This week in the news | 23 June 24
News from the past week, and a few other things.
👋 Hello Reader, I hope you had a great week.
Below you’ll find the “quick shot”—a supercharged summary of summaries, followed by the “slow brew”—longer summaries with select graphics, and comments from me.
THE QUICK SHOT 🚀
A supercharged summary of summaries
A lock icon (🔒) indicates articles behind a paywall, and a chart icon (📊) indicates an informative chart/graphic in “Slow Brew.”
World
NATO members are spending more on Defense (Sherwood News).
North America
President Joe Biden's new immigration plan offers potential citizenship to around half a million immigrants without legal status, aiming to balance recent southern border crackdowns (AP). Legal immigration to America has rebounded with President Biden announcing new safeguards for those married to American citizens (Economist🔒) 📊. In Maryland, Gov. Wes Moore issued a mass pardon of over 175,000 marijuana convictions in an effort to address decades of social and economic injustice (WP🔒). Meanwhile, Maine is accepting design ideas for a new state flag, aiming for a distinctive design compared to the current one with a blue background and state seal (NYT🔒) 📊.
Latin America
Around 1.39 million people from 177 countries traveled through Mexico this year aiming to reach the United States, with Venezuela, Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador, and Haiti being the primary countries of origin (VOA). Brazil is aiming to build a rare earths industry to reduce reliance on China, despite challenges posed by low prices and technical hurdles (Reuters) 📊.
Europe
American tourists are fueling an economic boom in southern Europe, creating jobs and boosting growth in Italy, Spain, Greece, and Portugal (WSJ🔒). Climate activists were arrested for spraying orange powder on Stonehenge to protest fossil fuels, with no visible damage reported (NYT🔒).
Middle East
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved his war cabinet after key departures, with sensitive issues now to be discussed by a smaller forum (BBC). A U.S.-built pier for Gaza aid has largely failed in its mission and is expected to end operations earlier than planned (NYT🔒). The official death toll from the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia has climbed to hundreds due to extreme heat and overcrowding (NYT🔒).
Africa
A civil war in Sudan has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and millions displaced, with fears of a massacre in El Fasher if it falls to the Rapid Support Forces (NYT🔒) 📊.
Asia
President Putin and Kim Jong-un have revived a mutual defense pact between Russia and North Korea, strengthening their security relationship against the U.S. (NYT🔒). The U.S. reaffirmed its obligation to defend the Philippines after a clash with China in the South China Sea (AP). China is expected to see a record exodus of 15,200 millionaires in 2024, mostly heading to the U.S., Canada, and Singapore due to economic and geopolitical tensions (Nikkei).
Government
President Biden and former President Trump have agreed to new debate rules, including no audience and no interruptions, enforced by muting microphones (NewsNation).
Economy
The U.S. federal budget deficit will reach $1.9 trillion this fiscal year, partly due to student loan relief programs (CNN).
Business
Nvidia has become the world's most valuable public company, driven by the demand for its AI chips (NYT🔒) 📊. Social-media influencers are struggling financially despite their large followings, with most earning less than $15,000 annually (WSJ🔒). Wells Fargo is losing up to $10 million monthly from a credit card program allowing rent payments without fees (WSJ🔒). And, to no one’s surprise the average US customer experience index score declined for the third year in a row (WSJ🔒)📊. The parent company of China-based online marketplace Temu employs a bevy of former Chinese Communist Party officials among their top executives — raising serious national security risks (NY Post).
Cyber
The U.S. Surgeon General is pushing for warning labels on social media platforms to highlight potential mental health risks for adolescents (NYT🔒)📊. The Los Angeles Unified School District voted to ban cellphones during school hours to combat youth addiction (WSJ🔒). Concerns rise as a young influencer's audience is predominantly adult men, leading to disturbing interactions (WSJ🔒).
Life
101 bits of advice from Kevin Kelly offer wisdom and reflections for a fulfilling life (Technium).
Health
The Pentagon ran a secret anti-vax campaign in the Philippines to undermine China during pandemic (Reuters).
Entertainment
The sci-fi movie series Buck Rogers is credited with influencing Star Wars and other iconic franchises (Inverse).
Sports
The Boston Celtics won the NBA title, leveraging data-driven strategies to achieve their victory (WSJ🔒). Willie Mays, the baseball star, dies at 93 (WP). Lucas Oil NFL Stadium was transformed into a swimming pool for the US Olympic Trials (Sports Illustrated).
For Fun
Americans have abandoned the use of ancestral names for new family members to stand out and be memorable, but the names still fit within the boundaries of some social convention. (WP🔒)📊.
THE SLOW BREW ☕
A more relaxed approach to the summaries.
World
NATO defense spending set to soar (Sherwood News)
A record 23 out of the 32 NATO member nations are set to hit the alliance's 2% of GDP defense spending target this year, as member nations sharply increase spending, according to a NATO report released on Monday. The 2% guideline was agreed upon a decade ago, in the wake of Russia's annexation of Crimea, when only three allies — the United States, Britain, and Greece — met the target. However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has shifted global priorities and launched military spending to the forefront of policy discussions. NATO analysis reveals that defense expenditure is estimated to have increased more than 9% in 2023 and is set to rise a further 18% in 2024, those are real gains — i.e. over and above the rate of inflation. In the last 18 months, once-neutral Sweden and Finland have joined the alliance, further bolstering NATO's annual expenditure by $16 billion, though no nation, within or outside the alliance, comes close to the United States' budget. In 2024, America's defense spending is expected to reach a colossal $968 billion, which will be some 65% of NATO's total.
North America
Half a million immigrants could eventually get US citizenship under a sweeping new plan from Biden (AP)
President Joe Biden ordered expansive election-year action Tuesday to offer potential citizenship to hundreds of thousands of immigrants without legal status in the U.S., aiming to balance his recent aggressive crackdown on the southern border that enraged advocates and many Democratic lawmakers. The president announced that his administration will, in the coming months, allow certain U.S. citizens’ spouses without legal status to apply for permanent residency and eventually citizenship without having to first depart the country. The action by Biden, a Democrat, could affect upwards of half a million immigrants, according to senior administration officials.
NOTE: We need to do a lot more to beef up the timeliness of our process for vetting people who are legally trying to get into the US. I have multiple friends who have tried to get their foreign-born spouses US citizenship, and because they couldn’t do so in a timely manner (it’s taken years), they stayed outside the US until the process could be completed legally. What they convey to me is “What’s the point in following the rules, when breaking the rules—coming into the US illegally—is what gets rewarded.” It’s a fair point.
Legal immigration to America has rebounded (Economist🔒)
REPUBLICAN POLITICIANS often compare America’s southern border to Swiss cheese. It is more like a black hole. Its gravitational pull is so strong that officials can think only of enforcement and security (or the good electoral politics that come with harping on about enforcement and security). The names of small, dusty border towns—Eagle Pass, Jacumba Hot Springs—have never been so well known. The black hole leaves little time to consider the other parts of America’s creaking immigration system, such as refugees, skilled-worker visas or reforming quotas that are decades out of date. Yet it is worth looking at what is happening beyond the border. For even while the surge of irregular migration has soaked up attention and resources, legal immigration has rebounded. And on June 18th President Joe Biden announced new safeguards—including work permits and protection from deportation—for people who have been living illegally in the country for years but are married to American citizens. The move was crafted to appeal to, among others, Latino voters and to assuage progressives angered by Mr Biden’s crackdown on illegal migration in an executive action two weeks ago. At a stroke, it also swells the ranks of the country’s legitimate residents by about 500,000 people.
Maryland governor pardons 175,000 marijuana convictions in sweeping order (WP🔒)
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore issued a mass pardon of more than 175,000 marijuana convictions Monday morning, one of the nation’s most sweeping acts of clemency involving a drug now in widespread recreational use. The pardons forgive low-level marijuana possession charges for an estimated 100,000 people in what the Democratic governor said is a step to heal decades of social and economic injustice that disproportionately harms Black and Brown people. Moore noted criminal records have been used to deny housing, employment and education, holding people and their families back long after their sentences have been served.
Maine Accepting Designs for a New State Flag (NYT🔒)
Anyone with an idea for how the Maine state flag should look has a month to submit a design idea, though the contest rules limit just how much of a creative free-for-all will be allowed. Maine lawmakers agreed last year to let voters decide if they want to adopt a new state flag design that would be more distinctive than the current one, which has a blue background and the state seal, a man standing on each side of a shield that shows a moose resting under a pine tree. The state seal in the middle of the blue background combination is similar to the look of flags in at least a dozen other states. The Maine secretary of state, Shenna Bellows, announced on Friday a contest to determine which design would be used as the model ahead of a November referendum on a new flag.
NOTE: For reference, US Flags:
Latin America
Mexico: Travelers from 177 nations crossed country toward US (VOA)
Around 1.39 million people from 177 countries traveled through Mexico so far this year trying to reach the United States without entry papers, the Mexican government said Sunday. The vast majority were men or women traveling alone, while almost 3,000 were unaccompanied minors, the National Migration Institute said, providing figures for January through the end of May. The figure of 177 countries of origin represents almost the whole world -- the United Nations has 193 member states. By country, the largest number of would-be migrants at nearly 380,000 came from Venezuela, which has endured severe economic hardship for years, followed by Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador and Haiti, all of which are hard hit by gang and drug-trafficking violence. Others attempting the dangerous trek through Mexico in search of a better life in the United States came from as far afield as China, India, Mauritania and Angola, the institute said.
Brazil joins race to loosen China's grip on rare earths industry (Reuters)
Mining giant Brazil has big ambitions to build a rare earths industry as Western economies push to secure the metals needed for magnets used in green energy and defence and break China's dominance of the supply chain. Working to its advantage are low labour costs, clean energy, established regulations and proximity to end markets, including Latin America's first magnet plant which would provide a ready buyer for the metals. But low rare earths prices, technical challenges and nervous lenders pose challenges to the Latin American nation's hopes to propel itself into the world's top five rare earths producers. The pace at which Brazil's rare earths projects come together will be a test for how successful the West may be at building a new advanced industry almost from scratch to break China's grip. Brazil holds the world's third-largest rare earth reserves. The country's first rare earths mine, Serra Verde, started commercial production this year.
Europe
Europe Has a New Economic Engine: American Tourists (WSJ🔒)
Across southern Europe, an unprecedented tourism boom driven largely by American tourists is turbocharging growth in places that had become bywords for economic stagnation, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and filling the coffers of governments recently shaken by sovereign debt fears. Even as some worry the boom may be creating other problems, the Mediterranean rush is turning Europe’s recent economic history on its head. In the 2010s, Germany and other manufacturing-heavy economies helped drag the continent out of its debt crisis thanks to strong exports of cars and capital goods, especially to China. Today, Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal contribute between a quarter and half of the bloc’s annual growth.
Stonehenge Is Sprayed With Orange Powder in Climate Protest (NYT🔒)
Two climate activists were arrested in England after they sprayed an orange powder on the monoliths at Stonehenge in what they said was an attempt to bring attention to the climate impact of fossil fuels. The attack on the prehistoric site came on Wednesday as the stones would draw the attention of people marking the arrival of the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. The organization that oversees the Stonehenge prehistoric site in England said on Thursday that it had removed the bright orange powder ahead of preparations for the important day at the site. There appeared to be no visible damage to the stones, according to Nick Merriman, the chief executive of English Heritage, a charity that manages Stonehenge.
Middle East
Israeli PM scraps war cabinet after key departures (BBC)
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dissolved his six-member war cabinet, just over a week after the departure of centrist opposition leader Benny Gantz and his ally Gadi Eisenkot. Israeli media report that sensitive issues about the war with Hamas in Gaza will now be discussed by a smaller forum. Mr Netanyahu had faced demands from far-right ministers in his governing coalition to join the war cabinet, which could have further strained ties with the US and other international allies. A spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that, as far as it was concerned, it would not affect the chain of command.
U.S. Pier for Gaza Aid Is Failing, and Could Be Dismantled Early (NYT🔒)
The $230 million temporary pier that the U.S. military built on short notice to rush humanitarian aid to Gaza has largely failed in its mission, aid organizations say, and will probably end operations weeks earlier than originally expected. In the month since it was attached to the shoreline, the pier has been in service only about 10 days. The rest of the time, it was being repaired after rough seas broke it apart, detached to avoid further damage or paused because of security concerns.
Official Death Toll From Hajj Pilgrimage Climbs Into the Hundreds (NYT🔒)
During the annual hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, one of the most important events on the Muslim calendar, at least 450 people died under a scorching sun as they prayed at sacred sites around the holy city of Mecca. Amid maximum temperatures that ranged from 108 Fahrenheit to 120, according to preliminary data, and throngs of people, many passed out and needed medical care. The pilgrims, some who have saved their whole lives for the hajj, spend days walking and sleeping in tents during their journey to Mecca, the holiest city for Muslims. The hajj is one of Islam’s five pillars, and all Muslims who are physically and financially able are obliged to embark on the pilgrimage.
Africa
A Massacre Threatens Darfur — Again (NYT🔒)
A civil war is ripping apart Sudan, one of Africa’s largest countries. Tens of thousands have been killed, millions scattered and an enormous famine looms, setting off one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises. The city of El Fasher, home to 1.8 million people, is now at the center of global alarm. If it falls, officials warn, there may be little to stop a massacre. Fighters battling Sudan’s military for control of the country have encircled the city. Gunfights rage. Hospitals have closed. Residents are running out of food. The advancing fighters are known as the Rapid Support Forces — the successors to the notorious Janjaweed militias that slaughtered ethnic African tribes in Darfur in the 2000s. Last week, the U.N. Security Council demanded that they “halt the siege” of the city. Yet a New York Times examination of satellite imagery and video from El Fasher makes one thing clear: The assault is intensifying. Longstanding ethnic tensions have underpinned the violence in Darfur for decades. Just as the Arab-dominated Janjaweed carried out a genocidal campaign against ethnic Africans in the 2000s, the Rapid Support Forces are targeting them now, with international warnings that a genocide could happen again.
Asia
Putin and Kim Sign Pact Pledging Mutual Support Against ‘Aggression’ (NYT🔒) 📊
President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, revived a Cold War-era mutual defense pledge between their nations on Wednesday, as the Kremlin deepened its security relationship with North Korea and vowed solidarity in challenging the United States.
US renews warning it’s obligated to defend the Philippines after its new clash with China at sea (AP)
The United States renewed a warning Tuesday that it’s obligated to defend its close treaty ally a day after Filipino navy personnel were injured and their supply boats damaged in one of the most serious confrontations between the Philippines and China in a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, officials said. China and the Philippines blamed each other for instigating Monday’s hostilities in the Second Thomas Shoal, which has been occupied by a small Filipino navy contingent aboard a grounded warship that’s been closely watched by Chinese coast guard, navy and suspected militia ships in a yearslong territorial standoff. There is fear the disputes, long regarded as an Asian flashpoint, could escalate and pit the United States and China in a larger conflict. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell discussed China’s actions with Philippine counterpart, Maria Theresa Lazaro, in a telephone call. Both agreed that China’s “dangerous actions threatened regional peace and stability,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
The new front in China’s cyber campaign against America (Economist🔒)
THE ISLAND of Guam, a tiny American territory that lies more than 6,000km west of Hawaii, has long known that it would take a battering in any Sino-American war. The island’s expanding airfields and ports serve as springboards for American ships, subs and bombers. In the opening hours of a conflict, these would be subject to wave after wave of Chinese missiles. But an advance party of attackers seems to have lurked quietly within Guam’s infrastructure for years. In mid-2021 a Chinese hacking group—later dubbed Volt Typhoon—burrowed deep inside the island’s communication systems. The intrusions had no obvious utility for espionage. They were intended, as America’s government would later conclude, for “disruptive or destructive cyber-attacks against…critical infrastructure in the event of a major crisis or conflict”. Sabotage, in short. For many years, Sino-American skirmishing in the cyber domain was largely about stealing secrets. In 2013 Edward Snowden, a contractor, revealed that the National Security Agency (NSA), America’s signals-intelligence agency, had targeted Chinese mobile-phone firms, universities and undersea cables. China, in turn, has spent decades stealing vast quantities of intellectual property from American firms, a process that Keith Alexander, then head of the NSA, once called the “greatest transfer of wealth in history”. In recent years this dynamic has changed. Chinese cyber-espionage has continued, but its operations have also grown more ambitious and aggressive. Russia, too, has intensified its cyber-activities in Ukraine, with Russia-linked groups also targeting water facilities in Europe. These campaigns hint at a new era of wartime cyber-sabotage.
China to see biggest millionaire exodus in 2024 as many head to U.S. (Nikkei)
China saw the world's biggest outflow of high-net-worth individuals last year and is expected to see a record exodus of 15,200 in 2024, dealing a further blow to its economy, a new report says. Uncertainty over China's economic trajectory and geopolitical tensions are top of mind for many Chinese millionaires, in dollar terms, who choose to leave their country, according to the report by investment migration firm Henley & Partners. The U.S., China's international archrival, stands out as the top destination, according to the researchers. China last year saw 13,800 high-net-worth individuals depart, mostly to the U.S., Canada and Singapore, the firm found. Such individuals, abbreviated as HNWIs, are defined as those with at least $1 million in assets.
Government
Biden, Trump, CNN agree on debate rules, format (NewsNation)
Ten days before they meet, the current and former presidents of the United States have cut a final deal on the format, timing and rules of their first debate on June 27 in Atlanta. CNN confirms that the campaigns of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have agreed to a set of rules that have never been used in past debates, including no audience, no notes, no help from aides and no interrupting the other man. To enforce the “no interruption” rule, CNN will mute the microphone of one candidate while the other is speaking. The hope is to avoid the chaotic scene of the first 2020 debate when Trump constantly interrupted and ridiculed Biden to the point where he finally said, “Will you shut up, man?”
Economy
Student loan relief contributing to 27% jump in projected federal budget deficit, per CBO (CNN)
The federal budget deficit will hit $1.9 trillion this fiscal year, according to an updated projection released Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office. That’s 27% – or $400 billion – larger than the agency estimated in February. Looking longer term, the nation’s debt will approach $57 trillion in fiscal year 2034, nearly $2.5 trillion higher than previously projected, as spending on Social Security, Medicare and interest payments soar and revenues fail to keep pace. The growing imbalance is expected to loom large over upcoming congressional budget and tax battles. Most of the spike in the fiscal 2024 deficit stems from four factors that are expected to boost projected spending. The largest is a $145 billion increase that’s partly due to changes the Biden administration made to student loan repayment plans and a new, proposed forgiveness program that would waive some accrued interest for millions of borrowers. The latter has yet to be finalized but could take effect as soon as this fall. Also, the CBO increased the projected outlays for deposit insurance by about $70 billion because the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is not recovering disbursements it made when resolving five bank failures from the last fiscal year and this fiscal year as quickly as anticipated. Newly enacted legislation is increasing projected discretionary spending by $60 billion, and estimated spending on Medicaid is about $50 billion higher because actual outlays so far in fiscal year 2024 have been larger than expected.
Business
Nvidia Becomes Most Valuable Public Company, Topping Microsoft (NYT🔒)
On Tuesday, Nvidia leapfrogged two of tech’s most storied names to become the world’s most valuable public company, according to data from S&P Global. Its ascent has been powered by the boom in generative artificial intelligence and surging demand for the company’s chips — known as graphics processing units, or GPUs — which have made it possible to create A.I. systems. Nvidia’s rise is among the fastest in market history. Just two years ago, the company’s market valuation was a little over $400 billion. Now, in the span of a year, it has gone from $1 trillion to more than $3 trillion.
Social-Media Influencers Aren’t Getting Rich—They’re Barely Getting By (WSJ🔒)
Many people dream of becoming social-media stars like YouTube’s MrBeast or TikTok’s Charli D’Amelio. But for most who pursue careers as content creators, just making ends meet is a lofty goal. Clint Brantley has been a full-time creator for three years, posting videos on TikTok, YouTube and Twitch where he comments on news and trends related to the online game “Fortnite.” Despite having more than 400,000 followers, and posts that average 100,000 views, his income last year was less than the median annual pay for full-time U.S. workers in 2023—$58,084, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Hundreds of millions of people around the globe regularly post videos and photos to entertain or educate social-media users. About 50 million earn money from it, according to a 2023 report from Goldman Sachs. The investment bank expects the number of creator-earners to grow at an annual rate of 10% to 20% through 2028, crowding the field even further. The Labor Department doesn’t track wages for these creators, also known as influencers. But money doesn’t mean big bucks. Last year, 48% of creator-earners made $15,000 or less, according to NeoReach, an influencer marketing agency. Only 13% made more than $100,000.
Customer Experience Gets Worse. Again. (WSJ🔒)
You’re not alone: Companies and government agencies seem more difficult to deal with than ever before. Customer experience in the U.S. has declined for the third year in a row, according to research firm Forrester, which analyzed 98,363 consumers’ perceptions of 223 brands across 13 sectors for its latest annual report on the subject. The average score was 69.3 out of 100, its lowest since Forrester’s CX Index study adopted its current methodology in 2016.
Wells Fargo Bet on a Flashy Rent Credit Card. It Is Costing the Bank Dearly. (WSJ🔒)
In 2022, Wells launched a credit card with Bilt Technologies, a fintech startup with big-name backers including Blackstone and Mastercard. The co-branded card came with a rare perk: Users can pay for rent with it without incurring fees from their landlords while also earning rewards points. More than one million accounts were activated in the first 18 months, many by young adults. But Wells is losing as much as $10 million every month on the program as savvy customers flock to the card, according to current and former employees. Executives made internal projections on key revenue drivers, such as the likelihood that cardholders would carry balances, that turned out to be inaccurate.
Energy
The Senate just passed a critical clean energy bill to pave the way for more nuclear (CNN)
Democrats and Republicans in a bitterly divided Congress can agree on one thing: the US needs more nuclear to power America’s rapidly growing energy appetite — and fast. The Senate overwhelmingly approved a major bill Tuesday night to make it easier, cheaper and faster to permit and build new nuclear reactors. The ADVANCE Act, which passed with just two senators voting no, now heads to Biden’s desk for signing, which he is expected to do. The bill represents one of the most significant actions Congress has taken to advance clean energy since Democrats narrowly passed the Inflation Reduction Act almost two years ago. And it comes as the US tries to revive an aging nuclear energy industry at home and bolster cutting-edge technologies abroad.
Auto
Electric-Vehicle Startup Fisker Files for Bankruptcy (WSJ🔒)
Fisker, a much-hyped startup that sought to mimic Tesla’s success, has filed for bankruptcy, roughly a year after releasing its first electric-vehicle model. The filing marks the second time an automotive venture by car designer Henrik Fisker has gone bust and follows weeks of quietly winding down its operations. The seven-year-old California-based company sought a cheaper and faster entry into the auto industry by outsourcing manufacturing but struggled with the complexities of running a publicly held company. Fisker is the latest among a crop of once-highflying EV startups that looked to upend the traditional auto industry but have run out of charge. Pickup maker Lordstown Motors and bus manufacturer Arrival both filed for bankruptcy protection. Others are cutting costs or delaying investments, in an effort to conserve their remaining cash.
Real Estate
Big Jump in Insurance Costs Strikes Condos (WSJ🔒)
Major losses from years of expensive natural disasters and higher rebuilding costs have pushed up property insurance prices for residential and commercial buildings in the U.S. At the same time, many condos are aging and have deferred maintenance, making insurers wary of the potential for water-pipe leaks and other damage, insurance brokers say. The increase in insurance premiums is a major factor behind rising condo association fees. Condo dues rose 20% between 2022 and 2024, according to an analysis of 1,800 associations in 44 states by real-estate tech company Rexera.
Personal Finance
Reversing a Credit-Card Charge Has Never Been Easier—or More Abused (WSJ🔒)
Disputes over credit-card charges, once a measure of last resort, have surged as shoppers learn how easy it is to deploy them. Last year, consumers disputed about 105 million charges with credit-card issuers in the U.S., worth an estimated $11 billion. That is up from $7.2 billion in 2019, according to Datos Insights, a finance-industry research firm. The company predicts that figure will rise nearly 40% by 2026. Consumer advocates say the trend is a sign that people are getting savvy about their rights as cardholders. Under federal law, debit- and credit-card holders can dispute billing errors, unrecognized or unauthorized charges, and transactions that are misrepresented, defective or not delivered. In cases where merchants rack up too many disputes, it is often a sign of subpar goods or services, said Paul Fabara, Visa’s chief risk officer.
Cyber
Surgeon General Calls for Warning Labels on Social Media Platforms (NYT🔒)
The U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, announced on Monday that he would push for a warning label on social media platforms advising parents that using the platforms might damage adolescents’ mental health. Warning labels — like those that appear on tobacco and alcohol products — are one of the most powerful tools available to the nation’s top health official, but Dr. Murthy cannot unilaterally require them; the action requires approval by Congress.
Surgeon General: Why I’m Calling for a Warning Label on Social Media Platforms (NYT🔒)
One of the most important lessons I learned in medical school was that in an emergency, you don’t have the luxury to wait for perfect information. You assess the available facts, you use your best judgment, and you act quickly. The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency — and social media has emerged as an important contributor. Adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media face double the risk of anxiety and depression symptoms, and the average daily use in this age group, as of the summer of 2023, was 4.8 hours. Additionally, nearly half of adolescents say social media makes them feel worse about their bodies. It is time to require a surgeon general’s warning label on social media platforms, stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents. A surgeon general’s warning label, which requires congressional action, would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe. Evidence from tobacco studies show that warning labels can increase awareness and change behavior.
NOTE: Here’s what I wrote on this topic a couple of weeks ago.
Los Angeles School District Votes in Favor of Cellphone Ban (WSJ🔒)
The Los Angeles Unified School District voted Tuesday to ban cellphones during the entire school day, becoming the largest school system to take such a step in an era of concern about youth cellphone use and social-media addiction. The proposal builds on several years of escalating warnings from the surgeon general. In a May 2023 advisory, he recommended that parents immediately set limits on phone use, and urged Congress to swiftly develop health and safety standards for technology platforms.
The Influencer Is a Young Teenage Girl. The Audience Is 92% Adult Men. (WSJ 🔒)
The mom started the Instagram account three years ago as a pandemic-era diversion—a way for her and her daughter, a preteen dancer, to share photos with family, friends and other young dancers and moms. The two bonded, she said, as they posted photos of the girl dancing, modeling and living life in a small Midwestern town. The mom, a former marketing manager, oversaw the account and watched as the number of followers grew. Soon, photographers offered to take professional shots for the girl. Brands began sending free apparel for her to model. “We didn’t even have the page for a month, and brands were like, ‘Can we send her dancewear?’” the mom said. “She became popular really fast.” The mom also began to notice a disturbing trend in the data that showed up on the account dashboard: Most of the girl’s followers were adult men. Men left public comments on photos of the daughter with fire and heart emojis, telling her how gorgeous she was. Those were the tamer ones. Some men sent direct messages proclaiming their obsessions with the girl. Others sent pictures of male genitalia and links to porn sites. Sometimes the mom spent two to four hours a day blocking users or deleting inappropriate comments. At the same time, more sponsorships and deals were trickling in.
Temu parent company led by top former Chinese Communist officials (NY Post)
The parent company of China-based online marketplace Temu employs a bevy of former Chinese Communist Party officials among their top executives — raising serious national security risks, experts told The Post. Temu, a competitor to Amazon, has made aggressive inroads into the US. Its parent company, the Shanghai-based Pinduoduo (PDD) is listed on the Nasdaq and has a current market capitalization of almost $200 billion. Temu — which ran six ads during and after the Super Bowl this year — has growing clout in the United States, raising alarm among lawmakers in Washington, who worry its vast troves of U.S. consumer data could make it a national security threat.
NOTE: Temu was the most-downloaded iPhone app in the US in 2023.
Life
101 Additional Advices (KK.org)
Six years ago I celebrated my 68th birthday by gifting my children 68 bits of advice I wished I had gotten when I was their age. Every birthday after that I added more bits of advice for them until I had a whole book of bits. That book was published a year ago as Excellent Advice for Living, which many people tell me they read very slowly, just one bit per day. In a few days I will turn 73, so again on my birthday, I offer an additional set of 101 bits of advice I wished I had known earlier.
NOTE: Some real nuggets in here.
Health
Pentagon ran secret anti-vax campaign to undermine China during pandemic (Reuters)
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. military launched a secret campaign to counter what it perceived as China’s growing influence in the Philippines, a nation hit especially hard by the deadly virus. The clandestine operation has not been previously reported. It aimed to sow doubt about the safety and efficacy of vaccines and other life-saving aid that was being supplied by China, a Reuters investigation found. Through phony internet accounts meant to impersonate Filipinos, the military’s propaganda efforts morphed into an anti-vax campaign. Social media posts decried the quality of face masks, test kits and the first vaccine that would become available in the Philippines – China’s Sinovac inoculation. Reuters identified at least 300 accounts on X, formerly Twitter, that matched descriptions shared by former U.S. military officials familiar with the Philippines operation. Almost all were created in the summer of 2020 and centered on the slogan #Chinaangvirus – Tagalog for China is the virus.
Entertainment
One Sci-Fi Movie Series Invented Star Wars, Captain America, and Everything Else (Inverse)
Paradoxically, nostalgia is always changing. Today, the Star Wars franchise may seem like it endlessly recycles beats and character moments from older stories, but the specific things people are nostalgic for have fluctuated. For example, everyone loves Hayden Christensen now. But, when you take a larger view of the Force, you may wonder what George Lucas was nostalgic for in the first place. In 1977, critics and science fiction aficionados were well aware that the original Star Wars was deeply rooted in nostalgia. In her 1978 review of Star Wars, Ursula K. Le Guin bemoaned, “What is nostalgia doing in a science fiction movie?” Obviously, the original Star Wars wasn’t nostalgic for itself. So what kinds of nostalgia was it? The short answer is Buck Rogers, a 12-part movie serial that debuted on February 2, 1939. Although Flash Gordon heavily influenced Lucas as well, historically, the character of Flash only exists because Buck came first. And, when you revisit the 1939 Buck Rogers, you’ll find the aesthetics very similar to not just the classic Star Wars trilogy, but most notably, The Phantom Menace.
Sports
The Boston Celtics Won the NBA Title. Their MVP Was Math. (WSJ🔒)
At their best, as the Boston Celtics throttled the Dallas Mavericks over a 4-1 win in the NBA Finals, they seemed to be doing something other than playing basketball. Sure, they were driving for dunks, rising to block shots and launching 3-pointers. But really, they were solving a math problem, again and again and again. The Celtics statistically had the best offense in the history of the NBA because they are more obsessed than any team in basketball with the data that increasingly defines the sport. They hunt the highest-percentage shots—chiefly, open 3-pointers—even when it takes the ball out of their stars’ hands. And they force low-percentage opportunities from opponents, even when it lets individual players pile up audacious stat lines. Add it all up, after a 106-88 victory over the Mavericks Monday, and the equation spits out one NBA championship.
Willie Mays, baseball star of prodigious power and grace, dies at 93 (WP🔒)
Willie Mays, a perennial all-star center fielder for the New York and San Francisco Giants in the 1950s and ’60s whose powerful bat, superb athletic grace and crafty baseball acumen earned him a place with Babe Ruth atop the game’s roster of historic greats, died June 18. He was 93.
How an NFL Stadium Transformed into a Swimming Pool for U.S. Olympic Trials (Sports Illustrated)
The dominant sensory experience upon entering any pool area is the olfactory assault of chlorine, the chemical that keeps the water clean. More than the sight of the blue water or the sound of splashing, the smell of a pool is pungent and universal. But that’s not the case in Lucas Oil Stadium, which has been repurposed for the next 10 days as the world’s largest indoor swimming venue. The space is sufficiently vast that unless you’re on the pool deck or in the water, the whiff of chlorine is not part of the package for these U.S. Olympic Trials.
For Fun
The mysterious tyranny of trendy baby names (WP🔒)
What is it about how we spell a name — specifically, how we choose to spell the end of a name — that makes for a trend? Laura Wattenberg, author of “The Baby Names Wizard” and creator of Namerology.com, a website devoted to the art and science of names, has been examining that question. As Wattenberg has watched names rise and fall in popularity over the past 20 years, she said she’s seen the invisible hand of name endings wield surprising influence — especially as Americans have abandoned the use of ancestral names for new family members. While expectant parents want their child’s name to stand out and be memorable, Wattenberg said, they also typically want it to fit within the boundaries of some unacknowledged — but unmistakable! — social convention.
Have a great weekend!
The Curator
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.