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Republicans begin adjusting to a fierce abortion backlash

Republicans begin adjusting to a fierce abortion backlash

The New York Times reports: Republican candidates, facing a stark reality check from Kansas voters, are softening their once-uncompromising stands against abortion as they move toward the general election, recognizing that strict bans are unpopular and that the issue may be a major driver in the fall campaigns. In swing states and even conservative corners of the country, several Republicans have shifted their talk on abortion bans, newly emphasizing support for exceptions. Some have noticeably stopped discussing details at all….

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Fueled by virtually unrestricted social media access, white nationalism is on the rise and attracting violent young white men

Fueled by virtually unrestricted social media access, white nationalism is on the rise and attracting violent young white men

White nationalist Dylann Roof appears in court on June 19, 2015, after his arrest in the mass shootings at a Black church in South Carolina. Grace Beahm-Pool/Getty Images By Sophie Bjork-James, Vanderbilt University White nationalists keep showing up in the hearings of the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. Evidence is mounting that white nationalist groups who want to establish an all-white state played a significant role in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol that left…

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Italy confronts its fascist past as the right prepares for power

Italy confronts its fascist past as the right prepares for power

Politico reports: There are some crimes that come to define a moment in history. The brutal killing of a Nigerian street vendor in Italy may be one. The public discourse over the murder of Alika Ogorchukwu, beaten to death in front of bystanders in the coastal town of Civitanova Marche, has laid bare the divisions in society as Italians prepare to vote in a snap election next month. For some, the killing is the fault of years of hate-stoking anti-immigrant…

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The next war: How Russian hybrid aggression could threaten Moldova

The next war: How Russian hybrid aggression could threaten Moldova

In a report for the European Council on Foreign Relations, Dumitru Minzarari writes: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted policymakers in the region and beyond to examine the chances of Moscow embarking on a similar action elsewhere in the neighbourhood. High on the list of at-risk states is Moldova. As a former Soviet republic, Moldova regularly finds itself subject to senior Russian figures’ suggestions that the country lies within Russia’s supposed “sphere of influence”. Despite this, Western policymakers and Moldovan…

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Trump lawyers in talks with Justice Department about January 6 criminal probe

Trump lawyers in talks with Justice Department about January 6 criminal probe

CNN reports: Former President Donald Trump’s legal team is in direct communication with Justice Department officials, the first sign of talks between the two sides as the criminal probe into January 6, 2021, accelerates, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. The talks revolve around whether Trump would be able to shield conversations he had while he was president from federal investigators. In recent weeks, investigators have moved aggressively into Trump’s orbit, subpoenaing top former White House officials, focusing on…

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Trump likely to be criminally charged in DOJ election probe, says ex-Attorney General Eric Holder

Trump likely to be criminally charged in DOJ election probe, says ex-Attorney General Eric Holder

CNBC reports: Former President Donald Trump “probably” will be indicted on criminal charges along with officials in his White House as part of a Justice Department investigation of efforts to reverse the 2020 election results nationally, ex-Attorney General Eric Holder said in an interview Thursday. But Holder suggested that before that happens, Trump is more likely to first face possible criminal charges from the Georgia state prosecutor who is investigating attempts by Trump and his allies to undo President Joe…

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A copy of Alex Jones’ cellphone will be turned over to the January 6 committee ‘immediately’

A copy of Alex Jones’ cellphone will be turned over to the January 6 committee ‘immediately’

Vice News reports: After Wednesday’s revelation that an attorney for Alex Jones accidentally turned over a copy of his entire cellphone to the lawyers suing him on behalf of Sandy Hook parents, a couple of things were obvious. The first was that Alex Jones must be turning redder than ever; the second was that the Congressional committee holding hearings on the January 6 insurrection would probably want those records, too. In an emergency hearing this morning, an attorney for the…

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Kansas result suggests 4 out of 5 states would favor abortion rights in similar vote

Kansas result suggests 4 out of 5 states would favor abortion rights in similar vote

The New York Times reports: There was every reason to expect a close election. Instead, Tuesday’s resounding victory for abortion rights supporters in Kansas offered some of the most concrete evidence yet that the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has shifted the political landscape. The victory, by a 59-41 margin in a Republican stronghold, suggests Democrats will be the energized party on an issue where Republicans have usually had an enthusiasm advantage. The Kansas vote implies that…

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A Nazi taught interrogation tactics to Syrians and Egyptians

A Nazi taught interrogation tactics to Syrians and Egyptians

“Ziad Khoury” writes: Damascus, 1988. Plainclothes security personnel hover constantly around the main entrance of an elegant residential building. There are whispers that an “important” German fugitive lives on the second floor. As teenagers back then, whenever we got too close to that building, the security officers would order us to disperse, warning that only residents were allowed on the sidewalk. The shutters were always closed, but occasionally, the occupant of that sunless flat would come out for a walk,…

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Surprise climate bill will meet ambitious goal of 40% cut in U.S. emissions, energy models predict

Surprise climate bill will meet ambitious goal of 40% cut in U.S. emissions, energy models predict

Science reports: For climate advocates in the United States, the past month felt like a roller coaster. In early July, negotiations in Congress on clean energy legislation of historic proportions collapsed, and the effort seemed doomed. But backroom talks continued and last week key senators suddenly announced an agreement on a $369 billion bill that would provide the most climate funding ever seen in the United States. “It was the best kept secret, potentially, in Washington history,” says Leah Stokes,…

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Why the defense of abortion in Kansas is so powerful

Why the defense of abortion in Kansas is so powerful

Sarah Smarsh writes: Lines of Kansas voters, resolute in the August sun and 100-degree heat, stretched beyond the doors of polling sites and wrapped around buildings on Tuesday to cast ballots in a primary election. A few suffered heat exhaustion. Firefighters passed out bottles of water. When polls closed at 7 p.m. Central time, many were still in line and legally entitled to get their turn. The Wichita Eagle reported that one Wichita woman cast the final vote at her…

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How abortion rights supporters won in conservative Kansas

How abortion rights supporters won in conservative Kansas

The New York Times reports: Going into Election Day, many observers believed the outcome of the referendum would be determined in increasingly Democratic areas like the Kansas City suburbs — that is, by whether enough voters turned out there to compensate for the very conservative lean of the rest of the state. But abortion opponents did surprisingly poorly even in the reddest places. Consider far western Kansas, a rural region along the Colorado border that votes overwhelmingly Republican. In Hamilton…

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The violent fantasies of Blake Masters

The violent fantasies of Blake Masters

Sam Adler-Bell writes: Blake Masters’s first campaign ad opens with a shot of the Sonoran Desert. A plaintive piano theme tinkles as Mr. Masters, a 35-year-old venture capitalist and, as of early Wednesday morning, the Republican nominee for Senate in Arizona, delivers a monologue in voice-over. “The truth is, we can’t take America for granted,” he says. “And if we want to keep it, we’ve got to fight for it.” The angles are wide, and the focus is deep. The…

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Senate overwhelmingly backs NATO membership for Finland, Sweden

Senate overwhelmingly backs NATO membership for Finland, Sweden

Politico reports: The Senate on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to admit Finland and Sweden to NATO, putting the military alliance on track for a historic expansion in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine. With 95 senators voting in favor, the defense treaty heads to President Joe Biden’s desk where he is expected to ratify it in the coming days, making the U.S. the 22nd NATO nation to give its approval. All 30 NATO members are expected to complete the ratification process…

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Pelosi stares down Xi threats, giving China a reality check

Pelosi stares down Xi threats, giving China a reality check

Bloomberg reports: In roughly 24 hours, Chinese officials and propagandists went from warning of a powder keg to pleading for patience as Beijing struggled to articulate a cohesive response to Nancy Pelosi’s landmark trip to Taiwan. Ahead of Pelosi’s visit, the first by a US House speaker in 25 years, President Xi Jinping warned the Biden administration would get “burned” while nationalist Chinese commentators suggested she would “ignite the powder keg.” Yet after Pelosi landed safely, stayed the night in…

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Monkeypox is about to become the next public health failure

Monkeypox is about to become the next public health failure

Scott Gottlieb writes: When about 100 cases of ‌‌monkeypox had been confirmed or suspected in Europe‌ in May, it was clear the virus was spreading outside the areas where it was previously seen‌‌. Some on social media ‌‌suggested it might already be ‌spreading rapidly in communities in Europe and the ‌United States. These reports should have been a code red for federal infectious disease response. But it wasn’t until late June that the C‌enters for Disease Control and Prevention expanded…

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