This story was originally published by Grist and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

Carolyn McGrath thought she was ready for her testimony in front of the New Jersey Department of Education. An art teacher, she had dressed in a jaunty polka-dot blouse and chunky green necklace, and had a written statement prepared in favor of teaching climate change in every school subject.

She hadn’t expected any controversy. But by the time it was her turn to walk to the podium last month, she was so nervous she visibly shook.  “It was such an uncomfortable situation,” she said later. “I don’t like confrontation.”

McGrath is passionate about teaching climate change; she’s given her students assignments like creating portraits of climate activists. So she was delighted this past fall, when the state of New Jersey joined the global vanguard in climate education. New Jersey is the first state in America to adopt standards for learning about climate change in each grade, from K through 12, and across several different subjects, even physical education. 

Initially these additions didn’t draw much political heat, possibly because sex education standards were being updated at the same time. But this year, the standards in the core subjects of math and English language arts came up for revision. Proposed draft revisions also include climate change. This is important, advocates say, because these are the core subjects that students are tested on, and for which schools and districts are held accountable.  

On Thursday, the Supreme Court issued a landmark 7-2 ruling affecting millions of aging and disabled people: Providers of federally funded health services like Medicaid or Medicare, the court ruled—such as public and private nursing homes—can be sued by individuals for failures and lapses in care.

Following the death of 85-year-old Gorgi “Jorgo” Talevski in October 2021, his surviving family members sued the state-run Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana, alleging that Talevski’s nursing home gave him psychotropic drugs as restraints and attempted to involuntarily discharge him to a facility for people with dementia. Talevski’s family claimed that his treatment violated restrictions on chemical restraints and patient discharge set by the Federal Nursing Home Reform Act, 1987 legislation that “establishes the minimum standards of care” for Medicaid-backed nursing homes, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Oral arguments were heard in November. 

This week, the court found in favor of the Talevski estate, upholding a decision by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals with Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissenting. A lower court had found that private citizens had no standing to sue. Given the conservative makeup of the court, a ruling in Talevski’s favor wasn’t certain: instead of guaranteeing key protections, the justices could have gutted the civil rights of disabled and aging people.

But the legislation “unambiguously” grants individual rights, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote in the majority opinion, including the “right to be free from unnecessary chemical restraints”—those “imposed for purposes of discipline or convenience” and not medically required—and “to be discharged or transferred only when certain preconditions are met.” Patients and their families, Health and Hospital Corp had argued, weren’t entitled to enforce those rights.

“We have no doubt,” Jackson wrote, “that HHC wishes [Section] 1983 said something else.”

As the ramifications of Donald Trump’s historic federal indictment over his mishandling of classified documents rapidly unfold—and stunning details continue to emerge—I feel compelled to pause and turn your attention to page 12 of the 37-count criminal indictment against the former president to note: This is repulsive.

Here you will set your eyes on a hideous Mar-a-Lago bathroom that, according to federal investigators, was used to store boxes of classified information, one of several locations where sensitive information was uncovered throughout Trump’s property after the FBI descended onto his Palm Beach residence last summer. (The other rooms: his bedroom, a ballroom, an office.)

A Mar-a-Lago bathroom outfitted with two chandeliers, over 30 boxes of documents, and a box of Kleenex deserves specific recognition, for it singularly captures the stunning idiocy of our former president.

Let the image’s unique Trumpian mix of gaudiness, stupidity, and corruption haunt each Republican defending Trump against charges he reportedly admits to committing on tape. May it guide federal prosecutors into wearing hazmat suits to protect themselves from filth. Let the garishness overwhelm you with reminders that American voters actually elected Donald J. Trump—a corrupt businessman with a history of sexual assault allegations, who partied with Jeffrey Epstein, and is the patriarch of a tasteless, exceedingly annoying family—to the White House, and that it might happen all over again.

Check out the American dream. It’s next to the shitter.

The federal indictment of Donald Trump and his valet Waltine Nauta on 38 counts of retaining and withholding national security information, conspiring to obstruct justice, and lying to the FBI that was unsealed today is historic…and wild. It shows Trump at his Trumpiest, scheming to cheat, evading responsibility and accountability, lying, and apparently breaking the law. Of course, just allegedly. Since nothing has been proven, and he’s presumed innocent until there is a verdict. But overall, the indictment depicts Trump as a conniver who acts like a mob boss—perhaps a sloppy mob boss. He orders an underling to move boxes containing classified records so his lawyer won’t find the secret documents when he reviews Trump’s stash. He parks his booty in a shower stall in a bathroom. When an initial review uncovers several dozen classified documents, Trump signals to his lawyer—with a “plucking motion”—that this attorney should remove some of these documents from the folder they are in and make them disappear. 

It’s all a bit comical but certainly damn serious. You have to wonder what Roy Cohn, the sleazy lawyer for Mafia bosses and other crooks who was something of a mentor for Trump, would say, were he still alive. Surely, there must have been a smarter way to steal and conceal government secrets. Would Cohn be disappointed with Trump’s carelessness in pulling off this caper?

The case against Trump looks strong. But it’s special counsel Jack Smith’s job to present a good first impression with the indictment. No doubt, there will be much shouting and many complications ahead in this case. Yet what has been revealed today is pure Trump. Here are some highlights—or lowlights—that caught my eye as I read the document.

Yeah, this is just fine, right? pic.twitter.com/hVtgKOJmlc

— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) June 9, 2023

The Supreme Court’s surprise ruling upholding the use of the Voting Rights Act in cases challenging political maps is likely to affect the 2024 elections and beyond—though how big the impact will be depends on how quickly courts across the country move in multiple cases challenging racial gerrymandering schemes.

Thursday’s opinion in Allen v. Milligan came out of Alabama, where civil rights groups alleged that the Voting Rights Act required the state two draw two districts where Black voters are likely to elect their preferred candidate instead of just one. And it is there where the case will have its most obvious effect. “Black voters in Alabama are entitled to an additional opportunity district in the upcoming election,” says Yurij Rudensky, senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice.

In Louisiana and Georgia, similar cases brought by civil rights groups and voters targeting maps enacted by Republican legislatures were awaiting Milligan‘s outcome. Now that the Alabama case has been decided in favor of the maps’ challengers, it is likely that both Louisiana and even Georgia could see new maps in 2024. If they do, each state could end up with an additional congressional seat with a large African-American population that would favor Democrats.

In 2013, the Supreme Court put an end to the Voting Right’s Act’s preclearance process—a system where states with a history of discrimination had to get approval from the Department of Justice or a federal court before changing election procedure, including issuing new political maps. When, ahead of the 2022 midterms, new census data was released and redistricting took place, it was the first time lines were redrawn nationwide without such oversight. That led to a large number of maps that likely discriminated against voters of color. In Alabama, the district court that first heard the Milligan case found that the Republican-controlled legislature had likely diluted Black votes in violation of Section 2 of the VRA and ordered a new map put in place for 2022. But in February 2022, the Supreme Court blocked that decision, allowing that year’s election to be conducted under the discriminatory map. It was too close to voting to put a new one in place, Justice Brett Kavanaugh explained.

Similarly, the Supreme Court stepped in to stop a Louisiana-based court that found the state’s 2022 map likely violated the VRA from putting a new map in place for 2022 until the high court decided the Alabama case. The delay effectively preserved two GOP seats and cost Black voters a chance to elect their preferred candidates. In Georgia, a district court found that state lawmakers’ proposals for their own districts, as well as the congressional lines they drew, may have violated the law, but, taking a cue from the Supreme Court, ruled it was too close to the 2022 elections to make new maps. Redistricting schemes now being challenged for violating the VRA and the Constitution in Texas and Florida likewise were in effect in 2022.

As Donald Trump prepares to fight his second indictment in two months—the latest stemming from Department of Justice allegations that he mishandled classified documents after leaving office—he seems to be facing a major, self-inflicted problem. Multiple news outlets are now reporting that they have obtained the transcript of an audio recording that appears to capture Trump bragging about retaining secret documents.

“Secret. This is secret information,” Trump says in the conversation, according to the transcript CNN received. “Look, look at this. This was done by the military and given to me.”

Perhaps more critically, the transcript also reportedly shows that Trump admitted to not declassifying the documents he is heard bragging about in the recording. This would significantly undermine Trump’s previous assertion that as president, he could declassify anything he wanted by merely “thinking about it“—and that the documents he retained were, therefore, no longer classified. Trump’s own lawyers notably declined to support that shaky defense after the FBI’s search at Mar-a-Lago in August 2022, which, of course, uncovered among many items, dozens of empty folders marked “classified.”

“As president, I could have declassified, but now I can’t,” Trump reportedly says in the bombshell transcript.

The New York Times reports that the remark prompted a woman in the room to reply, “Now we have a problem.”

Like many households over the past year, Jose and his family were being squeezed by rising costs. “Everything is going up,” he said. “The food. The cost of day care.” To free up space in their budget, they turned to a company promoted by their apartment complex: Flex. A booming tech startup based in New York City, Flex says it helps consumers “improve cash flow” by splitting their monthly rent into two manageable installments instead of a single, larger payment.

The process was supposed to be simple. Flex offers to pay its customers’ rent—in full—directly to the landlord. For their part, customers pay their rent to Flex in two installments, one due at the beginning of the month and one later in the month. In essence, Flex promises to front a big chunk of the rent, allowing families to spread out one of their largest expenses.

To Jose, this sounded like a good deal. “It was pretty much beyond convenient to split our rent,” he said. “That’s the reason why we used Flex—to make sure we can cover day care and have food in our house.”

But by August, what had started as a lifeline turned into a source of significant financial stress, after Flex issued confusing instructions. At the time, Jose said, his wife was set to receive a direct deposit on the fifth day of the month. The rent was due to their landlord company two days earlier, on the third of the month. But Jose said he was under the impression that Flex would pay the rent so long as funds were available in the family’s account by the fifth.

Jose’s belief was reinforced by a text message from Flex that said, “Please make sure you have funds available for your first payment of $585.25 by the 5th* in order for Flex to help you cover this month’s rent payment.” That message was accompanied by a perplexing caveat: “*disclaimer: if Flex has sent you a specific email stating a different deadline for payment, that email takes precedence.”

Marcus, Vish, Jim and Andy look ahead to the big one: Manchester City vs Interazionale!

… aaaaand then get on to more pressing matters, including a Cumdog/Cumdingo/Cumgeroo update, the state of Luciano Spalletti’s Fiat Panda, and Neil Warnock’s plans to manage Huddersfield Town until 2123. Join us!

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Sign up for our Patreon for exclusive live events, ad-free Rambles, full video episodes and loads more: patreon.com/footballramble.

***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!***

This article originally appeared in The Globe and Mail. John Vaillant’s latest book is Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast.

We weren’t a week into May before 30,000 people had been evacuated because of dozens of fast-moving wildfires in Alberta. Structure losses were mounting, and politicians were trotting out words like “unprecedented.”

Unprecedented? Where were they in 2017, when British Columbia had its worst fire season on record and generated four simultaneous pyrocumulonimbus thunderstorms? Where were they in 2016, when Fort McMurray burned—for days—along with 6,000 square kilometers of forest? What about 2011, when Slave Lake lost its town hall, library, radio station, and 500 houses in a few hours?

No, the current fire situation is not unprecedented, and calling it the “new normal” is offensive. There’s nothing “normal” about it. Do I sound angry? I have a right to be, and so do you. In the late 1970s, Exxon’s own scientists predicted that the effects of increased industrial CO2 would penetrate the “noise” of random climate fluctuations and become measurable in the form of rising global temperatures, especially at higher latitudes like ours.

I started working on my latest book, Fire Weather, in 2016, just days after Fort McMurray disappeared beneath a fire-borne pyrocumulus cloud 14 kilometers tall. I did so not because this was a once-in-a-lifetime fire (the intervening years have proven otherwise). I did it because I understood, way back in 2016, that if a fire could do that much damage to such a wealthy, well-equipped subarctic city when the lakes were still frozen and car-sized blocks of ice still lined the Athabasca River, imagine what it could do to more southerly towns filled with old, densely packed wooden houses? Places such as Vancouver, Moose Jaw, or St. John’s? Imagine what such a fire could do in cottage country, or in the thousands of rural communities located in the wildland-urban interface, where half of Canadians, and a third of Americans, now live.

Former President Donald Trump wrote on his social media site Thursday that he had been indicted for a second time, this time for taking classified documents with him to Florida when he left office in January 2021. The New York Times confirmed the indictment, reporting that he had been “charged with a total of seven counts, including willfully retaining national defense secrets in violation of the Espionage Act, making false statements and an obstruction of justice conspiracy, according to people familiar with the matter.” Trump is the first former president in US history to be charged with federal crimes.

“I have been summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, at 3 PM,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former President of the United States, who received far more votes than any sitting President in the History of our Country, and is currently leading, by far, all Candidates, both Democrat and Republican, in Polls of the 2024 Presidential Election. I AM AN INNOCENT MAN!”

Trump left the White House in 2021 with hundreds of documents that the National Archives and Records Administration considers federal records that do not belong to the former president. The charges against him, which the DOJ has not yet detailed to the public, would likely have resulted from his efforts to keep much of the material, some of it classified, despite repeated demands that he return it, including a May 2022 Justice Department subpoena. Trump lawyers claimed that he had complied with that subpoena, but a dramatic FBI search last year at Mar-a-Lago showed their claims were false. Trump was ultimately found to have taken to his club more than 300 documents with classified markings.

The charges, apparently related to illegal retention of documents, may strike many people relatively minor compared to some of conduct for which Trump has been investigated. Special counsel Robert Mueller found in 2019 that Trump’s campaign had hoped benefit from Russian hacking efforts designed to damage his opponent, Hillary Clinton. The House impeached Trump in 2020 over his effort to delay US military support from Ukraine in a bid to pressure that country to launch investigations Trump hoped would embarrass Joe Biden. Trump’s efforts to retain power after his 2020 election defeat—including his incitement of the January 6 attack on Congress, which led to his second impeachment—seems like a bigger deal than the documents case.

But lawyers and former prosecutors have argued that regardless of how bad Trump’s conduct in the documents matter may seem, the case is simpler than other matters for which Trump has been investigated. In other words, Trump appears to have clearly broken the law. Served with a federal subpoena after refusing to turn over records that belonged to the US government, he allegedly took steps to hide the material, some of it highly classified, from prosecutors.

Dotun and Andy are joined by France football expert Jonathan Johnson for the most farewells we’ve ever had on OTC!

We discuss whether Zlatan Ibrahimović really leaves behind legendary status at any of his clubs, the reasons behind Karim Benzema’s sudden Real Madrid exit, and just how Lionel Messi will be remembered in Paris after what Jonathan argues has been two seasons of regression. At least Neymar (aka Barney Gumble) is still there though…

Plus, the small matter of this weekend’s Champions League finale!

Got a question for us? Find us on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

Sign up for our Patreon for exclusive live events, ad-free Rambles, full video episodes and loads more: patreon.com/footballramble.

David Moyes embodied the spirit of Steve Bruce celebrating on Fifa as the Ferryman became the Trophyman thanks to West Ham’s first European trophy in 58 years.

Marcus, Jim and Andy are here to revel in a glorious evening for the Hammers. But is it time for Moyes to sail off into the sunset with his trophy in hand?

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Sign up for our Patreon for exclusive live events, ad-free Rambles, full video episodes and loads more: patreon.com/footballramble.

***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!***

The A-Team, the Expendables, the Inglorious Bastards.

José Mourinho’s treble-winning Inter side were a rag-tag bunch of disillusioned stars, but united by the most powerful combination football has ever seen: determination, plenty of skill, PLENTY of Argentinian barbecues, the power of volcanoes, and a huge chip on their shoulder!

Ahead of Saturday’s final, we look back on one of the most remarkable club seasons of the 21st century.

Let us know what you thought of today’s Guide. Find us on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

Sign up for our Patreon for exclusive live events, ad-free Rambles, full video episodes and loads more: patreon.com/footballramble.

To mark the end of one of football’s greatest managerial eras, Marcus brings you a selection of his favourite Ramble moments provided by Phil Neville’s Inter Miami.

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Sign up for our Patreon for exclusive live events, ad-free Rambles, full video episodes and loads more: patreon.com/footballramble.

***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!***

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Man City might be one step closer to the treble, but Pep Guardiola’s celebration was the worse thing we’ve ever seen on the Wembley touchline.

Marcus, Vish and Jim expose news of a shocking punch-up between Elton John and Pep, put a red lightsaber in Harry Kane’s hand, and bid farewell to Zlatan! We thought it would never end!

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Sign up for our Patreon for exclusive live events, ad-free Rambles, full video episodes and loads more: patreon.com/footballramble.

***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!***

We've only been given the keys to the Wembley dressing room ahead of the FA Cup Final!!

Marcus, Jim, Andy and Pete bring you a very special Preview Show from the bowels of Wembley Stadium. Expect wicked whispers from Pete, a football club owner storming a pitch on a mobility scooter, and Jack's Encyclopaedia with a toilety twist!

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Sign up for our Patreon for exclusive live events, ad-free Rambles, full video episodes and loads more: patreon.com/footballramble.

***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!***

Dotun and Andy are joined by Archie Rhind-Tutt to collectively ask: what the hell Dortmund?!

Plus, Nicky joins us to discuss José Mourinho's future and Luciano Spalletti's farewell. We try to keep up with the Icardis, too!

Got a question for us? Find us on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

Sign up for our Patreon for exclusive live events, ad-free Rambles, full video episodes and loads more: patreon.com/footballramble.

***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!***

I don’t care what you say, we absolutely do want to see it. Sevilla and Roma headlined a “festival of gamesmanship” last night and Real Betis… erm no sorry… Sevilla were the eventual winners. Obviously.

Today Marcus, Jim and Andy are here to dissect the Europa League final, yellow cards and all, and explain why José Mourinho’s future will most likely be spent criticising the fan that took his runners-up medal. Tune in.

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Sign up for our Patreon for exclusive live events, ad-free Rambles, full video episodes and loads more: patreon.com/footballramble.

***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!***

Today, we're speaking to the man who runs perhaps the standout club in the Premier League. It's Brighton chief exec, Paul Barber!

Who would you like Kate to speak to next? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Sign up for our Patreon for exclusive live events, ad-free Rambles, full video episodes and loads more: patreon.com/footballramble.

***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!***

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After Big Sam's *checks notes* second Premier League relegation, we thought we'd remember better times.

Marcus, Andy, Jim and Pete revisit his time at Bolton Wanderers, who went from Division Two strugglers to Premier-League-big-boy-botherers! It all started with Phil Brown getting smashed with an ashtray in the bogs of a golf club...

Let us know what you thought of today’s Guide. Find us on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and email us here: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

Sign up for our Patreon for exclusive live events, ad-free Rambles, full video episodes and loads more: patreon.com/footballramble.

***Please take the time to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. It means a great deal to the show and will make it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Thanks!***