'Retail therapy is real'

'It's Amazon Prime Day! And what the world needs now is a little retail therapy.'

Marla Bautista at USA Today

In the "midst of a tumultuous election year," Amazon Prime Day offers a "welcome reprieve," says Marla Bautista. The "anticipation of receiving a package can inject a bit of joy into daily life," and everybody can "use some digital redirection in these uncertain times." While social media is "usually rife with political commentary," Amazon Prime Day "creates a more positive online environment, even if only temporarily." These "moments of diversion can play a crucial role in maintaining our sanity."

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'Judge Cannon brushes aside decades of special counsel rulings'

Ruth Marcus at The Washington Post

Judge Aileen Cannon "has slow-walked the Trump prosecution since the case landed in her lap more than a year ago," and "now she has dismissed it altogether — five months after Trump's lawyers asked her to do so," says Ruth Marcus. Justice for Trump is "once again delayed" and the "likelihood that he will be held to account for this behavior diminishes by the day." In all, Cannon's ruling was "93 pages of bending over backward for Trump."

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'The US itself could be the biggest loser in this election'

Ivan Krastev at the Financial Times

There is a "growing sense that American democracy is in peril, regardless of who wins in November," says Ivan Krastev. People outside America "used to want to vote in U.S. elections," but this year "might be the one in which the U.S. election finally loses its magic." There is an "emerging consensus that, as occurred towards the end of the Soviet Union, American society is in crisis and American power is in decline."

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''The big one' disaster could happen in our lifetime. Can we even be ready?'

Jeff Schlegelmilch at CNN

In the event of a megadisaster, there is "little that your emergency managers can do about it once it happens," says Jeff Schlegelmilch. A megadisaster "could strike a catastrophic blow at the outset or could cause widespread death and destruction" and "overtake the very systems we rely upon to manage disasters." To "reduce the risk of megadisasters" it is important to "understand the consequences of our decisions" while implementing "stronger and more robust emergency management agencies."

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