Ceasefire Talks, Land Laws, Pulitzers, & Bird Flu
May 7, 2024
Hello, readers – happy Tuesday! Today, we’re talking about ceasefire possibilities, land laws in Florida, Russia’s tactical nukes, Panama’s elections, Pulitzer Prizes, Texas flooding, and bird flu.
Want answers? We’ve got you covered: DP 4/26 Quiz Answers. Hats off to Richard D., who scored a perfect 10 on last week’s quiz. Check back next week for another chance to test your current affairs acumen!
“Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” – Carl Jung
Mayhem On The Mediterranean
It was a confusing day in Gaza yesterday, as news about a possible ceasefire swirled while Israel ordered Palestinians to evacuate the city of Rafah ahead of a possible assault. Over 1 million Palestinians have been pushed into Rafah to escape the destruction of the rest of the Gaza Strip, but Israel says it must conduct a ground invasion of the area to root out Hamas.
Ahead of that Israeli invasion, Hamas leaders said they would accept the terms of a ceasefire deal introduced at negotiations in Egypt. However, Israel said that the proposal was “far from Israel’s basic requirements.” Sources familiar with the proposal said that Israel’s gripe was with minor wording tweaks, which were made in consultation with C.I.A. director William J. Burns. While Hamas’ deal ended up being a false start, it seems that Israeli diplomats are looking for a real start – the country has agreed to send diplomats to Egypt for further talks.
Meanwhile, Israel dropped both bombs and flyers over Rafah. The news comes a day after Israel’s defense minister told troops to expect “intense action in Rafah in the near future.” Gazans seeking safety in Rafah have now been instructed to head to an “expanded humanitarian area” near the coastal town of Al-Mawasi.
A Nation Of Immigrants…Oh, Wait, Except For Those Immigrants
It’s no secret that the U.S. and China are ratcheting up international tensions and jostling for global dominance. As both countries slowly shift into Cold War gear, Chinese immigrants have found themselves increasingly scrutinized by the U.S., which has resulted in a variety of discriminatory programs like “the China Initiative.” Now, Chinese immigrants are being excluded from the real estate market as they’re blocked from buying property in large swathes of America.
So far, three dozen states have enacted or are considering laws restricting Chinese citizens’ rights to buy property, an honor bestowed upon people from a select few countries. Critics say that the regulations mirror 20th-century alien land laws which were aimed at blocking Japanese immigrants from buying farmland, while lawmakers say they’re a necessary sacrifice to protect American interests.
Florida is one of the states with a property restriction law. Those in the state on work visas can buy residential property, as long as it’s not within five miles of a military installment or “critical infrastructure” like power stations and water treatment plants. While the Sunshine State’s Chinese community rallied against the bill, people of Chinese descent make up just 0.6% of Florida’s population, and the state’s government was able to pass the law with little political backlash.
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Russian Headfirst Into Nuclear War?
- While China and the U.S. might be playing things cool and sticking to the Cold War script, Russia is turning up the heat in its war with Ukraine. On Monday, Moscow announced plans to hold military drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons (or tactical nukes), raising concerns about the conflict escalating into a full-on war between NATO and Russia.
- Russia’s defense ministry said the nuclear drills are a response to “provocative statements and threats of certain Western officials regarding the Russian Federation,” likely referring to recent remarks by NATO leaders suggesting that some Western countries might decide to become more involved in the ongoing conflict.
- This marks the first time that Russia has announced larger military drills involving tactical nuclear weapons, though Moscow’s strategic nuclear forces do hold regular training exercises. Ukraine and the U.S. have both brushed off the threats, though – Ukraine replied by declaring that “nuclear blackmail is a usual practice of Putin’s regime; it does not constitute major news,” while the U.S. said the drills were “another example of irresponsible rhetoric from Russia.”
Panama’s Election Perplexion Comes To An End
- After a very confusing election season, Panama has a new president. José Raúl Mulino, a former government minister who served from 2009 until 2014, won the presidency with 34.3% of the vote, beating out lawyer Ricardo Lombana (24.8%) and former President Martín Torrijos (16%). Mulino only became a presidential candidate in February as a last-minute stand-in for former president Ricardo Martinelli (who’s avoiding money laundering charges by hiding in a Nicaraguan embassy) and almost had his bid disqualified by Panama’s supreme court just days before voting.
- Mulino was running as Martinelli’s vice-presidential running mate during the election until the Supreme Court rejected the former president’s appeal against his money laundering charges. The two were running under the banner of Martinelli’s outsider Realizing Goals (Realizando Metas) party. They were focused on cracking down on illegal migrant crossings and reviving Panama’s slowing economy. Many Panamanians said they still trusted Martinelli and his running mate because their past administration saw massive economic growth for the nation.
More Mixed Nuts
- Gov. Kristi Noem faces questions in new interview about false claim in her book that she met Kim Jong Un (CBS)
- Macron puts trade and Ukraine as top priorities as China’s Xi opens European visit in France (AP)
- Vladimir Putin cut out the heart of a deer and gave it to Silvio Berlusconi (Politico)
- Hungary tired of ruling elite, Viktor Orbán challenger tells large rural rally (Guardian)
- Chad holds presidential election after years of military rule (AP)
The Awards Show Must Go On
- Yesterday, Columbia University canceled its university-wide commencement ceremony in the wake of pro-Palestine protests that swept the campus, but the institution wasn’t as willing to let go of another ceremony – the Pulitzer Prize winners were announced yesterday. The New York Times and The Washington Post were awarded three Pulitzer Prizes each, and The Associated Press won in the feature photography category for coverage of global migration to the U.S.
- The public service award went to ProPublica for reporting that “pierced the thick wall of secrecy” surrounding the U.S. Supreme Court when the publication uncovered information about the justices’ undisclosed gifts from billionaires. The Pulitzers also announced that five of the 45 finalists this year used AI in research and reporting of their submissions – this marked the first time the board required applicants to disclose any use of AI.
Torrential Downpours In Texas
- Floodwaters in Houston, Texas, and its surrounding areas started to go down yesterday, but the damage is far from over. Days of heavy rainfall led to evacuations, but residents are being allowed to return to their homes now. Areas near Lake Livingston, northeast of Houston, received up to 23 inches of rain over the past week
- “We can absolutely see the light at the end of the tunnel, and we’ve made it through the worst of this weather event,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the county’s top elected official, told reporters Monday. Officials in Harris County reported no deaths or major injuries from the flooding, but a young boy in North Texas died in the flood.
More Nuts In America
- A man points a gun at a church pastor before getting tackled. Then the suspect’s relative is found dead in the gunman’s home (CNN)
- ‘Waste of a seat’: Manchin’s succession becomes a magnet for anti-establishment Republicans (Politico)
- First these Army families lost their loved ones. Then the man assigned to help them took their money. (NBC)
- Bernie Sanders announces he will seek reelection for his Senate seat (CNN)
- Kim Godwin out as ABC News president after 3 years as first Black woman as network news chief (AP)
Contaminated Milk Goes Viral
- There’s a virus in about 20% of the U.S. milk supply right now, and Joe Biden’s White House doesn’t want you to know about it!!!! Sorry, we couldn’t resist a little clickbait – but that’s also true, technically. According to the Food and Drug Administration, fragments of the bird flu virus are present in about 1 of 5 milk samples in the U.S., and about 34 herds of cattle across nine states are confirmed to be infected with the disease. Luckily, the disease is largely killed by pasteurization (which is used to disinfect most American milk), and the disease is poorly evolved to make the jump from cattle to humans.
- The sudden spike in bird flu will likely not affect us humans too much – just two people have been infected by the disease recently and the U.S. government has a large stockpile of anti-influenza medicine. Because there’s no mandate to screen cattle for bird flu, it was able to spread like wildfire, and the Department of Agriculture only required screenings for cows crossing state borders a month after the outbreak was noticed.
- The government has also said that just 30 animals per herd must be tested no matter the group size, and when genetic samples were released to scientists for testing last month, the data wasn’t tagged with time or location information, making it harder to track the spread of the disease. There’s also no program in place to collect antibodies from farm workers, who would likely be some of the first people infected by the flu. You’d think we would have learned from Covid, but I guess we’re only human – at least we’re not cattle.
More Loose Nuts
- Sierra Nevada records snowiest day of the season from brief but potent storm (NPR)
- Tom Brady caught on camera warning comic about Robert Kraft massage joke at Netflix roast (NBC)
- Boeing Starliner launch set to kick off long-awaited mission with NASA crew (CNN)
- Could better asthma inhalers help patients, and the planet too? (NPR)
- Civil rights leader Daisy Bates and singer Johnny Cash to replace Arkansas statues (ABC)