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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.
This Overlooked Cybersecurity Risk Could Create an Ocean of Trouble for Us All (Maria)
The author writes, “One of the key components of global trade is also one of the most vulnerable to cybersecurity threats — and if such an attack was successful, it would cause huge disruption with knock-on effects for people around the world. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), over 80% of the volume of international trade in goods is carried by sea, and that percentage is even higher for developing countries. The whole industry is reliant on a series of complex, ‘just in time’ supply chains. if just one element is disrupted, it can have massive repercussions.”
A Second Constitutional Convention? Some Republicans Want to Force One (DonkeyHotey)
The author writes, “Elements on the right have for years been waging a quiet but concerted campaign to convene a gathering to consider changes to the Constitution. They hope to take advantage of a never-used aspect of Article V, which says in part that Congress, ‘on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments.’ Throughout the nation’s history, 27 changes have been made to the Constitution by another grindingly arduous route, with amendments originating in Congress subject to ratification by the states.”
Explainer: How New US Laws Could Trip Up Voters This November (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “U.S. states have enacted more than 30 new voting restrictions since 2020, from voter ID requirements to limits on mail-in voting, fueling tensions between Republicans and Democrats ahead of November’s general election. Republicans, who have largely embraced former President Donald Trump’s false claims of fraud in the 2020 election, say the measures are necessary to ensure election integrity. Democrats say they are aimed at making it harder for voters who traditionally back the Democratic Party to cast their votes.”
New Mexico Governor Commits $10 Million to Building New Abortion Clinic Near Texas Border (Dana)
The authors write, “New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order [last] Wednesday committing $10 million to build a new reproductive health care clinic near the state’s border with Texas. The future clinic is set to be located in Doña Ana County, just northwest of El Paso, Texas, and will offer ‘the full spectrum of reproductive health care’ — including abortion. ‘As more states move to restrict and prohibit access to reproductive care, New Mexico will continue to not only protect access to abortion, but to expand and strengthen reproductive health care throughout the state,’ Lujan Grisham said in a statement. ‘Today, I reaffirm my resolve to make sure that women and families in New Mexico — and beyond — are supported at every step of the way.’”
Russian Soldiers Riot, Refuse to Fight Over Lack of Supplies (Sean)
From Newsweek: “A Russian military unit deployed in Ukraine’s south has refused to fight over a lack of vital supplies such as water, Ukraine said Sunday. Ukraine’s Operational Command South reported in a Facebook post that soldiers with the 127th Regiment of the 1st Army Corps rioted, and refused to further participate in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine. According to the command, the soldiers lacked support, while personnel in advanced positions didn’t have water.”
US Mortgage Lenders Are Starting to Go Broke (Sean)
From Bloomberg: “The US mortgage industry is seeing its first lenders go out of business after a sudden spike in lending rates, and the wave of failures that’s coming could be the worst since the housing bubble burst about 15 years ago. There’s no systemic meltdown coming this time around, because there hasn’t been the same level of lending excesses and because many of the biggest banks pulled back from mortgages after the financial crisis. But market watchers nonetheless expect a string of bankruptcies broad enough to trigger a spike in layoffs in an industry that employs hundreds of thousands of workers, and potentially an increase in some lending rates. More of the business is now controlled by independent lenders, and with mortgage volumes plunging this year, many are struggling to stay afloat.”
Why It’s Time to Talk About Poo (Mili)
From the BBC: “The nutrients in human waste are drifting into our oceans and landfills instead of back into soils. But there are much better uses for human poo than flushing it down the drain.”
