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.
|
Listen To This Story
 |
Amateur Photographer Snaps Rare Bird in Oregon: ‘It’s Mind-Blowing’ (Maria)
The author writes, “Michael Sanchez was setting up his new camera to capture a waterfall at Oregon’s Hug Point at sunrise when he spotted a little bird hopping around. He snapped a few photos and didn’t think much more of it. A week later, those snapshots have made him the star — and the envy — of the local birding community. Sanchez, who is from Vancouver, Washington, may have inadvertently captured the first images of an extremely rare blue rock-thrush in North America.”
Arizona Highlights Risk of ‘Zombie’ Laws (Dana)
From State Court Report: “Earlier this month, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that an 1864 law that bans virtually all abortions in the state is still operative. The decision upended state and national politics in a key swing state and brought new attention to so-called zombie laws — long-unenforced statutes that remain on the books. … [Zombie laws] highlight an often underappreciated argument for the importance of respecting precedent: generations of Americans expended no political energy to remove inoperative abortion laws from the books, relying on the fact that Roe set a federal floor for abortion rights. Now Dobbs threatens to resurrect those laws, often in political environments that can make repeal an uphill climb.”
He Threatened Marjorie Taylor Greene Amid a Mental Health Crisis. Then Came the Consequences. (Russ)
The author writes, “In a time of rising anger, what happened to one man who threatened Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.”
I Am a Jewish Student at Columbia. Don’t Believe What You’re Being Told About ‘Campus Antisemitism’ (DonkeyHotey)
The author writes, “The White House, Congressional Republicans, and cable news talking heads would have you believe that the Columbia University campus has devolved into a hotbed of antisemitic violence — but the reality on the ground is very different. As a Jewish student at Columbia, it depresses me that I have to correct the record and explain what the real risk to our safety looks like. I still can’t quite believe how the events on campus over the past few days have been so cynically and hysterically misrepresented by the media and by our elected representatives.”
Boeing, Slowed to a Crawl, Bleeds Cash in Wake of Alaska Air Blowout (Reader Steve)
From The Seattle Times: “Boeing lost $355 million in the first three months of the year, burning through $3.9 billion in cash after the jet manufacturer slowed 737 MAX production to a crawl following the midair blowout of a fuselage panel on an Alaska Airlines jet in January. The first quarter financial results, reported Wednesday, included a charge of $443 million in compensation paid to airlines forced to ground their MAXs for about three weeks after the incident and another $222 million write-off in the defense division for added costs on the KC-46 tanker and T-7 fighter trainer programs.”
She Was Fired After Not Endorsing Splenda-Filled Salads To People With Diabetes. Why? (Gerry)
From The Guardian: “Elizabeth Hanna had a simple job: help people with diabetes figure out what to eat. Anyone with common sense knows this should probably not entail foods that might increase people’s risk of getting diabetes. But that’s not necessarily the thinking at the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the world’s leading diabetes research and patient advocacy group, which also receives millions of dollars from sponsors in the pharmaceutical, food and agricultural industries. According to a lawsuit Hanna recently filed against the ADA, the organization — which endorses recipes and food plans on its website and on the websites of ‘partner’ food brands — tried to get her to greenlight recipes that she believed flew in the face of the ADA’s mission.”
A Highway in Indiana Could One Day Charge Your EV While You’re Driving It (Laura)
The author writes, “Soon, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) … will install a series of copper coils under the highway’s surface to test a new technology Purdue University researchers developed that can provide power to electric vehicles wirelessly as they drive past.”
