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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.
The Last Leg of the Longest Butterfly Migration Identified (Maria)
The author writes, “Every year, painted lady butterflies born in Europe embark south on an epic journey to Africa. Now, researchers know exactly where on the continent these long-haul travelers spend their winter vacation. From December through February, after flying across the Sahara in the fall, the orange-and-brown-winged insects set up camp and breed in savannas and highlands across central Africa, scientists report April 10 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. As the rainy season brings greenery to the region, the butterflies and their caterpillar offspring feast on a variety of plants until their wintering spots dry up. Then the butterflies fly north to Europe. … The species — one of the most common butterflies in the world — boasts the longest round-trip journey of any butterfly.”
Manhattan DA Sues Jim Jordan Over Trump Indictment Inquiry (Reader Jim)
The authors write, “Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sued Rep. Jim Jordan on Tuesday, an extraordinary move as he seeks to halt a House Judiciary Committee inquiry that the prosecutor contends is a ‘transparent campaign to intimidate and attack’ him over his indictment of former President Donald Trump. Bragg, a Democrat, is asking a judge to invalidate subpoenas that Jordan, the committee’s Republican chair, has issued or plans to issue as part of an investigation of Bragg’s handling of the case, the first criminal prosecution of a former U.S. president.”
Rupert Murdoch and Fox Corp. Board Members Sued by Investor Over ‘Stolen Election Claims’ (Dana)
The author writes, “A Fox Corp. shareholder sued Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch and several members of the Fox Corp. board of directors in Delaware on Tuesday afternoon, arguing that they violated their fiduciary duty to the company when they allowed Fox News to broadcast election conspiracy theories. The derivative action — a kind of lawsuit brought by shareholders who believe they’ve been harmed by the corporation — was brought by a single plaintiff, Robert Schwarz.”
The Cost of the Ukraine War for One Russian Regiment (Sean)
From the BBC: “Kostroma is not a bad place to go looking for the effects of the Ukraine war on Russia. For this city is home to a celebrated regiment that bears its name and has been in the forefront of all the main battles in the Kremlin’s campaign against its neighbors. The 331st Guards Parachute Regiment, often called the Kostroma Airborne Regiment, has been the subject of investigations by BBC’s Newsnight since shortly after last February’s invasion. These have revealed the price paid by the regiment and its home community. We had confirmed 39 fatalities by April last year, 62 by late July, and now the toll has reached 94.”
Video: The Great American Labor Trap (Russ)
From The New York Times: “The Federal Trade Commission proposed a rule this year that would ban the use of noncompete clauses in future employment contracts and void such clauses in existing contracts. The commission’s three members are soliciting public feedback on the proposal. But the commission is under tremendous pressure from the business community not to ban noncompete clauses. [This video] argues that the F.T.C. should listen to workers rather than bend to the will of corporations that are abusing them.”
Police Nearly Beat Him to Death. Six Years Later, He’s Being Prosecuted for It. Again. (Reader Steve)
The author writes: “It’s been more than six years since, on a snowy evening on a sleepy dead-end street, Moses Lake police officers pepper-sprayed, tased, hogtied and beat Joseph Zamora so badly he stopped breathing, his heart stopped beating and he had to spend a month in a medically-induced coma in the ICU. It’s been four years since a Grant County jury, based on that incident, convicted Zamora of two counts of assaulting a police officer…. And it’s been nine months since the Washington state Supreme Court threw out Zamora’s convictions, ruling that then-Grant County Prosecutor Garth Dano showed racial bias during the trial, resulting in ‘incurable prejudice.’ … Now, even though the conviction was thrown out, even though Zamora served more than a full sentence, current Grant County Prosecutor Kevin McCrae is recharging Zamora with the same crimes all over again.”
A Library Went Viral for Having Baby Cribs Attached to Its Desks (Al)
From Insider: “When Barbara Weedman was a single mom to her now grown son, she noticed how difficult it was to parent in public spaces that weren’t designed with families in mind. ‘I know how challenging it can be for caregivers to access things that are welcoming for them, much less intentionally designed for them, in public places,’ Weedman told Insider. At the Henrico County Public Library, where Weedman is the director, she saw the same issue. Parents and caregivers would come to the library and struggle to use the computers while balancing a baby on their lap or keeping track of a busy toddler. In 2017, when the library started building a new location, Weedman had an idea for work-play stations that would give parents computer access and a safe place to contain their baby or child.”
How Do You Get a Moose Out of an Anchorage Medical Facility? Very Carefully. (Mili)
From the Anchorage Daily News: “A young and hungry moose caused a stir when it strolled through the front doors of a Providence Alaska medical facility [one] afternoon in Anchorage — apparently without an appointment. In the only-in-Alaska videos posted to social media … the juvenile moose’s ears peeked from behind a potted plant it was munching on, briefly impervious to the attention it received from bystanders at Providence Health Park.”
