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
 |
Meta’s Threads Draws 30M Users in 24 Hours Despite Privacy Concerns (Maria)
The author writes, “Meta has officially launched its surprisingly popular Twitter alternative, Threads — shocking even Mark Zuckerberg as signups hit 30 million within the first 24 hours. Though a separate app, Threads is built as a convenient extension of Instagram, requiring an Instagram account to join and allowing users to port their entire Instagram following over in one click. … ‘We didn’t expect tens of millions of people to sign up in one day, but supporting that is a champagne problem,’ Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri said in a cheery update on Thursday.”
Yes, They Are Coming for Your Birth Control (Dana)
From Elle: “After accomplishing its long-held dream of ending Roe, the antiabortion movement has turned its focus to a new target: birth control, with several states introducing legislation that could restrict or outlaw certain forms. If left unopposed, it is clear there are some politicians, judges, and activists who would not only deny people the ability to end unwanted pregnancies, but also the ability to prevent pregnancies in the first place.”
Portland’s Political Makeover, and the Plan to Create 4 New Districts, Is Underway (Al)
From OBP: “Portland is months away from a historic makeover: By September, the city will have a new political map that divides the city into four districts, setting the stage for the 2024 election where voters select city council members to represent each district. The city has entrusted a 13-person volunteer board — called the Independent District Commission — with the considerable task of deciding where these new district boundaries will fall.”
New Study Estimates ‘Forever Chemicals’ May Be Found in 45 Percent of US Tap Water (Reader Jim)
The author writes, “A new federal study estimates that toxic ‘forever chemicals’ can be found in 45 percent of U.S. tap water. ‘Forever chemicals,’ also known as PFAS, refer to a group of thousands of substances that linger in the human body and nature; they bioaccumulate instead of breaking down. Exposure to PFAS, which stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, has been linked to health problems including kidney and testicular cancer, thyroid disease and high cholesterol.”
Mount Rainier Is Melting. Can Anything Be Done to Stop It? (Reader Steve)
From The Seattle Times: “[Scott] Beason, the Mount Rainier National Park geologist, just published a piercing paper about our mountain, the ice king of America. (It has the most glacier ice of any peak in the Lower 48.) Using a photo-imaging technique for estimating 3D volumes called ‘structure from motion,’ Beason and three other researchers compiled the most precise review yet of just how much glacial ice is up there. The story is not good. Mount Rainier is melting.”
The Battle of Fishkill (Laura)
From Curbed: “When Domenic Broccoli set out to expand his IHOP empire upstate, he didn’t expect to find a grave site — or start a war.”
There’s an Enormous Gravity Hole in the Middle of the Indian Ocean. Scientists Say They’ve Finally Worked Out What’s Causing It. (Sean)
The author writes, “There’s a huge gravity hole in the middle of the Indian Ocean that has stumped scientists for decades. The million-square-mile anomaly isn’t a physical hole but an area of the ocean where the Earth’s gravity is lower than average. Scientists studying the ‘hole’ have long thought that something underneath was causing the strange effect. But a new study suggests researchers should have been looking around — not under — the gravity hole to solve the mystery of how it formed.”
