The most comprehensive study yet of the federal response to the pandemic shows huge but temporary benefits for the poor — and helps frame a larger debate over the role of government.

The 2019 to 2020 Australian wildfire season was historic. More than 42 million acres burned in an unprecedented outbreak of extreme fires, which produced lightning, launched smoky aerosols into the stratosphere and turned New Zealand’s glaciers brown with ash. The suffocating smoke was blamed for hundreds of deaths. Now a new study published in Geophysical Research Letters suggests that the fires’ impact may have spread around the globe. Researchers with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo., found that smoke produced by the fires cooled the global climate and had a greater impact than the change in emissions stemming from covid-19 lockdowns, which had a small warming influence. “Beyond their effect on local weather, wildfires are becoming large enough, and intense enough, to have a material effect on climate,” said John Fasullo, the lead author of the study. “In this work, we demonstrate their potential to influence climate variability. We are still in the process of understanding other aspects.” Fasullo and his colleagues concluded that the 2019-2020 Australian wildfire season resulted in 0.1 degrees Fahrenheit of cooling by mid-2020. The cooling, however, was tacked atop a continued net warming of the climate and had a negligible effect on slowing the pace of human-induced climate change from fossil fuel burning.

Sinema’s reservations about the "human infrastructure" push could force Democrats to scale back the budget reconciliation bill.

Early this morning, a Vice operations employee posted a message in a company Slack channel with hundreds of employees. The message read: “Hi everyone. If anyone in this channel has 3-5 minutes to spare today, our team would tremendously appreciate your help in gathering some information on associations and perceptions people around the world have […]

The eating champion recently downed 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes, and his body paid the price.

The new one.

We’re number one. Again.

Last month, the Washington Football Team invited the renowned immunologist Kizzmekia S. Corbett to speak with players and address any questions they might have about the coronavirus vaccines. Corbett isn’t just a random expert; she helped create the Moderna vaccine. Despite Corbett’s impeccable credentials and expertise, Washington’s defensive end Montez Sweat remained staunchly opposed to vaccination even after hearing from her. He claimed he needed more information, although Corbett was on hand to answer any questions he might have had. “I probably won't get vaccinated until I get more facts and that stuff,” Sweat said.

Party leadership blocked an amendment to roll back restrictions on the amount of money people in the US can send to their families in Cuba.

Ten years ago, Republicans pulled off what would later be described as “the most audacious political heist of modern times”. It wasn’t particularly complicated. Every 10 years, the US constitution requires states to redraw the maps for both congressional and state legislative seats. The constitution entrusts state lawmakers with the power to draw those districts. Looking at the political map in 2010, Republicans realized that by winning just a few state legislative seats in places like Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, they could draw maps that would be in place for the next decade, distorting them to guarantee Republican control for years to come... This manipulation, called gerrymandering, “debased and dishonored our democracy”, Justice Elena Kagan would write years later. It allowed Republicans to carefully pick their voters, insulating them from the accountability that lies at the foundation of America’s democratic system. Now, the once-a-decade process is set to begin again in just a few weeks and Republicans are once again poised to dominate it. And this time around things could be even worse than they were a decade ago. The redistricting cycle arrives at a moment when American democracy is already in peril. Republican lawmakers in states across the country, some of whom hold office because of gerrymandering, have enacted sweeping measures making it harder to vote. Republicans have blocked federal legislation that would outlaw partisan gerrymandering and strip state lawmakers of their authority to draw districts.

“Better Call Saul” star Bob Odenkirk was rushed to the hospital on Tuesday after collapsing on the set of the AMC show,Varietyhas confirmed.

Residents in Highland Park and University Park recently found strange flyers in their mailboxes. The message urged them to support students of color by not sending their kids to Ivy League schools... Profiles on GitHub, a website where computer programmers share their work, confirm that the template that these staging websites use, including the ones for Dallas Justice Now, was created by individuals who work at Arena. Arena has worked for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Michigan Republican Party and various other right-wing politicians and political campaigns. They also appear to have worked with Keep Dallas Safe, according to the Luceo Solutions site index as well as source code of the Keep Dallas Safe staging website. (Earlier this year, Keep Dallas Safe targeted candidates in the Dallas City Council election with false claims that they intended to defund the police.)

Two men were charged with animal cruelty after a violent image went viral during Australia’s anti-lockdown protests.

Senate Republicans negotiating a $1 trillion infrastructure bill with Democrats said Wednesday they have reached agreement on the major outstanding issues and are ready to move forward on the bill.

The movement’s architects saw the inadequacy of liberal solutions to racial injustice. Yet the term has become a lullaby by which liberals self-soothe.

Four U.S. Capitol and D.C. police officers described the violence and slurs they endured in the Capitol riot during the committee’s first hearing.

Two students went to Amy Chua for advice. That sin would cost them dearly.

Facebook on Tuesday reaffirmed its intention to build an Instagram for kids under 13, despite pressure from lawmakers to back down on the plan, while simultaneously announcing new updates to address concerns about the safety of younger users on its platforms.

A lagoon in Argentina's southern Patagonia region has turned bright pink in a striking, but frightful phenomenon experts and activists blame on pollution by a chemical used to preserve prawns for export. The color is caused by sodium sulfite, an anti-bacterial product used in fish factories, whose waste is blamed for contaminating the Chubut river that feeds the Corfo lagoon and other water sources in the region, according to activists. Residents have long complained of foul smells and other environmental issues around the river and lagoon. "Those who should be in control are the ones who authorize the poisoning of people," environmental activist Pablo Lada told AFP, blaming the government for the mess. The lagoon turned pink last week and remained the abnormal color on Sunday, said Lada, who lives in the city of Trelew, not far from the lagoon and some 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) south of Buenos Aires. Environmental engineer and virologist Federico Restrepo told AFP the coloration was due to sodium sulfite in fish waste, which by law, should be treated before being dumped.

Home Depot's efforts come after Target changed store hours to deter shoplifters.