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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.
Twitter’s Alleged Cybersecurity Lapses Echo Worldwide (Maria)
The author writes, “From fire departments to governments, from school districts to corporations, from local utilities to grassroots organizers around the world, Twitter at its best is a tool to get a message out quickly, efficiently, directly. It’s also a constant risk-and-reward calculation. A recent bombshell whistleblower report from Twitter’s former head of security alleges that the social media company has been negligently lax on cybersecurity and privacy protections for its users for years.”
Three More GOP-Led States Enact Abortion ‘Trigger Laws’ (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “Three more Republican-led states banned almost all abortions [last] week as yet another slate of laws severely limiting the procedure took effect following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. To date, 13 states have passed so-called trigger laws that were designed to outlaw most abortions if the high court threw out the constitutional right to end a pregnancy. The majority of those states began enforcing their bans soon after the June 24 decision, but Idaho, Tennessee and Texas had to wait 30 days beyond when the justices formally entered the judgment, which happened several weeks after the ruling was announced. That deadline was up Thursday. A fourth state, North Dakota, had its trigger ban blocked Thursday by a judge who is weighing an abortion clinic’s legal challenge on grounds that it violates the state constitution.”
Was the Russian Media Trolling Us or Is Trump Our Man in Moscow? (Reader Jim)
From BuzzFlash: “In the wake of the FBI’s unprecedented search of Mar-a-Lago for stolen government documents (let’s call them what they are), it’s hard to turn on a TV in the U.S. without seeing a talking head or three holding forth on the subject. Putin-friendly pundits in Russia haven’t held back on the issue either. Reporting on a broadcast on state TV made soon after the search, Russia watcher Julia Davis tweeted, ‘Putin’s mouthpieces on state TV are taunting America about “Top Secret” documents sought during the raid of Trump’s estate, which they claim had to do with the newest nuclear weapons developed by the US and gleefully imply that Moscow already got to see them.’”
FBI Responds to Mark Zuckerberg Claims in Joe Rogan Show (DonkeyHotey)
The authors write, “The day after Mark Zuckerberg said that Facebook limited a polarizing story ahead of the 2020 election because of an FBI warning, the federal agency said it can only alert a private entity of a potential threat, not require it to take action. In an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast made available Thursday, Zuckerberg said that although the FBI didn’t specifically name a New York Post article about Hunter Biden’s laptop, it ‘fit the pattern’ of what the FBI warned about. The Facebook co-founder said the FBI is a ‘legitimate institution’ and that the warning prompted him to ‘take that seriously.’ The story was allowed to remain on Facebook, albeit with limited exposure, Zuckerberg said.”
She Never Hurt Her Kids. So Why Is a Mother Serving More Time Than the Man Who Abused Her Daughter? (Dana)
From Mother Jones: “Failure-to-protect laws are incarcerating women all over the country — for other people’s violence.”
Mortality Risk Linked With Balance on One Leg (Mili)
The author writes, “The ability to complete a 10-second one-legged stance in mid- to late life was associated with all-cause mortality. … People who could not hold a one-legged stance for 10 seconds had nearly twice the risk of death over the next 7 years.”
The 33 Coolest Streets in the World (Sean)
From Time Out: “Street life: it’s the only life we know. Seriously, streets are where most of us spend our lives — hanging out, eating, drinking, working, sleeping, and occasionally pulling some embarrassing dance moves. If parks are the lungs of the city, streets are its veins, carrying urbanites around each day like stressed-but-happy little blood cells. Street life is what makes the places we live feel alive. Which makes streets kind of a big deal. Why are we telling you this? Because every year, we quiz thousands of city-dwellers around the world for our Time Out Index survey. And this year, we asked more than 20,000 people the question: what’s the coolest street in your city?”
