One of the world’s largest cities may be just months away from running out of water

One of the world’s largest cities may be just months away from running out of water

CNN reports: Alejandro Gomez has been without proper running water for more than three months. Sometimes it comes on for an hour or two, but only a small trickle, barely enough to fill a couple of buckets. Then nothing for many days. Gomez, who lives in Mexico City’s Tlalpan district, doesn’t have a big storage tank so can’t get water truck deliveries — there’s simply nowhere to store it. Instead, he and his family eke out what they can buy…

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Lessons on genocide from Xinjiang and Gaza

Lessons on genocide from Xinjiang and Gaza

Nader Hashemi and James A. Millward write: Days before the International Court of Justice’s initial ruling late last month that found there was a plausible risk of genocide being committed by Israel in Gaza, the United Nations Human Rights Council conducted its “universal periodic review” of China’s human rights record. China’s abusive treatment of Uyghur and other Turkic minorities in Xinjiang province—which many governments around the world, including both U.S. administrations under Donald Trump and Joe Biden, have officially called…

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I’m the mayor of Dearborn, Mich., and my city feels betrayed

I’m the mayor of Dearborn, Mich., and my city feels betrayed

Abdullah H. Hammoud writes: “Dearborn doesn’t sleep,” I recently told an out-of-state visitor to my hometown. It was a reference to the celebratory time of Ramadan, when our city breaks bread together for iftar at sunset and suhoor, before sunrise, each day. For a month, Dearborn is bustling around the clock: Business districts buzz during the day, and residents and visitors flock to break the fast together every night, gathering over hot, heaping plates filled with some of the best…

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Beto O’Rourke supports uncommitted campaign in Michigan’s Tuesday presidential primary

Beto O’Rourke supports uncommitted campaign in Michigan’s Tuesday presidential primary

Michigan Advance reports: Former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) expressed support Friday for a campaign asking Democratic voters unhappy with President Joe Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war to vote “uncommitted” in Michigan’s Democratic presidential primary on Tuesday. “I do think it makes sense for those who want to see this administration do more, or do a better job, to exert that political pressure and get the president’s attention and the attention of those on his campaign so that the…

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By share of GDP, East European and Scandinavian countries are giving the most to Ukraine

By share of GDP, East European and Scandinavian countries are giving the most to Ukraine

Council on Foreign Relations reports: Every year, the United States sends billions of dollars in aid—and much more than any other country—to beneficiaries around the world in pursuit of its security, economic, and humanitarian interests. Since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has become far and away the top recipient of U.S. foreign aid. This marks the first time that a European country has held the top spot since the Harry S. Truman administration directed vast sums into rebuilding the…

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As Ukraine’s economy burns, Russia clings to a semblance of prosperity

As Ukraine’s economy burns, Russia clings to a semblance of prosperity

The Guardian reports: Factories destroyed. Roads blown to pieces. Power plants put out of action. Steel exports decimated. A flood of refugees out of the country. Ukraine – the poorest country in Europe – has paid a heavy economic price for a two-year war against Russia waged almost entirely on its own soil. The figures are stark. More than 7 million people – about a fifth of the population – have been plunged into poverty. Fifteen years of human development…

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Nazis mingle openly at CPAC, spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories and finding allies

Nazis mingle openly at CPAC, spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories and finding allies

NBC News reports: Nazis appeared to find a friendly reception at the Conservative Political Action Conference this year. Throughout the conference, racist extremists, some of whom had secured official CPAC badges, openly mingled with conference attendees and espoused antisemitic conspiracy theories. The presence of these individuals has been a persistent issue at CPAC. In previous years, conference organizers have ejected well-known Nazis and white supremacists such as Nick Fuentes. But this year, racist conspiracy theorists didn’t meet any perceptible resistance…

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How to break the cycle of violence in a one-state reality

How to break the cycle of violence in a one-state reality

Marc Lynch and Shibley Telhami write: The excesses of the war on Gaza have been so extreme that to many international observers, they have left international law in tatters. One outcome has been to isolate Washington and undermine its claim of defending international norms and the liberal international order. The fact that South Africa, one of the leaders of the global South, has accused Israel of the extraordinary charge of genocide before the International Court of Justice suggests the extent…

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Trump frames election as battle against ‘wicked’ system bent on attacking Christians

Trump frames election as battle against ‘wicked’ system bent on attacking Christians

The New York Times reports: Former President Donald J. Trump often characterizes his presidential campaign as a battle for America’s future. But speaking at a Christian broadcast media convention in Nashville on Thursday, he wrapped that depiction within a stark good-versus-evil framework, portraying his political opponents as part of a “wicked” system. Mr. Trump also revived his claim that America’s “greatest threat is not from the outside of our country” but “from within,” language that drew alarm last year from…

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Alabama justice who ruled embryos are people says American law should be rooted in the Bible

Alabama justice who ruled embryos are people says American law should be rooted in the Bible

NBC News reports: On the same day that Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Parker handed down an opinion declaring that fertilized frozen embryos are people, imperiling women’s access to in vitro fertilization treatments, he espoused support for a once-fringe philosophy that calls on evangelical Christians to reshape society based on their interpretation of the Bible. During an online broadcast hosted by Tennessee evangelist Johnny Enlow on Friday, Parker suggested America was founded explicitly as a Christian nation and discussed…

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The Americans who need chaos

The Americans who need chaos

Derek Thompson writes: Several years ago, the political scientist Michael Bang Petersen, who is based in Denmark, wanted to understand why people share conspiracy theories on the Internet. He and other researchers designed a study that involved showing American participants blatantly false stories about Democratic and Republican politicians, such as Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz, Hillary Clinton, and Donald Trump. The subjects were asked: Would you share these stories online? The results seemed to defy the logic of modern politics or…

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Rain comes to the Arctic, with a cascade of troubling changes

Rain comes to the Arctic, with a cascade of troubling changes

Ed Struzik writes: In August of 2021, rain fell atop the 10,551-foot summit of the Greenland ice cap, triggering an epic meltdown and a more-than-2,000-foot retreat of the snowline. The unprecedented event reminded Joel Harper, a University of Montana glaciologist who works on the Greenland ice sheet, of a strange anomaly in his data, one that suggested that in 2008 it might have rained much later in the season — in the fall, when the region is typically in deep…

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With Beyoncé’s foray into country music, the genre may finally break free from the stereotypes that have long dogged it

With Beyoncé’s foray into country music, the genre may finally break free from the stereotypes that have long dogged it

Beyoncé and her husband, Jay-Z, at the 66th Grammy Awards on Feb. 4, 2024, in Los Angeles. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images By William Nash, Middlebury On Super Bowl Sunday, Beyoncé released two country songs – “16 Carriages” and “Texas Hold ‘Em” – that elicited a mix of admiration and indignation. This is not her first foray into the genre, but it is her most successful and controversial entry. As of last week, Beyoncé became the first Black woman to have a…

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