The US Supreme court today announced that justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg underwent treatment for a newly-discovered tumor.
Whatever Americans may think of them, the Koch Brothers have played a big part in daily life in the US, in ways that go beyond their influence on politics and policy. Their empire may supply your toilet paper, the beef for your steaks, and the spandex in your workout clothes.
It’s difficult to write a sentence without using the word “the,” yet this generic three-letter formulation is now appearing on trademark registration applications. The Ohio State University is the latest brand to seek a claim to this utterly indistinct word, but it’s not the first.
You may already know about the case of Adnan Syed, a Maryland man who was convicted as a teenager for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, in 1999. His trial was scrutinized in the immensely popular true-crime podcast Serial and an HBO documentary series, both of which cast doubt on his guilt and the process surrounding Syed’s conviction. Now, it’s also the subject of a petition to the US Supreme Court.
Greenland, which is not green but icy, was so named by an Icelandic exile hoping to attract settlers. Now the ice is melting and citizens of the autonomous Arctic territory, which US president Donald Trump wants to purchase from Denmark, are on the frontlines of climate change, watching as their way of life melts away.
On Aug. 13, US president Donald Trump visited the Shell Pennsylvania Petrochemicals Complex in Monaca, Pennsylvania and seemed to be well-received by workers. Now, it appears that one reason for this may have been the fact that employees were told to show up and get paid or stay home and forfeit a day’s worth of salary, which would also mean working without overtime later in the week.
The summer of discontent in Hong Kong continues. Pro-democracy protestors have been taking to the streets and staging sit-ins for nearly three months to express their opposition to a Chinese extradition law, initially, and now more generally to mainland China’s influence over the “special administrative region.”
This week, American trade authorities announced two new sets of tariffs on Chinese products to go into effect in September and mid-December. Today, CNN reports that Americans have White House aides to thank for saving Christmas from Donald Trump’s trade war.
Given UK prime minister Boris Johnson’s stance on Brexit, you’d think a Brit so intent on leaving the European Union wouldn’t be much of a Francophile. But he is.
The US Supreme Court will soon consider the right to bear arms, something it hasn’t done for nearly a decade. Whether it should is up for debate, and the arguments are getting heated—fast.
You may not know Joe Sestak, though he is running for president of the United States. But wherever you’re from in the world, the Democratic candidate has likely been to, or at least seriously considered, your region of the globe. And he’d love to chat about it.
Donald Trump loves property. He made his name in his family’s real estate development business, after all. So it’s no surprise that, in his capacity as US president, Trump has reportedly expressed an interest in purchasing Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory between the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans that is already home to the US’s northernmost military base.
Israel will deny entry to Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, US congresswomen who are Muslim and members of the progressive Democrats’ “Squad.”
The world’s largest retailer, Walmart (WMT), is no doubt pleased about its second-quarter earnings report, which showed sales in stores open at least a year rising 2.8%, continuing a 20-month positive run, and a 37% increase in US online sales, driven by its grocery business. But the good news is overshadowed by a somber reality.
It’s the year 2036. Cars drive themselves. Your house is run by an AI. You have a tiny device implanted in your hand, called a gram, which delivers everything to you—even more convenient than Amazon Prime. And a robot has your job. But you’ve got government-funded health care and basic income. Your needs are met.
Hong Kong’s flag carrier and largest airline, Cathay Pacific Airways, is in an awkward position. It must triangulate between Chinese authorities, passengers, and its employees, some of whom have been fired over ongoing local protests.
The term “brainwashing” has negative connotations, although our thinking, like physical things, can use an occasional rinse, too. Many of us have bad mental habits that could be improved.
Much of life is mundane. If you’re lucky, you have just enough excitement to keep you on your toes and not so much it stresses you out and wears you down. However thrilling your existence, though, you have to learn to deal with some boredom, and the better you get at it, the more interesting you will be.
Geoff Manchester, co-founder of the Australian sustainable touring company Intrepid Travel, loves elephants—and he wants you to, as well. “There’s a surreal connection when you gaze into an elephant’s eyes,” he told Quartz ahead of World Elephant Day (Aug. 12)
The popular author, screenwriter, and producer Nicholas Sparks, best known for his blockbuster romance novel The Notebook, is headed to federal court in North Carolina on Aug. 14, where he’ll have to explain some private writing that hasn’t been as well-received.
This post has been updated.
Anyone, anywhere who has ever been on a subway or bus or some other form of public transportation knows it can get gross. Even on the cleanest, sleekest, most efficient and effective trains, you’re bound to inhale stale air or occasionally find your face in a stranger’s armpit. Depending on the weather and other factors, this can get pretty unpleasant.
On Aug. 1, just two days before a gunman killed 22 people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, and three days before a shooter in Dayton, Ohio felled nine, the gunmaker Remington Arms petitioned the US Supreme Court to review a case arising from the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Connecticut, which left 26 people dead, 20 of whom were young children.
Social media platforms are the equivalent of the public square of yore.
