Sand cat: the amazing animal that doesn’t need to drink water ZME Science
Father of hundreds gets sperm donation ban from Dutch court Reuters
Is There a Wrong Way to Take a Midday Nap? MedPage Right now
Local weather/Surroundings
Climate change: Spain breaks record temperature for April BBC. (Kevin W)
‘Endless record heat’ in Asia as highest April temperatures recorded The Guardian
Swiss National Bank rejects demands of climate change activists Reuters
TotalEnergies urges rejection of climate resolution submitted by shareholders Reuters
BP shareholders reject climate activist resolution but support grows Reuters. (Kevin W)
#COVID-19
“We’re letting you already know that a number of individuals who attended the [Epidemic Intelligence Service] Convention have examined constructive for COVID-19,” a CDC department chief wrote in an electronic mail to employees on Friday.https://t.co/5OzTB7bmgE
— Soo Youn (@lalasoo) April 28, 2023
Thread. In August 2022 we realized:
“COVID-19 could also be linked to an increase in bacterial mind infections in kids. Docs at Helen DeVos Kids’s Hospital of Spectrum Well being in Grand Rapids, Mich., noticed a worrisome 236% rise in these infections & questioned why.” https://t.co/3ull9SOePs
— Laura Miers (@LauraMiers) April 28, 2023
Fatal fungus outbreak worries Nevada lawmakers, more help wanted Las Vegas Overview Journal. Separate from above.
Previous Blighty
All state schools in England may shut in ‘unprecedented’ coordinated strikes The Guardian
The Fortunate Nation
SE Asia schools Australia in art of strategic equilibrium Asia Instances
India
The Koreas
There Is No Case for South Korean Nuclear Weapons Eunomia. The deck: “The U.S. would even be a poor ally if it allowed considered one of its principal Asian allies to make a critical error like this.”
China?
Congressional China panel preps proposals to rapidly arm Taiwan Protection Information
Taiwan detects mainland Chinese combat drones circling the island ‘for the first time’ South China Morning Submit
US friend-shoring hurts China’s industrial profits Asia Instances
New Not-So-Chilly Conflict
U.S. Wires Ukraine With Radiation Sensors to Detect Nuclear Blasts New York Instances. The deck: “The federal Nationwide Nuclear Safety Administration is establishing a sophisticated community that may confirm an attacker’s identification.”
***
China shifts gear on Ukraine mediation Indian Punchline (Ok Warner)
Kremlin spokesman terms Xi-Zelensky call as ‘sovereign matter’ for China, Ukraine TASS
The EU can’t find most of Russia’s $300bn of frozen reserves Intellinews
Ukraine warns grain import bans play into Russia’s war propaganda Euractiv
Kazakhstan spooked by US warning of secondary sanctions Eurasianet
***
Denmark’s Armed Forces confirm Russian ship was seen near the site of Nord Stream explosion Ukrainska Pravda. So now it wasn’t simply six guys on a yacht?
US corporations cash in on Ukraine’s oil and gas Geopolitical Economic system Report
India is on observe to grow to be Europe’s largest provider of refined fuels this month whereas concurrently shopping for file quantities of Russian crude, based on knowledge from analytics agency Kpler https://t.co/6EaSP9Bt9N
— Bloomberg Power (@BloombergNRG) April 28, 2023
Is Serbia a pro-Putin outpost? Unherd
Soviet Operational Art: Troubled Beginnings Huge Serge Thought
Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party backs Erdogan’s rival for president Al Jazeera
South of the Border
US sanctions Mexican resort timeshare fraud linked to cartel AP
Syraqistan
Unease in Israel as US depletes reserve stockpiles to fuel Ukraine war: Report The Cradle
Iran FM says embassies in Saudi Arabia, Iran to open ‘within days’ Daybreak
B-a-a-a-a-d Banks
First Republic most likely headed for FDIC receivership, sources say; shares drop 40% CNBC
Fed report on SVB collapse faults bank’s managers — and central bank regulators CNBC. The full report.
Biden Administration
Biden has a new pitch to reup a controversial surveillance program. And Republicans might like it. Politico
Government report shows steep decline in FBI’s ‘backdoor searches’ on Americans Politico. The deck: “The info strengthens the administration’s case that the bureau doesn’t want new civil liberties safeguards from Congress. However early reactions recommend lawmakers stay unswayed.”
The Orbán government acquired the secret photos and emails of Hunter Biden Every day Information Hungary
2024
Ron DeSantis in Guantánamo: how questions about his past haunt the Florida governor The Guardian. Poor Ron.
The DeSantis School The Baffler
Jan. 6 convict embraces Trump at campaign event, calls for Pence’s execution The Hill
Trump Could Definitely Beat Biden New York Journal
Democrats en déshabillé
American Liberalism Is Exhausted Jacobin
The Supremes
U.S. Supreme Court justices take lavish gifts — then raise the bar for bribery prosecutions Ohio Capital Journal. (Paul R): “Dept. of you may’t make this up.”
Alito: I Know Who Likely Leaked the Dobbs Decision Jonathan Turley
Healthcare
FDA warns of security vulnerability in Illumina’s DNA sequencing machines STAT
Illumina to chase $100M-plus in cuts as margins narrow Fierce Biotech
‘More than half of my paycheck goes to rent’: young US doctors push to unionize The Guardian
Police State Watch
“A way to throw kids away”: Texas’ troubled juvenile justice department is sending more children to adult prisons Texas Tribune
THE DOJ IS USING “FOREIGN AGENTS” ACCUSATIONS TO REPRESS BLACK LIBERATION ORGANIZERS The Actual Information Community
Resisting AFRICOM and beyond MR On-line
AI?
Judge slams Tesla for claiming Musk quotes captured on video may be deepfakes Ars Technica (Kevin W)
Tencent Cloud announces Deepfakes-as-a-Service for $145 The Register
Abortion
Nebraska abortion ban tied to cardiac activity falls one vote short; 20-week limit remains intact Nebraska Examiner
Imperial Collapse Watch
Industry Out of Phase With Supercomputers IEEE (ctlieee). The deck: “Chip-industry modifications threaten U.S. supercomputing.”
Provide Chain
Threat to freighters as parts shortages hobble airlines, manufacturers and MRO The Loadstar
Class Warfare
UAW president ‘disgusted’ by automaker buyout: Stellantis to offer deals to 33K workers ClickOnDetroit
Private Equity Is Gutting America — and Getting Away With It New York Instances
‘Dirty Dozen’ Dangerous Employers Named for Workers Memorial Day Labor Notes
Tech
Washington passes law requiring consent before companies collect health data The Verge
The Bezzle
Coinbase’s “Wells Response” Vs. SEC: Is The Crypto Firm Digging Its Own Grave? The Deep Dive
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Hyperlinks and Antidote du Jour here.