Another path to intelligence

Another path to intelligence

James Bridle writes: It turns out there are many ways of “doing” intelligence, and this is evident even in the apes and monkeys who perch close to us on the evolutionary tree. This awareness takes on a whole new character when we think about those non-human intelligences which are very different to us. Because there are other highly evolved, intelligent, and boisterous creatures on this planet that are so distant and so different from us that researchers consider them to…

Read More Read More

Donald Trump is a leading driver of domestic extremism

Donald Trump is a leading driver of domestic extremism

Donell Harvin writes: Federal intelligence and national security agencies — from the FBI to DHS — are in universal agreement that domestic extremism and terrorism is the leading threat to the U.S. homeland. But homeland security officials are also trained to be apolitical, so here’s what they can’t tell you: Donald J. Trump poses a significant threat to homeland security. While generally highly decentralized and fractured, violent extremist groups have begun to mesh over a unifying figure: Trump. The former…

Read More Read More

Feds alert judge to Trump’s ‘If you go after me, I’m coming after you!’ post

Feds alert judge to Trump’s ‘If you go after me, I’m coming after you!’ post

Politico reports: Prosecutors on Friday night called a judge’s attention to a social media post from Donald Trump — issued hours earlier — in which they say the former president appeared to declare that he’s “coming after” those he sees as responsible for the series of formidable legal challenges he is facing. Attorneys from special counsel Jack Smith’s team said the post from Trump “specifically or by implication” referenced those involved in his criminal case for seeking to subvert the…

Read More Read More

Trump’s legal team is enmeshed in a tangle of possible conflicts

Trump’s legal team is enmeshed in a tangle of possible conflicts

The New York Times reports: The potential conflicts confronting the lawyers in Mr. Trump’s prosecutions come from a variety of sources. Some involve situations in which the lawyers could be put in the untenable position of cross-examining a former client in the service of defending a current one. Others stem from bumping up against the guardrails put in place to keep lawyers from advocating for their clients with one hand while possibly incriminating them with the other. Then there is…

Read More Read More

How Jack Smith structured the Trump election indictment to reduce risks

How Jack Smith structured the Trump election indictment to reduce risks

The New York Times reports: In accusing former President Donald J. Trump of conspiring to subvert American democracy, the special counsel, Jack Smith, charged the same story three different ways. The charges are novel applications of criminal laws to unprecedented circumstances, heightening legal risks, but Mr. Smith’s tactic gives him multiple paths in obtaining and upholding a guilty verdict. “Especially in a case like this, you want to have multiple charges that are applicable or provable with the same evidence,…

Read More Read More

How Code Pink became an opponent of human rights in China

How Code Pink became an opponent of human rights in China

The New York Times reports: [Jodie] Evans, 68, was once a Democratic insider who managed the 1992 presidential campaign of the California governor Jerry Brown. After the 2001 terrorist attacks, she reinvented herself as an activist. She became known for pink peace-sign earrings and sit-ins that ended with her arrest. She helped form Code Pink to protest the looming war in Iraq. The group became notorious for disrupting Capitol Hill hearings. Ms. Evans has organized around progressive causes like climate…

Read More Read More

19 ‘mass extinctions’ had CO2 levels we’re now veering toward, study warns

19 ‘mass extinctions’ had CO2 levels we’re now veering toward, study warns

Live Science reports: Within a human lifetime, concentrations of CO2 in Earth’s atmosphere could reach levels associated with 19 “mass extinctions” that have taken place in the last 534 million years, new research suggests. By 2100, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels could rise to 800 parts per million by volume (ppmv) — almost double the concentration of roughly 421 ppmv recorded this year — if we fail to curb emissions from burning fossil fuels and converting land for agriculture. That would…

Read More Read More

As men told hunting stories, women hunted

As men told hunting stories, women hunted

The New York Times reports: It’s often viewed as a given: Men hunted, women gathered. After all, the anthropological reasoning went, men were naturally more aggressive, whereas the slower pace of gathering was ideal for women, who were mainly focused on caretaking. “It’s not something I questioned,” said Sophia Chilczuk, a recent graduate of Seattle Pacific University, where she studied applied human biology. “And I think the majority of the public has that assumption.” At times, the notion has proved…

Read More Read More

Ocean heat record broken, with grim implications for the planet

Ocean heat record broken, with grim implications for the planet

BBC News reports: The oceans have hit their hottest ever recorded temperature as they soak up warmth from climate change, with dire implications for our planet’s health. The average daily global sea surface temperature beat a 2016 record this week, according to the EU’s climate change service Copernicus. It reached 20.96C (69.73F) – far above the average for this time of year. Oceans are a vital climate regulator. They soak up heat, produce half Earth’s oxygen and drive weather patterns….

Read More Read More

A Republican 2024 climate strategy: more drilling, less clean energy

A Republican 2024 climate strategy: more drilling, less clean energy

The New York Times reports: During a summer of scorching heat that has broken records and forced Americans to confront the reality of climate change, conservatives are laying the groundwork for a 2024 Republican administration that would dismantle efforts to slow global warming. The move is part of a sweeping strategy dubbed Project 2025 that Paul Dans of the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank organizing the effort, has called a “battle plan” for the first 180 days of a…

Read More Read More

Judge warns Trump he will be jailed if he attempts to influence or retaliate against any witnesses

Judge warns Trump he will be jailed if he attempts to influence or retaliate against any witnesses

Politico reports: Trump was sworn in by a courtroom deputy and swore to tell the truth, so help him god. He stated his name and age a bit awkwardly — “Donald J. Trump. John.” “Seven-seven.” He had to confirm that he was not on any medication or drugs that might alter his ability to comprehend the proceedings. Trump spoke few words during his 45 minutes in the room, replying to questions with “yes” or “yes, your honor” in ways that…

Read More Read More

DeSantis dismisses Trump’s 2020 election theories as false

DeSantis dismisses Trump’s 2020 election theories as false

The New York Times reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida said that claims about the 2020 election being stolen were false, directly contradicting a central argument of former President Donald J. Trump and his supporters. The comments went further than Mr. DeSantis typically goes when asked about Mr. Trump’s defeat. The governor has often tried to hedge, refusing to acknowledge that the election was fairly conducted. In his response on Friday, Mr. DeSantis did not mention Mr. Trump by name…

Read More Read More

Jack Smith has an indictment. Trump has a massive plan for revenge

Jack Smith has an indictment. Trump has a massive plan for revenge

Rolling Stone reports: Donald Trump is a long, long way from winning the GOP primary, let alone retaking the White House. But he always has revenge on his mind, and his allies are preparing to use a future administration to not only undo all of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s work — but to take vengeance on Smith, and on virtually everyone else, who dared investigate Trump during his time out of power. Rosters full of MAGAfied lawyers are being assembled….

Read More Read More

If Trump is convicted, Secret Service protection may be obstacle to imprisonment

If Trump is convicted, Secret Service protection may be obstacle to imprisonment

The Washington Post reports: If convicted in any of the three criminal cases he is now facing, Donald Trump may be able to influence whether he goes to prison and what his stay there looks like under a law that allows former U.S. presidents to keep Secret Service protection for life, some current and former U.S. officials said. Presidents since 1965 have been afforded lifetime protection. Since then, only Richard M. Nixon has waived it, as a cost-saving move for…

Read More Read More