Marijuana legalization may hit a red wall

+ animal kingdom's secret to aging slowly US Edition - Today's top story: Cannabis legalization may hit a 'red wall' at the ballot box [View in browser]( US Edition | 29 October 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines - [Trump’s ‘bad genes’ talk echoes yesterday’s eugenics]( - [The chewy science behind the Snickers bar]( - [How FEMA gets hurricane victims back into homes]( Lead story I was a newspaper editor in Newton, Massachusetts, in 2012 when an initiative to legalize medical marijuana reached the ballot here. Would it pass? I was skeptical – and a little surprised when the measure attracted strong support from both progressives and Massachusetts’ small conservative community, passing handily with 63% of the vote. That same year, Colorado and Washington state approved recreational use. Twelve years on, the newspaper where I once worked barely exists – and the same can be said for the coalitions that passed laws dismantling marijuana prohibition across the U.S. William Garriott, a law professor at Drake University, deftly writes about the roots of the bipartisan legalization movement and explains what he will be watching next week when legalization goes to the ballot in four red states − Florida, North and South Dakota and Nebraska. “All told, 92% of the [26] states where adult use is still illegal are dominated – if not completely controlled – by [Republicans who are much less likely to support legalization](,” Garriott writes. [ [Understand business news and trends better. Sign up for our weekly Global Economy & Business newsletter](. ] Emily Costello Director of Collaborations + Local News Early voting runs from Oct. 21 through Nov. 3 in Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images [Cannabis legalization may hit a ‘red wall’ at the ballot box]( William Garriott, Drake University Five states have marijuana on the ballot in some form this November. But the once-bipartisan legalization movement now faces an uphill battle in states dominated by Republicans. Science + Technology - [Making a Snickers bar is a complex science − a candy engineer explains how to build the airy nougat and chewy caramel of this Halloween favorite]( Richard Hartel, University of Wisconsin-Madison The components of one Snickers bar showcase several common processes used in candy science. - [Grow fast, die young? Animals that invest in building high-quality biomaterials may slow aging and increase their lifespans]( Chen Hou, Missouri University of Science and Technology Understanding the differences in growth rate between animals can help clarify the mechanisms behind aging-related diseases and offer ways to treat them. Arts + Culture - [The ancient Irish get way too much credit for Halloween]( Lisa Bitel, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Folklorists created a through line from the Celtic pagan festival of Samhain to Halloween. But the Halloween we know today has more to do with the English, a 9th century pope and American consumerism. Politics + Society - [How Trump’s racist talk of immigrant ‘bad genes’ echoes some of the last century’s darkest ideas about eugenics]( Shannon Bow O'Brien, The University of Texas at Austin Trump’s comments against immigrants of color have prompted comparisons to the Nazis. But American and British theorists coined the theory of eugenics long before the Nazis rose to power. Ethics + Religion - [My family lived the horrors of Native American boarding schools – why Biden’s apology doesn’t go far enough]( Rosalyn R. LaPier, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign From the 19th to 20th century, Native children were physically removed from their homes and put into boarding schools. A scholar asks if that was genocide. Environment + Energy - [Beyond bottled water and sandwiches: What FEMA is doing to get hurricane victims back into their homes]( Shannon Van Zandt, Texas A&M University; Walter Gillis Peacock, Texas A&M University FEMA’s recovery work after Helene and Milton has been hampered by misinformation. Here’s what the agency actually does to help people displaced by disasters. Election 2024 - [On foreign policy, Trump opts for disruption and Harris for engagement − but they share some of the same concerns]( Garret Martin, American University School of International Service The record shows some sharp divisions between the Trump and Biden administrations on Europe, but also some continuity in how both view China. - [For an estimated 4 million people with felony convictions, restoring their right to vote is complicated – and varies state by state]( Naomi F. Sugie, University of California, Los Angeles Community organizations across the US have launched grassroots operations to inform people with convictions of their voting rights. - [RFK Jr.’s pivot to Trump is a journey taken by many populists swept along the left-to-right alternative media pipeline]( Rachel Meade, Boston University How to explain Kennedy’s slide from lefty skepticism into full MAGA? A scholar of populism found some answers in his appearances on alternative podcasts like ‘Breaking Points’ and ‘Joe Rogan.’ - [Bad Bunny shows support for Kamala Harris – and could help sway Puerto Rican voters in Pennsylvania’s industrial cities]( A. K. Sandoval-Strausz, Penn State Allentown, Bethlehem and other old industrial cities in Pennsylvania have made a remarkable recovery − thanks in part to new residents from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Economy + Business - [Corporate social responsibility disclosures are a double-edged sword, new research suggests]( Vivek Astvansh, McGill University Corporate social responsibility disclosures impress shoppers but not suppliers, data suggests. - [Rising partisanship is making nonprofits more reluctant to engage in policy debates − new research]( Heather MacIndoe, UMass Boston; Lewis Faulk, American University; Mirae Kim, George Mason University Many leaders of these groups are reluctant to take policy positions that may appear political to members of their local communities or donors. International - [Israel’s ban on UNRWA continues a pattern of politicizing Palestinian refugee aid – and puts millions of lives at risk]( Nicholas R. Micinski, University of Maine; Kelsey Norman, Rice University Millions of Palestinian refugees are set to suffer as a result of banning the UN agency, piling pressure on the US, which has warned of ‘consequences.’ Trending on site - [As more Americans go ‘no contact’ with their parents, they live out a dilemma at the heart of Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’]( - [Why do people still back Trump, after everything? 5 things to understand about MAGA supporters’ thinking]( - [Threatening ‘the enemy within’ with force: Military ethicists explain the danger to important American traditions]( Today's graphic 📈 [Surveys found that U.S. citizens who live in Canada had similar levels of interest in the 2020 and 2022 elections as U.S. citizens living in the United States.]( From the story, [Overseas US voters get ignored by political campaigns − but could be crucial supporters]( - - More of The Conversation [A graphic with the words On the Records: Comparing where Trump and Harris stand on key issues]( Like this newsletter? 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