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Synchronization is one of the fundamental phenomena of nature

Synchronization is one of the fundamental phenomena of nature

Any oscillator — a pendulum, a spring, a firefly, a human heart cell — wants to match up with its neighbors. Mathematicians recently showed that synchronization is inevitable in expander graphs, a type of network found in many areas of science. https://t.co/SM4cUWupJf pic.twitter.com/rINEz3lTuf — Quanta Magazine (@QuantaMagazine) February 3, 2024 Leila Sloman writes: Six years ago, Afonso Bandeira and Shuyang Ling were attempting to come up with a better way to discern clusters in enormous data sets when they stumbled…

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A 6-year-old in Gaza City was calling to be rescued. Did anyone find her?

A 6-year-old in Gaza City was calling to be rescued. Did anyone find her?

A 6-year-old in Gaza City was calling to be rescued. Did anyone find her? https://t.co/2FqcBPnT8I — Joe Catron (@jncatron) February 2, 2024 The Washington Post reports: The Hamada family was trying to get to safety. An order from the Israeli military had gone out earlier on Monday, ordering them to evacuate their neighborhood in Gaza City. Bashar, 44, and his wife Anam, 43, piled their children and their young niece, Hind, into the car. They would never reach their destination….

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U.S. retaliatory airstrikes on targets in Iraq and Syria will not be the last

U.S. retaliatory airstrikes on targets in Iraq and Syria will not be the last

Julian Borger writes: US retaliation, when it came, was broad and deep, and telegraphed five days in advance. The White House, the Pentagon and state department had spent the best part of a week talking about the response to Sunday’s drone attack on a US base in northern Jordan, which killed three Americans and wounded more than 30. They warned that retaliation against the suspects, primary among those the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia, would be “multi-tiered” and continue over many…

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A Palestinian posted a message on Oct. 7. Then came the death threats

A Palestinian posted a message on Oct. 7. Then came the death threats

The Washington Post reports: Dalal Abu Amneh insists she didn’t mean to take sides with her Facebook message on Oct. 7: “The only victor is God.” The Palestinian citizen of northern Israel — a neuroscientist and a folk singer renowned in the Arab world — was starting a silent retreat at a Christian monastery in Jerusalem when word of the Hamas massacre began to spread. She immediately checked in on Jewish friends in southern Israel, she said. At the request…

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Trump allies plan to gut climate research if he is reelected

Trump allies plan to gut climate research if he is reelected

Climatewire reports: Former President Donald Trump’s second term could begin with a clear direction on climate policy: Trash it. Dozens of conservative organizations have banded together to provide Trump a road map — known as Project 2025 — if he prevails in November. It outlines a series of steps that the former president could take to reverse the climate actions taken by the Biden administration. Trump has already said that boosting fossil fuels would be one of his top priorities….

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I prosecuted Watergate and never feared for our democracy — but Greg Abbott has me worried

I prosecuted Watergate and never feared for our democracy — but Greg Abbott has me worried

Jill Wine-Banks writes: I am not an alarmist by nature. From my time as a prosecutor investigating the Watergate scandal, I have never doubted that justice would prevail or that democracy would survive. I never doubted that our union would last — until now. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s actions at the southern border and his reaction to the Supreme Court’s decision in favor of the federal government make me fear for the continued existence of the United States of America….

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The long journey north from Guatemala

The long journey north from Guatemala

  In the summer of 2022, Norvin made an excruciating but thrilling decision. After years of struggling to make ends meet for his family as a long-haul truck driver, life in his small rural town of La Maquina, Guatemala, had grown too lean. Gang violence and poverty were surging. So was chronic malnutrition, with more than 55% of children in rural Guatemala suffering from the condition. He wanted more for his young daughter and wife, more for the 10 members…

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Can the government of Mexico bring the U.S. gun industry to book?

Can the government of Mexico bring the U.S. gun industry to book?

John Cassidy writes: The history of U.S. gun-control efforts is largely dispiriting. Yes, there have been some examples of progress, such as the spread of “red flag” laws, which allow state courts to temporarily disarm individuals who are considered a threat. At the federal level, though, the gun lobby has long exercised an effective veto. Just last month, Republicans in the Senate blocked a bill that would have banned assault weapons and introduced universal background checks for gun purchases. Over…

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What to make of Biden’s historic sanctions on Israeli settlers

What to make of Biden’s historic sanctions on Israeli settlers

Time reports: As much of the world’s attention has focused on the ongoing carnage in Gaza, where Israel’s war of retribution will soon enter its fourth month, the issue of rising Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank largely fell by the wayside. But on Thursday, the Biden administration unveiled an executive order imposing new financial sanctions on Israeli settlers who have been implicated in such violence, in what is perhaps the most significant step taken by…

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USAID’s Samantha Power, genocide scholar, confronted by her own staff on Gaza

USAID’s Samantha Power, genocide scholar, confronted by her own staff on Gaza

The Washington Post reports: Samantha Power, head of the U.S. Agency for International Development and a world-renowned scholar on genocide, was pointedly challenged by current and former USAID employees who during a public event Tuesday questioned her stance on the war in Gaza and complicity in the divisive U.S. policy. “You wrote a book on genocide and you’re still working for the administration: You should resign and speak out,” said Agnieszka Sykes, a global health specialist who told The Washington…

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Israelis see starvation as a tool for applying pressure on Palestinians

Israelis see starvation as a tool for applying pressure on Palestinians

The Times of Israel reports: War cabinet member Benny Gantz and observer Gadi Eisenkot have suggested temporarily limiting the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip so its distribution will no longer be controlled by Hamas, Israeli television reported Wednesday. According to Channel 12 news, the two National Unity party ministers believe that limiting the entry of aid for a short amount of time could create pressure for an alternative body to take responsibility for distributing aid among the…

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South Africa says all states must stop funding Israel’s military

South Africa says all states must stop funding Israel’s military

Reuters reports: All states have an obligation to stop funding and facilitating Israel’s military actions in Gaza after the World Court made clear those actions could be genocidal, South Africa’s foreign minister said on Wednesday. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) last week ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent its troops from committing genocide and take steps to improve the humanitarian situation of Palestinians in Gaza, in a case brought by South Africa. It stopped…

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EU agrees €50bn package for Ukraine as Viktor Orbán bows to pressure

EU agrees €50bn package for Ukraine as Viktor Orbán bows to pressure

The Guardian reports: A robust and united position among EU member states convinced Viktor Orbán to end his “blackmail” and support a €50bn (£43bn) funding package for Ukraine, European prime ministers have said. The Hungarian prime minister, who had been vowing to block the funds since December, performed one of the fastest U-turns seen at a leaders’ summit after six weeks of brinkmanship. There was relief that the deal was finally done but also a sense of fury among leaders…

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Disturbing bill would let Arizona legislators ignore election results

Disturbing bill would let Arizona legislators ignore election results

The Daily Beast reports: An Arizona lawmaker who signed on to be a “fake elector” for Donald Trump after the former president lost his bid for a second term has introduced a bill that would allow members of the statehouse to overturn future election results that they don’t like. The bill, formally known as Senate Concurrent Resolution 1014 and sponsored by state Sen. Anthony Kern, seeks to bypass the popular vote altogether. “[I]t is the responsibility of the Arizona Secretary…

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