This story was originally published by Inside Climate News and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. About five miles south of Broken Bow, in the heart of central Nebraska, thousands of cattle stand in feedlots at Adams Land & Cattle Co., a supplier of beef to the meat giant Tyson Foods. From the air, the feedlots look dusty brown and packed with cows—not a vision of happy animals grazing on open pastureland, enriching the soil with carbon. But when the animals are slaughtered, processed, and sent onward to consumers, labels on the final pro ..read more

Shortly after dozens of New York City police officers gathered to clear out student protests over Israel’s war in Gaza last week, the city’s police force published something peculiar on social media: a highly produced sizzle reel of the raids. One of the videos—posted less than 12 hours after the police raids on encampments at New York University and the New School last Friday—showed officers standing at attention as John Chell, chief of patrol for the NYPD, instructs them to remain “professional” and “firm, but fair.” Chell reminds them, “You’re dealing with children or teenagers slash y ..read more

This story was originally published by Inside Climate News and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Although the nation has seen record federal investment in infrastructure under President Joe Biden, the majority of the funds are flowing to roads and bridges—not to projects that will clean up the transportation system, those tracking the spending have found. In an effort to revive the original transformative vision that climate action advocates, including Biden, brought to Washington at the start of his administration, Congressional Democrats on Mon ..read more

“Is it antisemitism or anti-Semitism?” a Mother Jones reporter asked me last week, a question freshly in focus as campus protests grow. It’s been six months since the FBI announced that antisemitism (by any style) is at historic levels, and three years since the Associated Press, the New York Times, and several other news organizations changed “anti-Semitism” to “antisemitism,” or expressed support for the switch. The style debate is effectively settled (lowercase appears to have won, and the hyphen appears to have lost), even as disputes over its definition and prevalence engulf campuses. But ..read more

After more than 50 years as a Schedule I substance, marijuana is slated to get reclassified. In a historic shift, the Drug Enforcement Administration reportedly plans to modify the drug’s designation under the Controlled Substances Act from a category that includes drugs like heroin and meth to the less dangerous but still illegal Schedule III, alongside ketamine and anabolic steroids. Schedule I drugs, as my colleague Julia Métraux reported last week, by definition have a “high potential” for abuse without any “currently accepted medical use.” With the change to Schedule III, explains Harvard ..read more

Israeli forces announced on Tuesday that they had seized control of the Rafah border crossing, a vital passageway for transporting aid into Gaza, prompting intense condemnation from international aid groups warning that the humanitarian crisis would be significantly exacerbated. The incursion into Rafah comes a day after White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said that President Biden “doesn’t want to see operations in Rafah that put at greater risk the more than a million people that are seeking refuge there,” On Sunday, Cindy McCain, executive director of the World Food Progra ..read more

The first criminal trial of a former US president is underway, with Donald Trump facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments allegedly made in 2016 to cover up an affair he had with adult film star Stormy Daniels. Here’s the latest—the key updates and absurd moments—from the historic trial. Stormy Daniels, the porn star actress whose sexual encounter with Donald Trump is at the center of the former president’s hush-money trial, took the witness stand on Tuesday, offering lurid testimony about their relationship. Daniels told the jury tha ..read more

One of Donald Trump’s greatest political liabilities as he seeks to return to the White House is his position on abortion. Just last month, Trump rolled out a new stance in an attempt to neutralize the issue, switching from support for a national ban to leaving its legality up to the states. “Whatever they decide must be the law of the land, and in this case, the law of the state,” Trump said. But a new survey by the progressive polling group Navigator Research, shared first with Mother Jones, indicates that voters do not trust Trump’s commitment to his new state-based policy—and show that Pre ..read more

In December 2021, Army Sergeant Johny Dudek, his wife, and their 2-year-old son moved into a three-bedroom house next to the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas. The Dudeks had a baby on the way, and they figured that living in military housing would help them save up for their growing family.     Shortly after moving in, they noticed water damage in their kitchen and dining room. Soon, the family started falling ill with respiratory illnesses and other ailments. Dudek was afflicted with respiratory problems that their doctor said were “very likely” related to mold exposu ..read more

In December 2021, Army Sergeant Johny Dudek, his wife, and their 2-year-old son moved into a three-bedroom house next to the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas. The Dudeks had a baby on the way, and they figured that living in military housing would help them save up for their growing family.     Shortly after moving in, they noticed water damage in their kitchen and dining room. Soon, the family started falling ill with respiratory illnesses and other ailments. Dudek was afflicted with respiratory problems that their doctor said were “very likely” related to mold exposu ..read more