This week in the news | 16 Dec 2023

News from the past week, and a few other things.

Dec 16, 2023

👋 Hello Reader, I hope you had a great week.

Below are the items that stood out to me in the news—you’ll find: regional updates, the Fed held interest rates steady sending the stock market higher, the latest real estate flipping trends, an increase in homelessness, where women are (and aren’t), in crease in pedestrian deaths on roads at night, some very thought-provoking articles by the Economist on journalism, how cats are perfectly adapted killing machines, a measurable increase in curse words in movies and TV shows, and much more.

Also, I’ll be taking a few weeks off over the Christmas holidays to spend with family, so this is the last news update you’ll get from me until 2024, though you may get some other non-news-related items from me (it’ll depend on how much eggnog I consume).

THE QUICK SHOT 🚀

A lock icon (🔒) indicates articles behind a paywall, and a chart icon (📊) indicates an informative chart/graphic in “Slow Brew.”

Latin America

Europe

Middle East

U.S. Presses Israel to Begin Winding Down Gaza War (WSJ🔒)
Israel Mistakenly Kills Three Hostages in Gaza Strip Fighting (Bloomberg🔒)
A missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels strikes a Norwegian-flagged tanker in the Red Sea (AP)
Shipping Giants Pause Red Sea Route as Houthi Attacks Intensify (Bloomberg🔒)
Iraq scrambles to contain fighting amid attacks on US troops (Military Times)

Africa

Asia-Pacific

Oceana

Australia to halve immigration intake, toughen English test for students (BBC)

Space

As the Commercial Space Race Blasts Off, SpaceX is Leading on Launches (Chartr)📊

Government

Auto

Real Estate

Mortgage Rates Drop Below Seven Percent (Freddie Mac)📊
Home Flipping Activity Keeps Falling While Investor Profits Keep Rising Across U.S. In Third Quarter Of 2023 (Attom) 📊
Seasonal Influence Eases U.S. Foreclosure Activity, Marking Slight Decline (Attom)📊

Cyber

Artificial Intelligence

OpenAI And Axel Springer Announce Deal That Will Bring News Content To ChatGPT (Forbes🔒)
News Publishers See Google’s AI Search Tool as a Traffic-Destroying Nightmare (WSJ🔒)
Is ChatGPT getting lazier over the holidays? (Semafor)
2024 Candidates Are Using AI In Their Campaigns—Here’s How To Spot It (Forbes🔒)

Life

U.S. Homeless Count Surges 12% to Highest-Recorded Level (WSJ🔒)📊
Why more women live in major East Coast counties while men outnumber them in the West (AP)📊
Where Teens Used to Hang Out (The Atlantic)
Boys Are Struggling. It Can Take Coaches, Tutors and Thousands a Month to Fix That. (WSJ🔒)
Why Are So Many American Pedestrians Dying at Night? (NYT🔒)📊

Education

When the New York Times lost its way (Economist🔒)
American journalism sounds much more Democratic than Republican (Economist🔒)📊
How objectivity in journalism became a matter of opinion (Economist🔒)
Penn President, Board Chair Resign After Furor Over Comments on Campus Antisemitism (WSJ🔒)
Elon Musk University? Billionaire Pledges $100 Million To Launch School In Texas, Report Says (Forbes🔒)

Food & Drink

UAE’s First Brewery Is Ready to Legally Make and Sell Beer (Bloomberg🔒)

Nature

A23a: Monster iceberg just shy of a trillion tonnes (BBC)📊
Cats Kill a Staggering Number of Species across the World (Scientific American)📊
Two Men Hunted Bald Eagles in Illegal ‘Killing Spree,’ U.S. Says (NYT🔒)

Entertainment

What the %&#!?! Everyone’s Cursing on the Screen (WSJ🔒)📊
Netflix Posts Viewer Data on Every Show, Film for First Time (Bloomberg🔒)📊
Disney World abruptly starts banning third-party tour guides (WP🔒)

Sports

For Fun

A Holiday to Remember | Chevrolet (YouTube)
Inside the World Excel Championships (Yes, You Read That Right) (WSJ🔒)
Heroin Tourism (BVI Tourism)📊

Things I learned this week

Handel’s Messiah
The Town of Palmanova

Share Curated Compositions

THE SLOW BREW ☕

A more relaxed approach to news summaries.

Latin America

Guyana Says Oil Producers Are Moving Ahead Despite Venezuela’s Threats (Bloomberg🔒)

Oil majors operating in Guyana’s waters are “moving ahead aggressively” with production plans despite Venezuela’s threats to take over the region in an escalating border conflict, according to President Irfaan Ali. Maduro last week told Exxon Mobil Corp. and others to withdraw from the area within three months, leaving Brazil and other Latin American nations on high alert about the possibility of an armed conflict in the region. Exxon leads a joint venture that includes Hess Corp. on Guyana’s Stabroek Block, home to the world’s largest crude discovery of the past decade.

Argentina sharply devalues its currency and cuts subsidies as part of shock economic measures (AP)

Argentina on Tuesday announced a sharp devaluation of its currency and cuts to energy and transportation subsidies as part of shock measures new President Javier Milei says are needed to deal with an economic emergency. Economy Minister Luis Caputo said in a televised message the Argentine peso will be devalued by 50% to 800 to the U.S. dollar from 400 pesos to the dollar. “For a few months, we’re going to be worse than before,” Caputo said, two days after the libertarian Milei was sworn in as president of the second largest economy in South America and immediately warned of tough measures. Milei has said the country didn’t have time to consider other alternatives. As part of the new measures, Caputo said the government is canceling tenders of any public works projects and cutting some state jobs to reduce the size of the government. He also announced cuts to energy and transportation subsidies without providing details or saying by how much, and added that Milei’s administration is reducing the number of ministries from 18 to 9. He said the measures are necessary to cut the fiscal deficit he believes is the cause of the country’s economic problems, including surging inflation.

Riot erupts in Brazil after Santos FC's first relegation (Yahoo)

Pele's former club Santos were relegated for the first time in their 111-year history on Wednesday following a 2-1 home loss to Fortaleza in the final round of Brazil's Serie A. Late Brazilian great Pele helped Santos become one of the most famous clubs in world football, the side enjoying a golden era in the 1950s and 1960s that saw them win ten state and six Brazilian league titles.

Europe

Biden announces $200M in aid for Ukraine as Zelenskyy meets GOP skepticism in Congress (NBC News)

President Joe Biden announced $200 million in pre-approved aid for Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's marathon day of meetings here on Tuesday. The latest tranche of assistance came as the Ukrainian president visited the White House and Capitol Hill to make the case for additional U.S. support as an aid package with billions in funds for the war-torn country stalls amid partisan disagreements over immigration policies.

U.S. and Ukraine Search for a New Strategy After Failed Counteroffensive (NYT🔒)

American and Ukrainian military leaders are searching for a new strategy that they can begin executing early next year to revive Kyiv’s fortunes and flagging support for the country’s war against Russia, according to U.S. and Ukrainian officials. The push for a fresh approach comes after Ukraine’s monthslong counteroffensive failed in its goal of retaking territory lost to the invading Russian army and after weeks of often tense encounters between top American officials and their Ukrainian counterparts. The Russian military, after its own failed drive to Kyiv in 2022, has begun to reverse its fortunes and is rebuilding its might. Moscow now has more troops, ammunition and missiles, and has increased its firepower advantage with a fleet of battlefield drones, many of them supplied by Iran, according to American officials.

Russia Has Suffered Staggeringly High Losses, U.S. Report Says (NYT🔒)

The Russian push in eastern Ukraine this fall and winter was designed to sap Western support for Ukraine, according to a newly declassified American intelligence assessment. The drive has resulted in heavy losses but has not led to strategic gains on the battlefield for Russia, said Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council. Since the beginning of the war Russia has suffered from a staggeringly high number of losses, according to another newly declassified assessment shared with Congress. At the start of the war the Russian army stood at 360,000 troops. Russia has lost 315,000 of those troops, forcing them to recruit and mobilize new recruits and convicts from their prison system. Moscow’s equipment has also been crushed, according to the assessment. At the start of the war, Russia had 3,500 tanks but has lost 2,200, forcing them to pull 50 year old T-62 tanks from storage.

Putin Vows Russian Victory in War as Ukraine’s Allies Waver (Bloomberg🔒)

Putin is holding the news conference for the first time since he ordered the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Despite catastrophic Russian troop losses that US intelligence this week estimated to be 315,000 dead and wounded, Putin continues to enjoy widespread public support for the war that was meant to deliver victory within days and is now in its 22nd month. After ordering an unpopular mobilization of 300,000 reservists last year, Putin ruled out a repeat of the call-up for now. Answering a question from a Russian journalist, the president said 486,000 people had signed contracts to join the army so far, exceeding a target set by the government, and together with volunteers the number would rise to half a million by year-end. “Why do we need a mobilization? There is no need,” he said. The longest-serving Kremlin leader since Josef Stalin announced last week that he’ll run for a fifth term as president in March elections to extend his rule to 2030. With opponents in jail or exile amid the harshest Kremlin crackdown in decades, Putin is certain to win the tightly controlled vote. Officials aim to portray the election as an endorsement of the war he’s cast as a confrontation with the US and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies to prevent Ukraine joining NATO. Russia is willing to restore “full-fledged relations” with the US, though the time isn’t right for that yet, Putin said. “But we are ready for it.” He disclosed that Russia and the US are in “ongoing” dialogue over a possible deal to swap prisoners, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan, adding that any agreement “must suit both parties.” Putin went on: “It’s not easy. I hope we find a solution.”

Putin press conference: Ukraine, the West and the Russian economy (Reuters)

Here are some highlights from Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual press conference and phone-in held in Moscow on Thursday

Ukraine gets EU membership boost, but no new European aid, after setback in US (AP)

The European Union failed to agree on a 50 billion-euro ($54 billion) package in financial aid that Ukraine desperately needs to stay afloat, even as the bloc decided Thursday to open accession negotiations with the war-torn country. The aid was vetoed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, delivering another tough blow to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after he failed this week to persuade U.S. lawmakers to approve an additional $61 billion for Ukraine, mainly to buy weapons from the U.S. The start of accession talks was a momentous moment and stunning reversal for a country at war that had struggled to find the backing for its membership aspirations and long faced obstinate opposition from Orban. Hungary’s leader decided not to veto the accession talks, but then blocked the aid package.

Donald Tusk becomes Poland’s prime minister with the mission of improving European Union ties (AP)

Donald Tusk, a leader of a centrist party, returned as Poland’s prime minister for the first time in nearly a decade after a vote in parliament on Monday, paving the way for a new pro-European Union government following eight years of stormy national conservative rule. Tusk, a former EU leader who served as European Council president from 2014-2019 and has strong connections in Brussels, is expected to improve Warsaw’s standing in the bloc’s capital. He was Poland’s prime minister from 2007-2014. Tusk’s ascension to power came nearly two months after an election which was won by a coalition of parties ranging from left-wing to moderate conservative. The parties ran on separate tickets, but promised to work together under Tusk’s leadership to restore democratic standards and improve ties with allies. The change of power is felt as hugely consequential for the 38 million citizens of the Central European nation, where collective anger against the Law and Justice party produced a record-high turnout to replace a government many believed was eroding democratic norms.

Saudi Arabia could take ‘effective majority control’ of London Heathrow (The Guardian)

Saudi Arabia could take effective majority control of London Heathrow, the UK’s major airport, with other investors considering selling their stakes, according to reports. The oil-rich state’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) allied with private equity investor Ardian to announce the purchase of a 25% stake in the airport last month from Ferrovial, the Spanish infrastructure giant that had been the primary owner of Heathrow for 17 years. According to a report in the Sunday Times, at least one other shareholder is close to selling their stake, while other investment funds could follow. Under the terms of the airport’s shareholder agreement, other investors – including international pension funds with total holdings approaching 35% – are entitled to sell at the same price, which values Heathrow at about £9.5bn, seen as a generous valuation.

Middle East

U.S. Presses Israel to Begin Winding Down Gaza War (WSJ🔒)

National security adviser Jake Sullivan pressed Israeli leaders to shift from a reliance on airstrikes and ground assaults in Gaza toward targeted military operations and warned that a protracted conflict would make the Palestinian territory harder to govern after the war, U.S. officials said. Sullivan’s meetings with Israeli political and military leaders Thursday seemed to have made little headway addressing the growing rift between the U.S. and Israel over civilian casualties, the length of the conflict, flagging international support for Israel’s campaign, and the future governance of the Gaza Strip. The U.S. is undertaking a full-court press in the region for the Israelis to begin to wrap up the conflict. U.S. officials have said privately the U.S. wants to see the fight end in weeks, not months, though the Biden administration continues to support Israel’s campaign to destroy Hamas’s ability to wage military operations or govern Gaza.

Israel Mistakenly Kills Three Hostages in Gaza Strip Fighting (Bloomberg🔒)

srael mistakenly killed three hostages in fighting in the Gaza Strip, the country’s defense forces said, prompting fresh questions about the conduct of its military campaign after President Joe Biden called Israeli bombing “indiscriminate.” During fighting in the Shejaiya neighborhood, Israeli forces identified the three as a threat and fired at them, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said. Two of the hostages were identified as Yotam Haim and Samer Talalka, and the identity of the third wasn’t released. The Times of Israel reported that the three were trying to escape their captors when they were killed.

A missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels strikes a Norwegian-flagged tanker in the Red Sea (AP)

A missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels slammed into a Norwegian-flagged tanker in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen near a key maritime chokepoint, the rebels and authorities said Tuesday. The assault on the oil and chemical tanker Strinda expands a campaign by the Iranian-backed rebels targeting ships close to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait into apparently now striking those that have no clear ties to Israel. That potentially imperils cargo and energy shipments coming through the Suez Canal and further widens the international impact of the Israel-Hamas war now raging in the Gaza Strip.

Shipping Giants Pause Red Sea Route as Houthi Attacks Intensify (Bloomberg🔒)

Spiraling attacks on merchant ships by Houthi militants off the coast of Yemen have prompted widespread trade disruption with some of the world’s biggest vessel owners evaluating whether it’s safe to send crews through the Red Sea. Two of the world’s largest container shipping lines said on Friday that they were pausing transits through the Red Sea after their vessels were attacked. Two oil tanker companies have now said they are insisting on a clause in charters that will allow them to send their ships around Africa if they deem the waters off Yemen unsafe. The moves will increase pressure on the US and its allies to improve security along one of the world’s most important trade corridors to avoid undermining the global economic recovery. An international trade group called for more military support to end the attacks.

Iraq scrambles to contain fighting amid attacks on US troops (Military Times)

Dozens of attacks on U.S. military facilities by Iran-backed factions in Iraq over the past two months as the Israel-Hamas war has raged have forced Baghdad into a balancing act that’s becoming more difficult by the day. A rocket attack on the sprawling U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Friday marked a further escalation as Iraqi officials scramble to contain the ripple effects of the latest Middle East war. Iran holds considerable sway in Iraq and a coalition of Iran-backed groups brought Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to power in October 2022. At the same time, there are some 2,000 U.S. troops in Iraq under an agreement with Baghdad, mainly to counter the militant Islamic State group. Baghdad also relies heavily on Washington’s sanctions waivers to buy electricity from Iran, and since the 2003 U.S. invasion, Iraq’s foreign currency reserves have been housed at the U.S. Federal Reserve, giving the Americans significant control over Iraq’s supply of dollars. Al-Sudani’s predecessors also had to walk a delicate line between Tehran and Washington, but the Israel-Hamas war has considerably upped the stakes. Since the war erupted on Oct. 7, at least 91 attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria have been claimed by an umbrella group of Iran-backed Iraqi militants dubbed the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. The militants say their attacks are in retaliation for Washington’s backing of Israel and its military presence in Iraq and Syria.

Africa

Zulu King’s Reign Is in Doubt After South Africa Court Ruling (NYT🔒)

A judge in South Africa has set aside the president’s recognition of the Zulu king, the latest twist in a vicious and long-running battle over who is the rightful leader of one of Africa’s most storied monarchies. The ruling, issued by Judge Norman Davis on Monday, raised the prospect that King Misuzulu, 49, who last year ascended to the throne made famous by the legendary King Shaka Zulu, might have to step down. The uncertainty is likely to fuel tension within the royal family that oversees South Africa’s largest and most culturally influential traditional kingdom. Since the death of King Goodwill Zwelithini in March 2021 after a 50-year reign, royal family members have lobbed heated accusations at one another, including claims that wills were forged, that rivals were poisoned, that secret meetings were convened and that King Misuzulu was an incestuous playboy.

DR Congo election 2023: What you need to know (BBC)

Nearly 40 million Congolese voters go to the polls for the next presidential election on 20 December with President Félix Tshisekedi seeking a second, and final, five-year term in office. The Democratic Republic of Congo is the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa. Spanning an area the size of Western Europe with an estimated population of more than 100 million people, the country is rich in natural resources. Despite some calls for the election to be postponed, the head of the electoral commission is confident that everything will be ready in time. After years of political instability and coups, DR Congo is organising elections for the first time since the peaceful transfer of power between former President Joseph Kabila and Mr Tshisekedi in 2019. Following the withdrawal of four candidates, including former Prime Minister Augustin Matata Ponyo, there are now 22 presidential candidates, including Mr Tshisekedi.

Asia-Pacific

Three Months After Biden, It’s Xi’s Turn to Court Vietnam (NYT🔒)

China’s leader, Xi Jinping, arrived in Vietnam on Tuesday for a relatively rare trip abroad, seeking to elevate ties with an important neighbor just three months after President Biden visited Hanoi on a similar mission. Few nations now feature more centrally in the great-power competition between the United States and China, placing Vietnam, which has a long history of fierce independence, in a high-risk, high-reward position. Keeping both giants happy could mean a transformative economic boost; angering one or the other could bring heavy costs.

Chinese President Xi Jinping Visits Vietnam (VOA Nws)

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Vietnam Tuesday on a mission to improve ties between the Asian Communist neighbors and counter Hanoi’s increasing outreach to Western nations. President Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan were greeted at the Hanoi airport by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the start of Xi’s two-day trip, his first to Vietnam since 2017. He will hold meetings with President Vo Van Thuong, Prime Minister Chinh and other Vietnamese officials, and will sign a number of economic cooperation agreements, including upgrading existing railway links. Xi’s visit comes three months after Hanoi granted its highest diplomatic status, “comprehensive strategic partnership,” to the United States during President Joe Biden’s official visit.

Russia says it's working on major new agreement with Iran (Reuters)

Russia and Iran will speed up work on a "major new interstate agreement", the Russian foreign ministry said on Tuesday. It did not detail the scope of the agreement, which comes amid growing political, trade and military ties between Moscow and Tehran that the United States views with concern. In a statement, Russia said the two countries' foreign ministers agreed in a phone call on Monday to speed up work on the agreement, which was at "a high stage of readiness". Last week President Vladimir Putin held five hours of talks in the Kremlin with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. Like North Korea, whose leader Kim Jong Un met Putin in Russia's far east in September, Iran is an avowed enemy of the United States and can provide Moscow with military hardware for its war in Ukraine, where Russia has made extensive use of Iranian drones.

Record Low Turnout, Detentions Mark Hong Kong Elections (VOA)

Voter turnout was low Sunday in Hong Kong’s district council elections, the first since the electoral system was overhauled this year to restore order and reestablish control after widespread anti-government and pro-democracy protests in 2019. Voters were either apathetic or boycotting the elections, which some people see as rolling back the city’s democracy. By the time polling stations closed, the voter turnout rate was about 27.5%, much lower than during the last district council election in 2019, which saw a record high turnout of 71% by the time polling stations closed at night.

Japan PM purges cabinet in bid to ride out financial scandal (Reuters)

Embattled Japanese premier Fumio Kishida dropped four cabinet ministers on Thursday, as he tried to limit the fallout from the biggest financial scandal his ruling party has faced in decades. The ousted ministers included chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno and industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura in Kishida's third cabinet shake-up in 16 months, as he looks to shore up sliding public ratings. But a poll on Thursday suggested that the clearout, which media have speculated about for days, was unlikely to halt the slide in public support for Kishida, who has been dogged by a series of scandals since coming to office in October 2021. Just 17% of respondents in the Jiji poll said they backed his administration, the lowest for any premier in more than a decade. Support for the LDP, which has ruled for nearly all of Japan's post-war history, is also at its lowest since 2012, recent polls show.

Japan Wants a Stronger Military. Can It Find Enough Troops? (NYT🔒)

After 75 years of peace, Japan is facing immense challenges in its rush to build a more formidable military. To understand why, consider the Noshiro, a newly commissioned navy frigate equipped with anti-ship missiles and submarine-tracking sonar. The vessel was designed with an understaffed force in mind: It can function with about two-thirds of the crew needed to operate a predecessor model. Right now, it puts out to sea with even fewer sailors than that. On the ship’s bridge, tasks that previously occupied seven or eight crew members have been consolidated into using three or four. The ship’s nurse doubles as dishwasher and cook. Extra sprinklers were installed to compensate for the smaller staff onboard to fight fires at sea. Japan has committed to raising military spending to 2 percent of gross domestic product, or by about 60 percent, over the next five years, which would give it the third-largest defense budget in the world. It is rapidly acquiring Tomahawk missiles and has spent about $30 million on ballistic missile defense systems. But as the population rapidly ages and shrinks — nearly a third of Japanese people are over 65, and births fell to a record low last year — experts worry that the military simply won’t be able to staff traditional fleets and squadrons. The army, navy and air force have failed to reach recruitment targets for years, and the number of active personnel — about 247,000 — is nearly 10 percent lower than it was in 1990.

Secret Indian Memo Ordered “Concrete Measures” Against Hardeep Singh Nijjar Two Months Before His Assassination in Canada (The Intercept)

The Indian government instructed its consulates in North America to launch a “sophisticated crackdown scheme” against Sikh diaspora organizations in Western countries, according to a secret memorandum issued in April 2023 by India’s Ministry of External Affairs. The memo, which was obtained by The Intercept, lists several Sikh dissidents under investigation by India’s intelligence agencies, including the Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Oceana

Australia to halve immigration intake, toughen English test for students (BBC)

The Australian government says it will halve the migration intake within two years in an attempt to fix the country's "broken" immigration system. It aims to slash the annual intake to 250,000 - roughly in line with pre-pandemic levels - by June 2025. Visa rules for international students and low-skilled workers will also be tightened under the new plan. Migration has climbed to record levels in Australia, adding pressure to housing and infrastructure woes. But there remains a shortage of skilled workers, and the country struggles to attract them.

Space

As the Commercial Space Race Blasts Off, SpaceX is Leading on Launches (Chartr)📊

Indeed, SpaceX, which has a wide-ranging set of commercial interests beyond taking tourists to the edge of space, continues to move forward — with a tender offer reported last week that could value it at $175bn. Plans for thousands of internet satellites, commercial travel to the moon, a base on the lunar surface and even loftier goals to turn the human race into an interplanetary species by colonizing other planets, are all ambitions of the California-based company. SpaceX has catalyzed much of the excitement about space tourism. The company’s two-stage Falcon 9 rocket is able to launch a kilogram into low-Earth orbit for just ~$1,500, a 10-20x decrease in cost in roughly as many years. That's due to its (partial) reusability — a breakthrough that’s helped SpaceX dominate commercial launchpads in the US. Indeed, FAA data reveals that SpaceX has completed 281 licensed launches since 2000 — 9x as many as Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic have managed between them.

Government

'Watershed Moment’ For U.S. Rail With Biden Giving $8.2 Billion To Train Projects (Forbes🔒)

The Transportation Department’s Federal Railroad Administration is releasing $8.2 billion from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help fund 10 passenger rail projects across the country, including about $3.1 billion for California to complete the first 171 miles of its $100 billion bullet train system and $3 billion for Brightline West, a 218-mile high-speed line from Las Vegas to suburban Los Angeles. Additional grants will improve busy passenger rail corridors in Virginia, North Carolina and Washington, D.C., and upgrade Chicago’s Union Station.

Biden to require feds to take public transit, other ‘green’ options when traveling (GovExec)

Workers on official business will have to prioritize taking public transit, renting electric vehicles or even riding bikes under a new memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget and a General Services Administration bulletin that updated the Federal Travel Regulation. Agencies should also consider not sending employees on business trips at all, with GSA noting, “In every case, the trip not taken is the least expensive and most sustainable.”

Memo here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/M-24-05-Catalyzing-Sustainable-Transportation-Through-Federal-Travel.pdf

NOTE: I see that it says Federal agencies “should” versus “will;” not sure if that’ll matter when it comes to the teeth of enforcing the policy.

Defense

Congress Passes NDAA, Provides 5.2 Percent Pay Raise for Every Airman, Guardian (Air and Space Forces)

Congress finally passed the National Defense Authorization Act and sent its 3,000 pages to the White House for President Biden’s signature. The annual defense policy bill was approved with overwhelming bipartisan support, as the Senate and House voted it through on Dec. 13 and 14, respectively. Included is a 5.2 percent pay raise, the largest in 20 years, and new rules governing the basic needs allowance, which ensures service members with large families don’t fall below 150 percent of the federal poverty level. The measure, among several that the Air & Space Force Association argued to include, will expand the number of service members eligible by empowering the Secretary of Defense to ignore housing allowances when calculating household income for troops with “a demonstrated need.” The NDAA authorizes programs and expenditures, but does not appropriate funds; that is legislated separately in a Defense appropriations bill. The NDAA mandates and directs policy, requires reviews and reports, and establishes minimum and maximum numbers of personnel, equipment, and spending.

USAF Report Faults Lax Security Culture in Unit of Airman Who Allegedly Leaked Documents (Air and Space Forces)

The Air Force announced Dec. 11 that it has initiated disciplinary and other administrative actions against 15 Airmen and implemented reforms service-wide after scores of classified documents were allegedly leaked earlier this year by Airman 1st Class Jack Teixeira. The disciplinary actions were taken against Airmen ranging from staff sergeant to colonel and followed an Air Force inspector general’s report that found a “culture of complacency” and lax security protocols in the Massachusetts Air National Guard wing in which Teixeira served. The Air Force Inspector General’s office determined that Teixeira acted alone in obtaining classified information and sharing it in online chat rooms but that his actions were enabled by a “lack of supervision.” The inspector general report is separate from the criminal investigation of Teixiera being led by the Department of Justice.

Air Force Issues Smartwatches and Rings to 1,000 First Sergeants to Manage Their Health (Military.com)

The Air Force has distributed wearable smart devices to more than 1,000 first sergeants in an attempt to help some of the most overworked and stressed enlisted members keep track of their health and wellness. Chief Master Sgt. John Alsvig, the Air Force first sergeant special duty manager, told Military.com in an emailed statement that the First Sergeant Academy early this year began passing out both a smartwatch and a smart ring to each graduate in hopes they'd use them to monitor their vital statistics. The Air Force's use of the smart devices comes as the Space Force continues its research into the equipment to possibly replace routine physical fitness tests. It also shows how far the military has come in accepting the technology since 2018, when the Pentagon warned that sensitive data was being broadcast to the public from some wearable devices.

World War Two: When 600 US planes crashed in Himalayas (BBC)

Since 2009, Indian and American teams have scoured the mountains in India's north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, looking for the wreckage and remains of lost crews of hundreds of planes that crashed here over 80 years ago. Some 600 American transport planes are estimated to have crashed in the remote region, killing at least 1,500 airmen and passengers during a remarkable and often-forgotten 42-month-long World War Two military operation in India. Among the casualties were American and Chinese pilots, radio operators and soldiers.

Economy

Strong Holiday Spending Adds to Signs U.S. May Beat Inflation Without Downturn (WSJ🔒)📊

A surprise increase in November retail sales dispelled lingering pessimism about the economy and reinforced growing sentiment that the U.S. will beat inflation without paying the price in significantly weaker growth. Signaling a strong start to the holiday season, retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in November from the month before, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That was a rebound from October’s downwardly revised 0.2% decline and a surprise to economists who had expected sales to fall again last month. The data extended a week of positive readings for the U.S. economy. The unemployment rate fell in November, inflation cooled and the Federal Reserve pivoted Wednesday away from raising interest rates and toward considering when to cut them. The good tidings have ignited a rally on Wall Street, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record high and caused yields on the 10-year Treasury note to fall below 4% on Thursday. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta raised its forecast for fourth-quarter growth Thursday to a 2.6% annualized rate, from 1.2% on Dec. 7.

Inflation Edges Lower, but Still Too High for the Fed (WSJ🔒)📊

Inflation has stabilized late this year at well below last year’s high but still above prepandemic levels, tempering hopes for near-term Federal Reserve rate cuts and maintaining price and interest-rate pressures on weary Americans. The consumer-price index rose 3.1% in November from a year earlier, a slight slowdown from October but above June’s 3% reading, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Prices were up 0.1% from the prior month, stronger than the steady reading economists had expected.

Fed Pivots to Rate Cuts as Inflation Heads Toward 2% Goal (Bloomberg🔒)📊

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady for a third meeting and gave its clearest signal yet that its aggressive hiking campaign is finished by forecasting a series of cuts next year. Officials decided unanimously to leave the target range for the benchmark federal funds rate at 5.25% to 5.5%, the highest since 2001. Policymakers penciled in no further interest-rate hikes in their projections for the first time since March 2021, based on the median estimate.

Labor Market Added 199,000 Jobs In November As Unemployment Rate Hits 3.7% (Forbes🔒)

U.S. job growth was slightly stronger than economists expected last month, as the Federal Reserve’s campaign to slow inflation continues to weaken the labor market as collateral damage. Total employment rose by 199,000 jobs in November, a jump from October's 33-month low of 150,000, the Labor Department said in its monthly employment report Friday.

Univ of Michigan Surveys of Consumers (University of Michigan)📊

Consumer sentiment soared 13% in December, erasing all declines from the previous four months, primarily on the basis of improvements in the expected trajectory of inflation. Sentiment is now about 39% above the all-time low measured in June of 2022 but still well below pre-pandemic levels. All five index components rose this month, led by surges of over 24% for both the short and long-run outlook for business conditions. There was a broad consensus of improved sentiment across age, income, education, geography, and political identification. A growing share of consumers—about 14%—spontaneously mentioned the potential impact of next year’s elections. Sentiment for these consumers appears to incorporate expectations that the elections will likely yield results favorable to the economy. Year-ahead inflation expectations plunged from 4.5% last month to 3.1% this month. The current reading is the lowest since March 2021 and sits just above the 2.3-3.0% range seen in the two years prior to the pandemic. Long-run inflation expectations fell from 3.2% last month to 2.8% this month, matching the second lowest reading seen since July 2021. Long-run inflation expectations remain elevated relative to the 2.2-2.6% range seen in the two years pre-pandemic.

Business

Panama Canal drought to delay grain ships well into 2024 (Reuters)

Bulk grain shippers hauling crops from the U.S. Gulf Coast export hub to Asia are sailing longer routes and paying higher freight costs to avoid vessel congestion and record-high transit fees in the drought-hit Panama Canal, traders and analysts said. The shipping snarl through one of the world's main maritime trade routes comes at the peak season for U.S. crop exports, and the higher costs are threatening to dent demand for U.S. corn and soy suppliers that have already ceded market share to Brazil in recent years. Ships moving crops have faced wait times of up to three weeks to pass through the canal as container vessels and others that sail on more regular schedules are scooping up the few transit slots available.

Apple, Google Get Billions From Their App Stores. That’s Now Under Threat. (WSJ🔒)

Monday’s court ruling that Google has operated an illegal app-store monopoly is the latest in a mounting series of threats to the $500 billion-a-year app-store economy, which has evolved into a profit machine for Apple and Google that helped define the smartphone era. A jury unanimously sided with Epic Games, saying that Google had harmed the videogame maker by maintaining an illegal monopoly. Google said it plans to appeal the verdict and stands by its business model. In a separate case that concluded in 2021, a federal judge largely ruled against Epic even as she ruled that Apple must allow third-party software makers to steer customers to payment options within their own apps. The outcome might ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court. Since that ruling, Google and Apple, which tightly control third-party software on most of the world’s billions of smartphones, have seen their control gradually erode as regulators in Europe, Asia and the U.S. have passed laws challenging company policies. Beginning in March, Apple is expected to allow software downloads outside the confines of its App Store for the first time due to a new European Union law. In South Korea, the two companies were forced in 2021 to open their stores to alternative payment systems. The Justice Department and state attorneys general in the U.S. have trained their sights on a deal in which Google has paid Apple around $20 billion a year to be the default search engine on Safari on its more than one billion devices.

The American Store Is Shrinking (WSJ🔒)

The average store size in the U.S. is the smallest it’s been in at least 17 years, reflecting profound changes in the way Americans now shop. The rise in e-commerce and a growing distaste for giant emporiums are softening demand for department stores and other big-box space. Restaurants and coffee shops, meanwhile, are gobbling up small storefronts as Americans spend more time dining out, ordering at drive-throughs or using food-delivery apps. The end result: Retailers signed leases averaging 3,200 square feet during the first three quarters of 2023, the smallest size since data firm CoStar Group began tracking this metric in 2006.

Energy

US Approves New Kind of Nuclear Reactor for First Time in 50 Years (Bloomberg🔒)

For the first time in more than 50 years the US granted permission for a new type of nuclear reactor, a sign regulators are becoming more open to different approaches to producing power from splitting the atom. California startup Kairos Power LLC received a construction permit from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build its Hermes demonstration reactor in Tennessee. While commercial reactors in use today are cooled by water, the Kairos technology uses molten fluoride salt as a coolant. There’s growing global interest in accelerating deployment of nuclear power as a key part of the fight to rein in climate change, but that effort has been hampered by a regulatory process that has been slow to approve new designs.

Microsoft Targets Nuclear to Power AI Operations (WSJ🔒)

Microsoft is betting nuclear power can help sate its massive electricity needs as it ventures further into artificial intelligence and supercomputing. The technology industry’s thirst for power is enormous. A single new data center can use as much electricity as hundreds of thousands of homes. Artificial intelligence requires even more computing power. Nuclear power is carbon-free and, unlike renewables, provides round-the-clock electricity. But it faces significant hurdles to getting built, including the daunting and expensive U.S. nuclear regulatory process for project developers. In a twist, Microsoft is experimenting with generative artificial intelligence to see if AI could help streamline the approval process, according to Microsoft executives.

COP28 deal calls for global transition away from fossil fuels for first time (BBC)

A new deal has been agreed at the UN climate summit in Dubai after days of negotiations. For the first time, the deal calls on all countries to move away from using fossil fuels - but not to phase them out, something many governments wanted. The text recognises the need for deep, rapid and sustained reductions if humanity is to limit temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. The COP28 president said nations had "confronted realities and... set the world in the right direction". Burning fossil fuels drives global warming, risking millions of lives. So far, governments have never collectively agreed to stop using them.

Oil Companies Are Fine With Call to Move Away From Fossil Fuels (NYT🔒)📊

Oil industry executives on Wednesday said they more or less backed the agreement coming out of the United Nations climate summit in Dubai, despite its language calling for “transitioning away from fossil fuels.” Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of OPEC, which had raised objections to an early draft of the agreement, endorsed the final deal, saying it left countries free to choose their own direction in addressing climate change. “Dictating things has been buried,” said Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, the Saudi oil minister, in an interview with Al Arabiya television. “And so people are free in their choices,” he added. The Saudi minister also said the COP28 deal would not have an impact on the country’s ability to sell crude oil, according to the outlet.

Auto

What Tesla Autopilot does, why it’s being recalled and how the company plans to fix it (AP)

Tesla introduced Autopilot software in October of 2015 with CEO Elon Musk heralding it as a profound experience for people. Other automakers such as Mercedes, Audi and Volvo already were offering what amounted to fancy cruise control — keeping cars in their lanes and a distance from traffic in front of it. But Musk had an innovation: Autopilot, he said, could change lanes on its own. “It will change people’s perception of the future quite drastically,” Musk said while cautioning that drivers still have to pay attention. Eight years later, U.S. auto safety regulators pressured Tesla into recalling nearly all the vehicles it has sold in the country because its driver monitoring system is too lax. The fix, with more alerts and limits on where the system can operate, will be done with a software update.

Cooling EV Sales Have Tesla, GM and Ford Rethinking Investments (Bloomberg🔒)

After years of pumping cash into the sizzling electric-vehicle market, Tesla Inc. and other major automakers are facing a new dilemma: what to do when demand chills. While the battery-powered vehicle market is still expanding, the pace of growth has slowed considerably. As a result, Tesla, the world’s EV leader, and legacy automakers that had been spending at breakneck speeds to build their electric car businesses, are now taking a more cautious approach to investments.

Real Estate

Mortgage Rates Drop Below Seven Percent (Freddie Mac)📊

Potential homebuyers received welcome news this week as mortgage rates dropped below seven percent for the first time since August. Given inflation continues to decelerate and the Federal Reserve Board’s current expectations that they will lower the federal funds target rate next year, there will likely be a gradual thawing of the housing market in the new year.

Home Flipping Activity Keeps Falling While Investor Profits Keep Rising Across U.S. In Third Quarter Of 2023 (Attom) 📊

ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property, and real estate data, today released its third-quarter 2023 U.S. Home Flipping Report showing that 72,543 single-family homes and condominiums in the United States were flipped in the third quarter. Those transactions represented 7.2 percent, or one of every 14 home sales nationwide, during the months running from July through September of 2023. The latest portion was down from 7.9 percent of all home sales in the U.S. during the second quarter of 2023 and from 7.7 percent in the third quarter of last year. While the flipping rate remained historically high, it dropped for the second straight quarter, to the lowest point in two years.

Seasonal Influence Eases U.S. Foreclosure Activity, Marking Slight Decline (Attom)📊

ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property, and real estate data, today released its November 2023 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows there were a total of 32,120 U.S. properties with foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions or bank repossessions – up 5 percent from a year ago, but down 7 percent from the prior month. “While we’ve observed a modest decrease in U.S. foreclosure activity most likely due to seasonal factors, it’s essential to note that these fluctuations are a part of the cyclical nature of the market,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. “As we look ahead to 2024, we anticipate a potential uptick in foreclosure activity as various economic factors evolve and market dynamics shift.

Cyber

Pew survey: YouTube tops teens’ social-media diet, with roughly a sixth using it almost constantly (AP)

Teen usage of social media hasn’t dropped much, despite rising concerns about its effects on the mental health of adolescents, a survey from the Pew Research Institute found. But the data also found that roughly one in six teens describe their use of two platforms — YouTube and TikTok — as “almost constant.” Seventy-one percent of teens said they visit YouTube at least daily; 16% described their usage as “almost constant” according to the survey. A slightly larger group — 17% — said they used TikTok almost constantly. Those figures for Snapchat and Instagram came in at 14% and 8% respectively. YouTube remains by far the most popular social platform among teens, with 93% responding that they use the service. That number was down two percentage points from 2022. Runners-up included TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram, although all three trailed YouTube in this measure by 30 percentage points or more.

How a toilet-themed YouTube series became the biggest thing online (WP🔒)

The biggest online phenomenon of the year is an animated video series that primarily appeals to children, filled with obscure internet and gaming references that most adults wouldn’t understand, and with a name that all but screams scatological humor. Its existence has sparked concern among adults, but is in fact a natural outgrowth of a video world created in part by parents who’ve made a habit of handing their iPads to their children to watch harmless entertainment such as “Cocomelon.” The success of the series also shows the first point of tension between Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Called “Skibidi Toilet,” the YouTube series was created by an animator named Alexey Gerasimov for his YouTube channel DaFuq!?Boom! The series tells the story of Skibidi Toilets (toilets with human heads) engaged in a war with people who have CCTV cameras, speakers and televisions for heads amid a dark and dystopian landscape. They battle each other across an expanding industrial world that includes New York City landmarks, with the Skibidi Toilets acting on behest of their leader, G-Man, to destroy humanity and transform more people into Skibidi Toilets.

NOTE: wow, that’s disturbing.

Hacker Hits One of Crypto Industry’s Biggest Names in Security (Bloomberg🔒)

The latest crypto hack involved one of the industry’s top names in security: hardware wallet-maker Ledger. The Paris-based startup saw its Ledger Connect Kit software compromised leading to hundreds of thousands of dollars being drained from users’ wallets early Thursday. Ledger said in a statement that the exploit originated from a phishing attack that targeted a former employee. The hacker published malicious code that rerouted user funds to their own wallet during transactions with decentralized applications, or dapps, that used the affected software. The company said that the malicious code was live for around five hours.

China’s cyber army is invading critical U.S. services (WP🔒)

The Chinese military is ramping up its ability to disrupt key American infrastructure, including power and water utilities as well as communications and transportation systems, according to U.S. officials and industry security officials. Hackers affiliated with China’s People’s Liberation Army have burrowed into the computer systems of about two dozen critical entities over the past year, these experts said. The intrusions are part of a broader effort to develop ways to sow panic and chaos or snarl logistics in the event of a U.S.-China conflict in the Pacific, they said. Among the victims are a water utility in Hawaii, a major West Coast port and at least one oil and gas pipeline, people familiar with the incidents told The Washington Post. The hackers also attempted to break into the operator of Texas’s power grid, which operates independently from electrical systems in the rest of the country.

Ukraine war: How TikTok fakes pushed Russian lies to millions (BBC)

A Russian propaganda campaign involving thousands of fake accounts on TikTok spreading disinformation about the war in Ukraine has been uncovered by the BBC. Its videos routinely attract millions of views and have the apparent aim of undermining Western support. Users in several European countries have been subjected to false claims that senior Ukrainian officials and their relatives bought luxury cars or villas abroad after Russia's invasion in February 2022. The fake TikTok videos played a part in the dismissal last September of Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, according to his daughter Anastasiya Shteinhauz.

Apple Makes Security Changes to Protect Users From iPhone Thefts (WSJ🔒)

Apple is rolling out a new security setting for iPhones following Wall Street Journal reporting about a vulnerability that allowed thieves to break into victims’ devices and upend their lives. The Journal reported on a nationwide spate of thefts where criminals used iPhone owners’ passcodes to change their Apple accounts, access saved passwords, steal money and lock them out of their iCloud-stored photos and videos. Thieves in New York, Chicago, New Orleans, Minneapolis and other cities watch iPhone owners tap in their passcodes before stealing the targets’ devices. These thefts resulted in losses far beyond phones, as the Journal’s reporting showed, because Apple’s security settings gave victims few ways of preventing harm once their passcodes fell into the wrong hands. We have heard from hundreds of people over the past year whose iPhones and digital lives were stolen. The new Stolen Device Protection setting, designed to defend against such attacks, is being released to beta testers. Apple is planning to include the setting in a coming software update. Still, users must turn it on, and it won’t cover all threats to your personal and financial information on an iPhone. Here’s why you would want Stolen Device Protection, and what to consider even if you turn it on.

Controversial clothes hook spy cameras for sale on Amazon (BBC)

Spy cameras disguised as clothes hooks are for sale on Amazon, despite the firm being sued over the gadgets. One clothes hook camera listing seen by the BBC features a picture of the device positioned in a bathroom. A US judge recently ruled the retail giant must face a case brought by a woman who alleges she was filmed in the bathroom using a clothes hook camera purchased on Amazon. A privacy expert has said the misuse of such devices may break British laws. Amazon declined to comment on the issue.

TikTok Quietly Changes User Terms Amid Growing Legal Scrutiny (NYT🔒)

Parents, schools and even attorneys general have increasingly been raising concerns about how TikTok may be hooking children to the app and serving them inappropriate content. But some lawyers say bringing legal action against the company could be more difficult after TikTok quietly changed its terms of service this summer. In July, TikTok removed rules that had required user disputes to be handled through private arbitration and instead said that complaints must be filed in one of two California courts. While arbitration has long been considered beneficial to companies, some lawyers have recently figured out how to make it costly for companies by bringing consumers’ arbitration claims en masse. The terms were also changed to suggest that legal action must be brought within a year of the alleged harm from using the app. Previously, there had been no specified timeline. The shifts come as the possibility of people taking legal action against TikTok is rising.

Artificial Intelligence

OpenAI And Axel Springer Announce Deal That Will Bring News Content To ChatGPT (Forbes🔒)

ChatGPT will soon summarize news articles from Politico, Business Insider and other Axel Springer-owned publications—and could include content otherwise available only to paid subscribers —in an unprecedented new agreement that could shape the future of journalism’s relationship with artificial intelligence.

News Publishers See Google’s AI Search Tool as a Traffic-Destroying Nightmare (WSJ🔒)

Google’s integration of AI is crystallizing for media outlets the perils of relying on big technology companies to get their content in front of readers and viewers. Already, publishers are reeling from a major decline in traffic sourced from social-media sites, as both Meta and X, the former Twitter, have pulled away from distributing news. As bad as the social-media downshift is, Google’s generative-AI-powered search is the true nightmare for publishers. Across the media world, Google generates nearly 40% of publishers’ traffic, accounting for the largest share of their “referrals,” according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data from measurement firm SimilarWeb. While Google says the final shape of its AI product is far from set, publishers have seen enough to estimate that they will lose between 20% and 40% of their Google-generated traffic if anything resembling recent iterations rolls out widely. Google has said it is giving priority to sending traffic to publishers.

Is ChatGPT getting lazier over the holidays? (Semafor)

ChatGPT seems to be “lazier” in December, and users are wondering if that’s because it learned that humans are lazier then too. One developer noted that if the model is told it’s December, its answers are 5% shorter than if it’s told it’s May. Others noticed ChatGPT refusing to complete tasks after Thanksgiving. OpenAI has acknowledged the complaints that ChatGPT appears to be phoning it in. “This certainly isn’t intentional. model behavior can be unpredictable, and we’re looking into fixing it,” the company wrote on X.

2024 Candidates Are Using AI In Their Campaigns—Here’s How To Spot It (Forbes🔒)

As the 2024 elections ramp up, some candidates are using artificial intelligence to reach voters through calls and advertisements—raising questions from voters, candidates and tech companies over AI’s possible impact on elections in the U.S. and abroad. One of the simplest ways to spot an AI-generated image is by looking at a subject’s features, such as eyes, fingers and other limbs, to find irregularities, such as more than 5 fingers on a hand, an extra leg or other misshapen facial and body features. Some deepfakes, which are a form of AI used to swap faces in videos and images, feature people blinking unnaturally or making strange eye movements. In some AI-generated videos, the audio doesn’t match up with the mouth movements of the person “speaking” or the scene being depicted. It is also helpful to check the sourcing of certain images and videos to see if they’ve been shared by credible news sources and government agencies, for example. There are also resources online to improve AI detection skills, including a short quiz from MIT called Detect Fakes that tests how well users can spot a fake video from a real video, and a quiz from Microsoft called Spot the Deepfake that tests users on AI-generated facial features and expressions.

Life

U.S. Homeless Count Surges 12% to Highest-Recorded Level (WSJ🔒)📊

The U.S. count of homeless people surged to the highest level on record, reaching more than 653,000 people early this year as Covid-19 pandemic-aid spending faded, new federal data show. The increase reflects a collision of factors: rising housing costs; limited affordable housing units; the opioid epidemic; and the expired pandemic-era aid that had helped keep people in their homes, federal officials said Friday. A surge of migrants into shelters in places such as New York City, Massachusetts and Chicago also contributed to the challenge. The data released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development show a 12% gain since last year, marking both the biggest increase and highest tally since the U.S. first published comparable data for 2007.

Why more women live in major East Coast counties while men outnumber them in the West (AP)📊

Anyone who has suspected that there are more women than men where they live, or vice versa, will find fodder for their suspicions in new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Whether it refutes or confirms their suspicions likely depends on where they live.

Where Teens Used to Hang Out (The Atlantic)

Readers share stories of social life before technology took over.

Boys Are Struggling. It Can Take Coaches, Tutors and Thousands a Month to Fix That. (WSJ🔒)

Teresa Lubovich says nearly every student coming to her private tutoring center to learn personal organization skills is a boy. Starting at $500 a month, her services don’t come cheap, but she says parents are willing to pay to jump-start their middle-school-age boys, many of whom show up unmotivated and disorganized. “Often the boys are doing the work and not turning it in, there’s no follow-through on assignments, their backpacks are a mess,” says Lubovich, whose Poulsbo, Wash.-based center serves nearly 400 local and online students. “The parents are tired of fighting about it.” Middle school has become high stakes. Students who have fallen behind by eighth grade are less likely to succeed in high school and graduate on time, teachers and education researchers say. Lubovich says the focus in recent decades on making education more equitable to girls has resulted in less attention being paid to boys. She and other education experts say boys have struggled to regain their motivation after the pandemic, problems compounded by the omnipresent distraction of laptops and other devices at home and in the classroom.

Why Are So Many American Pedestrians Dying at Night? (NYT🔒)📊

Sometime around 2009, American roads started to become deadlier for pedestrians, particularly at night. Fatalities have risen ever since, reversing the effects of decades of safety improvements. And it’s not clear why. What’s even more perplexing: Nothing resembling this pattern has occurred in other comparably wealthy countries. In places like Canada and Australia, a much lower share of pedestrian fatalities occurs at night, and those fatalities — rarer in number — have generally been declining, not rising. In America, these trends present a puzzle that has stumped experts on vehicle design, driver behavior, road safety and how they interact: What changed, starting about 15 years ago, that would cause rising numbers of pedestrian deaths specifically in the U.S. — and overwhelmingly at night?

Education

When the New York Times lost its way (Economist🔒)

America’s media should do more to equip readers to think for themselves

NOTE: An excellent, very long read extolling the goodness of journalism, the problem with group think, homogeneous opinion seeking, the rise of opinion journalism, and so much more. It’s long, but worth reading.

American journalism sounds much more Democratic than Republican (Economist🔒)📊

Public trust in American media has plummeted since the 1990s. Most of this decline is among conservatives, spurred by Republican charges of liberal bias from avowedly non-partisan outlets. Such claims are hard to assess fairly: stories viewed by one party as following the facts are often seen by the other as ideological. Most public estimates of news sources’ partisan leanings rely on subjective ratings. Political scientists seeking an objective approach have used the language in politicians’ speeches to set a baseline and compared stories with that. However, most studies in this vein look at the period before 2016; do not discriminate between politics and other topics; and focus on either tv or written journalism, but not both. In an effort to provide a measure of partisan slant that is comprehensive, impartial and up-to-date, we have applied this academic approach to the output in recent years of a wide range of news sources. We find that there is indeed an affinity between the media and the left, because journalists tend to prefer the language used by Democratic lawmakers. Moreover, this disparity has grown since the start of Donald Trump’s presidency. As a result, the number of media sources covering politics in balanced language has dwindled.

How objectivity in journalism became a matter of opinion (Economist🔒)

In America, political and commercial strains have led to questions about its value and meaning. (article from 16 Jul 2020)

Penn President, Board Chair Resign After Furor Over Comments on Campus Antisemitism (WSJ🔒)

The president of the University of Pennsylvania and the chairman of its board of trustees resigned Saturday, capping a tumultuous week at the Ivy League school stemming from statements the president made about antisemitism at a congressional hearing Tuesday. President Liz Magill will stay on until an interim president is appointed, and afterward will remain a member of the law school faculty, according to a letter sent from board chairman Scott L. Bok Saturday afternoon. Soon after sending that letter, Bok announced he had tendered his own resignation, effective immediately. The resignations mark a stunning fall for college leaders while raising questions about the power major donors have over institutions and just where schools should draw the line on protecting free speech, generally considered a bedrock of academia.

Elon Musk University? Billionaire Pledges $100 Million To Launch School In Texas, Report Says (Forbes🔒)

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is gearing up to create a university in Austin, Texas, according to tax filings obtained by Bloomberg that revealed the educational institution is seeded with a $100 million gift from the world’s richest person. The organization plans to launch a STEM-focused primary and secondary school with an initial class of 50 prior to the university, which will be “dedicated to education at the highest levels” and will seek accreditation from the Georgia-based Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, according to the filing, which requested tax-exempt status.

Food & Drink

UAE’s First Brewery Is Ready to Legally Make and Sell Beer (Bloomberg🔒)

A beer brewery will open in Abu Dhabi this month, becoming the first company to legally make alcohol in the region. The emirate has granted a license to the restaurant Craft by Side Hustle to sell beer on tap that’s been brewed on premises. You can already buy Side Hustle’s imported beer and spirits in UAE liquor stores, but all packaged products will still have to be manufactured abroad under the new regulations. The brewery is the first to open under a little-noticed rule change published in Abu Dhabi in 2021, which allowed license holders to ferment alcoholic beverages for consumption on site. It’s the latest in a series of moves loosening socially conservative laws in the United Arab Emirates and the surrounding Gulf region, as countries open up their economies and focus on industries other than oil.

Nature

A23a: Monster iceberg just shy of a trillion tonnes (BBC)📊

Scientists now have good numbers to describe the true scale of the world's biggest iceberg, A23a. Satellite measurements show the frozen block has a total average thickness of just over 280m (920ft). Combined with its known area of 3,900 sq km (1,500 sq miles), this gives a volume of roughly 1,100 cubic km and a mass just below a trillion tonnes. The iceberg, which calved from the Antarctic coast in 1986, is about to drift beyond the White Continent. It has reached a critical point in its journey, researchers say, with the next few weeks likely to decide its future trajectory through the Southern Ocean.

Cats Kill a Staggering Number of Species across the World (Scientific American)📊

Exotic species such as pythons, Asian carp and cane toads often dominate the invasive species discourse. Few biological invaders, however, have wreaked as much ecological havoc as one of our most cuddly companions: cats. Despite their small stature and memeable mugs, domestic cats (Felis catus) are perfectly adapted killing machines, armed with retractable claws, sharp fangs and night vision. And these potent predators are anything but picky. As humans have spread cats around the world over the past 9,000 years, these ferocious felines—which were likely domesticated thousands of years ago in the Near East—have terrorized native creatures on every continent except Antarctica. A team of researchers recently added up all the species on these invaders’ menu. In a paper published on Tuesday in Nature Communications, the team compiled a database of more than 2,000 species that have fallen victim to free-ranging domestic cats. Nearly 350 of these species are of conservation concern, and several are already extinct. “We don’t really know of any other mammal that eats this many different species,” says the study’s lead author Christopher Lepczyk, an ecologist at Auburn University. “It’s almost like an indiscriminate eater; they’re eating whatever’s available.”

Two Men Hunted Bald Eagles in Illegal ‘Killing Spree,’ U.S. Says (NYT🔒)

Federal prosecutors in Montana have charged two men with illegally shooting about 3,600 birds, including bald and golden eagles, in a “killing spree” that fueled a black market for tail feathers and preyed on a symbol of the nation.

Entertainment

What the %&#!?! Everyone’s Cursing on the Screen (WSJ🔒)📊

These days, just turning on the television seems to trigger a blitzkrieg of F-bombs. Or a real S— show, one could say. “We’re seeing a big spike in the use of crude and profane language in movies and TV shows,” says Chad Michael, CEO of EnjoyMoviesYourWay.com, a content-filtering service for smart TVs based in Edwall, Wash. “As it increases, we become numb to it,” he adds. “And that gives writers and media [outlets] permission to add even more.” Engineers at EnjoyMoviesYourWay.com deploy artificial intelligence to identify crude language in programming, allowing the app to filter thousands of titles. In an analysis for The Wall Street Journal, Enjoy scanned over 60,000 popular movies and TV shows released since 1985 and tracked the usage of bleepable words over time.

Netflix Posts Viewer Data on Every Show, Film for First Time (Bloomberg🔒)📊

Netflix Inc. is ready to tell the world how many people watch its shows. On Tuesday, the company released global midyear viewer data for every title on its service, the first of what Netflix said will be regular reports. The political thriller The Night Agent was the most-watched title globally in the first half of 2023, generating 812.1 million hours of viewing, Netflix said. That was followed by Season 2 of the family drama Ginny & Georgia and the debut of The Glory, a South Korean series. Ginny & Georgia delivered the biggest audience if you consider all seasons of a show.

Disney World abruptly starts banning third-party tour guides (WP🔒)

In recent months, Disney has begun cracking down on independent guides such as Hanks who have made a living by helping visitors navigate the Florida parks, as Insider first reported. The Washington Post spoke to eight third-party tour operators and company owners who have received trespassing orders at Disney World; they said they know of dozens more guides who have received the same. This has left operators looking for new jobs, moving out of Florida and adjusting their business models to focus on non-Disney tour operations. Disney said in an emailed statement that they are taking additional steps to enforce their rules that prohibit commercial activities, such as tours provided by third-party operators, because of a “significant increase in these rule violations.” They cited that some operators have sold unauthorized Disney services, including in-park offerings like Genie Plus line-cutting services, the Disability Access Service, and the park’s dining and lodging reservations.

Sports

With His $700 Million Deal, Shohei Ohtani Is Set To Become MLB’s All-Time Earnings Leader (Forbes🔒)

Sho-Time came up big time in free agency. On Saturday, Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani agreed to terms on a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers reportedly worth $700 million over 10 years, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. In doing so, the two-way phenom secured the largest contract by total value in U.S. team sports history, surpassing his former Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout ($426.5 million) and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes ($450 million).

NFL to play first game in Brazil in 2024, expand to 8 international games in 2025 (The Athletic)

For the first time in league history, the NFL is heading to South America. The league will be expanding its international series of games to São Paulo in 2024, the league announced Wednesday.

Referee punched: Turkish FA halts league football after club president hits Super Lig official (BBC)

Turkish football bosses suspended all leagues after a referee was punched to the ground by a club president following a top-flight game on Monday. Halil Umut Meler was struck by MKE Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca, who ran on to the pitch after his team conceded a 97th-minute equaliser in a 1-1 Super Lig draw with Caykur Rizespor. "The matches in all leagues have been postponed indefinitely," Turkish FA [TFF] chairman Mehmet Buyukeksi told a news conference.

For Fun

A Holiday to Remember | Chevrolet (YouTube)

Watch this heartwarming story about a woman’s holiday journey to gift her grandmother the memories from years past. All told from the front-seat of a classic Chevrolet Suburban.

NOTE: Tissue (box) warning.

Inside the World Excel Championships (Yes, You Read That Right) (WSJ🔒)

For many, Excel is something to be avoided after work hours. But the omnipresent office spreadsheet software has spawned ranks of data geeks who see Excel as a sport. And here they were at the biggest table of them all: the Microsoft Excel World Championship, held at the HyperX Arena Las Vegas in the Luxor Hotel & Casino. (One floor down from a show by the comedian Carrot Top.) The bean counters of the world finally got the respect they deserve, with a crowd of financial-modeling nerds blowing off mundane Vegas distractions such as a U2 concert, an NBA game, and the rodeo, to watch Excel athletes sit before computers onstage and “spreadsheet” like there’s no tomorrow.

Heroin Tourism (BVI Tourism)📊

I ran across this image (really a series of images as part of a media campaign) this past week while doing some research about the British Virgin Islands (BVI). At first glance, I thought it read “Heroin Tourism.” I think they could’ve put a little more space between “hero” and “in.”

Things I learned this week

Handel’s Messiah

I’m so used to only hearing the “famous parts” (“For unto us…, Glory to God in the Highest, Hallelujah) of Handel’s Messiah. However, this week I learned that it’s over two hours, and that the entirety of Handel’s Messiah is only Bible verses. It tells the prophecy of Christ’s coming, his birth, his death, his resurrection and his ascension.

Lyrics: https://haventoday.org/blog/handels-messiah-lyrics-verse-references/

Listen/Watch:

The Town of Palmanova

Palmanova was built following the ideals of a utopia. It is a concentric city with the form of a star, with three nine-sided ring roads intersecting in the main military radiating streets. It was built at the end of the 16th century by the Venetian Republic which was, at the time, a major center of trade. It is actually considered to be a fort, or citadel, because the military architect Giulio Savorgnan designed it to be a Venetian military station on the eastern frontier as protection from the Ottoman Empire.

NOTE: How cool is that?!

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The Curator

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Two resources to help you be a more discerning reader:

AllSides - https://www.allsides.com/unbiased-balanced-news

Media Bias Chart - https://www.adfontesmedia.com/

Caveat: Even these resources/charts are biased. Who says that the system they use to describe news sources is accurate? Still, hopefully you find them useful as a basic guide or for comparison.