College Costs, Elephant Diplomacy, & Monkeys Take Over Thailand
April 4, 2024
Hello, readers – happy Thursday! Today, we’re talking about financial aid, Ukraine, Taiwan’s earthquake, elephants in Germany, an awkward meeting for Biden, Trump Media, & monkeys in Thailand.
Here’s some good news: California’s snowpack measurement is average. In a time of seemingly constant extreme weather, “Average is awesome,” according to the director of the California Department of Water Resources. Also in California, a bill has been introduced that would give employees the “right to disconnect” from their jobs during nonworking hours.
“The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.” – Abraham Lincoln
A Tough Lesson For The Department Of Education
Getting into college is hard enough, but the higher education experience got even harder this year. The delays of the Department of Education’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) have left families in limbo just as tuition hits record highs. Normally, students and families receive information regarding how much they’ll owe for the next year of college by March – but they’re still waiting.
The process has been delayed from the start, as the Department of Education rolled out a revamped FAFSA form at the start of January that experienced recurring outages for the first week. In a normal year, the form opens in October and students are asked to send in a deposit by May – luckily, schools are pushing back their deposit deadlines.
“The rollout of the new FAFSA has been plagued by issues of broken trust, data integrity, and missed deadlines,” said Justin Draeger, president of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. So far, FAFSA applications are down by about one-third compared to last year, putting many colleges in a financial bind. Adding to the issue, the Office of Federal Student Aid admitted that it had botched the latest batch of financial aid applications on Monday, meaning hundreds of thousands of students will experience even more delays.
Ukraine’s Not-So-Bountiful Spring
This week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made some dire predictions for his country’s defense effort, saying that Kyiv’s troops would be forced to “go back, retreat, step by step, in small steps,” unless the U.S. or E.U. send over billions of dollars. He added that Ukraine expects to lose control of multiple cities if Western defense aid doesn’t come quickly.
To aid Ukraine’s war effort, Zelenskyy signed off on a bill that lowers the country’s minimum conscription age from 27 to 25 this week. While hundreds of thousands had initially volunteered for the war effort in the first weeks of Russia’s invasion, the country has now been forced to pull from a pool of less-willing citizens.
Outside of the war-torn country, the U.S. remains deadlocked on a $60 billion defense aid bill. Sources say NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg is expected to propose a five-year, $100 billion fund to provide aid to Ukraine. Stoltenberg told the media on Tuesday that NATO leaders plan to discuss “how NATO could assume more responsibility for coordinating military equipment and training for Ukraine.”
Tremors In Taiwan
- On Wednesday, Taiwan experienced its biggest earthquake in over 25 years. The massive 7.2 magnitude quake was centered under the county of Hualien on the country’s east coast, leveling buildings and triggering landslides across the country. At least 9 people were killed in the disaster, with over 900 injured and at least 50 missing.
- The country’s chip fabrication plants (the computer kind), its biggest resource, were largely unharmed by the quake. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which supplies chips to Apple and Nvidia, said all of its workers were safe after the disaster, and its plants were all operating normally. Its facilities impacted by the quake were expected to resume production overnight.
The Elephant In The Diplomacy Room
- For any fans of ancient Roman history, elephant warfare is back on the menu. Unfortunately, it’s the 21st century, so no army of elephants will be marching into Europe anytime soon – instead, Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi has threatened to ship 20,000 African elephants into Germany following a public dispute between the two countries over elephant conservation.
- It all started earlier this year when Germany announced plans to restrict imports of hunting trophies from Africa. Botswana, which is home to around one-third of the world’s elephant population, quickly objected to the decision because Germany is one of the biggest hunting trophy importers in the world.
- Botswana has long struggled with its elephant populations, as overpopulation can bring the giant animals into conflict with people. Annual quotas for trophy hunting can be used to control populations while also providing much-needed economic support for local communities, but Western conservationists are more concerned about protecting the vulnerable animals. Masisi said it was easy for German ministers to call for conservation without “elephants in their backyard,” but added that he was “willing to change that.”
More Mixed Nuts
- London police say suspects in stabbing of Iran International journalist fled U.K. just hours after attack (CBS)
- Finnish school shooting suspect motivated by bullying, police say (Guardian)
- Haiti’s surge in gang violence has led more than 53,000 to flee the capital in less than three weeks (AP)
- Biden furious over deaths of World Central Kitchen workers, but White House has no plans to change Israel policy (CNN)
- After terror attack, Russia sees U.S. role and claims it is at war with NATO (WaPo, $)
Another Gaffe Over Gaza
- Dr. Thaer Ahmad, an emergency physician from Chicago who traveled to Gaza earlier this year, was invited to dinner at the White House with President Biden, VP Harris, national security adviser Jake Sullivan, and a small group of Muslim community leaders. Ahmad told CNN yesterday that he got up and left the meeting before it was over to express his disappointment with the president’s handling of the situation in Gaza. The gathering was initially supposed to be an iftar dinner to break the Ramadan fast, but it was changed to a meeting because participants didn’t feel comfortable having a celebratory meal while Gaza is on the brink of famine.
- Following the meeting, a White House official said in a statement that “President Biden and Vice President Harris know this is a deeply painful moment for many in the Muslim and Arab communities.” “I said it was disappointing I’m the only Palestinian here, and out of respect for my community, I’m going to leave,” Ahmad said, “I wanted a chance to stand up and walk away from the people making decisions the way they are walking from my people.”
Crony Capitalists, Caught
- Michael Shvartsman, head of the venture capital firm Rocket One Capital that took former President Trump’s media business public, and his brother Gerald Shvartsman each pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud for insider trading. After hearing the company was in merger talks with Trump Media & Technology Group, they bought Digital World securities, sold them in 2021, and made $22 million in illegal profit.
- In other Trump Media news, former President Trump is suing Wes Moss and Andy Litinsky, two co-founders of Trump Media. The two had filed a suit against Trump last month to prevent him from reducing their 8.6% stake in the firm. Moss and Litinsky came up with the idea for Truth Social after the riot at the Capitol, but Trump says the two men “failed spectacularly at every turn” and “made a series of reckless and wasteful decisions at a critical time that caused significant damage to TMTG.”
More Nuts In America
- Special counsel blasts judge’s jury instruction request in Trump documents case (CNN)
- Ruby Garcia’s family disputes that Trump spoke with them after he used her name at event (ABC)
- Severe storms and tornadoes leave a path of destruction from Georgia to Illinois (CNN)
- Lauren Boebert hospitalized, underwent surgery for blood clot, campaign says (CBS)
- ‘Maybe Texas went too far’ with immigration law, state lawyer tells federal court (CNN)
- A man who attended the Charlottesville Unite the Right rallies will lose his city council seat after his past was revealed (CNN)
The Sunset Of The City Of The Macaques
- Once again, human ingenuity will see us overtake the monkeys from which we descended. “Wait a second,” you might be thinking, “Haven’t humans ruled the planet for thousands of years?” Well, in the Thai city of Lopburi, that’s not actually the case – humans and macaques have fought for control of the city for at least a decade. The monkeys, which are a tourist draw, have free reign over the city – they live in nests around local temples and have adapted to the urban environment, stealing food whenever possible while also being fed by local officials.
- Now, though, humans are fed up with the primates’ primacy. In March, one of the macaques knocked a man off of his moving motorcycle, while another knocked a woman over and dislocated her knee. The incidents have sparked outrage from the locals, and officials say they’ve come up with a solution.
- The city launched an official monkey-catching campaign last week, which will see authorities attempting to round up some 2,500 macaques living in the area. The monkeys will eventually be placed into massive enclosures, while wildlife experts work to figure out a way for them to maintain their ability to roam around the city. So far, about 37 monkeys have been captured, with authorities focusing on bringing in aggressive alpha males.
More Loose Nuts
- Disney board battle: CEO Bob Iger vanquishes billionaire foe Nelson Peltz (NBC)
- What time is it on the moon? White House tells NASA to decide. (WaPo, $)
- To Slow Global Warming, Scientists Test Solar Geoengineering (NYT, $)
- Angel Reese announces that she is leaving LSU for the WNBA (CNN)
- Keep winning at tennis? You may see more images each second, scientists say (Guardian)