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.
Stacked ‘Mega Moon Rocket’ Is Ready to Roll, NASA Says (Maria)
The author writes, “NASA’s upcoming lunar mission Artemis I is about to roll a little closer to getting an official launch date. The stacked spacecraft and rocket have been cleared to trundle out to the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Thursday for pre-launch tests, NASA representatives announced on Monday (March 14) at a press briefing. The Orion spacecraft atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket — also known by NASA as the “Mega Moon rocket” — will make the 4-mile journey from Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B, weather permitting.”
Russian Tycoon Named in Probe to Funnel Cash to Trump and Other Republican Candidates (Sean)
From Raw Story: “The New York Times reported Monday that court filings accused a Russian businessman trying to create a cannabis empire of making $1 million in illegal campaign donations to federal and state candidates. … ‘Prosecutors have said that more than $150,000 of the money Muraviev had sent, which was siphoned through a bank account controlled by Igor Fruman’s brother, ended up being donated to the Republican Adam Laxalt,’ said CNBC in a separate report. ‘He was running for governor of Nevada in 2018.’”
Putin and Xi: Look to Beijing for the Real Reason Behind the Ukraine Invasion (Reader Jim)
From The Hill: “It is best to see Putin not as some nostalgic madmen seeking to reconstitute the Soviet Empire, but as a clear-eyed mobster using his military might to expand his crime syndicate’s business relationships by cozying up to the growing economic powerhouse that is Xi’s China. Note also that China has enormous investments in Ukraine and would benefit from an even greater stake there. So, Putin controls enough petroleum resources, minerals and wheat to guarantee Xi’s conveyor belts can keep humming. At the same time, even a Chinese feint toward Taiwan may be enough to cause the United States and NATO to falter in Ukraine and relieve pressure on Putin’s forces there or be able to yield a negotiated settlement that is favorable to Moscow.”
For the First Time in Its History, Architecture’s Top Award Goes to a Black Architect (Carina)
The author writes, “The first Black winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize had already received numerous accolades in his field, including the Aga Khan Award and the Thomas Jefferson medal, but Kéré was as surprised as anyone else to be selected for the field’s most famous prize. Many architects and critics had openly supposed that 2022 would be Sir David Adjaye’s year. The most prominent Black ‘starchitect’ is best known for designing such notable buildings as the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Kéré, who is based in Berlin but centers much of his practice in Africa, has been – until now — far lesser known, with signature buildings that include primary schools and a health care clinic.”
Indy Explains: How Nevada’s New Prescription Drug Savings Program Works (Reader Steve)
From The Nevada Independent: “Nevadans will soon be able to save big on prescription drugs after the state joined a coalition that negotiates lower drug costs, according to the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services. Last month, Gov. Steve Sisolak announced that Nevada will join Oregon and Washington in the Northwest Prescription Drug Consortium, a partnership that allows residents to use drug discount cards to purchase prescription drugs at lower costs. The consortium rebranded to ArrayRx in 2021. It is expected that the drug discount card program could cut the cost of generic drugs by 80 percent and by up to 20 percent on name-brand drugs.”
New Species of Wasp ‘No Bigger Than a Grain of Dust’ Discovered at UH Manoa (Bethany)
The author writes, “The discovery and study has been published in the Journal of Hymenoptera Research. According to the research, the Menehune wasp belongs to a group with ‘a very unique body structure.’ The back of its head can expand like a bellows, its mandibles push out instead of in a cutting motion, its fore wings feature long hairy setae, and its hind wings consist of just a stalk that dorks at the end. All of that detail is packed into an insect that only measures less than 2/100ths of an inch in length. ‘Here, a tiny beautiful wasp about the size of a grain of dust, finds the eggs of another tiny insect laid in the texture of bark, and parasitizes and develops in them,’ Honsberger said.”
