African elephants are being crushed by climate change, causing ripple effects through their herds

The community of elephants that call Africa's Greater Virunga Landscape (GVL) home once thrived there. During multiple surveys of in the 1960s and 1970s, scientists found that specific locations within the GVL, like the Queen Elizabeth Protected Area and Virguna National Park, had anywhere from 1,300 to 4,000 individuals.

But starting in the 1990s, the elephants' numbers began to precipitously drop thanks to human activity like land use, political conflict and poaching. Today the African elephants throughout the continent are listed as endangered, and the highly intelligent animals seem to be aware on some level that humans are to blame for their plight. Elephants have been reported to flee from other areas where there was heavy poaching to the relative safety of the GVL, causing the population there to rise.

"There is undisputed evidence that the population in Queen Elizabeth National Park rose from 150 individuals to 2,950 in 2006 over 25 years, an increase that could not have been achieved solely by births alone," scientists reported in a recent study for the journal PLOS Sustainability and Transformation. But they note one worsening threat to the elephants' survival that they cannot run from: Climate change.

Furthermore, these effects are not felt uniformly among elephants, with older individuals suffering more than younger ones. A big factor is deforestation, which prevents the elephants from cooling down in the rising heat. But many of these areas are being destroyed by fires and commercial plantation crops such as sugar, tobacco, palm oil and cocoa.

Elephants are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change because, in these heavily matriarchal societies, the older cows accumulate wisdom that they share with the youths.

"It is observed that climate change affects older elephants more than young ones in terms of survivability and migration," write study co-authors Simon Nampindo of Wildlife Conservation Society Uganda and Timothy O. Randhir of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. "It is also likely that the undetected direct climate change impact on the elephant population is due to changes in habitats, particularly forests and wetlands used for thermal regulation."

"Secrets of the Elephants" reveals their uncanny ability to grieve and empathize

To determine this, Nampindo and Randhir built a systems dynamic model that incorporated data on elephant populations, landscape changes throughout history and a wide variety of future climate change scenarios over the next 80 years. The data applied to elephants according to their age brackets: under 10 years old, 11 to 30, 31 to 40, 41 to 50 and more than 50 years old.

It is significant that the elderly elephants are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change because, in these heavily matriarchal societies, the older cows accumulate a form of wisdom that they share with the youths. Like many animals, elephants have a form of culture and they even grieve their dead. Just as a human family suffers an irreparable loss when its elders pass away too soon, entire populations of elephants will be left leaderless and emotionally devastated as their wise matriarchs prematurely die off.

"If they are lost to changing climate, it will wreak havoc on the surviving, younger herds, as well as change the genetic profiles and structures of the herd," Nampindo said in a statement accompanying the study.

The GVL itself depends on these African elephants. Encompassing 15,700 square kilometers in Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and including seven national parks, three tropical high-forest reserves and three wildlife reserves (three of which are world heritage sites), the GVL includes a diverse array of animals including hippopotamuses, chimpanzees, gorillas, lions, leopards, pangolins, hogs and crocodiles. There are also thousands of plant species and hundreds of types of birds, and all of these organisms rely in various ways on the African elephants. The pachyderms' dung enriches the soil from which the plants grow; similarly, as they feed and go about their day-to-day business, the elephants knock over trees and disperse seeds.

Yet as elderly elephants struggle with the wetter and warmer conditions in the GVL caused by climate change, their fall will impact the entire African elephant population, and with it the ecosystem of the GVL. If there is any good news to be found in the recent study, it is that this calamity can be averted by the same means that it was caused — through human intervention.

"Our study results reinforce the necessity to secure and maintain wildlife corridors and restore degraded forests and savannah woodlands to guarantee elephant adaptability to climate change," the authors write. "Habitat quality and condition are critical to the survival of elephants by providing a reliable and sustainable source of food, water, and shelter for thermal regulation."

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They "show a lot of interest in the tusks of dead elephants, and they will repeatedly return to dead elephants or relatives, dead relatives, and they will come towards them."

Last year Salon spoke with Dr. Paula Kahumbu, CEO of the charitable organization Wildlife Direct and one of the world's foremost elephant experts who has spent years studying the animals in the wild. After describing how elephants have a powerful sense of smell and identify each other through odors, she added that this helps explain how they "detect the identity of an elephant that has died."

She then elaborated on how elephants grieve, describing how they "show a lot of interest in the tusks of dead elephants, and they will repeatedly return to dead elephants or relatives, dead relatives, and they will come towards them. They will touch them, feel them. If an elephant has recently died or is dying, they will even try to raise it, or they will stand around and just be with a dying elephant."

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Kahumbu added, "Once an elephant has died, they will sometimes even cover it up with bushes. It's a really peculiar thing. We don't really understand it, to be honest."

Other studies on animal intelligence have found that elephants in zoos respond positively to the presence of humans (likely because of their intellect), that they have names for each other and that they provide support to sick or injured herd members. If humans wish to keep these sensitive and thoughtful animals alive, the PLOS Sustainability and Transformation article asserts, then they will need to work together in constructive ways that acknowledge the scientific facts.

"Conservation of elephants requires a transboundary management approach to climate change mitigation, cooperation among conservation agencies, and effective partnerships with all relevant stakeholders for conservation," the authors conclude.

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Why most millionaires want a wealth tax: “There’s a certain alarmism among the wealthy about Trump”

Extreme wealth and income inequality will eventually destroy a real democracy. Why? Because that disparity of power and resources allows a relatively small number of people and groups to subvert the popular will, undermine checks and balances, the law, and other democratic institutions, and to manipulate the public through a variety of means into making decisions that are contrary to their interests, and democracy and the Common Good more broadly.

At present, the top one percent of income “earners” owns more than 30 percent of the wealth in the United States — that is more than the wealth of the entire American middle class. By comparison, the bottom 90 percent of earners control only 30 percent of the country's wealth. Historically and to the present, these extreme concentrations of wealth and income are held almost exclusively by a small number of white men. Globally, the richest 1 percent of people control almost 46 percent of the wealth; the world’s ten richest billionaires have more wealth than most countries.

Economists and other experts have compellingly shown that most of the economic gains from globalization have gone to the top wage earners and others who possess the skills, capital, and latitude of action to take advantage of the global market.

"Most people are asleep at the wheel. The wealthy are the ones who are really driving humanity to the brink of destruction."

In all, late-stage capitalism, the internet, AI, and other disruptive technologies have created a real and growing experience of economic precarity for large segments of the public (which includes the college-educated middle and upper classes and other high skilled workers) both in the United States and around the world. These anxieties, in combination with other great unresolved problems and challenges, helped to create the toxic circumstances that gave rise to the global democracy crisis with its collective (and justified) rage at “the elites” in the form of Trumpism and other forms of fake (right-wing) populism.

Chuck Collins was born into the Oscar Mayer meat and cold cuts family fortune. At age 26, he was compelled by conscience to give away his inheritance in an act of solidarity with the poor and larger society. In keep with his commitment to social democracy and a humane society, Chuck Collins is now the Director of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies, where he co-edits Inequality.org. He is also a board member of the Patriotic Millionaires.

Collins is the author of several books, including "Born on Third Base: A One Percenter Makes the Case for Tackling Inequality, Bringing Wealth Home, and Committing to the Common Good"; "Is Inequality in America Irreversible?"; and "The Wealth Hoarders: How Billionaires Spend Millions to Hide Trillions."

Remember the rules, liberals: Only the right gets to mock America

In this wide-ranging conversation, Collins explains that we cannot solve the global democracy crisis without first confronting extreme wealth and income inequality and other forms of resource hoarding by the moneyed classes. He shares his personal experiences of how the wealthy and ultra-rich as a class really do live in a different world and feel no connection to “regular people” or obligations to humanity as a whole. Collins warns that the plutocrats and other financial elites are supporting Donald Trump because they see him as a way of getting control of even more money and power, and view fascism and the end of American democracy as relatively unimportant when measured against their personal self-interest.

Collins also shares new polling which shows that a large percentage of wealthy people in the G20 countries (those with at least one million dollars in assets excluding their homes) understand that extreme wealth and income inequality is undermining global stability and that it is in their long-term interest to give something back to society in the form of paying a fair tax and providing other redistributive supports.

How are you feeling right now with all the chaos around the world, the election here in the U.S. and Trump's tribulations and chaos and all the other challenges?

I am an upbeat person by nature. But I feel like we are in a time of great disruption for the worse, on the brink of some bad transformation in terms of democracy and American and global society more generally from these extreme concentrations of wealth and power. Looking at the environment and the lack of affordable housing and people who are unhoused, reflects deep crises and troubles. The political moment that we're in — this sense of rising authoritarianism, is also connected to growing inequality of wealth and power — further reflects our precarious moment. It is all creeping in on my otherwise sunny disposition.

How do the millionaires and billionaires, the wealthy as a class, see the world with all this trouble?

The wealthy are not monolithic. So, there are people whose main concern in life is how can I make more money. But there is a growing number of wealthy people who understand the instabilities and disruptions that are happening because of these extreme inequalities. They are starting to see how unsustainable these extreme societal inequalities are, and that they actually are undermining the quality of life for everybody, including wealthy people. Yes, there are lots of wealthy people who are confident that they'll be able to ride out whatever hard times are ahead, that they will live in a bubble of sorts, and not be personally harmed by these trends that are going to cause even more extreme harm to the world. But there's a growing segment of wealthy people who say, "Oh, this is this is going to be bad for me too." They are starting to think in terms of their long-term self-interest about, for example, how late-stage capitalism is bad for the bottom 90 percent of the public — but that same system can come back and bite them too.

What about the disaster capitalists? This must be a bonanza for them.

It is true that there is a segment of capitalists who prey on disruption. For example, the affordable housing crisis where there are many people who cannot afford an apartment or to own a home and then end up in the extreme situation of being homeless. There are mercenary capitalists who take advantage of that crisis. We see this with how private equity firms are moving into the rental housing market. If people won't be able to own a home, these bad actors reason that they will put a squeeze on vulnerable people and make even more money from doing it. Student loans are another example where these predators can profit by exploiting vulnerable people. There are disaster capitalists who are of course trying to make money off the global climate disaster. Basically, their plan is to party until the music stops.

I am a proud member of the Black working class. My father was basically a janitor, albeit the supervisor, and my mother was a home healthcare worker. I am thinking specifically of the war in Ukraine and Gaza. I know enough about military and defense issues to have invested pretty early on before this all turned "hot" and to have made a good sum of money. But my conscience won't allow me to do such a thing even if I had the money — I would like to believe. If I grew up as one of the wealthy, would I still feel the same way? Or would my ethics and values be fundamentally different?

I believe that there are plenty of people with money who would also choose not to profit from war and other disasters. That you wouldn't do such a thing reflects your upbringing and values. There are other people who feel the same way, even among the wealthy. There are stages of wealth accumulation. You make your first millions and you are focused on starting a company. It takes off and now you are experiencing a hyper-acceleration of your financial assets. Then there is the next generation: those are the wealth defenders. They are going to hire professionals to hide their money, protect it, and not pay taxes. Then there are what I would call "the hyper extractors." These are the people who are predators, they are the ones trying to take advantage of a bad situation. "Somebody's going to do it, might as well be me." "I am smarter than everyone else. I am taking advantage of my vision and insight." That is their logic. Wealth is a type of disconnection drug. You operate in a bubble; You don't see the impact on real people. U.S. defense contractors are cashing in from the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. How do you live with yourself when you are making money from death and misery? How do you live with yourself? You create a belief system that justifies whatever you do. The harm to people doesn't matter. Ultimately, there are always people who will figure out how to make money out of other people's adversity.

These disaster capitalists and other blood merchants and such disreputables. How do they sleep at night? I know the answer, but the question must still be asked.

They have a powerful justification story. They live with a mythology of justification, whatever it is.

So, they sleep very, very well then. When these types of predatory wealthy people get together, what do they talk about? Are they laughing about all this misery? Mocking it? Or is it considered inappropriate and gauche to even talk about money?

I don't know. I assume that there are people who meet up at Davos for example whose hearts bleed for the suffering in the world. I think about the fossil fuel barons, the carbon barons, who are sitting there saying, "well, let's build more coal and gas infrastructure because nobody's going to stop us so let's grab as much as we can. They worship at the altar of greed and money. "I'm smarter than the rest of you because I figured out how to make money on this." So there's probably a cozy club of wealthy people who cheer each other on to just keep grabbing all that they can. And there's probably some wealthy people who have a line that they won't cross in terms of profiting from suffering.

How are the wealthy as a class positioning themselves relative to Trump and his plans to be the country's first dictator?

There's a certain alarmism among the wealthy about Trump. On the one hand, they're thrilled that he's going to protect their tax cuts, and maybe expand corporate tax cuts and maintain a type of even more deregulated business environment. But they are also worried about instability, chaos in the marketplace and around the world. They are also worried about authoritarianism. Capital likes predictability. But in the end, the wealthy are probably going to support Trump because they are going to get even richer if he takes back the White House.

The elites can organize to stop Trump and the neofascist movement if they want to. As occurred in Nazi Germany and the rise of Hitler, elites can also facilitate such a disaster too. Are there (enough) wealthy people working behind the scenes to stop Trump?

Some of that is happening. There is money going into the never-Trump organizations. In terms of history, if you look at the rise of the billionaires and big industrialists under Nazism it wasn't clear to them, until quite late, that Hitler was going to be as dangerous as he turned out to be. But once Hitler and the Nazi regime took power it was too late. In the United States right now with Trump we are at the stage where some of the big money types are saying we have to stop him now. But there are others who are saying we can live with Trump and the MAGA movement for now until their 2025 tax cuts are made permanent. Trump can deliver the goods to them for a few more years so it is a good deal. Their money is more important to them than democracy or other societal concerns. They don't really care.

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Chase CEO Jamie Dimon recently said that we should sympathize and try to understand Trump's MAGA people. Your thoughts?

I can understand if he was saying, "we need to better understand what is fueling people's sense of alienation and disaffection so much that they would vote for someone like a Donald Trump, who they see as a shock to the system." But these elites need to get much clearer on their messaging around the harms to society of rising authoritarianism. Even from a self-interested point of view, they need to understand that these authoritarians like Trump will be coming after the rich and wealthy people too at some point.

The news media presents almost everything though a crisis frame and narrative. America's political leaders are also in a perpetual crisis mode. But these so-called crises are actually the result and part of decades-long (and in some cases much older) trends and patterns. How do the wealthy think about time and their relationship to it? What is their framework for decision-making?

The ultra-wealthy are one of the few groups who do think in the long term. They are focused on future trends and long-term investments and what is going to happen to the world's natural resources. There's a fair amount of positioning based on advanced forecasting. People with dynastic wealth think in terms of generations, and how to keep their wealth and power long into the future. They create foundations that will exist long after they are dead. The ultra-wealthy are also in a quest for immortality. They want to live forever. What they are doing is creating trusts that will allow them to keep their money if they are reanimated in the far future. Ideally, for them that money will keep growing for hundreds of years into the future and they will have even more money when they are revived. It really is science fiction made real. This of course includes leaving the planet Earth, which will be ruined by then.

It is a very surreal thing to see Davos on the front page of newspapers and other mainstream news media. What is actually happening there?

The World Economic Forum is a place where elites gather. There is an attraction to these peer-to-peer gatherings. It's an attempt to build elite consensus, but there is no follow through program. The Trilateral Commission by comparison did have a political program and agenda and its members tried to work within their nation-state to enact those changes. Davos is a place of ideas and elite consensus. Who attends? Leaders of global corporations, heads of state, politicians, and other thought leaders and powerful people. Davos also invites some dissenters or academics or civil society spokespeople just to keep it interesting. The best way to think of Davos is that it is a giant conference, with a fairly exclusive membership, where they talk about ideas, and certain themes emerge and get amplified and echoed.

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I find it very hard to believe that these very rich and very powerful people are getting together, having these meetings and conversations, and then not influencing public policy to serve their own interests and agenda. That is unbelievable.

Sure, people probably meet at Davos and form alliances that go on to influence policy and laws. It's not done in the name of Davos, or the World Economic Forum. So yes, I think they're definitely hatching plans. They're just not necessarily executed, in the name of the World Economic Forum. You should be skeptical.

The Patriotic Millionaires were actually able to get access to wealthy people and to conduct some polling. The wealthy, especially the ultra-rich, are notoriously private. What did you learn?

We commissioned a firm that has access to high net worth individuals, these are people with more than a million dollars in financial assets. We were pleasantly surprised that three-fourths of millionaires in these G20 countries support higher taxes on the wealthy. These millionaires also believe that extreme wealth inequality poses perils to democracy and stability. The rise of Trump and these other fake right-wing populists is an example of when you degrade and have wage stagnation for four decades, and more than half the society doesn't share in the money created by the productivity gains of the last couple of decades. This creates resentments, and grievances that unscrupulous politicians can tap into. As shown by our new poll, a lot of wealthy people understood that these extreme inequalities are bad for democracy which is why they support a very modest 2% wealth tax on the ultra-rich. In the United States, there are perhaps 25% of the wealthy that don't want to see their taxes go up, and they have captured at least one political party, and they terrified the other political party when it comes to taxing the wealthy. Members of Congress are afraid to talk about taxing the wealthy — until they start to see the polling. A huge percentage of Americans believe the rich are not paying their fair share. But that popular will is up against the ultra-rich people who have figured out how to stall the system and capture it. The reason why they love Republicans is because they are the party of gridlock. So even if there's huge support and pressure for taxing the rich, or even enforcing existing tax laws around the rich, they can stop the reforms.

What are you most hopeful for right now? What are you most afraid of?

There are a couple of good signs. One is that there's a younger generation, who may have inherited wealth, but they are pro-redistribution. They believe that they should pay taxes; they believe that too much money in too few hands is bad for society and by extension bad for them too. There are billionaires who are increasingly willing to share their wealth for the public good. There are also some cracks in the wealth defense industry, where the people who have spent their adult lives helping the rich get rich are now starting to question whether that is a good thing or not. Some of them are even helping to dismantle that system of wealth protection they created.

As I said several times in our conversation, I am deeply concerned about authoritarianism.

In terms of the environment, we don't have decades, we have seven to 10 years to shift the trajectory of how we live on Earth and reduce our consumption of fossil fuels and transition to something very different. The wealthy, particularly within the fossil fuel sector, are using their considerable power to block alternatives, and to make money from the disaster. They’ve locked the human race into this horrible trajectory. Most people are asleep at the wheel. The wealthy are the ones that are really driving humanity to the brink of destruction. We need to turn the corner environmentally.

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Ignoring Indigenous rights is making the green transition more expensive

In December, a federal judge found that Enel Green Power, an Italian energy corporation operating an 84-turbine wind farm on the Osage Reservation for nearly a decade, had trespassed on Native land. The ruling was a clear victory for the Osage Nation and the company estimated that complying with the order to tear down the turbines would cost nearly $260 million.

Attorneys familiar with Federal Indian law say it’s uncommon for U.S. courts to side so clearly with tribal nations and actually expel developers trespassing on their land. But observers also see the ruling as part of a broader trend: Gone are the days when developers could ignore Indigenous rights with impunity. Now, even if projects that threaten Native land and cultural resources ultimately proceed, they may come with years-long delays that tack on millions of dollars. As more companies look to build wind and solar farms or mine minerals for renewable energy, failing to recognize Indigenous sovereignty could make the clean energy transition a lot more expensive and much farther away.

Why Indigenous youth are gathering in Oslo to fight a green energy project

“I think tribes are starting to see that they have more leverage than they thought, and that they’ve previously exercised, over all this infrastructure that’s on their land,” said Pilar Thomas, an attorney, member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona and former deputy director of the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs at the U.S. Department of Energy. “They want to make sure that they’re getting their fair share.”

Rick Tallman, a program manager at Colorado School of Mines’ Center for Native American Mining and Energy Sovereignty who has spent more than two decades working on financing and consulting for clean energy projects, calls the Osage Nation ruling a wake-up call.

“If you’re going to develop energy in the U.S. you’ve got to do it with the support of tribal communities,” he said.

“If you’re going to develop energy in the U.S. you’ve got to do it with the support of tribal communities.”

According to Tallman, investors don’t like uncertainty. He said a lot of infrastructure funders are very conservative and won’t back a project unless they are confident it will succeed, which includes getting the buy-in of affected Indigenous Nations. There’s no upper limit to how much the project could cost if investors don’t get it right.

One analysis from researchers at First Peoples Worldwide at the University of Colorado at Boulder estimated that resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline drove the project cost upwards of $7.5 billion. That includes more than $4.3 billion in divestment from banks backing the project and nearly $1.4 billion in additional operating costs, not to mention millions spent to hire law enforcement.

Marion Werkheiser, founding partner of Cultural Heritage Partners, said the costs are so high that some renewable energy projects never even get off the ground, citing the Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound that was opposed by members of the Wampanoag Tribe.

And it’s not just a U.S. trend; Indigenous peoples around the world are fighting to enforce their rights, especially the right to free, prior, and informed consent to projects on their land — a concept enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. However, the U.S. hasn’t codified that into law, and compliance globally is spotty.

“Renewable energies are actually not that good in respecting Indigenous rights,” said Genevieve Rose from the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs. “They have this feeling that because they bring up something good, something green, that they are automatically a good thing.”

But her colleague David Berger said there’s more awareness and resistance from Indigenous peoples, and companies are being forced to factor in those costs. He pointed to Norway, where the state-owned company that developed an illegal wind farm has agreed to pay Indigenous Sámi people about $675,000 every year for the next 25 years for violating their rights. “What’s good is you have that legal structure so communities can push back,” Berger said.

Wesley Furlong, an Anchorage-based senior staff attorney at the Native American Rights Fund, said more tribes are filing lawsuits in the U.S., partly because the legal landscape is changing. For example, the National Historic Preservation Act, a federal law managing the preservation of historic resources, has been around since 1966, but it was only in 1999 that the federal government codified regulations related to communicating with tribes about projects that affect them, and the rules weren’t fully in effect until 2004. Some tribes are just now learning about their rights.

Another reason for the increase in lawsuits is because some tribal nations have more resources to fund litigation. “Indian gaming has been a game-changer for tribes to be able to raise revenue and hire attorneys,” Furlong said.

That combination of more legal tools, more financial resources and more education about Native rights, Furlong said, has led to more tribes getting involved in energy developments on their traditional and ancestral territories, including lands with historic connections and are not owned by a tribe. And he only expects that to continue: Most of the U.S. reserves of lithium, copper, cobalt, and nickel — metals key to the clean energy transition — are within 35 miles of Federal Indian Reservations, according to a study by the investment firm MSCI.

That’s something renewable energy developers need to be aware of, said Thomas. “I am a staunch believer that if you are within spitting distance of a tribe that you should be engaged in outreach to the tribe,” she said.

As salmon disappear, a battle over Alaska Native fishing rights heats up

Not every project is going to get buy-in, she adds, but she encourages companies to have patience and continue to reach out to tribes even if they don’t respond. Furlong from the Native American Rights Fund said project proponents may erroneously assume that tribes will always be opposed, forgetting that tribal governments want what’s in the best interest of their citizens.

Bottom line, it’s much less costly for companies to invest in tribal consultations and get them right from the get-go, says Daniel Cardenas, the head of the National Tribal Energy Association and a member of the Pit River Tribe who has consulted with tribes and companies regarding fossil fuel projects. “The cost of engagement is almost nothing compared to the cost of what they’re going to have to pay [if they don’t do it right],” he said of developers.

“For the most part, the renewable energy developers are repeating the mistakes that fossil fuels developers have made over the years.”

Werkheiser has seen some progress, with some banks, insurance companies, and energy developers adopting Indigenous peoples policies to guide their investments and some companies undergoing voluntary certifications to show their projects are ethical and respectful of Indigenous rights. “Financial institutions are recognizing that this is a real business risk and they’re building it into the cost of capital for these companies,” she said.

But overall, change is slow, she said.

“For the most part, the renewable energy developers are repeating the mistakes that fossil fuels developers have made over the years,” she said. “They’re not engaging with tribes early as potential partners and information sources during their planning process, and they are basically deferring their own relationship with tribes to the federal government.”

That’s a mistake, said David Kane, a consultant who leads WindHorse Strategic Initiatives. Energy companies often mistakenly perceive tribal chairs as though they are the equivalent of small-town mayors, rather than recognizing them as heads of state.

Because of that, he says, companies often disrespect tribes from the beginning by sending lower-level representatives to liaise with them, and many companies may never even step foot on a reservation or go before tribal councils. Developers often complain that it takes a long time to build relationships with tribal members but Kane says it’s better to do so before projects get underway.

“There’s still a lot of mistrust of white men and with good reason,” he said. And the energy industry, including renewables, he said, is still predominantly white and male.

Another challenge is that sometimes companies assume what will work with one tribe will work with another, said Cardenas from the National Tribal Energy Association.

“There’s 574 tribes, and each one operates differently and independently,” he said. “So if you know one tribe, you just know one tribe.”

He thinks tribal nations should be seen as partners, even sponsoring partners, with shared equity in the developments. There’s growing interest: Over the past two decades, tribal nations have pursued hundreds of clean energy projects, with the Inflation Reduction Act recently increasing funding for such projects.

But in the meantime, costly litigation continues. Last week in the U.S., four tribal nations sued a developer to prevent a $10 billion wind energy transmission line from going into operation. And in Oklahoma, the Osage Nation is now seeking damages from Enel. A judge still needs to decide how much that will cost the company.

This article originally appeared in Grist at https://grist.org/indigenous/ignoring-indigenous-rights-is-making-the-green-transition-more-expensive/.

Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Learn more at Grist.org

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Trump’s Mar-a-Lago co-defendant has a #MeToo problem

Even astute news consumers could be forgiven for missing the recent story about sexual abuse allegations against Walt Nauta, the "body man" for Donald Trump. Nauta has been indicted by the Justice Department of conspiring with Trump in the theft of classified documents from the U.S. government. While reporting on the abuse allegations by Roger Sollenberger of the Daily Beast is thorough and alarming, it was published late Friday, timing which tends to bury all but the most incendiary news stories. But it also got overlooked for the most damning of reasons: It's not surprising.

Most people at this point understand that Trump, whose guilt in the sexual assault of E. Jean Carroll has been upheld twice by jury verdicts, loves to surround himself with other men who are believed to be abusive towards women. The list of Trump associates who have been accused of sexual abuse or domestic violence is far too long to recount here, even if you skip the Jeffrey Epstein links.

Still, here's a small sampling: His former lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, is being sued by a former aide who is accusing him of coerced sexual intercourse. Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson has also accused Giuliani of groping her. Vince McMahon, Trump's close friend and husband to a former Trump Cabinet member, is facing new allegations of rape and sex trafficking. Two ex-wives of White House aide Rob Porter claimed he beat them, and Trump defended him vigorously in response. Trump appointed Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court and rallied to his side when a woman stepped forward with attempted rape allegations against the justice. Trump's 2016 campaign manager and close advisor Steve Bannon faced accusations of domestic violence, reportedly winning him the approving nickname "Bam Bam" from Trump. Trump aide Corey Lewandowski was accused of sexual assault in 2017, and only ended up being one of Trump's most consistent allies as a result.

History suggests that a reliable way for a man to get Trump's public praise is to be accused of violence against women. That was evident in the 2022 midterm elections when Republican Charles Herbster faced allegations of sexual violence from 8 women when he ran in Nebraska's GOP gubernatorial primary. Trump already backed Herbster in the primary but went all-in after the women told their story, dramatically escalating his support for Herbster. It didn't work, and Herbster lost his race. But the message was sent: There is nothing Trump loves more than a man who is alleged to be a sexual predator and/or a wife-beater.

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Nauta's role in Trump's sprawling crime syndicate has always been something of a mystery. It seemed he had a successful Navy career, but gave it all up to follow Trump around Mar-a-Lago, a demeaning job that means inhaling ketchup-and-butt stank all day long. Then, according to indictments filed by special prosecutor Jack Smith, Trump pushed Nauta to repeatedly violate the Espionage Act by telling Nauta to hide stolen classified documents from federal authorities. When he was charged with these serious crimes, many observers expected Nauta to save himself by testifying against Trump. Instead, he's stuck by Trump, even though the orange goblin has never hesitated to throw his acolytes under the bus.

He's stuck by Trump, even though the orange goblin has never hesitated to throw his acolytes under the bus.

The details of these new allegations shed some light, however, on why Nauta might have this irrational attachment to Trump. As Sollenberger reports, Nauta had stayed on at the White House as a member of the Navy for months after Trump left office. But in the spring of 2021, "Navy officials had escorted him off White House grounds, reassigned him to a new post, and docked his White House security clearance in response to accusations of fraternization, adultery, harassment, and other inappropriate sexual conduct, including 'revenge porn.'"

Three female servicemembers are accusing Nauta of adulterous and inappropriate relationships with lower-ranking personnel. He then became abusive with his mistresses, the servicemembers allege, including taking naked photos of them and threatening to release them as a form of control. It appears Nauta was facing serious and likely ruinous disciplinary action from the Navy. He left and went to work for Trump at Mar-a-Lago instead.

Trump certainly prefers underlings in precarious positions, so he can force them into risky choices by threatening to expose them if they don't do what he says. But, as with all the abusive, misogynist men that Trump surrounds himself with, there's a real "birds of feather" situation going on. It's a myth that men who mistreat women are secretive and ashamed of themselves. In reality, while they do avoid saying things publicly that can be used against them in court, such men tend to feel proud of themselves. They seek other terrible men out, so they can affirm each other in the belief that nothing is more manly and impressive than inflicting suffering on someone smaller and less powerful than yourself.

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Trump's behavior throughout the two E. Jean Carroll trials was a stark reminder that what your typical sexual assailant feels is not shame, but pride. He raged constantly online and offline. He asserted that rape has been a privilege for successful men for "millions of years," using the word "fortunately" to describe that situation. On CNN, he blamed Carroll for the assault, whining, "what kind of a woman meets somebody" and allows herself to be alone with him "within minutes." Sure, he denied the attack — most abusers do, in order to avoid legal consequences — but he was practically vibrating with his desire to brag as loudly as he could about it.

After a jury awarded Carroll $83 million in the second trial, she and her lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, went to the press to spill even more details about Trump's grotesque behavior. Kaplan told a story about Trump calling her an infamously misogynist slur during a deposition:

We come in the room and I say, ‘I’m done asking questions’ and immediately I hear from the other side, "Off the record. Off the record. Off the record." So they must have planned it. And he looks at me from across the table and he says, "See you next Tuesday."

This story is so perfect because it encapsulates the gulf in worldviews between a sexually abusive misogynist and everyone else. To normal people, calling a woman a "c—t" in this way isn't just childish. It also proves Kaplan's point: Trump is an insecure bully who lashes out at women who challenge him. (According to Carroll's testimony, the assault happened shortly after Trump got angry because she made a harmless joke about him wearing lingerie.) Trump clearly thought his sophomoric slur was awesome, thus the enormous pomp and ceremony in rolling it out. His lawyers, who know flattering his delusional ego is what gets them paid, played along.

This points to why misogynists and abusers seek each other out, beyond just having shared interests. They prop each other up in the gross belief that it's really cool to be a man who hurts women. In defending each other, they create a politically powerful solidarity. Untold numbers of men who have gone MAGA have done so mainly because they hate women. They love the validation of having leadership who agrees with their pro-violence-against-women stance. They also recognize that they have more power together than they would if they stood alone.

Depressing stuff, but the good news is that, as I wrote last week, women also have a right to vote. Polling shows that more women than ever are drawing connections between abortion bans, gendered violence, the MAGA movement, and stupid sexism like the right's Taylor Swift bashing. The people who would hit us, rape us, take away our rights, and force us into subservience are united under the MAGA banner. Women must stick together to defend ourselves.

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Exploring your “night self”: How one author embraced the joy of being “Sleepless”

You know that age-old advice that if you're swimming and feel yourself getting pulled out to sea by a rip current, to swim across rather than fighting it? Imagine doing that, but for your insomnia.

I have never read a writer who could turn the lemons of sleep deprivation into the lemonade of creative inspiration quite like Annabel Abbs-Streets does in "Sleepless: Unleasing the Subversive Power of the Night Self." The English novelist and nonfiction author had, by her own admission, never been a great sleeper. But when she was hit with the deaths of her father and stepfather in rapid, peak COVID-era succession, the sandman took a more extended leave of absence. What could have become a mental and physical health crisis instead served as an catalyst for Abbs-Streets to get to know her "night self," as she explored the curious, creative and quiet power of those midnight hours.

Along the way, she discovered she had unique company in the female artists and writers — from Sylvia Plath to Lee Krasner — who carved out space for personal liberation in the middle of the night. Weaving history, scientific research on brain chemistry and Abbs-Streets's own personal nocturnal explorations, "Sleepless" is uniquely engaging and hopeful account of a condition that is more typically a truly miserable experience. And while the author acknowledges that "a good night's sleep is still the most fantastic thing ever," she offers an upside — especially for women — to wakefulness.

I talked to Abbs-Streets via Zoom recently about why sleep loss looks different in women than men, learning to not be afraid of the dark, and making friends with the night self.

This conversation has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Why does sleep become more elusive as we age? It has to do with shifts in "sleep architecture"

Talk to me about the galvanizing experience that starts you on this path of meeting your night self.

I haven't been a great sleeper for about 25 years, since I was pregnant for the first time, actually. That never got any better, and I was sort of okay with that. I just read a lot of books. But then a series of deaths happened within the space of about six weeks. It was also during COVID, before the vaccines had appeared.

So I had all my children at home and my mother and my stepmother were suddenly bereaved and isolated on their own. I took it upon myself to look after after everyone and everything, to organize all the funerals and give the eulogy and write the obituaries and do all the admin that comes with a death. I didn't really have space to grieve. I think grieving really needs its own space, and I didn't have that. But night became that space.

"Grieving really needs its own space, and I didn't have that. But night became that space. "

First of all, of course, I tried to fight that because like everyone I'm told you must have seven hours of sleep — even though I've never had this. I thought, even more than ever, I need to sleep. But by this point, nothing worked. I started off trying the usual, the melatonin, the [cannabis-based drug] CBD. Absolutely nothing had any effect whatsoever. But I had already started working on a book on women who worked at night. I'd always been interested in how so many women created such different things in the middle of the night. And my editor said, "That's a great book. You write something lighthearted and funny."

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Something lighthearted and funny that will include Sylvia Plath and Louise Bourgeois.

At that stage, Sylvia wasn't in it. I had a lot of Hollywood stars from the '20s and '30s, who would dance naked in their gardens. It was still meant to be a book that helped people with sleep anxiety, but now I was in full blown insomnia mode, not sleeping at all. And so the book had to take it had to do a big pivot. But knowing that all these women had these really lengthy periods of very bad insomnia, and just got up and created art, I thought, I don't need to lie in my bed. The first three or four months I did just lay there, and cried and thought and reflected.

That's when I started also to think, "This is a really nice time and a really peaceful space." It was my time, and I didn't have to worry about my two mothers or my children or whatever. But then as time went on, I thought, "Okay, I'm going to to try what these women tried," because some of them had successfully been able to sleep. Famously, Louise Bourgeois conquered her insomnia by drawing; Lee Krasner conquered her three years of insomnia by painting. I thought, maybe this is the way forward. I then embarked on this series of night journeys, and month by month, I went through picking off these different types of night adventures. And then I just became obsessed.

I went on an astronomy course, and learned about the stars and started sleeping out on the roof terrace. I think people thought I was a little bit odd, but it was so beautiful. All our ancestors, once upon a time, all slept like that. I thought, "God, I'm sleeping like people, who I'm genetically derived from, slept for thousands of years." It felt incredibly soothing and comforting and quite spiritual.

Then I graduated from my roof terrace, and I started going for little walks. I started off just looking out the window, then onto the roof terrace, them around the garden. I started edging out, because I've always been quite scared of the dark. But by this time, I was really quite okay in the dark. I started looking for glow worms and moths and reading about Rachel Carson at the beach in the middle of the night. Just so many women. A lot of them were, I suspect, [were] menopausal. They wouldn't have known that, because it was never spoken about. But they were all out and about, seemingly quite unafraid of the dark and never mentioning the concerns that we have a bit about being out.

I also found some contemporary women that I write about in the book, who are also incredibly brave, going out and doing astrophotography and walking. That changed my relationship with night. It changed the whole grieving process, really, because it became something that was much bigger than just grieving.

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What I discovered from my science reading was that the brain is wired differently at night. Knowing that was also quite helpful, because instead of thinking, "There's something wrong with me wanting to do this or thinking this," I was like, "No, this is just my brain. This is just my night self." I had the neuroscientists and the sleep researchers on one side, and then I had all these women that I called the "night spinners" on the other side, who had been getting up and finding their creative, reflective, spiritual side. It all came together.

You write about Virginia Woolf, and this book made me realize that for a lot of women, that "A Room of One's Own" is actually a time, less so a space. It's women claiming a time where they are not obliged, they're not tethered to their daily obligations.

Yes, and it's not clock time. It's a different sort of time and it moves, it dilates. I started to think of night as as not as a time but a country. I didn't know how much is going on at night. I had no idea. We sleep and we think everyone else is sleeping, but actually lots of things aren't sleeping — insects and birds and wildlife.

There's a sense that wakefulness must be tied to productivity. This is a book that is definitely about women being productive, but it is in a very creative way. It's not in service, necessarily, of capitalism or of others. For women, that time can be so sacred and precious and liberating.

It's very interesting. If you live with other people sleeping in your house, there's really no chance that you're going to start Hoovering, baking and emptying the dishwasher. You have to do something that's very quiet because you don't you really don't want to wake people up. You don't want them coming downstairs and asking for food. You have to do something very quiet.

Talk to me about the science about this and the way that your your brain works differently at night, particularly, the female brain works differently.

This is tied to light and dark, which fascinated me because I always assumed that it must be tied to sleep. The hormones start changing with the shift from light to dark. Melatonin starts to rise. Another hormone is leptin. Leptin starts to swish around us. That's the one that stops us wanting to eat, which is why we don't feel so hungry at night — an evolutionary adaptation. If we woke up at night feeling hungry a few millennia back and were tempted to go outside, we would have been at risk. A lot of these hormones seem to have been imprinted on us over thousands of years as a means of keeping us safe.

"I've never met anyone who wakes at night and is really happy and cheerful. It's always got that edge of sadness and contemplation. "

At the same time, other hormones start to slip away. Serotonin, which is a hormone that makes us feel happy and cheerful, just slips away, which is why I've never met anyone who wakes at night and is really happy and cheerful. It can be downright ruminative. It's always got that edge of sadness and contemplation and reflection. That is probably because cortisol, a hormone that makes us feel alert and energetic, is absolute at its lowest point at about midnight. So hormonally, we are quite different.

What I found really interesting is about the prefrontal cortex, which is the most evolved part of the brain, which makes sure we think rationally and sensibly and can weigh up risk versus reward. I didn't know until I did my research that in women, it is both larger and it's more active. The prefrontal cortex is also really tied up within the inner critic, that little voice in your head that says, "You're not good enough. Don't do that; that's not your thing."

At night, the prefrontal cortex goes into partial hibernation, which researchers think is because it just needs to rest and repair itself for the following day. I thought, maybe that's an opportunity for women. Perhaps that is why Virginia Woolf produced her most outrageous book ["Orlando"] when she wrote it at night and why Lee Krasner's paintings were so different at night. Perhaps that is the loosening of the prefrontal cortex that sleep scientists think may be responsible for men's reckless behavior at night. Maybe what is detrimental for them is actually possibly of benefit to women.

Talk to me about DMT, because this was very revelatory and a little confusing for me. Our brains produce these psychedelics.

Endogenous dimethyltryptamine [DMT], the kind that we produce ourselves, is really hard to study. It stays in our brain for such a short period of time, around for about 20 minutes, and it comes in these little lightning bolts. It's bound up with dreaming. I noticed from reading all of these letters and journals from women in the past who were out in the dark, they often would see things. I wondered why people thought so much about ghosts and phantoms in the past. I've experienced it myself out night walking with no torch. You often you see things and you don't know where they've come from. My main experience of it really was in the hypnagogic hallucinations.

They're more common in women, more common in people who don't sleep very well. I think they're also more common in people who are grieving. It's all part of the same thing, and flitting between wakefulness and sleepfulness. That seems to be the space where you can switch into these odd visions, which for me, came as like a cinematic still. That's one theory. Other people may have different views. Another researcher, Christopher Timmermann Slater, describes endogenous DMT as dreaming while you're awake.

This is a book about some of the beautiful upsides of our wakefulness, But we also know that sleep deprivation is terrible for us. Sleep deprivation ages us, it wears out our bodies. And there is a price to be paid, as Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath would have told you, for those nocturnal creations. We may make friends with the night self, but then the alarm still is going to go off and "day self" has still got to do our jobs and take care of our families. How do we reckon with all of this, especially as women who are doing so much of the caregiving?

You're absolutely right. And I really don't want anyone to start setting their alarm for the middle of the night. A good night's sleep is still the most fantastic thing ever.

I did discover a few things quite early on, and they were game changers. Otherwise, I would have been completely crushed by the fatigue. The first thing was the anxiety of not sleeping. When I got rid of that, the next morning, I still felt a bit weary, but I didn't feel as tired as when I spent the night really stressed about not being asleep. When I got up and embraced it, and when I went for a walk, for example, I would quite often come back and and fall back to sleep. Whereas if I'm tossing and turning, it can be for hours.

The second thing is I realized was that the getting rid of the anxiety made the next day much less tired. On the nights where I had gone out by itself or felt really proud of myself for spotting stars, I didn't feel nearly as tired as on those angst-ridden days.

about sleep loss

Wildfires in Chile leave at least 122 dead and hundreds more missing

From the coast to its central provinces, more than 120 people are dead and many others are missing due to a rash of wildfires raging throughout Chile. The beleaguered South American country appears to have suffered a death toll of at 122 at the time of this writing, with thousands more left homeless. The wildfires have been particularly brutal to the residents of Viña del Mar, where the flames are burning with the highest intensity. Viña del Mar was once home to a famous botanical garden since 1931— now it has been incinerated. Other nearby cities like Quilpué and Villa Alemana have reportedly been evacuated to prevent looting.

The wildfires occurred against a backdrop of unprecedented heat waves in Chile. These record high temperatures have combined with the effects of the El Niño weather pattern to cause severe droughts, which in turn make wildfires more likely.

The current unprecedented heat is driven by burning fossil fuels and climate change, but it's harder to directly attribute fires to climate change. As Salon previously reported, it is difficult to answer that question — but not impossible.

"Factors that affect the fire such as temperature, fuel aridity, relative humidity, and wind leading up to and during the fire can be compared to historical conditions," Crystal Raymond Ph.D., a climate adaptation specialist at the University of Washington's College of the Environment, wrote to Salon in August. "How frequent have these conditions been in the past? How rare are they? 99 percentile, 99.9 percentile, unprecedented in the historical record? That is relatively easy to calculate. Then climate modeling can show how much more likely those conditions are given the climate warming that has already occurred and will continue in the future."

"For fires though, it is less direct than heatwaves because other factors also matter, like the cause of the ignition and the efforts to stop the fire," Raymond added. "These factors aren't an issue when attributing heatwaves to human-caused climate change."

Jacob Elordi under police investigation for allegedly assaulting a radio producer in Australia

Jacob Elordi is under police investigation after allegedly assaulting a radio producer in Australia on Saturday.

The “Saltburn” star was at the Clovelly Hotel in the Sydney suburbs when he was approached by Joshua Fox, a producer for “The Kyle & Jackie O Show,” according to Australia’s Daily Telegraph. Fox recounted the incident on the radio show Monday, saying he asked Elordi for some of his bathwater to give to host Jackie O. The joke is a reference to a scene in “Saltburn” in which Barry Keoghan's character is ecstatic to partake in the leftover bathwater from Elordi's character.

Fox said he stopped filming their interaction and agreed to delete the footage at Elordi’s request. However, he had a change of heart after the situation grew violent.

“I'm backed against this wall. He's right in my face, and his two boys are now on either side of me,” Fox said on the show. “It's like a switch went off, and he's becoming quite aggressive, and I'm feeling intimidated.”

He continued, “The way they’re surrounding me, I’m thinking something’s going to happen here. Someone’s going to jump me or something. So I say no, I’m not deleting that. I refuse to because I feel uncomfortable right now, and this is the only evidence. And then Jacob kind of just flips, and he kind of pushes me against the wall, and his hands are on my throat.”

In a statement to Variety, the New South Wales Police said they are investigating the matter. Police said they were notified of the incident at about 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. Fox did not sustain any injuries.

Nevada Republicans’ caucus adds chaos and confusion to the state’s presidential primary

When Sarah Lee Hooper’s mail-in ballot for Nevada’s presidential primary arrived last month, the Las Vegas Republican was utterly confused.

The candidate she wanted to vote for, Vivek Ramaswamy, wasn’t included. Neither were Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and, most notably, former President Donald Trump. The only name she recognized was former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

“What the heck? This is weird,” she remembered thinking. “Are they trying to convince people Nikki is the only option?”

A quick internet search turned up the answer: The Nevada Republican Party opted to eschew the state-run presidential primary on Feb. 6, in favor of running its own caucus two days later, which will decide who wins Nevada’s delegates to the national GOP convention. Presidential contenders who participate in the primary are prohibited by the party from also being candidates in the caucus.

While legal, the party’s decision to host a competing nominating contest in the state has confused and angered GOP voters.

Hooper had no idea there would also be a caucus or that Ramaswamy opted to participate in it instead of the primary before dropping out of the race.

“If you don’t want me to be a conspiracy theorist, then be transparent,” Hooper said. “Send me all of the information at once.”

Since Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election, supporters have cultivated an ecosystem of confusion around election processes through unfounded claims of voter fraud, demands for paper ballots and hand counts, and state-by-state efforts to subvert the 2020 results.

Leaders of the caucus effort are among those who tried to keep Trump in power. Three caucus overseers face felony charges for their roles in trying to overturn the 2020 election. Others running the caucus have been on the vanguard of those pushing unfounded election fraud allegations in the state.

These Republicans claim the caucus will serve as a model for how to run a more secure election — a claim disputed by election experts who note the drastic differences between a caucus, which attracts a fraction of the electorate to decide a single race, and elections, where many more voters cast ballots for local, state and federal offices.

The primary election is run by state election officials and adheres to Nevada’s voting laws — which allow for mail-in ballots, early voting and same-day registration. The Nevada Republican Party’s rules for its caucus reflect some GOP leaders’ efforts to limit voting. Participation requires registering as a Republican 30 days in advance, arriving at a set location and time, and presenting identification.

The confusion created about how elections work, including fraud allegations and now around how Nevada will choose who it backs in the Republican primary, has provided fertile ground for conspiracy theories and misinformation to take hold, experts say, causing a greater share of voters to distrust election results and democratic institutions.

“It does make the misinformation environment more dangerous,” said Gowri Ramachandran, deputy director of elections and government for the Brennan Center for Justice’s Democracy Program. “These information gaps about voting, how it works, that sort of thing, can get filled in by incorrect information.”

“It’s clear from Jan. 6 that when that kind of misinformation spreads, it has a negative impact on people’s trust in elections and willingness to abide by the results,” she added. “It’s had a negative effect on democracy over the years.”

Confusion Over Competing Contests

When primary ballots absent Trump’s name began hitting mailboxes, Republicans across the state reacted with angry bewilderment.

Some thought he had been kicked off the ballot by a court because of his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, as happened in a Colorado case that is now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. (A judge in Nevada rejected a similar challenge.) Others latched on to a false rumor that an inept campaign staffer forgot to file paperwork to get Trump on the ballot. Voters also wondered whether they could participate in both contests, or if casting a primary ballot and caucusing would constitute an illegal attempt to vote twice. (Nevada’s attorney general and secretary of state have assured voters they are free to participate in both.)

“I haven’t heard anybody who is happy with this unless they are with the state party and the county parties,” said Assemblywoman Danielle Gallant, R-Las Vegas, who has spent recent weeks explaining the situation to her constituency of mostly older voters.

The Nevada Republican Party’s decision to force candidates to forgo the primary if they wanted to be included in the caucus will likely hand the state’s 26 convention delegates to the former president. (At this point only one other obscure candidate remains in the caucuses.) It also foreclosed on any of Trump’s opponents building momentum from a strong showing in the state’s primary even as the field has shrunk since Iowa and New Hampshire, leaving Haley and a handful of lesser-known contenders.

Trump’s allies in the state, including Nevada’s popular Republican governor, Joe Lombardo, have urged GOP voters who participate in the primary to mark “none of these candidates” on the ballot rather than vote for a candidate. They hope to avoid Haley emerging with a larger vote total in the primary than Trump receives in the caucus, a possibility because more voters are expected to cast a ballot in the primary than attend the caucus.

In a Jan. 27 campaign visit to Las Vegas, Trump urged supporters to skip the primary entirely, describing it as a “con job” and a “meaningless event.” The caucus, he said, “is the right way and the legitimate way.”

“Don’t go on Tuesday, Feb. 6,” he told the crowd. “Don’t do it. Don’t use the mail-in ballot.”

“We Will Deliver You 100% of the Delegates”

Because of the primary-caucus confusion, candidates and the national political press have largely ignored Nevada’s “First in the West” contests despite the state’s early spot on the presidential nominating calendar. Trump is the only candidate to visit the state more than once since August.

Democrats have worked since 2007 to establish Nevada as an important early primary state. The effort was spearheaded by the late U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who used caucuses as a party-building exercise. Since then, both parties have held early caucuses with varying success at making them relevant and competitive.

A couple of years back, that looked to be changing. With the caucus process coming under fire for hindering participation, the Nevada Legislature passed a law in 2021 to create this year’s presidential preference election. Although that effort was led by Democratic lawmakers, Republicans had tried years earlier without success to swap the caucus for a primary.

The Nevada GOP rejects the notion that by holding a caucus it has rigged this year’s contest for the former president. But Trump has been actively preparing to secure the nomination for the past year, including courting party insiders across the country. Those efforts extended to Nevada. Early last year he wooed GOP leaders — including Nevada Republican Chairman Michael McDonald, National Committeeman Jim DeGraffenreid and Bruce Parks, chairperson of the second-largest county party — at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

McDonald, DeGraffenreid and Jim Hindle are under indictment for acting as fraudulent electors for Trump in his effort to overturn the 2020 election — charges to which they’ve pleaded not guilty and are arguing to have dropped. Hindle, as Storey County clerk, is responsible for administering elections, putting him in the novel position of overseeing parts of both the primary and the caucus.

“I’m just doing the job I was elected to do,” Hindle said.

Despite claims of neutrality, McDonald has referred to Trump as the “next president of the United States.” At Trump’s January rally, McDonald stated his intentions more explicitly, referring to Trump simply as “the president.”

“When I talked to the president, I said, ‘I guarantee you Nevada will show up and we will deliver you 100% of the delegates for the state of Nevada to Donald J. Trump,’” he said.

While the caucus favors Trump, the party was transparent with Republican voters and GOP presidential candidates in creating it, McDonald argued.

McDonald blamed the state’s lack of a voter identification requirement for the party’s decision to run a caucus, saying Republican voters don’t trust the system without it.

Parks, chairperson of the party in Washoe County, home to Reno, has also been a leading voice in promoting unfounded election fraud allegations. Under his leadership, the county party adopted a resolution in 2022 declaring Joe Biden’s presidency to be illegitimate. Trump endorsed Parks in his reelection bid for county party chair last year, which Parks described as “one of the proudest moments of my life.”

In an interview with ProPublica, Parks said the party’s central committee decided not to participate in Nevada’s new presidential preference primary election because it wants to demonstrate what he contends is the proper way to run an election: required identification, paper ballots and hand-counting with results reported on the same day.

“There was much discussion — the pros and cons were weighed and measured — and in the end, the people decided we are going to do a caucus because it is more secure and more transparent than a universal mail-in system that does not require ID,” he said.

“Anybody who wants to observe is welcome to,” he said before catching himself. “Let me rephrase that: Anybody who is a Republican and can participate in the process is welcome to observe.”

Until ProPublica raised the issue with the state party, Parks said he wouldn’t allow the news media into Washoe County sites. Now, he said he will allow a few reporters into a single caucus site. McDonald said each county’s chairperson decides whether reporters can observe the proceedings. In the past, reporters have not been barred from observing caucuses held by either party in Nevada.

When asked why the GOP was changing its policy, Parks said, “For obvious reasons. There seems to be a shortage of honest reporters. We’re not going to open the doors and allow a particular narrative to be put out there that is not truthful. That is just not going to happen.”

Anyone who disagrees with the way the caucuses are being run can register with the party and keep an eye on things themselves, he said. “You want to make sure everything is above board? Get involved. Most importantly, change your registration and become a Republican,” he said.

Counting caucus results is not the same as counting election results, Ramachandran said. Hand-counting an election with hundreds of thousands of voters and dozens of races is neither efficient nor accurate.

“It’s really important when people are looking at those issues not to make the mistake of comparing apples to oranges,” she said.

Unknown Impact on the General Election

How the confusion and resulting disinformation from the presidential nominating process will influence general-election voter behavior is difficult to forecast. Ramachandran said it’s challenging to study how disinformation affects turnout.

“It’s hard to know who’s been subjected to that confusion or has become susceptible to misinformation, and it’s really hard to tie that to impact on turnout or specific candidates,” she said.

Gallant, who is running for reelection to the Assembly this year, isn’t so sure. Beliefs about unfounded voter-fraud accusations kept Republican voters home in 2020, she said, describing it as “oops, we screwed up.” Polling has backed that up, with surveys showing claims of fraud have made Republicans less likely to vote.

“We’ve done a lot of reeducation around that,” Gallant said, referencing the national party’s “Bank Your Vote” campaign that now encourages Republicans to vote early and by mail.

Jeremy Hughes, a Republican political consultant who is not involved in any of the presidential campaigns this year, said too much is being made over the caucus confusion.

“Donald Trump would have won the primary and he will win the caucus, so the mode of voting isn’t going to matter,” he said. “I have zero concern with it affecting voting behaviors.”

Cast “good and bad” foods aside: The importance of reframing weight and nutrition for children

How many of us recall having to calculate our body-mass index (BMI) as children at school, prompting comparisons of our weight with that of our peers? Or perhaps we remember references to calories and diets in the classroom.

Now, the Australian curriculum is changing how children and young people are educated about their bodies and what they eat, in a bid to prevent eating disorders.

Hundreds of references to terms including BMI, weight, calories and diets have been removed from school resources by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, replaced with terminology such as "balanced nutrition".

As a clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment of children and young people with body image and eating disorders, I welcome these changes. Given what we know about the links between weight stigma and the development of eating disorders, they're long overdue.

Weight stigma starts early

Weight stigma and diet culture are rife in our society.

People will often use words such as "fat" and "guilt" to cast shame over their own or others' body size and food choices. On the flip side, the latest diets and other weight loss techniques are regularly hot topics of conversation among friends and colleagues.

Evidence shows this sort of talk around children and young people can be very damaging, in some cases contributing to the development of disordered eating. So in the school environment we need to be especially mindful of the language we use around people's bodies and food.

Children learn about their bodies and nutrition when they start school, and this can be where a lot of misinformation (such as being fearful of certain foods because they're deemed to be "bad" for us) and stigma begins. Peer teasing for size, weight and shape is common and increases the risk of a child or young person developing an eating disorder.

I treat many adults who have severe eating disorders partly as a result of growing up in a society that overvalues thinness, promotes dieting for weight loss, and shames people who are overweight or obese. Much of this appears to have come from the influences of their schooling.

Fostering positive body image

We've known for a long time that early intervention through educating our children about well-being and positive mental health strategies is important to reduce the incidence of severe mental health conditions.

For eating disorders specifically, positive role modelling by adults around how we talk about our own and others' bodies is crucial.

This can include describing people for their interests and qualities rather than their appearance, and teaching children about gratitude and respect towards each other.

Research shows learning about body acceptance and appreciation is important for both males and females in developing a positive body image. Those children and young people who have a positive relationship with their bodies and food are much less likely to develop eating disorders.

Teachers have an important role in educating our children about body respect and having a healthy relationship with their bodies and eating.

This can be achieved through actions including avoiding comments about people's appearances, talking about food for its function in our bodies, and not attaching moral values (such as "good" or "bad") to the foods we eat. Indeed, the curriculum overhaul warns teachers against using these descriptors.

How to talk about food with kids

Learning about the importance of feeding our bodies and listening to our body's needs is important for children.

We need to talk about food for its function in our bodies (such as carbohydrates for energy and fats for our brain). We should talk about foods we eat to help us concentrate and fuel our bodies as well as making us strong and helping us feel well.

The curriculum changes appear to be designed to connect nutrition to physical and mental health in these ways.

Food should also be presented as an enjoyable and a social activity (for example, sharing food with others).

Everyone's appetite is different at different times and that's OK. Helping children understand how to respond to their appetite and knowing when they're hungry and full is important, as we know this helps with issues such as restrictive and binge eating, two common disordered eating behaviors.

Everyone has a role

Hopefully we are on the way to saying goodbye to the harm of weight stigma and diet talk in schools.

The biggest challenge is that we live in an appearance-obsessed world with a diet culture and many people have a fixed way of thinking about food and bodies that's hard to shift. As adults we have to work really hard to be better role models.

While teachers play a crucial role, children also need other adults to go to who make them feel understood and accepted. Being a positive role model means listening to children's concerns, and being be mindful of the way you talk about yours and others' bodies, as well as the sort of language you use around eating and food.

Vivienne Lewis, Assistant professor – Psychology, University of Canberra

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

“Where’s it stop?”: Guy Fieri goes on Fox News to discuss inflation and rising food costs

Guy Fieri has some thoughts on inflation and price gouging. In a recent appearance on Fox News' "One Nation with Brian Kilmeade," Fieri spoke about his career at large and the current inflation causing skyrocketing grocery prices. "I'm hearing about it and I'm seeing it," he said. "More so in the industry, you know, looking at the pressure put on these mom and pop restaurants when I do 'Diners, Drive-ins and Dives,' the dollar isn't going as far as it once was." This is so tough. They don't have the buying power of the big corporations and the big franchise groups."

In order to "navigate these waters," Fieri says that restaurants will need resourcefulness and creativity, especially if they don't want to pass the extra costs onto the customer. "Where does it stop?" he asked. "Who's going to pay the price?"

Kilmeade also played a clip for Fieri that showed podcast host Joe Rogan saying that California — where Fieri has lived for years — has gone "full communist." When asked if he concurred, Fieri demurred and pointed to the state's beautiful wine country and cultural opportunities for chefs.

Y’all means all: A queer travel guide to Northern Kentucky

When I was invited to visit Kentucky early last year by MeetNKY, the tourism board promoting the region, I was encouraged by the fact that the website featured a section detailing how “y’all means all” — at least in their part of the country. Per MeetNKY (who, by way of disclosure, fully hosted my visit), “Northern Kentucky and Cincy are happy to welcome LGBTQ+ travelers and show them how ‘Y’all means all’ in our region.”

And during our visit, it certainly felt welcoming and friendly to both myself and my wife during We joyfully strolled down the streets of Covington, recently recommended as a great place for LGBT people to retire by Marketwatch, and felt completely at ease holding hands and giggling like the star-crossed lovers we are.

Were we a little worried about visiting the area as a visibly queer, interracial couple? Yes, to a degree. We’d been to Kentucky before, specifically Louisville, and absolutely loved it! Smaller towns are definitely a different ballpark — but we decided to go anyway.

A new guide to traveling — and traveling to eat — while fat

However, since then, Kentucky overrode a veto to pass SB 150 which, as the BBC reported in 2023, is legislation that some Democrats have dubbed "most extreme anti-LGBTQ bill in America." It bars transgender students under the age of 18 from accessing gender-affirming healthcare, while also banning them from freely using bathrooms, locker rooms or shower rooms that match their gender identity. In addition to restricting discussions about sexual orientation and gender in schools, the bill means that teachers may refuse to use young people's correct pronouns that align with their gender identity (and that’s just the two-sentence version of the horror this bill unleashes in Kentucky).

When I asked about the very real safety concerns of queer people considering a visit to Northern Kentucky, Julie Kirkpatrick, the president and CEO of meetNKY, responded by saying that “all travelers are welcome in Kentucky, the literal start of Southern Hospitality, from the edge of the South along the Ohio River to the great outdoor spaces in Eastern Kentucky, our thousands of miles of shoreline and in every Bourbon Distillery throughout the Commonwealth.”

She continued: “Northern Kentucky is a very welcoming community, and we take all of our visitors’ safety very seriously. We are committed to treating all of our guests equally to ensure they always feel welcome and safe to enjoy our beautiful area of the country.”

The term “Southern hospitality” is frequently deployed to gloss over the very real harm actively perpetuated by straight white people (and sometimes white queer people, too!) in the South to people who aren't like them, including Black folks, Jews, and of course, queer people. However, since visiting Covington, the city once again received a 100 rating from the Human Rights Campaign's Municipal Equality Index — the highest available on the Index — for the 15^th consecutive year.

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This rating takes into account determining factors such as whether or not a city has an active Human Rights Commission and an LGBTQ liaison within the mayor’s office; whether there are municipal services available to aid LGBTQ youth and LGBTQ Police Liaison or Task Force; and whether there are comprehensive non-discrimination laws and policies within the city, even despite state-level legislation.

Since 2003, Covington has had an ordinance on the books, the Human Rights Ordinance, that explicitly “prohibit[s] discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodations, resort and amusement.” In 2016, the city passed a resolution reaffirming the city’s commitment to the ordinance.

“Our Human Rights Ordinance has been a real positive for Covington and has led to our city being more inclusive and welcoming,” said then-Mayor Sherry Carran at the time. “Allowing discrimination by a business or a government office because they do not endorse a person’s way of life or agree with a person’s beliefs is harmful, both to the individual being discriminated against and to the larger community as a whole.

Like the rest of the country, “The South” might be home to some racist and homophobic pockets of the country, but it’s also home to millions of queer, Black, trans, and Jewish people who go about their daily lives while trying to dodge the horror all around them. So, with all that for context, here are some fabulous things my wife and I did, ate, and enjoyed. If you end up in the area, you can rest assured that at least at the time we visited, these businesses showed not one ounce of hate — quite the opposite, in fact.

Where to Stay

Hotel Covington: Hotel Covington is located right in the heart of Covington, allowing you to walk out and explore the area. The hotel used to be an old Coppin's department store, which was converted into a 114-room hotel that still holds some of the vintage remnants of the old building. You’ll walk into a spacious lobby with high ceilings, chandeliers and a restaurant, where they serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. We were greeted with a kind word and a cheerful “hello!” every time we walked in — just one example of the stellar customer service you’ll experience at Hotel Covington. The beds were pretty comfortable, too!

And when you’re out exploring, stop by Grainwell, a small woodworking home decor boutique owned by two sisters, and Handzy, a small shop with quirky, colorful accessories, decor and lovely unique greeting cards. You’ll also find Kentucky Botanical Co. CBD Store nearby, with a variety of CBD, Delta 8 and 9 products, and Hierophany & Hedge, a magical store that sells a wide variety of candles, incense, crystals, talismans, wands and a lot more. These shops are locally-owned and within walking distance of the hotel.

Where to Eat

Unataza: Alejandra Flores would host coffee origin trips to her home country, Honduras, for members of the Northern Kentucky community. The popular trips led to the founding of Unataza, which serves Honduran food and coffee, which Flores sources herself from farmers in Honduras. I am unabashedly picky when it comes to coffee. I’m not a daily coffee drinker, so when I do indulge, I want it to be good — really good.

Unataza exceeds every expectation with high-quality coffee carefully prepared to squeeze every bit of deliciousness into your cup. And there are loads of coffee options to suit any taste, including a golden latte with turmeric syrup. (I even came back a second time because the only good cup of coffee I enjoyed in the area was there!)

Bouquet: “Unpolished fine dining” is what Bouquet is known for; chef and restaurant owner Stephen Williams uses local, fresh ingredients to inspire the ever-changing menu. We enjoyed a beautiful citrus and greens salad and a comforting bowl of risotto topped with mushrooms, perfect for the freezing-cold January night. Like many great restaurants, Bouquet offers a tasting menu, but unlike other restaurants, it’s not small-format, and you get to choose your own dishes. At only $60 for four courses, it’s a great value for some truly inspired food.

Rich’s Proper: For super fresh oysters and complex cocktails and mocktails, you’ll have to stop at Rich’s Proper. The restaurant carries the name of the former occupant of the location, Historic Rich’s Gruen Watches. The husband and wife team has a long history in the restaurant industry and a personal connection to oysters, which now feature prominently on their menu, served in four different iterations. For raw oyster lovers, you have them traditionally on the half shell with horseradish and oyster shooters served with jalapeno-infused vodka and bloody mary mix. Additionally, Rich’s offers broiled oysters with or without Spanish chorizo. Stop in for dinner, or make it a late-night pitstop, since they're open until 11 pm on the weekends.

Mama’s on Main: Mama’s on Main is a beautiful, dimly lit restaurant with huge windows, painted murals, and big, beautiful light fixtures. The large stained glass window was salvaged from a local church that was destroyed in a fire in 1980. The restaurant serves classic American Italian food, and they do it very well, better than most. You won’t go wrong with anything, but the decadent, pillowy soft ricotta gnocchi with herb pesto and crispy prosciutto is truly spectacular. If you like the classics, try the perfectly crispy eggplant parmesan topped with gooey melted mozzarella on a bed of saucy spaghetti.

Baker’s Table: Baker’s Table is all about sustainable cooking, using every single part of the animal in their dishes, baking their own bread, and changing the menu weekly to utilize local, fresh ingredients. The restaurant is completely plastic-free, from the kitchen to the bar to takeout containers, taking their sustainable mission to the next level. Don’t think for a second that this makes the restaurant boring or the food uninspired. Quite the opposite. The vibe is immaculate, with live jazz music on some nights and a soft chatter and laughter fills the dimly lit restaurant. The sourdough bread was incredible. We enjoyed a wonderful winter citrus salad. If you love classic comfort food, the elevated mac and cheese is the grown-up version of a childhood favorite and every bit as nostalgic. And make sure you get dessert. The ricotta donuts were spectacular! Super fluffy and light, and the perfect way to end a memorable meal.

Bourbon

I’m told that when you visit Kentucky, you must drink lots of bourbon and check out all the distilleries. Not a big drinker myself, I pushed back, but at the end of the day, I actually enjoyed most of the bourbon experiences in Northern Kentucky.

New Riff: Just across the river from Cincinnati is New Riff, a family-owned distillery that intends to be a “new riff on an old tradition.” While established, generations-old distilleries tend to gloss over (more like entirely avoid) their racist history, New Riff has been around for just ten years and is doing business differently.

I’m not really a fan of bourbon, but there was something special about touring the facility. Every person at New Riff was a fountain of knowledge and obviously passionate about their craft. New Riff’s incoming Chief Executive Officer, Hannah Lowen — who previously served as the company's Vice President of Operations — is a queer woman who got her start in politics. While that might not seem like a big deal, it’s a big deal in bourbon, a man’s game.

Take their tour and learn how bourbon is made and what makes New Riff different. Before you go, be sure to buy their barbecue spice rub and bourbon barrel-aged maple syrup, which will please even the most bourbon-averse person.

Revival Vintage Bottle Shop: Step back in history and stop by Revival, a woman and queer-owned vintage spirits shop. The small shop is filled to the brim with vintage spirits ranging from 100-year-old bourbon to tequila and everything in between. And you don’t have to buy a bottle to enjoy a visit here. Revival sells vintage bourbons, scotch, gin, tequila, rye, and so much more by the shot, so anyone can try a little bit of the history of alcoholic beverages and learn about their history.

Second Sight Spirits: This distillery has the most interesting story. The owners began their journey in Las Vegas, building sets for shows. But I won’t give away the whole story, because taking a tour at Second Sight Spirits is a really unique experience, and you want to hear their history directly from the owner, who has a brilliant way of telling their story. And by the way, bourbon isn’t the only thing you’ll find at Second Sight Spirits. We bought a truly magnificent apple pie moonshine and a few other bottles that we’re enjoying slowly to this day. If you only visit one distillery in Northern Kentucky, it should be this one.

What to Do

501 Salon & Spa: Have you ever had a facial massage? 501 Salon & Spa offers everything from massages to haircuts and facials, all in a charming and cozy setting. My wife got a massage, and I got a facial. I was a little nervous because every time I get a facial, it’s kinda painful because of my skin and the extractions that are typically done. When I informed the esthetician that I really just wanted to relax, she offered a facial massage, which certainly sounded a little odd, but was truly a magical experience. I wholeheartedly recommend it!

Newport Aquarium: I’ve been to a dozen aquariums in the US, Canada, Europe and Bermuda, and this is my favorite one. It’s huge! In addition to the normal things you’d find in an aquarium, they offer face painting and caricatures, as well as other fun activities to enjoy. I certainly took advantage of the face painting and wouldn’t have it any other way. Definitely worth a visit, but might be worth heading there on a weekday, as it’s pretty busy on the weekend.

Purrfect Day Cat Cafe: If you like cats, you will love the Purrfect Day Cat Cafe. I fell in love with a tiny little cat named Hank, and almost took him home with me! You can adopt a cat and take them home with you that very day if you, too, fall in love. Be sure to book a time slot ahead of time because the cafe fills up quickly. It’s worth noting that this is an actual cafe too, where you can buy treats, coffee and other drinks. Best of all, this is just a few blocks away from Hotel Covington, so you can walk!

CORRECTION: Baker's Table Bakery closed on Oct. 28, 2023. This story has also been updated to include additional context about Covington's LGBT community and policies.

about this topic

Kellyanne Conway rejects calls for Trump to “pick a woman” VP

Former Trump White House adviser Kellyanne Conway on Monday pushed back on calls for the former president to “pick a woman” as his running mate, urging him instead to pick a “person of color.”

Conway, who argued that she was “right” in pushing Mike Pence to be Trump’s running mate in 2016, in a New York Times op-ed rejected the “popular suggestion” that Trump pick a woman as his running mate as President Joe Biden did four years earlier, claiming that the country “suffers daily the consequences of embracing identity politics” because Vice President Kamala Harris does not take “her job seriously” and has “not appreciably helped” Biden govern.

“The ‘pick a woman’ theory also runs counter to the fact that politics is not about biology or even chemistry but about math and science. Indeed, Mr. Trump beat Mrs. Clinton in 2016, snatching from her the all but certain title of first female president of the United States when a majority of voters were women,” Conway wrote, noting that Biden has his own problem among male voters and “as sure as the sun rises in the east, any woman Mr. Trump chooses will be denigrated as not enough of a/not a real/not a relatable woman.”

Conway wrote that she would advise Trump to “choose a person of color as his running mate.”

“Not for identity politics a la the Democrats but as an equal helping to lead an America First movement that includes more union workers, independents, first-time voters, veterans, Hispanics, Asian Americans and African Americans,” Conway wrote, listing as potential options Sens. Tim Scott, R-S.C.; Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; and J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, Reps. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., and Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, former HUD Secretary Ben Carson and former presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy.

“Politics is the art of addition, not subtraction — let alone distraction,” she wrote. “A qualified running mate who attracts rather than alienates core constituencies is ready to lead on Day 1 and who can find his or her way in front of a TV camera without becoming the headline is preferred.”

Legal scholar: New Jack Smith filing exposes Trump’s “frivolous” defense

Prosecutors from special counsel Jack Smith’s office told a judge last week that defense lawyers representing former President Donald Trump in the classified documents case had painted an “inaccurate and distorted picture of events” and accused the defense of unfairly attempting to "cast a cloud of suspicion" over government officials carrying out their duties.

Their comments came in a court filing that addressed a request from the Trump team last month aiming to compel prosecutors to hand over certain documents that they claim will serve as evidence of bias and misconduct related to records that were retrieved from the ex-president’s Mar-a-Lago residence, The Associated Press reported.

The prosecutors in the filing said that discovery requests should be grounded in specific demands directly relevant to the case, necessary for preparing the defense. They criticized Trump's team for seeking records “based on speculative, unsupported, and false theories of political bias and animus.”

“The defendants rely on a pervasively false narrative of the investigation’s origins,” the prosecutors wrote. “Their apparent aim is to cast a cloud of suspicion over responsible actions by government officials diligently doing their jobs. The defendants’ insinuations have scant factual or legal relevance to their discovery requests, but they should not stand uncorrected.”

"Inaccurate and distorted": New Jack Smith filing blows up Trump's false Mar-a-Lago narrative

They contended that the government faced an “extraordinary situation” with a former president engaging in “calculated and persistent obstruction of the collection of Presidential records,” which belonged to the United States. The records included a “trove of highly classified documents containing some of the nation’s most sensitive information,” which the law required to be collected.

The former president is facing dozens of felony charges in a federal court in Florida, alleging the unlawful handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate and impeding government attempts to recover them.

It is “commonplace” in criminal litigation that when the defense has a “weak case,” they attack the prosecutor, Bennett Gershman, a former New York prosecutor and law professor at Pace University, told Salon. Here, the defense is claiming that the prosecution had failed to disclose evidence that Trump had a security clearance to retain documents at Mar-a-Lago and that the White House and other federal agencies possessed critical but undisclosed information relevant to the defense case.

With a "friendly" judge, they believe their attack might work and impact their ability to delay the proceedings, Gershman explained. For this reason, the prosecution provided such a “lengthy and scrupulously” detailed response.

“The response was intended to show that the defense’s arguments are frivolous and an attempt to obfuscate, distort, and confuse the facts about Trump’s unlawful conduct,” Gershman said. “The prosecutor’s response detailed the extraordinary volume of materials already given to the defense.”

This includes 1.28 million pages, hundreds of hours of video footage, identities and descriptions of the 48,000 guests at Mar-a-Lago between January 2021 and May 2022, details of the FBI investigation and search, and a showing that while classified documents were on Trump’s property, only a handful of Trump’s guests, 2,200, had their names checked and passed through magnetometers, Gershman explained.

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In their response, prosecutors criticized the defense's requests as vague and often indecipherable, the AP reported. In some cases, they said that they had already provided extensive information to the defense.

Trump's legal team demanded disclosure of information about "temporary secure locations" at Trump properties to counter claims of Mar-a-Lago not being secure as well as to reveal Secret Service measures.

However, prosecutors contend they have already provided thorough details about secure facilities and protective measures that were taken for Trump and his family at residential locations.

They also suggested that the provided records might not favor Trump's defense, pointing to testimony from “multiple Secret Service agents stating that they were unaware that classified documents were being stored at Mar-a-Lago, and would not be responsible for safeguarding such documents in any event.”

This would show Trump’s “effort to conceal documents” he possessed even from the Secret Service and “raise an incriminating inference of his consciousness” that his conduct was “unlawful,” Gershman explained.

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The mention that Secret Service agents were unaware of classified documents being stored at Mar-a-Lago “introduces questions” about the “security protocols and potential breaches” of classified information handling, trial attorney Tray Gober told Salon. In legal terms, the Secret Service's knowledge, or lack thereof, could factor into arguments regarding the intent behind the storage of classified documents.

However, “culpability” in cases involving mishandling classified information “often hinges on the accused's knowledge and actions rather than third-party awareness," Gober said.

While the trial is currently scheduled for May 20, there is a possibility of it being postponed.

Several factors could contribute to such a decision, including discovery disputes, the complexity of the case and the need for thorough preparation by both parties, Gober explained. Delays in high-profile cases are not “uncommon” and can be “strategic” for both the prosecution and defense, allowing more time for evidence gathering, negotiation of plea deals or legal maneuvering.

But Gershman thinks that the delay would serve as an advantage for the former president.

“He wants to run out the clock before the election, and then if elected, scheme to have the charges dismissed,” Gershman said. “Delays in discovery, and claims of prosecution overreach, which is what Trump’s defense is orchestrating, seek to accomplish his objective.”

about Trump's documents case

A majority of Americans have stomach problems, so why can’t we quit spicy food?

In other "How is everyody doing?" news this month, beverage brand Truly Hard Seltzer announced an "ultra-limited edition" Hot Wing Sauce flavored edition of their product. “Truly has you covered with their weirdest, wildest, ‘who’s ready for some damn football’ -est flavor to date," Give Them Beer announced at the time. And this is where I admit, yeah, I'm out.

Call me a wimp. Call me vanilla. My gastrointestinal tract and I can bear your scorn. I am someone who finds plain seltzer, all by itself, too aggressive. You want to dare to me to add alcohol? And hot sauce? My head would never leave the toilet.

This is why your stomach hurts

The fact that Truly Hard's hot wing flavor sold out instantly makes it clear there's a public demand for "weird, wild" products. In perhaps not unrelated news, our stomachs are killing us.

A 2018 study of over 71,000 individuals in the American Journal of Gastroenterology found that "61% reported having had ≥1 GI symptom in the past week. The most commonly reported symptoms were heartburn/reflux (30.9%), abdominal pain (24.8%), bloating (20.6%), diarrhea (20.2%), and constipation (19.7%)" More recently, a 2023 survey from the health company MDVIP and market research firm Ipsos found that "Two-thirds of adults experience recurrent digestive symptoms like gas, bloating and abdominal pain." The survey also revealed that "75% of women experience gastrointestinal symptoms at least a few times a month compared to 57% of men," and that "Younger Americans experience more digestive woes, with 73% of adults ages 18-44 having symptoms at least a few times a month" with one-third of young adults saying that "Gut issues affect their self-esteem." I know this is an unpopular stance but hear me out here. Toast. White rice. Regular old water. Just think about it.

"In perhaps not unrelated news, our stomachs are killing us."

The human palate is highly individualized thing, informed by our genetics and environment. A recent feature in The Dish on Science noted that "Some people are born with fewer receptors for capsaicin, which is the compound that makes hot foods taste and feel hot." People with fewer of these receptors tend to have a higher tolerance for heat, while those with more feel the burn more easily. Our tastes also respond to exposure and associations. As food scientist and nutritionist Sophie Medlin told Delish in 2020, "People that grow up eating a lot of chilli, or have a lot of spicy food all through their life, will be more able to tolerate it than those who eat a more western diet." So if, like me, you grew up on boiled potatoes and seem to be made entirely of capsaicin, you may just have to settle for being down at the lower end of the Scoville scale.

Of course, spice isn't the only or even primary culprit for our collective stomach problems. We skip meals and rush through choking down the ones we do guiltily consume. When we do eat, we gorge on way too much at a time, thanks to supersized portions, and we eat a whole lot of fast food and processed food. And then we chase it all down with some Maalox.

I've spent most of my life self-identifying as an adventurous eater. Maybe that's why it's taken so long to recognize my limits, and to reconsider my embarrassment about uttering the word "medium" when the waiter asks how I'd like my guac. And I wonder if part of the reason women suffer stomach problems more than men is a certain unspoken pressure to keep up with the big boys in the flamin' hot arena of life.

Lately, however, I've been taking inspiration from my Gen Z daughters, who have had enough GI tract drama in their lives to proceed with caution toward any product that has a police car alarm emoji on the package. Proud kindred of the hot girls with IBS, yassified Lactaid chewer demographic, they are completely unfazed about picking the onions and jalapeños out of everything. I think they're my role models.

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But embracing a milder diet requires a mind shift. After all, an enthusiasm for anything that goes scorched earth from your throat to your colon is considered a sign of fortitude and fun. (There are no popular YouTube channels called "Bland Ones.") Yet you know what's also fun? Not having debilitating cramps.

"You don't need to eat super spicy food to enjoy your meals," says Dr. Thanu Jey, medical director and founder at the healthcare company MediBrace. It helps not to think of dietary changes as limitations but the chance to experiment with different flavors. "Trying different tastes keeps eating fun and stops cravings," he says. "Use mushrooms, citrus, and herbs to add taste without the burn. Try new marinades, dressings, and salsas." Jey also recommends that you "Eat healthy fats. Foods like avocados, nuts, and fatty fish are good for you and protect your stomach." And while it might seem like a no-brainer, he advises to "Pay attention to your stomach. If spicy, oily, or acidic foods cause problems, stop eating them."

Just stopping isn't always easy, though. As the memory of what went down the last time you just had to flex at that barbecue fades, the temptation to try out that new collab with those brands that throw around words like "death," "extreme" and "guaranteed gastritis" begins to assert itself again. Stay strong, my comrades.

Don't just confine habit changes to dialing back on aggravating foods, either. Lisa Andrews, a dietician with Health Insiders — and reflux sufferer herself — mentions that alcohol and excess caffeine can also aggravate stomach acid. She also advises to pay attention to how your food is prepared. "High-fat, fried foods also can aggravate stomach pain and upset because they stick around longer and take longer to digest," she says. "Go with baked, broiled or grilled meats when possible and stick with lean cuts of meat, fish, or seafood." And if you're still grappling with stomach issues, she suggests "Keeping a food diary may help you discover which foods impact your stomach pain. Write down what you ate and when," she says, "and what your reaction was within the past day.

"Enjoy the adventure of milder flavors."

I'm really fine with not needing to optimize every morsel I consume for maximum nutrition and health. I eat as much for pleasure as anything else, and sometimes I'll take a little discomfort for a great culinary experience. But I also want to confine my spiciness to my personality, and normalize eating things that don't hurt me. "Your stomach and taste buds will be happier with gentler foods," says Dr. Thanu Jey, "Enjoy the adventure of milder flavors." And, adds, "Remember, tasty doesn't have to be painful."

about eating healthier

Where did the ingredients in that sandwich come from?

Have you ever looked down at your breakfast, lunch or dinner and considered where the various ingredients travelled from to reach your plate?

A basic sandwich in New Zealand can easily represent five countries: an Australian wheat and Indian sesame seed roll, Danish salami, local lettuce and cheese, seasoned with Vietnamese pepper.

And because your food travels a long way to reach you, so does your nutrition.

Research on global food trade — particularly trade in cereals — has a long history. More recently, researchers have begun considering the nutrients — energy, protein, vitamins, minerals — that move around the world within traded food.

As we learn more about the global trade in nutrients we can build a better picture of how these key dietary ingredients are distributed and how they affect global population health.

Mapping global nutrient trade

The Sustainable Nutrition Initiative undertakes modelling research on the links between global food production and the nutrition of the global population.

Working with researchers at the University of São Paulo and State University of Campinas in Brazil, we have now published a broader analysis of global nutrient trade over time and its impact on health.

It shows the variation in nutrient trade between countries with differing wealth and some positive links between nutrient trade and health.

Our team built a large data set of all flows of food for human consumption between 254 countries from 1986 to 2020. From this, we worked out the flows of 48 essential nutrients over that period.

As this is too much information for a single scientific paper, the team built an interactive app to let anyone explore the data.

The paper itself focused on a few key nutrients: protein, calcium, iron and vitamins A and B12. These are often used in analyses of food security (having reliable access to enough affordable, nutritious food) because of their importance to human health.

Some of these nutrients are under-supplied in many parts of the world, particularly low-income countries. At the same time, nutrient trade over the 35 years we analysed has grown rapidly, as shown in the chart below for vitamin B12.

Vitamin B12 trade by country income classification, 1986-2020: H = high-income countries, UM = upper middle-income , LM = lower middle-income, L = low-income, ODU = origin or destination not recorded. Nick William Smith, CC BY-SA

The wealth and nutrient gap

High-income countries were the biggest importers of vitamin B12, but also the other nutrients analysed, largely from trade with other high-income countries. This is despite those countries having only around 15% of the global population.

In contrast, low-income countries have little involvement in global trade of any nutrients. This limits their ability to improve dietary diversity and quality through food from outside their borders.

Most of New Zealand's trading partners are in the higher-income brackets. Milk and meat dominate New Zealand protein exports, with China the major partner (see chart below).

The quantity of protein exported would meet the needs of nearly seven times New Zealand's own population. In a country like China, of course, this is only a small fraction of the population.

In contrast, nearly 60% of New Zealand's protein imports comes from Australia, largely in wheat and wheat products. And New Zealand imports enough protein to meet around half its population's need.

New Zealand protein exports by country and food group. Nick William Smith, CC BY-SA

We also analyzed the socioeconomic, demographic and health outcome data potentially associated with food consumption patterns and nutrient trade.

The findings suggest higher involvement in nutrient trade networks was significantly associated with improvements in infant mortality rates, lower prevalence of anaemia in women of reproductive age and greater life expectancy.

Food security and nutrition

It is concerning to see the low involvement of low-income countries in nutrient trade, particularly given the benefits it can bring for population health.

Our research provides context for how important traded nutrients are in meeting national population requirements. This knowledge can be used to identify weaknesses in the global food system and which shocks (climatic, political or biological) might have the greatest consequences for nutrition.

These data can then be combined with other knowledge and modelling of food production, distribution and consumption at national levels to give a more complete view of food systems.

Food trade plays a key role in fostering food security and good nutrition. The trade has grown rapidly in both quantity and economic value over the past 35 years. Understanding its importance for healthy nutrition is essential.

Nick William Smith, Research Officer, Riddet Institute, Massey University; Andrew John Fletcher, Honorary Fellow, Sustainable Nutrition Initiative, Riddet Institute, and Warren McNabb, Professor of Nutritional Sciences, Massey University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

King Charles III diagnosed with cancer, Buckingham Palace announces

King Charles III has been diagnosed with cancer, Buckingham Palace announced in a statement Monday.

“During The King’s recent hospital procedure for benign prostate enlargement, a separate issue of concern was noted,” according to an emailed statement obtained by NBC News. “Subsequent diagnostic tests have identified a form of cancer.”

Buckingham Palace did not reveal what type of cancer the 75-year-old king was diagnosed with or what stage it was found. According to the statement, Charles began “regular treatments” on Monday and “remains wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible.”

News of the king’s recent diagnosis comes just a week after both Charles and Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, were discharged from a private London clinic following separate procedures. Charles underwent “a corrective procedure” for an enlarged prostate. It is understood that the king wanted to share his diagnosis at the time to encourage men who may be experiencing similar symptoms to seek medical guidance, per The Independent.

Charles will postpone his public engagements but “will continue to undertake State business and official paperwork as usual” throughout this period, Buckingham Palace said in its statement.

“His Majesty has chosen to share his diagnosis to prevent speculation and in the hope it may assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer,” the statement concluded.

“This is disgusting”: Outrage over bigotry, Islamophobia in Wall Street Journal and New York Times

The nation's leading newspapers were under fire this weekend after publishing opinion pieces seen as "Bigoted," "Islamophobic," "Racist," and "Reckless."

A Wall Street Journal opinion piece published on Friday afternoon read 'Welcome to Dearborn, America's Jihad Capital.'

And on Saturday, The New York Times published a piece by long-time columnist Thomas Friedman titled "Understanding the Middle East Through the Animal Kingdom."

February 2, 2024:
The conservative Wall Street Journal publishes an op-ed calling a largely Arab American city a 'jihad capital'.

The liberal New York Times publishes an op-ed comparing Arabs and Iranians to insects and animals. pic.twitter.com/Q9mmgpLeM5

— Mohammad Alsaafin (@malsaafin) February 3, 2024

Dearborn, Michigan, a city with the largest Muslim population in the US, has increased its police presence, fearing hate attacks after the Wall Street Journal branded it America's 'jihad capital.'

The Islamaphobic article was written by Steven Stalinsky, who is a commentator on' terrorism' and has served as executive director of the pro-Israel Middle East Media Research Institute based in Washington, DC.

The mayor of Dearborn, Abdullah H. Hammoud, said Saturday that the city's police officers were ramping up their presence across places of worship and major infrastructure points following the publication of Stalinsky's piece that he called "bigoted" and "Islamophobic." The Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee condemned the piece as anti-Arab and racist for suggesting the city's residents, including religious leaders and politicians, supported Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and extremism.

Effective immediately – Dearborn police will ramp up its presence across all places of worship and major infrastructure points.

This is a direct result of the inflammatory @WSJ opinion piece that has led to an alarming increase in bigoted and Islamophobic rhetoric online…

— Abdullah H. Hammoud (@AHammoudMI) February 3, 2024

In response to the Wall Street Journal piece, President Joe Biden tweeted Sunday afternoon:

"Americans know that blaming a group of people based on the words of a small few is wrong. That’s exactly what can lead to Islamophobia and anti-Arab hate, and it shouldn’t happen to the residents of Dearborn – or any American town. We must continue to condemn hate in all forms."

Shortly after Biden's tweet went out, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer tweeted:

"Dearborn is a vibrant community full of Michiganders who contribute day in and day out to our state. Islamophobia and all forms of hate have no place in Michigan, or anywhere. Period."

Friedman's piece in the New York Times entitled, "Understanding the Middle East Through the Animal Kingdom," posited Iran as a metaphorical "parasitoid wasp" with proxies in Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria as caterpillars. Friedman claimed, "We have no counterstrategy that safely and efficiently kills the wasp without setting fire to the whole jungle," suggesting that the US militarily destroys the entire Middle East to annihilate Iran and its allies. He concluded that he could "contemplate" the Middle East by watching Animal Planet.

Abed A. Ayoub, Executive Director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, tweeted:

"Go ahead and say this about any other people and see the reaction – @tomfriedman would be fired before the ink dries. This election season kickoff is a reminder that anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia are mainstream. That’s why this trash is acceptable to so many, and there will be no accountability."

Erin Overby, former Archive Editor at The New Yorker, tweeted:

"This @nytimes column by Thomas Friedman comparing countries in the Middle East to animals, pests & insects is so virulently racist it could have run in Der Sturmer or on Radio Rwanda pre-‘94 genocide. It’s appallingly offensive & Friedman should be fired."

Did no editor or headline writer at the ‘liberal’ New York Times think twice before publishing this drivel, with this headline, from Friedman? https://t.co/zrVzQE4CMs

— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) February 3, 2024

Not only is Dearborn an innovation hub for America partnering with Silicon Valley but @AHammoudMI is one of the most dynamic mayors! He has delivered more for the working & middle class than the WSJ ed board that recommended policies that hollowed it out! https://t.co/GA1TaqzHz6

— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) February 3, 2024

This is disgusting. @WSJ should be ashamed of itself for promoting this kind of Islamophobic BS, and should immediately apologize to the residents of Dearborn and to Muslims everywhere. Thank you @AHammoudMI for your leadership as Mayor. https://t.co/QmtLrG6M8a

— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) February 4, 2024

⁦@WSJ⁩, you must know how the people of Dearborn have been targeted by anti-Muslim extremists. Just wrong. https://t.co/byd68Arjvi https://t.co/jJlkr4JBzT

— Keith Ellison (@keithellison) February 4, 2024

The @WSJ & @nytimes' Thomas Friedman peddle racist hate. They are part of a bigger problem of bigotry & dehumanization in mainstream media.

These outlets should apologize publicly & diversify their staff & perspectives to meet their ethical and moral obligations as journalists. pic.twitter.com/oTsfGtFylH

— Sina Toossi (@SinaToossi) February 3, 2024

2 reasons why antisemitism is on the rise:

1. Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people.
2. Zionists like Thomas Friedman & Steven Stalinsky who opine Jews as ethnically superior to Arabs.

This is why we say Not In Our Name. We must end the genocide now. pic.twitter.com/zZcJEHzj2c

— Jenerational Change (@JenPerelman24) February 4, 2024

It’s 2024 and the editors at the New York Times approved Thomas Friedman comparing Arabs and Iranians to insects.

The paper of record is the paper of genocide.

— Rania Khalek (@RaniaKhalek) February 4, 2024

CNN revamps its morning schedule, disbands New York team that produces “CNN This Morning”

As CNN continues to struggle with poor ratings, the cable news outlet is overhauling its entire morning show lineup.

CNN’s flagship offering “CNN This Morning” — which is currently co-hosted by Poppy Harlow and Phil Mattingly — will move to Washington, DC, where it will be anchored by Kasie Hunt from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. CNN will also move “CNN News Central,” anchored by John Berman, Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner, to a 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. slot, Variety reported. Jim Acosta’s “CNN Newsroom” and Pamela Brown’s “The Bulletin with Pamela Brown” are slated to take over new hours at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m respectively.

CNN CEO Mark Thompson, who replaced former CEO Chris Licht, wrote in a note to staffers Monday that the outlet has “decided to reshape how we approach mornings on domestic cable.” The aforementioned changes will go into effect later this month.

“These changes mean that we will no longer produce morning programming in New York and will be disbanding the team that currently produces 'CNN This Morning' in that city,” Thompson said. “Our New York-based primetime and weekend programming will continue.”

Hunt’s “CNN This Morning” along with “CNN Newsroom” and “The Bulletin with Pamela Brown” will all be produced out of Atlanta, the note added. CNN is also in talks with both Harlow and Mattingly about new roles at the outlet. According to Variety, Mattingly has been told he will have a New York-based role, while Harlow is still in ongoing talks. Anchors were allegedly informed of the revamp on Sunday.

Legal analyst warns Trump “has some explaining to do” after court-monitor flags “fraud” evidence

MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin warned of potential new criminal charges for Donald Trump after a court-appointed monitor overseeing his New York fraud case found that the former president's financial disclosures contained "certain deficiencies."

Former federal judge Barbara Jones wrote in a 12-page letter that she had identified "certain deficiencies in the financial information that I have reviewed, including disclosures that are either incomplete, present results inconsistently, and/or contain errors," adding in a footnote that a $48 million loan Trump claimed to owe to one of his companies did not exist. Rubin described how the letter "points to improprieties in Trump's financial statements."

"One of the things that it points to, and maybe the thing that's most troubling about it, is for years it's been understood that one of the business entities in the Trump Organization loaned former president Trump personally $48 million," she said. "According to Judge Jones in a footnote in this letter, she could never find, no matter how many times she asked, documentation of that loan and was later told, essentially, that the loan didn't exist."

Rubin added that the "Trump organization lawyers, they refute that. They say the loan did exist and what we did was give Judge Jones an intra-company memo telling her that debt had been extinguished. But I've looked at that memo from December 2023: it is a memo to the file, so nobody even had the guts to sign it essentially. It just says that the debt has been extinguished. There is still, to this day, no documentation that the loan existed."

"And you might be thinking to yourself, what's the big deal about that?" Rubin asked. ''The big deal is if that loan did not exist and it was, instead a gift, there would be massive tax consequences to that as well as some improprieties in the financial reporting that went to Trump's financial institutions and insurance companies. In essence, a continuation of that same fraud that's been going on for years and has been showing up in his financial disclosure."

In “True Detective: Night Country” it’s better to ask questions than pray for answers from the dead

Women are more likely to believe in ghosts than men. Women also tend to be more religious, pray more frequently and believe in heaven. A few polls and studies confirm this, citing women’s reliance on intuition as a related trait.

But don’t bother pitching that “cosmic choompa-loompa bulls**t” to Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster), Ennis, Alaska's police chief and one half of “True Detective: Night Country” investigative duo. Danvers already tried that path to salvation, she tells her state trooper partner Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis). When she was seven years old and her mother was dying, her father told her to pray with all her heart. So she did, praying day and night until her knees turned black. “I couldn’t even walk to the funeral,” she remembers. Navarro darkly jokes, “Maybe you didn’t pray hard enough.”

Navarro prays but expects nothing from it. “We’re alone,” she tells someone who misinterprets her faith as something to ward off loneliness. “God, too.” Her sister Julia (Aka Niviâna) prays too — a lot. That worries Navarro, because to her, praying is about listening. Hearing a response is a problem.

"Night Country" creator Issa López designed Ennis as a place with no obvious community center. Maybe it's the local hockey rink. For some it's Eddie Qavvik's bar. But gatherings of more than a few people take place in closed or private locations. Otherwise socializing is an intimate affair with a few people, mostly family. Beyond that, Ennis is a lonely place where the dead speak, are restless and primarily reach out to women.

Whether they choose to listen is another matter.

Navarro and Julia see dead people . . . maybe. It could be mental illness. Danvers repeatedly insists there are no such things as God or ghosts, but her coping mechanisms of detached sex and alcohol seem to be an effort to stave off something. Rose Aguineau (Fiona Shaw), a transplant from the lower 48 and Navarro’s personal wise woman, made peace with her spirit radar some time ago.

To Navarro, praying is about listening. Hearing a response is a problem.

“The thing about the dead is that some of them come and visit because they miss you,” she tells Navarro in the second episode. “Some come because they need to tell you something that you need to hear. And some of them just want to take you with them.”

Where does this leave everyone on Christmas Eve? “Part 4” presents that night as one long ghost story that's nothing like the heartwarming sweet Charles Dickens baked up. Navarro’s sister Julia can’t silence the threatening voices in her head or dispel her visions of dead people, so she lets Navarro check her into a nearby mental health facility.

Danvers can’t shake that phone video of a murder victim, Annie K, in her last moments before she's dragged away, screaming. It was filmed in an ice cave that isn’t on any standard maps, one she and Navarro are later told has whale bones frozen inside its ceiling.

Navarro has seen things she can’t account for, too — a one-eyed polar bear in the road that resembles a stuffed toy carried by a child she meets in whatever world she pops into after she falls on some ice in a previous episode, hitting her head. The boy whispers, “Get my mommy.” Other whispers float to her from the dark, and from the lips of a frightened Tsalal scientist hissing in another phone video, “She’s awake.”

Even Hank Prior (John Hawkes) realizes he’s pinned his hopes on something that doesn’t exist when the Eastern European fiancée he courted online never emerges from the flight that was supposed to bring her to Ennis.

Women on top: How “True Detective: Night Country” responds to the franchise's previous takes on sex

“Night Country” serves a wide array of McGuffins to turn over, cutting all kinds of first-season Easter eggs into the Christmas hash. Familiar spirals return as tattoos, a drawing on a dead man’s forehead, a symbol carved into a rock, or painted on an empty tank in an abandoned dredge. And what’s the deal with those oranges? They roll into view whenever something evil approaches. Or maybe they’re simply the most readily available produce in Ennis.

“Night Country” also picks up the “True Detective” season's swirl into the supernatural straightaway with a spooked scientist shuddering violently before inexplicably whispering, “She’s awake.” Navarro hears such whispers too, as does Danvers. In the heat-soaked world of Marty Hart and Rust Cohle, creepiness was an affectation — part misdirecting figment, part metaphor. But that same reliance on ghostliness asks us to accept that some things can’t be explained, which either begs us to believe in magic or to overlook plot holes.

That idea challenges a core principle that Danvers holds dear. She insists that everything has an answer. The key is to ask the right questions, the topmost being: where is Raymond Clark, the unaccounted-for Tsalal scientist who was involved with Annie K?

One query thread pulls in a long-vanished German national, Otis Heiss, who was admitted to the local hospital with simalar injuries as the men frozen in the ice, including burned corneas and self-inflicted bites. Following a series of disorderly conduct arrests, Heiss went missing. Danvers has poor Peter Prior (Finn Bennett) put out an APB on him in addition to the one on Clark, guaranteeing his Christmas is shot.

Jodie Foster in "True Detective" (HBO)The same night, Julia decides she’s done with the world, and when Navarro gets the news she lashes out at the hospital, then picks a fight with a group of men she knows have no problem punching women. Physical pain she can understand, and she brings the bloody result of that to Qavvik, who fixes it.

When she shows up at Danvers’ on Christmas morning the dried red has been wiped away, but not the bruises – and she’s lost a spiraled stone she picked up at a suspect’s home. But in Danvers' living room she finds another clue pointing to the existence of life after death: Holden’s one-eyed bear, the same stuffed animal she saw in her vision. Asking about it sets off Danvers.

“Dead people are dead. There’s no heaven. There’s no hell. There’s no ghosts f**king beyond,” she rants. “There’s nobody out there waiting for us, watching us.”

“Then why do you keep that around?” Navarro presses. Danvers grabs Holden’s toy and tosses it out the front door. “There. Happy? There’s nothing except us. We’re here, Navarro. Alone. The dead are gone. F**king gone.” That’s when Navarro tells Danvers that her sister Julia walked out on the sea until she broke through the ice and drowned.

Navarro says that although doctors diagnosed Julia with an assortment of disorders, she knows her affliction to be a curse. Her mother had it. “It takes us, one by one,” she says. “And you know who’s next?”

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Danvers frantically refuses to believe it, yet accuses Navarro of “doing the thing that you did with Wheeler,” referring to the long-ago domestic violence call that broke them up. A previous scene only shows the moment before the deed occurred, with the suspect, Wheeler, sitting in a chair near his girlfriend’s dead body — and Navarro lapsing into a thousand-yard stare. “You saw something in that room,” Danvers insists. “It was a ghost, or some kind of spirit.”

Navarro insists she didn’t, then stalks to her truck. But Danvers meets her in the driveway with an image Peter texted to her. One of the supposed ghosts they’ve been tracking has appeared, wearing Annie’s pink parka.

They trace the suspect to the derelict dredge outside town that doubles as a haunted maze. As they make their way through its rusty innards Danvers glimpses a person she believes to be Clark and takes off after him. But Navarro is lured away by the apparition of her dead sister, floating by in the murky water beneath them.

All those spirits must represent something. A longing, maybe?

Danvers corners the figure in the parka, but when the man removes his hood, it’s Heiss, who crumbles into a ball and begins to weep. Danvers sees his drug paraphernalia nearby and realizes he’s been there a long time. Then she deduces Heiss must have gotten the parka from Clark and asks where he is. “He’s hiding in the Night Country,” Heiss ominously whispers. “We’re all in the Night Country now.”

Past seasons of “True Detective” have an odd relationship with mysticism. Rust Cohle slow dances with murmurings about Carcosa in Season 1, and the anthology’s creator Nic Pizzolatto spiced up the mystique by depositing backwoods fetishes near crime scenes.

Draping an ostentatiously macabre homicide case in spookiness contributed to the show’s inebriated atmosphere although, in the end, the crime was entirely explainable. Whatever supernatural elements we thought we saw may have been an extension of Rust and Marty Hart’s absorption into the disconcerting wickedness corrupting everything, or just distracting woo-woo.

López makes us less certain about all that while reminding us to ask the questions. All those spirits must represent something. A longing, maybe? Even Danvers encounters the same polar bear Navarro saw on Christmas Eve as she's drunkenly driving away from her lover and wakes up from dreaming of Holden.

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That part of “True Detective: Night Country” is worth appreciating, by the way. López doesn't assign these visions to one kind of person or culture, alluding instead that it might be part of Ennis itself. People see all kinds of things they can’t explain.

Fiona Shaw and Kali Reis in "True Detective" (HBO)Rose accepts that without concern or hysteria, proven when she follows the ghost of her former lover (and, as egg hunters noticed, Rust Cohle’s father, Travis) to the hideous corpse tangle that kicks off of the mystery. A willingness to hear what the dead have to say leads Navarro and Danvers to each new clue, but this time their open receivers take us to a foreboding place.

On Christmas Eve, before Navarro receives her bad news, she sits with Rose and makes merry with champagne and nibbles. That’s when Rose reveals she used to be an academic until one day she realized that everything she’d written was meaningless, and simply making a lot of noise. “It is a little quieter here,” she tells Navarro over champagne and nibbles. “Mostly . . . except for all the f**king dead.”

Inside that dredge on Christmas morning Danvers hears Heiss’ warning, then leaves him to rejoin Navarro. She's listlessly sitting near a creepy Christmas tree whose lights are powered by a nearly spent battery, gazing into nothingness. She’s just been visited by her sister’s spirit — and Julia was not at peace. Navarro’s ears are bleeding.

Maybe that’s a side effect of the clash she started hoping to lose. Or maybe it’s a message from some gloomier place warning her to stop fighting.

New episodes of "True Detective: Night Country" air at 9 p.m. Sundays on HBO and stream on Max.

If you are in crisis, please call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741

about "True Detective"

“She’s a joke”: Nancy Mace’s ex-aides spill the beans after entire staff bails in just 3 months

The entirety of Rep. Nancy Mace's, R-S.C., Washington, D.C. staff has reportedly turned over since November 1, 2023, three sources close to the situation told The Daily Beast.

Former employees alleged a "toxic" workplace, with one former senior employee noting to the Daily Beast that Mace was "abusive" in her methods of using workplace software to excessively communicate with staffers. The source claimed that Mace's correspondence was "constant," adding that she would “micromanage the office all day and into the night and early morning.”

“If she needed us, we had to answer within eight minutes,” another former staffer alleged in describing how Mace had reportedly called employees late at night on Christmas Eve. “Nancy is delusional as a boss,” they continued. “She says nothing publicly without her consultants or senior staffers telling her to, but takes credit for everything. She’s a walking teleprompter.”

The ex-employee also told the Daily Beast that Mace "has no idea what it actually means to be a member of Congress and is too scared and self-conscious to deal with other people, so she accomplished nothing.”

“All this is why pretty much every staffer and fellow member on the Hill thinks she’s a joke. Also a big reason why she’s only able to hire former George Santos staffers right now," the former staffer said.

Other former workers described a “demoralizing environment for staff," and a control-hungry Mace who "didn’t see the staff as people but as property.”

Lori Khatod, Mace's new chief of staff, did not seem concerned by the total turnover, calling it a “non-issue" and writing in a text, “New coach, new team in the DC office."

The Daily Beast's report also described an incident in December in which Khatod called the Capitol Police on Mace's former chief of staff, Dan Hanlon, who was fired days earlier. Khatod had attempted to send other employees home early, but some ultimately stayed behind.

“At that moment, I felt the most unsafe I ever had on the Hill, when I realized she was using the Capitol Police to intimidate staff,” one staffer said.

Khatod in a statement related to the accusations surrounding Mace and Hanlon said, “Like most offices, we do not discuss internal processes. We adhere and accommodate employees whose sincerely held religious beliefs, practices or observances conflict with regular work requirements.”

GOP senator accuses Mike Johnson of lying that he was excluded from border negotiations

Republican Sen. James Lankford, Okla., disputed House Speaker Mike Johnson's, R-La., claim he was intentionally excluded from bipartisan negotiations over border and military funding bills, alleging that Johnson chose not to partake in the Senate talks, according to CNN congressional reporter Manu Raju.

During a Sunday appearance on NBC New's "Meet the Press" Sunday, Johnson claimed that he was never offered a briefing, instead only receiving tips from individual senators. Lankford told Raju, however, that Johnson had been invited to the Senate negotiations and asked "early on" whether he wanted "to be engaged on this," but decided not to participate.

“He said the House has already spoken,” Lankford recalled of Johnson, according to Raju. The House's response, Raju clarified, was House Republican bill, HR-2, "which Senate Democrats call a non-starter."

Lankford also told the correspondent that Johnson was "loosely briefed" on the negotiations after declining to participate. The bipartisan border bill the Oklahoma senator co-authored has been run rife with criticism as Republicans vowed to prevent a vote on it, including Johnson's assertion that it will be "dead on arrival" in the House. The bill's text was released publicly Sunday evening, with the border security portion — which also included billions in funding to Ukraine and Israel — of the legislation amounting to around 250 pages, Mediaite reports.

Lankford defended the bill during an appearance on Fox News Monday morning, first responding to pushback from Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, that "no self-respecting senator" should agree to vote on a 370-page proposal this week.

“It’s interesting that he said he’s already opposed to it,” Lankford said. “He needs three weeks to be able to read it, but he’s already opposed to it. So again, people have got to be able to read it and go through it themselves. Don’t just go off a Facebook post somewhere what the bill says.”

“The key aspect of this, again, is are we, as Republicans, going to have press conferences and complain the borders bad and then intentionally leave it open after the worst month in American history in December?” Lankford added, addressing his GOP colleagues at large. “Now we’ve got to actually determine, are we going to just complain about things? Are we going to actually address and then change as many things as we can?”

ABC News hosts abruptly shuts down interview with J.D. Vance over right-wing nonsense

ABC News host George Stephanopolous abruptly ended a discussion with Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, on Sunday after the Republican alleged that a president would have the power to ignore the Supreme Court.

“Fire everyone in the government, then defy the Supreme Court? You think it’s OK to defy the Supreme Court?” the anchor asked after Vance said in 2021 that then-president Donald Trump should oust federal civil servants and disregard any Supreme Court ruling that instructed him to do otherwise. Vance at the time claimed Trump should “stand before the country like Andrew Jackson did and say, ‘The Chief Justice has made his ruling, now let him enforce it,’” per The Daily Beast.

“That’s a fundamental component of our government, George, that whoever is in charge, agree or disagree with him, you have to follow the rules,” Vance said. “If those people aren't following the rules, then of course, you’ve got to fire them.”

Stephanopolous in response pressed Vance to explicate whether he felt the president had to adhere to SCOTUS rulings.

"The Constitution also says the president must abide by legitimate Supreme Court rulings, doesn't it?" Stephanopoulos asked, per ABC.

"The Constitution says that the Supreme Court can make rulings … but if the Supreme Court said the president of the United States can't fire a general, that would be an illegitimate ruling," Vance said.

Senate Republicans grow more radical in the minority

“The Constitution says that the Supreme Court can make rulings but if the Supreme Court —and look, I hoped that they would not do this — but if the Supreme Court said the president of the United States can’t fire a general, that would be an illegitimate ruling,” Vance said. “The president has to have Article II prerogative under the Constitution to actually run the military as he sees fit. This is just basic constitutional legitimacy.”

“You’ve made it very clear — you believe the president can defy the Supreme Court,” Stephanopoulos replied. “Senator, thanks for your time this morning.”

Wow. Stephanopoulos shuts down his interview with Vance and cuts him off after Vance insists that the president can defy the Supreme Court. pic.twitter.com/P2Kn60Jr29

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 4, 2024

Ahead of the conversation's termination, Vance separately provided his thoughts on the 2020 election after Stephanopolous asked if Vance would have certified the election results if he had been acting as vice president at the time.

The GOP senator at first called the question "ridiculous" and claimed Stephanopolous was "obsessed with talking about this" before clarifying his thoughts.

"Do I think there were problems in 2020? Yes, I do," Vance said. "If I had been vice president, I would have told the states, like Pennsylvania, Georgia and so many others, that we needed to have multiple slates of electors and I think the U.S. Congress should have fought over it from there. That is the legitimate way to deal with an election that a lot of folks, including me, think had a lot of problems in 2020. I think that's what we should have done."

"So, he's saying he would have engaged in the conspiracy to interfere with the lawful outcome of the election? Out loud?" tweeted former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance.

So, he's saying he would have engaged in the conspiracy to interfere with the lawful outcome of the election? Out loud? https://t.co/AwnsxQFmS8

— Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance) February 4, 2024

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Former Rep. Joe Walsh, R-Ill., referred to Vance's remarks as "So dangerous. So unconstitutional. So un-American. So cultish. So MAGA."

"I'm glad JD Vance stated very explicitly that he believes we should shred American democracy and replace it with a system where the will of the voters is disregarded by partisan legislators," MSNBC analyst Tim Miller quipped in a tweet. "A lot of Trump defenders talk around this and I appreciate his candor."

Speaking candidly about Trump's numerous legal woes — including the $83.3 million he was recently ordered to pay writer E. Jean Carroll in damages — Vance said he felt the former president had been partly wronged. Stephanopolous asked him to offer his thoughts on the argument that supporting Trump is, by extension supporting abusers — last spring Trump was found liable of sexually abusing and defaming Carroll, who has long said he assaulted her in a New York City department store dressing room in the 1990s.

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"I think it's actually very unfair to the victims of sexual assault to say that somehow their lives are being worse by electing Donald Trump for president when what he's trying to do, I think, is restore prosperity," Vance said. "If you actually look at so many of the court cases against Donald Trump, George, this is not about prosecuting Trump for something that he did. It's about throwing him off the ballot because Democrats feel that they can't beat him at the ballot box. And so, they're trying to defeat him in court," he added.

"I think most Americans recognize that this is not what we want to fight the 2024 election on. Let's fight it over issues," Vance said.

"So juries in New York City are not legitimate when they find someone liable for … defamation and assault?" Stephanopoulos asked after Vance seemed to wave off findings by "extremely left-wing jurisdictions."

"Well, when the cases are funded by left-wing donors and when the case has absolute left-wing bias all over it, George, absolutely I think that we should call into question that particular conclusion," Vance said.

about Trump's GOP defenders

“Inaccurate and distorted”: New Jack Smith filing blows up Trump’s false Mar-a-Lago narrative

Special counsel Jack Smith shredded Donald Trump's effort to have prosecutors share information that his defense believes relevant to the former president's classified documents case in a scathing court filing Friday.

In the 67-page motion, federal prosecutors argued that Trump's legal team offered an “inaccurate and distorted picture of events” and attempted to “cast a cloud of suspicion over responsible actions by government officials diligently doing their jobs," The Associated Press reports.

"The defendants’ insinuations have scant factual or legal relevance to their discovery requests, but they should not stand uncorrected,” the prosecutors write in the response, adding: “Put simply, the Government here confronted an extraordinary situation: a former President engaging in calculated and persistent obstruction of the collection of Presidential records, which, as a matter of law, belong to the United States for the benefit of history and posterity, and, as a matter of fact, here included a trove of highly classified documents containing some of the nation’s most sensitive information. The law required that those documents be collected.”

Smith's team also argued that the requests Trump's lawyers made were nearly indecipherable because of how vague and broad they were. Some of the requests, they added, had already been addressed in previous instances when the prosecution turned over a swath of information to the defense.

"One particularly interesting part of the government's response related to a suggestion in Trump's motion that he had some form of security clearance issued by the Department of Energy that continued after he left the White House," former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance wrote in her Sunday newsletter. "Smith eviscerates that claim in response to Trump's effort to force the government to search for more evidence that such a clearance existed."