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Some stories are so depressingly familiar that it can be easy to forget how bad things are. But enough of English football. This week we have two covers, one on
climate change
and the other on
Donald Trump’s Department of Justice.
In most of the world, we investigate one cause of record-breaking temperatures. Climate change is now feeding on itself: the warming effects of greenhouse gases are driving processes that heat up the planet yet further. The one which is
alarming scientists
most is an unexpected reduction in an obscure but fundamental aspect of Earth: its albedo.
The albedo is the fraction of incoming sunlight that a surface or a planet reflects back. High albedos, whether they are created by white roofs or ice-covered seas, keep things cool; when albedos are low, the incoming energy stays here on Earth,
raising the planet’s surface temperatures.
Robust satellite measurements show Earth’s albedo falling with surprising speed. Fewer clouds and lower sulphur emissions explain why.
In America, our cover looks at how the Department of Justice has changed under Mr Trump. The department’s pursuit of the president’s enemies grabs most attention but the institution itself has been
profoundly degraded
in the past 18 months. Election fraud is consuming ever more of its resources—not because it is a real problem, but because it is a presidential obsession. Meanwhile, matters of genuine public interest are left to languish. About a quarter of the DoJ’s lawyers have left. Divisions that investigated cryptocurrency fraud and public corruption have withered.
In a sign of how much he treats the department as his own personal law firm, Mr Trump now wants his actual lawyer to become attorney-general. Senate hearings began this week for Todd Blanche, who is already the acting attorney-general. But even if Mr Blanche is rejected, Mr Trump can retain him as acting attorney-general for months or nominate someone just as pliable. And even if Americans elect a president who wants to restore the DoJ, the damage will be hard to reverse. | 
