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New Russian satellite-killer produces decades of fallout

New Russian satellite-killer produces decades of fallout

Cosmos reports: The International Space Station is going into lockdown every 93 minutes. Satellite operators are scrambling to see if their assets are at risk. All thanks to a “most irresponsible” Russian orbital weapons test. The world’s space agencies and industries went into high alert overnight and ground-based radars had begun issuing warnings about the appearance of a deadly new hail of debris in low Earth orbit. It was quickly determined that this was not the result of a random,…

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Could a new government report spell felony charges for Trump?

Could a new government report spell felony charges for Trump?

Slate reports: Last week, the Office of Special Counsel released a report finding that 13 senior Trump administration officials violated the Hatch Act, a statute prohibiting federal officials from using their positions to influence the outcome of partisan elections. In August 2020, we filed a Hatch Act complaint with that office against Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for, among other things, using a diplomatic mission to Jerusalem to broadcast a speech to the Republican National Convention in which he advocated…

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Mnuchin and Pompeo reportedly discussed a plan to oust Trump from office on January 6

Mnuchin and Pompeo reportedly discussed a plan to oust Trump from office on January 6

Rolling Stone reports: Steve Mnuchin and Mike Pompeo discussed a plan to remove Trump from office after the Jan. 6 insurrection, according to Jonathan Karl’s new book Betrayal, which chronicles the final days of the former president’s time in office. Then-Treasury Secretary Mnuchin reportedly called then-Secretary of State Pompeo on the evening of Jan. 6 to suggest using the 25th Amendment, which outlines the protocols for how to replace the president or vice president in the event of their death,…

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Tucker Carlson’s January 6 ‘documentary’ is his most nakedly fascist piece of propaganda yet

Tucker Carlson’s January 6 ‘documentary’ is his most nakedly fascist piece of propaganda yet

HuffPost reports: Tucker Carlson’s “Patriot Purge,” a revisionist history of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, clocks in at an easily binge-watchable 70 minutes, spread over three episodes. It’s produced with the aesthetics and narrative suspense of an action thriller. The good guys are the “patriots” who stormed the Capitol. The bad guys are those in the media and government who are persecuting them. “The left is hunting the right,” Carlson warns his viewers. It is the most…

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To be energy-efficient, brains predict their perceptions

To be energy-efficient, brains predict their perceptions

Anil Ananthaswamy writes: How our brain, a three-pound mass of tissue encased within a bony skull, creates perceptions from sensations is a long-standing mystery. Abundant evidence and decades of sustained research suggest that the brain cannot simply be assembling sensory information, as though it were putting together a jigsaw puzzle, to perceive its surroundings. This is borne out by the fact that the brain can construct a scene based on the light entering our eyes, even when the incoming information…

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The autocrats are winning

The autocrats are winning

Anne Applebaum writes: The future of democracy may well be decided in a drab office building on the outskirts of Vilnius, alongside a highway crammed with impatient drivers heading out of town. I met Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya there this spring, in a room that held a conference table, a whiteboard, and not much else. Her team—more than a dozen young journalists, bloggers, vloggers, and activists—was in the process of changing offices. But that wasn’t the only reason the space felt stale…

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‘COP26 hasn’t solved the problem’: Scientists react to UN climate deal

‘COP26 hasn’t solved the problem’: Scientists react to UN climate deal

Nature reports: Government ministers at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) have reached a deal on further steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions after discussions overran by 24 hours. On 13 November, representatives from nearly 200 countries agreed the final text of the deal, which pledges further action to curb emissions, more frequent updates on progress and additional funding for low- and middle-income countries. Researchers have expressed relief that the meeting did not fail to…

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Biden names Mitch Landrieu to lead roughly $1 trillion infrastructure plan

Biden names Mitch Landrieu to lead roughly $1 trillion infrastructure plan

The Wall Street Journal reports: President Biden named former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu to supervise the roughly $1 trillion infrastructure bill, turning to a veteran of Hurricane Katrina’s recovery to coordinate the rebuilding of roads, bridges and ports, the White House said. Mr. Biden chose Mr. Landrieu, a former Louisiana lieutenant governor who led the city of New Orleans from 2010 to 2018, because of his experience running the city and his relationships with state and municipal leaders around…

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Exasperation and dysfunction: Inside Kamala Harris’ frustrating start as vice president

Exasperation and dysfunction: Inside Kamala Harris’ frustrating start as vice president

CNN reports: Worn out by what they see as entrenched dysfunction and lack of focus, key West Wing aides have largely thrown up their hands at Vice President Kamala Harris and her staff — deciding there simply isn’t time to deal with them right now, especially at a moment when President Joe Biden faces quickly multiplying legislative and political concerns. The exasperation runs both ways. Interviews with nearly three dozen former and current Harris aides, administration officials, Democratic operatives, donors…

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Steve Bannon’s contempt indictment isn’t all that Trump foes think it is

Steve Bannon’s contempt indictment isn’t all that Trump foes think it is

Renato Mariotti writes: Attorney General Merrick Garland’s announcement that former Trump aide Steve Bannon was indicted by a federal grand jury for criminal contempt of Congress for flaunting the Jan. 6 committee investigating the attack on the Capitol has led some to believe that this could represent a turning point in the yearslong effort by House Democrats to conduct oversight of the Trump administration. Don’t count on it. Criminal contempt is a difficult charge to prosecute, which is one reason…

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His reasons for opposing Trump were Biblical. Now a top Christian editor is out

His reasons for opposing Trump were Biblical. Now a top Christian editor is out

The New York Times reports: When Marvin Olasky gets angry emails from readers — more often than not about an exposé of wrongdoing at an evangelical church, or about a story that reflects poorly on Donald Trump — he has a stock reply. “We think this is useful to the Church,” he tells disgruntled readers, “because we are also sinners.” As the longtime editor of World, a Christian news organization that has a website, a biweekly magazine and a set…

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Men are just as emotional as women, study suggests

Men are just as emotional as women, study suggests

Alison Escalante writes: It is not a compliment to call someone “emotional.” We incorrectly see emotion as the opposite of the “rational” or “effective,” even though neuroscientists have long known that emotion is what drives intelligent thought. Now scientists have just revealed another area where we get emotion completely wrong. Despite centuries of stereotypes, a new study finds that men are just as emotional as women. Men have the same ups and downs, highs and lows as women do. And…

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After the failure of Cop26, there’s only one last hope for our survival

After the failure of Cop26, there’s only one last hope for our survival

George Monbiot writes: Now it’s a straight fight for survival. The Glasgow Climate Pact, for all its restrained and diplomatic language, looks like a suicide pact. After so many squandered years of denial, distraction and delay, it’s too late for incremental change. A fair chance of preventing more than 1.5C of heating means cutting greenhouse gas emissions by about 7% every year: faster than they fell in 2020, at the height of the pandemic. What we needed at the Cop26…

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COP26 negotiators do little to cut emissions, but allow oil and gas executives to rest easy

COP26 negotiators do little to cut emissions, but allow oil and gas executives to rest easy

Inside Climate News reports: As the debate continues over whether the global climate summit in Scotland will significantly move the needle on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, one thing is clear: The oil and gas industry still holds its grip on the world’s economic and political systems. Many climate advocates and vulnerable nations entered this year’s conference hoping to address an enduring failure of the Paris Agreement, which said nothing about fossil fuels. But a draft agreement released on Saturday included…

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