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Reasons To Be Hopeful: Five Ways Science Is Making the World Better (Maria)
The author writes, “[First,] half a billion people worldwide live with diabetes. There are different types with different causes, but all lead people to have too much sugar in their blood. If not well controlled, this excess glucose can inflict damage throughout the body. … Patients manage the condition with medicines, insulin and lifestyle changes, but a new generation of treatments could reverse the disease. Details of the first woman treated for Type 1 diabetes with stem cells taken from her own body were announced last month.”
An Overlooked — and Increasingly Important — Clue to How People Vote (Dana)
From Politico: “Latinos, young men, non-college-educated white people, suburban women. The exit polls and political analysis invariably focuses on the changing behavior of demographic groups. That ignores a big determinant of political behavior: where people get their news and information. It’s odd how little attention has been given to this, given that in the past decade we’ve had a revolution in how information flows.”
After Trump’s Victory, the 4B Movement Is Spreading Across TikTok (Russ)
The author writes, “The 4B movement originated in South Korea, and encourages women to opt out of marriage (bihon), childbirth (bichulsan), romance (biyeonae), and sexual relationships (bisekseu). Born out of protests against South Korea’s culture — instances of dating violence, revenge porn, and gender wage gaps are widespread — the movement has grown in recent years. … Although it started in the late 2010s, the movement didn’t really gain attention in the US until earlier this year.”
Trump Will Give Israel ‘Blank Check’ Which May Mean All-Out War With Iran, Says Ex-Cia Chief (Dana)
The author writes, “Donald Trump will as president give Benjamin Netanyahu a ‘blank check’ in the Middle East, possibly opening the way for all-out war between Israel and Iran, the former CIA director and US defense secretary Leon Panetta predicted. ‘With regards to the Middle East, I think he’s basically going to give Netanyahu a blank check,’ Panetta said of Trump, who won the presidential election this week and will take office again in January. “Whatever you do, whatever you want to do, whoever you want to go after, you have my blessing.”’ I mean, he basically said that [before the election].’”
Trump Wins, Planet Loses (Laura)
From Grist: “The [election] results promise to upend U.S. climate policy: In addition to returning a climate denier to the White House, voters also gave Republicans control of the Senate, laying the groundwork for attacks on everything from electric vehicles to clean energy funding and bolstering support for the fossil fuel industry.”
Trump Declares Senate Majority Candidates Should Allow Him To Make Recess Appointments (Reader Jim)
The authors write, “President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday involved himself publicly in the Senate leadership race for the first time, writing on Truth Social that anyone running to be the next Senate majority leader should agree to let him make recess appointments to his cabinet. … One of the demands he outlined is the ability to make recess appointments, which would allow the president to appoint people to senior administration positions and bypass Senate confirmation.”
The Rise of the Right-Wing Tattletale (Sean)
From The Atlantic: “Across the nation, Republican-controlled state legislatures and conservative activists have passed bills and embraced legal strategies that encourage Americans to monitor one another’s behavior and report their friends, family members, and neighbors to the authorities.”
They Thought They Found Their Dream Home — So Did Thousands of Bats (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “For a millennial couple buying their first home, on an island in the Puget Sound, the cost of humanely resolving the bat problem was more than they expected.”
