Biden targets white supremacy 'poison' leading up to primary win

+ how to read your blood test results US Edition - Today's top story: Biden is campaigning against the Lost Cause and the 'poison' of white supremacy in South Carolina [View in browser]( US Edition | 5 February 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines - [Why Musk’s $56 billion pay package was so out of whack]( - [Life on Mars? Idaho lake deposits may offer clues]( - [Punishing enemy collaborators poses risks for Ukraine]( Lead story South Carolina has been good to Joe Biden. Voters there resurrected his presidential campaign in 2020 and have now given him his first primary win in the 2024 race. But South Carolina is more than just numbers for Biden. It is a place where his message against hate and white supremacy has a special significance and may propel him to a second term in the White House. As a historian who studies democracy in the American South, Joe Kelly [was struck by an overlooked speech]( Biden delivered on Jan. 8, 2024, at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. That’s where, on a summer evening in 2015, an avowed white supremacist murdered nine Black worshippers. Eight and a half years later, a feisty Biden stood at the church’s pulpit and called white supremacy “a poison” that has “for too long haunted this nation.” For Kelly, Biden’s speech gives clear notice that he is not only running against likely GOP opponent Donald Trump but also “a resurrection of Southern-style white nationalism and the age-old disregard for equal rights.” [ [Understand what’s going on in Washington and around the world. Get our Politics Weekly newsletter.]( ] Howard Manly Race + Equity Editor President Joe Biden at Mother Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina on Jan. 8, 2024. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images [Biden is campaigning against the Lost Cause and the ‘poison’ of white supremacy in South Carolina]( Joseph Patrick Kelly, College of Charleston During a campaign speech in South Carolina, President Biden made it clear that he is not only running against Donald Trump but also against white supremacy. Economy + Business - [Why Elon Musk’s ‘self-driving’ of Tesla’s board and its decision to pay him $56B collided with the law – and what happens next]( Justin P. Klein, University of Delaware Musk can’t dodge this ruling by moving Tesla’s incorporation to Texas. International - [US raids in Iraq and Syria: How retaliatory airstrikes affect network of Iran-backed militias]( Sara Harmouch, American University; Nakissa Jahanbani, United States Military Academy West Point More than 85 locations linked to militias were hit in a robust response by Washington to an earlier deadly drone attack on a US base in Jordan. - [Enemy collaboration in occupied Ukraine evokes painful memories in Europe – and the response risks a rush to vigilante justice]( Ronald Niezen, University of San Diego Liberated cities are prone to vigilante justice against those accused of conspiring with the enemy. Ethics + Religion - [Black communities are using mapping to document and restore a sense of place]( Joshua F.J. Inwood, Penn State; Derek H. Alderman, University of Tennessee Black activists have long used maps to help illustrate their communities’ history and to document historical injustices. Science + Technology - [Lunar science is entering a new active phase, with commercial launches of landers that will study solar wind and peer into the universe’s dark ages]( Jack Burns, University of Colorado Boulder Projects under NASA’s CLPS program will probe unexplored questions about the universe’s formation. - [Studying lake deposits in Idaho could give scientists insight into ancient traces of life on Mars]( Robert Patalano, Bryant University While NASA rovers on the surface of Mars look for hints of life, researchers back on Earth are studying ‘echoes of life’ from ancient basins – hoping that the two sites might be similar. - [What do your blood test results mean? A toxicologist explains the basics of how to interpret them]( Brad Reisfeld, Colorado State University Your blood contains a wealth of information about the state of your health. Analyzing the levels of each component is an important part of diagnosis. - [Why do people and animals need to breathe? A biologist explains why you need a constant source of oxygen]( Christina S. Baer, Binghamton University, State University of New York Inhaling air is how you get the oxygen your body needs to turn your food into energy. Other living things use different strategies. Education - [Amid growing legalization, cannabis in culture and politics is the focus of this anthropology course]( Hillary Jeanne Haldane, Quinnipiac University Students are invited to imagine how the social, political and legal landscape for cannabis will look in the future. Politics + Society - [Race is already a theme of the 2024 presidential election – continuing an American tradition]( Marjorie Hershey, Indiana University The centrality of race to US politics is, once again, a defining feature of the current presidential campaign. Trending on site - [Does Trump actually have to pay $83.3 million to E. Jean Carroll? Not immediately, at least]( - [How can I get ice off my car? An engineer who studies airborne particles shares some quick and easy techniques]( - [Why Taylor Swift is an antihero to the GOP − but Democrats should know all too well that her endorsement won’t mean it’s all over now]( Today's graphic 📈 [A bar chart showing the number of climate-focused lawsuits around the world. The data is broken down to show the total lawsuits and US cases. The cumulative number of lawsuits involving concerns about climate change has risen significantly in recent years, with the majority of them in the U.S..]( From the story, [From throwing soup to suing governments, there’s strategy to climate activism’s seeming chaos − here’s where it’s headed next]( - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? You might be interested in our weekly and biweekly emails: • [Weekly Highlights]( • [Science Editors' Picks]( • [This Week in Religion]( • [Politics Weekly]( • [Global Perspectives]( • [Global Economy & Business]( Trying out new social media? 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