Vox Sentences: If you were feeling good about Earth, we have some bad news

2015 totally shattered global temperature records; new evidence of a mysterious ninth planet in the solar system; Sarah Palin shivs Ted Cruz by endorsing Donald Trump.

TOP NEWS

Another one for the record books

NASA

• According to NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2015 was the hottest year on record (i.e. since 1880).

  [NASA]

• The previous record was set by 2014. But the extent to which 2015 surpassed 2014 is itself a record. CityLab's Tim McDonnell marshals some terrifying charts.

  [CityLab / Tim McDonnell]

• Part of the hike was due to El Niño. However, NOAA data shows that El Niño years are themselves getting steadily warmer over time.

  [Vox / Brad Plumer]

• And there's evidence that the worst effects of El Niño are felt three months into the next year — which bodes poorly for 2016.

  [Vox / Brad Plumer]

• To put it another way: the goal of the Paris climate accords was to keep global warming under 2 degrees Celsius. We are very nearly halfway there already.

  [Reuters / Valerie Volcovici]

Planet 9 In Outer Space

Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC)

• A pair of Caltech astronomers have discovered the most persuasive evidence yet that a ninth planet, larger than Earth, orbits the sun way beyond the known solar system.

  [Vox / Brian Resnick]

• The case for "Planet X" relies on anomalies in the orbit of several small space "objects," which, the scientists believe, are most likely to be caused by the objects reacting to a much larger object's gravitational pull.

  [The Astronomical Journal / Konstantin Batygin and Michael E. Brown]

• This blog post from 2014 gets into some of the science that the astronomers built on for their Planet X discovery — and some alternate explanations for the anomalies.

  [The Planetary Society / Emily Lakdawalla]

• The planet has not been discovered. Discovery requires direct observation — which no one has done yet, though astronomers might be close.

  [Washington Post / Rachel Feltman]

• But it is entirely possible that the planet simply doesn't exist. A NASA scientist cited what's called Sagan's Rule, after Carl Sagan: Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

  [Washington Post / Joel Achenbach and Rachel Feltman]

• And it's not like astronomers have never been led astray by orbital wobbles — as the story of the once-theorized planet Vulcan demonstrates.

  [National Geographic / Simon Worrall]

Going Rogue

Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images

• Last night, Sarah Palin endorsed Donald Trump, in a speech that was a perfect apotheosis of both Palin's career and the Trump campaign.

  [BuzzFeed News / Sarah Palin]

• Palin's policy ideas were bizarre. But her political critique — that the Republican Party is not responsive to conservative voters' fears about immigration and trade — is pretty much on point.

  [NY Mag / Margaret Hartmann]

• The endorsement might have hurt Ted Cruz more than it helped Trump. Cruz and Palin are longtime allies, but ended up getting into a weird passive-aggressive fight in the hours before Palin's endorsement speech.

  [Daily Caller / Steve Guest]

• And the Palin snub came on top of sitting Iowa governor Terry Branstad breaking with Iowa caucus tradition to urge Iowans to vote against Cruz.

  [TIME / Alex Altman]

• Branstad is upset about Cruz's opposition to government subsidies for ethanol — a policy that Donald Trump, despite his opposition to "crony capitalism," is happy to support.

  [Politico / Katie Glueck]

• Not that it's all sunshine and roses over in the Trump/Palin camp, either. Palin's son Track was arrested earlier this week on domestic violence grounds...

  [AP / Rachel D'Oro]

• ...which, Palin explained in a campaign appearance today, was the fault of Barack Obama not supporting the troops.

  [The Daily Beast / Andrew Kirell]

MISCELLANEOUS

When Judge Judy finds defendants guilty, they don't pay. The producers cover the damages, and give them an appearance fee. [Priceonomics / Alex Mayyasi]

• Amalia Ulman's Instragram feed made her look like just another spoiled rich girl in LA. In reality, she was constructing the first long-form Instagram fiction piece.

  [Daily Telegraph / Alaistair Sooke]

• People who oppose immigration on racist grounds have a problem: limiting immigration actually increases the rate of intermarriage betwen ethnic groups.

  [Slate / Reihan Salam]

• You should have 3-6 months' worth of living expenses saved. No, seriously, read this and you'll be persuaded.

  [The Billfold / Paulette Perhach]

• TIL Bernie Sanders' son calls him "Bernster."

  [People / Sandra Sobieraj Westfall and Tierney McAfee]

VERBATIM

"'Be careful,' said another Democrat when I told her I was writing about Roe. 'He’s dangerous. Call your mom. Tell her you love her.'" [New Republic / Andy Kroll]

• "One time I asked him something about texting my ex-boyfriend. He emailed me a 40-page PDF about men and women."

  [NY Mag / Rachel Monroe]

• "I speak from experience: My main qualification for my first Washington job — covering European security for Congress — was that I could locate the Warsaw Pact countries on a map and correctly identify the acronyms of the relevant international organizations."

  [Washington Monthly / Heather Hurlburt]

• "I blame all of you. Writing this book has been an exercise in sustained suffering. The casual reader may, perhaps, exempt herself from excessive guilt, but for those of you who have played the larger role in prolonging my agonies with your encouragement and support, well … you know who you are, and you owe me."

  [Brendan Pietsch via John Fea]

• "During one of those late-night executions, some clerks received an additional message from Mr. Cruz on the internal email pleading for more collegiality, especially toward him."

  [NYT / Jason Horowitz]

WATCH THIS

The Israel-Palestine conflict: a brief, simple history [YouTube / Johnny Harris and Max Fisher]

Vox / Johnny Harris