Odds and Ends 05.22.23
Photo by Egor Vikhrev on Unsplash
Politics
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Biden say they are at a bit of a standstill in negotiations over the national debt ceiling. The President cancelled his planned trip to Papua New Guinea and Australia to join the debt negotiations. PNG must be especially disappointed having declared a holiday for the President's historic visit. Chinese investment in Papua has been on the rise. (NPR, Guardian, PNG Facts, Financial Review)
NYC Mayor Eric Adams says he was "dropped from Biden's 2024 campaign advisory board before it was announced last week." Mayor Adams has been tussling with the administration over crime and immigration. New York has been overwhelmed with migrants transported from border states, with Mayor Adams considering allowing migrants to stay in school gyms and hotels. They are also being shipped to counties outside the city. (Axios, Gothamist, Axios)
Kari Lake's bid to overturn election results in Arizona is continuing, with new concerns raised about signature verification on ballots. (Just the News)
Security and intelligence
Air Force memos show that accused leaker Jack Teixeira was previously warned not to view or copy classified information but was kept in his position anyway. (CNN)
National Archive officials say all presidents since Reagan have mishandled classified memos. (Just the News)
Whistleblowers who questioned the FBI's January 6th investigations have been suspended with their security clearances revoked. One agent said since he came forward with concerns, his family had been left "homeless". (The Blaze, The Blaze)
Food and farming
CRISPR greens? Pairwise, a tech agriculture company has edited mustard greens to take out bitter flavours. (Food Dive)
California's ruling on sow-stall pork will impact pig farming all over the US (Agriculture)
New agricultural agreement in Netherlands will force farmers to keep no more than 2 cows per field. (NL Times)
Medicine
Justice Neil Gorsuch has written a scathing statement slamming the US government's pandemic response. "Fear and the desire for safety are powerful forces. They can lead to a clamor for action — almost any action — as long as someone does something to address a perceived threat...But it does not tend toward sound government." (New York Post)
After three years wearing masks, folks in Japan are turning to "specialist smile tutors" to remember how to "grin and bare it". In a recent survey, a quarter of the Japanese population said they would continue to wear masks "unconditionally". (The Guardian)
A fourth death has been attributed to contaminated eye drops. (USA Today)
"Estrogen - a more powerful breast cancer culprit than we realized." (Harvard Gazette)
Scientists used magnetic pulses to reverse the direction of brain signals, which they say helps severe depression. (Stanford News Center)
The first in-utero brain surgery has been performed in Boston. Expectant parents Kenyatta and Derek Coleman had canceled the baby shower for their daughter. Since her birth in March, the baby is reportedly doing very well. (FreeThink)
Religion and the Church
Influential Presbyterian pastor, Tim Keller, has passed away after a battle with cancer. (Not the Bee)
Dormitory directors at a small Christian college in New York have been fired for including gender pronouns in their email. The pair claim they used the pronouns because they have unusual names, but refused to stop using the identifiers when asked to. (AP)
A new survey says heaps of Americans are switching religious affiliation. The main reason cited seems to be disagreeing with church doctrines, specifically teaching on sexuality. One commentator said people "seek a faith that aligns better with their beliefs". That probably won't be a religion that can save your soul, though! (Axios, NewsBreak)
Firearms
The Supreme Court has denied an emergency injunction against Illinois' gun and magazine ban. (Bearing Arms)
Parents of children killed in the Covenant school shootings have filed a motion to keep shooter's manifesto from being published. (The Hill)
60000lb of explosive chemical ammonium nitrate have disappeared from a train during its two week journey from Wyoming to California. Authorities think the chemical may have leaked out of the carriage as it was in pellet form. Yikes! (New York Post)
Money, markets and jobs
Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay $75m to settle a class action lawsuit brought by victims of Jeffrey Epstein. The claimants say, "The bank was aware of his sex trafficking activity and still continued to do business with him, which facilitated their abuse." The case could have an impact on JP Morgan Chase which "faces similar but larger lawsuits against it." JP Morgan Chase is also being accused of religious discrimination by nineteen GOP Attorneys General, who say the bank is biased in its treatment of politically or religiously conservative groups. (DW, Banking Dive)
Elon Musk says he wants to understand the Tesla hiring process better by approving every new hire at the company. Musk has also indicated his willingness to address the terrible conditions of cobalt miners in the Congo. Cobalt is essential in the production of many high-tech devices and electric vehicles. (Electrek, Twitter, Independent)
Media, arts and sport
We forgot to run this one last week, but better late than never!
What Tucker did next.. Tucker Carlson popped up recently to say he was going to continue making his show and post it to Twitter. Carlson has had a few offers from various media outlets, but is reportedly legally obliged to refrain from building any Fox competitors while his contract runs. It expires in 2025. A guest on NBC worried that now no one would be able to "police what Carlson says". (Twitter, Axios, The Blaze)
Johnny Cash lyrics to be printed in a book (The Guardian)
People noticed that WNBA player Brittany Griner stood for national anthem at a recent match. A stint in a Russia prison might give a new appreciation for America! (ZeroHedge)
Digital technology
The CEO of OpenAI says artificial intelligence technology such as his company's ChatGPT needs government oversight to prevent it from going "wrong". (BBC)
Montana has banned TikTok. People will be allowed to use it, but internet providers and companies cannot offer it for download. (Axios)
Fleeceware: Scam apps are bundling ChatGPT to swindle people into unwitting subscriptions (Wired)
Forbes reports that TikTok tracks "sensitive" words on its app, including mentions of Taiwan, Tibet, Wuhan and Uyghurs. (Forbes)
Google has announced it will delete Gmail and YouTube accounts which have been inactive for two years or more (Epoch Times)
Science
Scientists develop way to 3-D print ceramic components in mid-air. (SCMP)
Scientists were able to sequence parts of people's genomes from footprints they left on a beach, which is a little unnerving. Researchers say the discovery is "both a scientific boon and an ethical dilemma." (Futurity)
Headlines from far away
Hun Sen, Cambodia's Prime Minister, has dissolved the last remaining opposition party. Ruling for three decades so far, Hun Sen has said his party will dominate the country for a century. Cambodians go to the polls in July. (BBC, Reuters)
Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso has dissolved the opposition-controlled parliament as he was put on trial for embezzlement. (BBC)
Argentina has raised interest rates to 97% as it struggles to rein in inflation. (CNN)
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan is leading after initial round of elections. A second round of run offs will be held this week. (BBC)
An 88 year-old Australian doctor freed after years of captivity in Burkina Faso. (France 24)
Nigerian Christians continue to be killed by Fulani militants. (Persecution.org)
Warring factions in Sudan agree to temporary ceasefire. (CBS)