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‘Invisible killer’: Fossil fuels caused 20 percent of deaths globally in 2018, research finds

‘Invisible killer’: Fossil fuels caused 20 percent of deaths globally in 2018, research finds

The Guardian reports: Air pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil was responsible for 8.7m deaths globally in 2018, a staggering one in five of all people who died that year, new research has found. Countries with the most prodigious consumption of fossil fuels to power factories, homes and vehicles are suffering the highest death tolls, with the study finding more than one in 10 deaths in both the US and Europe were caused…

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How the GOP allied itself with armed militias

How the GOP allied itself with armed militias

The New York Times reports: Dozens of heavily armed militiamen crowded into the Michigan Statehouse last April to protest a stay-at-home order by the Democratic governor to slow the pandemic. Chanting and stomping their feet, they halted legislative business, tried to force their way onto the floor and brandished rifles from the gallery over lawmakers below. Initially, Republican leaders had some misgivings about their new allies. “The optics weren’t good. Next time tell them not to bring guns,” complained Mike…

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This is not representative democracy

This is not representative democracy

Dahlia Lithwick writes: [B]eyond the political message that House impeachment managers and Senate Democrats will convey at trial—that Republicans have opted, once again, to be the party of Trump and violent incitement and that his efforts to overturn both the vote and the Constitution are just fine—there is another vitally important message that will be conveyed this week, no matter the outcome. That message is less a political signal about the difference between the two parties so much as it…

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My fellow Republicans, convicting Trump is necessary to save America

My fellow Republicans, convicting Trump is necessary to save America

Rep. Adam Kinzinger writes: Winston Churchill famously said, “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” All Americans, but especially my fellow Republicans, should remember this wisdom during the Senate’s trial of former president Donald Trump. I say this as a lifelong Republican who voted to impeach Trump last month. Virtually all my colleagues on the right side of the aisle took the opposite path. Most felt it was a waste of time — political theater…

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Over a dozen Capitol rioters say they were following Trump’s directions

Over a dozen Capitol rioters say they were following Trump’s directions

ABC News reports: With former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial starting today, Senate Democrats are focused on trying to tie a direct line between Trump’s rhetoric and the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters. An ABC News investigation into the nearly 200 accused rioters facing federal charges for their alleged involvement at the Capitol — based on court filings, military records, interviews, and available news reports– found that at least fifteen individuals who stormed the building…

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Trump plans a reemergence and some retribution after impeachment

Trump plans a reemergence and some retribution after impeachment

Politico reports: Three weeks ago may have been the nadir of Donald Trump’s political influence. A meager crowd of supporters gathered to send him off to Florida, he’d lost access to Twitter and the Senate’s most powerful Republican, Mitch McConnell, seemed fully prepared to ghost him out of the party. Now, heading into what could have been an historic bipartisan rebuke, the former president and his team are confident both of his acquittal and that he’ll come out of the…

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Ukraine releases ‘shock’ call with Giuliani as Trump’s second impeachment trial begins

Ukraine releases ‘shock’ call with Giuliani as Trump’s second impeachment trial begins

Time reports: “Let these investigations go forward,” Rudy Giuliani told the presidential headquarters in Kyiv, Ukraine, his voice turning impatient. “Get someone to investigate this.” On the other end of the line, hunched over a speakerphone, two Ukrainian officials listened in disbelief as Giuliani demanded probes that could help his client, then-President Donald Trump, win another term in office. The 40-minute call, a transcript of which was obtained by TIME, provides the clearest picture yet of Giuliani’s attempts to pressure…

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The internet rewired our brains. Michael Goldhaber predicted it would

The internet rewired our brains. Michael Goldhaber predicted it would

Charlie Warzel writes: Michael Goldhaber is the internet prophet you’ve never heard of. Here’s a short list of things he saw coming: the complete dominance of the internet, increased shamelessness in politics, terrorists co-opting social media, the rise of reality television, personal websites, oversharing, personal essay, fandoms and online influencer culture — along with the near destruction of our ability to focus. Most of this came to him in the mid-1980s, when Mr. Goldhaber, a former theoretical physicist, had a…

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Not all early human societies were small scale egalitarian bands

Not all early human societies were small scale egalitarian bands

Manvir Singh writes: The Harvard Kalahari Project propelled the !Kung into anthropological stardom. By 1976, researchers on the team had published more than 100 academic articles, on topics as varied as infant care, trance healing, and blood pressure. The research sparked more interest, which drew in more anthropologists, which produced more research. In a video for the Annual Review of Anthropology in 2012, DeVore speculated that there was no culture ‘outside the West that has as much fine-grained data on…

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The Republican Party is radicalizing against democracy

The Republican Party is radicalizing against democracy

Chris Hayes writes: The Republican Party is radicalizing against democracy. This is the central political fact of our moment. Instead of organizing its coalition around shared policy goals, the GOP has chosen to emphasize hatred and fear of its political opponents, who—they warn—will destroy their supporters and the country. Those Manichaean stakes are used to justify every effort to retain power, and make keeping power the GOP’s highest purpose. We are living with a deadly example of just how far…

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Witnesses could prevent a foregone conclusion in second impeachment trial

Witnesses could prevent a foregone conclusion in second impeachment trial

Renato Mariotti writes: House impeachment managers are starting Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial with the odds stacked against them. The jury has already indicated how it will vote, with 45 Republican Senators suggesting that the charge of inciting insurrection should have been dismissed before trial. To pull out a win, House impeachment managers will need to take some risks and shake things up in this week’s impeachment trial. Any good trial lawyer knows that when you’re behind, you have to…

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Trump’s legal team, when arguing the opposite, repeatedly cites scholar who says there is a ‘solid basis’ for post-presidential impeachments

Trump’s legal team, when arguing the opposite, repeatedly cites scholar who says there is a ‘solid basis’ for post-presidential impeachments

Law & Crime reports: Donald Trump’s defense team was accused of flagrantly misrepresenting the work of a constitutional scholar when asserting that the former president’s impeachment is unconstitutional. Attorneys representing Trump filed a legal brief on Monday arguing that the U.S. Constitution only allows for the impeachment of sitting officials and therefore cannot be utilized against a president who has already left office. Similar to the House Impeachment Managers’ pre-trial filing, the brief relied heavily on a highly-regarded 2001 academic…

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For Donald Trump, Sarah Palin’s fall shows the limits of media obsession

For Donald Trump, Sarah Palin’s fall shows the limits of media obsession

Peter Hamby writes: Palin’s stardom continued unabated all the way through late 2011, a full three years after her arrival on the national scene. Her flirtation with running for the 2012 Republican nomination—never ruling out a bid and allowing supporters to build an operation for her in Iowa—kept her in the headlines. While dancing around a bid of her own, Palin threw carefree darts at declared candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Perry. Her newest adviser, a filmmaker named Steve Bannon,…

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Georgia Secretary of State’s office launches probe into Trump

Georgia Secretary of State’s office launches probe into Trump

Reuters reports: The Georgia Secretary of State’s office opened an investigation on Monday into former U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 election results, an official in the office told Reuters. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office had faced calls to open a probe after Trump was recorded in a Jan. 2 phone call pressuring Raffensperger to overturn the state’s election results based on unfounded voter fraud claims. “The Secretary of State’s office investigates complaints it receives,”…

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