Where did the name winter come from? How the season got its name.

The word winter comes from an old Germanic word for “time of water,” a reference to the heavy rain and snow this time of year, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. 

USA Today

Many in government are worried about Trump’s return. At DOJ, they’re terrified.

Trump blames DOJ for much of his torment over the past four years. Lawyers there fear what’s next.

Politico

Far-Right Extremists Embrace Environmentalism to Justify Violent Anti-Immigrant Beliefs

Across the country, fear and tension about environmental threats were boiling beneath the surface. The people I spoke with largely said that climate change was real and urgent. In their hands it became a weapon to justify their agendas — or at least a useful tool to expand their movements. Some were struggling under the concussions of wildfires and drought. They believe that water and land are becoming scarcer, forcing them to hoard and defend those resources. And they hold onto a nostalgic view for the way American life was in the 1950s, when there were half as many people, and nearly 90% of them were white.

ProPublica

Trump’s wild threats put press freedom in the crosshairs in second term

Free press advocates are alarmed by Trump’s talk of revoking broadcast licenses and jailing journalists – but express hope in the US’s first amendment

The Guardian

Unexpected pairing: New documentary tells a heartwarming story between Vietnam enemies

“A lot of people in this country continue to fight the war in their minds, and I think this is one of the few depictions of what happens through partnership in terms of reconciliation,” Hawkins said about Vietnam War veterans in the United States.

USA Today

‘We need guns, bro… we need guns’: Trump-appointed judge throws the book at one of the most violent Jan. 6 rioters

A Virginia man who smashed windows in the Speaker’s Lobby moments before Ashli Babbitt was shot and killed by a U.S. Capitol officer during the Jan. 6 riots was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Law and Crime

Nebraska Voters Reject State Funding for Students Attending Private K-12 Schools

President of the Nebraska State Education Association was ‘proud to see right- and left-leaning counties agree that vouchers were the wrong choice.’

The 74 Million

St. Louis Mayor Among Those Targeted By Racist Mass Texts

As BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported, a racist mass text has been received by an untold number of Black people across the country and among that number is the mayor of St. Louis.

According to Fox 2, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones and her son were among those who received the texts which the FBI is currently trying to ascertain the origins of.

Black Enterprise

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to remain at post as some call for her to step down

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has made clear she has no plans to step down, according to people close to her, despite calls from some on the left that President Joe Biden should try to name a successor before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

CNN

Charlamagne tha God: Harris ‘needs to get a lot more credit’ for reviving ‘dead’ campaign

“I think that she needs to get a lot more credit than she probably is going to get because the campaign was dead, you know, literally,” Charlamagne told ABC News’s Jonathan Karl in an interview on “This Week” that aired Sunday.

“With Biden,” Karl responded.

“Oh yeah,” Charlamagne said. “The campaign was dead with Biden. I know people make a lot of jokes about the whole ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ thing, and they would say things like, ‘I would vote for Biden if he was a corpse.’”

“Well, he damn near was. And, you know, there was no life whatsoever. And I think that the vice president made a lot of people sit up on the couch and pay attention and at least be curious,” he continued.

The Hill

Dear fellow progressives: marginalized folks shouldn’t be revolution fodder

One of the hardest things to process after the US Presidential election this week is that so many on “my side” politically see this positively, either because they believe that only rock bottom will spur people to topple harmful systems or they opted out of voting entirely, in “protest.”

The Mary Sue

Somehow, trans people are already getting blamed for Harris’ loss

As if trans people didn’t’ have enough to worry about, Democrat supporters have already started to throw us under the bus. In January 2025, Trump and his cronies will retake the White House and we’ll be the target of anti-trans legislation and executive orders. LGBTQ+ people overwhelmingly voted for Harris, with over 86% casting a ballot for the Democrats according to exit polls. But the narrative is already leaning towards the idea that it is trans people’s fault that Trump won.

Into

Anger over ‘street chaos’ fuels ouster of another blue-city mayor

San Francisco’s London Breed is the latest is a string of Democratic mayors who’ve faced fierce reelection headwinds due to voters’ concerns over crime and street conditions.

Politico

‘What Now?’ People Behind Bars React to Trump’s Win

Most people in prison can’t vote. But they share concerns about inflation, misinformation, racism and the state of our democracy.

The Marshall Project

Delaware makes history, elects Sarah McBride as 1st openly transgender member of Congress

McBride won Delaware’s only House seat that is currently held by Lisa Blunt Rochester, who also made history by becoming the first woman and first Black person to represent Delaware in the U.S. Senate. On Wednesday, Governor-elect Matt Meyer said it was an honor to share the stage with them.

CBS News

Trump didn’t win — disinformation did

While it may feel better to think of Trump supporters as misinformed rather than hateful, the downside is that an un-informed public cannot sustain a freely elected democracy. This is exactly what Musk, Murdoch, Putin, and destabilizing forces from around the world are banking on. Like a snake gorging on its own tail, domestic disrupters are weaponizing America’s First Amendment to get rid of it so that the oligarchs funding them can drill, shoot, pollute, and defraud American consumers with impunity.

Raw Story

Labour advisers want lessons learned from Harris defeat: voters set the agenda

There is a tough lesson that senior Labour advisers want some of their internal party critics to learn from the Democrats’ disastrous defeat. Optimism is not the answer they think it is.

The Guardian

Remembrance: Why do we wear poppies?

Across the UK, poppies are worn each year to mark Remembrance events and commemorate those who lost their lives in two world wars and other conflicts.

BBC

Scholz calls for cool heads to pull Germany out of political crisis

Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday demanded a calm debate from Germany’s squabbling factions on setting the date for a snap election to pull the country out of a political crisis.

Reuters

Escape the doom & gloom with a peek at a thriving queer community in 1960s Japan

In a dizzying and electrifying mix of narrative, documentary, and experimental film, Funeral Parade is set in the underground queer scene of 1960s Tokyo, and follows Eddie (played by Peter, one of Japan’s premier gay entertainers), a young transgender woman employed at a gay bar as a call girl.

Queerty

Mali lawmakers pass law to throw gay citizens in jail

Anyone promoting, condoning or engaging in it will be prosecuted, the country’s justice minister declared.

LGBTQ Nation

‘America’s war on reproductive rights forces us to confront Ireland’s dark history of failing women’

Ireland’s history with reproductive rights and legal sanctions on abortion may offer a glimpse into the frightening reality of America’s future without Roe v Wade

Irish Star

First charges over violence linked to football match in Amsterdam

Authorities have released details of the 62 people arrested after violent attacks took place around the football match between Amsterdam’s Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday night.

The Guardian

Arab, Muslim leaders head to Riyadh for talks on Gaza, Lebanon wars

Arab and Muslim leaders will ‘discuss the continued Israeli aggression’ on the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, as well as current developments.

The New Arab

Putin offers African countries Russia’s ‘total support’

Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered what he called “total support” for Africa, including in the struggle against terrorism and extremism.

BBC

Scholz facing mounting pressure to bring forward German election

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is under increasing pressure from rival parties to accelerate plans for a general election, with conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz calling for a crucial vote to set the process going as early as Wednesday.

DPA International

Israel strikes killed dozens in Lebanon and northern Gaza, officials say

Israeli strikes killed dozens of people on Sunday in Lebanon and the northern Gaza Strip, where the military has been waging a major offensive for more than a month that aid groups say has further worsened the humanitarian crisis in the besieged enclave.

CBS News

Cuba warns against ‘public disorder’ as scattered protests erupt

Cuban authorities said late on Saturday they would not tolerate “public disorder” as the island’s emergency workers cleared debris and worked to restore power to parts of western Cuba still in the dark four days after the passage of Hurricane Rafael.

Reuters

Valencian leaders rule out imminent resignations amid flood response fury

Regional vice-president says ‘we cannot abandon the victims’ after huge protest over handling of disaster

The Guardian