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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.
Great Barrier Reef Should Be Placed on World Heritage ‘In Danger’ List, UN-Backed Report Says (Maria)
The author writes, “A UN-backed mission to the Great Barrier Reef has concluded the world’s biggest coral reef system should be placed on a list of world heritage sites in danger. The long-awaited report on the 10-day mission that took place in March said climate change was presenting a ‘serious challenge’ to the values that saw the reef inscribed as a global wonder in 1981. Progress to cut pollution running into the reef’s waters from farming and grazing was too slow and more investment was needed to meet water quality targets, the report from the mission said.”
Herschel Walker, Running for US Senate in Georgia, Still Gets Tax Break on $3 Million Texas Residence (Sean)
From The Texas Tribune: “Herschel Walker, the former Dallas Cowboys running back and Republican candidate running for a U.S. Senate seat in Georgia, is slated to get a tax break on his $3 million residence in a Dallas-Fort Worth suburb — potentially running afoul of Texas tax law. According to Tarrant County property and tax records, Walker claimed a homestead exemption on his four-bedroom home in Westlake in 2021 and is expected to do so again this year — even after he registered to vote in Georgia last year. Walker has since voted in two elections there.”
1st Patriot Front Member Sentenced for Conspiracy at Idaho Pride Event (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “The first of 31 members of the white supremacist group Patriot Front was sentenced in court Monday for criminal conspiracy to riot in connection with his role in the hate group’s plan to disrupt a Pride celebration in Coeur d’Alene last June. Alexander Nicholai Sisenstein, 27, of Midvale, Utah, was sentenced to a two-year unsupervised probation with one day credit for time served, as well as a $500 fine, Coeur d’Alene chief criminal deputy prosecutor Wes Somerton said. Sisenstein pleaded guilty to the charge on Nov. 17.”
Anti-Corporate Sentiment in US Is Now Widespread in Both Parties (Mili)
From Pew Research Center: “The U.S. public’s views of banks and other financial institutions, as well as large corporations, have become much more negative in recent years. Today, these institutions are both held in low esteem by Americans in both parties. About four-in-ten Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (38%) and Democrats and Democratic leaners (41%) now say banks and other financial institutions have a positive effect on the way things are going in the country. Even smaller shares – 26% of Republicans and 25% of Democrats — say large corporations have a positive effect, according to a survey conducted Oct. 10-16 by Pew Research Center.”
In a Land of Cold, the Architecture Is Tested by Heat (Russ)
The authors write, “Much of [the UK’s] housing stock was built more than a century ago, and too much of it built poorly and unsustainably. And there are enormous inequities in British housing, creating social fissures that will be exacerbated this coming winter as people deal with soaring fuel prices. But an architectural tour of this country’s houses — from grand iconic structures, like the Elizabethan Hardwick Hall to more modest Victorian Terrace homes and modern tower blocks — suggests that the lessons learned over the centuries about how to deal with the harsh realities of weather may apply today.”
VIDEO: Survival of the Friendliest: How Dogs Evolved to Be Man’s Best Friend (Reader Jim)
From 60 Minutes: “Anderson Cooper reports on the evolution of dogs from wild wolves to domesticated pets and what this might tell us about human evolution.”
Emperor Charles V’s Secret Code Cracked After Five Centuries (Dana)
The author writes, “A team of researchers have cracked a five century-old code that reveals a rumored French plot to kill Charles V. Charles — the Holy Roman emperor and king of Spain — was one of the most powerful men of the 16th century, presiding over a vast empire that took in much of western Europe and the Americas during a reign of more than 40 years. It took the team from the Loria research lab in eastern France six months to decipher the letter, written in 1547 by the emperor to his ambassador in France.”
