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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Three Boys Found a T. Rex Fossil in North Dakota. A Denver Museum Is Working to Reveal It (Maria)
The author writes, “Two young brothers and their cousin were wandering through a fossil-rich stretch of the North Dakota badlands when they made a discovery that left them ‘completely speechless’: a T. rex bone poking out of the ground. The trio announced their discovery publicly Monday at a Zoom news conference as workers at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science prepare to begin chipping the fossil out of its rock cast at a special exhibit called ‘Discovering Teen Rex.’ The exhibit’s opening on June 21 will coincide with the debut of the film .REX, about the July 2022 find.”
Multiple Trump Witnesses Have Received Significant Financial Benefits From His Businesses, Campaign (DonkeyHotey)
From ProPublica: “Witnesses in the various criminal cases against the former president have gotten pay raises, new jobs, and more. If any benefits were intended to influence testimony, that could be a crime.”
Is Kamala the Democrats’ Secret Weapon of 2024? (Gerry)
The author writes, “At a Black outreach event packed with Democratic heavyweights on Wednesday, it was Kamala Harris who proved the unexpected star of the show. The vice president has been pilloried in the past for her awkward and stilted delivery at events. But at Girard College in Philadelphia as the warm-up act for Biden, she seemed far more at ease, cracking jokes and responding to applause. She also received some of the biggest reactions during a slick performance where she rattled off a list of the Biden administration’s accomplishments that specifically benefit the Black community — from a $35 cap on the cost of insulin and student debt forgiveness to record investments in historically-Black colleges.”
A Hidden Threat: Fast-Rising Seas Could Swamp Septic Systems in Parts of the South (Laura)
The authors write, “On the worst days, when the backyard would flood and the toilet would gurgle and the smell of sewage hung thick in the air, Monica Arenas would flee to her mother-in-law’s home to use the bathroom or wash laundry. … Residents in neighborhoods around Arenas’s have similar tales to share — of out-of-commission toilets, of groundwater rising through cracks in their garage floors, of worries about their own waste running through the streets and ultimately polluting nearby Biscayne Bay. For all the obvious challenges facing South Florida as sea levels surge, one serious threat to public health and the environment remains largely out of sight, but everywhere: Septic tanks.”
The Donald Trump I Saw on The Apprentice (Russ)
From Slate: “[The Apprentice] elevated Donald J. Trump from sleazy New York tabloid hustler to respectable household name. In the show, he appeared to demonstrate impeccable business instincts and unparalleled wealth, even though his businesses had barely survived multiple bankruptcies and faced yet another when he was cast. By carefully misleading viewers about Trump — his wealth, his stature, his character, and his intent—the competition reality show set about an American fraud that would balloon beyond its creators’ wildest imaginations. I should know. I was one of four producers involved in the first two seasons. During that time, I signed an expansive nondisclosure agreement that promised a fine of $5 million and even jail time if I were to ever divulge what actually happened. It expired this year.”
Stuck at Sea for Years, a Sailor’s Plight Highlights a Surge in Shipowner Abandonment (Reader Jim)
From AP News: “Abdul Nasser Saleh says he rarely got a good night’s sleep during the near-decade he spent working without pay on a cargo ship abandoned by its owner at ports along the Red Sea. By night, he tossed and turned in his bunk on the aging Al-Maha, he said, thinking of the unpaid wages he feared he’d never get if he left the ship. By day he paced the deck, stuck for the last two years in the seaport of Jeddah, unable to set foot on land because of Saudi Arabia’s strict immigration laws. … Saleh’s plight is part of a global problem that shows no signs of abating. The United Nations has logged an increasing number of crew members abandoned by shipowners, leaving sailors aboard months and sometimes years without pay. More than 2,000 seafarers on some 150 ships were abandoned last year.”
Half of Gen Z Feels Like They’re Living a Double Life (Sean)
The author writes, “Almost half of Gen Z Americans feel like they’re living a ‘double life’ — between their online and offline selves, according to new research. The survey of 2,000 American respondents, split evenly by generation, found that 46% of Gen Z respondents feel this duality, where their personality online vastly differs from how they present themselves in the real world. But they’re not the only ones: this feeling was shared by 27% of respondents across generations, with 38% of Millennials experiencing this, as well as 18% of Gen X and 8% of Baby Boomers.”
