Weekend Reads 8/11/18

After seven difficult years, a fine day for NASA and human spaceflight

Yet perhaps more significant is that, with the commercial crew program, NASA has embraced the future. By investing in SpaceX and Boeing, NASA has undeniably stimulated the development of the commercial space industry. With SpaceX, for example, it has allowed a vibrant company to continue innovating and pushing forward at a breathtaking pace.

Hate's coded language: 'I’m not against Latinos, I’m against illegal immigrants'

“What you started seeing is coded language – especially in Arizona –where people were talking about, ‘Well, I’m not against Latinos, I’m against illegal immigrants,’ but basically using that term to cast everybody the same,” he said. “I think there’s no difference anymore, and they’re wrapped in the same, which is why you’re also seeing Latinos now more strongly standing up for immigrant rights.”

Obama Snubs Ocasio-Cortez and Liberals Are Heartbroken

His decision reflects a growing ​rift within the Democratic party between moderates -- like former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Obama himself, whose economic ​policy prioritizes free global trade -- and the smaller socialist faction, with its more isolationist agenda calling for broad welfare expansions and redistribution of wealth.

Scientists Have Uncovered a Disturbing Climate Change Precedent

But the most striking feature of this early age of mammals is that it was almost unbelievably hot, so hot that around 50 million years ago there were crocodiles, palm trees, and sand tiger sharks in the Arctic Circle. On the other side of the blue-green orb, in waters that today would surround Antarctica, sea-surface temperatures might have topped an unthinkable 86 degrees Fahrenheit, with near-tropical forests on Antarctica itself.