June 23

Rumsfeld Endorses Trump, Google’s Unknown But Powerful Censorship Tools, Blackouts in California Loom, and More Picks

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.

Blackouts Loom in California with Power Grid Emergency (Jeff C.)

October’s large-scale natural gas disaster has resulted in the shutdown of key storage facilities that supply most of the power for the southern portion of the state. The conditions put added stress on grid system already struggling amid the current heat wave.

Julian Assange Just Began His 5th Year Inside the Ecuadorian Embassy

Global event involving sixty prominent supporters marks four years  in de facto illegal detention.

Google Has an Amazing Array of Censorship Tools (Klaus)

Internet users are mostly oblivious to the many ways in which Google controls what they see when searching for things online.

Saudis Questions Criteria Used in UN’s Human Rights Violators List (Dan)

After threatening to pull funding if placed on the list, the Saudis are now questioning why they were even on the list.

Rummy: Endorsing Trump ‘Wasn’t Hard Decision’ (Trevin)

The other “Donald” has broken with the neocons and endorsed Trump, a candidate who has accused George W. Bush of lying to get the US, into war with Iraq, over Hillary Clinton who voted for the war.

Robot Tries to Make a Run for It for the Second Time (Klaus)

A robot that is able to learn has “tried to escape” for a second time. Depending on how you feel about artificial intelligence, this story is either cute or deeply disconcerting.

House GOP Narrowly Dodges Vote to Ban Harriet Tubman on $20 (Dan)

Rep. Peter King (R-NY) wanted the vote, others did not. Especially not in an election year.

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