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How Ukrainian forces denied Russia victory in Bakhmut by Victory Day

How Ukrainian forces denied Russia victory in Bakhmut by Victory Day

The Washington Post reports: They started shelling at sunrise. In the dawn haze, under the cover of their own artillery, small groups of Ukrainian soldiers advanced toward a Russian position on the outskirts of the embattled city of Bakhmut. Drone footage had identified an avenue of attack on Russian lines on the outskirts of the besieged city. Intelligence suggested the Russians were so focused on the intense street battles playing out inside they were not expecting an assault in this…

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Is the GOP war on ‘woke finances’ delaying climate action?

Is the GOP war on ‘woke finances’ delaying climate action?

Inside Climate News reports: Republican-led states are asking federal regulators to block the world’s largest investment firm from imposing climate-related financial practices on utilities. While the GOP’s war on so-called “woke finances” has had limited success in stemming the flow of money into clean energy, there’s growing evidence the political pressure could be delaying climate action. On Wednesday, Republican attorneys general from 17 states filed a motion with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission asking the agency to stop BlackRock from…

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‘The forever prisoner’: Abu Zubaydah’s drawings expose the CIA’s depraved torture policy

‘The forever prisoner’: Abu Zubaydah’s drawings expose the CIA’s depraved torture policy

The Guardian reports: A detainee held in the US prison camp at Guantánamo Bay who was used as a human guinea pig in the CIA’s post-9/11 torture program has produced the most comprehensive and detailed account yet seen of the brutal techniques to which he was subjected. Abu Zubaydah has created a series of 40 drawings that chronicle the torture he endured in a number of CIA dark sites between 2002 and 2006 and at Guantánamo Bay. In the absence of a…

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It’s time to take quantum biology research seriously

It’s time to take quantum biology research seriously

Clarice Aiello writes: Imagine healing an injury by applying a tailored magnetic field to a wound. This outcome might sound fantastical, but researchers have shown that cell proliferation and wound healing, among other important biological functions, can be controlled by magnetic fields with strengths on the order of those produced by cell phones. This kind of physiological response is consistent with one caused by quantum effects in electron spin-dependent chemical reactions. However (and it’s a big however), while researchers have…

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Trump’s comments on Mar-a-Lago documents ‘like red meat to a prosecutor’

Trump’s comments on Mar-a-Lago documents ‘like red meat to a prosecutor’

NBC News reports: Former President Donald Trump’s comments Wednesday night about his handling of classified documents appeared to contradict statements by his lawyers, and provide potentially important evidence for federal prosecutors investigating whether to charge him with a crime, legal experts say. Trump’s lawyers told Congress last month that the classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago compound got there by accident. But when questioned about the issue at a CNN town hall, Trump said he had “every right” to take…

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CNN’s Trump Town Hall was viewed by fewer than 1% of Americans

CNN’s Trump Town Hall was viewed by fewer than 1% of Americans

Just in: CNN’s town hall with Donald Trump averaged 3.1 million total viewers. The event outrated Fox and MSNBC, as expected, but these are not 2015/16 level numbers for Trump — not even close. — Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) May 11, 2023 Wajahat Ali writes: With its Republican presidential town hall on Wednesday, CNN failed journalism, the American public, and its own employees by deciding to invite an arsonist who has spent the past seven years trying to burn down their…

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Manchin attacked EPA’s new rules that could cost him millions

Manchin attacked EPA’s new rules that could cost him millions

Politico reports: When Sen. Joe Manchin upbraided EPA on Wednesday for requiring power plants to reduce their carbon emissions, he didn’t mention that the agency’s rules could threaten his personal income. The West Virginia Democrat vowed to oppose President Joe Biden’s EPA nominees because the agency’s rules being proposed Thursday could push coal- and gas-fired power plants “out of existence,” he said. The risk to one plant, in particular, could jeapordize a lucrative source of money for Manchin. His family…

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New defamation suit against Fox signals continued legal threat

New defamation suit against Fox signals continued legal threat

The New York Times reports: Fox News was hit on Wednesday with another defamation lawsuit, this one from a woman who said the network promoted lies about her that generated serious threats to her safety and harmed her career prospects. The suit was filed on behalf of Nina Jankowicz, the former executive director of a short-lived Department of Homeland Security division assigned with coordinating efforts to monitor and address disinformation threats to national security. Right-wing pundits and politicians falsely portrayed…

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House Republican report finds no evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden

House Republican report finds no evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden

The New York Times reports: After four months of investigation, House Republicans who promised to use their new majority to unearth evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden acknowledged on Wednesday that they had yet to uncover incriminating material about him, despite their frequent insinuations that he and his family have been involved in criminal conduct and corruption. At a much-publicized news conference on Capitol Hill to show the preliminary findings of their premier investigation into Mr. Biden and his family,…

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UK sends Ukraine powerful Storm Shadow long-range missiles

UK sends Ukraine powerful Storm Shadow long-range missiles

Michael Weiss and James Rushton report: A year ago, it was said to be a direct path to “World War III.” Now it’s being announced as an accomplished fact. The United Kingdom is in the process of delivering Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine, the British government confirmed Thursday, giving Kyiv a much-needed and long coveted long-range precision strike capability. British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said that the supply of the missiles will “allow Ukraine to push back Russian forces…

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First human ‘pangenome’ aims to catalogue genetic diversity

First human ‘pangenome’ aims to catalogue genetic diversity

Nature reports: More than 20 years after the first draft genome from the landmark Human Genome Project was released, researchers have published a draft human ‘pangenome’ — a snapshot of what is poised to become a new reference for genetic research that captures more of human diversity than has been previously available. Geneticists have welcomed the milestone, while also highlighting key ethical considerations surrounding the effort to make genome research more inclusive. “This is like going from black-and-white television to…

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Quid pro quo: Clarence Thomas reversed position after gifts and family payments

Quid pro quo: Clarence Thomas reversed position after gifts and family payments

The Lever reports: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas changed his position on one of America’s most significant regulatory doctrines after his wife reportedly accepted secret payments from a shadowy conservative network pushing for the change. Thomas’ shift also came while he was receiving lavish gifts from a billionaire linked to other groups criticizing the same doctrine — which is now headed back to the high court. The so-called “Chevron deference” doctrine stipulates that the executive branch — not the federal…

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Clarence Thomas must resign

Clarence Thomas must resign

In order to preserve the legitimacy of the Supreme Court, Justice Clarence Thomas must resign. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington today sent a letter to Thomas calling on him to resign and outlining why his resignation is a necessity. “This is not something we do lightly,” CREW President Noah Bookbinder said. “This is a place we never wanted to be, but it has become clear that Justice Thomas likely violated civil and criminal laws and has created the…

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Trump has finally been held accountable for lying

Trump has finally been held accountable for lying

RonNell Andersen Jones and Dahlia Lithwick write: [N]o one should lose sight of the fact that Carroll’s win actually represents a staggering turning point: Even under the most free-speech-protective standard imaginable, Trump is accountable for his lies about her. At its core, and understandably, the two-week Carroll trial homed in on the dominant harm Trump inflicted on the former columnist—a traumatizing and life-altering sexual attack in a dressing room of a department store near Trump Tower. (Disclosure: One of us…

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