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America’s 47th: What our dystopian future will look like if Putin and the GOP can reinstall Trump to power

If Trump is re-elected, he would be America’s 47th president, so he has named the plans for his second term “Agenda 47.” At best, it is a dystopian nightmare. At worst it means ending our current system of American government, aligning the U.S. with Russia and other autocratic nations, with the U.S. leading the charge against democracy and in favor of authoritarian, strong-man forms of government across the world. Over at his website, Trump lays out the details of his governing agenda, complete with short videos promoting each of the steps he plans to take. They, and his many...

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Church families try to fill growing need of foster care for immigrant children coming to U.S. alone

Snuggling on the sofa across from the Christmas tree, Sol proudly showed off the dog her foster parents gave her for earning all A’s even though she crossed the southern U.S. border knowing very little English. “They helped me a lot,” said the 14-year-old eighth grader. Then she blushed, hid her face in Cosmo’s fur, and added in Spanish, “Oooh, I said that English!” Sol — who is from Argentina — is among tens of thousands of children who arrive in the United States without a parent, during a huge surge in immigrants that’s prompting congressional debate to change...

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Identities of some domestic terrorists remain a mystery three years after failed attack on U.S. Capitol

Members of far-right extremist groups. Former police officers. An Olympic gold medalist swimmer. And active duty U.S. Marines. They are among the hundreds of people who have been convicted in the massive prosecution of the January 6, 2021, riot in the three years since the stunned nation watched the U.S. Capitol attack unfold on live TV. Washington’s federal courthouse remains flooded with trials, guilty plea hearings and sentencings stemming from what has become the largest criminal investigation in American history. And the hunt for suspects is far from over. “We cannot replace votes and deliberation with violence and intimidation,”...

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Earthquake in Japan shatters the peace of New Year’s Day and revives trauma from 2011 triple disasters

The powerful earthquake that shattered the peace of New Year’s Day in central Japan did not spur massive tsunamis like those that scoured the Pacific coast in 2011, killing nearly 20,000 people and forcing tens of thousands of people from their homes. The tsunamis that did roll in along the Sea of Japan, on Japan’s western coast, were mostly just a few feet high, rather than waves up to 15 feet tall predicted in alerts issued just after the magnitude 7.6 quake struck on January 1. But the alarms and evacuation orders, and the dozens of strong quakes that...

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Memorial honoring the Confederacy will finally be removed from Arlington National Cemetery

A Confederate memorial will be removed from Arlington National Cemetery in northern Virginia, part of the push to remove traumatic symbols that commemorate the Confederacy from military-related facilities. The decision ignores a recent demand from more than 40 Republican congressmen that the Pentagon suspend efforts to dismantle and remove the monument that celebrated White Nationalism from Arlington cemetery. Safety fencing was installed around the memorial, and officials anticipated completing the removal by December 22. But a federal judge on December 18 issued a temporary restraining order that halted its removal. A lawsuit was filed on December 17 by Defend...

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Finding relief: How a cure for epidemic of loneliness would make Americans less likely to abuse drugs

By Clay Marsh, Chancellor and Executive Dean for Health Sciences, West Virginia University A national health advisory issued by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on May 3, 2023, shed light on the urgent public health issues of loneliness and isolation. The report reflected Dr. Murthy’s personal and professional experience with the damaging health impacts of loneliness. As surprising as it sounds, social isolation and loneliness have the same effect on human health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, which is to say, it can shorten life span by up to 15 years. I am a leader in academic and...

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