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.
Senate Democrats Call on FTC to Fix Data Privacy ‘Crisis’ (Maria)
The author writes, “Senate Democrats are calling on the Federal Trade Commission to write new rules to protect consumer data privacy in a new letter to the agency authored on Monday. The letter, led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.,) and signed by eight other Democratic senators, was sent to FTC Chair Lina Khan Monday, calling on the agency to ‘begin a rulemaking process’ on privacy. Specifically, the senators are requesting that the FTC pen new rules addressing privacy, civil rights, and the collection of consumer data.”
VIDEO: Children Tell CNN They Blame Tucker Carlson For Their Father’s COVID-19 Death (DonkeyHotey)
The author writes, “Katie and Evan Lane recently lost their 45-year-old father to Covid, and have made a public plea for others to get vaccinated. Their efforts took them to CNN New Day Monday morning, an appearance in which they blamed their father’s death on vaccine misinformation he learned from Fox News prime time host Tucker Carlson. Patrick Lane lived in Snohomish, Washington, and recently passed from Covid-19. He was never vaccinated, which his kids blamed on his hesitancy to get inoculated.”
Here’s Why So Many Haitians at the Texas Border Are Coming From Chile (Reader Steve)
From the Houston Chronicle: “Thousands of Haitian migrants are waiting under the international bridge in Del Rio, Texas, with hopes they’ll be granted entry in the United States where they can seek a more safe and prosperous life. Though recent unrest has caused the exodus of some Haitians from their homes, many Haitians arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border are coming after having lived in South America, especially Chile. Since Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake, Chile’s Haitian population has soared due to the country’s relative wealth and security compared to the rest of Latin America, along with the country’s liberal immigration policies.”
A School Sees a Lice Check. Lakota People Sense Centuries of Repression. (Dana)
From Flatwater Free Press: “It’s early summer and a Lakota woman stares into the trees, deep past the leaves and their shadows, her dark eyes misting up. Not far away, her daughters run through the park, a creek-fed oasis in the middle of the arid, amber Sandhills of Nebraska. Norma LeRoy tries to understand why a school secretary cut her two little girls’ hair without her consent in the spring of 2020. And then, days later, did it again. The secretary was checking for lice, LeRoy was told — lice the mother said they never found.”
Uranium Heats Up, and Hedge Funds Score (Dan)
The authors write, “Uranium prices are rising, enriching a handful of hedge funds that have been betting a market laid low by a nuclear disaster a decade ago would rebound. The price of uranium hit an eight-year high of $44 a pound [last] week, according to the price tracker UxC LLC. The surge follows the recent launch of an exchange-traded trust by Sprott Asset Management LP, which has bought large stockpiles of uranium after raising money from shareholders and emerged as a favored trading vehicle in its own right, traders said.”
Love and Death: The Legacy of Congressional Cemetery’s ‘Gay Corner’ (Russ)
The author writes, “In a quiet neighborhood of Southeast Washington, Leonard Matlovich has been a persistent advocate for gay rights since the 1980s. Over the years, he has attracted dozens of followers who have gathered nearby. You won’t hear him on talk shows or see his byline on op-eds, though, because Matlovich passed away in 1988. Instead, he — or rather his tombstone — can be found in Congressional Cemetery, which claims to be the world’s only graveyard with an LGBTQ section. So, why is Matlovich buried here — in a bucolic, 35-acre stretch of land near the Anacostia River and RFK Stadium — and why did ‘Gay Corner,’ as some refer to it, develop under the cherry trees near his 6-by-8-foot granite grave marker? Part of the answer is a 10-second walk away: the fenced-in grave of the country’s most notorious homophobe, J. Edgar Hoover, and the pink granite gravestone of the longtime FBI director’s deputy, Clyde Tolson. ‘It was kind of a middle finger to Hoover,’ says Paul Williams, the cemetery’s president.”
China Wants to Build a Mega Spaceship That’s Nearly a Mile Long (Sean)
From Scientific American: “China is investigating how to build ultra-large spacecraft that are up to 0.6 mile (1 kilometer) long. But how feasible is the idea, and what would be the use of such a massive spacecraft? The project is part of a wider call for research proposals from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, a funding agency managed by the country’s Ministry of Science and Technology. A research outline posted on the foundation’s website described such enormous spaceships as ‘major strategic aerospace equipment for the future use of space resources, exploration of the mysteries of the universe, and long-term living in orbit.’”
How Did Artifacts, Thousands of Years Old, Turn Up in a Mississippi Alligator’s Stomach? (Mili)
The author writes, “What does a 750-pound alligator eat? Well, just about anything it wants, but items found in this particular Mississippi alligator’s stomach defy odds and date back thousands of years. Shane Smith, owner of Red Antler Processing in Yazoo City, Mississippi, said he was examining contents of a 13-foot, 5-inch alligator that weighed 750 pounds and discovered two unusual objects. One he couldn’t identify, but the other was clearly a broken stone arrowhead.”
