Understanding Trump’s legal position | Top 10

+ how AI could affect campaigns US Edition - Today's top story: How AI could take over elections – and undermine democracy [View in browser]( US Edition | 11 June 2023 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Happy Sunday – and welcome to the best of The Conversation. The indictment of President Donald Trump in Florida on Thursday has raised interesting questions about legal precedents and the historic nature of the charges. Here are a few of our recently published stories: - [Trump charged under Espionage Act – which covers a lot more crimes than just spying]( - [Trump indictments won’t keep him from presidential race, but will make his reelection bid much harder]( America has a housing problem. This week I traveled to Washington, D.C., for two journalism conferences and saw people living in tents on the sidewalk, a common sight in many of the nation’s cities. In addition to the unhoused, many working Americans have been priced out of the housing market. Jeffrey Kruth and Murali Paranandi are professors of architecture at Miami University who study how cities change over time and how certain building trends become commonplace. What’s common in America now are single-family homes, because it is illegal to build anything else on 75% of residential land in our cities, they write. Their piece explores accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, a “nimble” type of housing [that’s cheaper to build, heat and cool]( and that could help put a roof over more Americans’ heads. Later this week we’ll bring you stories about how the U.S. death rate compares with that in other high-income countries, how TV shows are portraying abortion in post-Dobbs America and more analysis of the federal government's case against former President Trump. If you find these articles interesting and informative, we hope you will [support our work](. Thank you. Emily Costello Managing Editor Readers' picks An AI-driven political campaign could be all things to all people. Eric Smalley, TCUS; Biodiversity Heritage Library/Flickr; Taymaz Valley/Flickr [How AI could take over elections – and undermine democracy]( Archon Fung, Harvard Kennedy School; Lawrence Lessig, Harvard University Artificial intelligence looks like a political campaign manager’s dream because it could tune its persuasion efforts to millions of people individually – but it could be a nightmare for democracy. - [Historians are learning more about how the Nazis targeted trans people]( Laurie Marhoefer, University of Washington Only in the past few years have the stories and experiences of trans people in Nazi Germany come to light. - [US, Chinese warships’ near miss in Taiwan Strait hints at ongoing troubled diplomatic waters, despite chatter about talks]( Meredith Oyen, University of Maryland, Baltimore County What was behind the latest encounter between US and Chinese military vessels in contested waters? - [Arsenic contamination of food and water is a global public health concern – researchers are studying how it causes cancer]( Cristina Andrade-Feraud, Florida International University; Diana Azzam, Florida International University Millions of people worldwide are exposed via soil and water to arsenic, whether naturally occurring or related to pollution. Chronic exposure is linked to the formation of cancer stem cells. - [Aztec and Maya civilizations are household names – but it’s the Olmecs who are the ‘mother culture’ of ancient Mesoamerica]( Karl Taube, University of California, Riverside The return of an important monument to Mexico puts a spotlight on a culture whose influence is still felt in the Americas today. Editors' picks A newly built accessory dwelling unit in Los Angeles. Alisha Jucevic/The Washington Post via Getty Images [How building more backyard homes, granny flats and in-law suites can help alleviate the housing crisis]( Jeff Kruth, Miami University; Murali Paranandi, Miami University Though accessory dwelling units have been around for centuries, a recent survey found that 71% of Americans were unfamiliar with the concept. - [Title 42 didn’t result in a surge of migration, after all – but border communities are still facing record-breaking migration]( Lydia Renee Cleveland, Old Dominion University; Alexandra P Leader, Eastern Virginia Medical School; Erika Frydenlund, Old Dominion University When host communities unexpectedly receive large numbers of migrants, the influx can tax local services – and relations between migrants and residents. - [Do federal or state prosecutors get to go first in trying Trump? A law professor untangles the conflict]( Darryl K. Brown, University of Virginia If a person – in this case, the former president of the United States – is charged by federal and state prosecutors, or prosecutors in different states, at the same time, which case goes first? - [Nearly 20% of the cultural differences between societies boil down to ecological factors – new research]( Alexandra Wormley, Arizona State University; Michael Varnum, Arizona State University A number of theories try to explain how cultural differences come to be. A new study quantifies how such factors as resource abundance, population density and infectious disease risk can contribute. - [Changing wild animals’ behavior could help save them – but is it ethical?]( Daniel T. Blumstein, University of California, Los Angeles; Catherine Price, University of Sydney; Thom van Dooren, University of Sydney Behavior-based interventions could boost conservation efforts, but raise their own set of tricky ethical issues. News Quiz 🧠- [The Conversation U.S. weekly news quiz]( Fritz Holznagel, The Conversation Test your knowledge with a weekly quiz drawn from some of our favorite stories. This was a week jampacked with news items: special counsels charging, dams exploding, vice presidents running, music stars passing, and soccer stars signing. 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](