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Most Nations Miss Deadline for Plans to Fight Climate Change. UN Says Take the Time To Do It Right (Maria)
The author writes, “Nearly 200 nations faced a Monday deadline to file what the United Nations’ climate chief calls ‘among the most important policy documents governments will produce this century’ — their plans on how they will cut emissions of heat-trapping gases. Most won’t make the deadline. The UN says that’s OK as long as they are working on them. So far only a dozen of the 195 nations that signed the 2015 Paris climate agreement have filed their national plans for cutting emissions by 2035.”
US Cyber Agency Puts Election Security Staffers Who Worked With the States on Leave (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “In recent days, 17 employees of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency who have worked with election officials to provide assessments and trainings dealing with a range of threats — from cyber and ransomware attacks to physical security of election workers — have been placed on leave pending a review, according to a person familiar with the situation who was not authorized to speak publicly.”
The Far-Right Group Building a List of Pro-Palestine Activists to Deport (Laura)
From The Intercept: “Even before Trump took office, Betar announced that it was compiling a list of critics of Israel for the Trump administration to deport and has since said it shared the list of the ‘names of hundreds of terror supporters.’ In the days since Trump’s inauguration, the New York nonprofit has been ramping up its calls for deportation. It said it planned to meet with ‘elected officials’ in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to provide the names of ‘terrorist jihadis in America.’”
Donald Trump’s Legal Strategy: “What Are You Gonna Do About It?” (Dana)
The authors write, “Two other sources close to Trump, one of whom worked on the presidential transition team and the other in his current administration, similarly cheered on the president’s efforts to cram as many of his policies and orders through, in the face of legal experts (or even a Reagan-appointed judge) publicly saying he clearly can’t do that. Their position is, plainly: We have our own interpretation of the law — so try and stop us.”
Microsoft Study Finds AI Makes Human Cognition ‘Atrophied and Unprepared’ (Laryn)
From 404 Media: “A new paper from researchers at Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University finds that as humans increasingly rely on generative AI in their work, they use less critical thinking, which can ‘result in the deterioration of cognitive faculties that ought to be preserved.’ ‘[A] key irony of automation is that by mechanizing routine tasks and leaving exception-handling to the human user, you deprive the user of the routine opportunities to practice their judgement and strengthen their cognitive musculature, leaving them atrophied and unprepared when the exceptions do arise,’ the researchers wrote.”
Controversial Christian Nationalist Legislation Introduced in North Dakota House (Dana)
The author writes, “At the start of the new legislative session, a group of North Dakota legislators put forward a potentially unconstitutional resolution that would have the state ‘acknowledge the Kingship of Jesus Christ.’ ‘Whereas, the founding fathers of this great state begin the constitution with the words, ‘We’, the people of North Dakota, grateful to Almighty God…We desire there shall be a recognition of Almighty God as the source of authority; of the Lord Jesus Christ as the rightful ruler of nations…’ the text for House Concurrent Resolution 3020 reads.”
Milk Takes Center Stage in 2025 (Sean)
From The New York Times: “In 2024, U.S. consumption of whole milk rose by 3.2 percent — only the second increase since the 1970s — while consumption of plant milk fell 5.9 percent, according to data from Circana, a market research firm. Sales of dairy milk overall were up 1.9 percent, and sales of raw milk spiked by 17.6 percent. ‘For dairy milk to be growing at all is surprising, much less by these numbers,’ said John Crawford, Circana’s dairy expert. ‘This reverses trends that have been in place for decades.’ Americans have long had a turbulent relationship with milk. It was a public-health menace of the 19th century, a patriotic staple of the mid-20th century, and a nutritional, ethical and environmental conundrum in the 21st. Yet another shift is underway.”
