What Is That Critter? New Tech Guidelines Can Help Ensure We Get It Right
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What Is That Critter? New Tech Guidelines Can Help Ensure We Get It Right (Maria)
The author writes, “Have you ever been in the woods and wondered what bug you’re hearing or which bird is singing? These days, new technologies are helping scientists and the public identify what’s trilling, scuttling, tweeting, rustling or slithering around. But not all emerging tech emerges equally, which is why biologist Julie Allen and an international group developed recommendations to help ensure trustworthy biodiversity monitoring data. Their nine suggestions were published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”
Economic Fallout From US-Led War Is Hitting the Rest of the World Harder (Russ)
From The Washington Post: “Because of greater exposure to disruptions in the Middle East, such as high natural gas prices, businesses and consumers outside the US are being hit harder by the war in Iran.”
Why We’re Really in Iran (Bethany)
The author writes, “Say what you want about our objectives in Iran, at least they’re clear. ‘Crystal clear,’ according to Admiral Brad Cooper. Everybody says so, and they say it all the time. ‘I don’t understand what the confusion is,’ Marco Rubio told the press peevishly three days into the war. ‘Let me explain it to you, and I’ll do it once again as clearly as possible.’ I am but a simple radical left-wing fake-news liberal commie lunatic with TDS in my DNA, and so I am struggling to wrap my pronoun-addled brain around these crystal-clear objectives. To overcome this handicap, I’ve listened to some speeches and I’ve made a little chart.”
Trump Has Detained the Parents of More Than 11,000 US Citizen Kids (Dana)
From ProPublica: “Incidents … involving the arrest and detention of immigrant parents with American citizen children occurred twice as often after President Donald Trump returned to office, according to an analysis of a new nationwide Immigration and Customs Enforcement dataset shared exclusively with ProPublica. In the first seven months of his second term, authorities arrested and detained parents of at least 11,000 U.S. citizen children — a number that, if the pace held up, will have roughly doubled by now. That’s an average of more than 50 U.S. citizen kids a day with a parent pulled into detention.”
Anti-ICE Protesters Convicted on Terrorism Charges for Wearing All Black (Laura)
The author writes, “A federal jury handed prosecutors a mixed victory in the trial of nine protesters for their roles during or after a chaotic demonstration outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility last July, convicting eight defendants of terrorism charges but sparing some of them on attempted murder counts. The widely watched trial could serve as a bellwether as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to crack down on left-wing groups — and the convictions could encourage prosecutors to bring more such charges.”
Easy-To-Use Solar Panels Are Coming, But Utilities Are Trying To Delay Them (DonkeyHotey)
From NPR: “Easy-to-install solar panels that plug into a regular outlet are getting attention just as Americans are worried about rising energy costs. That’s because these plug-in or balcony solar panels start shaving off part of a homeowner’s or renter’s utility bill right away. …. The panels are already popular in Germany, where more than 1.2 million of the small plug-in systems are registered with the German government. For the panels to become more widely available in the U.S., state lawmakers are proposing bills that eliminate complicated utility connection agreements, which are required for larger rooftop solar installations and, most utilities say, should apply to plug-in solar too. Those agreements, along with permitting and other installation costs, can double the price of solar panels.”
A Real Possum Appears Among Plush Toy Animals in Australian Airport Gift Shop (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “On shelves crammed with cuddly toy native animals in an Australian airport gift shop, one fluffy possum stood out: Its big brown eyes were moving. A browsing passenger first spotted a living Australian brushtail possum peering out from among the kangaroos on the display shelf at the departure terminal shop at Hobart Airport in Tasmania state.”
