Aid For Ukraine, Self-Driving, & The Return Of Vinyl Records
March 13, 2024
Hello, readers – happy Wednesday! Today, we’re talking about Robert Hur’s testimony, aid for Ukraine, Haiti’s ongoing issues, religious discrimination in India, automated driving systems, Proposition 1 in California, and the resurgence of vinyl records.
Want answers? We’ve got you covered: DP 3/8 Quiz Answers. Hats off to Janice S., who scored a perfect 10 on last week’s quiz. Check back next week for another chance to test your current affairs acumen!
“The only wealth which you will keep forever is the wealth you have given away.” – Marcus Aurelius
Tell Us What You Hur-d
On Tuesday, former special counsel Robert Hur testified in a Congressional hearing regarding his investigation into President Joe Biden’s handling of classified government materials. In his report, Hur had described Biden as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” concluding that he had not acted with malice and deciding to not press charges against Biden. The analysis drew criticism from both sides of the aisle – Democrats called it a partisan takedown of Biden’s mental state, while Republicans accused Hur of unfairly protecting the president.
With Hur’s report set in stone, both parties used this week’s hearing to take potshots at each other. Republicans pushed the former special counsel to describe Biden as “senile,” using a dictionary definition of the word. “I did not. That conclusion does not appear in my report,” Hur replied. Democrats, meanwhile, pushed comparisons to Trump. Two Representatives asked if Biden directed his lawyer to lie to the FBI. The answer was a flat “no” for Biden, but Democrats emphasized that the same could not be said for Trump, who was indicted on charges of mishandling top secret documents last year.
We Found $300 Million Lying Around, Here You Go!
While Biden’s conduct was being questioned in Congress, the president was busy getting some work done in the White House. National security adviser Jake Sullivan announced that the U.S. would give $300 million worth of weapons to Ukraine, saying that the money had been freed up thanks to “unanticipated cost savings in contracts that DOD negotiated to replace equipment we’ve already sent to Ukraine through previous drawdowns.”
A spokesman for the Pentagon said the bill would send Ukraine a menu of different military supplies, including Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, artillery rounds, and small arms ammo. The relatively small aid package comes as Democrats keep trying to push a larger defense aid bill to send over $60 billion in military aid to Kyiv.
On the ground, groups of pro-Ukrainian Russian fighters claimed to have launched successful attacks into Russian territory on Tuesday, seizing control of a few areas in Russia’s border regions. Meanwhile, dozens of Ukrainian long-range drones were launched at targets within Russian territory, hitting a few pieces of infrastructure but ultimately causing minimal lasting damage, according to Moscow. The Kremlin added that Russian forces had killed at least 234 of the fighters involved in the border skirmishes.
Punted From Port-Au-Prince
- At this point, we’ve written every variation of “things are getting worse in Haiti” possible, so let’s cut right to the chase: Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry has announced that he will be resigning from his position and dissolving his government. He will hand power over to a transitional council, which will then set up elections for the next official government.
- Henry’s resignation comes after weeks of heightened gang violence in the country, which forced Haiti to declare a state of emergency last weekend when gangs attacked police stations and prisons across the nation. Following the mass prison breaks, Jimmy Cherizier, the head of the powerful “G9 and Family” gang, threatened that violence would continue until Henry stepped down. According to one nonprofit, gangs now control about 80% of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital city.
Citizenship For Everyone (Except You)
- On Monday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government announced plans to implement a controversial citizenship law that would benefit people of all faiths besides Muslims. The Citizenship Amendment Act, passed in 2019, fast-tracks the naturalization process for Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and Christians who fled to India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan before 2014 – but notably excludes those benefits for Muslims from those countries (which are all majority Muslim).
- Combined with a proposal for a national registry of citizens, the Citizenship Amendment Act was met with widespread protest when it passed in 2019, as many in India thought it would undermine the country’s secular nature. Now, the political climate has changed significantly. Modi’s government has increasingly stoked divisions between India’s Hindu majority and its large Muslim minority, and the prime minister has remained conspicuously silent regarding a recent spike in violence against Muslims. In a recent statement, human rights watchdog Amnesty India said that the Citizenship Amendment Act “legitimizes discrimination based on religion” and is “exclusionary in its structure and intent.”
More Mixed Nuts
- Romanian court grants UK’s request to extradite Andrew Tate, once local legal cases are concluded (AP)
- US conducts defensive airstrikes as Houthis fire anti-ship ballistic missiles (ABC)
- Cargo plane carrying 15 crashes in Russia, ministry says (ABC)
- Diane Abbott calls Tory donor’s comments frightening (BBC)
- India joins select group of nations able to fire multiple warheads on a single ICBM (CNN)
Middle East Mixed Nuts
- Dual US-Israeli citizen Itay Chen, who was thought to have been held hostage in Gaza, was killed October 7, IDF announces (CNN)
- US intelligence report states Netanyahu’s viability to lead Israel is in jeopardy (CNN)
- Senators Urge Biden to Stop Arming Israel, Citing Violation of U.S. Aid Law (NYT, $)
- If Israel invades Rafah, Biden will consider conditioning military aid to Israel (Politico)
Maybe Don’t Let Jesus Take The Wheel
- The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tested 14 advanced driver assistance systems and gave 11 of them a “poor” rating. These systems are meant to keep vehicles in their lanes and from hitting cars in front of them. The technology typically only works on highways, but Tesla’s Full Self Driving is also supposed to work on surface streets.
- Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self Driving and similar systems from Ford and Nissan were all ranked as “poor.” General Motors’ Super Cruise was rated as “marginal.” Only Lexus’ Teammate with Advanced Drive system received an “acceptable” rating – and that’s still not the highest rating. In other words, you might want to maintain focus while driving.
The Bear Cares About Mental Health
- With over a million ballots still to be counted, California’s Proposition 1 opponents conceded that it’s likely to pass. “We almost took down the bear, but it looks like we will fall short,” read a statement released yesterday, though the opponents noted they expect the margin to be fairly slim. The measure would provide $6.38 billion to improve and extend the state’s mental health resources.
- California has nearly half of the nation’s unsheltered population. Nationwide surveys suggest at least 21% of those experiencing homelessness report having a serious mental illness, and 16% report having a substance use disorder. On Tuesday, the “yes” vote for Proposition 1 gained 0.2% over the “no” vote, with the vote standing at 50.4% to 49.6%.
More Nuts In America
- Boeing whistleblower John Barnett, who raised alarm over plane quality, is found dead (NPR)
- ‘Digital fentanyl’: Pence calls for passage of TikTok bill (Politico)
- Trump allies fire dozens of RNC staff in wake of committee leadership shake up (USA Today)
- Old power lines plus climate change mean a growing risk of utilities starting fires (NPR)
- Two 18-year-olds are being held on $2M bail in Philadelphia bus stop shooting that injured 8 teens (NBC)
The Tables Turn, And What’s Old Is New Again
- For the first time in three decades, the prices of vinyl records will be used to calculate U.K. inflation statistics, highlighting the comeback of the audio format. Each year, the UK’s Office for National Statistics updates a basket of key goods and services, the prices of which it uses to calculate the country’s inflation rate. On Monday, the ONS update added 16 items and removed 15 to accurately represent what British consumers are buying nowadays.
- “Our inflation basket of goods offers a fascinating snapshot of consumer spending through the years,” said an ONS spokesperson in a statement. “Often the basket reflects the adoption of new technology, but the return of vinyl records shows how cultural revivals can affect our spending.” The last time vinyls were included in the U.K.’s inflation basket was 1992, but their return to favor reflects their massive comeback – in 2023, 6.1 million vinyl records were sold nationwide.
- Other additions to the list this year include air fryers, rice cakes, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and spray oils. These additions indicate the country’s increased focus on healthy living. Hand sanitizer, baking trays, and roasting tins are all on the way out this year – hand sanitizer usage has dropped since the end of the pandemic, and Britons seem to be baking less than ever.
More Loose Nuts
- NASA’s Crew-7 returns to Earth in SpaceX Dragon from ISS mission ‘benefitting humanity’ (USA Today)
- Mars could be driving ‘giant whirlpools’ in the Earth’s deep oceans, new study finds (CNN)
- Study: Conflicting values for Hubble Constant not due to measurement error (Ars Technica)
- Disneyland plan for long-term major development in Anaheim clears crucial hurdle (LAT, $)
- Over 1 in 10 high school seniors report using delta-8 THC (NBC)
