Tornadoes, E.U. Elections, & AI-Driven Racecars
April 29, 2024
Hello, readers – happy Monday! Today, we’re talking about tornadoes, E.U. elections, Israel and Gaza, Macron’s dreams for Europe, the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, DeSantis and Trump, and AI-driven racecars.
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“There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.” – Aldous Huxley
Getting Active In Tornado Alley
April showers might bring May flowers, but what about April tornadoes? Those have only brought damage to Oklahoma over the weekend, as multiple tornadoes tore through the Sooner State. The twisters have taken the lives of at least three people so far, causing destruction across multiple counties on Saturday night.
Meanwhile, major cities including Dallas and Austin in Texas, Oklahoma City and Tulsa in Oklahoma, and Wichita and Topeka in Kansas were under storm watch last night as more bad weather headed to the Central U.S. At least 47 million people were placed under severe weather warnings as the weekend came to an end, with 3.5 million people under a tornado watch as well. The main weather threats include tornadoes, hail particles up to 2 inches in diameter, and gusts of wind up to 70 mph, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
“In addition to the severe weather, intense rainfall rates are expected to accompany these thunderstorms at times, leading to a moderate to locally high potential of flash flooding,” said the National Weather Service. When it rains, it really does pour – and tornado, apparently.
We Heard E.U. Like Election Coverage…
We hope you’re not tired of reading about elections this year because we’ve got yet another election season about to kick off – in Europe this time. In June, E.U. voters will cast their ballots to decide the members of the European Parliament, the E.U.’s only publicly-elected legislative body. The election’s hottest issue appears to be the E.U.’s involvement in Ukraine – voters are worried that the union might be drawn into the war if it’s too proactive in providing support to Kyiv.
“To those who are worried, who are afraid, I say: you can rest assured that no matter how the debates go, the German Chancellor, the government I lead, will not abandon the course of prudence, the course of balanced action and ensuring peace and security in Europe,” said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the leader of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), at an election kickoff rally over the weekend. One of his party’s buzzwords heavily featured across election materials is “Peace.”
The SPD’s biggest contender heading into June is the far-right Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, a nationalist group that plans to take a hard line against immigration. They’ve hit some speed bumps recently, though. Media reports have revealed the group’s plan to deport millions of people of non-German ancestry, as well as higher-ups’ links to Russian and Chinese intelligence, led to significant backlash and a decline in the party’s polling results.
Palestine On The Precipice
- The Chief of the General Staff of the IDF, Herzi Halevi, has approved plans to continue the IDF’s war in Gaza and begin its ground invasion of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians have been forced by Israel’s invasion of Gaza. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called on the U.S. to block the IDF’s offensive, but the White House has already expressed doubts about doing that.
- While the storm brews over Rafah, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has headed to the Middle East to start a new round of ceasefire talks. While Israel says it will only end the conflict with the destruction of Hamas and the freeing of all hostages, Hamas is pushing for the war to end and Israel to withdraw all troops from Gaza. Blinken is not in the best spot here – the latest peace proposal involved the release of 20 hostages in return for a few weeks’ ceasefire, but Hamas declined the option.
- Meanwhile, a group of U.S. officials has pushed Blinken to end U.S. military aid to Israel, claiming that the IDF is using American arms to violate international humanitarian law. The report involves the testimony of four separate bureaus and cites eight separate incidents where the IDF allegedly violated Palestinians’ human rights. It also highlighted 11 incidents when the IDF “arbitrarily restricted humanitarian aid” to Gazans.
Macron Plays The Strong Man
- French President Emmanuel Macron is continuing to step up his calls for a more militarized Europe. Over the weekend, Macron said that he would be willing to discuss using French nuclear weapons to contribute to a “credible European defense” against military threats coming from Russia, which he views as Europe’s most pressing issue at the moment. Macron said in an interview published on Saturday, “France will keep its specificity, but is ready to contribute more to the defense of European soil.”
- France is the E.U.’s only nuclear power with about 300 nuclear warheads in its arsenal. Macron has pushed the idea of France sharing its nukes with the rest of the E.U. in the past, but the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has made his constituents a little more open to the idea lately. Germany’s center-right European People’s Party holds that Europe should take Macron up on the deal, but the proposal has also garnered opposition from parties to the left of the French president.
More Mixed Nuts
- State Department blasts new Iraq anti-homosexuality law as human rights threat (NBC)
- Burkina Faso says it is investigating northern killings (Reuters)
- Munitions explosion at a Cambodian army base kills 20 soldiers, cause is unclear (NBC)
- Kenya flood death toll rises as more torrential rain forecast (Guardian)
- Scottish Greens will not back down in Humza Yousaf row, co-leader says (Guardian)
Middle East Mixed Nuts
- A top Qatari official urges Israel and Hamas to do more to reach a cease-fire deal (ABC)
- Gaza students thank pro-Palestinian protesters at US college campuses (CNN)
Heat Wave in Gaza Challenges Pharmacists Ability to Store Medicine (NYT, $) - World Central Kitchen says it will resume operations in Gaza (NPR)
- Gaza aid flotilla halted after vessels’ flag removed, activists say (NBC)
- British troops may be tasked with delivering Gaza aid, BBC report says (AP)
Ron DeSide-Switcher
- Six sources have confirmed that former President Donald Trump met privately over breakfast with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis yesterday. DeSantis had previously told donors and supporters during a private retreat in April that he planned to help raise money for Trump’s campaign.
- A separate source said the meeting was mutually agreed upon and arranged by Steven Witkoff, the chairman of a real estate company. DeSantis wasn’t overly kind to Trump when they were “competing” for the GOP presidential candidacy (though, realistically, it didn’t seem like much of a competition), and a Trump campaign official said DeSantis reached out to Trump’s team through Witkoff to set up a meeting to “bury the hatchet.”
A Big Swing And A Miss
- Nike took over as MLB’s official uniform supplier in 2019 as part of a 10-year, $1 billion deal. This spring, the MLB unveiled new uniforms, and they were decidedly not well-received. A memo was distributed to players by the Major League Baseball Players Association that was made public yesterday, in which players are promised that the issues with the uniforms will be remedied by no later than the start of the 2025 season.
- Players said that the new pants were see-through, gray tops and bottoms were mismatched, the letters on the backs of the jerseys were too small, and the jerseys tended to collect sweat (not ideal for a summer sport!). It was made abundantly clear that Nike was at fault for the uniform problems and Fanatics, the manufacturer of the uniform, was not to blame, according the ESPN. Fanatics has partnerships with MLB and the players union, and initially took the brunt of the criticism.
More Nuts In America
- Lindsey Graham argues Americans will vote on ‘their problems,’ not Donald Trump’s criminal cases (USA Today)
- College students, faculty demand amnesty for participating in anti-war protests (AP)
- Trump VP contender Kristi Noem responds to backlash over story about killing her dog (NPR)
- Utah GOP picks Trump-backed mayor as nominee to replace Mitt Romney (Politico)
- Sanders: ‘I would hope that every American condemns antisemitism’ (CNN)
Robo-Racers
- On Saturday, the first race of the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League was held at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Grand Prix Formula 1 racetrack. The world’s first-ever autonomous Formula 1 car race was surprisingly rough given the lack of traffic or other obstacles on the circuit, with the AI drivers glitching out randomly and even wrecking one of the cars.
- The event started with qualifying time trials, meaning single racers drove the track alone. Somehow, the less-crowded time trials provided more drama than the actual event that included multiple racers – the trials saw one car spin out, another swerve into a wall, and one AI driver decided to pull over to the shoulder for no apparent reason.
- During the main race, where the four fastest drivers were pitted against each other, there was less trouble. The biggest hiccup occurred when one car spun out and officials waved a yellow flag, indicating that other racers should continue driving but not pass each other while officials dealt with the spun-out vehicle. While one car passed the spun-out car with no problem, the other two decided that they weren’t allowed to pass the stalled car (because drivers aren’t allowed to pass on a yellow flag), leading to some confusion on the track. At the end of the day, all four of the drivers were eventually able to complete their eight laps, but the inaugural event shows that we’ve got a long way to go until Max Verstappen gets his job stolen by a computer. Good for him.
More Loose Nuts
- Climate activist who defaced Edgar Degas sculpture exhibit sentenced (NPR)
- How evangelical leader Jim Wallis uses the Bible to expose the ‘False White Gospel’ (CNN)
- 30 years after end of apartheid, South Africa’s celebrations are set against growing discontent (Politico)
- Dubai ruler approves new $35 billion airport terminal (Reuters)
- Pope makes landmark visit to Venice Biennale and proclaims that ‘the world needs artists’ (CNN)