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California Hits ‘Historical’ Renewable Energy Milestone (Maria)
The author writes, “Renewable energy has supplied 100 percent of California’s energy demand for between 15 minutes and six hours in 30 of the last 38 days — a historic first for the Golden State. Wind, solar, and hydro energy is now exceeding demand across the state, producing more energy than Californians require on an almost daily basis. California has previously seen great success with its renewable energy supply, but this is the first time that wind, solar, and hydro energy have performed so consistently over a sustained period of several weeks.”
This Might Be Trump’s Most Inflationary, Economically Destructive Idea Yet (Russ)
The author writes, “Remind me again why Americans think Donald Trump would be so much better on inflation and the economy? Trump’s policy team is reportedly scheming to devalue the U.S. dollar. This might well be Trump’s most inflationary and economically destructive idea yet. That’s quite an achievement, considering everything else he and his advisers have cooked up (universal tariff hikes, deficit-financed tax cuts, huge reductions in the labor force, etc). Trump’s objective, Politico reports, is to boost U.S. exports and reduce imports. Basically, if a dollar buys, say, fewer euros or Japanese yen than it currently does, that makes U.S.-made products look a little cheaper and potentially more attractive to European and Japanese customers.”
The Vicious Things Republicans Have Said About Palestinians Since October 7 (Laura)
From The Intercept: “Michigan Republican Rep. Tim Walberg recently declared at a town hall that the U.S. ‘shouldn’t be spending a dime on humanitarian aid’ in Gaza. Instead, he posed, ‘it should be like Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Get it over quick.’ After the shocking statement went viral, his office tried to soften the blow. It provided a full transcript of Walberg’s comments to CNN, which reported that Walberg had also said that a similar logic could be applied to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. ‘Defeat Putin quick. Instead [of] 80% in Ukraine being used for humanitarian purposes, it should be 80-100% to wipe out Russia, if that’s what we want to do.’ Walberg then attempted to walk the comment back in a statement, in which he said he was not suggesting that nukes be used to end either war. Yet there’s no denying that he invoked horrifying instances of the U.S. dropping atomic bombs in reference to Gaza.”
Members of Self-Proclaimed Anti-Government Group ‘God’s Misfits’ Held in Killings of Kansas Women (DonkeyHotey)
From AP News: “Two Kansas women who vanished as they tried to pick up children for a birthday party two weeks ago were killed over a custody dispute involving a group of anti-government Oklahomans calling themselves ‘God’s Misfits,’ authorities said Monday. Their vehicle was found March 30 along a rural Oklahoma highway with ample evidence of a bloody confrontation, setting off a multi-agency effort to secure the children’s safety while searching for the women and avoiding more violence. Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, of Hugoton, Kansas, had arranged with the grandmother of Butler’s two children to meet at a highway intersection on the morning of March 30 and pick up the 6- and 8-year-old.”
This Nonprofit Has Newsrooms in All 50 State Capitals. Is It the Future of State Journalism? (Gerry)
From Columbia Journalism Review: “In late January, after wrapping up his annual State of the State speech, North Dakota governor Doug Burgum (R) headed out to meet the press. Only two reporters awaited him: the North Dakota Monitor’s Amy Dalrymple and Michael Achterling. ‘Michael and I were the only ones that were there to ask him questions,’ Dalrymple, a veteran reporter previously at the Bismarck Tribune, told CJR. ‘Because our priority is covering government, we prioritized staying there and asking the governor some questions after his speech.’ The Monitor is one of the latest outlets launched by States Newsroom, a nonprofit operation whose publications on policy and politics have quickly turned it into one of the biggest players in state-level coverage.”
220 Million Tonnes of Plastic Waste Will Be Created in 2024 (Sean)
The author writes, “A whopping 220 million tonnes of plastic waste are set to be generated in 2024, a new study has shown. There has been a steady rise in plastic waste of nearly 10 percent since 2021. The global average plastic waste per person this year will rise to 28 kilograms. ‘Just 12 countries are responsible for 60 percent of the world’s mismanaged plastic waste, the top five being China, USA, India, Brazil, and Mexico,’ [according to] the Plastic Overshoot Day report.”
‘Hey Jude’ Is Out; ‘Anti-Hero’ Is Just Right: Chechnya Bans Songs Deemed Too Fast or Too Slow (Dana)
From NBC News: “The beat goes on, but much of Taylor Swift’s, Beyoncé’s and even the Beatles’ back catalogs could be off playlists in Chechnya after the Russian republic instituted limits on musical tempo. From now on, ‘all musical, vocal and choreographic works’ will be subject to the new limits, the region’s Culture Ministry said in a Telegram post. Culture Minister Musa Dadaev was quoted in the post as saying they should be 80 to 116 beats per minute, or BPM. It was unclear how the limits would be enforced, but they could rule out much of the modern pop pantheon, most of which would be too fast.”
