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.

Strippers Notch Significant Victory in Quest To Be Treated Fairly (Trevin)

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has ruled that six former Maryland dancers should have been considered employees, not independent contractors, and therefore were covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Far-Right Party in Austria Challenges Recent Election Loss (Dan)

Far-Right Austrian party Freedom Party loss the recent May election by a razor-thin margin. The final push that sealed the loss was from mail-in ballots that, according to Freedom Party chairman Heinz-Christian Strache, is part of a ‘systemic failure’ in Austria’s voting system. The Constitutional Court has 6 weeks — July 6th —  to call for a recount or re-election.

Alberta’s Oil Patch Can’t Cut its Way to Growth (Jeff C.)

No matter how much Canadian oil sands producers cut costs, one industry CEO argues it can never be enough. It’s a recipe for slow economic death for the world’s dirtiest form of liquid fossil fuels.

New Zealand Sitting on Half-Trillion-Dollar Debt Bomb (Jeff C.)

Households on the island nation are now carrying a debt level that is equivalent to 162% of their annual disposable income — higher than the level reached before the global financial crisis.

France Prepares for a Summertime Terrorist Attack (Dan)

Euro 2016, the second biggest sporting event this summer behind the Olympics, begins this Friday in France. With the recent terrorist attack in Paris still on everyone’s mind, politicians work diligently to secure stadiums, tourist spots, and open air ‘fan zones’. Yet, as some in the government have warned, too much planning diminishes freedom and plays right into the terrorists’ hands.

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