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PICKS are stories from many sources, selected by our editors or recommended by our readers because they are important, surprising, troubling, enlightening, inspiring, or amusing. They appear on our site and in our daily newsletter. Please send suggested articles, videos, podcasts, etc. to picks@whowhatwhy.org.
Amazon Enters the Age of Robots. What Does That Mean for Its Workers? (Maria)
The author writes, “Trapped in a metal cage in a corner of a 350,000-square-foot Amazon warehouse outside Boston last week a lonely yellow robot arm sorted through packages, preparing items to be shipped out to customers who demand ever-faster delivery. Soon it will be joined by others in a development that could mean the end of thousands of jobs and, Amazon argues, the creation of thousands of others.”
How Abortion and Investment Propelled Democrats to Turn the Tide in State Legislatures (Russ)
From The 19th: “Democrats are on track to win back dozens of seats nationwide and flip control of up to four legislative chambers in key Midwestern battleground states, results with significant implications for abortion access. ‘We’re thrilled by these results,’ Jessica Post, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, told The 19th. ‘We think we’ll see a lot of progress in states like Michigan in terms of expansion and protection of abortion rights, collective bargaining, and progress overall.’”
Stacey Abrams Isn’t the First Black Woman to Not Reap What She’s Sowed (Dana)
From MSNBC: “From what was predicted to be record-breaking voter turnout to the number of women running in gubernatorial races, the 2022 midterm elections were historic. However, for all the victories worth touting, a disappointing status quo that remains: America has never elected a single Black woman governor. Each of the three Black women who ran in this cycle — Stacey Abrams in Georgia, Deidre DeJear in Iowa, and Yolanda Flowers in Alabama — lost her race. … Though Black women voters are often called the ‘backbone of the Democratic Party,’ winning statewide office is an uphill battle for Black women.”
Outcry as Republican Nikki Haley Says Raphael Warnock Should Be ‘Deported’ (Reader Jim)
The author writes, “The former US ambassador to the United Nations and South Carolina governor Nikki Haley told Republicans at a rally for Herschel Walker the Democrat in the Georgia US Senate race, the Rev Raphael Warnock, should be ‘deported.’ ‘I am the daughter of Indian immigrants,” Haley said in Hiram, Georgia, on Sunday. “They came here legally, they put in the time, they put in the price, they are offended by what’s happening on [the southern US] border. Legal immigrants are more patriotic than the leftists these days. They knew they worked to come into America, and they love America. They want the laws followed in America, so the only person we need to make sure we deport is Warnock.’”
CRISPR Cancer Trial Success Paves the Way for Personalized Treatments (Sean)
From Nature: “A small clinical trial has shown that researchers can use CRISPR gene editing to alter immune cells so that they will recognize mutated proteins specific to a person’s tumors. Those cells can then be safely set loose in the body to find and destroy their target. It is the first attempt to combine two hot areas in cancer research: gene editing to create personalized treatments, and engineering immune cells called T cells so as to better target tumors. The approach was tested in 16 people with solid tumors, including in the breast and colon.”
America’s Great Salt Lake Is on the Brink of Collapse (Mili)
The author writes, “Without urgent and major interventions, America’s Great Salt Lake could experience ecosystem collapse in the next few years. In a worst-case scenario, according to findings presented at the Geological Society of America’s 2022 Connects Conference in Colorado [in October], the world-famous body of salt-water has just a few months before ecological recovery is significantly impeded by rising salinity levels.”
Salto de Castro: Spanish Village on Sale (Dana)
The author writes, “For anyone dreaming of selling up and moving to the country, how about buying an entire village? Salto de Castro, in north-western Spain, is up for sale and the asking price is €260,000 (£227,000; $259,000). Located on the border with Portugal in the province of Zamora and a three-hour drive from Madrid, Salto de Castro has many of the buildings you would expect to find in a small Spanish town. They include 44 homes, a hotel, a church, a school, a municipal swimming pool and even a barracks building that used to house the civil guard.”
