Today, Explained

Canada’s prime minister is accused of pressuring his attorney general to go easy on a wealthy corporation, and two cabinet officials resigned in protest. With an election mere months away, can Justin Trudeau survive?

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The United States officially eliminated measles in 2000. But the deadly disease is making a comeback, and the anti-vaccine movement is largely to thank.

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Two men accuse Michael Jackson of sexually abusing them as children in a new HBO documentary. Sean Rameswaram speaks with the film's director and a lawyer representing the estate of Michael Jackson.

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Facebook moderators watch suicides, decapitations, and drone attacks so you don’t have to—and they’re paid just a fraction of what the average Facebook employee makes. The Verge’s Casey Newton got a rare glimpse inside “the Trauma Floor.”

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The long-simmering feud between nuclear powers India and Pakistan is boiling over. Ankit Panda from The Diplomat explains why.

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After weeks of delays and drama, President Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, testified before Congress today. Vox’s Andrew Prokop says his statements amount to much more than blockbuster political theater.

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Police can seize your property without ever charging you with a crime. And you probably won’t get it back.

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Venezuela's whole “two presidents” thing has turned lethal. Emiliana Duarte spent the weekend at Venezuela’s border with Colombia where security forces faced off against protesters.

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Jussie Smollett was the victim of a racist, homophobic hate crime last month. Or at least that’s what he’d have you believe. The Advocate’s Zach Stafford tells the Smollett saga from its shocking start to its outrageous end.

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Californians were promised high-speed rail. Eleven years and billions of dollars later, all they have is a fight with President Trump. Vox’s Matthew Yglesias laments a train in vain.

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Amazon decided on two headquarters: one in New York and the other in Arlington, Virginia. One deal fell apart, the other just might work out perfectly. Today, Explained’s Noam Hassenfeld finds out why. ************** Clarification: We noted that New York offered $3 billion in subsidies to Amazon. We have clarified that this was a mix of both cash grants and tax incentives.

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The Verge's Casey Newton says a California privacy law to protect your online data might finally push federal legislators to come up with one set of rules for the entire country. Recode's Kara Swisher says it's high time big tech gets its act together.

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Nearly a dozen candidates have announced their run for the presidency and 2019 has only just begun. John Dickerson of Slate’s Political Gabfest explains the endless American tradition.

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President Donald Trump declared a national state of emergency today. It’s the latest installment in his controversial “Build the wall!” series.

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Remember the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau? It’s not doing so well. Enforcement is down by 75 percent, employees are leaving in droves, and now regulations are being rolled back.

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Virginia: birthplace of American democracy and American slavery, first state to elect a black governor and maybe the first to have a governor with a KKK costume on his yearbook page. Christy Coleman from the American Civil War Museum in Richmond explains the duality of Old Dominion.

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Sears was on its way to the graveyard of American icons when its former CEO, a reclusive billionaire named Eddie Lampert, stepped in to buy it. Unfortunately, he’s the same CEO who led the company into bankruptcy.

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First it was blackface. And maybe the KKK? Then there was an accusation of sexual assault. Then more blackface. Then another sexual assault. Welcome to Virginia 2019.

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Jeff Bezos. Donald Trump. The Washington Post. The National Enquirer. This dick pic is not like the others.

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President Trump’s inaugural committee this week received a sweeping subpoena. Federal prosecutors in New York want to know where a record-breaking amount of money came from and where exactly it went.

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Let's do lunch! And talk Oxy! A new study suggests a correlation between aggressive marketing and opioid overdoses. The timing isn't great for Purdue Pharma.

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President Trump delivers his second State of the Union tonight, but how’s the world doing? Believe it or not, Vox’s Dylan Matthews says things are getting much, much better.

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Big changes are afoot at the second-biggest federal agency, the Department of Veterans Affairs. ProPublica’s Isaac Arnsdorf explains how a trio of President Trump’s friends has been leading the charge from outside the VA.

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For 31 years, Joe Bryan has been in prison for a murder he says he didn’t commit. He was convicted based on bloodstain-pattern analysis, but ProPublica’s Pamela Colloff says it's way less scientific than you might think.

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Historic protests threaten to topple Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir. Reporter Reem Abbas speaks to Sean Rameswaram after being tear gassed in Khartoum.

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Facebook has been paying 13- to 35-year-olds $20 in exchange for access to their phones and Apple isn't happy about it. The Verge’s Casey Newton explains what happens when your hardware gets mad at your software.

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The US and the Taliban are working out a deal to end America’s longest war. Afghanistan is nervous. Vox’s Jennifer Williams explains.

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Air traffic controllers aren’t allowed to strike, but they may have found another way to end the government shutdown on Friday. Vox’s Matthew Yglesias determines whether the country learned anything from its pointless and painful political exercise.

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It’s been quite a day for Roger Stone. Arrested before dawn. Released on $250,000 bond. Called Alex Jones. Gave a circus of a press conference. Vox's Andrew Prokop explains the latest development in the Mueller investigation.

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In one corner, there’s Nicolás Maduro, the incumbent presiding over a failing economy. In the other, you have Juan Guaidó, a 35-year-old lawmaker who just declared himself president, backed by the United States and most of Latin America. Journalist Mariana Zuniga explains the standoff from Caracas.

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President Donald Trump would very much like a deal to end his shutdown. The Republican-controlled Senate is with him. Vox’s Dara Lind explains why the road ahead remains long.

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The partial government shutdown is now officially a record-breaking, trip-cancelling, State of the Union-postponing, Cardi B-angering hot mess.

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What if your utility were a felon filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy? You would be one of 16 million in California. KQED’s Marisa Lagos lays out Pacific Gas and Electric’s woes and Vox’s Umair Irfan says this is just the beginning of our power problems.

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The Supreme Court is back in session and Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick says Chief Justice John Roberts is ready to take a swing at balancing an increasingly partisan bench.

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If there’s one thing pretty much everyone in the government can agree on, it’s this: prescription drug prices are too damn high. But how to fix them? Vox’s Dylan Scott showcases seven solutions floating around Congress. ***************************************************************** Are you interested in more discussions around health care policy? Join Vox's Facebook community for conversation and updates. bit.ly/VoxCareFBgroup

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Brooklyn really does have everything: a basketball team, a laundromat-pinball bar, and now the drug lord trial of the century. Keegan Hamilton, host of the “Chapo” podcast from Vice News, explains what it’s like to stare deep into the eyes of former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, aka “El Chapo”.

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Come midnight, the government shutdown will be the longest in US history. Vox’s Li Zhou runs through the consequences for federal workers and the rest of America.

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This morning, the president doubled down on his threat to declare a national emergency to build a border wall. Such a declaration could also allow him to send in the troops, freeze your bank account, and shut down the internet.

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Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has floated a marginal tax rate of 70% for top earners in America. A lot of people are upset, and even more have no idea how it works. *********************************** Check out this easy video on how tax brackets work: https://youtu.be/VJhsjUPDulw

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National security advisor John Bolton traveled to Turkey to meet with President Erdogan, who cancelled today. It's the latest development in a very messy troop withdrawal President Trump announced in late December. Vox's Jennifer Williams explains what the clusterf**k happened.

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Obamacare’s back in the crosshairs. Vox’s Sarah Kliff breaks down a lawsuit that’s pitting states’ attorneys general against each other, and how the new House will defend the landmark legislation.

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Around 80,000 people died of the flu last season. Despite that, Sean doesn’t want to get the flu shot. Luckily, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health is here to hit him with some hard and fast facts. And history.

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Paul Whelan went to Moscow for a wedding. The Russians arrested him, and today charged him with espionage. Amie Ferris-Rotman, Moscow correspondent for the Washington Post, explains how Russia might be using him as leverage to win back one of its own.

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It’s Day 12 of the government shutdown. Vox’s Li Zhou explains what that means for the country and Matthew Yglesias argues that the core issue of the wall is fundamentally dumb.

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Why even answer the phone anymore? All your questions about all those pesky automated phone calls are answered in this holiday rebroadcast.

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In 1971, a professor locked a bunch of young men in a basement to understand evil. The results were explosive. This summer, it all came crashing down. Vox’s Brian Resnick explains what’s going on with the Stanford Prison Experiment in this holiday rebroadcast.

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We called it! Sean Rameswaram attends a "Black Panther"-themed engagement party and speaks to Evan Narcisse, writer of the "Rise of the Black Panther" comic books, in this holiday rebroadcast.

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A Florida millionaire created a system to rape or abuse at least 80 young girls for years. The current Secretary of Labor may have helped him get away with it.

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