Explaining the BA.5 variant + the history of Esperanto

+ the pope's apology tour US Edition - Today's top story: Why Donald Trump can't be prosecuted for 'dereliction of duty' for his inaction on Jan. 6 [View in browser]( US Edition | 31 July 2022 [The Conversation]( Welcome to Sunday. The top 5 most-read stories of the week are displayed below. Below that are five editors’ selections we want to make sure you don’t miss. You can also get the most-read stories in [a magazine-style e-book.]( This week our readers appreciated a story from Suresh Kuchipudi, a professor of emerging infectious diseases at Penn State. Kuchipudi explains to nonexperts – like me – how the omicron subvariant BA.5 uses “classic techniques” to became a master of disguise and [what it means for the current COVID-19 surge](. In editors’ picks, historian Brenda J. Child writes about Pope Francis’ apology tour in Canada during which the leader of the Catholic Church visited boarding schools set up to assimilate Indigenous children. Child writes that Christianity is woven into the history of such Canadian schools – and, to a lesser extent, American ones – where Indigenous children often suffered neglect and abuse and were separated from their families, language and culture. Child is the granddaughter of school survivors and writes, [“Many Indigenous people, me included, question whether the pope’s apology fell short in holding the church responsible](.” Also read Mississippi State professor of finance D. Brian Blank tackle the question: [Is the U.S. in a recession?]( Enjoy the rest of your weekend! Next week, we’ll bring you stories about the influence partisan election officials wield, food insecurity in Gen Z, and living with urban coyotes. Emily Costello Managing Editor Readers' picks Pro-Trump protesters and police clash on Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol. Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images [Why Donald Trump can’t be prosecuted for ‘dereliction of duty’ for his inaction on Jan. 6]( Tim Bakken, United States Military Academy West Point With the exception of a few states, dereliction of a duty is mostly used in military law and does not apply to citizens, including US presidents. - [Astronomers have found an especially sneaky black hole – discovery sheds light on star death, black hole formation and gravitational waves]( Idan Ginsburg, Georgia State University Astronomers have discovered the first dormant black hole outside of the Milky Way. These black holes are not absorbing matter from a nearby star, making them incredibly hard to find. - [An antidemocratic philosophy called ‘neoreaction’ is creeping into GOP politics]( George Michael, Westfield State University The explicitly anti-democratic movement seems to have the ear of a major GOP donor – along with at least two GOP front-runners for the US Senate. - [A brief history of Esperanto, the 135-year-old language of peace hated by Hitler and Stalin alike]( Joshua Holzer, Westminster College Created in Europe during a time of intercultural struggle and strife, Esperanto was meant as a communication tool to spread peace among the people of the world. Its speakers are still at it. - [How the omicron subvariant BA.5 became a master of disguise – and what it means for the current COVID-19 surge]( Suresh V. Kuchipudi, Penn State Face masks are still an effective way to help stop the spread of the BA.5 subvariant. Editors' picks Gilda Soosay, president of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Parish Council in Maskwacis, Canada, where Pope Francis visited the site of a state school for Indigenous children. Cole Burston/AFP via Getty Images [Christianity was a major part of Indigenous boarding schools – a historian whose family survived them explains]( Brenda J. Child, University of Minnesota A historian of the residential schools explains how religion played a key role in assimilationist systems for Indigenous children in Canada and the United States. - [Is the US in a recession? Well, that depends on whom you ask – and what measure they use]( D. Brian Blank, Mississippi State University The US economy shrank for a second straight quarter. While some call that a recession or a strong sign of one, a financial economist explains why the term probably doesn’t yet apply. - [Pushing ‘closure’ after trauma can be harmful to people grieving – here’s what you can do instead]( Nancy Berns, Drake University An expert on grief says give people space and time to come to terms with loss and don’t expect them to need – or want – ‘closure.’ - [Flood and wildfire risks: Translating risk ratings into future costs can help homebuyers and renters grasp the odds – and act on them]( Melanie Gall, Arizona State University; Christopher Emrich, University of Central Florida; Marie Aquilino, Arizona State University Telling people they have a flood risk rating of 10 is less powerful than explaining how much they’re likely to pay to deal with flooding over the next five years. - [The opioid crisis isn’t just the Sacklers’ fault – and making Purdue Pharma pay isn’t enough on its own to fix the pharmaceutical industry’s deeper problems]( David Herzberg, University at Buffalo Making them pay is important but it’s not going to stop drugmakers from endangering public health. 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