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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 US Gives Protections to Rare Midwest Bird as Prairie Suffers (Maria)
The author writes, “The US government announced protections for two populations of a rare prairie bird that’s found in parts of the Midwest, including one of the country’s most prolific oil and gas fields. The lesser prairie chicken’s range covers a portion of the oil-rich Permian Basin along the New Mexico-Texas state line. … The habitat of the bird, a type of grouse, has diminished across about 90% of its historical range, officials said. ‘The lesser prairie-chicken’s decline is a sign our native grasslands and prairies are in peril,’ said Amy Lueders, Southwest regional director at the US Fish and Wildlife Service.”
Blaming Larry Krasner for Gun Violence Does Not Make Statistical Sense (Dana)
From Mother Jones: “Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania are trying to impeach Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, a reformist prosecutor who built a national reputation for attempting to curb mass incarceration and hold violent cops accountable, and who was overwhelmingly reelected last year to a second term. Impeachment proceedings often follow allegations of criminal behavior or corruption, but Krasner isn’t accused of either. Instead, Republicans claim that his progressive policies — like requesting to jail fewer people before trial and letting certain low-level offenders off the hook — led to record-breaking gun homicides in Philadelphia.”
DEA’s Most Corrupt Agent: Parties, Sex Amid ‘Unwinnable War’ (Reader Steve)
From AP: “José Irizarry accepts that he’s known as the most corrupt agent in U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration history, admitting he ‘became another man’ in conspiring with Colombian cartels to build a lavish lifestyle of expensive sports cars, Tiffany jewels and paramours around the world. But as he used his final hours of freedom to tell his story to The Associated Press, Irizarry says he won’t go down for this alone, accusing some long-trusted DEA colleagues of joining him in skimming millions of dollars from drug money laundering stings to fund a decade’s worth of luxury overseas travel, fine dining, top seats at sporting events and frat house-style debauchery.”
Moms for Liberty-Backed School Board Members Fire Superintendent, Ban Critical Race Theory (DonkeyHotey)
The author writes, “On Tuesday evening, the Berkeley County School District in South Carolina swore in the board members who were elected last week, six of whom were endorsed by the conservative activist group Moms for Liberty. Within two hours, the school board had voted to fire the district’s first Black superintendent, terminate the district’s lawyer, ban critical race theory and set up a committee to decide whether certain books and materials should be banned from schools.”
Hydrogen Hype Is Rising Again — Will This Time Be Different? (Sean)
From The Economist: “Enthusiasts are bubbling with excitement as a swirl of geopolitical and energy trends has put the spotlight once again on hydrogen, a clean fuel that can be made from a variety of primary energy sources. Hydrogen has seen previous false dawns. Two decades ago European and Japanese carmakers wasted billions chasing the dream of fuel-cell passenger cars. But governments and investors are betting that this time will be different.”
The Rise and Fall of the Drugstore Chains (Russ)
The author writes, “In September, on an earnings call with investors, Rite Aid’s executive vice president of retail, Andre Persaud, floated an idea to improve the chain’s performance in New York City: turn the drugstore into one giant vending machine in order to fight shoplifting. ‘We’re looking at literally putting everything behind showcases to ensure the products are there for customers to buy,’ Persaud said. Does that sound familiar? Many big-city pharmacy chains are halfway there, with plexiglass cases that have mushroomed over even low-priced household goods like shampoo and deodorant.”
Archaeologists Forced to Rebury Unusual Discovery in Old Aztec Capital (Mili)
The author writes, “In a strange turn of events, researchers in Mexico had to rebury an unusual archaeological monument found in the outskirts of Mexico City — covering up an important historical discovery until some unknown time in the future. The discovery in question is a tunnel built centuries ago as part of the Albarradón de Ecatepec: a flood-control system of dikes and waterways constructed to protect the historical city of Tenochtitlan from rising waters.”
