An analysis of wastewater finds that significant amounts of drugs were consumed during the solar eclipse. By Nathaniel Scharping.

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The Top 10

How should staged neo-Nazi acts of intimidation be handled? Some say they should be ignored, others insist the media must bear witness. By Lois Beckett. [Since un-published by The Guardian.]

Yes, 2017 went off the rails. But what pushed it? We asked 29 of our favorite journalists, writers, and thinkers: What were the most important events of the past 12 months, and what were the least? By Hayden Higgins.

From Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, to the disaster at Grenfell Tower and a seahorse clinging to a cotton bud: photographers describe how they took some of the defining images of 2017. By Sarah Gilbert.

National Geographic’s 57 best images of the year—curated from 88 photographers, 112 stories, and nearly 2 million photographs.

Find out if you kept your grip on reality after the year we’ve had. By Jane Lytvynenko.

The legislation makes a liar of the president, who said last month it would “cost me a fortune … believe me.” By Tim Dickinson.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia is the undoubted Middle East man of the year, but his great impact stems more from his failures than his successes. He is accused of being Machiavellian in clearing his way to the throne by the elimination of opponents inside and outside the royal family. By Patrick Cockburn.

The Republican tax bill is a travesty. But there‘s still plenty we can do to improve the daily lives of millions of Americans. By Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

Barack Obama’s presidency was supposed to mark a great leap forward for the United States. But, as Omar El Akkad discovered as he travelled across America this year, the election of Donald J. Trump has turned the country against itself.

How Doug Jones vanquished Moore and delivered Donald Trump what may be the most damning loss of his tenure. By T.A. Frank.

This is a looting by telecom monopolists and an FCC commissioner who has shown no interest in engaging with the American people. By Jason Koebler. (Dec 13, 2017)

The way reporters are responding to a dishonest White House is not enhancing their credibility. By Ramesh Ponnuru.

From cannibalistic chimps to a new species of purple frog, here are our picks for Mother Nature’s best gifts of 2017. By Christine Dell’Amore. [Autoplay]

“Freedom” is just another word for being under the thumb of a powerful white man — for now. By Laurie Penny.

Powerful images from the past 12 very eventful months. By Alan Taylor.

The rise of Corporate Power was the fall of democracy.  Over the long haul, US politics has revolved around a deep tension between democracy and an unrelenting drive for plunder, power and empire. Granted that our democracy has been seriously flawed and only rarely revolutionary, yet the democratic movements are the source of every good thing America has ever stood for. By Richard Moser.

People around the world have long embraced the spooky side of the holiday season. By Jenni Avins. (Nov. 29, 2017)