NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, J. Lee, T. Williams, PHANGS Team
Day 16 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar: a new view of a distant spiral. This image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows spiral galaxy NGC 628 in a new light. The galaxy, also known as Messier 74, lies about 32 million light-years away, and was first discovered in 1780.
Private healthcare companies are facing increased scrutiny following the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson over what appears to be dissatisfaction with the company’s exploitative policies and frequent denials of care. Recent investigations from ProPublica and reporter Annie Waldman find that UnitedHealthcare is aggressively trying to limit mental health coverage and treatment for thousands of children with autism in its latest effort to cut costs and curtail care.
Investigative journalist Ken Klippenstein joins us to discuss the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as he walked to a shareholders conference in New York City earlier this month, and his accused killer, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione. Thompson’s vigilante-inflected death has inflamed public discourse over the predatory practices of the private healthcare industry. “People working these call centers are themselves upset at having to deny claims,” says Klippenstein.
The South Korean National Assembly voted Saturday to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol, 10 days after his ill-fated attempt to declare martial law in the country. Yoon had falsely accused political rivals of North Korean sympathies in his declaration, invoking previous eras of military dictatorship on the Korean Peninsula in the years following its partition. For more on what to expect from the upcoming judicial vote over Yoon’s removal, we speak to Korean activist Dae-Han Song.
Israel is continuing to bomb Syria a week after longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad was ousted from power. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Israeli forces have launched over 800 strikes on Syria over the past week. Meanwhile, the Israeli government has approved a plan to expand illegal settlements in the occupied Golan Heights. “Israel is setting new precedents in the Middle East,” says Al Jazeera senior political analyst Marwan Bishara.
The streaming giant is scaling back on its generous parental leave policy…and employee swag.
If you’re reading this and thinking, “I wish I were rich enough to own a stegosaurus,” then there’s an online platform for you.
Most modern interpretations are a sad imitation of what was once a kitschy holiday tradition.
The NFL’s only problem is that it needs free-flowing dollars to keep pace with itself.
A witness recognized the alleged killer at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s.
The president-elect’s advisers haven’t yet begun meeting with federal agencies, despite signing an agreement late last month allowing them to do so.
Brian Thompson was fatally shot outside a Midtown hotel.
The agency denied Triton Distribution’s application to sell flavored e-liquids.
The Waves also discusses the Riverside Church controversy and the case of Sarah Milov.
What we say matters, especially depending on whom we say it to.
The Waves also discusses the case against Jeffrey Epstein and Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s Fleishman Is in Trouble.
Five weeks after the election, the president took his sharpest swing at Trump’s policy plans.
A pair of POLITICO|Morning Consult polls, one conducted in the final days of the election and the other conducted after Trump won, show how public opinion has changed.
The final paid messages: Economy, culture wars and character.
Harris has ratcheted up her warnings about the dangers of a second Trump term in recent weeks.
Three activists with the Uhuru Movement will be sentenced by a Florida judge Monday as part of a legal saga that began when the FBI raided the group in 2022, accusing the antiwar Black liberation group of working as Russian agents. The “Uhuru 3” are Omali Yeshitela, chair of the African People’s Socialist Party, and white solidarity activists Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel.
Laila Soueif is on the 75th day of a hunger strike calling for the U.K. government to push for the release of her son, jailed Egyptian British author and activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah. Charged with spreading false news, Alaa remains imprisoned in Egypt despite having completed his sentence in September. Human rights group say he has been subjected to torture, beatings and horrific treatment while in prison.
We go live to Damascus for the first time since the fall of longtime authoritarian President Bashar al-Assad, where the country’s populace is still reeling from the power struggle that forcibly displaced more than a million people over the last months.
President-elect Trump, himself found liable in court for sexual abuse, has picked a striking number of suspected sexual predators for key positions in his incoming administration. Trump’s early pick of former Florida Congressmember Matt Gaetz for attorney general was shot down amid a firestorm over sexual misconduct allegations. Now Trump is pushing hard to keep the rest of his picks on track, including Fox host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Trump’s pick to lead HHS heads to the Hill this week.
Trump’s pick to lead HHS heads to the Hill this week.
Donald Trump’s 2024 victory was about much more than a backlash to left-identity politics. Inflation, among other matters, loomed larger. Still, Trump gained significant ground with Latino, Black, Asian, Arab, Gen Z, and big-city voters. And that, as much as Kamala Harris’s loss, has spurred Democrats to reconsider the role that identity politics plays in their coalition.
