Tag Archives: United States

11Aug/22

Why searching an ex-president’s estate is not easily done – 4 important things to know about the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago

Clark D. Cunningham, Georgia State University

The FBI’s raid of former President Donald Trump’s estate on Aug. 8, 2022, caught Trump by surprise – and prompted immediate speculation about exactly why and how the law enforcement agency secured a search warrant.

“My beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents. … They even broke into my safe!” Trump said in a statement released through his political action committee, Save America.

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05Aug/22

Beyoncé has helped usher in a renaissance for African artists

James Chikomborero Paradza, University of Pretoria

Beyoncé has released her seventh solo studio album, titled Renaissance (2022). The album, an event in global popular culture, is the first of a three-part project by the US artist. Her previous outing, the visual album Black is King (2020), collaborated with a host of African artists. Renaissance pays tribute to black dance music and again features African artists, including Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems, who is having a global moment of her own.

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03Aug/22

The story behind ‘Star Trek’ actress Nichelle Nichols’ iconic interracial kiss

Matthew Delmont, Dartmouth College

On a 1968 episode of “Star Trek,” Nichelle Nichols, playing Lt. Uhura, locked lips with William Shatner’s Capt. Kirk in what’s widely thought to be first kiss between a Black woman and white man on American television.

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29Jul/22

James Lovelock: the scientist-inventor who transformed our view of life on Earth

Mark Maslin, UCL

James Lovelock, the maverick scientist and inventor, died surrounded by his family on July 27 2022 – his 103rd birthday. Jim led an extraordinary life. He is best known for his Gaia hypothesis, developed with the brilliant US biologist Lynn Margulis in the 1970s, which transformed the way we think of life on Earth.

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29Jul/22

Cheap copies of GSK’s HIV prevention drug could be ready in 2026

LONDON, July 28 (Reuters) – British drugmaker GSK (GSK.L) has struck a deal to allow low-cost generic versions of its long-acting HIV preventive medicine to be used in the developing world, including sub-Saharan Africa where the virus remains a leading cause of death.

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28Jul/22

Revealed: untold story of the CIA/Stasi double agent abandoned after 22 years of service

Eleni Braat, Utrecht University and Ben de Jong, Leiden University

I was naked, tied to a hard chair with handcuffs. Three or four burly fellows in uniform are standing around me, one of them behind me with a truncheon… ‘Sie sind ein Verräter! [You are a traitor!],’ they snap.

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25Jul/22

Almost 30 million UK 4G smartphone owners automatically included in Which? £480 million legal action against Qualcomm

The consumer champion believes Qualcomm, a multi-billion-dollar US tech company, has been abusing its dominant market position in breach of competition laws, resulting in smartphone manufacturers Apple and Samsung overpaying Qualcomm, with these extra costs passed on to consumers. Continue reading

01Jul/22

How your brainwaves could be used in criminal trials

Michel Funicelli, Teesside University

American Kevin Strickland was exonerated after spending 42 years in prison for being wrongfully convicted of a triple murder in November 2021. His 1978 conviction was based on mistaken identification of an eyewitness. The eyewitness later said that police pressured her into identifying Strickland, and attempted to have her testimony recanted but failed. She died in 2015.

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25Jun/22

Roe overturned: What you need to know about the Supreme Court abortion decision

Linda C. McClain, Boston University and Nicole Huberfeld, Boston University

After half a century, Americans’ constitutional right to get an abortion has been overturned by the Supreme Court.

The ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization – handed down on June 24, 2022 – has far-reaching consequences. The Conversation asked Nicole Huberfeld and Linda C. McClain, health law and constitutional law experts at Boston University, to explain what just happened, and what happens next.

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