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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‘Like a Giant Bird Box’: Volunteers Build Snowdrifts for Finland’s Pregnant Seals (Maria)
The author writes, “Eight hours [of] shoveling snow in [28 F] might not sound like the ideal day out, but a committed team of volunteers in Finland are working dawn to dusk building enormous snow drifts for one of the world’s most endangered seals. The Saimaa ringed seal was once widespread across Finland but is now confined to Lake Saimaa in the southeast of the country, where just 495 of them remain. The seals make ‘snow caves’ inside snowdrifts where they raise their young and protect them from the elements and predators such as red foxes — but as the climate warms, the snow is disappearing.”
What Americans Think About Hegseth, Gabbard and Key Trump Cabinet Picks: AP-NORC Poll (Reader Jim)
From the Associated Press: “As several of President-elect Donald Trump’s choices for high-level positions in his incoming administration face scrutiny on Capitol Hill, a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that Americans have their own doubts. Relatively few Americans overall approve of Pete Hegseth, Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Defense, or Tulsi Gabbard, his pick for intelligence chief, although a substantial share doesn’t know who those figures are. The other selections who were included in the poll, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health secretary and Marco Rubio for secretary of state, are more well-known but not much more popular among Americans overall.”
Trump’s Move To Replace Lina Khan Exposes JD Vance’s Fake Populism (DonkeyHotey)
The author writes, “For the last few years, a younger generation of Republicans — including Vice President-elect J.D. Vance — has tried to convince their party to (partially) rethink its traditional kowtowing to corporate interests. … But even if Vance and his allies were sincere — and there are plenty of reasons to doubt that — the incoming Trump White House is going in another direction.”
Why Did Some Black Male Voters in Milwaukee Shift to Trump? These Community Leaders Have Ideas, Perspective (Al)
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Fewer Black Milwaukeeans voted for the Democratic Party in 2024 than in previous presidential elections. And, if national trends are an indication, President-elect Donald Trump gained support among Black men in Milwaukee, too. … To examine the shift, the Journal Sentinel asked several Black male community leaders in Milwaukee about their perspectives on how Black men voted in the election.”
‘As Much and as Quickly as Possible’: Israeli Settlers Eye Land in Syria, Lebanon (Dana)
From 972 Magazine: “Within hours of the fall of the Assad regime, Israeli forces were already pushing into Syrian territory, conquering the Syrian side of Mount Hermon/Jabal A-Shaykh and the buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that has been in place for more than half a century. But the army were not the only ones quick to react; so, too, was the Israeli settler movement. ‘We have to conquer and destroy. As much as possible, and as quickly as possible,’ wrote one member of Uri Tsafon — a group founded earlier this year to promote Israeli settlement of southern Lebanon — in the organization’s WhatsApp group.”
Woman, 40, Denied Cancer Drug Announces Her Death (Mili)
From the BBC: “A 40-year-old woman who was denied a life-extending cancer drug because it is not available in Wales has died. Rachel Davies, from Swansea, who was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer, which spread to her bones, back, pelvis and neck, announced her death in a planned post on social media. … Enhertu is available in Scotland, and 19 other European countries, but not the rest of the UK, and a Welsh government spokesperson said it relied on independent advice from health assessment body NICE, which called it too expensive for the NHS to fund.”
Turning Kazakhstan Into a Beef-Producing Machine, the American Way (Laura)
The author writes, “The vast central Asian country has millions of acres of pastureland. Can it produce steaks and burgers that offset emissions — and earn carbon credits for them?”
‘Instinct Kicked In’: Women Brave Freezing Ocean To Help Shark Stranded on Maine Beach (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “A beach stroll in Maine turned into a daring rescue mission … when two friends sprang into action after stumbling upon a stranded shark. Wells resident Jennifer Brady and her friend Renee Condon Poitras were walking Brady’s dog along Moody Beach when they spotted something moving on the shoreline, surrounded by seagulls. … Clearly exhausted, the small shark lay with its fins buried in the sand, Brady recalled. She and Poitras decided they needed to get the shark back in the water, afraid it would die if they waited for more experienced help to arrive.”
