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Trump’s weaknesses with GOP voters go beyond the suburbs

Trump’s weaknesses with GOP voters go beyond the suburbs

Politico reports: The battle for Trump-skeptical Republican voters isn’t just about the suburbs. It’s true that the hundreds of thousands of GOP primary voters who voted against former President Donald Trump this year were concentrated in highly educated, suburban areas that have swung blue over the past decade. But a POLITICO analysis shows there’s also a significant bloc of voters who did not want Trump in more exurban, red-leaning counties — the kinds of places that were skeptical of Trump…

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The unhinged arguments the Supreme Court is fielding on Trump immunity

The unhinged arguments the Supreme Court is fielding on Trump immunity

The Daily Beast reports: Retired American generals vehemently say that no, Donald Trump cannot deploy SEAL Team 6 to kill a political rival. Gun groups howl that the United States is turning into Communist China. And a convicted Jan. 6 rioter warns that President Joe Biden could someday get sued over the death of a jogger in Georgia. These are among the 18 various groups that shared their wisdom with the Supreme Court earlier this month, filing amicus briefs on…

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Half of senior staffers in Congress are so fed up that they may quit

Half of senior staffers in Congress are so fed up that they may quit

The Washington Post reports: When it comes to job satisfaction, members of Congress aren’t the only ones considering calling it quits. Only about one in five senior aides on Capitol Hill believe that Congress is “functioning as a democratic legislature should,” and about the same margin believe that it is “an effective forum for debate” on key issues. Given those assessments by the people who live and breathe these issues, this particularly glum finding should not come as a surprise:…

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The social benefits of getting our brains in sync

The social benefits of getting our brains in sync

Marta Zaraska writes: The renowned Polish piano duo Marek and Wacek didn’t use sheet music when playing live concerts. And yet onstage the pair appeared perfectly in sync. On adjacent pianos, they playfully picked up various musical themes, blended classical music with jazz and improvised in real time. “We went with the flow,” said Marek Tomaszewski, who performed with Wacek Kisielewski until Wacek’s death in 1986. “It was pure fun.” The pianists seemed to read each other’s minds by exchanging…

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Gaza’s famine is underway

Gaza’s famine is underway

Jeremy Konyndyk writes: Three months ago the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) process (the official process for assessing famine risk) issued an urgent warning: the entire population of Gaza was “at risk” of famine, and over half a million people were already experiencing famine-level food shortages. Last week, the IPC upgraded that warning, projecting that famine in Gaza is now “imminent.” 1.1 million people, half the territory’s population, are in IPC Phase V, the highest level of risk. Yet…

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Boiling weeds, eating animal feed: People in Gaza stave off hunger any way they can

Boiling weeds, eating animal feed: People in Gaza stave off hunger any way they can

NPR reports: In northern Gaza’s shattered streets, people buy and sell canned food, small amounts of flour and grain and a few household items in makeshift markets. Nermeen Tafesh and her five children scour the stalls every day for something affordable to eat, but everything is expensive. With no jobs, most people don’t have an income. Tafesh is shocked that 2 pounds of rotten-looking potatoes now sells for 40 shekels, more than $10. Two pounds of rice, costing less than…

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Israel is a strategic liability for the United States

Israel is a strategic liability for the United States

Jon Hoffman writes: Symbolic acts—such as the recent U.S. executive order sanctioning two Israeli settler outposts in the West Bank or Biden’s decision to reestablish the position that Israeli settlement expansion is “inconsistent with international law”—is not going to stop the carnage in Gaza, absolve Washington of complicity, or contribute to future stability. Likely in direct response to these actions, Israel just authorized the construction of 3,400 new houses in West Bank settlements amid historic levels of violence against Palestinians;…

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Marwan Bishara: ‘How dare European nations sell arms to Israel?’

Marwan Bishara: ‘How dare European nations sell arms to Israel?’

  Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara analyses Ireland’s support for South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. Ireland’s backing signifies a universalised call for justice in Palestine, joining nations with histories of oppression. Bishara criticizes the US and Israel’s dismissive response to allegations of genocide, highlighting a growing global momentum for Palestinian justice. He questions Europe’s stance on selling arms to Israel amid accusations of weaponising hunger, urging consistency with universal values.

‘We cannot be silent’: A statement from the Jesuits on Gaza

‘We cannot be silent’: A statement from the Jesuits on Gaza

The Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) has issued the following statement in Rome: Almost six months of war in Gaza, and the guns have not fallen silent. We, the members of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), like so many other Catholics, Christians, men and women of all faiths and non-believers, refuse to be silent. Our voices continue to be lifted up in prayer, in lament, in protest at the death and destruction that continue to reign in Gaza and other…

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What Boeing did to all the guys who remember how to build a plane

What Boeing did to all the guys who remember how to build a plane

The American Prospect reports: John Barnett had one of those bosses who seemed to spend most of his waking hours scheming to inflict humiliation upon him. He mocked him in weekly meetings whenever he dared contribute a thought, assigned a fellow manager to spy on him and spread rumors that he did not play nicely with others, and disciplined him for things like “using email to communicate” and pushing for flaws he found on planes to be fixed. “John is…

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Billionaires who once disavowed Trump are coming crawling back

Billionaires who once disavowed Trump are coming crawling back

Bess Levin writes: Once upon a time, some überwealthy individuals who’d previously supported Donald Trump declared that they were done with the 45th president of the United States. After January 6, 2021, billionaire GOP donor Nelson Peltz called the insurrection a “stain on America” and publicly apologized for voting for Trump in 2020. Real estate and aerospace mogul Robert Bigelow said Trump “lost me as a supporter” and showed, during the attack on the Capitol, that “he was no commander.”…

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How Biden boxed himself in on Gaza

How Biden boxed himself in on Gaza

Jonathan Guyer writes: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a knack for making world leaders do the jobs of their subordinates. President Joe Biden had to call Netanyahu himself in October—in the first weeks of Israel’s brutal assault on the occupied territory of Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas attacks of October 7—to urge that Israel allow more than 100 trucks of relief aid a day into Gaza. Normally, that’s a task a low-level economic officer at the embassy might…

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Former State Dept. human rights official: Israel is not engaged in self defense; it is committing war crimes

Former State Dept. human rights official: Israel is not engaged in self defense; it is committing war crimes

“People are shocked & appalled by what the US government is doing.” Annelle Sheline has resigned from the US State Department in protest over the administration’s ongoing support for Israel & the war in Gaza. “I know that I speak for many people” in the department, she tells me. pic.twitter.com/UTX30HWPme — Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) March 28, 2024

Russian actions in Ukraine to pave way for Gaza war crimes case in ICC

Russian actions in Ukraine to pave way for Gaza war crimes case in ICC

The National reports: Allegations that Russia committed a war crime by attacking Ukraine’s water and food supplies could lead the International Criminal Court (ICC) to hear its first starvation case, the lawyer leading the investigation told The National. Catriona Murdoch, a legal consultant to Global Rights Compliance which is examining Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, said the situation in the country had been mirrored in Gaza, where the ICC could also pass judgment on Israel’s tactics in the enclave,…

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