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When the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office released a mug shot of Donald Trump last week, I found it hard to look away from the photo. There, captured for posterity, was an image of the former president looking straight down the camera, scowling furiously.
There’s a good reason why I – and no doubt many others – found the photo so captivating, explains communication and visual scholar Jonathan Finn. Mug shots, Finn writes, play into a “cultural fascination with crime and criminal justice.”
Trump’s campaign is already using the mug shot as a means of fundraising. But its significance will only grow in the years to come, long after the 2024 election is over, Finn explains: “As a historical artifact, the Trump mug shot will be truly unique – it will represent the first time a former president had a public, photographic record of criminal charges.”
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Amy Lieberman
Politics + Society Editor
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Former President Donald Trump poses for his booking photo at the Fulton County Jail on Aug. 24, 2023.
Fulton County Sheriff Office via Getty Images
Jonathan Finn, Wilfrid Laurier University
Former President Donald Trump’s mug shot is in line with the traditional mug shots that were first taken of arrested people in the mid-1800s and early 1900s, a police photography expert explains.
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Environment + Energy
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Charles O. Stanier, University of Iowa; Gregory Carmichael, University of Iowa; Peter S. Thorne, University of Iowa
Thick smoke pouring in from Canada’s wildfires canceled baseball games and pushed air quality in major US cities to the worst in the world.
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Economy + Business
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Naomi Cahn, University of Virginia
Two very distinct legal processes are at issue in the Michael Oher case.
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Marick Masters, Wayne State University
Reuther was both ambitious and pragmatic, scoring many victories for autoworkers.
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Politics + Society
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Al Cross, University of Kentucky
In the wake of two public episodes of Mitch McConnell appearing to ‘freeze,’ a longtime Kentucky journalist explains how an uncharismatic Kentucky lawyer came to rule the Senate.
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Rodney Coates, Miami University
In the US, white men have long had the power to make decisions about women’s reproductive health care. Those decisions have often been especially harmful to Black women.
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Health + Medicine
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Leslie Russek, Clarkson University
Hypermobility can be painful and lead to frequent injuries and systemic health problems. Unfortunately, many doctors aren’t familiar with these conditions, and patients can go years undiagnosed.
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International
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Miren Gutiérrez, Universidad de Deusto
Luis Rubiales’ speech against the accusations of having abused of Jenni Hermoso distils constant examples of machismo disguised as feminism that experts in the field are able to detect.
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Gyldas A. Ofoulhast-Othamot, St. Petersburg College
Failed developmental promises, ever shifting domestic elite alliances and popular demand for better living conditions contributed to the military removal of Gabon’s Ali Bongo Ondimba.
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