How scientists took the first picture of a black hole

How scientists took the first picture of a black hole

Science News reports: Black holes are extremely camera shy. Supermassive black holes, ensconced in the centers of galaxies, make themselves visible by spewing bright jets of charged particles or by flinging away or ripping up nearby stars. Up close, these behemoths are surrounded by glowing accretion disks of infalling material. But because a black hole’s extreme gravity prevents light from escaping, the dark hearts of these cosmic heavy hitters remain entirely invisible. Luckily, there’s a way to “see” a black…

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Trump wants El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to stop emigration by force of will. They can’t

Trump wants El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to stop emigration by force of will. They can’t

Eliza Willis and Janet Seiz write: Making good on previous threats, President Donald Trump recently declared an end to aid to El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, blaming the three governments for failing to stop the flow of their citizens to the United States. “They have ALL been taking U.S. money for years,” he tweeted, “and doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for us.” If his public statements are any guide, Trump appears to believe that the three countries—Central America’s so-called Northern Triangle—can shut…

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Rep. Ilhan Omar says Stephen Miller has forgotten his immigrant roots

Rep. Ilhan Omar says Stephen Miller has forgotten his immigrant roots

"If my nephew’s ideas on immigration had been in force a century ago, our family would have been wiped out," writes the uncle of Stephen Miller, one of Trump's senior advisors, for @POLITICOMag https://t.co/00qTNIYbtI — POLITICO (@politico) April 9, 2019 The Hill reports: Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) defended herself Tuesday against criticism she received after calling White House senior adviser Stephen Miller “a white nationalist.” “It is the most bizarre thing,” Omar told CNN. “You know we are talking about…

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Migrants’ stories: Why they flee

Migrants’ stories: Why they flee

A man hugs his family before leaving for the U.S. border with a migrant caravan from San Salvador, El Salvador, Jan. 16, 2019. AP/Salvador Melendez By Anthony W. Fontes, American University School of International Service Massive influxes of Central American families seeking asylum in the United States are overwhelming U.S. immigration facilities. The crisis along the U.S. southern border led directly to the forced resignation on April 7 of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, whom President Donald Trump believed ineffectively…

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Climate change is already battering this West African city

Climate change is already battering this West African city

Peter Yeung writes: According to the United Nations Development Program, by 2050, some 200 million people around the world could be displaced due to shoreline erosion, coastal flooding, and agricultural disruption. From Lisbon to Mumbai and Miami, cities across the planet are under threat. Loïc Brüning, a Ph.D. candidate at Switzerland’s University of Neuchâtel, has been researching the effects of climate change on Saint-Louis since 2016. “It’s a huge problem for developing countries because they don’t have the resources to…

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Egypt’s prisons are becoming recruiting grounds for ISIS

Egypt’s prisons are becoming recruiting grounds for ISIS

Amy Woodyatt writes: As the Islamic State suffered defeat in its final Syrian stronghold of Baghouz last month, the White House declared victory over the self-declared caliphate, announcing via Twitter that it has been “obliterated off the map.” But human rights organizations and activists are warning that far from the front lines, recruitment for the Islamic State and other extremist groups is increasing in Egypt’s prisons, where appalling prisoner conditions have accelerated recruitment. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has presided…

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Putin’s Russia feels increasingly like a fortress under siege

Putin’s Russia feels increasingly like a fortress under siege

Vladimir Kara-Murza writes: In October 1998, a court in St. Petersburg began hearings in a case against Alexander Nikitin, a retired Russian naval officer who alerted the world to the environmental dangers of a decaying nuclear submarine fleet in Russia’s far north. For partnering with a Norwegian environmental group on a report on nuclear safety, Nikitin was charged with “revealing state secrets.” He became the first person in post-Soviet Russia to be designated by Amnesty International as a prisoner of…

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The Brexiteers who object to being called ‘white’ prefer to be called ‘the people’

The Brexiteers who object to being called ‘white’ prefer to be called ‘the people’

On Channel 4 News on March 29, veteran news broadcaster, Jon Snow, candidly observed he had “never seen so many white people in one place,” in reference to the crowd of pro-Brexit protesters gathered in Westminster on the day the UK was meant to leave the EU. What was surely an honest statement, stung some sensitive skin. His remark drew 2,644 complaints sent to the British regulatory body, Ofcom, which prohibits the use of offensive language on television. Sputnik columnist,…

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Trump instructs border agents to break law; also wants more widespread family separations

Trump instructs border agents to break law; also wants more widespread family separations

CNN reports: Last Friday, the President visited Calexico, California, where he said, “We’re full, our system’s full, our country’s full — can’t come in! Our country is full, what can you do? We can’t handle any more, our country is full. Can’t come in, I’m sorry. It’s very simple.” Behind the scenes, two sources told CNN, the President told border agents to not let migrants in. Tell them we don’t have the capacity, he said. If judges give you trouble,…

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Stephen Miller using ‘intimidation’ to further hardline immigration agenda at DHS during Trump purge

Stephen Miller using ‘intimidation’ to further hardline immigration agenda at DHS during Trump purge

Politico reports: As President Donald Trump roils the capital over illegal immigration, his influential aide Stephen Miller is playing a more aggressive behind-the-scenes role in a wider administration shakeup. Frustrated by the lack of headway on a signature Trump campaign issue, the senior White House adviser has been arguing for personnel changes to bring in more like-minded hardliners, according to three people familiar with the situation — including the ouster of a key immigration official at the Department of Homeland…

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Trump is helping Egypt’s dictator entrench his power

Trump is helping Egypt’s dictator entrench his power

Michele Dunne writes: As someone who has watched the Egyptian people struggle against dictators for years, it is hard to fathom the fact that President Donald Trump will welcome Egypt’s brutal military leader, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, for a White House visit this week. Eight years after Egyptians went to the streets to remove 30-year ruler Hosni Mubarak and only weeks after Algerians did the same to remove 20-year autocrat Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the White House is betting on Sisi. It’s an…

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Trump’s devoted supporters have turned him into a folk hero

Trump’s devoted supporters have turned him into a folk hero

Charles M Blow writes: My mother is a devout Democrat, but also one of the most socially conservative people I know. This is typical of our home state of Louisiana among black citizens — they can be as conservative as any Republican, but are also completely convinced, by dint of history and experience, that the Republican Party not only abides racists, it courts them, and therefore they would die rather than vote red. My mother is so austere that she…

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Bulldozing mosques: The latest tactic in China’s war against Uighur culture

Bulldozing mosques: The latest tactic in China’s war against Uighur culture

Rachel Harris writes: Ten years ago, I started researching Islam among the Uighurs. I spent my summers travelling around the Xinjiang region in western China. I took long bus journeys through the desert to Kashgar, Yarkand and Kucha, slept on brick beds in family homes in remote villages, stopped off at Sufi shrines, and visited many, many mosques. My husband was working with me, and we dragged our kids along for the ride. The kids were quite small and not…

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