“The theory of the case, and the one that has always been most plausible, is that Cohen, and not Trump, initially paid (Stormy) Daniels off because if Trump had paid her, that payment would have been subject to scrutiny – from campaign finance regulators and from the public.” (Moira Donegan/The Guardian)
“These citizens heard testimony, examined evidence, and took a vote on whether the district attorney had presented sufficient evidence to suggest that a crime may have been committed. And the grand jury decided he had. The funniest tweet I saw Thursday night was from someone remarking on how Trump ought to be glad that he finally got the most votes for once.” (Michael Tomasky/TNR)
“According to the data, Maricopa County (Arizona) remained the nation's largest-growing county, adding 56,831 new residents in 2022, a 1.3% increase from 2021 where the county saw 46,866 new residents.” (AZCentral)
What the Dominion lawsuit reveals about the future of Fox News (Bill Grueskin/CJR)
“"A long history of mercantile trade along the eastern shores of Africa left its mark on the DNA of ancient Swahili people. A new analysis of centuries-old bones and teeth collected from six burial sites across coastal Kenya and Tanzania has found that, around 1,000 years ago, local African women began having children with Persian traders — and that the descendants of these unions gained power and status in the highest levels of pre-colonial Swahili society. The findings help elucidate the foundations of Swahili civilization, and suggest that long-told origin stories, passed down through generations of Swahili families, may be more truthful than many outsiders have presumed.” (Elie Dolgin/NYT)
“The part of the world that offers the greatest reserves of such young, energetic, and ambitious labor—Africa—is the same part of the world that arouses the strongest aversion among the rich.” (Howard French/FP)
“Trade used to be the biggest source of friction between the United States and Japan. But trade is now emerging as concern that binds the world’s biggest and third-largest economies. As shared concerns about supply chain resiliency and over-dependence on China increase, the two countries have concluded a trade deal signed to bolster the supply chain of critical minerals for both by preventing either side from imposing export duties on lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, and manganese on the other.” (Shihoko Goto/Wilson Center)
“For example, when asked about the Russian invasion, Bard unequivocally condemned the invasion and called it a mistake, while ChatGPT said it was not appropriate to express an opinion or take sides on that issue. The latter called for the Ukraine issue to be resolved through diplomacy. That stance, of course, takes Russia off the hook on the invasion and provides no political indignation regarding the invasion.” (Darrell West/Brookings)
“The approval means Finland's 830-mile direct border with Russia will now have NATO protection.” (SEMAFOR)
3D printing promises to transform architecture forever – and create forms that blow today’s buildings out of the water (The Conversation)
"It is only now that we have recognized that this specimen has something extra special – the agate has infilled this spherical structure, which turns out to be a dinosaur egg." (IFL Science)
“The wars in Iraq and Ukraine may differ, but both speak to the tragic realities of war. They also make a strong case for strengthening the rule of law instead of undermining it through flimsy pretexts for endless militarism.” (Farrah Hessen/FPIF)
“(Kara) Swisher, who is five foot two but ‘writes tall,’ as she likes to say, has carved a considerable niche for herself, cutting across television, the web, podcasts, and social media—becoming “the queen of all media,” as veteran tech journalist Walt Mossberg puts it.” (Vanity Fair)
“The French crime film maestro Jean-Pierre Melville once said, ‘What is friendship? It’s telephoning a friend at night to say, ‘Be a pal, get your gun, and come on over quickly.’ ‘ In the universe of John Wick, it’s pretty much that too, but it’s a thousand guns, two dozen archers, bows, arrows, knives, swords, bulletproof suits, a sundry list of exotic ammunition, an attack dog, a blind assassin, dueling pistols, a fleet of luxury attack vehicles, and a handful of classic American muscle cars. Oh, and if you could bring them all to the Sacré-Cœur, in Paris, by sunrise, that would be great, thanks.” (The Paris Review)
“As the Stones crisscrossed the globe in the ’90s, new rock heroes like blink-182 and Weezer were making names for themselves. Now, three decades later, those acts are as deep into their careers as the Stones were into theirs in the ’90s. And as older touring stalwarts like Paul McCartney, Elton John and the Stones stare down their golden years, alt-rock’s now middle-aged lodestars have started to assume the mantle of reliable, top-grossing arena and stadium artists (and at roughly the same time that their most loyal fans, who’ve aged along with them, have deeper pockets to afford such tickets). But the blueprint they’re using isn’t identical to their precursors.” (Billboard)
“By now, we all know the story: how the mysterious, Moldovan-flagged cargo ship Rhosus unloaded 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate at the Port of Beirut in 2013. How on August 4, 2020, an unknown quantity of it exploded, killing at least 259 people, and displacing 300,000. How the entire world reacted with shock: how could the Lebanese authorities leave such a dangerous compound unsecured for over half a decade in a run-down port warehouse?” (Annia Ciezadlo/The Public Source)