June 17
British MP’s Murder and the EU Referendum, McCain Blames Obama for Orlando, User Privacy Bill Defeated in Wake of Orlando, and More Picks
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.
British Lawmaker Shot Dead, EU referendum Campaigns Suspended (Jeff C.)
The victim was Jo Cox, 41, a Labour Party member firmly in the “Remain” camp on the upcoming debate on whether Britain should leave the European Union. Some analysts speculate the killing could boost the pro-EU “Remain” campaign, which in recent days has fallen behind the “Leave” camp in opinion polls.
NATO Plans for Afghan War through 2020
Allies plan to commit $5 billion to extend occupation through 2020 comes on heels of Obama admin’s announced intent to expand US role.
New Discovery About Memory and Exercise (Milicent)
Here is an amazing discovery about memory — and you would do well to remember it: To retain information after you study it, exercise – but not immediately. The magic number is… four hours later. Researchers could actually see — with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) — more precise representations in the hippocampus (that part of the brain involved in learning), when one answered a question correctly.
McCain: Obama ‘Directly Responsible’ for Orlando Massacre (Jeff C.)
In a statement for which he both doubled-down and then walked back, U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) insisted the president is responsible for the horrific attacks in Orlando last weekend. Visibly angry, the former 2008 presidential candidate said it is “because when he pulled everybody out of Iraq, al-Qaida went to Syria, became ISIS, and ISIS is what it is today thanks to Barack Obama’s failure.” Sure thing, John.
Banker Layoffs Accelerate: BoA Set to Purge Another 8,000 (Jeff C.)
While the entire financial sector continues to get squeezed in this era of low interest rates and elusive yield, cost is being driven out of the business. That means job loss, and the biggest American banking giant is not waiting around to dump “low-level” staff.
House Privacy Bill Defeated in the Wake of Orlando (Dan)
The bill would have prevented the government from forcing companies to create a ‘backdoor’ to encryption. The defeat comes despite no evidence that shooter Omar Mateen used an encrypted device.
UN Warns Trump May Be 7 Months Away From Acquiring Nuclear Weapons (Trevin)
As we reminded you last week, it’s risky no matter who is president, but according to The Onion, we should be very afraid.
