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A comprehensive understanding of the degree to which genomic variation is maintained by selection vs. drift and gene flow is lacking in many important species such as Cannabis sativa, one of the oldest known crops to be cultivated by humans worldwide. We generated whole genome resequencing data across diverse samples of feralized (escaped domesticated lineages) and domesticated lineages of C. sativa. We performed analyses to examine population structure, and genome-wide scans for FST, balancing selection, and positive selection. Our analyses identified evidence for subpopulation structure and further supported the Asian origin hypothesis of this species. Feral plants sourced from the United States exhibited broad regions on chromosomes 4 and 10 with high FST, which may indicate chromosomal inversions maintained at high frequency in this subpopulation. Both our balancing and positive selection analyses identified loci that may reflect differential selection for traits favored by natural selection and artificial selection in feral vs. domesticated subpopulations. In the US feral subpopulation, we found 6 loci related to stress response under balancing selection and 1 gene involved in disease resistance under positive selection, suggesting local adaptation to new climates and biotic interactions. In the marijuana subpopulation, we identified the gene SMALLER TRICHOMES WITH VARIABLE BRANCHES 2 to be under positive selection, which suggests artificial selection for increased tetrahydrocannabinol yield. Overall, the data generated and results obtained from our study help to form a better understanding of the evolutionary history in C. sativa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at the "Comer v. Murphy Oil USA Inc." case of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and discusses the voluntary recusal approach of federal judges in the U.S. without the issuance of a recusal statement. Topics discussed include privacy interests of individual federal judges in voluntary recusal, need of for mandatory judicial recusal statements in the country, and laws related to voluntary recusal in the U.S. federal system.

An essay is presented which evaluates whether the American Revolution, embodied in the U.S. declaration of Independence is a legal act of secession under international laws or not. It discusses international law principles which stem tension in context to secessionist movements including territorial integrity rights of a state and a people's right to self-determination. It concludes that the American Revolution is not justifiable under law standards.