Presidential Polling, Swiss Pensions, & Robotaxis In L.A.
March 4, 2024
Hello, readers – happy Monday! Today, we’re talking about aid in Gaza, Biden and Trump’s polling, Haiti’s prison breaks, Swiss pensions, Nikki Haley’s comeback (kind of), California’s blizzard, and robotaxis in L.A.
Here’s some good news: Grubhub driver Alan Moncayo delivered lunch to a manager at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter last month and saw a black-and-white pit bull mix in the front window. He ended up adopting the pup, saying, “It was love at first sight.” Also, Caitlin Clark became the NCAA’s all-time scoring leader last night, surpassing Pete Maravich’s record set in 1970.
“You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.” – Franz Kafka
MREs In The Mediterranean
Over the weekend, U.S. military C-130 cargo planes dropped dozens of pallets full of food into southwest Gaza. The airdrop came soon after an incident late last week where over 100 Palestinians were killed while attempting to pull food from an aid truck in Northern Gaza.
Gaza, according to multiple international aid groups, is on the edge of widespread famine, and the U.S. airdrop is likely to be the first in a series of humanitarian efforts to alleviate the suffering. “The amount of aid flowing to Gaza is not nearly enough and we will continue to pull out every stop we can to get more aid in,” said President Joe Biden over Twitter.
Three U.S. planes dropped 66 bundles containing about 38,000 Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) along Gaza’s Mediterranean coast, where the Pentagon said access would be the safest. After the aid drop, the U.S. reportedly monitored the drop locations, and a government source said the food was collected and distributed among civilians. Airdrops like these are seen only as last-resort solutions by aid organizations due to their inefficient nature, indicating just how tight of a corner the White House has been squeezed into.
Again With The Age Issue
As he walks the world’s most precarious tightrope in the Israel-Hamas war, U.S. President Joe Biden is dealing with another tough situation back home. According to a new nationwide poll by the New York Times and Siena College, 73% of all registered voters think that Biden is too old to effectively lead the country for a second term, compared to the 42% who said the same of Trump. In response, Biden’s campaign communication manager Michael Tyler said that polling “consistently overestimates” Trump while counting Biden out based on his age, despite there only being a four-year age gap between the political rivals.
While Trump captured delegates in three more GOP primaries over the weekend, it’s not all rosy for the Don’s campaign, either – even without the hundreds of millions of dollars he owes thanks to multiple lawsuits. According to AP VoteCast surveys of Republican primary voters, 2 in 10 Iowa voters, one-third of New Hampshire voters, and one-quarter of South Carolina voters said they wouldn’t vote for Trump in November even if he secures the GOP nomination.
A Prisoner’s Dilemma For Port-au-Prince
- Things in Haiti seem to be coming to a head. According to local officials, armed gangs have attacked two prisons (including the country’s largest penitentiary) and freed inmates. The attacks are the culmination of a long downward spiral since the assassination of former President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, with gang violence rising month after month.
- On Sunday, the Haitian government released a statement saying that “a large number of prisoners” were released by gang members on Saturday. The national police union said, “If we let gangs take the penitentiary we are done. No one will be spared in the capital.” The attack on prisons is part of a wave of crime that’s taken place while Prime Minister Ariel Henry is on a trip to Kenya to have the African nation send 1,000 police officers to the Caribbean. “The gangs seem to be sending an intimidation message to the troops that might be deploying soon in Haiti, saying, ‘Well, we are forming a united front and we can strike simultaneously,’” said one expert.
They’re Not Neutral About Their Pensions
- The Swiss have voted to give themselves more money. In a nationwide referendum on Sunday, almost 60% of Swiss voters said ‘yes’ to give themselves an extra month’s worth of pension payments each year, citing rising living costs. The Swiss government has warned that increasing pension payouts would make the pension system unaffordable for the government.
- Currently, Swiss citizens over the age of 65 receive a €2,550 ($2,760) pension payment each month. The new payment system would bring the pension payments in line with the nation’s salary schedule, which also pays out in 13 installments – one per month plus a double payment in November to help workers ahead of the holidays. While Swiss voters have actually followed government recommendations regarding budgeting problems in the past (they voted against instating an extra week’s worth of holidays just a few years ago), voters decided to cast a ballot for their wallets this time around.
More Mixed Nuts
- Fears of environmental disaster rise as ship sinks after Houthi attack (WaPo, $)
- Iceland’s Blue Lagoon evacuated ahead of ‘imminent’ volcanic eruption (CNN)
- Police officer in Pakistan is praised for saving woman accused of blasphemy by angry mob (NBC)
- Germany investigates possible Russian eavesdropping of military conference call (NPR)
- Budget 2024: Jeremy Hunt says ‘I will only cut taxes in a responsible way’ (BBC)
- Russian Strike’s Toll Rises to 10 as Zelensky Blames Air Defense Delay (NYT, $)
So Maybe You Don’t Bounce Back From An Attempted Coup?
- Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley won her first GOP presidential nominating contest last night in Washington, D.C. Haley has pledged, despite repeated losses to former President Trump, to stay in the race until Super Tuesday. Haley took 63% of the GOP primary vote, compared to 33% for Trump. Trump got just 14% of the vote in Washington’s 2016 primary.
- In an interview that aired ahead of the tally on NBC News, Haley said she doesn’t think she is obligated to endorse former President Donald Trump if he becomes the Republican nominee. “I think I’ll make what decision I want to make, but that’s not something I’m thinking about,” she said, adding, “if you talk about an endorsement, you’re talking about a loss. I don’t think like that.”
A Golden State Blizzard
- Parts of California have been walloped by snow over the last couple of days, with blizzard warnings still in effect for the Sierra Nevada region. The snow kept a 70-mile stretch of Interstate 80 near the Nevada state line closed for more than a day. About 5-12 feet of snow was forecast to fall along the crest of the Sierra by late yesterday, combined with hurricane-force winds.
- “Extremely heavy snowfall rates of 2-6 inches an hour combined with very strong winds exceeding 100 mph at times will maintain impossible travel conditions in the Sierra Nevada,” the Weather Prediction Center said. There have also been warnings of “high to extreme” avalanche danger. As of writing, more than 15,000 homes and businesses were without power in California.
More Nuts In America
- After impeachment acquittal, Texas AG Ken Paxton is out for revenge (NBC)
- Texas wildfire: strong winds continue to thwart firefighters’ efforts to contain blaze (Guardian)
- Attorney General Garland tells Alabama’s Bloody Sunday service that voting rights are under attack (AP)
- Lauren Boebert doesn’t want to lose the House (WaPo, $)
- University of Florida eliminates all diversity, equity and inclusion positions due to new state rule (NBC)
- Pro-Palestinian protesters disrupt Jill Biden’s ‘Women for Biden-Harris’ tour (NBC)
Robots In The City Of Angels
- Waymo is making its way to SoCal. On Friday, the California Public Utilities Commission greenlit a proposal by the self-driving taxi company to introduce its robo-cars to the already-terrifying web of freeways and interstates of Los Angeles, creating all the media hubbub you’d expect of such a decision.
- “As always, we’ll take a careful and incremental approach to expansion by continuing to work closely with city officials, local communities, and our partners to ensure we’re offering a service that’s safe, accessible, and valuable to our riders,” said one Waymo spokesperson in a statement following the CPUC decision. The company has already been conducting limited invite-only tests of its cars in L.A. over the past few months, but will begin rolling out its program for the wider public over this year.
- Of course, the introduction of robot drivers to L.A. streets has garnered some criticism. “These robotaxis are far too untested and Angelenos shouldn’t be Big Tech’s guinea pigs,” said one L.A. County Supervisor. The critics are especially concerned given an incident last December where two separate Waymos crashed into the same pickup truck within minutes of each other in Phoenix. “The fact that this permit is being granted following such a fiasco raises a lot of questions about the due diligence conducted during this process and how forthcoming Waymo is with both regulators and the general public,” said a drivers’ union representative.
More Loose Nuts
- Lakers’ LeBron James reaches 40,000 career points (ESPN)
- Flight MH370 relatives call for new search 10 years after disappearance (Guardian)
- Elon Musk Sues OpenAI and Sam Altman for Violating the Company’s Principles (NYT, $)
- Victoria Beckham’s Paris Fashion Week show stormed by animal rights protesters (CNN)
- A lone orca killed a great white in less than two minutes. Scientists say it could signal an ecological shift (CNN)
- A man walking his dog found a rare intact dinosaur skeleton (WaPo, $)
