Hurricane Harvey: EPA Rejects NASA Offer to Monitor Houston Pollution

Susanne Rust and Louis Sahagun Los Angeles Times
NASA’s DC-8 Flying Laboratory.
After Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston, rescue crews and residents complained of nausea and dizziness. NASA scientists prepared to send the world’s most sophisticated aircraft to monitor the pollution, but Texas and the EPA told them to stay away.

Why we have time zones

Whet Moser Quartz
Time zones can be as much about politics as logistics. Spain switched time zones in 1941, a gesture of solidarity from Francisco Franco to Adolf Hitler.

When American Small Towns Loved Socialism

Noah Van Sciver, Paul Buhle, Steve Max, Dave Nance Yes! Magazine
A graphic biography about Eugene V. Debs, folk hero and presidential candidate, reminds us of a time when support for socialism was strong in places like Kansas, Oklahoma, and Ohio.

Undocumented

Esther Kamkar
California poet Esther Kamkar’s “Undocumented” puts the great Wall debate in botanical perspective.

The Fight for Justice Takes Its Toll on Ferguson Activists

Joe Penny The New York Review of Books
At least five Ferguson activists have died unexplained deaths since 2014. Aside from these, activists have experienced myriad threats to their physical and mental well-being during that time.

Kudos to Rep. Ilhan Omar for the Challenge to the Israel Lobby

The House overwhelmingly passed a resolution Thursday condemning anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim discrimination, white supremacy and other forms of hate. Democracy Now! hosts a discussion with Haaretz columnist Gideon Levy; Phyllis Bennis, a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies who serves on the national board of Jewish Voice for Peace; and Remi Kanazi, a Palestinian-American poet, writer and organizer.