It's a shocker Scientists unlock vital clue to strange quirk of static electricity Formation of a triboelectric series depends on the number of contacts over time between materials. Jennifer Ouellette Feb 19, 2025 2:47 pm | 6 Credit: YouTube/Institute of Science and Technology Austria Credit: YouTube/Institute of Science and Technology Austria Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn more Scientists can now explain the prevailing unpredictability of contact electrification, unveiling order from what has long been considered chaos. Static electricityspecifically the triboelectric effect, aka contact electrificationis ubiquitous in our daily lives, found in such things as a balloon rubbed against one's hair or styrofoam packing peanuts sticking to a cat's fur (as well as human skin, glass tabletops, and just about anywhere you don't want packing peanuts to be). The most basic physics is well understood, but long-standing mysteries remain, most notably how different materials exchange positive and negative chargessometimes ordering themselves into a predictable series, but sometimes appearing completely random.Now scientists at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) have identified a critical factor explaining that inherent unpredictability: It's the contact history of given materials that controls how they exchange charges in contact electrification. They described their findings in a new paper published in the journal Nature.Johan Carl Wilcke published the first so-called "triboelectric series" in 1757 to describe the tendency of different materials to self-order based on how they develop a positive or negative charge. A material toward the bottom of the list, like hair, will acquire a more negative charge when it comes into contact with a material near the top of the list, like a rubber balloon.The issue with all these lists is that they are inconsistent and unpredictablesometimes the same scientists don't get the same ordering results twice when repeating experimentslargely because there are so many confounding factors that can come into play. Understanding how insulating materials exchanged charge seemed like a total mess for a very long time," said co-author Scott Waitukaitis of ISTA. "The experiments are wildly unpredictable and can sometimes seem completely random."A cellulose material's charge sign, for instance, can depend on whether its curvature is concave or convex. Two materials can exchange charge from positive (A) to negative (B), but that exchange can reverse over time, with B being positive and A being negative. And then there are "triangles": Sometimes one material (A) gains a positive charge when rubbed up against another material (B), but B will gain a positive charge when rubbed against a third material (C), and C, in turn, will gain positive charge when in contact with A. Even identical materials can sometimes exchange charge upon contact. Styrofoam peanuts clinging to a cat's fur due to static electricity. Credit: Sean McGrath/CC BY 2.0 Gaining a more thorough understanding of triboelectricity matters because static charge occurs everywhere and can have serious consequences. For instance, pipes carrying combustible fuels like gas can accumulate significant charge along the walls even if those pipes are nonconducting. Pneumatic transport systems can catch fire if too much tribocharge builds up during use. In 2017, there was a chemical explosion at a Chinese plant that killed one person and injured several othersthe result of a spark generated by merely wiping a rail near a chemical tank while that tank was being filled with a flammable chemical.Aircraft and helicopter blades can build up triboelectric charge (called P-static) as a result of air friction. Spacecraft that build up enough triboelectric charge can cause interference with communication systems. Triboelectric charge can also cause issues with medical cable assemblies and the cables used in underwater acoustical transducers. Your car tires contain carbon black to help conduct away any tribocharge buildup. On the plus side, triboelectricity can be exploited in nanogenerators to convert mechanical energy into electricity.Waitukaitis and colleagues decided to focus on triboelectric charge resulting from contact between identical materials, reasoning that this might reveal a clue to the enduring mystery. It also helped them reduce the number of potentially confounding variables. For their experiments, they decided to use plastic blocks made out of a clear silicon-based polymer called polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and measure how different samples exchanged charge under different conditions. They were particularly keen to learn whether identical samples would order into a triboelectric series.Random results... or a hidden clue? ISTA's Juan Carlos Sobarzo measures how identical samples exchange charge. Credit: Institute of Science and Technology Austria Co-author Juan Carlos Sobarzo, an ISTA graduate student, was initially frustrated when he got the same random and unpredictable results as so many others before him. His first samplesreused from earlier experimentsdid indeed order into a triboelectric series, but repeating the experiment with fresh samples produced random results. Undeterred, Sobarzo kept repeating his experiments with the same set of samples, and on the fifth attempt, he once again achieved an ordered triboelectric series.Repeated contact turned out to be the key, enabling the samples to evolve over time. As soon as we started keeping track of the samples contact history, the randomness and chaos actually made perfect sense, said Waitukaitis. Generally speaking, the team discovered that they could get predictable results from their samples after 200 repeated contacts. The sample with more contacts in its history consistently gained a negative charge in relation to the sample with a lower contact history. By controlling the number of contacts and the order of experiments, they could even form their own designer triboelectric series.It's still unclear how this repeated contact changes the samples, but subsequent experiments revealed that those repeated contacts smoothed out tiny bumps in the sample surfaces. It's the only change they could detect, and it hints at two possible mechanisms: mechanochemistry and flexoelectricity. More research is needed to test both hypotheses."We conclude that the unpredictability in contact electrification may not be so hopeless after all," the authors wrote. "By carefully paying attention to contact history, we can not only explain the unpredictability in our system, but even tame it." In light of their findings, they added, "the notion of triboelectric series may be a useful heuristic but not much more. If the effect is widespread, chasing an immutable ordering is comparable to chasing a mirage."Nature, 2025. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08530-6 (About DOIs).Jennifer OuelletteSenior WriterJennifer OuelletteSenior Writer Jennifer is a senior writer at Ars Technica with a particular focus on where science meets culture, covering everything from physics and related interdisciplinary topics to her favorite films and TV series. Jennifer lives in Baltimore with her spouse, physicist Sean M. Carroll, and their two cats, Ariel and Caliban. 6 Comments

EnvironmentNobody doubts that human activities have dramatically transformed Earth, so why has there been no official recognition of the Anthropocene? 19 February 2025 Horizon International Images/AlamyOn a cosmological timescale, humanitys existence is a mere blip. Yet, in our short lifetime, we have done outsized damage to Earth, so much so that some believe we need to invent a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene, to recognise the global change our species has caused. Technically speaking, we arent yet in the Anthropocene but that is largely because experts cant agree about when it started.Ask most geologists and they will say we are still in the Holocene, a geological epoch that began about 11,700 years ago and is characterised by a period of planetary stability when human civilisation flourished. But therein lies the rub: our influence on Earth systems means these characteristics no longer apply, and a growing number of scientists believe a new epoch must be recognised. Enter the Anthropocene. There is debate about who coined the term, but it was popularised in 2000 by atmospheric chemist and Nobel laureate Paul Crutzen and biologist Eugene Stoermer. They argued that the Anthropocene began in the latter part of the eighteenth century, around the time that global greenhouse gas emissions began to rise as the industrial revolution gathered steam. However, the Anthropocene Working Group (AWG) begged to differ. Established in 2009 and tasked with coming up with a formal definition of the epoch, its members said that the effects of human activity at that time were too scattered to provide a picture of global change. Instead, the date they came up with was 1952.The mid-20th century worked much better than any of the other candidates, says

Olivine rock naturally reacts with carbon dioxide, but it is a slow businessRenhour48 via Wikimedia/CC0 1.0 UniversalA new process could enable crushed rocks to capture carbon dioxide from the air much more quickly, turbocharging a carbon removal technique that is already being widely adopted.Natural silicate minerals such as basalt react with water and CO2 to form solid carbonate materials, a process known as enhanced rock weathering (ERW). Studies suggest spreading crushed silicate rocks on agricultural land can increase the amount of carbon that soils can absorb, while also improving crop yields for farmers. AdvertisementBut Matthew Kanan at Stanford University in California believes the carbon benefits of ERW have been overblown, because natural silicates dont weather quickly enough to extract meaningful amounts of carbon from the air. The data is very clear: they do not weather at useful rates, he says.Converting silicates into more reactive minerals would increase the weathering rate, making ERW a viable climate solution, he says. Kanan and his colleague Yuxuan Chen, also at Stanford University, have developed a way to produce magnesium oxide and calcium silicate using a process inspired by cement production.You can take a calcium source and a magnesium silicate, heat them up, and you end up making a calcium silicate and a magnesium oxide, says Kanan. The core reaction is what we call an ion exchange, where we are swapping magnesium for calcium. Unmissable news about our planet delivered straight to your inbox every month.Sign up to newsletterThe reason thats powerful is because now that calcium silicate is reactive and so is the magnesium oxide, he says. I put in one reactive thing and I get two out. The materials weather thousands of times faster than standard silicates, says Kanan.The kilns used in the process need to be heated to 1400C for the reaction, with the energy likely to be provided by natural gas. This means the method would produce significant carbon emissions, but Kanan suggests these could either be captured at source or offset by reserving some of the reactive minerals to capture on-site emissions.Once the emissions involved in producing the materials are accounted for, 1 tonne of reactive material removes about 1 tonne of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The researchers can currently make 15 kilograms a day of reactive rocks, but hope to turn the idea into a commercial venture by selling the materials to farmers to use on agricultural land.Rachael James at the University of Southampton, UK, contests Kanans claim that conventional ERW doesnt work, pointing out that there are many documented examples of successful enhanced weathering trials. But she welcomes any attempt to accelerate the weathering rate of silicates.Anything we can do to speed up weathering rates would be hugely beneficial, because the climate crisis needs action now, she says. Weathering is an inherently slow process and, frankly, Id rather see meaningful carbon dioxide removal on timescales of 10 years than 50 years.However, she warns that the team is likely to face issues with scaling up production and deployment. Using the minerals in an agricultural system may not guarantee all the captured carbon is locked away permanently, she says.Phil Renforth at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, UK, says the proposal is a clever idea, but much more research is needed to understand how it should be deployed. They essentially produce cement minerals, which may not be ideal candidate minerals for the addition to agricultural soils, he says.Journal reference:Nature DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08499-2 Topics:

Ron Vachris moved to Arizona as a teen after his father, a utility lineman, relocated the family from New York.Vachris now lives in Sammamish, Washington, with his wife. Kyle_Graff/Shutterstock Ron Vachris was born in Staten Island, New York, but moved to Arizona with his family as a teenager, South Sound Business reported. Today, the CEO lives in Sammamish, Washington, a city on the outskirts of Seattle, where Costco was founded.Vachris is a father to three adult kids two sons and a daughter with his wife, Kim. He also has one granddaughter, whom he has pictures of all over his cubicle.His free time is family time, he told South Sound Business."I'm pretty transparent," Vachris said. "It's about my family and my career."In 1982, Vachris got a job with Costco's predecessor while attending community college.Vachris majored in business at the college but said that he learned more working at Price Club. Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Vachris joined Costco's predecessor, Price Club, as a part-time forklift driver during his winter break in 1982. He was studying business at Glendale Community College in Arizona at the time.Price Club, which was founded in 1976 by Sol Price, was a wholesale supplier for small businesses. Customers paid a membership fee to access bargain prices, a strategy that remained when Price Club and Costco then a fast-growing wholesale retailer that Sinegal founded in 1983 joined forces and began operating as PriceCostco in 1993.After getting the job, Vachris decided to build a career at the retailer.He thought, "I'm learning more here in real life than I am at school about business," he told South Sound Business in 2024.He spent 28 years in warehouse management positions.The now-CEO specialized in warehouse operations. ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images Over the next 28 years with the company, Vachris wore a lot of hats.Growing within the company in the Arizona and Colorado regions and then rising to regional management roles in the Northeast, Vachris specialized in merchandising and operations, according to Costco's website.He worked in multiple different executive roles under then-CEO Craig Jelinek.Craig Jelinek worked with Costco for 28 years before taking over the CEO role from Jim Sinegal. Nati Harnik/AP Jelinek joined Costco in 1984, when he got his start in operations. He was named executive vice president of merchandising in 2004, helped the store expand in Nevada and California, and oversaw areas of the company like e-commerce, food, and pharmacy.He took over as CEO in 2012 and in less than two years, Costco's share price had gone up by 30%.During this time, Vachris served as the company's senior vice president, general manager of the northwest region between 2010 and 2015, senior vice president of real estate development between 2015 and 2016, and executive vice president of merchandising from 2016 to January 2022.In February 2022, Vachris was appointed president and chief operating officer.Vachris worked closely with Jelinek to ensure a seamless transition. Scott Olson/Getty Images The move signaled the company's plans for succession.From February 2022 until the end of Jelinek's tenure as CEO in 2023, Vachris worked hand-in-hand with Jelinek in his role as president "and for many years before that," Costco said in a statement.The statement, released in October 2023, announced Vachris would take over Jelinek as CEO at the start of 2024. It added that Vachris' ascension to the role was "the culmination of the long-standing succession plan" executed by Jelinek."I have total confidence in Ron and feel that we are fortunate as a Company to have an executive of his caliber to succeed me," Jelinek wrote in the same statement.Vachris took over as CEO on January 1, 2024.In Vachris' first year as CEO, the company earned $7.367 billion. Costco Vachris became CEO of the company when Jelinek stepped down on January 1, 2024, just over two months after his succession plan was publicly announced.Per SEC filings, during his last year in the role, Jelinek earned a total compensation of $16.8 million, Business Insider reported at the time. This was an increase from a compensation package of $9.9 million in 2022 and $8.8 million in 2021.Jelinek's pay was about 336 times what the median employee at Costco made in 2023, a lower CEO-to-worker compensation ratio than Walmart (933-to-1) and Target (680-to-1) that year.In his first year as CEO, Vachris earned $12.2 million and the company continued to grow.Costco's CEO took home a lower compensation package than competitor retailers. Illustration by Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images In 2024, Vachris received a compensation package of $12.2 million, according to a proxy statement the company filed with the SEC. It was a decrease from his predecessor's and less than the average compensation for S&P 500 CEOs in 2023, which was $15.5 million.Vachris' pay ratio was 262 times what the median worker at Costco made that same year. The average S&P 500 CEO pay ratio in 2024 was 312 times the median employee.In the 2024 fiscal year, Costco reported $254 billion in revenue compared to $242 billion in 2023 and $227 billion in 2022.As customers' concerns about grocery price hikes continue, the bulk-buying experience has remained popular and the company continues to grow in 2024, sales per warehouse went up by 3% on average. The company has steadily opened around 30 new warehouses a year and plans to open 29 more during the 2025 fiscal year, Vachris said in December. During Vachris' tenure as CEO, Costco negotiated with unionized workers and raised wages.Earlier this year, the company faced some pushback from unionized workers, resulting in pay hikes. Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images On January 31, the company announced it would raise hourly pay for most workers to more than $30, with an extra $1 raise coming in each of the following two years. The raise came after union members voted to approve a nationwide Costco strike ahead of the January 31 contract expiration deadline.During a quarterly earnings call in December, Vachris said the company was focused on reaching an agreement with the Costco union through a "fair and timely process.""We're going to do everything we can to take care of those employees as we do all of our employees," Vachris said, referring to the 18,000 Teamsters-affiliated workers.Costco has recently come under fire for its commitment to DEI initiatives.How Costco responds to new political challenges is "definitely being watched," experts say. John Gress/REUTERS After returning to the White House in January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending DEI programs in the federal government, which prompted some companies to pull back on their DEI efforts, as well.In January 2025, Costco shareholders overwhelmingly rejected a proposal by the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think-tank and Costco shareholder, suggesting that the company prepare a report outlining the potential risks of its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives."We have always been purposefully nonpolitical, and a welcoming workforce has been integral to the company's culture and values since its founding," board chairman Tony James said.Days after shareholders shut down the anti-DEI proposal, a group of 19 attorneys general led by Iowa's Brenna Bird and Kansas' Kris Kobach filed a letter to Vachris urging Costco to end its DEI practices, which it called "divisive and discriminatory."The attorneys general also gave the company a 30-day deadline to either announce the end of DEI initiatives or explain why not.In response, Vachris said, "The overwhelming support of our shareholders' vote really puts an answer to that question."As the February 28 deadline approaches, business leaders and consumers will be watching Vachris and the company's response to the letter as companies continue to consider Costco's example of standing with DEI.

Ina Garten's chicken chili features bell peppers, onions, and plenty of spices.Ina Garten demonstrated how to make her chicken chili in an early episode of "Barefoot Contessa." Mike Smith/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images To make Garten's chicken chili for six, you'll need:4 split chicken breasts, bone-in, skin on2 (28-ounce) cans of whole-peeled plum tomatoes in puree, undrained4 cups of chopped yellow onions (3 onions)2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and large-diced2 yellow bell peppers, cored, seeded, and large diced cup of minced fresh basil leaves cup of good olive oil, plus extra for chicken cup of minced garlic (4 cloves)2 teaspoons of kosher salt, plus more for chicken1 teaspoon of chili powder1 teaspoon of ground cumin teaspoon of dried red pepper flakes, or to taste teaspoon of cayenne pepper, or to tasteFreshly ground black pepperChopped green onions, for servingCorn chips, for servingGrated cheddar cheese, for servingWhile these are Garten's recommended measurements, I should note that I doubled some of the seasoning and added 2 teaspoons of chili powder, 2 teaspoons of ground cumin, teaspoon of dried red pepper flakes, and teaspoon of cayenne pepper.I wanted the chicken chili to pack a punch, and doubling these spices turned up the flavor without making things too spicy.First, I prepped my ingredients and preheated the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.I chopped my yellow and red bell peppers first. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider I chopped my onions, diced my bell peppers, and minced my garlic.I misread Garten's recipe and diced my bell peppers a bit smaller than she recommended, but their shape still held up well in the chili. I think larger pieces might actually be too chunky for this dish because there's so much chicken in the chili, so I recommend going with a smaller dice for the bell peppers instead.Then, I began to cook my onions.I cooked the onions for about 15 minutes. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider I added the olive oil to my pan and threw in the onions.I cooked the onions for 15 minutes, until they turned translucent, then added the garlic.After adding the garlic, I cooked my onions for an additional minute. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider I cooked the garlic for an additional minute, per Garten's instructions."You want to cook the garlic for just a minute so it doesn't get really bitter," she explained in a "Barefoot Contessa" episode while demonstrating the recipe.Then, I added the bell peppers and seasoning.I doubled the seasoning for this recipe to add more flavor. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider I threw in the chili powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, cayenne, and salt and cooked everything for one minute.It was time to add the tomatoes.I crushed the tomatoes by hand and threw the leftover juice into the pot as well. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider "I always make this with canned tomatoes; life's too short to peel a tomato," Garten said in the episode.According to the recipe, you can crush the tomatoes by hand or throw them in a food processor. If you opt for the latter, Garten recommends adding them in batches and pulsing the processor six to eight times.I don't have a food processor, so I crushed the tomatoes by hand. I also threw the leftover juice into the pot.After adding basil, I brought my chili to a boil and then reduced the heat to a simmer.I tore the basil in chunks and threw the leaves in the pot. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider I left my pot uncovered as my chili began to simmer.Then, I started prepping the chicken.I rubbed my chicken with olive oil and seasoned each piece with salt and pepper. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider During the "Barefoot Contessa" episode, Garten said she cooks the chicken with the skin on because she found it "really keeps it moist." She noted that she also roasts the chicken instead of boiling it because it makes the meat taste more delicious.I rubbed my chicken breasts with olive oil and generously sprinkled salt and pepper on each one. I then threw them in the oven and set the timer to 35 minutes, per Garten's instructions.Garten recommends simmering the chili for 30 minutes, but I let it go for about an hour and a half.I simmered my chili for longer than Garten's recipe called for. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider I love making chili and believe it always tastes better the longer it is left on the stove, so I was happy to wait a little longer.But Garten's recipe is designed for the chicken and chili to be ready at the same time, so you can always finish this quicker, depending on how soon you need dinner.After 40 minutes, my chicken was ready.My chicken breasts after I took them out of the oven. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider Garten said the chicken breasts should be "just cooked" when you take them out of the oven.Once my chicken had slightly cooled, I separated the meat from the bone and started chopping.My chopped chicken pieces. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider "Tear off the bone with your hands; it's the best way to do it," Garten said in the "Barefoot Contessa" episode.Garten then recommended cutting the chicken into -inch chunks so the meat can be "really delicious and chunky."I added the chicken to the chili and continued to let it simmer uncovered.I let my chili simmer for another 45 minutes after adding the chicken. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider Garten's recipe calls for the chili to simmer with the chicken for 20 minutes. I wanted to maximize the flavor, so I let it simmer for 45 minutes.I also made sure to stir the chili occasionally so the flavor could seep into all that chicken.While the chili was simmering, I prepped my toppings.My chopped green onions. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider Since I bought pre-grated cheese, all I needed to do was chop my green onions.It was time to eat! And Garten's chicken chili made for a fantastic dinner.Garten's chicken chili is perfect for fall and winter. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider Garten's chicken chili is so hearty and comforting. The rich tomatoes paired really well with the tender and juicy chicken, which soaked up so much delicious flavor, and the bell peppers added great texture. The green onions on top also helped brighten each sip and added some nice crunch. And I recommend pairing this with sour cream for that extra hit of acidity and creaminess.I made this chili for my friend Kayla, who immediately declared that it was the "best shit ever.""This chili is reminiscent of a chicken tortilla soup, but it's so much heartier!" she added. "It makes you feel so warm and cozy."As temperatures continue to drop, Garten's recipe will definitely satisfy your chili cravings.

Hampton Dellinger, a federal official who President Donald Trump attempted to fire earlier this month, seems very likely to lose a lawsuit challenging that firing eventually. But the Trump administration is impatient to make that happen as soon as possible, asking the Supreme Court to intervene in the lower court battle currently underway over the firing. In making this request, the administration is effectively asking the justices to resolve a core question about constitutional separation of powers just weeks after Dellinger filed that lawsuit.So the case, known as Bessent v. Dellinger, is worth watching not so much because there is much mystery about whether Trump could fire Dellinger again, the Court is exceedingly likely to rule against Dellinger if forced to decide that question. Instead, the Dellinger case is worth watching as a sign of just how impatient a GOP-controlled Supreme Court is to expand a Republican presidents authority.Last year, then-President Joe Biden appointed Dellinger as special counsel of the United States, a role that is primarily responsible for investigating unlawful personnel practices against the federal governments own employees. By law, Dellinger serves a five-year term, and may be removed by the President only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.Nevertheless, a White House official wrote Dellinger on February 7, telling him that he was terminated from his role, effective immediately. Dellinger filed suit, and obtained a court order known as a temporary restraining order (TRO), which allows him to remain in office for now. Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who issued the order, also scheduled a hearing for February 26 to determine whether to issue a more lasting injunction leaving Dellinger in office.Jacksons TRO is now before the Supreme Court on its shadow docket, a mix of emergency motions and other matters which ask the justices to rule on a legal question unusually quickly. The specific dispute before the justices involves two conflicting principles.On the one hand, the Courts Republican majority is enraptured by a legal theory known as the unitary executive, which holds that the president generally must have the authority to fire any federal official or, at least, any federal official who wields significant authority pursuant to the laws of the United States. The Courts current precedents recognize some exceptions to this theory, but Republican judges frequently disparage those precedents. And, in any event, the Trump administration has a strong argument that those exceptions do not apply to this case.On the other hand, TROs, which are quite temporary and typically expire within two weeks, ordinarily cannot be appealed to a higher court. The purpose of these temporary orders is to allow a judge to briefly hit pause on a case while they figure out how they should rule on it. Allowing the Trump administration to run off to the Supreme Court before Jackson holds the February 26 hearing would short circuit that process. It would also require the justices to decide an important constitutional dispute on an extremely rushed schedule, increasing the likelihood that the Court will hand down an erroneous decision.Dellingers case is not particularly strong, at least in this Supreme CourtOrdinarily, the Courts unitary executive precedents permit the president to fire the heads of federal agencies. As the Court said in Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (2010), the presidents power as a general matter includes the authority to remove those who assist him in carrying out his duties. The Court reasoned that, without such power, the President could not be held fully accountable for discharging his own responsibilities; the buck would stop somewhere else.The core question before the justices right now is whether to honor the rules governing when the Supreme Court is allowed to intervene in a case, or whether to ignore those rules to benefit a Republican president.That said, some of the Courts precedents make exceptions to this general rule. Most notably, in Morrison v. Olson (1988), the Court upheld a now-defunct statute creating an independent counsel who could investigate and potentially prosecute high-ranking government officials and who, like Dellinger, was protected against being fired by the president. The independent counsel role upheld in Morrison is somewhat similar to Dellingers role as special counsel, as both positions were charged with investigating alleged legal violations by people within government. So theres a good argument that, under Morrison, Dellinger cannot be fired except for cause.But Morrison is reviled by Republican legal elites, including many of the Republican justices. Justice Brett Kavanaugh said in 2016, for example, that he wants to put the final nail in Morrisons coffin. Indeed, this Court has already taken significant steps to bury Morrison. In Trump v. United States (2024), the Republican justices infamous decision holding that Trump has broad immunity from the criminal law, they quoted from Justice Antonin Scalias dissent in Morrison to argue that investigation and prosecution of crimes is a quintessentially executive function which must be under the full control of the president. Its hard to square Morrisons holding that a particular prosecutor can be insulated from being fired by the president with Trumps conclusion that investigation and prosecutions of crimes must be done under the presidents full control.So, while Dellinger has a good argument under Morrison and similar cases that he was not lawfully fired, those cases rest on the thinnest of ice. If anything, by challenging his firing, Dellinger gives the Republican justices an opportunity theyve craved for a very long time to overrule Morrison.It is too soon for the Supreme Court to act on this caseAll of this said, the rules governing temporary restraining orders should prevent the Trump administration from appealing Jacksons order right now. Jackson has already signaled that she intends to decide whether to extend that order by the end of next week, and if she rules against Trump that decision can be appealed. As mentioned above, TROs allow a trial court to briefly hit pause on a case until they have time to figure out what result is required by law. They typically expire within two weeks of when they were first issued.Additionally, as an appeals court warned when it declined to review Jacksons TRO, permitting these temporary orders to be appealed would force courts to decide difficult cases at a breakneck pace, because the appeal would become moot once the TRO expired after the second week. That would lead to rushed decisions by powerful appeals courts, or even the Supreme Court, which may not fully consider all the nuances of a particular case.The Trump administration, for what its worth, argues that the Court should create an exception to the rule against appealing TROs for cases involving the president. Quoting from Judge Gregory Katsas, a Trump judge who dissented from the appeals court order declining to review Jacksons TRO, the Trump administrations lawyer claims that where a lower court allegedly impinges on the Presidents core [constitutional] powers, immediate appellate review should be generally available. But, as the appeals court majority pointed out, none of the authorities cited by the government or the dissent hold that the rules of civil procedure and appellate jurisdiction are suspended when the President is included as a party to a lawsuit. Basically, they argued that Trump may be important, but he can wait a couple weeks for appellate review just like any other litigant.Ultimately, the core question before the justices right now is whether to honor the rules governing when the Supreme Court is allowed to intervene in a case, or whether to ignore those rules to benefit a Republican president. If the justices decide that they cant wait two weeks before deciding this case, they will significantly alter the balance of power between Trump and the judiciary they could effectively strip trial courts of their authority to briefly pause Trumps actions in order to figure out whether those actions are legal. Just as significantly, if Trump prevails in his shadow docket request, it will be a clear sign that the Court is willing to wave away ordinary legal procedures in order to benefit this Republican president.See More:

Plate tectonics could explain continental plateaus and mini mass extinctions

The consequences will be felt around the world

By AJ Dellinger Published February 19, 2025 | Comments (2) | A person looking at their phone in front of an AT&T logo Pau Barrena / AFP (Getty Images) Cameron John Wagenius, a former US Army soldier, pleaded guilty to his role in a hack that affected AT&T and Verizon and resulted in the theft of data from well over 100 million customers of the companies, according to TechCrunch. Wagenius, a 20-year-old stationed in Texas, copped to two counts of unlawful transfer of confidential phone records information and will face a fine of up to $250,000 and up to 10 years in prison for each of the charges. Wagenius was taken into custody last year after being indicted for his alleged role in a hack of the two major wireless carriers. AT&T reported that the breach allowed the hacker to access nearly all of its customers phone records, including histories of calls and texts made by its users, over a six-month period in 2022. More than 110 million were notified of the breach because their data was impacted. Verizon similarly reported that it had a significant collection of customer call logs stolen. Both of the hacks that involved Wagenius are believed to be related to Snowflake, a cloud services and data analytics provider. Its believed that Wagenius and his alleged accomplices were able to access data from AT&T, Verizon, and more than 160 other companies including Ticketmaster and LendingTree through unprotected accounts that had access to Snowflake customer accounts. Prosecutors allege that the hackers were able to access everything from social security numbers and drivers license numbers to passport details and banking information. Two other people have also been indicted about the Snowflake hack: Connor Moucka and John Binns. According to the Justice Department, the two were able to steal billions of sensitive customer records, and successfully used that access to extort three victims, who ultimately paid at least 36 bitcoin (valued at $2.5 million at the time of payment) to the hackers. Their extortion campaign ran from November 2023 to October 2024, shortly before they were ultimately charged and arrested. Moucka, who lives in Canada, didnt exactly shy away from discussing his role in the hack. He was in communication with 404 Media leading up to his arrest and told the publication believed law enforcement was after him. Binns, an American who was living in Turkey, also didnt shy away from media. He took direct credit for the breach of AT&T in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.Wagenius, by comparison, was a little more press-shybut apparently didnt have the strongest OPSEC, as investigators like Brian Krebs were able to pinpoint his identity based on forum posts and online activity.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By AJ Dellinger Published February 11, 2025 By Thomas Maxwell Published February 11, 2025 By Matthew Gault Published February 11, 2025 By AJ Dellinger Published January 17, 2025 By Thomas Maxwell Published January 8, 2025 By Thomas Maxwell Published January 8, 2025

In recent months weve seen a bumper crop of entertainment memorabilia auctions, with a Doctor Who TARDIS, Stranger Things costumes, and a particularly ghoulish Blade Runner 2049 prop just a few of the items hitting the block to tempt collectors. But the biggest fish in this realm will always be Star Warsremember that record-breaking Boba Fett toy that made headlines last year?and a couple of highly covetable pieces are up next, including one wearable treasure. Its the Medal of Yavin, specifically the one Mark Hamills Luke Skywalker is awarded by Princess Leia at the end of 1977s Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. Its expected to go for an eye-popping $300,000-$600,000, but its true value is priceless, seeing as how whoever owns it can pretend they actually helped destroy the (first) Death Star, thus defeating the evil Empire (until it struck back in the next movie). Propstore According to an auction preview provided by Propstore, This medal originates from the collection of prop man Gerard Bourke. This and Harrison Fords medal, held in a private collection, are the only two examples of this prop known to exist and presumably the only two made for the film. This is the first and only medal to be offered for public sale. Lukes Medal of Yavin has been screen- and photo-matched thanks to some distinctive features including weathering in the upper corner, which differs from the weathering seen on the medal Ford wore in the movie as Han Solo. However, both actors did wear this particular medal at certain moments, as set photos suggest the medal props were used interchangeably by the performers during rehearsals, and it was just by chance that this particular version ended up being handed to Luke when the cameras were rolling. So you get some Han Solo residual mojo along with your prize, is what were getting at. This particular auction kicks off in March; the full catalogues not posted yet, but you can preview other items here, including a screen-matched Necronomicon Ex-Mortis from The Evil Dead, a Gremlins puppet, and a mosquito trapped in amber from Jurassic Park, a wondrous trio of potentially chaos-unleashing items.However, there is another Star Wars item of interest, especially for Chewbacca fans who remained miffed for decades that he didnt get his own Medal of Yavin. (He did eventually inherit Hans medal in The Rise of Skywalker, but lets be real: the moment had long since passed.) Chewie stans, behold: the bowcaster. Lucasfilm/Propstore As Chewbacca, Peter Mayhew carried this crossbow-inspired weapon in all three original Star Wars movies. As Propstores release notes, There is no evidence of a second or back-up prop. This is extremely significant as only a small number of other hand props, if any, were used in all three movies. To fight like a Wookiee, youll need to bid an estimated $250,000-$300,000.Learn more about Propstores upcoming auction here. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.