Via Ars Technica: “Amid the pandemic, Republican voters in Ohio and Florida had a significantly higher rate of excess deaths after the nationwide rollout of COVID-19 vaccines compared with those who voted Democratic, according to a study published this week in JAMA Internal Medicine.”
LaunchReport: Studio bosses plan to stay away from bargaining table in gambit to starve writers into submission
Via Deadline: “’The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,’ a studio executive told Deadline. Acknowledging the cold-as-ice approach, several other sources reiterated the statement. One insider called it ‘a cruel but necessary evil.'”
LaunchWatch the 2023 Washington State Space Summit panel discussion
On July 5th, 2023, Blue Origin hosted the 2023 Washington State Space Summit, organized by Senator Maria Cantwell’s office. NPI recorded the panel discussion in high definition and it’s available to watch on demand. Simply click play above to check out the event.
LaunchPutin gets caught in his own trap, with Russians not caring enough to save him
“After spending years cultivating public apathy, the Russian president found his people indifferent to his fate,” Anne Applebaum writes.
LaunchTesla’s ‘self-driving’ system should never have been allowed on the road
“Elon Musk’s automatic driving technology seems to be roughly an order of magnitude more deadly than human drivers,” writes Ryan Cooper.
LaunchAs Canadian smoke darkens the New York sky, the future is clear
“Since 2000, growing wildfire pollution has reversed significant gains from the Clean Air Act, and over the coming decades, it is poised to become the country’s main source of particulate pollution,” David Wallace-Wells writes.
LaunchEarth is ‘really quite sick now’ and in danger zone in nearly all ecological ways, study says
Reporting by The Associated Press: “Earth has pushed past seven out of eight scientifically established safety limits and into the danger zone, not just for an overheating planet that’s losing its natural areas, but for the well-being of people living on it, according to a new study.”
LaunchHigh-speed rail can curb America’s summer travel woes
“America’s holiday travel quagmire is a reminder that we are a global laggard when it comes to high-speed rail,” writes Ray LaHood.
LaunchFor COVID long-haulers, the pandemic is far from over
“I have heard of long COVID clinics closing and dropping patients. At some point, the doctors that are researching it may just give up. Where does that leave all of us?” long COVID patient Frank Ziegler asked.
LaunchDonald Trump is likely to be indicted soon related to classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. Here’s what he may be charged with.
From Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington: “The FBI and Department of Justice routinely prosecute individuals, including high-level officers like former CIA Director David Petraeus, for misusing classified documents. There are several criminal provisions that may be implicated, depending on the exact contents of the documents.”
LaunchMassive Tesla data leak reportedly details Autopilot complaints
Via The Los Angeles Times, summarizing reporting from the German newspaper Handelsblatt: “How bad is Tesla Autopilot’s safety problem? According to thousands of complaints allegedly from Tesla customers in the U.S. and around the world, pretty bad.”
LaunchThe early heat wave gripping the Northwest is rare — and worrying
“Large parts of the Pacific Northwest from Oregon and Washington to British Columbia are bracing for unusually high temperatures this weekend. Some areas could see daily averages up to 30 degrees above normal, which could pose health problems to people who have not had a chance to build tolerance to heat so early into the warm season,” The Washington Post reports.
LaunchThe speed of this Greenland glacier’s melt could signal even worse sea level rise
“Scientists studying one of Greenland’s largest glaciers say it is melting far faster than expected in its most vulnerable region, a worrying sign that glaciers perched in the ocean could contribute to sea level rise more quickly than currently forecast,” The Washington Post’s Chris Mooney reports.
LaunchA disaster the size of multiple Katrinas is building off Washington’s coast
“The Coast Guard is the first line of defense against a massive tsunami. Will it also be an early victim?” Freelance writer Eric Scigliano attempted to answer that question for Politico.
LaunchThe conservative campaign to rewrite child labor laws
Via The Washington Post: “The [right wing] Foundation for Government Accountability, a Florida-based think tank and lobbying group, drafted state legislation to strip child workplace protections, emails show.”
LaunchBook bans soar in U.S. schools, largely in Republican-led states
“Book bans, gassed up by state legislation pushed by conservative officials and groups, are stacking up at an alarming rate,” The Los Angeles Times reports.
LaunchThe Fed-induced bank wobble
“Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse is a function of the Fed rate spike, and will surely trigger calls for its well-heeled tech and venture capital clients to get a bailout,” David Dayen writes.
Launch‘Something was badly wrong’: When the U.S. realized Russia was actually invading Ukraine
A must-read from Politico: “A first-ever oral history of how top U.S. and Western officials saw the warning signs of a European land war, their frantic attempts to stop it — and the moment Putin actually crossed the border.”
LaunchThe Republican Party’s long war against Medicare and Social Security
“It has been widely forgotten, but soon after taking office Ronald Reagan proposed major cuts to Social Security. But he backed down in the face of a political backlash, leading analysts at the Cato Institute to call for a ‘Leninist’ strategy — their word — creating a coalition ready to exploit a future crisis if and when one arrived,” Paul Krugman writes.
LaunchSorry, Twitter, but Florida’s war on books is no joke. Ron DeSantis wants to keep kids from reading.
“When it comes to keeping kids from reading much, if at all, DeSantis’ policy is a smashing success,” writes Amanda Marcotte. “He’s established the idea that no student should ever be allowed to just grab a book and read on their own.”
LaunchBillionaires at Davos don’t think COVID is a cold
“We don’t deserve to be shoved back into poorly ventilated workplaces while our politicians and press assure us that only crazy people would demand to breathe clean air,” writes Julia Doubleday.
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