Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani worked with an “active Russian agent” to discredit Joe Biden

[View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter]( September 10, 2020 While scouring the internet today for literally a single piece of cool or good news to include in this newsletter, I came across an article about what must have been a boon for paleontologists and a headache for construction workers: more than 100 [24,000-year-old mammoth skeletons]( scattered on the future site of a new airport north of Mexico City. Construction turned to archaeological excavation when workers started digging up the bones of mammoths, as well as ancient horses, camels, and buffalo. Many of these animals probably got stuck in the muck formed by melting glaciers, the lead archaeologist on the project told Reuters, but humans probably also speared their fair share. Who would have thought that a new airport would unearth the potential for great insight into life in North America more than 20,000 years ago? —Abigail Weinberg P.S. Got plans tonight? Mother Jones’ food and agriculture reporter Tom Philpott will talk about his new book, Perilous Bounty, in a free livestream with the Booksmith. [Register here to get your link]( and join Tom and our senior editor and Bite podcast host Maddie Oatman for a deep dive into the challenges that farmers face from climate change, and the most promising solutions. [UC Press]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [Trump Lawyer Rudy Giuliani Worked With an “Active Russian Agent” to Discredit Joe Biden]( The US Treasury Department says Andriy Derkach is a “Russia-linked election interference actor." BY DAN FRIEDMAN [Trending] ["Good morning, hell"—Californians awake to apocalyptic skies as wildfires rage]( BY KARI PAUL [Why is the DOJ intervening in E. Jean Carroll's suit against Trump? A former US attorney explains.]( BY MADISON PAULY [Saying the quiet part loud (again): Trump's SCOTUS shortlist leaves no question about what he wants to do with Roe]( BY LAURA THOMPSON [Republicans still refuse to support serious stimulus. Why?]( BY KEVIN DRUM [UC Press]( [The Big Feature] [Special Feature]( [The City of Newark’s Scrappy and Remarkable Fight Against COVID-19]( Say it with me now: Test. Trace. Isolate. KIERA BUTLER [Fiercely Independent] Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack. [Donate]( [Recharge] SOME GOOD NEWS, FOR ONCE [Can We Knit Our Way Forward? No, But I'm Trying Anyway.]( I have never looked so hard for ways to recharge myself and come up short. Forget feeling recharged—I would take a day without anguish and despair. The fabric of our country is giving way; threads pulled and seams undone. Whether we actually had a more perfect union before the 2016 election or I just saw it that way by selectively focusing on the potential around us, I’m not sure. Either way there’s no chance that I can unsee, and many of us can unsee, America’s sins and separateness. I have found a bit of solace and relief in knitting. For days on end during the protests, I shuffled around my house, jittery and nervous not for my safety but for our country’s, and for its future. With each story of militarized assault on free speech and assembly, and with each act of solidarity and strength by protesters, my urge to knit grew stronger. The healing power of knitting—to steadily build—is akin to the power of storytelling, if only in the privacy of my hands and my home. Each day I resisted my urge to knit because I don’t usually knit in the summer—too hot in Chicago, all that wool in my lap. Then one day I relented. As the protests grew, I was moved to take out my needles and yarn. Knitting has [surged]( in popularity during the pandemic, with knitting sites and chatrooms growing. I want our country remade and repaired; I want people who’ve suffered for generations to be made whole; I want that [line]( “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all” to mean those last two words. Yet I can’t stand the process that change demands, the upheaval required of uprising, when it feels and hurts like nails on a chalkboard. Uncertainty to me feels like nails on 10 chalkboards. But I know the sound is of something better to come, that we have to take apart what’s loose and weak to make it tighter and stronger. And start again. I began the [Muhuroosa Blanket]( pattern a year and a half ago—a year and a half ago!—giddy to create something beautiful and useful. I restarted 10 times—180 stitches, 90 knits, and 90 purls, multiplied by 10. I guess I didn’t have to start fresh, but the blanket would’ve been f’ed if I hadn’t. Even with a good foundation of knits and purls, it’s bound to be a mess. I’m one-third of the way through. One stitch after another, back and forth, fixing some mistakes but not all, reminds me that change and creation are slow but possible—and then fast. Seams can be reinforced and threads placed in the right way. But we’ll have to pay vigilant attention as it goes, or we’ll have to start again. —Venu Gupta is Mother Jones’ Midwest regional development director. Share your stories with her at recharge@motherjones.com. Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? 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