Biden Gets On TikTok & FAFSA Problems Continue
February 13, 2024
Hello, readers – happy Tuesday! Today, we’re talking about air quality, an oil spill, Finland’s election, Dutch fighter jets, Biden’s social media, RFK Jr.’s apology, & what’s going on with FAFSA.
Here’s some good news: the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) sent a memo to all Medicare Advantage insurers to clarify that algorithms or artificial intelligence cannot be used to determine care or deny coverage to patients. Also, nine states signed an agreement to work toward a 2030 target for heat pumps to make up 65% of residential heating, cooling, and water heating equipment sales. Heat pumps are more energy efficient alternatives to traditional heating and cooling systems, and can run on green energy.
“Too many of us still believe our differences define us.” – John Lewis
Every Breath You Take (How Your Poor Lungs Ache)
As the internet, your chances at owning a home, and the job security of software engineers continue to decline, we’ve got another thing taking a nosedive – America’s air quality. According to an analysis by First Street Foundation, a climate risk organization, 25% of Americans (83 million people) are exposed to “unhealthy” air each year.
First Street’s research shows that the number of days with “unhealthy” Air Quality Index (AQI) levels is expected to rise in the near future thanks to climate change, which causes higher temperatures, droughts, and wildfires. The research also predicts that the number of Americans exposed to unhealthy air annually could jump from 83 million to 125 million people within a few decades.
Until recently, the U.S. had seen its air quality improving after the 1970 Clean Air Act’s passage. Aside from the obvious adverse health effects of more polluted air, said a spokesperson for First Street, we can also expect effects on the economy. “We’re essentially adding back additional premature deaths, adding back additional heart attacks,” he said. “We’re losing productivity in the economic markets by additionally losing outdoor job work days.” People are also being forced to move away from wildfire-vulnerable areas, decreasing tax bases and property values in areas with lower air quality.
A Curious Crash In The Caribbean
Trinidad and Tobago, despite its name, is one single country, and that country is facing a national emergency caused by a large oil spill off its southwestern coast. On Sunday, Prime Minister Keith Rowley declared a national state of emergency in response to the spill, which started last week when a still-unidentified vessel overturned off the coast.
According to the chief secretary of Tobago’s House of Assembly, divers have so far been unable to seal off the source of the leak, and the government is still figuring out how to best contain the spill. Rowley said that “some not-so-insignificant costs are being incurred just to respond to this incident,” and the spill is expected to have a negative impact on tourism.
“Cleaning and restoration can only seriously begin after we have brought the situation under control,” said the prime minister. “Right now, the situation is not under control. But it appears to be under sufficient control that we think we can manage.” He added that the vessel at the center of the spill might have been involved in some “illicit” dealings, saying, “We don’t know who it belongs to. We have no idea where it came from, and we also don’t know all that it contains.”
Russia’s Newly NATO-Aligned Neighbor
- Finland’s center-right National Coalition Party has taken the reins following a presidential election on Sunday. Alexander Stubb, the party’s presidential candidate, took a solid victory over liberal Green Party candidate Pekka Haavisto, who conceded on Monday. Stubb declared himself the winner of the runoff vote after securing 51.6% of ballots cast with 99.7% of votes counted. Haavisto won 48.4% of the vote.
- Stubb, who called the victory “the greatest honor” of his life, will now lead Finland on the foreign policy front. While his predecessor Sauli Niinisto was known as “the Putin Whisperer” for his ability to navigate Finland’s tumultuous relationship with Moscow, Stubb’s Finland is now strongly linked to the West through its new status as a NATO member state. “Obviously we all know that we are in a difficult position nowadays looking at Russia, the entire turbulence in the world today. So I think that’s the biggest threat and biggest issue that we have,” he told Reuters on Saturday.
The Dutch Don’t Want To Dirty Their Hands
- As Israel prepares for a ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, its actions are beginning to erode Western support in a very material way – and no, we’re not talking about another strongly-worded letter from the White House. On Monday, a Dutch court ordered the country’s government to stop all its exports of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel.
- “It is undeniable that there is a clear risk the exported F-35 parts are used in serious violations of international humanitarian law,” read the court’s ruling. The Dutch government has already responded to the decision, saying it will appeal to the Supreme Court on the grounds that a court should not be allowed to direct the country’s foreign policy. The Netherlands is home to a regional stockpile of U.S.-supplied F-35 parts – the court said that the jets were likely to have been used in Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians, but noted that the export ban might be lifted as long as the jets aren’t used in military operations in Gaza.
Additional World News
- Fire breaks out at a waterpark under construction at a popular Swedish amusement park (ABC)
- Yemen’s Houthi rebels target carrier ship bound for Iran, their main supporter (CBS)
- Plan to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda incompatible with human rights UK lawmaker says (ABC)
- India celebrates release of eight nationals detained in Qatar on reported spy charges (CNN)
- Indian police block roads to halt farmers marching to New Delhi (Reuters)
Middle East News
- Rafah’s 1 million refugees fear Israeli onslaught after night of bombardment (Guardian)
- Biden welcomes the King of Jordan as framework for hostage deal is decided in Israel-Hamas conflict (AP)
- UK places sanctions on Israeli settlers for ‘forcing’ Palestinians from their land (Guardian)
GRWM To Go To Work In The Oval Office
- President Biden’s reelection campaign, BidenHQ, has joined TikTok, despite the president’s past interest in banning the app. The account’s first video showed Biden answering “this or that” questions about the Super Bowl. By Monday morning, the Biden campaign’s TikTok account had over 4.6 million views on the app.
- Biden’s camp has questioned if the app is safe, given that it falls under Chinese-owned ByteDance’s umbrella. The White House even banned the use of TikTok on government-issued devices at the beginning of 2023. However, the campaign said it wants to “continue meeting voters where they are,” and where they are is definitely on TikTok.
- Speaking of the president getting into social media, after the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl Sunday night, the president’s team posted the “Dark Brandon” meme with the caption “Just like we drew it up.” The post referred to the right-wing conspiracy theories that the game was rigged in favor of the Chiefs to clear the way for Taylor Swift to endorse Biden.
Family Business Makes National News
- A PAC backing independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released an ad during the Super Bowl that his family wasn’t too thrilled about. The throwback-style ad was similar to a 1960 ad run by his father, President John F. Kennedy, with the name “Kennedy” sung repeatedly in the background.
- “My cousin’s Super Bowl ad used our uncle’s faces- and my Mother’s. She would be appalled by his deadly health care views. Respect for science, vaccines, & health care equity were in her DNA,” Kennedy’s cousin Bobby Shriver said on X. Bobby’s brother said he agreed with the assessment as well.
- RFK responded, “Bobby. I’m so sorry if that advertisement caused you pain. The ad was created and aired by the American Values Superpac without any involvement or approvals from my campaign. Federal rules prohibit Superpacs from consulting with me or my staff. I send you and your family my sincerest apologies. God bless you. “
Additional USA Reads
- Biggest snowstorm in two years possible for New York, as Northeast braces for snow (NBC)
- Joel Osteen Lakewood Church shooting: Police have identified the woman who opened fire. Here’s what we know (CNN)
- Republicans say Trump call for Russia to attack Nato allies was just fine, actually (Guardian)
- Judge in Trump’s Georgia election case to hear arguments on whether Willis, Wade must testify about misconduct allegations (ABC)
- John Kirby promoted to expanded White House role (Axios)
A FAFSA SNAFU (Sorry For Shouting)
- Getting into college is hard, but apparently so is hosting a working website to provide financial aid to college applicants. Every year, students applying to college have to fill out a federal form called the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. Normally, this process is already painful for busy students, but this year’s FAFSA process has been especially excruciating, thanks to a series of delays and glitches that still haven’t been ironed out months after the form was supposed to be live.
- The FAFSA was supposed to be available to students by late October 2023, but just opened in mid-January 2024. So far, just 700,000 high school seniors have filled out the form, a 50% decline compared to the 1.5 million students who’d had it done by this time last year. What’s the story for the people struggling to get their aid applications in? For many, attempts to create an account within the FAFSA system were met with error messages directing applicants to a phone helpline.
- The helpline leaves users on hold for hours, and when they are finally able to reach an actual human being, there are no tools to help parents who don’t speak English. Many people are told to simply try filling out the form again. The implications of the FAFSA issues can weigh heavily on the families of many college applicants, especially those relying on financial aid to keep their educations going.
Additional Reads
- Couple pleads guilty over gender reveal party that sparked California wildfire (Guardian)
- Mummified monkey remains were found in luggage at Boston’s airport (NPR)
- Rio’s Carnival parade makes urgent plea to stop illegal mining in Indigenous lands (AP)
- Chocolate maker Hershey issues warning over record cocoa prices (Guardian)
- Scientists identify “universal network” of microbes for decomposing flesh (Ars Technica)
- A tiny robot on the space station will simulate remote-controlled surgery up there (NPR)