News and updates

Here’s a selection of articles we read this week.

Hot Times in the Arctic – OPINION: “Preparing for future shifts in weather extremes also requires a better understanding of how climate is changing. This will require long-term government investment in surface-based and satellite observations, and in the continued development of new computer models for improved predictions.” – Dr. Cecilia Bitz, professor of atmospheric sciences and director of the Program on Climate Change at UW. Read more from Dr. Bitz at the New York Times.

Antifa is Winning – Richard Spencer, the white nationalist who has been speaking on college campuses in recent months, said Sunday in a video posted on YouTube that he is rethinking his strategy for public events after violent protests led by Antifa and other opponents. Read more from the Washington Post.

Who Can Fix College Athletics? – In Orwell’s “1984,” Winston Smith throws news articles into the memory hole when past truths no longer suit Big Brother’s present needs. The NCAA version is called “vacating wins.” Although intended to punish schools for rules violations, the idea that an NCAA decree can erase what was won on a playing field is at once creepy and ridiculous…. The NCAA’s website claims it “prioritizes academics so student-athletes get the most out of their education.” Does anyone believe that? Read more from the Wall Street Journal.

Who Run the Senate? – Girls. All told, women run the staff of 32 Senate offices, not counting committees — and Republicans are outpacing Democrats. Nineteen female chiefs work for the GOP, compared to just 13 on the other side. That number has grown even in the past few months. Read more from Roll Call.

T-Minus Seven Days – Here we are, once again: Federal spending is set to expire on March 23, leaving Congress a week to negotiate and pass a bill to keep the government open for business. As of Thursday, Republicans and Democrats had yet to agree on what is expected to be a massive $1.3 trillion piece of legislation, leaving Americans with more questions than answers about what Congress plans to do to avoid a third government shutdown this year. Read more from Washington Post.

Here is a selection of articles we’re reading this week.

On the Ballot: Scientists! – At the federal level, at least 60 science candidates are bidding for seats in Congress, according to 314 Action, a D.C.- based nonprofit advocacy group formed 2 years ago to encourage scientists to engage in politics. The candidates—mostly firsttimers running for House seats—include a physicist who spent 2 decades at a prominent national laboratory, a clinical oncologist at a top-rated cancer center, a former chemistry professor at a 4-year state college, a geologist trying to document every aspect of a tiny piece of the Mojave Desert, and a postdoctoral bioengineering fellow. Some 200 people with STEM backgrounds are also running for state legislative seats, 314 Action estimates, with a similar number vying for school board and other local- and county-level positions. Read more from Science Magazine.

DACA Students –  Rosa Aramburo sailed into her final year of medical school with stellar test scores and high marks from professors. Her advisers predicted she’d easily land a spot in a coveted residency program. Then President Trump announced the end of the Obama-era program that has issued work permits to Aramburo and nearly 700,000 other undocumented immigrants raised in the United States. Read the rest from WaPo.

Mueller and Trump – They are the sons of wealth, brought up in families accustomed to power. They were raised to show and demand respect, and they were raised to lead. They rose to positions of enormous authority, the president of the United States and the special counsel chosen to investigate him. They dress more formally than most of those around them; both sport meticulously coiffed hair. They have won unusual loyalty from those who believe in them. They attended elite all-male private schools, were accomplished high school athletes and went on to Ivy League colleges. As young men, each was deeply affected by the death of a man he admired greatly. Yet Robert Swan Mueller III and Donald John Trump, born 22 months apart in New York City, also can seem to come from different planets.  Read more from WaPo.