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‘Judicial reform’ in Israel will make it a ‘democracy in name only but not in substance,’ says attorney general

‘Judicial reform’ in Israel will make it a ‘democracy in name only but not in substance,’ says attorney general

Neri Zilber writes: On the evening of Jan. 5, a politician with the dry manners of a suburban accountant but the inner fury of a steely zealot stepped up to a podium in Jerusalem and declared his intention to end Israeli democracy. In a primetime press conference, Yariv Levin, the new justice minister in Benjamin Netanyahu’s two-week-old government, announced a series of far-reaching changes to the country’s judicial system that, if put in place, would hand unchecked power to the…

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Exxon knew: Its scientists predicted global warming, even as company cast doubts, study finds

Exxon knew: Its scientists predicted global warming, even as company cast doubts, study finds

The New York Times reports: In the late 1970s, scientists at Exxon fitted one of the company’s supertankers with state-of-the-art equipment to measure carbon dioxide in the ocean and in the air, an early example of substantial research the oil giant conducted into the science of climate change. A new study published Thursday in the journal Science found that over the next decades, Exxon’s scientists made remarkably accurate projections of just how much burning fossil fuels would warm the planet….

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Rare earth mining may be key to our renewable energy future. But at what cost?

Rare earth mining may be key to our renewable energy future. But at what cost?

Carolyn Gramling writes: In spring 1949, three prospectors armed with Geiger counters set out to hunt for treasure in the arid mountains of southern Nevada and southeastern California. In the previous century, those mountains yielded gold, silver, copper and cobalt. But the men were looking for a different kind of treasure: uranium. The world was emerging from World War II and careening into the Cold War. The United States needed uranium to build its nuclear weapons arsenal. Mining homegrown sources…

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Survey finds ‘classical fascist’ antisemitic views widespread among Americans

Survey finds ‘classical fascist’ antisemitic views widespread among Americans

The Washington Post reports: At points in the past half-century, many U.S. antisemitism experts thought this country could be aging out of it, that hostility and prejudice against Jews were fading in part because younger Americans held more accepting views than did older ones. But a survey released Thursday shows how widely held such beliefs are in the United States today, including among younger Americans. The research by the Anti-Defamation League includes rare detail about the particular nature of antisemitism,…

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The U.S. may finally breach the debt ceiling. Here’s why that would be very bad

The U.S. may finally breach the debt ceiling. Here’s why that would be very bad

The New York Times reports: The new Republican majority in the House of Representatives has Washington and Wall Street bracing for a revival of brinkmanship over the nation’s statutory debt limit, raising fears that the fragile U.S. economy could be rattled by a calamitous self-inflicted wound. For years, Republicans have sought to tie spending cuts or other concessions from Democrats to their votes to lift the borrowing cap, even if it means eroding the world’s faith that the United States…

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Garland appoints special counsel to probe Biden classified documents

Garland appoints special counsel to probe Biden classified documents

The Washington Post reports: Attorney General Merrick Garland, citing what he called “extraordinary circumstances,” appointed a special counsel Thursday to investigate the handling of classified documents found at a former office and the Delaware home of President Biden — ratcheting up the legal stakes and potential political consequences of national security cases ensnaring both the current president and his predecessor. The nation’s top law enforcement official made the announcement Thursday, tapping Robert K. Hur, a former U.S. Attorney in Maryland…

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The mysterious, unregistered fund that raised big money for Santos

The mysterious, unregistered fund that raised big money for Santos

The New York Times reports: A month before George Santos was elected to Congress, one of his large donors received a call asking him to consider making another sizable contribution. The request came from a Republican loyalist calling on behalf of RedStone Strategies, which was described in an email to the donor as an “independent expenditure” group that was supporting Mr. Santos’s bid to flip a Democratic House seat in New York. The group had already raised $800,000 and was…

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Santos was paid for work at company accused of Ponzi scheme later than previously known

Santos was paid for work at company accused of Ponzi scheme later than previously known

The Washington Post reports: Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), who has admitted to fabricating key details of his biography, received payments as recently as April 2021 from a financial services company accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of a “classic Ponzi scheme,” according to a court-appointed lawyer reviewing the firm’s assets. Santos did not divulge any income from the company, Florida-based Harbor City Capital, on a financial disclosure form required of all federal candidates. The payments the lawyer described to…

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Music: Jeff Beck, ‘one of one,’ 1944-2023

Music: Jeff Beck, ‘one of one,’ 1944-2023

    Alexis Petridis writes: the phrase “guitarist’s guitarist” might have been invented for him. His influence spanned generations. Brian May, David Gilmour, Slash and The Edge all attested to being inspired by Beck. Metallica’s Kirk Hammett claimed he learned guitar by playing along to the Jeff Beck Group’s Let Me Love You. The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ John Frusciante recalled listening to Truth as a kid and marvelling at Beck “pulling all these sounds out of the guitar ……

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Relentless rise of ocean heat content drives deadly extremes

Relentless rise of ocean heat content drives deadly extremes

Inside Climate News reports: Ocean heat content reached a new record high for the fourth year in a row, scientists said Wednesday as they released their annual measurements of ocean heat accumulating down to a depth of more than a mile. The findings published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Science show that just in the past year, the planet’s seas absorbed about 10 Zetta joules of heat—equivalent to 100 times the world’s total annual electricity production. The scientists found…

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Santos refuses to resign amid calls from local New York GOP

Santos refuses to resign amid calls from local New York GOP

Politico reports: Rep. George Santos refused to resign Wednesday despite a parade of Republican Nassau County officials demanding he step down. Officials from across Santos’ Long Island district and beyond gathered at the headquarters of the Nassau County Republican Committee to offer biting critiques of the newly sworn-in Republican. Critically, they pledged to cut Santos’ local support system off at the knees after he fabricated much of his resume and backstory during a successful Congressional campaign last year. Santos “is…

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The special counsel investigating Trump faces headwinds few others have

The special counsel investigating Trump faces headwinds few others have

The New York Times reports: Jack Smith, the special counsel appointed to investigate former President Donald J. Trump, was already working 12-hour days before moving from his home in The Hague to Washington for a new job and an uncertain future. The actions Mr. Smith has taken since he began in November suggest a prosecutor on the move to resolve concurrent investigations into Mr. Trump’s retention of government documents and his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the…

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To defeat Trumpism, stop letting MAGA stunts drive the debate

To defeat Trumpism, stop letting MAGA stunts drive the debate

Greg Sargent writes: When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sent planeloads of migrants to Massachusetts in the fall, it received an extraordinary amount of coverage. Though that stunt said nothing about how to fix our immigration system, DeSantis amplified a message nationally that painted asylum seekers as a dangerous, unmanageable threat — and himself as a disciplinarian determined to get the southern border under control. Now, with the focus intensifying on this matter — President Biden is discussing border security with…

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‘General Armageddon’ removed as commander of Ukraine invasion force

‘General Armageddon’ removed as commander of Ukraine invasion force

BBC News reports: President Vladimir Putin has removed Russia’s top commander in Ukraine, just three months after he was installed. Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov will now lead what Mr Putin terms a “special military operation”. Gen Gerasimov replaces Sergei Surovikin who has overseen recent brutal attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. The reshuffle comes as Russians claim they are making progress in eastern Ukraine after suffering a series of military defeats in recent months. Russia launched its invasion…

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Iran says face recognition will identify women breaking hijab laws

Iran says face recognition will identify women breaking hijab laws

Wired reports: Last month, a young woman went to work at Sarzamineh Shadi, or Land of Happiness, an indoor amusement park east of Iran’s capital, Tehran. After a photo of her without a hijab circulated on social media, the amusement park was closed, according to multiple accounts in Iranian media. Prosecutors in Tehran have reportedly opened an investigation. Shuttering a business to force compliance with Iran’s strict laws for women’s dress is a familiar tactic to Shaparak Shajarizadeh. She stopped…

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