Signs America is fracturing into blue and red | Top 10

+ Take our news quiz! US Edition - Today's top story: Secession is here: States, cities and the wealthy are already withdrawing from America [View in browser]( US Edition | 26 March 2023 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Happy Sunday. Welcome to the best of The Conversation. Just published: - [The view from Moscow and Beijing: What peace in Ukraine and a post-conflict world look like to Xi and Putin]( You may not spare much time thinking about the Federal Reserve, but interest rates set by the federal bank affect Americans’ everyday finances in many ways – from their mortgage rates to the credit card interest they have to pay. And, as the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank taught us, interest rate hikes made by the Federal Reserve Bank can do more than bring down inflation – they also made some banks’ bond holdings less valuable and ultimately helped destabilize the banking sector. So when the Fed voted last Wednesday to raise interest rates by a small margin, our business desk asked a team of economists and financial experts to [evaluate how well the Fed threaded the needle]( between curbing inflation and triggering a recession. Later this week we’ll bring you stories about public forests designed to grow free food, 3D-printed buildings and curing disease with gene editing. Emily Costello Managing Editor Readers' picks Acts of secession are happening across the U.S. Vector Illustration/Getty Images [Secession is here: States, cities and the wealthy are already withdrawing from America]( Michael J. Lee, College of Charleston Secession talk evokes fears of a second Civil War. But one scholar says secession is already happening in the US under a variety of guises. - [In Congress, breaking unwritten rules that encouraged civility and enabled things to get done is becoming the new normal]( Sarah Burns, Rochester Institute of Technology The House of Representatives is breaking norms and establishing a new way for the body to do business. - [Why does time change when traveling close to the speed of light? A physicist explains]( Michael Lam, Rochester Institute of Technology Your experience of time is relative because it depends on motion – more specifically, your speed and acceleration. - [Antisemitism on Twitter has more than doubled since Elon Musk took over the platform – new research]( Carl Miller, King's College London New research shows that antisemitic posts surged as the ‘free speech absolutist’ took over the social media giant. And it has settled at a higher level since. - [Voice deepfakes are calling – here’s what they are and how to avoid getting scammed]( Matthew Wright, Rochester Institute of Technology; Christopher Schwartz, Rochester Institute of Technology Powerful AI tools available to anyone with an internet connection make it easy to impersonate someone’s voice, increasing the threat of phone scams. Editors' picks Fed chair Jerome Powell opted for a cautious approach on rates. Alex Wong/Getty Images [Federal Reserve bows to bank-crisis fears with quarter-point rate hike, letting up a little in its fight against inflation]( Jeffery S. Bredthauer, University of Nebraska Omaha; Arabinda Basistha, West Virginia University; Joerg Bibow, Skidmore College; Marketa Wolfe, Skidmore College The Fed raised rates by a quarter-point – less aggressive than had been expected before the current banking crisis, but signaling inflation is still its focus. - [The Amazon is not safe under Brazil’s new president – a roads plan could push it past its breaking point]( Robert T. Walker, University of Florida Nearly 95% of deforestation in the Amazon occurs within 3.5 miles of a road or near a river. Brazil’s plans to ramp up exports may be on a collision course with the forest. - [The state takeover of Houston public schools is about more than school improvement]( Domingo Morel, New York University Political power and a history of racism lurk behind the recent state takeover of the Houston public school system. - [Back to the Moon: A space lawyer and planetary scientist on what it will take to share the benefits of new lunar exploration – podcast]( Daniel Merino, The Conversation; Nehal El-Hadi, The Conversation A US-led coalition and China are both planning to establish bases on the Moon. How the two nations will navigate actions on the Moon and how other countries will be involved is still unclear. - [Seabirds that swallow ocean plastic waste have scarring in their stomachs – scientists have named this disease ‘plasticosis’]( Matthew Savoca, Stanford University Many marine animals, birds and fish are ingesting plastic. New research identifies the first named health effect from it. News Quiz 🧠- [The Conversation U.S. weekly news quiz]( Test your reading with a weekly quiz drawn from some of our favorite stories. Questions this week on Ramadan, plastics, environmental concerns and Tennessee. Like this newsletter? You might be interested in our other weekly emails: [Science Editors' Picks]( • [This Week in Religion]( • [Politics Weekly]( About The Conversation: We're a nonprofit news organization dedicated to [helping academic experts share ideas with the public](. We can give away our articles thanks to the help of foundations, universities and readers like you. [Donate now to support research-based journalism]( [The Conversation]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation]( 303 Wyman Street, Suite 300 Waltham, MA 02451 [Forward to a friend]( • [Unsubscribe](