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Big Tech Rolls Back Misinformation Measures Ahead of 2024 (Maria)
The author writes, “Ahead of the 2024 election cycle, the world’s largest tech companies are walking back policies meant to curb misinformation around COVID-19 and the 2020 election. Social media platforms are arguing that the risk of harm no longer outweighs the benefits of political dialogue, drawing concerns from lawmakers and consumer advocacy leaders.”
The Far Right’s Growing Influence and 4 Other Takeaways From NPR’s ERIC Investigation (Al)
From NPR: “Why are Republicans abandoning one of the best tools the government has to catch voter fraud? That simple question is the focus of a new NPR investigation, published Sunday. The tool is the Electronic Registration Information Center, better known as ERIC. It was created almost a decade ago as a way for states to share government data, in an effort to keep their voter rolls up to date. It allows election officials better insight into when their voters move and die and the rare times when they vote twice in different states, which is illegal. … Eight Republican states have now pulled out of ERIC, including many with voting officials who are on the record as praising the partnership as recently as a few months ago.”
A Man Wants to Trademark ‘Trump Too Small’ for T-Shirts. Now the Supreme Court Will Hear the Case. (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “The Supreme Court said Monday it will hear a case in which a man tried to trademark a phrase mocking former President Donald Trump as ‘too small.’ The Justice Department is supporting President Joe Biden’s once and possibly future rival in urging the court to deny a trademark for the suggestive phrase ‘Trump too small’ that a California man wants to put on T-shirts. The case will be argued in the fall, one of two disputes on the court’s upcoming agenda that involve Trump or one of his businesses. Government officials said the phrase ‘Trump too small’ could still be used, just not trademarked because Trump had not consented to its use. But a federal appeals court said refusing trademark registration violated free speech rights.”
General Staff: Russia Has Lost 210,350 Troops in Ukraine (Sean)
From The Kyiv Independent: “The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on June 5 that Russia has lost 210,350 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion, with an estimated 410 casualties on June 4. According to the report, Russia has also lost 3,848 tanks, 7,523 armored fighting vehicles, 6,312 vehicles and fuel tanks, 3,567 artillery systems, 584 multiple launch rocket systems, 349 air defense systems, 313 airplanes, 298 helicopters, 3,189 drones, and 18 boats.”
Global Heating Will Push Billions Outside ‘Human Climate Niche’ (Laura)
The author writes, “Global heating will drive billions of people out of the ‘climate niche’ in which humanity has flourished for millennia, a study has estimated, exposing them to unprecedented temperatures and extreme weather. The world is on track for 2.7 C of heating with current action plans and this would mean 2 billion people experiencing average annual temperatures above 29 C by 2030, a level at which very few communities have lived in the past.”
He Defied Alzheimer’s for Two Decades. Scientists Want to Know How. (Russ)
The author writes, “Rare resilient patients may help researchers develop new therapies for the devastating disease.”
Researchers Find a Megalodon Tooth Necklace in the Titanic Wreckage — But the Rare Object Will Probably Have to Stay at the Bottom of the Sea (Dana)
From Artnet News: “A gold necklace made from the tooth of a prehistoric shark called a Megalodon has been found in the wreckage of the Titanic amid a massive project to scan the site of the infamous 1912 shipwreck. … Images taken during Magellan’s massive investigation into the sunken luxury passenger liner picked up images of the Megalodon necklace, the company said. The firm noted that members of the public are prevented from removing artifacts lost when the ship sank under an agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom, so Magellan team members are not allowed to touch the wreckage — and the incredible find may thus be lost at the bottom of the sea forever.”
