Snowstorms in North America; Record Heat In Australia. Is This Climate Change?

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Snowstorms in North America; Record Heat In Australia. Is This Climate Change? (Maria)

The author writes, “Extreme weather events are battering both ends of the world. In the US, winter storm Fern set snow records in parts of the country, quickly followed by one of the longest cold-air outbreaks in decades. … In southern Australia, a heat dome is setting records, with temperatures reaching 120F — the most severe heat wave the country has experienced in 16 years. As our planet warms, it could mean that weather extremes, occurring at the same time worldwide, could become the norm.”

Trump Appears in New Epstein Files ‘Thousands of Times’ (Reader Jim)

From Newser: “The Miami Herald details some of the references to Donald Trump in the newly released files, with his name mentioned ‘thousands of times.’ ‘Many are innocuous references, but some include uncorroborated allegations sent to the FBI claiming that he also abused young girls,’ the paper notes. Among those is a ‘spreadsheet of tips’ exchanged among FBI agents, with one tip from someone alleging a friend had been ‘forced to perform oral sex on President Trump’ in New Jersey more than three decades earlier, when she was 13 or 14 years old.”

Russia’s Grinding War in Ukraine (Dana)

The authors write, “Despite claims of battlefield momentum in Ukraine, the data shows that Russia is paying an extraordinary price for minimal gains and is in decline as a major power. Since February 2022, Russian forces have suffered nearly 1.2 million casualties, more losses than any major power in any war since World War II. At current rates, combined Russian and Ukrainian casualties could reach 2 million by the spring of 2026. After seizing the initiative in 2024, Russian forces have advanced at an average rate of between 15 and 70 meters per day in their most prominent offensives, slower than almost any major offensive campaign in any war in the last century. Meanwhile, Russia’s war economy is under mounting strain, with manufacturing declining, slowing growth of 0.6 percent in 2025, and no globally competitive technology firms to help drive long-term productivity.”

What Is the ‘Sell America’ Trade, and What Does It Mean for Trump’s Econ Agenda? (Sean)

The author writes, “When President Donald Trump announced the new tariff schedules for all major US trading partners last April, something rare occurred that’s indicative of how some investors around the world are planning the next two to three years of capital allocation. The US dollar, US equities, and US bonds, all declined together, ‘exactly the opposite of the “flight-to-quality” playbook investors typically expect in risk-off conditions,’ wrote Jim Nelson, Chief Financial Officer at Euro-Pacific Asset Management. This was the start of what has only accelerated recently with Trump’s speech at the World Economic Forum, the heated rhetoric around Greenland, and a collapse in the Japanese bond market: the ‘Sell America’ trade.”

Utah Governor Signs Bill Adding Justices to State Supreme Court as Redistricting Appeal Looms (DonkeyHotey)

From the AP: “Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill Saturday that expands the state Supreme Court from five justices to seven as frustration has mounted among Republican lawmakers over a string of defeats before the tribunal. Republican advocates for the change argued that it would help improve the court’s efficiency. But legal experts said it could have the opposite effect and set a dangerous precedent at a time of tension between the branches of government. The state’s judiciary did not ask for more justices on the high court. Democrats, who were united in opposition to the bill, called the timing suspicious. Last week the Legislature asked the court to overturn a redistricting ruling that gave Democrats a strong shot at picking up one of Utah’s four Republican-held congressional seats in the fall.”

Scientists Found a Way to Restore Brain Blood Flow in Dementia (Mili)

The author writes, “A new study suggests that dementia may be driven in part by faulty blood flow in the brain. Researchers found that losing a key lipid causes blood vessels to become overactive, disrupting circulation and starving brain tissue. When the missing molecule was restored, normal blood flow returned. This discovery opens the door to new treatments aimed at fixing vascular problems in dementia.”

An Exclusive Look Inside the Largest Effort Ever Mounted to Keep the Great Barrier Reef Alive (Laura)

From Vox: “‘I just got a whiff,’ said Peter Harrison, a marine scientist, as he leaned over the edge of the boat and pointed his flashlight into the dark water. ‘It’s really coming through now.’ It was shortly after 10 pm on a cloudy December night, and Harrison, a coral researcher at Australia’s Southern Cross University, was about 25 miles off the coast of northern Queensland. He was with a group of scientists, tourism operators, and Indigenous Australians who had spent the last few nights above the Great Barrier Reef — the largest living structure on the planet — looking for coral spawn. And apparently, it has a smell.”