Dozen megadonors gave $3.4 billion, one in every 13 dollars, since 2009

Dozen megadonors gave $3.4 billion, one in every 13 dollars, since 2009

The New York Times reports: A dozen megadonors and their spouses contributed a combined $3.4 billion to federal candidates and political groups since 2009, accounting for nearly one out of every 13 dollars raised, according to a new report. The report, produced by Issue One, a nonpartisan group that seeks to reduce the influence of money in politics, shows the top 12 donors split equally between six Democrats and six Republicans. The list includes multiple Wall Street billionaires and investors,…

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How India allowed the virus to overwhelm it

How India allowed the virus to overwhelm it

Ramanan Laxminarayan writes: A lethal, fast-paced second wave of the coronavirus pandemic has brought India’s health care systems to the verge of collapse and is putting millions of lives and livelihoods at risk. On Sunday and Monday, the country recorded more than 270,000 and 259,000 cases, respectively, of Covid-19, a staggering increase from about 11,000 cases per day in the second week of February. Reported coronavirus infections shot up from about 20,000 per day in mid-March to more than 200,000…

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Satellite images show Russia’s expanding Ukraine buildup

Satellite images show Russia’s expanding Ukraine buildup

The Wall Street Journal reports: Russia has moved warplanes to Crimea and bases near Ukraine to an extent greater than has previously been disclosed, adding to its capability for political intimidation or military intervention, according to commercial satellite photos of areas being used for the military buildup. The photos, which were reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, show Su-30 fighters lined up on a runway at an air base in Crimea. The aircraft, which are shown in a satellite photo…

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Sleeping too little in middle age may increase dementia risk, study finds

Sleeping too little in middle age may increase dementia risk, study finds

The New York Times reports: Could getting too little sleep increase your chances of developing dementia? For years, researchers have pondered this and other questions about how sleep relates to cognitive decline. Answers have been elusive because it is hard to know if insufficient sleep is a symptom of the brain changes that underlie dementia — or if it can actually help cause those changes. Now, a large new study reports some of the most persuasive findings yet to suggest…

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Why political sectarianism is a growing threat to American democracy

Why political sectarianism is a growing threat to American democracy

Nate Cohn writes: American democracy faces many challenges: New limits on voting rights. The corrosive effect of misinformation. The rise of domestic terrorism. Foreign interference in elections. Efforts to subvert the peaceful transition of power. And making matters worse on all of these issues is a fundamental truth: The two political parties see the other as an enemy. It’s an outlook that makes compromise impossible and encourages elected officials to violate norms in pursuit of an agenda or an electoral…

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Black and brown people’s defiance is not the problem. Our compliance is not the solution

Black and brown people’s defiance is not the problem. Our compliance is not the solution

Ibram X. Kendi writes: Chicago Police Officer Eric E. Stillman chased a boy down an alleyway. It was the early morning of March 29. In Minnesota, opening statements in the Derek Chauvin trial were coming in a few hours. Stillman had responded to reports of gunshots in Little Village, a predominantly Latino community on Chicago’s West Side. “Stop right now!” the officer yelled at Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old seventh grader at Gary Elementary School. “Hands. Show me your hands. Drop…

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Garland returns to Oklahoma City to warn that domestic terrorism is ‘still with us’

Garland returns to Oklahoma City to warn that domestic terrorism is ‘still with us’

Politico reports: Attorney General Merrick Garland returned Monday to Oklahoma City — the site of the nation’s most deadly act of domestic terrorism and of his formative experiences as a young prosecutor — to deliver a warning that the threat of domestic extremism is again on the rise. Delivering his first major speech as attorney general, Garland told a memorial service that the nation must remain vigilant against such dangers. “Although many years have passed, the terror perpetrated by people…

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ICE, CBP to stop using ‘illegal alien’ and ‘assimilation’ under new Biden administration order

ICE, CBP to stop using ‘illegal alien’ and ‘assimilation’ under new Biden administration order

The Washington Post reports: The Biden administration has ordered U.S. immigration enforcement agencies to stop using terms such as “alien,” “illegal alien” and “assimilation” when referring to immigrants in the United States, a rebuke of terms widely used under the Trump administration. The change was detailed in memos sent Monday to department heads at Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, the nation’s chief enforcers of federal immigration laws, according to copies obtained by The Washington Post. It…

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Elizabeth Warren suggests U.S. explore conditional aid to Israel

Elizabeth Warren suggests U.S. explore conditional aid to Israel

The Intercept reports: At today’s meeting of the annual J Street conference, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., suggested that the U.S. consider conditional aid to Israel. “I support military assistance to Israel,” said Warren’s planned remarks, referring to the aid as “the elephant in the room.” “But if we’re serious about arresting settlement expansion and helping move the parties toward a two-state solution, then it would be irresponsible not to consider all of the tools we have at our disposal,” her…

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China, Russia fueling QAnon conspiracy theories, reports says

China, Russia fueling QAnon conspiracy theories, reports says

Michael Isikoff reports: Foreign-based actors, principally in China and Russia, are spreading online disinformation rooted in QAnon conspiracy theories, fueling a movement that has become a mounting domestic terrorism threat, according to new analysis of online propaganda by a security firm. The analysis by the Soufan Center, a New York-based research firm focused on national security threats, found that nearly one-fifth of 166,820 QAnon-related Facebook posts between January 2020 and the end of February 2021 originated from overseas administrators. An…

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Washington State plans to phase out new gas cars by 2030

Washington State plans to phase out new gas cars by 2030

Fast Company reports: The U.K. plans to ban new fossil-fuel-powered cars by 2030. The Netherlands and Germany have the same goal. Now the state of Washington plans to follow, making it the first in the U.S. to move as quickly to phase out polluting cars. In nine years, if you want to buy a new car or light truck in Washington, it will have to be electric. “When you really look at the issue, there’s not any single factor that…

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Canada ski resort linked to largest outbreak of P1 Covid variant outside Brazil

Canada ski resort linked to largest outbreak of P1 Covid variant outside Brazil

The Guardian reports: For ski resorts, spring normally marks a final chance for visitors to carve sun-drenched runs before the season ends. But at Canada’s most famous ski resort, the gondolas have stopped, and the slopes are eerily quiet. The Whistler Blackcomb ski resort was shut down by provincial authorities at the end of March after they realised that P1, the highly infectious coronavirus variant traced back to Brazil, was spreading rapidly throughout the community. As provinces across Canada break…

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The race to curb the spread of Covid vaccine disinformation

The race to curb the spread of Covid vaccine disinformation

Nature reports: In March, Twitter put its foot down: users who repeatedly spread false information about COVID-19 vaccines will have their accounts suspended or shut down. It was a new front in a high-stakes battle over misinformation that could help to determine how many people get vaccinated, and how swiftly the pandemic ends. The battle is also being fought in computer-science and sociology labs across the United States, where scientists who track the spread of false information on social media…

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Aleksei Navalny needs his doctors

Aleksei Navalny needs his doctors

In an editorial, the New York Times says: Aleksei Navalny’s wife, doctor and colleagues have sounded an anguished alarm that the incarcerated Kremlin critic’s health is rapidly deteriorating and his heart could stop any minute. They and many other supporters of Mr. Navalny are demanding that his doctors be immediately allowed to see and treat him. The decision clearly rests with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, and he should promptly agree. It may well be that Mr. Putin would prefer…

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