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IMPORTANT
| | | Pushing On | European Leaders Meet to Discuss Further Sanctions on Russia A special two-day European Council summit begins today as Europe’s leaders gather in Brussels to discuss a new package of sanctions against Russia. Heading the agenda is a ban on Russian oil, which has been hampered by Hungary. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who meets with France’s foreign affairs minister today, will join the talks via video link Tuesday to update leaders on the situation in Ukraine and push for more sophisticated and powerful weapons. Zelenskyy made a rare journey outside Kyiv yesterday to visit soldiers and lift morale. Meanwhile, Russian forces have entered the key city of Sievierodonetsk, destroying critical infrastructure. (Sources: Al Jazeera, NYT, DW) |
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| | | A Nation Grieves…Again | Bidens Attend Mass in Uvalde 12 Days After Buffalo President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited Robb Elementary School to pay their respects to the 21 victims of last week’s rampage before attending mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. The president’s visit came less than two weeks after he traveled to Buffalo to meet with families of the 10 people killed in a racist attack at a supermarket there. The couple stood in silence while reading the names of the victims, touching each of their portraits while wiping away tears. “We cannot outlaw tragedy, I know, but we can make America safer,” said Biden. (Sources: WaPo, NPR, Axios) |
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| | | Job Glut | Unemployment at Record Lows in 17 States The nation’s unemployment rate reached record lows in 17 states last month, mostly in the Midwest, South and Mountain West, plummeting to an all-time low of 1.9% in Nebraska. The numbers mark a sharp reversal from record unemployment in 15 of those states, which skyrocketed to 14.7% during COVID-19, its highest number since 1948. The figures suggest that the labor market, a pillar of the economy, is going strong in the face of recent stock volatility. Employers across the country are boosting wages to attract workers in a tight labor market, with average hourly earnings rising 5.5% from last year. (Source: WSJ) |
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| | | Fatal Logic | Guns Don’t Kill People, Evil Kills People, Says NRA If you thought the massacre of 19 children and two adults less than 300 miles away would dampen spirits at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention in Houston this weekend, think again. Amid acres of guns and tactical gear, speakers, including former president Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz and Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott joining via video, attributed the massacre to mental illness, the forces of evil and the teachings of the left — anything but guns. Calling gun ownership “a human right,” NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre renewed calls for armed guards in schools, insisting that more firearms, not less, will solve America’s gun problem. (Sources: Texas Tribune, Rolling Stone, Politico) |
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| | | Briefly | Here are some things you should know about today: Tainted fruit. The FDA said a multistate outbreak of hepatitis A was potentially linked to tainted organic strawberries. The berries were sold at Kroger, Aldi, Safeway, Trader Joe’s and Walmart, among other supermarkets. (Source: WSJ) Verdict delayed. Deliberations in the Depp-Heard dual-defamation trial ended in just over two hours on Friday with no verdict. The jury will reconvene on Tuesday. (Source: Reuters) Top run. Actor Tom Cruise’s sequel Top Gun: Maverick scored $151 million at box offices worldwide this weekend in the second-best movie opening of all time. (Source: Hollywood Reporter) |
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INTRIGUING
| | | ‘Putting Out Fires’ | 362 School Counselors Describe Pandemic’s Effect on Kids At a time when child and adolescent mental health has been called “a national emergency,” a New York Times survey of 362 school counselors described U.S. schoolchildren in post-pandemic America as lagging behind in their ability to “learn, cope and relate.” An astonishing 94% of the counselors interviewed described students as showing more signs of anxiety and depression than pre-pandemic, 88% said kids were having difficulty regulating emotions and almost three-quarters said they were worse at solving conflicts with friends. The survey also revealed understaffed schools, with many counselors “putting out fires” instead of doing “preventative work.” (Source: NYT) |
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| | | Footwars | Indigenous Filmmaker Removed by Cannes Security Over Footwear Filmmaker Kelvin Redvers, of the Dene Indigenous community in Canada’s Northwest Territories, was denied entry to the red carpet at the 75th Cannes Film Festival for wearing traditional moccasins. Redvers, who traveled to France with a delegation of Indigenous filmmakers, equated wearing the shoes with a Scottish director sporting a kilt, and said the moccasins were a “huge part of our culture.” Though officials later apologized, it seems Cannes’ organizers are especially sensitive to footwear: In 2015 the festival came under fire for barring women — including those with disabilities — from the red carpet for wearing flat shoes instead of high heels. (Sources: Hollywood Reporter, Al Jazeera) |
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| | | Yummy! | Pulled Pork or Banana Peels? It’s Anyone’s Guess With a third of the world’s food supply going to waste and livestock causing pollution and a sharp decline in the world’s wildlife, it’s crucial to rethink our consumption habits. Enter the lowly banana peel. Though the average American consumes 13.4 pounds of bananas annually, we have yet to catch on to what people in India, Southeast Asia and Venezuela have known for years: Not only are banana peels edible, they’re packed with essential nutrients — and they’re delicious. Cooked up with a mix of condiments and spices and served on a bun, these fibrous fruit skins are almost indistinguishable from pulled pork. (Source: Popular Science) |
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| | | Ash Man | Genetic Makeup of Ancient Pompeiian Finally Revealed For the first time, scientists have fully sequenced the complete DNA of a Pompeiian man, who died in 79 C.E. in the aftermath of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. It seems the 5-foot-4-inch adult man, found in his dining room, had spinal tuberculosis and was likely descended from Neolithic ancestors from Asia Minor. “The victims of Pompeii experienced a natural catastrophe ... and it was not known that you could preserve their genetic material. This study provides this confirmation,” said Serena Viva, one of the study’s co-authors. In fact, the way Pompeii’s residents died may have made their DNA more salvageable. (Source: Smithsonian) |
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| | | Insult to Injury | Real Madrid Beats Liverpool in Final After Pregame Chaos After a 35-minute entrance delay at Paris’ Stade de France Saturday night, soccer fans at the Champions League Final received a nasty pregame shock when French police fired tear gas into the crowd. UEFA and French officials blamed “fake tickets,” leading to a pileup at the turnstiles, which incited dozens of frustrated fans to attempt to scale the stadium gates. Liverpool has called for an investigation, and British police deployed at the match said, “the behavior of the fans ... was exemplary in shocking circumstances.” Real Madrid won 1-0, snatching the title from Liverpool for the second time in five years. (Sources: Le Monde, BBC) |
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