Biden vs. Trump, Airlines vs. Turbulence, & Kate Middleton vs. Conspiracies
March 12, 2024
Hello, readers – happy Tuesday! Today, we’re talking about Biden and Trump’s budget visions, Europe’s climate crisis, a bumpy flight, Portugal’s elections, the NAACP’s warning to collegiate athletes, Trump vs. Meta, and what’s going on with Princess Kate.
Here’s some good news: Arizona’s governor announced that Fondomonte, a Saudi Arabian farm, is no longer permitted to pump unlimited amounts of groundwater to grow alfalfa for its dairy cows overseas. It’s welcome news as the Colorado River Basin continues to dry up. Also, a pair of bald eagles are nesting in Toronto, Canada, for the first time in the city’s history. Toronto has invested heavily in its green spaces to help save wildlife.
“Goodness is the only investment that never fails.” – Henry David Thoreau
Bringing A Budget To A Knife Fight
It’s only March, but President Biden and former President Trump have begun pushing their policy points as election season hits its stride. On Monday, Biden’s White House released its new annual budget, laying out the incumbent’s plans if he wins in November. The $7.266 trillion budget includes funding for universal prekindergarten education, 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, and tax breaks for first-time home buyers. It would also provide funding for Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and veterans’ benefits. To pay for this, Biden proposes higher taxes on billion-dollar corporations and U.S. multinationals’ foreign incomes, a minimum 25% tax on billionaires, and expanding IRS funding by over $100 billion – a move the White House says will generate over $300 billion in revenue.
While Biden has published his official budget proposal, Trump has outlined his future plans in a series of scattered media comments (some not even made by the man himself). In an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Trump floated the idea of “cutting” Social Security spending, which Biden quickly replied to by tweeting “Not on my watch.” Following a meeting with Trump, far-right Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán said on Sunday that the presidential hopeful “will not give a penny” to Ukraine if he’s re-elected, claiming that he instead has a “detailed plan” to end the war without any more U.S. contributions.
Can You Teach The Old World New Tricks?
Europe’s first-ever climate risk assessment shows that the Old World isn’t ready to deal with the consequences of the (relatively) new problem of climate change. The assessment carried out by the European Environment Agency shows that the continent is likely to see more intense weather patterns (including wildfires, droughts, and floods) in the near future, but its people and infrastructure are not prepared for this new reality.
The report finds that Europe is the fastest-warming continent in the world, heating up at a rate twice that of other continents, which will cause 36 major climate risks to the continent, including threats to ecosystems, economies, and health and food systems. The EEA identified eight of these risks as requiring urgent responses, including conserving ecosystems, protecting people against heat, protecting people and infrastructure from floods and wildfires, and securing relief funds for disasters.
“It’s clearly in our best interest to adapt to changing risks we can no longer avoid, including preparedness for bigger extremes and surprises, and to avoid the risks from getting further out of hand by reducing greenhouse gases,” said Maarten van Aalst, the director-general of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute.
Looking For A New All-Day Shoe?
- We’ve got the perfect shoe that will keep your feet happy for hours. The ON Cloudswift 3 AD has a sock-like fit to make it comfortable and supportive for as long as you wear them.
- The Cloudswift 3 AD is a high-tech everyday shoe, with a CloudTec midsole for extra cushion, Dual Density Helion superfoam for comfort, and a mesh outer material for breathability.
- Combine the classic benefits of the Cloudswift runner with the re-engineered CloudTec cushioning and you get the perfect shoe for wearing All Day. Treat your feet the way they deserve and check out the ON Cloudswift 3 AD today.
Another Bad Look For Boeing
- Dozens of passengers aboard a LATAM Airlines flight from Australia to New Zealand were injured as their plane experienced a “technical event” on Monday. According to the Chilean airline, the “technical event” caused “a strong movement,” which resulted in the injuries. Passengers aboard the flight said that the plane experienced a “mid-air drop” which sent people “flying around.”
- “Blood was on the ceiling, people [flew] and broke the ceiling of the plane,” said one person. 14 vehicles, including seven ambulances, greeted the plane as it touched down at Auckland International Airport. About 50 people were treated for injuries at the airport, and 12 more have been sent to the local hospital for further treatment. According to a flight tracking website, the plane involved in the incident was a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner – Boeing says it’s still gathering information about the flight.
Lisbon Leans Right
- Portugal held national elections over the weekend following a corruption scandal that brought down the outgoing Socialist government. The center-right Democratic Alliance coalition won the most votes on Sunday, but didn’t secure enough seats to control a governing majority of parliamentary seats, meaning it will need to branch out to secure a new government. All eyes are now on the far-right Chega party, which won 48 of parliament’s 230 seats and is now the third-largest political force in Portugal.
- The center-left Socialist party has conceded the election to the Democratic Alliance, but says it won’t help its political rivals pass new bills. It’s unclear how the new government will get anything done – the Democratic Alliance might eventually seek out the votes of Chega in order to achieve its political goals, but the move risks legitimizing a party long criticized for its radically far-right views.
More Mixed Nuts
- Protests at Dutch Holocaust museum as Israeli president visits (BBC)
- 5 missing skiers found dead in Swiss Alps, search for 6th continues: “We were trying the impossible” (CBS)
- US defence contractor paid commissions to Saudi firm later alleged to be conduit for bribes (Guardian)
- India enacts citizenship law criticised as ‘discriminatory’ to Muslims (Guardian)
Middle East Mixed Nuts
- US, Jordanian militaries airdrop another 11,500 meals into northern Gaza (ABC)
- Muslims prepare for a more somber Ramadan due to the Israel-Hamas war (NPR)
- Jordan says Israel’s Al-Aqsa mosque restrictions risk ‘explosion’ (Reuters)
- More than 20 progressive groups form a coalition to counter pro-Israel groups before the election (AP)
Taking Their Talents Away From Tallahassee
- In a letter sent Monday to current and future student-athletes of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), NAACP leader Derrick Johnson encouraged Black athletes to “choose wisely” when selecting their school. Johnson specifically wanted athletes to reconsider going to Florida schools in the wake of a decision in the state that bans the use of government funds on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at public colleges and universities.
- “The value Black and other college athletes bring to large universities is unmatched. If these institutions are unable to completely invest in those athletes, it’s time they take their talents elsewhere,” said Johnson. However, Johnson acknowledged that not every student will have the option to walk away from a lucrative deal, saying, “The sad reality is, for many Black student-athletes, collegiate sports may be their sole opportunity at achieving the upward mobility necessary to propel them into their rightful places in society.”
Is This Mogul Manipulating The Markets?
- Former President Trump is getting involved in Big Tech. Meta’s stock fell about 4% on Monday after Trump called CNBC and referred to Facebook as “an enemy of the people.” The drop comes just a few days after a 1.2% drop that followed a post by Trump on Truth Social expressing similar sentiments. The tech giant has dropped about $60 billion in market valuation since Thursday.
- Despite leading the charge during his presidency to have TikTok banned in the U.S., Trump has reversed course on that crusade. He said yesterday, “The thing I don’t like is that without TikTok, you can make Facebook bigger.” Despite Trump’s concerns, other members of the Republican party are determined to move forward with the TikTok ban – Representative Steve Scalise said on Monday that the House plans to try to fast-track passing a bill that would force ByteDance to sell TikTok.
More Nuts In America
- Katie Britt denies misleading voters in Biden State of the Union rebuttal (BBC)
- 5 people, including a juvenile, killed in Virginia plane crash, officials say (CNN)
- Marcia Fudge, Biden’s housing secretary, is stepping down (Politico)
- Biden’s meager 1% US defense budget increase buys fewer ships, jets (Reuters)
- Kansas Republicans criticized for ‘vile’ stunt with dummy in Biden mask (Guardian)
We’re Overdosing On The Tea
- In case you missed it, one of the royals has been missing since Christmas. Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, was last seen in an official capacity at a church service in England – after which she all but disappeared from the public eye, an unusual occurrence for someone whose entire job is to appear at public events.
- On January 17, Kensington Palace released a statement clarifying that the princess was recovering from a “planned abdominal surgery.” At that point, the palace said that Kate was “unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter,” on March 31. The statement called it a “planned” procedure, but then said it would be “postponing her upcoming engagements,” so maybe it wasn’t as “planned” as her PR team might want us to believe. Her “10-14 day” recovery period also raised eyebrows, as most minor abdominal surgeries don’t require such lengthy in-patient stays.
- Things got stranger this weekend when the “princeandprincessofwales” Instagram account a photo with the caption, “Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day. C.” The photo appeared to show Kate happy and healthy with her kids, until the internet looked closer and found possible evidence of the picture being edited. A statement from Kensington Palace’s official Twitter account, ostensibly from Kate herself, said the edits were a product of her “experiment[ing] with editing,” but the public remains skeptical of the explanation.
More Loose Nuts
- Bumblebees surprise scientists with ‘sophisticated’ social learning (BBC)
- A.I. Is Learning What It Means to Be Alive (NYT, $)
- Reddit IPO to raise nearly $750 million and will offer shares to Redditors. Here’s how it will work. (CBS)
- Porsche unveils one of the fastest road cars in the world, featuring a 1,000-horsepower ‘launch control’ button (CNN)
- Report: Workers are living further from employer, more are living 50 miles from the office (USA Today)
- Airbnb bans the use of indoor security cameras (CNN)
