Comment on In South Philly, the faithful pray for a visit from Pope Francis

WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors sidestepped some Justice Department rules when they seized the phone records of reporters as part of media leak investigations during the Trump administration, according to a new watchdog report being released as the aggressive practice of hunting for journalists’ sources could again be resurrected. The report Tuesday from the Justice Department inspector general’s office also found that some congressional staffers had their records obtained by prosecutors by sheer virtue of the fact that they had accessed classified information despite that being part of their job responsibilities.

Of the eight planets and 293 moons that call our solar system home, only Earth has a surface that sloshes with liquid water. Roughly 71% of the face of our world is covered in seas, lakes, rivers, and oceans, serving as the elixir for more than three billion years of global life.

Solar growth has soared over the past few years. With new projects coming online this year, experts predict that U. S. solar power generation will grow 75% from 163 billion kilowatt hours in 2023 to 286 billion kWh in 2025. It has been an important part of the Biden Administration’s plan to eliminate fossil fuels as a form of energy generation by 2035.

Vladmir Putin is running out of time with his crumbling economy and overstretched, faltering army trying to advance his ill-advised invasion of Ukraine, while attempting to suppress pro-democracy activists in several nations around his intended sphere of influence. Now, almost three years into his big invasion of Ukraine that was supposed to be won in three days, he has been counting on the return of Donald Trump to the White House to undermine allied support for Ukraine.

The best nonfiction books of the year tackle undeniably difficult topics. Many are personal stories about surviving the unthinkable. Salman Rushdie describes the violent attack that nearly killed him. Zara Chowdhary captures the fear of living amid sectarian violence in India. And Alexandra Fuller reflects on the sudden passing of her 21-year-old son.

In the fly-on-the-wall documentary The Bibi Files, Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu, universally known as Bibi, is seen undergoing hours of questioning by Israeli police over the corruption allegations for which he is now on trial. The footage of his interrogation is interspersed with police interviews with wealthy associates, including Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan and the widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who complain of the prime minister and his wife demanding expensive gifts. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] But beyond its voyeuristic appeal, the film makes the case that Netanyahu’s actions—from his alliance with the far-right fringe of Israeli politics who are intent on upending the country’s judicial system to prolonging the ongoing war in Gaza—can all be tied to his efforts to evade the charges against him.