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First U.S. climate trial begins. It’s being led by kids

First U.S. climate trial begins. It’s being led by kids

E&E News reports: A landmark trial unfolding this week in a small Montana courtroom could have outsize influence on U.S. climate policy — even if the case has little immediate effect in the Treasure State. In the first U.S. youth-led climate case to go to trial, 16 young people are putting Montana’s energy policies on the stand, accusing state agencies and the governor of violating their right to a stable climate by embracing fossil fuels. The case could result in…

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This alien ocean is the first known to have all elements crucial for life

This alien ocean is the first known to have all elements crucial for life

The Washington Post reports: Saturn’s moon Enceladus has enticed scientists for years with its plumes fizzing their way up from an ocean beneath a thick crust of ice. Now there’s a new element to the story, literally: That cold, dark ocean appears to contain a form of phosphorus, an essential ingredient for life as we know it. That means Enceladus has the only ocean beyond Earth known to contain all six elements needed for life. The claimed discovery of dissolved…

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How Republicans are stitching their own straitjacket on Trump indictment

How Republicans are stitching their own straitjacket on Trump indictment

Ronald Brownstein writes: The Republican response to Donald Trump’s latest criminal indictment offers a clear test of the famous saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and hoping for a different result. The choice by Republican leaders, and even almost all of his 2024 rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, to unreservedly defend Trump after he was indicted earlier this year by the Manhattan district attorney helped the former president to widen his lead…

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Inside the implosion of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago legal team

Inside the implosion of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago legal team

Rolling Stone reports: Right up until the day Donald Trump’s federal indictment was unsealed, the legal team tasked with defending him was engaged in petty internal feuds — including fights over TV appearances, accusations of disloyalty, and even a so-called “coup,” three people familiar with the situation, as well as others on or close to Trump’s legal defense, tell Rolling Stone. The clashes were dramatic enough that Friday, hours before Trump’s federal indictment in the Mar-a-Lago documents probe was unsealed,…

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The DOJ has shown Trump politically motivated leniency

The DOJ has shown Trump politically motivated leniency

Eric Levitz writes: An ABC News–Ipsos poll released Sunday found that 47 percent of Americans believe the charges against Trump are “politically motivated” while only 37 percent believe they are not. In reality, however, the notion that the DOJ is selectively prosecuting Trump for political reasons is not merely wrong but the very opposite of the truth: As a matter of fact, the federal government has been affording Trump extraordinary leniency, likely as a product of political considerations. To appreciate this, it is…

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Koch network: ‘The only way Biden wins is if we nominate Trump again’

Koch network: ‘The only way Biden wins is if we nominate Trump again’

CNBC reports: The political network financed largely by billionaire Charles Koch is launching a wave of digital ads targeting former President Donald Trump. The ads argue that if Trump becomes the Republican nominee next year, it will lead to President Joe Biden winning reelection. Americans for Prosperity Action, a super PAC that received millions of dollars during the 2022 election cycle from the Charles Koch-chaired Koch Industries and the Koch-backed Stand Together Chamber of Commerce, gave CNBC a first look…

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Xi prepares China for ‘extreme’ scenarios, including conflict with the West

Xi prepares China for ‘extreme’ scenarios, including conflict with the West

The Wall Street Journal reports: As Beijing and Washington move gingerly toward restoring high-level exchanges, Xi Jinping is stepping up his effort to gird China for conflict. Since late last month, the Chinese leader has twice urged the nation to prepare for what he described as extreme scenarios or conditions—trotting out a phraseology implying the possibilities of escalating tensions as the competition between the U.S. and China intensifies. At a top-level meeting focused on national security on May 30, the…

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Whisper it, but the boom in plastic production could be about to come to a juddering halt

Whisper it, but the boom in plastic production could be about to come to a juddering halt

Geoffrey Lean writes: Plastic production has soared some 30-fold since it came into widespread use in the 1960s. We now churn out about 430m tonnes a year, easily outweighing the combined mass of all 8 billion people alive. Left unabated, it continues to accelerate: plastic consumption is due to nearly double by 2050. Now there is a chance that this huge growth will stop, even go into reverse. This month in Paris, the world’s governments agreed to draft a new treaty to control plastics….

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As Africa loses forest, its small farmers are bringing back trees

As Africa loses forest, its small farmers are bringing back trees

Fred Pearce writes: For decades, there have been reports of the deforestation of Africa. And they are true — the continent’s forests are disappearing, lost mainly to expanding agriculture, logging, and charcoal-making. But the trees? Maybe not, according to new satellite data analyzed by artificial intelligence and a growing body of on-the-ground studies. This new research is finding ever more trees outside forests, many of them nurtured by farmers and sprouting on their previously treeless fields. Across the continent —…

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‘If you want to die in jail, keep talking’ – two national security law experts discuss the special treatment for Trump and offer him some advice

‘If you want to die in jail, keep talking’ – two national security law experts discuss the special treatment for Trump and offer him some advice

Former President Donald Trump on his airplane on June 10, 2023, two days after his federal indictment. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images By Thomas A. Durkin, Loyola University Chicago and Joseph Ferguson, Loyola University Chicago Lawyer Thomas A. Durkin has spent much of his career working in national security law, representing clients in a variety of national security and domestic terrorism matters. Joseph Ferguson was a national security prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District…

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Judge Aileen Cannon’s previous rulings about Trump demand her recusal

Judge Aileen Cannon’s previous rulings about Trump demand her recusal

Norman L. Eisen, Richard W. Painter, and Fred Wertheimer write: Soon after the news broke that Donald Trump will become the first former president to face federal criminal charges—37 counts that include willful retention of national defense information under the Espionage Act, conspiracy to obstruct justice, concealing documents, and false statements—it was also revealed that Judge Aileen Cannon is scheduled to oversee the case. In our view as experts with more than a century of collective experience in judicial and other ethics questions, that…

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Proud Boys too upset about Bud Light to care about Trump’s indictment

Proud Boys too upset about Bud Light to care about Trump’s indictment

Vice News reports: Just three years ago, Donald Trump was the Proud Boys’ North Star. The yellow-and-black clad far-right street-fighters were prepared to mobilize, get into brawls, risk criminal charges—even conspire to overthrow the government—all in his name. But ever since the latest batch of criminal charges against the former president dropped, this time under the Espionage Act in a federal court in Florida, the public response from the Proud Boys has so far been a resounding “meh.” Public-facing Telegram…

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Putin’s pals dream up fresh plot to help Trump beat Biden

Putin’s pals dream up fresh plot to help Trump beat Biden

Julia Davis reports: In Moscow, the possibility that former President Donald Trump might end up in prison or even seek asylum in Russia has long been a topic of discussion on the Kremlin-controlled state television. A federal indictment that was unsealed on Friday revealed that Trump is facing 37 felony counts, because of a trove of classified documents he retained, including America’s military plans and nuclear secrets. Troubled by the magnitude of the criminal jeopardy their favored candidate is facing,…

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Think Ukraine’s offensive has started? Wait for the heavy brigades

Think Ukraine’s offensive has started? Wait for the heavy brigades

Ben Hodges writes: The social media channels are alive with grainy footage of tanks and explosions in Southern and Eastern Ukraine. There are statements everywhere that Kyiv’s long-expected counteroffensive is underway, which is causing some excitement and trepidation. The offensive is incredibly important for Ukraine’s future. But when assessing what’s actually happening, it’s useful to understand some key facts. There is a big difference between starting an offensive, and the main attack or main effort of the operation. The offensive…

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