provided to the Minnesota Star Tribune. The messages, casually exchanged last weekend in a crowded, public space, show high-level officials in the Trump administration discussing the deployment of the Army’s 82nd Airborne, an infantry division that has been deployed to combat zones in both…

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Norman Finkelstein: Trump plan has no connection to reality in Gaza

Norman Finkelstein: Trump plan has no connection to reality in Gaza

  President Trump has released a Gaza “peace” plan that would put Gaza under a Trump-chaired “Board of Peace”. While some in the international community have welcomed the move, some question the fact that it bypasses Palestinians and offers no path to statehood. So, with Netanyahu pledging not to fully withdraw from Gaza, will this deal bring genuine peace or cement the status quo? This week on an UpFront special, Marc Lamont Hill speaks with one of the world’s foremost…

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‘We have to move fast’: Jane Fonda relaunches father’s free speech group to counter Trump censorship

‘We have to move fast’: Jane Fonda relaunches father’s free speech group to counter Trump censorship

  The Oscar-winning actress and activist Jane Fonda is relaunching her father Henry Fonda’s free speech organization, the Committee for the First Amendment. First established in 1947 to combat the rise of McCarthyism, the organization brings together members of the film and television industry to push back against and refuse government censorship. Fonda’s announcement comes after the television network ABC brought back late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s show following widespread protest. Kimmel’s show had been pulled from the air after he…

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Marc Rowan: The billionaire behind Trump’s extortion plan targeting universities

Marc Rowan: The billionaire behind Trump’s extortion plan targeting universities

“Traditionally, we are taught to judge the success of a society by how it deals with the least able, most vulnerable members of that society. [But] shouldn’t we judge a society by how they treat the most successful?” Marc Rowan, 2012 The New York Times reports: The Trump administration shook higher education this week when it promised benefits to universities that signed a “compact” closely aligned with conservative priorities. But much of the compact’s construction happened outside of the West…

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