Today, Explained

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is officially planning her exit from politics. The Guardian’s Kate Connolly explains how an awkward scientist became the most powerful woman in the world and defined a global immigration crisis.

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The Trump Foundation is shutting down. The Washington Post’s David Fahrenthold shares a series of increasingly unbelievable stories about the charity's shenanigans.

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The North Korea summit. Brexit chaos. The brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi. The hosts of Vox's Worldly podcast look back on the biggest international stories of the year.

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Tumblr is removing adult content from its platform today. Vox’s Aja Romano says it's about much more than banning “female-presenting nipples".

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"The House That Jack Built" opens in select theaters across the country today, but it’s not the version director Lars von Trier wanted you to see. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) put the kibosh on the director’s cut. Some say it’s censorship, but Vox’s Alissa Wilkinson explains how the MPAA is trying to save Hollywood from itself.

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After 20 years, Speaker Paul Ryan is set to leave the House of Representatives in early January. Ezra Klein says Paul Ryan’s legacy would be a big let down to… Paul Ryan.

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One man in North Carolina may have swung an election by defrauding voters. But North Carolina is interested in stopping a different type of voter fraud.

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President Trump is looking to fill some key positions. One pick is a former attorney general, another comes from "Fox & Friends".

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Except it doesn't. Vox's Andrew Prokop explains why the latest pieces of Robert Mueller's puzzle are bad news for President Trump.

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Canada arrested a Chinese executive at the request of the United States this week. It may set off a whole new Cold War.

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There used to be one Trump Tower controversy. Now there are two. Donald Trump Jr. is in the middle of both of them. The Washington Post’s David Fahrenthold explains what Don Jr. has been up to.

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Wisconsin Republicans are scrambling to pass last-minute measures that would strip the incoming Democratic governor of a lot of his powers.

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The Verge’s Casey Newton explains the pros and cons of staying on Facebook after the latest scandal.

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George H. W. Bush went from a record-breaking 89 percent approval rating after the Gulf War to losing his re-election bid to an upstart from Arkansas.

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A Chinese scientist says he has genetically engineered two human babies, with another on the way. Is this the beginning of the end?

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Nancy Pelosi is now officially the nominee for Speaker of the House. Time's Molly Ball explains who's happy and who's mad about it.

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President Trump and both parties actually agree on something: mandatory minimum sentences are too harsh. Can they fix them?

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Russia rammed one of its ships into a Ukrainian tug boat, further straining an already strung-out relationship. Vox’s Alex Ward takes us on a voyage to the Black Sea.

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U.S. Border Patrol tear-gassed asylum seekers who rushed the border yesterday. Maya Averbuch was there reporting for the New York Times. Vox’s Dara Lind explains how the Trump administration might deal with its asylum problem.

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Airlines are getting tough on emotional support animals. Some people think they're a scam. Science isn’t sure. An expert weighs in, as does an emotional support dog.

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The Trump administration is punishing Cuba in response to mysterious attacks on U.S. diplomats in Havana. ProPublica's Sebastian Rotella explains what we know and what we don't.

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The Camp Fire is the most destructive fire in California history, surpassing a record set just a few months ago. Vox’s Umair Irfan heads to Paradise.

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Massive news: Scientists in France voted to officially redefine the kilogram today. They’ve been weighing their options for centuries.

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California has the strictest gun laws in the country, but they didn't prevent last week’s mass shooting in Thousand Oaks. Vox’s German Lopez explains the flaws in California’s laws, and points to a far-away state doing a better job.

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The Trump administration would very much like to know if you’re a citizen come the 2020 census. NPR’s Hansi Lo Wang explains how that might break the census.

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South Carolina used to be one of the most dangerous places in America to have a baby. But now, it’s reducing infant mortality with an unconventional approach: having pregnant women talk to each other. Listen and subscribe to The Impact: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Overcast | Pocket Casts | RadioPublic

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Almost a week after the midterm elections, several key races remain undecided and recounts are coming. The president calls shenanigans.

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The journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder has put the spotlight on an unlikely place: Yemen.

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Attorney General Jeff Sessions is out. His replacement has criticized the Mueller probe. Is the investigation safe? Vox’s Andrew Prokop isn’t so sure.

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The results are in! Vox’s Libby Nelson provides a rundown. Matthew Yglesias predicts the future.

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For answers, we head to Australia where it isn't. Turnout surpasses 90% and elections are celebrated with democracy sausages on the barbie.

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In case you’ve been living under a rock, the midterm elections are tomorrow. A pair of Vox’s congressional reporters take a tour of key races before Ezra Klein takes a deep breath and talks stakes.

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Hacking our elections is so easy, a 7-year-old can do it. (Really.) How we got here and why the best solution is one you might not expect.

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What if the government just gave everyone money? No strings attached. Crazier things have happened. Nixon even tried to implement such a program once. The Atlantic's Annie Lowrey explains how universal basic income could work.

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Colorado's Proposition 112 is dividing the state. The ballot measure could severely limit oil and gas production, including fracking. Sean Rameswaram speaks with Cody Doane, who's Team Fracking, even though there was a lethal natural gas explosion near his kids' pre-school.

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THE CARAVAN IS COMING! DISEASE! MUSLIMS! DANGER! LOCK THE BORDER! Or maybe just listen to this episode in which Vox’s Dara Lind separates truth from fiction about the migrant caravan heading to the U.S.

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A mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue has confirmed what many believed to be true: Anti-Semitism is on the rise in America, and it's fueling white nationalism.

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More than 50,000 voters in Georgia have found themselves on a “pending list.” One candidate for governor is responsible for it. The other is fighting it. The outcome could turn Georgia purple and make Stacey Abrams the first black woman to run an American state.

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America’s favorite Democrats are getting pipe bombs in the mail. Who even mails bombs anymore?

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The Trump administration announced it’s throwing out a decades-old arms treaty with Russia. Arms control specialist Alexandra Bell explains why this news pairs well with a stiff drink.

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A leaked Health and Human Services memo has left transgender Americans feeling like the Trump administration wants to define them out of existence. Dominic Holden from BuzzFeed News says the whole situation is much more complicated.

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A ballot initiative on November 6 might re-enfranchise over a million Floridians. Demetrius Jifunza explains what it would mean to regain the right to vote.

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Metabolism is one of the greatest mysteries of the human body. Vox’s Julia Belluz spends a day in a metabolic chamber and emerges with some answers.

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It is now almost certain that journalist Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered at the hands of the Saudi government. As more and more gruesome details emerge, things get worse and worse for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

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Harvard is on trial. A group of Asian Americans is facing off against the college in court, where it might dismantle the very affirmative action law that was meant to help minorities.

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Everything’s bigger in Texas, including a Senate race that feels more like a presidential one. Texas Monthly’s Eric Benson explains how Beto O’Rourke might break the Democrats’ dry spell in the Lone Star State on the eve of the second O’Rourke-Cruz debate.

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Midterm elections are three weeks and a day away. Vox’s Dylan Scott says if you think the country's polarized, you ain't seen nothing yet.

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Imagine a world where a Band-Aid costs $629. Bad news: you live in that world. Vox’s Sarah Kliff explains how American hospitals tack on “facility fees” to cover their expansive costs, and a new solution that's getting bipartisan support.

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Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi visited the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last week, but he never left. Now, Turkish officials claim he was killed and then dismembered with a bone saw. Saudi dissident Ghanem al-Masarir al-Dosari explains how speaking out against the Saudi government became a matter of life or death.

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The United Nations now says the planet has 12 years to avoid catastrophic climate change. Vox’s Umair Irfan explores the options humanity has left. ******************************************** Vox crunched 3.1T of data so you can see how much and how fast America is warming. You can see how fast your city is warming here: https://www.vox.com/a/weather-climate-change-us-cities-global-warming

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