On August 21, ex-State Duma lawmaker Ilya Ponomarev announced that a Russian partisan group was responsible for the car explosion that killed Daria Dugina, the daughter of prominent Eurasianist philosopher and ideologue Alexander Dugin. The organization, called the National Republican Army, had never been mentioned publicly before — and its manifesto appeared online almost simultaneously with Ponomarev’s announcement. Today, Ponomarev is based in Ukraine and his stance is ardently pro-Kyiv. But he has come under criticism in the past for his deep ties to the Russian elite: his father worked in the Russian government in the early years of Vladimir Putin’s regime, his mother was a senator, and in addition to being a former lawmaker, Ponomarev once worked closely with former First Deputy Chief of Staff Vladislav Surkov. In an interview with Meduza special correspondent Svetlana Reiter, Ilya Ponomarev discussed Daria Dugina’s murder, his past ties to the Russian elite, and how he thinks Russia’s war against Ukraine will end.  Source: ‘Our task is to finish off Putin’ Ex-lawmaker Ilya Ponomarev on Daria Dugina’s death, the National Republican Army, and bringing down the Russian regime — Meduza

The initial batch of documents retrieved by the National Archives from former President Donald J. Trump in January included more than 150 marked as classified, a number that ignited intense concern at the Justice Department and helped trigger the criminal investigation that led F.B.I. agents to swoop into Mar-a-Lago this month seeking to recover more, multiple people briefed on the matter said.

In total, the government has recovered more than 300 documents with classified markings from Mr. Trump since he left office, the people said: that first batch of documents returned in January, another set provided by Mr. Trump’s aides to the Justice Department in June and the material seized by the F.B.I. in the search this month.

The previously unreported volume of the sensitive material found in the former president’s possession in January helps explain why the Justice Department moved so urgently to hunt down any further classified materials he might have.

Source: Pfizer requests FDA approval of COVID-19 vaccine targeting Omicron – UPI.com

So does this mean drinking more water can help us lose weight? The medical community has often scoffed at the assertion. However, our research team found that giving mice more water slowed weight gain and the development of prediabetes, even when the mice had diets rich in sugar and fat.

There is also increasing evidence that most people drink too little water in general, and increasing water intake may help people who are obese lose weight.

That’s why I encourage drinking eight tall glasses of water a day. And eight is likely enough; don’t assume more is better.

Source: Two Surprising Reasons Behind the Obesity Epidemic | Food Manufacturing

Finland’s PM Sanna Marin faced criticism from some after videos were leaked showing her partying with friends.

Now, supporters have posted footage of themselves dancing and enjoying themselves on social media in solidarity.

Source: Sanna Marin: Dancing women show support for Finland’s PM – BBC News

Boom and bust water cycles and ephemeral rivers are familiar features of the desert Southwest. But the last time the Albuquerque reach dried (1983), the reservoirs along its length stood much higher. Today, with drought, weak snowpack, a lack of rain, and continued high water demand, the river’s reservoirs are facing historic lows. At the end of July, New Mexico’s largest reservoir, Elephant Butte, stood at 4 percent of capacity, its lowest level since the 1970s.

In the third week of August, a sub-tropical low from the Gulf of Mexico brought intense storms, heavy rainfall, and flash flooding to the region. But the rains cannot fully alleviate the continuing drought conditions across the Southwest, which are due to long-term accumulated precipitation deficits, according to the University of Arizona’s Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS). “Sustained monsoon activity helped reduce the most extreme drought characterizations, but is not enough to reverse long-term drought conditions,” CLIMAS reported in August.

“The Rio Grande through New Mexico is a snow-melt driven system,” Ball said. “As temperatures increase and winter precipitation becomes less reliable, drought is likely to become an endemic state in the Rio Grande Basin. As in much of the Western U.S., water resources will have to be reexamined as water supply struggles to match demand.”

Source: Rio Grande Runs Dry, Then Wet