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The Electoral College is the big factor in a third-party nightmare for Democrats

The Electoral College is the big factor in a third-party nightmare for Democrats

Politico reports: Democrats are rightly spooked by the prospect of credible third-party candidates this cycle. Third-party candidates tend to get the most traction when there’s greater-than-usual dissatisfaction with the major party presidential candidates — like in 2016, when Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump had favorability ratings of just 43 percent and 38 percent, respectively. If 2024 is a rematch between Trump and President Joe Biden, third-party candidates could get even more traction — with both holding nearly identical 39-percent favorable…

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The microorganism that shaped humanity

The microorganism that shaped humanity

Rob Dunn writes: Humans engage in mutualisms (mutually beneficial relationships) with many species; scientists describe a subset of these relationships as domestication, where one species exerts control over the other. For example, we might say that leaf-cutter ants have domesticated the fungi that they grow to feed their babies, or that some ants have domesticated the aphids that they rely on as cattle, ferrying them from branch to branch and protecting them from predators and parasites. Generally, when a mutualism…

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In a fierce desert, microbe ‘crusts’ show how life tamed the land

In a fierce desert, microbe ‘crusts’ show how life tamed the land

Zack Savitsky writes: In 2017, a team of scientists from Germany trekked to Chile to investigate how living organisms sculpt the face of the Earth. A local ranger guided them through Pan de Azúcar, a roughly 150-square-mile national park on the southern coast of the Atacama Desert, which is often described as the driest place on Earth. They found themselves in a flat, gravelly wasteland interrupted by occasional hills, where hairy cacti reached their arms toward a sky that never…

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Even ‘safe’ places are experiencing climate chaos in America

Even ‘safe’ places are experiencing climate chaos in America

The New York Times reports: The capital of Vermont — the state that often tops those “best states to move to and avoid climate change” lists — was, until Tuesday afternoon, mostly underwater. Swollen by record-breaking rainfall, the Winooski River claimed nearly the entire downtown area of Montpelier late Monday. Swift-water rescue teams helped people escape from the upper floors of apartment buildings not far from the gold-domed State Capitol. Even the governor was forced to hike from his house…

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Trump looks for support from younger men drawn to physical combat

Trump looks for support from younger men drawn to physical combat

Politico reports: Combat sports are comfortable terrain for Trump, who is a connoisseur of fights. He is friends with UFC President Dana White and the famed boxing promoter Don King, and for years hosted boxing showdowns at his Atlantic City, N.J., casino, including the 1991 “Battle of the Ages” between George Foreman and Evander Holyfield. In 2021, he and Donald Trump Jr. served as commentators for a fight between Holyfield and Vitor Belfort. He has also been heavily associated with…

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Far-right Twitter influencers first on Elon Musk’s monetization scheme

Far-right Twitter influencers first on Elon Musk’s monetization scheme

The Washington Post reports: On Thursday, Twitter announced that it would begin sharing ad revenue with content creators on its platform for the first time. But the offer won’t apply to all creators. The first beneficiaries appear to be high-profile far-right influencers who tweeted before the announcement how much they’ve earned as part of the program. Ian Miles Cheong, Benny Johnson and Ashley St. Clair all touted their earnings. “Wow. Elon Musk wasn’t kidding. Content monetization is real,” tweeted an…

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A perennial quest for American manhood

A perennial quest for American manhood

Virginia Heffernan writes: In reviewing the history of American manhood, it’s astounding to discover how long masculinity has been framed as “in crisis”; in the telling of these writers, it’s never not been in crisis. From the 18th-century elite to [Republican Senator Josh] Hawley and his conservative confrères, the project of defining and protecting American “manhood” doubles as a way to define and protect some obscure American essence — and these men, whether in wartime or peacetime, whether in traditional…

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The manosphere’s latest subject of ire is ‘Barbie’ and ‘mid’ Margot Robbie

The manosphere’s latest subject of ire is ‘Barbie’ and ‘mid’ Margot Robbie

Rasha Al Aqeedi writes: Another day, another red-pill outrage online. The target of the manosphere’s ire this time is Australian actor Margot Robbie, who plays the lead in the upcoming film “Barbie.” The manosphere, the network of websites, blogs and social media discussions led by men who reject feminism and promote their understanding of masculinity, has another strong and equally telling opinion about Robbie. She is barely average looking, or “mid,” the term for women who obtain a ranking of…

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Actors say Hollywood studios want their AI replicas for free, forever

Actors say Hollywood studios want their AI replicas for free, forever

CBS News reports: The 65,000 Hollywood actors now on strike in the U.S. have much in common with the 11,000 script writers who remain off the job because of a labor dispute with the motion picture studios. Among those shared grievances: concerns that studio executives want to replace them with artificial intelligence. For the many background actors whose names and faces aren’t instantly recognizable, the advent of ever more powerful types of AI threatens their ability to make ends meet…

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Interesting brains

Interesting brains

Meghan Rosen writes: You’d never guess that Elyse G. has a black hole in her brain. Meet her on the street, and it’d be impossible to tell she’s lacking a chunk of neural tissue about the size of a small fist. Looking at her brain scans is a different story. It’s as if someone has knocked over a bottle of ink. The darkness pools inside her skull near her left ear, a puddle of fuliginous black. Inside the splotch, there’s…

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Trump on trial: A model prosecution memo for federal election interference crimes

Trump on trial: A model prosecution memo for federal election interference crimes

Norman L. Eisen et al write: This model prosecution memorandum (or “pros memo”) assesses federal charges Special Counsel Jack Smith may bring against former President Donald Trump for alleged criminal interference in the 2020 election. The authors have decades of experience as federal prosecutors, criminal defense lawyers, and other legal expertise. We conclude that the evidence likely now meets Department of Justice standards to commence a prosecution. We base that conclusion upon a stream of recent disclosures in court filings…

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Arizona escalates probe into alleged efforts to swing election for Trump

Arizona escalates probe into alleged efforts to swing election for Trump

The Washington Post reports: Arizona’s top prosecutor is ramping up a criminal investigation into alleged attempts by Republicans to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in the state by signing and transmitting paperwork falsely declaring Donald Trump the winner, according to two people familiar with the investigation. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) assigned a team of prosecutors to the case in May, and investigators have contacted many of the pro-Trump electors and their lawyers, according to the two people…

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Arizona man cited in conspiracy theories sues Fox News for defamation

Arizona man cited in conspiracy theories sues Fox News for defamation

The New York Times reports: Ray Epps, the man at the center of a widespread conspiracy theory about the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday accusing Fox News and its former host Tucker Carlson of defamation for promoting a “fantastical story” that Mr. Epps was an undercover government agent who instigated the violence at the Capitol as a way to disparage President Donald J. Trump and his supporters. The complaint was filed in…

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Almost 100,000 voter registrations were challenged in Georgia — most by just six right-wing activists

Almost 100,000 voter registrations were challenged in Georgia — most by just six right-wing activists

ProPublica reports: On March 15, 2022, an email appeared in the inbox of the election director of Forsyth County, Georgia, with the subject line “Challenge of Elector’s Eligibility.” A spreadsheet attached to the email identified 13 people allegedly registered to vote at P.O. boxes in Forsyth County, a wealthy Republican suburb north of Atlanta. Georgians are supposed to register at residential addresses, except in special circumstances. “Please consider this my request that a hearing be held to determine these voters’…

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