The “Phase One” China Trade Deal Looks Legit
Oh look, a new trade agreement: President Trump on Wednesday signed a partial trade deal with China, securing a promise that Beijing will purchase specific amounts of U.S. goods and services while retaining many of the import penalties he put in place over the past two years. The text of the agreement is finally available,…
I Want to Punch Baby Yoda and Science Backs Me Up
Mother Jones Illustration; Shutterstock, Disney+ Whenever I see Baby Yoda, I’m overcome with the urge to harm it. Every time a Baby Yoda meme pops up on Instagram or Twitter, I want to punch it. I want to throttle it. I want to dropkick it the way Kyle punts his brother in South Park. My…
That Recent Abortion Study Is . . . Maybe Not the Final Word
Do women who get abortions later regret their choice? Robin Abcarian writes in the LA Times today about a study that concludes otherwise: “Tons of studies have found that relief is the most common short-term emotion after abortion, despite mixed emotions,” said the paper’s lead author, UCSF epidemiologist Corinne Rocca. “But even after five years,…
States Must Accept Refugees, Judge Rules, Blocking Trump’s Order
Residents holding signs in support of refugee resettlement at a meeting in Bismarck, North Dakota, last month.James MacPherson/AP A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s executive order that allows states to refuse to resettle refugees. Last week, Texas announced that it would stop accepting refugees under President Donald Trump’s September order, although 40…
“Deaths of Despair” Are Rising Only for White Women in the South
A few days ago Nick Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn wrote a piece in the New York Times called “Who Killed the Knapp Family?” The Knapps grew up in Kristof’s hometown of Yamhill, Oregon, and the answer, it turns out, is working class despair: Of the five Knapp kids who had once been so cheery, Farlan…
Pelosi Just Announced the Prosecutors for Trump’s Impeachment Trial
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with Reps. Sylvia Garcia and Jerrold NadlerMatt Rourke/AP House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday announced the seven members of Congress who will serve as managers in Donald Trump’s impeachment trial: Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Val Demmings (D-Fla.), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), and Sylvia…