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An American’s murky path from Russian propagandist to January 6

An American’s murky path from Russian propagandist to January 6

The New York Times reports: In security footage from Jan. 6, it is easy to overlook the thin man wearing a red Trump hat who filters into the U.S. Capitol Building to record the mayhem with his phone. He blends in with the mob, seemingly unexceptional by the chaotic standards of that day. But what he did afterward was far from routine. Within 24 hours, the man, Charles Bausman, gave his recordings and commentary to a Russian television producer for…

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Summer in America is becoming hotter, longer and more dangerous

Summer in America is becoming hotter, longer and more dangerous

The Washington Post reports: Wildfires had been burning for weeks, shrouding Reno, Nev., in harmful smoke, when Jillian Abney and her eight-year-old daughter Izi drove into the Sierras last year in search of cleaner air. The eerie yellow haze that filled the sky had brought summer to an abrupt halt, canceling all of the season’s usual delights. Abney headed for Donner Lake, hoping the higher elevation would put them above the smoke. But instead of the blue skies that had…

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The genetic power of ancient trees

The genetic power of ancient trees

Jim Robbins writes: In 2005, several of the centuries-old ponderosa pine trees on my 15 acres (0.06 sq km) of forest in the northern Rocky Mountains in Montana suddenly died. I soon discovered they were being brought down by mountain pine beetles, pernicious killers the size of the eraser on a pencil that burrow into the tree. The next year the number of dying trees grew exponentially. I felt powerless and grief-stricken as I saw these giant, sky-scraping trees fading…

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Thirty-five years in Afghanistan

Thirty-five years in Afghanistan

Kathy Gannon writes: The Afghan policeman opened fire on us with his AK-47, emptying 26 bullets into the back of the car. Seven slammed into me, and at least as many into my colleague, Associated Press photographer Anja Niedringhaus. She died at my side. Anja weighed heavy against my shoulder. I tried to look at her but I couldn’t move. I looked down; all I could see was what looked like a stump where my left hand had been. I…

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Why criticism has more impact than praise

Why criticism has more impact than praise

Sarah Griffiths writes: As children we are often told that sticks and stones can break bones, but words can never hurt. Yet with the benefit of experience, adults understand that this old proverb is far from true – while physical injuries can take a matter of weeks to heal, negative comments can scar us for a lifetime. Whether it’s criticism calmly dispensed by a teacher at school, or a cruel comment hurled in the heat of an argument with a…

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Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony changed our minds about indicting Donald Trump

Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony changed our minds about indicting Donald Trump

Alan Z. Rozenshtein and Jed Handelsman Shugerman write: Until Tuesday, we had both publicly stated that the Department of Justice had insufficient evidence to indict former President Trump for his conduct on Jan. 6. Our conclusion, which we each came to independently, was largely grounded in First Amendment concerns about criminalizing purely political speech. But Tuesday’s explosive testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, changed our minds. In particular, Hutchinson testified to hearing…

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The January 6 committee is going to have the final word

The January 6 committee is going to have the final word

Quinta Jurecic writes: During its astonishing Tuesday hearing about Donald Trump’s actions on the day of January 6, the House select committee investigating the insurrection made clear that the integrity of its work is under threat. “The same people who drove the former president’s pressure campaign to overturn the election are now trying to cover up the truth about January 6,” warned committee chair Bennie Thompson. “But thanks to the courage of certain individuals, the truth won’t be buried.” The…

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The Supreme Court is the final word on nothing

The Supreme Court is the final word on nothing

Jamelle Bouie writes: The Constitution gives our elected officials the power to restrain a lawless Supreme Court, protect citizens from the “sinister legislation” of the states, punish those states for depriving their residents of the right to vote and expel insurrectionists from Congress. They are drastic measures that would break the norms of American politics. They might even spark a constitutional crisis over the power and authority of Congress. But let’s not be naïve. The norms of American politics were…

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Ukraine has exposed Russia as a not-so-great power

Ukraine has exposed Russia as a not-so-great power

Phillips Payson O’Brien writes: In times of peace, much of what anyone says about national power is guesswork. Different claims can be based on hopes, prejudices, or even simple self-interest. Analysts and experts can speak confidently about how some states are undoubtedly great powers while others are weak, that some countries are led by strategic geniuses and others by corrupt incompetents. The statements can sound eminently plausible as facts, even be downright persuasive, because there is no way of knowing…

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Newly arrived advanced weapon systems will help hinder further Russian advances in Ukraine

Newly arrived advanced weapon systems will help hinder further Russian advances in Ukraine

The New York Times reports: The most advanced weapons that the United States has so far supplied Ukraine are making an impact in their first several days on the battlefield, destroying Russian ammunition depots and command centers, American and Ukrainian officials say. Ukraine’s military had eagerly awaited the arrival of the first batch of truck-mounted, multiple-rocket launchers, whose satellite-guided rockets have a range of more than 40 miles, greater than anything Ukraine had possessed. The weapons have even won grudging…

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‘Perfect storm’ of crises is widening global inequality, says UN chief

‘Perfect storm’ of crises is widening global inequality, says UN chief

The Guardian reports: Humanity is facing a “perfect storm” of crises that is widening inequality between the north and south, the UN secretary general has warned. The divide is not only “morally unacceptable” but dangerous, further threatening peace and security in a conflicted world. The global food, energy and financial crises unleashed by the war in Ukraine have hit countries already reeling from the pandemic and the climate crisis, reversing what had been a growing convergence between developed and developing…

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Life helps make almost half of all minerals on Earth

Life helps make almost half of all minerals on Earth

Joanna Thompson writes: The impact of Earth’s geology on life is easy to see, with organisms adapting to environments as different as deserts, mountains, forests and oceans. The full impact of life on geology, however, can be easy to miss. A comprehensive new survey of our planet’s minerals now corrects that omission. Among its findings is evidence that about half of all mineral diversity is the direct or indirect result of living things and their byproducts. It’s a discovery that…

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America is headed for disaster

America is headed for disaster

Yascha Mounk writes: Most of the time, politics is like a jumble of puzzle pieces. On any given day, there are hundreds of news stories, some promising, others ominous. How they fit together is anyone’s guess. Right now, it feels as though American politics is like a simple puzzle consisting of five pieces. While each piece of the puzzle has been widely discussed, it is easy to miss how they all fit together. But once you put the pieces together,…

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Real power in America no longer lies in the people. It resides at the Supreme Court

Real power in America no longer lies in the people. It resides at the Supreme Court

Mark Joseph Stern writes: If anyone still doubted that the Supreme Court served as the nation’s chief policymaking institution after Dobbs, Thursday should put that to rest. The court is ruthlessly efficient, putting our gridlocked Congress to shame with its speedy and definitive resolution of the most pressing issues facing the country today. It does not require hourslong hearings or endless negotiations to operate. The six-justice conservative majority chooses which conflicts to prioritize, takes up cases that present them, then…

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