|
Listen To This Story
 |
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.
US Agency Plans Deeper Study of Sea Turtles, Dredging Threat (Maria)
The author writes, “A US agency has agreed to an in-depth environmental study into whether dredging a Georgia shipping channel in the spring and summer would threaten rare sea turtles nesting on nearby beaches — a review demanded by conservationists who sued to stop the project. Georgia conservation group One Hundred Miles moved to dismiss its lawsuit against the Army Corps of Engineers after the agency announced Friday that it would voluntarily conduct the study. The group sued in December, asking a US District Court judge to order the Corps to produce such a report.”
Behind Trump’s Musical Tribute to Some of the Most Violent January 6 Rioters (Reader Jim)
From The Washington Post: “Most nights at 9 p.m., defendants in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol flicker the lights in their D.C. jail cells to signal to supporters outside that it’s time to sing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ together. The recital has become a sacred ritual for a subset of Donald Trump’s movement devoted to heroizing the accused rioters. The former president is now embracing their cause, lending his voice to a recording of the ‘J6 Prison Choir’ and playing it to start the first rally of his 2024 presidential campaign. The song, ‘Justice for All,’ features Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance mixed with a rendition of the national anthem.”
Republican Legislatures Look to Put Local Issues in Liberal Areas Under State Control (DonkeyHotey)
The author writes, “Lawmakers in statehouses across the country have spent the past several weeks debating bills that would bring local issues like zoning, education and police powers under state control. In recent years, national culture war debates have driven a surge of new legislation, known as preemption bills, in Republican state houses aimed at rolling back laws passed by more progressive cities. Mayors and advocates say the trend risks alienating voters who lose faith in the power of their local leaders.”
Republicans Vote Down Attempt to Prevent More Investigations Like Gableman Voter Fraud Inquiry (Al)
From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: “A motion to add more oversight to investigations commissioned by the [Wisconsin] state Legislature was voted down Thursday after being introduced by Democrats in reaction to Michael Gableman’s fruitless look into purported voter fraud during the 2020 election. The motion would have required a vote by both the Assembly and Senate to approve the hiring of investigators but was rejected with little discussion by Republicans who hold the majority in the Legislature and on the joint finance committee.”
Why Pope Francis Isn’t With the West on Ukraine (Roshni)
The author writes, “Pope Francis has staked a position on the war in Ukraine that puts him more in line with Beijing, New Delhi, and Brasília than Washington, London, or Brussels: He wants to end Ukraine’s armament by the West and negotiate an immediate cease-fire. [Last] week, Francis vaguely alluded to a mission he was working on to end the conflict. Yet he seems to have alienated many of the actors whose support he would need to do so.”
Where There’s Plastic, There’s Fire. Indiana Blaze Highlights Concerns Over Expanding Plastic Recycling (Laura)
The author writes, “China’s ban on accepting most plastic waste may have led to a burning stockpile in eastern Indiana that sent black smoke billowing into the air — and local residents scrambling to safety.”
New Light On How to Eat Healthy — From Insects (Gerry)
From Knowable Magazine: “Might it be that, like locusts, we are tricked into overeating, in our case by the irresistible, low-protein, ultraprocessed foods on the shelves of the stores where we do most of our foraging? That’s what [David] Raubenheimer and [Stephen] Simpson, both now at the University of Sydney, argue in their recent book ‘Eat Like the Animals’ and in an overview in the Annual Review of Nutrition.”
Bees on a Wing Strand Airline Passenger in Houston for Hours (Sean)
The author writes, “Passengers leaving Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport to head to Atlanta Wednesday weren’t the only ones ready for vacation. Hoping to catch a Delta flight out of the Bayou City was a group of bees that were found hanging on one of the wings of the aircraft. And we’re not talking just a dozen or so bees. A picture from Twitter user Anjali Enjeti shows a swarm of hundreds of bees that found shelter on the wing of the aircraft.”
