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.
‘It’s Shameful’: Nearly One-Third of US Workers Make Less Than $15 an Hour, Study Finds (Maria)
The author writes, “At a time when the prices of groceries, gas and other essentials have soared to new heights, nearly one-third of US workers earn ‘poverty-level wages’ of less than $15 an hour. That’s according to a new data analysis from the global poverty charity Oxfam, which found that 51.9 million US workers make less than $15 an hour, or $31,200 a year. ‘It’s shameful that at a time when many US companies are boasting record profits, some of the hardest working people in this country — especially people who keep our economy and society functioning — are struggling to get by and falling behind,’ said the report’s author, Kaitlyn Henderson, senior research advisor at Oxfam America.”
Do Russian Oligarchs Have a Secret Weapon in London’s Libel Lawyers? (Russ)
From The New York Times: “Britain has long had a reputation for plaintiff-friendly libel laws, and despite reform efforts in the past decade, the country has remained an accommodating home away from home for Russia’s robber barons. Until the war in Ukraine changed the political climate, the public here knew little about the history of the men who earned their fortunes by allying themselves with Mr. Putin, in no small part because reporting on them could prove financially ruinous.”
Dirty Bomb Ingredients Go Missing From Chornobyl Monitoring Lab (Sean)
From Science: “When the lights went out at Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant on 9 March, the Russian soldiers holding Ukrainian workers at gunpoint became the least of Anatolii Nosovskyi’s worries. More urgent was the possibility of a radiation accident at the decommissioned plant. … Although power was restored to Chornobyl on 14 March, Nosovskyi’s worries have multiplied. In the chaos of the Russian advance, he told Science, looters raided a radiation monitoring lab in Chornobyl village — apparently making off with radioactive isotopes used to calibrate instruments and pieces of radioactive waste that could be mixed with conventional explosives to form a ‘dirty bomb’ that would spread contamination over a wide area.”
The Supreme Court Rules That Joe Biden Is Commander-In-Chief. Three Justices Dissent. (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “The Supreme Court on Friday evening decided, no, it was not going to needlessly insert itself in the military chain of command above President Joe Biden. The Court’s decision in Austin v. U.S. Navy SEALs 1-26 largely halted a lower court order that permitted certain sailors to defy a direct order. … The decision is undeniably a win for the balance of power between the executive branch and the judiciary that has prevailed for many decades. But the fact that the Court had to weigh in on this at all — not to mention that three justices, Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch, dissented from the majority — is a worrisome sign about America’s judiciary.”
Redlining Means 45 Million Americans Are Breathing Dirtier Air, 50 Years After It Ended (Laura)
The author writes, “Decades of federal housing discrimination did not only depress home values, lower job opportunities and spur poverty in communities deemed undesirable because of race. It’s why 45 million Americans are breathing dirtier air today, according to a landmark study released [this month]. The practice known as redlining was outlawed more than a half-century ago, but it continues to impact people who live in neighborhoods that government mortgage officers shunned for 30 years because people of color and immigrants lived in them. The analysis, published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology Letters, found that, compared with White people, Black and Latino Americans live with more smog and fine particulate matter from cars, trucks, buses, coal plants and other nearby industrial sources in areas that were redlined.”
Sweden Successfully Tests Wireless Charging Road Set to Revolutionize Mobility (Mili)
From Autoevolution: “Battery-electric vehicles (BEV) are evolving and gaining popularity at an accelerated pace. While much progress has been made in terms of hardware and infrastructure, recharging still takes significantly more time than refueling an ICE- or hydrogen-powered vehicle. Thinking outside of the (wall) box, Israeli tech company ElectReon has been developing and implementing an innovative solution for this problem. The system that is set to revolutionize transportation and accelerate the switch to electric mobility uses copper coils fitted under the asphalt, enabling EVs to charge their batteries wirelessly while on the move.”
Crowdfunding a Capital: Indonesia’s Unusual Pitch Raises Eyebrows (Dana)
The author writes, “Indonesia has suggested crowdfunding the relocation of the country’s capital after a major investor declined to back the $32bn project, prompting ridicule from critics and questions about ownership of the planned city. The unorthodox proposal came to light … when the head of the government agency behind the plan told local media the option is being explored after Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp opted not to invest in the project.”
