|
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 Lays Claim to $1 Billion in Stolen Silk Road Bitcoin (Maria)
The author writes, “The United States is seeking the forfeiture of more than $1 billion in Bitcoin stolen from the Silk Road online marketplace, federal prosecutors in Manhattan said on Monday. In the second-largest seizure in US Department of Justice history, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents obtained the 50,000 Bitcoin during a November 2021 search of the defendant James Zhong’s home in Gainesville, Georgia. Zhong, 32, on Friday pleaded guilty to wire fraud for tricking Silk Road’s processing system into releasing the funds to his accounts in 2012. Some of the stolen Bitcoin was found on a computer in a popcorn tin stored in a bathroom closet, IRS special agent Trevor McAleenan said in an affidavit.”
Republicans Are Bad for the Economy. Here’s Why. (Sean)
From The Daily Beast: “When it comes to the economy, the GOP is the problem and not the solution. If anything, it is a greater obstacle to our economic well-being today than it has ever been. At the same time, the economic record of President Joe Biden and the Democrats is not just consistent — in creating jobs, reducing the deficit, and enhancing our competitiveness — during the past two years their record has been one of extraordinary, often record-breaking success.”
Lake Would Use National Guard as Political Pawn (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “Kari Lake, a woman who spent her life reading other people’s copy, now wants to be a boss — the Commander and Chief of the Arizona National Guard. That should make every Guard soldier and airman nervous. Why? Because she admires the conspiracy crowd, Q-Anon crackpots, and Fox News fearmongers who see the border as prime real estate for political stunts, turning human beings into objects. And she already has an example, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.”
Clinton Wants Trump to Pay Her Legal Fees After Tossed Conspiracy Lawsuit (DonkeyHotey)
The author writes, “Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is asking a federal court to order former President Trump to pay her legal fees over a suit he filed alleging she and others engaged in a conspiracy to undermine his 2016 campaign with accusations of Russian collusion. In a motion filed [at the end of October], Clinton’s attorneys cast Trump’s suit — which was dismissed by a federal trial court in September, a move the former president has appealed — as a ‘political stunt’ and argued it met the threshold for the court to impose sanctions.”
GOP Rep. Dan Crenshaw: Election Deniers Admit It’s a Lie Behind Closed Doors (Dana)
The author writes, “Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) revealed what election deniers actually say behind closed doors as a slew of reality-defying candidates run as Republicans in next week’s 2022 midterms. ‘It was always a lie. The whole thing was always a lie. And it was a lie meant to rile people up,’ the Texas Republican said of the lie that Donald Trump was cheated by widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election during the latest episode of his Hold These Truths podcast.”
Why Everybody You Know Is Sick Right Now (Russ)
From Vox: “It’s not just you or your kids: Cold and flu season is off to a particularly nasty start across the United States. With the country stepping down from the pandemic footing of the past few years, the various viruses that cause coughs, runny noses, and sore throats are now on the rebound. Cases of influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a common respiratory bug that can occasionally turn serious for infants and older adults, had been held down in 2020 and 2021 because people were wearing masks and taking other precautions to avoid Covid-19. But almost all official pandemic policies have lapsed, most Americans have returned to some or all of their pre-pandemic activities, and immunity to other common viruses may have waned after two years of largely avoiding them.”
This Nose-Picking Lemur Deserves Its Own Horror Movie (Dana)
From CNET: “One thing I didn’t expect to do … was laugh my head off at a video of a lemur picking its nose. But here we are. Even if you’re grossed out, it’s worth sticking around to learn why scientists were so shocked over the lemur’s nose-picking prowess.”
