This week in the news | 30 Aug 24

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

Aug 31, 2024

A new format this week based on some feedback from readers…basically, what I’m hearing is, shorter is better. But…then other folks are telling me that they like the full compliment of articles too, and that they skip through the ones they don’t care about. So, this one is everything for everyone…probably a serious business mistake, but this isn’t a business, so it’s really just me trying something different. Yeah, probably too much. Let me know what you think.

The Top Ten

1. New York county’s ban on wearing masks in public leads to first arrest

Nassau County police on Long Island said they found a 14-inch knife on a man they stopped and searched because he was wearing a face mask, the first violation of a contested local law that bans masking in public. The arrest inflamed debate around the new statute. Proponents argue that the man’s arrest serves as an example of the law working well: a possible crime was prevented. Critics said the mask ban granted police too much authority, empowering officers to baselessly stop and search a young man of color.

2. Opinion | Have you committed a felony yet? Probably so.

In “Over Ruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law,” Gorsuch, with his co-author, Janie Nitze, notes that the Roman emperor Caligula posted new laws on columns so high, and written in a hand so small, that people could not read them, and hence lived in dread of committing criminal infractions. Gorsuch is too judicious to say so, but an ideological tendency is primarily responsible for the resemblance between Caligula’s Rome and this Republic. That tendency is progressivism. Less than a century ago, Gorsuch notes, a single volume contained all federal statutes. By 2018, they filled 54 volumes — about 60,000 pages. In the past 10 years, Congress has enacted about 2 million to 3 million words of law each year. The average length of a bill is nine times what it was in the 1950s. Agencies publish their proposals and final rules in the Federal Register, which began at 16 pages in 1936, and now expands by an average of more than 70,000 pages annually. By 2021, the Code of Federal Regulations filled about 200 volumes. And in a recent 10-year span, federal agencies churned out approximately 13,000 guidance documents. Ignorance of the law is no excuse? It is inevitable. Recently, Congress has added an average of 56 new federal crimes every year. Some scholars say — no one really knows — there are more than 5,000 federal statutory crimes. And at least 300,000 federal agency regulations — none written by Congress — carry criminal sanctions.

NOTE: Another George Will gem.

3. Chinese government hackers penetrate U.S. internet providers to spy

Chinese government-backed hackers have penetrated deep into U.S. internet service providers in recent months to spy on their users, according to people familiar with the ongoing American response and private security researchers. The unusually aggressive and sophisticated attacks include access to at least two major U.S. providers with millions of customers as well as to several smaller providers, people familiar with the separate campaigns said.

4. Russia’s Military Fears for Its Secrets After Telegram Founder’s Arrest

Russian authorities have reacted with unusual fury to the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov by French authorities. Telegram is more than a mere social-media app to Moscow. Russian soldiers and spies depend on it for battlefield communications, including the guidance of artillery, the coordination of movements and intelligence gathering. “Many are joking that the arrest of Pavel Durov is essentially the arrest of the chief signals officer of the Russian armed forces,” said Aleksey Rogozin, a Russian parliament adviser and former senior military industry executive. The Russian military found out quickly after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine that its units had a hard time communicating with each other and that its unencrypted radio traffic was easily intercepted by Ukrainians. Modern communications capabilities were scarce, and remain so, given the rapid expansion of the Russian armed forces since then. Legacy Soviet technologies, meanwhile, have proved ill-suited for a new type of warfare in which drones—and the instant transfer of images and videos—assumed a critical role. Both the Russian and the Ukrainian militaries started relying on commercial platforms. While the Ukrainians prefer Western providers such as Signal or Discord, the Russians chose Telegram because it is based in the United Arab Emirates, which maintains good relations with Moscow. They think the app is more impervious to Western signals intelligence.

5. HBCUs at a Crossroads: Addressing the Decline in Black Male Enrollment

Black men account for only 26% of the students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), down from 38% in 1976. In fact, there are fewer Black men enrolled at HBCUs today than in 1976. HBCUs have long served as valuable institutions for Black students, offering a unique environment that fosters academic achievement, mental well-being, and economic mobility. More non-Black students offset these declines, but the reduced presence of Black men means fewer are benefiting from the supportive environments that HBCUs provide to help students succeed during and after college.

6. Canada’s Wildfires Were a Top Global Emitter Last Year, Study Says

The wildfires that ravaged Canada’s boreal forests in 2023 produced more planet-warming carbon emissions than the burning of fossil fuels in all but three countries, research published on Wednesday has found. Only China, the United States and India produced more emissions from fossil fuels than the Canadian fires, according to the study, which was published in the journal Nature.

NOTE: The report can be found here.

7. Worst nightmare’ venomous sea worms washing up on Texas shores, scientists say

The bristle worms — known to scientists as Amphinome rostrata — have recently found themselves along the Texas coast, according to the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. A scientist at the institute who found one said he hasn’t seen them in three to four years. Marine bristle worms are found all over the world, from the Gulf Coast of Texas to the scuba-diving haven known as the Poor Knights Islands, located east of the Tutukākā coast in New Zealand, according to the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA).

NOTE: Here’s a Youtube video of a guy purposefully getting stung here.

8. Danny Jansen makes MLB history by playing for both teams in same game as Red Sox, Blue Jays resume

Under sunny skies on Monday afternoon, 112-year-old Fenway Park bore witness to a bit more history. Danny Jansen had been at the plate for the Toronto Blue Jays on June 26 in a game against the Boston Red Sox with one on and one out in an 0-1 count, when the skies opened up and the game was suspended for severe weather. Fast forward two months and the game resumed Monday, but with Jansen now playing for the Red Sox. The Red Sox traded for Jansen on July 27, setting up the possibility of one player appearing in the same game for both teams. The possibility became reality on Monday. With Jansen substituted into the game to catch for the Red Sox, he settled in behind the plate, for an at-bat in which he’d started as the batter. The resumption of the game creates several other wrinkles beyond Jansen’s double-duty. For example, both Leo Jiménez and Wagner made their MLB debuts after June 26. Still, since they’ll appear in the suspended game that will go in the record books as having taken place on June 26, they’ll have appeared in a game before they arrived in the majors.

9. RadioShack Catalogs

In the virtual corridors of RadioShackCatalogs.com, a digital archive unfolds like a time capsule, preserving the history of RadioShack from its inception in 1921. As a venerable retailer, RadioShack had been a cornerstone of innovation for over 100 years, providing an array of cutting-edge technology products and services that spanned personal, mobile, and home technology. The heart of this online archive lay in its collection of catalogs, spanning the years 1939 to 2011. For 72 years, RadioShack had meticulously crafted these catalogs, showcasing a diverse range of products that mirrored the evolving landscape of technology. From hi-fidelity stereos to communication equipment, from computers to electronic components, these catalogs are a visual journey through the history of RadioShack.

NOTE: For geeky fun, check out the 1945 catalog, and for more fun check out the 1985 catalog. This is not to be outdone by the Sears Wishbook, which I’ve highlighted before. Shout-out to a reader of this newsletter for sharing this with me.

10. DC Comics’ rarely seen, fan-legendary guide is finally public

Heroes of classic myth were products of the oral tradition — archetypes whose exploits were passed down around campfires and preserved in epic poems. Superheroes, our modern mythology, are visual creatures defined more by how they leap off a comic book page than their word bubbles. That makes artist José Luis García-López our Homer. But his “Odyssey” isn’t a series or graphic novel. It’s a corporate licensing manual. The “DC Comics Style Guide,” created in 1982 and updated periodically throughout the decade, streamlined how DC’s characters appeared on merchandise. The three-ring binder containing nearly 200 pages of color and black-and-white artwork destined for T-shirts and lunchboxes was a disposable trade product never meant for public consumption. “The purpose of the guide was to show the characters at their best and make them accessible to as many people as possible,” García-López says. But over the years, it became clear that it was much more. Collectors got hold of copies, and it became an object of legend and desire — coveted as much for its rarity as its beauty. Anecdotally, originals have gone for close to $1,000 in online auctions, while unofficial editions and low-quality scans circulate online.

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.”

In Latin America, Mexico has paused relations with the U.S. Embassy following tensions over the president’s proposed judicial overhaul, intensifying diplomatic strains with the United States (NYT). Honduras announced it would terminate its extradition treaty with the United States after the U.S. ambassador criticized a meeting between Honduran and Venezuelan officials, leading to accusations of U.S. interference in Honduran affairs (NYT).

In Europe, Russia launched widespread drone and missile attacks across Ukraine, causing power outages and killing at least three people, while Ukrainian officials emphasized the need for long-range missiles from allies to counter the assaults (VOA). A Ukrainian F-16 fighter crashed during combat, killing a prominent pilot, in what marked the combat debut of Ukraine’s F-16s amid a massive Russian attack (Air & Space Forces).

In the Middle East, the Israeli military launched large-scale raids in the West Bank, targeting militants and resulting in the deaths of at least nine individuals, as tensions continue to escalate in the region with Israel facing threats from multiple fronts (WSJ).

In East Asia, a Chinese military plane breached Japanese territorial airspace for the first time, prompting Japan to put its fighter jets on high alert and issue a warning to the Chinese aircraft (NYT).

In Space, SpaceX has delayed the Polaris Dawn mission again due to unfavorable weather conditions, postponing a historic commercial spaceflight that aims to send a crew further into space than humans have been in over 50 years (USA Today). Additionally, the FAA grounded SpaceX following an accident where a Falcon 9 booster rocket toppled over in flames, pausing future launches while an investigation is conducted (VOA).

In Government, a new indictment was filed against Donald Trump related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election (AP).

In Defense, U.S. intelligence reportedly helped avert a terrorist attack at a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, with the CIA and other agencies providing critical information that led to the arrests of suspects linked to ISIS (Bloomberg). The U.S. Army faces challenges in finding recruits in a divided nation, with only 9% of young people considering military service, a significant drop attributed to both a strong job market and declining trust in American institutions, including the military (WP). Additionally, a group of Marine officers developed a detailed handbook for potential future conflicts, created through an informal effort using open-source analysis (Marine Corps Times).

In Economy, China's low consumer spending has created a global economic challenge, as the collapse of property investment in China impacts worldwide trade balances, forcing other countries into deficits as China's trade surplus grows (WSJ). Meanwhile, the U.S. government is urged to address its growing debt, with recommendations including tax hikes, spending cuts, and strategic growth initiatives to prevent long-term economic stagnation and potential crises (Vox).

In Business, the U.S. government is considering the breakup of Google after a ruling found the tech giant violated antitrust laws, with options on the table including separating its Chrome browser or Android operating system from the company (NYT). In Australia, a new law granting employees the “right to disconnect” from work after hours has been implemented, allowing workers to ignore employer communications without penalty, a move aimed at reducing unpaid overtime and improving work-life balance (BBC).

In Real Estate, mortgage rates have recently fallen to 6.5% for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, providing some relief to home buyers, though experts warn that significant further declines are unlikely in the near term due to economic factors already priced into the market (Forbes).

In Technology, a recent investigation revealed that hundreds of patents resulting from U.S. government-funded research have been granted to China-based researchers, raising concerns over intellectual property and strategic industry advancements being shared with a geopolitical rival (Reuters).

In Cyber, Mark Zuckerberg claimed that the Biden administration pressured Meta to censor COVID-19 content, including satire, in 2021, describing the pressure as inappropriate and vowing to resist such actions in the future (The Hill). Meanwhile, Chinese government-backed hackers have penetrated U.S. internet providers to spy on users, marking an aggressive escalation in cyber espionage efforts against the United States (WP). Additionally, French authorities have charged Telegram founder Pavel Durov with complicity in various crimes related to illegal activity on the messaging app, a move that has caused significant concern in Russia, where the military heavily relies on Telegram for battlefield communications (WSJ).

In Education, the Supreme Court declined to restart President Biden’s student debt relief plan after a lower court blocked the program, leaving millions of borrowers in limbo as the legal battle continues (WSJ). Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are facing a critical issue with the decline in Black male enrollment, which has dropped significantly over the decades, raising concerns about the future of these institutions as they strive to maintain their cultural and educational missions (AIBM). Additionally, there is a growing trend of cellphone bans in schools across the U.S. due to concerns over student mental health and classroom distractions, with districts implementing stricter rules to limit phone use during school hours (WP).

In Food and Drink, alcohol consumption in Ireland has declined by nearly one-third over the past two decades, with recent reports showing a significant drop in per adult alcohol consumption since its peak in 2001, reflecting changing social habits and public health policies in the country (BBC).

In Nature, Canada’s wildfires in 2023 were identified as one of the top global carbon emitters, producing more emissions than the fossil fuel consumption of all but three countries (NYT). Researchers have discovered matching dinosaur footprints on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, providing evidence of the connection between South America and Africa before the continents split millions of years ago (SMU).

In Travel, Royal Caribbean is expanding its fleet with plans to add more megaships similar to the Icon of the Seas, despite mixed reactions to the size and environmental impact of these massive vessels (NYT). In contrast, passengers on a global cruise have been stranded in Belfast for three months due to technical issues with their ship, delaying the start of their round-the-world journey (BBC).

In Art, the art market has seen a sharp downturn this year, with high-end sales plummeting and galleries closing as the industry faces its most significant challenges in decades, including declining auction revenues and market confidence (NYT).

In Sports, the NFL has opened the door to private equity ownership, allowing firms to buy up to 10% of teams, marking a significant shift in how teams are owned and potentially increasing the flow of private capital into the league (WSJ). Meanwhile, a rare piece of baseball history was sold as Babe Ruth’s “called shot” jersey fetched over $24 million at auction, setting a record for sports memorabilia (AP).

THE SLOW BREW ☕

A more relaxed approach to the summaries.

North America

New York county’s ban on wearing masks in public leads to first arrest (WP🔒)

Latin America

Mexico pauses relations with U.S. embassy amid clash over judicial overhaul (NYT🔒)

For months, tensions have been building in Mexico over the president’s sweeping plans to overhaul the judiciary, shaking the country’s political system and straining diplomatic ties with the United States. This week, those tensions exploded into the open. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico said on Tuesday that his government was “pausing” relations with the United States Embassy in response to criticism by the U.S. ambassador over the president’s push in the final weeks of his six-year term to make changes to the judiciary, potentially forcing thousands of judges from their jobs.

Honduras says it will end extradition treaty with United States (NYT🔒)

Honduras said it would end its longtime extradition treaty with the United States on Wednesday, in response to criticism from the American ambassador to the country over a meeting between Honduran and Venezuelan officials. Enrique Reina, Honduras’s foreign minister, posted a letter on social media Wednesday evening expressing “the decision of the government of the republic of Honduras to terminate the extradition treaty,” after President Xiomara Castro of Honduras accused the United States of meddling in its affairs. Ms. Castro said the United States’ “intention to direct the politics of Honduras through its embassy and other representatives is intolerable.” Honduran officials were angered after Laura Dogu, the U.S. ambassador to the country, told local reporters on Wednesday that she was “surprised” to see Honduras’s defense minister and a top general “seated next to a narco-trafficker in Venezuela” — referring to a meeting last week between the Honduran officials and the defense minister of Venezuela under President Nicolás Maduro, the authoritarian leader who has been in power since 2013.

Europe

Russia hits Ukraine with widespread drone, missile attacks (VOA)

Russia carried out widespread drone and missile attacks against Ukraine on Monday, killing at least three people and knocking out power in parts of several cities, Ukrainian officials said. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Telegram that Russian attacks affected 15 Ukrainian regions. Shmyhal said Ukraine needs long-range missiles and permission from allies who provide the weapons in order to hit the areas from which Russia launches missiles at Ukraine. He said Ukraine counts on the support of its allies and will make Russia pay. Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko reported power outages in several parts of the Ukrainian capital, along with a resulting interruption in water supplies. Officials in Lviv reported power cuts in their region after Russian attacks targeting energy facilities. Russia’s defense ministry said it shot down Ukrainian drones early Monday over the Bryansk and Yaroslavl regions.

Ukrainian F-16 crashes in combat, killing pilot (Air & Space Forces)

A Ukrainian Air Force pilot was killed when his F-16 fighter crashed Aug. 26, Ukraine’s military announced Aug. 29. The incident occurred during a massive Russian missile and drone attack that day that saw Ukraine’s F-16s make their combat debut. But the mission came at a high cost. Ukraine has only a handful of F-16s, and the pilot, Oleksiy “Moonfish” Mes, was a prominent aviator who was one of the first Ukrainians trained to fly the F-16.

Middle East

Israel launches large-scale raids targeting militants in West Bank (WSJ🔒)

The Israeli military launched a major ground-and-air operation in the West Bank, a move it said was aimed at preventing terrorist attacks originating from the Palestinian territory, which is rapidly developing into a third battle front for Israel alongside Gaza and its northern border. Forces fanned out across parts of the northern West Bank, according to the Israeli military, which said Wednesday it killed at least nine militants and detained another five suspected militants in the cities of Jenin and Tulkarem and Al-Far’a refugee camp. It was one of Israel’s broadest offensives in the West Bank since the Gaza war began more than 10 months ago.

East Asia

In a first, a Chinese military plane breaches Japan’s territorial airspace (NYT🔒)

A Chinese military surveillance plane breached Japanese airspace off the country’s southwestern coast on Monday, marking what Japan’s defense ministry described as the first known incursion by China’s military into its territorial airspace. According to a ministry official, a Chinese reconnaissance aircraft briefly entered Japanese territory near Nagasaki Prefecture around 11:30 a.m. on Monday. In response, Japan’s Self-Defense Force put fighter jets on high alert and issued a warning to the Chinese aircraft. While Chinese planes frequently appear in international airspace around Japan, this incident represents the first confirmed entry of a military aircraft into Japan’s territorial airspace.

Space

SpaceX delays Polaris Dawn again, this time for 'unfavorable weather' for splashdown (USA Today)

SpaceX has again delayed the potentially historic Polaris Dawn commercial spaceflight mission that aims to send a four-member crew further into space than humans have been in more than 50 years. The mission had been set to launch early Wednesday before SpaceX announced on the social media site X that the launch had been called off because of "unfavorable weather" forecast for the crew's return to Earth. The possibility of a Thursday launch is also now a no-go because of predicted conditions off the Florida coast, where the SpaceX Dragon capsule intends to make a water landing with the crew when the mission is complete, the company said.

FAA grounds SpaceX after rocket falls over in flames (VOA)

SpaceX launches are on hold after a booster rocket toppled over in flames while landing Wednesday. The Federal Aviation Administration grounded the company's Falcon 9 rockets and ordered an investigation following the predawn accident off the Florida coast. No injuries or public damage were reported. It’s too early to know how much impact this will have on SpaceX’s upcoming crew flights, one private and the other for NASA. A billionaire's chartered flight was delayed just a few hours earlier because of a poor weather forecast. The rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and got all 21 Starlink internet satellites to orbit. But the first-stage booster fell over in a fireball moments after landing on an ocean platform, the first such accident in years. Besides the private spaceflight awaiting liftoff from Florida's Kennedy Space Center, SpaceX is due to launch a pair of astronauts for NASA late next month.

Government

Feds file new indictment in Trump Jan. 6 case, keeping charges intact but narrowing allegations (AP)

Special counsel Jack Smith filed a new indictment Tuesday against Donald Trump over his efforts to undo the 2020 presidential election that keeps the same criminal charges but narrows the allegations against him following a Supreme Court opinion that conferred broad immunity on former presidents. The new indictment removes a section of the indictment that had accused Trump of trying to use the law enforcement powers of the Justice Department to overturn his election loss, an area of conduct for which the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 opinion last month, said that Trump was absolutely immune from prosecution.

Opinion | Have you committed a felony yet? Probably so. (WP🔒)

Defense

Taylor Swift concert attack was averted with US intelligence aid (Bloomberg🔒)

Intelligence provided by the US and its partners helped thwart the planned terrorist attack at a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna this month, saving hundreds of lives, a senior US official said. The Central Intelligence Agency and other spy groups provided Austrian authorities with information that helped lead to arrests of suspects who were believed connected to Islamic State and planned the attack, CIA Deputy Director David Cohen told the Insa intelligence conference Wednesday, spelling out the US role for the first time.

Selling America: The Army’s fight to find recruits in a mistrustful, divided nation (WP🔒)

Only about 9 percent of young people say they are likely to consider military service, down from 16 percent in the early years of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, according to Defense Department surveys. Pentagon officials blamed some of the recent drop on the hot job market. But they also knew that the low unemployment rate couldn’t explain the totality of the problem. Trust in all American institutions — the Supreme Court, Congress, police, public schools — has in recent years plummeted, according to Gallup. The armed forces, though still relatively popular, have not been immune: In 2023, about 60 percent of Americans said they had a “great deal” of confidence in the military, the lowest percentage since 1997, Gallup found.

Marine Corps infantry’s secret weapon: A $9.95 unofficial website (Marine Corps Times)

Last year, an idea began percolating among some Marine infantry officers: How could they draft principles and procedures for if the Marines found themselves in a conflict similar to the one now raging in Ukraine? Using open-source analysis and commentary, a team of volunteers led by a retired lieutenant colonel got to work answering this question. Two documents emerged out of this informal Marine effort. One was a detailed 126-page handbook that described a series of scenarios and explained how existing Marine doctrine would apply to such a fight. The handbook covered everything from how a company leader should write an order — one page, handwritten, no imagery — to drone use, and how each drone would support one unit, with leaders tasking drones in the company order.

NOTE: Actually some good stuff there.

Economy

There’s a China-shaped hole in the global economy (WSJ🔒)

China’s economy is unusual. Whereas consumers contribute 50% to 75% of gross domestic product in other major economies, in China they account for 40%. Investment, such as in property, infrastructure and factories, and exports provide most of the rest. Lately, that low consumption has become a headwind to China’s growth because property investment, once a major component of demand, has collapsed. This isn’t just a problem for China; it’s a problem for the whole world. What Chinese companies can’t sell to Chinese consumers, they export. The result: an annual trade surplus in goods now of almost $900 billion, or 0.8% of global gross domestic product. That surplus effectively requires other countries to run trade deficits. China’s surplus, long a sore spot in the U.S., increasingly is one elsewhere, too. While China’s 12-month trade balance with the U.S. has risen by $49 billion since 2019, it’s up $72 billion with the European Union, $74 billion with Japan and Asia’s newly industrialized economies, and about $240 billion with the rest of the world, according to data compiled by Brad Setser of the Council on Foreign Relations. Logan Wright, head of China research at Rhodium Group, a U.S. research firm, said China accounts for just 13% of the world’s consumption but 28% of its investment. That investment only makes sense if China takes market share away from other countries, rendering their own manufacturing investment unviable, he said.

The US government has to start paying for things again (Vox)

Here’s what we do know: a wide range of empirical evidence shows that when the US does more deficit spending, this pushes up interest rates for US government debt, which in turn pushes up interest rates throughout the economy. In the long run, this discourages business investment and hurts economic growth. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that each dollar of the deficit means 33 cents less in private-sector investment.

Crowding out is the chronic cost of debt. The acute cost is what happens if debt accumulates to such a point that investors start demanding ever-higher interest rates to service it, forcing the US into a situation where it uses the Federal Reserve to inflate away the debt by buying up bonds directly, drastically raises taxes or cuts spending to service the debt, or defaults and states it will not pay all that it owes.

There’s an old saying in DC that the federal government is basically an insurance company with an army. That’s not exactly true, but it’s close. Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, plus defense spending, combined to make up about 66 percent of non-interest federal spending in 2023.

Dealing with the federal debt problem isn’t exactly sexy. It will force policymakers to become less ambitious in some ways, and sacrifice for the sake of new programs or tax cuts they want. But the next few years give policymakers some real opportunities to address the deficit problem. As they do, there are a few principles they should keep in mind.

First: use tax hikes or spending cuts to offset any new spending or tax cuts…

Second, take growth seriously…expanded green cards for immigrants with science and engineering degrees seems like a no-brainer…funding for scientific research boosts productivity…

Third: the coming tax fight in 2025 should be used to raise revenue, not just avoid losing it…Taking the debt at all seriously means that whoever’s in office next year needs to pay for whatever part of the Trump cuts they want to keep…

Fourth: Social Security should be addressed, not punted…Democrats will push to pay for the program by raising taxes on high earners; Republicans will push for benefit cuts. Either way, the gap needs to be filled…

Fifth and finally, Congress needs to work to ensure that per-person health spending stays roughly constant.

Business

U.S. said to consider a breakup of Google to address search monopoly (NYT🔒)

Google was found last week to have violated antitrust law by illegally maintaining a monopoly in internet search. Now discussions over how to fix those violations have begun. Justice Department officials are considering what remedies to ask a federal judge to order against the search giant, said three people with knowledge of the deliberations involving the agency and state attorneys general who helped to bring the case. They are discussing various proposals, including breaking off parts of Google, such as its Chrome browser or Android smartphone operating system, two of the people said. Other scenarios under consideration include forcing Google to make its data available to rivals, or mandating that it abandon deals that made its search engine the default option on devices like the iPhone, said the people, who declined to be identified because the process is confidential. The government is meeting with other companies and experts to discuss their proposals for limiting Google’s power, the people said.

Australians get 'right to disconnect' after hours (BBC)

" rule has come into effect in Australia, offering relief to people who feel forced to take calls or read messages from employers after they finish their day’s work. The new law allows employees to ignore communications after hours if they choose to, without fear of being punished by their bosses. A survey published last year estimated that Australians worked on average 281 hours of unpaid overtime annually. More than 20 countries, mainly in Europe and Latin America, have similar rules. The law does not ban employers from contacting workers after hours. Instead, it gives staff the right not to reply unless their refusal is deemed unreasonable. Under the rules, employers and employees should try to resolve disputes among themselves. If that is unsuccessful in finding a resolution Australia's Fair Work Commission (FWC) can step in.

Real Estate

What home buyers and sellers can expect this fall (Forbes🔒)

Mortgage rates have recently fallen to 6.5% for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, a meaningful decline from the peak of 7.8% in October of last year. This decline has led to the first year-over-year drop in monthly mortgage payments since 2020, which is welcome relief for potential home buyers who have been struggling to afford a purchase. However, this dip in mortgage rates comes with a caveat. It’s unlikely that rates will decrease significantly in the short term because financial markets have already priced in future declines in the Federal Funds Rate. The Fed is widely expected to begin cutting interest rates at its upcoming meeting on September 18. While this should theoretically lower mortgage rates further, the size and pace of these cuts will depend on incoming economic data about the strength of the labor market.

Technology

Exclusive: US government funding yielded hundreds of patents for China-based researchers (Reuters)

According to the patent office, the agency granted 1,020 patents from 2010 through the first quarter of 2024 that were both funded at least in part by the U.S. government and involved at least one China-residing inventor. The data does not detail whether U.S. entities or individuals share the patents The patents included 197 in pharmaceuticals and 154 in biotechnology, both strategic industries for China and the United States. Funding from various U.S. government agencies supported the research, leading to 92 patents through Pentagon funding, 175 from Department of Energy money and four from NASA financial support. The U.S. space agency faces prohibitions under U.S. law from cooperating with China or Chinese companies. Once hailed as a stabilizing force in U.S.-China relations, the cooperation agreement has come under fire from lawmakers concerned about Beijing's growing military power and alleged theft of U.S. intellectual property. The patents identified by the U.S. patent office represent a small fraction of China's global patents. Patents grant exclusive legal rights to inventors but also publicly disclose technical information about those inventions.

Cyber

Zuckerberg says Biden officials ‘pressured’ Meta to ‘censor’ content: What to know (The Hill)

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote a letter to the House Judiciary Committee saying he regrets not being more outspoken about “government pressure” from the Biden administration to “censor” content on its platforms. “Like I said to our teams at the time, I feel strongly that we should not compromise our content standards due to pressure from any Administration in either direction,” he wrote in the letter. Here’s what to know about the claims. Zuckerberg claimed senior Biden administration officials pushed Meta to censor certain content related to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. “In 2021, senior officials from the Biden Administration, including the White House, repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire, and expressed a lot of frustration with our teams when we didn’t agree,” he wrote. Zuckerberg said he believes the government pressure was “wrong” and that the company was not “more outspoken” on the issue at the time. He added that Meta made decisions that they would not make today with “the benefit of hindsight and new information.” He added later in the letter: “We’re ready to push back if something like this happens again.”

Chinese government hackers penetrate U.S. internet providers to spy (WP🔒)

French authorities charge Telegram founder Pavel Durov (WSJ🔒)

French judicial authorities brought preliminary charges against Telegram founder Pavel Durov for a host of crimes, including complicity in distributing child pornography, illegal drugs and hacking software on the messaging app—a stunning blow for an entrepreneur who became a hero for internet libertarians over the past decade. The authorities also charged Durov with refusing to cooperate with investigations into illegal activity on Telegram. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau cited “an almost complete absence of response from Telegram to judicial demands.”

Russia’s military fears for its secrets after Telegram founder’s arrest (WSJ🔒)

Air Force splitting up intelligence and cyber effects organization (DefenseScoop)

As part of the Air Force’s sweeping changes to be better organized to fight a sophisticated China threat, the service is splitting up its intelligence and cyber directorate on the Air Staff at the Pentagon. Like the Navy, the Air Force years ago chose to integrate its intelligence function — known as the 2 — and its communications and network function, known as the 6, into the A2/6, led by a three-star general. It also added cyber to that portfolio, resulting in an official title of deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and cyber effects operations. Now, the service is dividing those functions to elevate the role of cyber and networks in a future conflict. “The Chief of Staff of the Air Force needs a senior cyber officer to be his advisor. He can’t have a senior intelligence officer be that advisor,” Lt. Gen. Leah Lauderback, the A2/6, said Monday during a presentation at the annual DAFITC conference in Alabama. There should be a “three-star at the Air Staff who is advising the secretary of the Air Force, is advising the chief, is partnered with the [principal cyber adviser], partnered with the CIO, and we are well on our way to making that happen.”

Life

Wells Fargo staffer found dead in cubicle after foul odor complaints — 4 days after scanning into work (NY Post)

A Wells Fargo employee came to work on a Friday morning and died at her desk – but her body wasn’t discovered until four days later, Arizona police officials said. Denise Prudhomme, 60, was found slumped over in her cubicle at the bank’s corporate office in Tempe on Tuesday, Aug. 20. She had used her ID to scan into the building on Aug. 16 at 7 a.m., according to cops. The employee said several workers had complained of a foul odor when they came back to work after the weekend, but shrugged it off as bad plumbing, according to the outlet. Another employee said a colleague found Prudhomme dead at her desk in a cubicle while walking around the building, K12News reported

NOTE: Just a reminder to check on your office mates before leaving for the day.

Education

Supreme Court declines to restart Biden’s latest student debt relief plan (WSJ🔒)

The Supreme Court on Wednesday turned down a Biden administration request to restart its latest plan for wiping away student loan debt for millions of borrowers, choosing not to intervene in a legal battle that is still playing out in lower courts. In a two-sentence order, the high court said it wouldn’t disturb a preliminary injunction issued earlier this month by a St. Louis-based U.S. appeals court that blocked the debt relief program, known as the SAVE Plan. The justices said they expected the appeals court to issue a final ruling “with appropriate dispatch.” The case could return to the Supreme Court after that. There were no noted dissents.

HBCUs at a crossroads: addressing the decline in Black male enrollment (AIBM)

Cellphone bans spread in schools amid growing mental health worries (WP🔒)

Of the nation’s 20 largest school districts, at least seven forbid use of cellphones during the school day or plan to do so, while at least another seven impose significant restrictions, such as barring use during class time but permitting phones during lunch or when students are between classes, according to a Washington Post review. Pressure on school leaders has come from teachers and parents who see cellphones as a distraction, an impediment to learning and a constant toll on students’ mental health.

Meet the startup helping schools ban cell phones (Forbes🔒)

Back-to-school looks different this year as districts across America institute new programs banning smartphones, enabled by lockable pouches from 10-year-old company Yondr.

Food & Drink

Why are people in Ireland drinking less alcohol? (BBC)

Figures show people in the Republic of Ireland are drinking less alcohol. A report by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) to calculate the 2023 average level of consumption found alcohol consumption in the country is down by almost one-third over the past two decades. Since the peak of 2001, the average per adult alcohol consumption has declined by 31%, according to the report authored by economist and associate professor emeritus at Dublin City University Anthony Foley.

Nature

Canada’s wildfires were a top global emitter last year, study says (NYT🔒)

NOTE: The report can be found here.

Matching dinosaur footprints found on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean (SMU News)

An international team of researchers led by SMU paleontologist Louis L. Jacobs has found matching sets of Early Cretaceous dinosaur footprints on what are now two different continents. More than 260 footprints were discovered in Brazil and in Cameroon, showing where land-dwelling dinosaurs were last able to freely cross between South America and Africa millions of years ago before the two continents split apart. “We determined that in terms of age, these footprints were similar,” Jacobs said. “In their geological and plate tectonic contexts, they were also similar. In terms of their shapes, they are almost identical.”

‘Worst nightmare’ venomous sea worms washing up on Texas shores, scientists say (WP🔒)

Travel

Another Icon-of-the-Seas-style megaship? Make that 3 more. (NYT🔒)

The Icon of the Seas, the world’s largest cruise ship, drew as much criticism as excitement when Royal Caribbean launched it earlier this year, but the ship has been a hit among cruise goers. Now the cruise line is adding to its fleet of megaships. The company already has two Icon Class ships on order — Star of the Seas, which will be launched in 2025, and a third ship that has not yet been named but will be delivered in 2026. It now has plans to order a fourth ship, set for a 2027 launch, with options for a fifth and sixth. The new ships build on the market response to Icon of the Seas, said Jason Liberty, president and chief executive of Royal Caribbean Group, announcing the agreement to build the new ships. The world’s largest cruise ships are now twice as big as they were in 2000, according to a report by Transport and Environment, a Brussels-based advocacy group for clean transport and energy. If vessels continue to grow at their current rate, the biggest ships in 2025 will be eight times larger than the Titanic, with a capacity to carry nearly 11,000 passengers, the report found.

Three months into their global cruise, they've not left Belfast (BBC)

Passengers on a round-the-world cruise have been left stranded in Belfast for three months after their voyage was beset by delays. Villa Vie Residences' Odyssey arrived at Queen’s Island in the Northern Ireland capital to be outfitted before it was scheduled to leave on 30 May for the first leg of a three-year cruise. But the ship has still not left yet thanks to problems with its rudders and gearbox.

M.T.A. says no more free bus rides for fare evaders (NYT🔒)

While most of New York’s enforcement initiatives have focused on the subway, fare evasion is much more prevalent on city buses, and transit leaders this week expanded efforts on buses, where one out of two passengers fails to pay. According to the latest statistics from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency lost $285 million in 2022 to fare evasion in the subway system and $315 million on buses, even as roughly twice as many passengers rode the trains. Enforcement is especially difficult on buses, where there are no turnstiles or gates to block access. Union leaders advise bus drivers not to confront passengers who skip the fare, out of concern for the drivers’ safety. And some riders feel justified in not paying the $2.90 fare because heavy traffic and a lack of bus lanes means that bus service can be slow and unreliable. Officials have also said that a sense that the fare was optional was reinforced by a period during the pandemic when bus rides were free. The problem has only deepened as riders return to the system. On buses, the fare evasion rate jumped to 48 percent during the first three months of the year, up from 39 percent during the same period in 2023.

Art

A sharp downturn in the art market (NYT🔒)

As art became a serious business over the last few decades, with record multimillion-dollar sales eclipsing one another, it seemed as though values could just rise in perpetuity. But this year has been a reality check. High-end art sales have slumped. Sellers have withdrawn prominent works from major auctions at the last minute, for fear of jeopardizing artists’ markets. More than a dozen galleries have closed in Manhattan. Layoffs have begun to creep through the $65 billion industry, as one of its largest companies, Christie’s, saw revenue plunge. It took in $2.1 billion from auctions in the first six months of this year, down from $4.1 billion during the same period in 2022.

Sports

Private equity ownership is coming to the NFL (WSJ🔒)

Private-equity firms have been gobbling up chunks of professional sports teams in recent years, but the holy grail remained out of reach. The National Football League, the most lucrative league around, has long barred firms from owning a piece of its teams. Its policy was simple: team owners should be actual people, not corporate entities. That meant eschewing the free-flowing cash infusions from institutions that now line the pockets of owners in the National Basketball Association, the English Premier League and Major League Baseball, among others. Now, after years of discussions, that’s finally changing. At a meeting Tuesday afternoon, NFL owners passed a new policy that will allow them to sell up to 10% of their teams to a select group of preapproved firms. It removes the last major hurdle to the flood of private capital sweeping through the sports landscape, which now has firms circling the college game and others amassing portfolios of pro franchises.

Babe Ruth’s ‘called shot’ jersey sells at auction for over $24 million (AP)

The jersey Babe Ruth wore when he called his shot during the 1932 World Series, hitting a home run to center field, sold at auction early Sunday for over $24 million. Heritage Auctions said the New York Yankee slugger’s jersey went for a record-breaking $24.12 million after a bidding war that lasted over six hours when it went on the block in Dallas. The buyer wishes to remain anonymous, Heritage said. The amount that the jersey sold for topped fellow Yankee Mickey Mantle’s 1952 rookie card, which the Dallas-based auction house sold for $12.6 million in 2022. Chris Ivy, Heritage’s director of sports, calls the jersey “the most significant piece of American sports memorabilia ever offered at auction.” He said in a news release that it was clear from the bidding that ”astute collectors have no doubt as to what this Ruth jersey is and what it represents.”

They call it ‘murderball.’ Wheelchair rugby isn’t for the faint of heart. (WP🔒)

The sport was invented in the late 1970s by quadriplegics who wanted an alternative to wheelchair basketball but has grown increasingly popular over the past decade, thanks in part to faster, lighter wheelchairs and rule changes that have intensified the game. One sign of the fiercer competition? The United States, which once dominated the sport, has not won a Paralympic gold medal in wheelchair rugby since 2008. As the matches begin today, the team will be looking to reclaim the top spot in the sport in Paris, but to do so, it will need to beat out seven other teams that are equally tough. It’s a physical game. While athletes can’t hold onto or push other players’ wheelchairs with their hands, they can ram each other — hard. Sometimes these collisions involve so much force that the wheelchair frames crack.

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.

Curated Compositions

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