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.
How the Republican Push to Restrict Voting Could Affect Our Elections (DonkeyHotey)
From FiveThirtyEight: “In the aftermath of the 2020 election, Republican lawmakers have pushed new voting restrictions in nearly every state. From making it harder to cast ballots early to increasing the frequency of voter roll purges, at least 25 new restrictive voting laws have been enacted, with more potentially on the horizon. … Understanding how new voting restrictions will influence our elections is difficult. Political science hasn’t found that these types of laws have that big of an effect, at least as individual measures. But, while laws that make it more taxing to vote are not new, the current onslaught of voting restrictions and changes to how elections will be administered is not something we’ve grappled with on this scale.”
Dallas Prosecutor Disbarred for Withholding Evidence That Could Have Cleared Men of Murder Charges (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “When former Dallas County prosecutor Richard E. Jackson put two homeless Black men on trial in 2000 for the murder of a local pastor, he allegedly withheld a heap of evidence that could have cleared them. Witnesses couldn’t pick the suspects out of a lineup, neither of the men matched descriptions provided to investigators, and prosecutors had brokered secret deals with jailhouse informants for favorable testimony, appeals court papers would later show. In separate trials, jurors heard none of it. Jackson got his convictions, and Dennis Allen and Stanley Mozee were sentenced to life in prison. Only after an extensive review by the Innocence Project and Jackson’s successors were the men exonerated — 14 years later.”
Balcony Death Spotlights Social Pressure for Single Egyptian Women (Dan)
The author writes, “Nesma Nasr once stayed a week without water in her Cairo apartment, afraid to call a plumber because of the scrutiny from neighbours she feared a male visitor would provoke. As a young woman living alone, she says she fears the kind of social control that became a talking point … when a 35-year-old fell to her death from a balcony in Cairo after neighbours confronted her over suspected pre-marital relations.”
Over Half of the World’s Plastic Waste Created by 20 Companies: ‘Catastrophe Beckons’ (Nick)
From Newsweek: “A report has revealed that 20 companies are responsible for producing 55 per cent of all single-use plastic waste generated globally, with ExxonMobil topping the list. The Plastic Waste Makers Index also identifies the banks and financial institutions that fund the production of single-use plastic, tens of millions of tonnes of which ends up as pollution each year.”
‘Beavers Are Just Being Beavers’: Friction Grows Between Canadians and Animals (Dana)
The author writes, “At first, the theft of wooden fence posts seemed like a crime of opportunity – amid soaring lumber costs, stacks of wood have gone missing from construction sites across North America. But officers in the Canadian prairie community of Porcupine Plain, Saskatchewan, soon identified the culprit: local beavers had stolen the posts to build their dam.”
