Crash Course: Is a "MAGA Civil War" brewing?

[View this email in your browser]( Your daily update from [Salon](. Is a "MAGA Civil War" brewing? On Sunday, Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington accused Fox News and host Dan Bongino of censorship after the Trump aide discovered that a Saturday evening interview posted to the network's YouTube channel was [edited to exclude a part in which Trump calls the 2020 election "fake."]( "It's a disgrace what's happening, and I don't think the country's gonna stand for much longer; they are disgusted. You have a fake election; you have an election with voter abuse and voter fraud like nobody's ever seen before, and based on that, and based on what happened, they are destroying our country, whether it's at the border, whether it's on crime, and plenty of instances, including military," Trump said in a part which was cut out from the segment before Fox News uploaded the interview to YouTube. After the "jump edit" was discovered by Harrington, a former Free Beacon writer and Steve Bannon associate, she ripped into not only Fox News but the stanch pro-Trump pundit, known for creating a right-wing mini-media empire. "WOW. So I went to post a clip from President Trump's great interview from Fox News last night, and lo and behold, Fox News EDITED and CHANGED what President Trump said, censoring out 45 accurately describing the Fake Election," the former Republican National Committee spokeswoman tweeted. "Fox News DELETED President Trump's words," she added. And as more Trumpworld voices entered the fracas, [things escalated. And escalated. And escalated](. The most dire climate report in history A United Nations-backed panel of climate experts issued [its starkest warning yet in a report on Monday detailing irreversible climate change caused by human activity]( but expressed hope that there is still time to prevent its most devastating effects. The report, which was compiled by 234 scientists based on more than 14,000 studies and approved by 195 governments, said that human activity, particularly the burning of fossil fuels and land clearing, was "unequivocally" the cause of such rapid climate changes. Temperatures rose more in the last 50 years than they have in the previous 2,000 years, according to the first Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report since 2013. The global temperature is expected to increase by 1.5 degrees Celsius, a longtime scientific benchmark, as early as 2030 — as much as a decade earlier than previously thought. Without swift global action, the temperature is expected to continue to rise far higher by the end of the century. Rare extreme weather events will be more commonplace and may irreversibly alter climate systems. Part of the Atlantic Ice Sheet is expected to collapse. The rate of ocean rise has doubled since 2006 and could rise by seven feet by 2100 and even a 16-foot rise by 2150 "cannot be ruled out," the scientists said. An NOAA advisor called the report the "strongest statement the IPCC has ever made." The UN Secretary-General [called it "code red for humanity."]( (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images) - Around the world, right-wing figures are touting a [horse dewormer drug as a COVID-19 cure](. - The flood of guns into Mexico is [fueling a crime wave there](. - An aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who filed a criminal complaint alleging he groped her, has [publicly come forward with her story](. - Republicans are using kids as political pawns — [again.]( - And speaking of kids: many kids have back-to-school anxiety, and for good reasons. [Here's how to help your child be less anxious](. - Melania Trump's people are [still fighting]( over the extent to which she did or didn't destroy Jacqueline Kennedy's White House Rose Garden. - Thousands of patients were [implanted with heart pumps]( that the FDA knew could be dangerous. Not a subscriber yet? [Sign up]( to receive Crash Course. As Cuomo shows, sexists have long hid behind women After the show "The Handmaid's Tale" debuted, the term "Aunt Lydia" — to describe women who conspire to uphold sexist systems for personal gain — entered the American lexicon. But, as [Salon's Amanda Marcotte writes, Aunt Lydias have always been with us](. They believe it's unlikely that they'll ever see true equality for women in their lifetimes. So rather than fight for a better tomorrow for others, they decide there's a lot to be gained, personally, from complicity. But explaining this complex reality in soundbite-driven American political discourse is always a slog — and the idea that a woman's presence makes something "not sexist" is a disturbingly effective gambit. It is why, Marcotte says, sexist men have long employed Aunt Lydias, willing to give a select few women a minor taste of power, so long as they work to keep other women in their place. The shorthand "Aunt Lydia" was useful to illustrate situations like Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine defending Justice Brett Kavanaugh after accusations of sexual assault, or explain why the anti-choice movement has so many women in it. As Marcotte writes, it is thus no surprise that the first head to roll in the sexual harassment scandal in the governor's office of New York does not belong to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the man who is facing an attorney general's report documenting 11 women accusing him of abuses. Cuomo is digging in, determined to survive this through gaslighting and sheer belligerence, [Marcotte says](. Thus, the big resignation news from Monday morning is that of his top aide, Melissa DeRosa, who put out a statement saying "the past two years have been emotionally and mentally trying." (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images) - "[The Black Reporter Who Exposed a Lie About the Atom Bomb]( The New York Times - "[A Failed Star Called 'The Accident' Puzzles Astronomers]( Wired - "[A mega-dairy is transforming Arizona’s aquifer and farming lifestyles,]( High Country News - "[The Warehouse Archipelago]( about the systemic mislabeling of 4 million poorly-paid, oft-injured warehouse laborers in the United States, from The Prospect. - "[Something is killing gray whales. Is it a sign of oceans in peril?]( Los Angeles Times Millions of Americans believe there are microchips in the vaccines Roughly [30 percent of Republicans]( say they believe it is "definitely" or "probably" true that the government has put microchips in the COVID-19 vaccines. Jason Colavito, a professional skeptic, researcher and author, [spoke]( to Salon's Chauncey DeVega about he history of conspiracy theories like this one. Colavito says conspiracy theories about the coronavirus and vaccines can be traced back at least as far as the 1950s and Cold War-era fears of bodily pollution by communism, as well as related anxieties about social change. In his conversation with Salon, Colavito warns that facts and truth have little sway or influence over those deeply committed to conspiracy theories such as QAnon or who believe they are being tracked by microchips in coronavirus vaccines. Many such people, Colavito suggests, have suffered some type of psychological injury that has convinced them of their own self-importance, a [narcissistic fantasy of living a life that "matters" in the grand narrative of history.]( (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images) Have a tip for Salon? Feedback on this newsletter? [Let us know](mailto:brett.bachman@salon.com). [Share]( [Share]( [Tweet]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( [Forward]( Copyright © 2021 Salon.com, LLC, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at Salon.com Our mailing address is: Salon.com, LLC 1000 N. West StreetWilmington, DE 19801 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. [Mailchimp Email Marketing](