Good morning everyone, and happy Friday! Iâm Shreya, one of TNRâs fact-checkers, and I hope youâre all staying warm.Â
If youâre in the Northeast, thatâs going to take some work, as a âbomb cycloneâ (extremely scary description, Iâll say it) norâeaster is due to hit tonight. Forecasts for New York City, where I am, have been for âbetween 2 and 20 inches of snow,â which, as many people on Twitter have pointed out, basically means âno clue.â Some narrowing has been done this morning, though: NYC is set to get eight to 12 inches, New England might get two feet, and the storm warning goes as far south as North Carolina.Â
Speaking of the weather: Climate scientists say that extreme weather could worsen in 2022, as these events outpace predictionsâbringing yet more urgency to Democratsâ attempts to salvage the climate elements of Build Back Better. In light of that uncertainty, TNR staff writer Kate Aronoff wrote an excellent piece in New York mag arguing for state planning, which the federal government had no qualms about using to achieve energy independence via fossil fuels. âThat a policy will enrage the fossil-fuel industry isnât a reason not to do it,â she writes, âespecially when you donât need Congressâs approval.â Meanwhile, The Nation asks whether climate activists should just start destroying fossil fuel infrastructure. (The answer: maybe.) A little good news, though: 80 million acres of oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico were canceled yesterday. Letâs hope the administration doesnât listen to the oil industryâs push to appeal the decision.Â
After months of pressure, Justice Stephen Breyer officially announced yesterday that he would step down from the Supreme Court at the end of the current term. At a White House press conference, Biden praised Breyerâs âremarkable career of public service and his clear-eyed commitment to making our countryâs laws work for its people.â He also committed to nominating a Black woman to replace Breyer by the end of February. Speculation abounds about who that may be, but Representative Jim Clyburn, whose support basically won Biden his presidency, has put his weight behind Judge J. Michelle Childs. Like Clyburn, Childs is from South Carolina, and she famously struck down a pretty egregious voter-suppression law in 2020. Biden âis casting a wide net,â though.
Today at NewRepublic.com, Jordan Michael Smith writes about how exactly we got to this point with Russiaâa standoff thatâs been decades in the making. Tim Noah criticizes Mitch McConnell for wielding inflation to oppose Build Back Better but ignoring it when it comes to sanctioning Russia. âThe conservative mind,â he says,âfixates on the smaller inflation risk and ignores the much larger one.â Natalie Shure argues that we should stigmatize the politicians who fomented the âHavana Syndromeâ hysteria to promote their own foreign policy agendas. In our books coverage, Siddhartha Deb argues that Hanya Yanagiharaâs To Paradise reflects the conceits of metropolitan elites generally and the publishing industry specifically, and Peter Richardson explores the rise of Hunter S. Thompson and his sui generis brand of (gonzo) journalism. Â
As for omicron, the surge is declining slightly, though hospitalizations in some places continue to increase. Thereâs also a new variant, but it seems like it might be milder. Last night, my mother tested positive. Feel better, Ma.Â
âShreya Chattopadhyay, reporter-researcher |
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