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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.
White House Invites Dozens of Nations for Ransomware Summit (Maria)
The author writes, “The White House is bringing together three dozen nations, the European Union and a slew of private-sector companies for a two-day summit … [which began] Monday that looks at how best to combat ransomware attacks. The second International Counter Ransomware Summit will focus on priorities such as ensuring systems are more resilient to better withstand attacks and disrupt bad actors planning such assaults. A senior Biden administration official cited recent attacks such as one that targeted the Los Angeles school district last month to underscore the urgency of the issue and the summit.”
A County Elections Director Stood Up to Locals Who Believe the Voting System Is Rigged. They Pushed Back Harder. (Russ)
From ProPublica: “Even in a county where Trump won more than 70% of the 2020 vote, local election deniers have mounted a campaign to access voting machines and slash the elections director’s pay.”
Fiona Hill: ‘Elon Musk Is Transmitting a Message for Putin’ (Gerry)
From Politico: “It’s still hard to imagine how Putin’s war on Ukraine will conclude. Does Putin even have an endgame? If he really wants to control Ukrainian territory, why does he seem so bent on destroying it? To get insights into these questions, I reached out to Fiona Hill, one of America’s most clear-eyed observers of Russia and Putin, who served as an adviser to former President Donald Trump and gained fame for her testimony in his first impeachment trial.”
Abortion Foes Seek Ouster of 5 Kansas Supreme Court Justices (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “The most influential anti-abortion group in Kansas politics is urging voters in mailers to remove five of the seven justices on a state Supreme Court that declared access to abortion a fundamental right under the state constitution. The group, Kansans for Life, was a key part of the campaign for a proposed amendment to the state constitution to declare that it doesn’t grant a right to abortion, which would have nullified the court’s 2019 decision protecting abortion rights. The amendment would have allowed the Republican-controlled Legislature to greatly restrict or ban abortion, but voters decisively rejected it in August.”
VIDEO: Watch These Men Pose as Officials and Try to Copy 2020 Election Data From a Voting Machine (DonkeyHotey)
From CNN: “CNN’s Drew Griffin reports on the two men, one armed and in a bulletproof vest, who showed up at the Cross Village, Michigan, community center claiming to be from the Department of Defense and tried to copy 2020 election data from a voting machine in an attempt to investigate baseless claims of voter fraud.”
Video Gaming May Be Associated With Better Cognitive Performance in Children, Study Suggests (Mili)
The author writes, “A study of nearly 2,000 children found that those who reported playing video games for three hours per day or more performed better on cognitive skills tests involving impulse control and working memory compared to children who had never played video games. Published [this month] in JAMA Network Open, this study analyzed data from the ongoing Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, which is supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and other entities of the National Institutes of Health.”
This Robot Painted My Nails: Clockwork’s Manicure Machines Are Adding Functions (Dana)
From CNET: “How do you make beauty services a little more like fast food? That’s the question that Renuka Apte says led her team to create the Clockwork nail-painting robot, now at six Target stores across the US. The CEO and founder says the machine will be expanding to even more locations next year, and the next models will be able to do even more — including removing polish and applying a clear top-coat of paint — all without a human assistant.”
