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.
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The Real ID Deadline Is Wednesday. What To Know Before You Fly. (Maria)
The author writes, “Brace yourself for long lines and delays at the airport if you’re flying in the coming days and weeks. May 7 is the first day a Real ID compliant license — or another acceptable document — is needed to board a commercial aircraft in the U.S. The new identification requirement also applies when visiting military bases and secure federal buildings like courthouses. A Real ID is a state-issued driver’s license or identification card that meets federal security standards. … There are other forms of acceptable identification to show at the airport checkpoint in order to travel.”
Workers Overheated and Died Under Trump’s Workplace Safety Nominee (Dana)
From The Lever: “President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the nation’s workplace safety agency is a former safety executive for companies that were repeatedly cited by the same agency for worker illnesses and deaths amid extreme heat, according to federal records reviewed by The Lever. If confirmed, David Keeling would be empowered to help his former employers’ multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign to kill state and federal heat protections — including a first-of-its-kind federal standard designed to protect workers from heat death amid rising global temperatures.”
Lawmakers Demand Answers After a Haitian Woman Dies at an ICE Detention Center (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “A woman from Haiti died after spending over two months in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, the agency announced on [last] Tuesday. Marie Ange Blaise, 44, was pronounced dead on Friday night at the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach, Fla. ICE says her cause of death is under investigation. Speaking on the House floor Wednesday, Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., suggested that Blaise had not been provided adequate medical care.”
‘We’ve Killed So Many Children — It’s Hard To Argue With That’ (Siobhan)
From +972 Magazine: “On Saturday, April 26, hundreds of demonstrators in downtown Tel Aviv stood together in complete silence, holding portraits of Gazan children who have been killed since Israel shattered the ceasefire on March 18. … At first glance, the silent display of photos — a simple act to make space to mourn Gazan children — would seem unremarkable. But in light of the Israeli public’s general indifference to the destruction of Gaza, these vigils, which have been held since March 22, have managed to begin to crack the wall of apathy.”
North Korea Stole Your Job (Reader Jim)
From Wired: “For years, North Korea has been secretly placing young IT workers inside Western companies. With AI, their schemes are now more devious — and effective — than ever.”
Weed Manager of the Year: One Man’s Quest to Save the Sonoran Desert (Russ)
The author writes, “As official research positions are lost to budget cuts, the work of citizen scientists to preserve federal forests is becoming more valuable.”
NASA Confirms That the End of Life on Earth Will Be Due to Loss of Oxygen (Sean)
The author writes, “If you’re worried about the end of the world, you can scratch asteroids and climate change off the list of final threats —at least in the very long term. According to new research from Toho University in Japan, supported by NASA modeling, the slow fade of life on Earth won’t come with a bang. Instead, it’ll happen with a lack of breathable air. That’s right: the distant future of Earth won’t end in fire or ice, but in something far more subtle: oxygen loss. And while that sounds ominous, you can relax. This isn’t something that will affect you, your children, or even your great-great-great-great-grandchildren. In fact, the end is about a billion years away, give or take a few hundred million.”
