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Pelosi and China: The making of a progressive hawk

Pelosi and China: The making of a progressive hawk

Politico reports: When Chinese officials chased Nancy Pelosi out of Tiananmen Square 31 years ago, the incident launched a surprising foreign policy approach that has pitted her against presidents of both parties and at times aligned her with conservatives. Now, she wants to bookend her career on the world stage with a trip to Taiwan — whether the White House likes it or not. The speaker’s strong progressive stance on global affairs dates back to her tenure atop the House…

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There is a way to stop Russia making massive profits from oil

There is a way to stop Russia making massive profits from oil

In an editorial, the New York Times says: The United States and its allies are leaning heavily on economic sanctions to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. But a key element in that strategy, restrictions on Russian oil exports, mostly appears to be causing pain for ordinary people in other countries. European nations, in particular, are causing considerable damage to their own economies without reducing Russia’s oil revenue. Nations seeking to help Ukraine are aiming at the wrong target….

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U.S. power companies secretly spending millions to protect profits and fight clean energy

U.S. power companies secretly spending millions to protect profits and fight clean energy

The Guardian reports: The CEO of the biggest power company in the US had a problem. A Democratic state senator was proposing a law that could cut into Florida Power & Light’s (FPL) profits. Landlords would be able to sell cheap rooftop solar power directly to their tenants – bypassing FPL and its monopoly on electricity. “I want you to make his life a living hell … seriously,” FPL’s CEO Eric Silagy wrote in a 2019 email to two of…

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What’s in the ‘total game changer’ climate bill nobody saw coming

What’s in the ‘total game changer’ climate bill nobody saw coming

Vox reports: Democrats may be on the verge of passing historic climate legislation after all. The $369 billion of climate spending in the Inflation Reduction Act that Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced on Wednesday includes funding for clean energy and electric vehicle tax breaks, domestic manufacturing of batteries and solar panels, and pollution reduction. If the bill’s policies work as intended, it would push American consumers and industry away from reliance on fossil fuels, penalize fossil fuel companies for excess…

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The enemy within: How Russia spread a secret web of agents across Ukraine

The enemy within: How Russia spread a secret web of agents across Ukraine

Reuters reports: When the first armoured vehicles of Russia’s invading army reached the heart of Chornobyl nuclear plant on the afternoon of Feb. 24, they encountered a Ukrainian unit charged with defending the notorious facility. In less than two hours, and without a fight, the 169 members of the Ukrainian National Guard laid down their weapons. Russia had taken Chornobyl, a repository for tonnes of nuclear material and a key staging post on the approach to Kyiv. The fall of…

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Bracing for long conflict, Kyiv returns to near normality, with theaters and dance parties

Bracing for long conflict, Kyiv returns to near normality, with theaters and dance parties

The Wall Street Journal reports: Opera singer Oleksandr Melnychuk picked up a shotgun shortly after Russian tanks rolled to Kyiv’s outskirts in February, joining a territorial defense battalion to protect northern approaches to the Ukrainian capital. The city of some 3.5 million emptied, with antitank barriers blocking the streets and artillery cannonades keeping remaining residents awake at night. Kyiv’s opera and ballet theater was shut down, as were all restaurants, bars, museums, shopping malls and pretty much everything other than…

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States opposed to abortion are more willing to let mothers and children die

States opposed to abortion are more willing to let mothers and children die

The New York Times reports: In Mississippi, which brought the abortion case that ended Roe v. Wade before the Supreme Court, Gov. Tate Reeves vowed that the state would now “take every step necessary to support mothers and children.” Today, however, Mississippi fares poorly on just about any measure of that goal. Its infant and maternal mortality rates are among the worst in the nation. State leaders have rejected the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion, leaving an estimated 43,000 women…

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Inside the UK’s Silicon Valley for nuclear fusion, where unlimited energy is becoming a reality

Inside the UK’s Silicon Valley for nuclear fusion, where unlimited energy is becoming a reality

BBC Science Focus reports: Flick through any collection of popular science magazines from the last 50 years and the chances are that you will encounter a feature about nuclear fusion. Nuclear fusion is the process of joining lightweight atoms together to release energy; it is the reason the Sun and the rest of the stars shine, and recreating that process on Earth promises an abundant form of low-carbon energy. As you look through the archival material, keep an eye open…

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Under capitalism, the colonization of space means the destruction of Earth

Under capitalism, the colonization of space means the destruction of Earth

Srećko Horvat writes: In February 2022, the Adam Smith Institute published a report claiming that the Moon should be privatized to help wipe out poverty on Earth. According to the report, the Moon should be divided into parcels of land and assigned to various countries to rent out to businesses, which would boost space tourism, exploration, and discovery. For now, thankfully, there is a treaty that stands in the way of such plans. The Outer Space Treaty was drawn up…

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Four revelations from the Webb telescope about distant galaxies

Four revelations from the Webb telescope about distant galaxies

Nature reports: NASA built its state-of-the-art James Webb Space Telescope to peer into the distant Universe and back towards the dawn of time — and it’s already doing so spectacularly. In the two weeks since Webb’s first science images and data became available for astronomers to work with, they have reported a flood of preliminary discoveries, including multiple contenders for what could be the most distant galaxy ever seen. Webb’s images reveal a wealth of galaxies glimmering in the distant…

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Trump’s gang of ‘malevolent nincompoops’ is on a collision course to face criminal charges

Trump’s gang of ‘malevolent nincompoops’ is on a collision course to face criminal charges

  The New York Times reports: Federal prosecutors have directly asked witnesses in recent days about former President Donald J. Trump’s involvement in efforts to reverse his election loss, a person familiar with the testimony said on Tuesday, suggesting that the Justice Department’s criminal investigation has moved into a more aggressive and politically fraught phase. Mr. Trump’s personal role in elements of the push to overturn his loss in 2020 to Joseph R. Biden Jr. has long been established, both…

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RNC warns Trump: If you run for president, we stop paying your legal bills

RNC warns Trump: If you run for president, we stop paying your legal bills

ABC News reports: Republican leaders who worry that Donald Trump could hurt their midterm chances by announcing a presidential run too soon are hoping he’ll be dissuaded from doing so by the prospect of losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal payments, according to an RNC official. Since October 2021, the Republican National Committee has paid nearly $2 million to law firms representing Trump as part of his defense against personal litigation and government investigations. But an RNC official…

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Without media accountability, Republicans will govern like a one-party state

Without media accountability, Republicans will govern like a one-party state

Jonathan Chait writes: Last week, the Florida Republican Party held its annual Sunshine Summit, which was marked by a new policy: The mainstream media was not permitted to cover the event. Instead, the only “news” would be transmitted through conservative-approved sources. “We in the state of Florida are not going to allow legacy media outlets to be involved in our primaries,” Florida governor Ron DeSantis said. “I’m not going to have a bunch of left-wing media people asking our candidates…

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One America News, a dependable Trump promoter, faces a ‘death blow’

One America News, a dependable Trump promoter, faces a ‘death blow’

The New York Times reports: The future of One America News, which established itself as a powerful voice in conservative media by promoting some of the most outlandish falsehoods about the 2020 election, is in serious doubt as major carriers drop it from their lineups and defamation lawsuits threaten to drain its finances. By the end of this week, the cable network will have lost its presence in some 20 million homes this year. The most recent blow came from…

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