When is ‘recyclable’ not really recyclable? When the plastics industry gets to define what the word means

When is ‘recyclable’ not really recyclable? When the plastics industry gets to define what the word means

By Lisa Song This story was originally published by ProPublica Is there anything more pathetic than a used plastic bag? They rip and tear. They float away in the slightest breeze. Left in the wild, their mangled remains entangle birds and choke sea turtles that mistake them for edible jellyfish. It takes 1,000 years for the bags to disintegrate, shedding hormone-disrupting chemicals as they do. And that outcome is all but inevitable, because no system exists to routinely recycle them….

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The phageome: A hidden kingdom within your gut

The phageome: A hidden kingdom within your gut

By Amber Dance, Knowable Magazine You’ve probably heard of the microbiome — the hordes of bacteria and other tiny life forms that live in our guts. Well, it turns out those bacteria have viruses that exist in and around them — with important consequences for both them and us. Meet the phageome. There are billions, perhaps even trillions of these viruses, known as bacteriophages (“bacteria eaters” in Greek) or just “phages” to their friends, inside the human digestive system. Phageome…

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Daniel Levy: U.S. is a member of ‘the axis of Zionist extremism’

Daniel Levy: U.S. is a member of ‘the axis of Zionist extremism’

  The United States, Qatar and Egypt are urging Israel and Hamas to hold a new round of negotiations to finalize a ceasefire deal in Gaza. However, Hamas is urging mediators to enforce the ceasefire terms proposed by President Biden in May that Hamas already agreed to and that Israel rejected. Daniel Levy, president of the U.S./Middle East Project and a former Israeli peace negotiator under Prime Ministers Ehud Barak and Yitzhak Rabin, says U.S.-led efforts for a ceasefire are…

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How Ukraine caught Putin’s forces off guard in Kursk — and why

How Ukraine caught Putin’s forces off guard in Kursk — and why

Michael Weiss and James Rushton write: “Russia’s borders do not end anywhere” ran Vladimir Putin’s electoral slogan in January 2024, in seeming justification of a war of conquest in Ukraine meant to be over shortly after it began. But in a surprise turn two and a half years after the full-scale invasion, Ukraine decided to make good on Putin’s loose definition of sovereignty by invading the Kursk region in southern Russia on Aug. 6, in what has become the largest…

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Trump allies fear he’s sabotaging his own campaign

Trump allies fear he’s sabotaging his own campaign

Gabriel Sherman writes: In the hierarchy of Donald Trump’s put-downs, “choker” is one of the worst things he can label someone. Trump deploys the sports-world diss to paint his adversaries as weak-kneed losers who crack under pressure like a jittery golfer missing a two-foot putt. Mitt Romney, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz––all chokers, according to Trump. So it’s ironic how the former president’s allies are describing the way he has blown his once commanding lead in the presidential race. “It’s…

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How Trump’s infatuation with a racist conspiracy theorist is impacting the campaign

How Trump’s infatuation with a racist conspiracy theorist is impacting the campaign

Judd Legum and Noel Sims write: Laura Loomer is a far-right internet personality and former Republican congressional candidate. She has said the United States should be a “white Judeo-Christian ethnostate,” called for the creation of a ride-sharing app like Uber that bans “Islamic immigrant driver[s],” collaborated with Alex Jones to suggest mass shootings were staged by the government, celebrated the deaths of 2,000 refugees in the Mediterranean, and claimed January 6 should be a national holiday to “celebrate the bravery of American patriots who protested…

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A Florida referendum is putting Trump in a bind on abortion

A Florida referendum is putting Trump in a bind on abortion

Politico reports: Donald Trump still doesn’t have an answer on how he’ll vote on an abortion measure in his home state. And it’s about to become a lot harder for him to avoid it. Four months ago, Trump announced he favored leaving the issue of abortion to the states. Now, state-level referendums on the lightning-rod issue are making ballots across the country — including, on Monday, in the battleground state of Arizona, and on Tuesday in Missouri. And in Florida,…

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Asheville NC forces Trump campaign to pay $82k upfront for small venue so the city doesn’t get stiffed

Asheville NC forces Trump campaign to pay $82k upfront for small venue so the city doesn’t get stiffed

Newsweek reports: Former President Donald Trump’s campaign was forced to pay more than $82,000 in advance for this week’s rally in Asheville, North Carolina. Trump is set to take the stage at Asheville’s Thomas Wolfe Auditorium on Wednesday after paying $82,247.60 to the city for a “last-minute” rally, according to Blue Ridge Public Radio (BPR). The campaign, struggling to effectively blunt the momentum of Vice President Kamala Harris, reportedly first contacted the city about the rally on August 8. City…

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Project 2025 promises billions of tonnes more carbon pollution, study finds

Project 2025 promises billions of tonnes more carbon pollution, study finds

The Guardian reports: Project 2025 promises billions of tonnes more carbon pollution – study Experts say climate policies contained within rightwing manifesto would wreck US climate targets and cost jobs The impact of Donald Trump enacting the climate policies of the rightwing Project 2025 would result in billions of tonnes of extra carbon pollution, wrecking the US’s climate targets, as well as wiping out clean energy investments and more than a million jobs, a new analysis finds. Should Trump retake…

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This oil tycoon brings in millions for Trump, and may set his agenda

This oil tycoon brings in millions for Trump, and may set his agenda

The Washington Post reports: After Donald Trump asked the oil industry to contribute $1 billion to his presidential campaign in April, oil baron Harold Hamm immediately started working the phones. Hamm, the billionaire founder of Continental Resources, called other oil executives and encouraged them to attend fundraisers and open their wallets, according to people with knowledge of the outreach who, like others interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private discussions. “We’ve got to do…

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UAW brands Donald Trump and Elon Musk as ‘scabs’ — then hits them with federal labor charges

UAW brands Donald Trump and Elon Musk as ‘scabs’ — then hits them with federal labor charges

The New Republic reports: Donald Trump is already receiving pushback after threatening striking workers in his trainwreck interview with Elon Musk on Monday night. “I mean, I look at what you do,” Trump told Musk. “You walk in, you say, ‘You want to quit?’ They go on strike, I won’t mention the name of the company, but they go on strike, and you say, ‘That’s OK, you’re all gone. You’re all gone. So, every one of you is gone.’” In…

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Workers allege ‘nightmare’ conditions at Kentucky startup JD Vance helped fund

Workers allege ‘nightmare’ conditions at Kentucky startup JD Vance helped fund

CNN reports: As a venture capitalist, JD Vance repeatedly touted his guiding principles for investing in a company: A business should not only turn a profit, it should also help American communities. That’s why, he said, he invested in AppHarvest, a startup that promised a high-tech future for farming and for the workers of Eastern Kentucky. Over a four-year span, Vance was an early investor, board member and public pitchman for the indoor-agriculture company. “It’s not just a good investment…

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The ‘gray zone’ comes to Russia

The ‘gray zone’ comes to Russia

Anna Nemtsova writes: Last week, civilians in Russia experienced something new—something Chechens, Georgians, Syrians, Ukrainians, and other civilians in the path of Russia’s military have known about for decades. After Russian tanks withdraw and shelling stops, Moscow holds certain hot spots in stasis. They become “gray zones”: neither at war nor fully at peace, wrecked by heavy artillery, psychologically traumatized and economically ruined, under Russia’s boot but subject to its neglect. The gray zone has now come to the Russian…

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Ukrainian troops are digging trenches in Russia’s Kursk Oblast. It’s a sign they plan to stay

Ukrainian troops are digging trenches in Russia’s Kursk Oblast. It’s a sign they plan to stay

David Axe reports: On the sixth day of Ukraine’s advance into Kursk Oblast in southern Russia, there’s growing evidence the Ukrainian invasion corps—some or all of up to five 2,000-person brigades plus at least one 400-person independent battalion—plans to stay. The Ukrainians are digging trenches. Anticipating static warfare along or near the existing front line, the Russians are digging in, too. That both sides are fortifying their positions doesn’t mean the Ukrainians are done advancing. Nor does it mean the…

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