Student Loans, OpenAI’s Windfall, & The Importance Of The NBA
May 2, 2024
Hello, readers – happy Thursday! Today, we’ll be talking about college protests, the U.K.’s immigration laws, Georgia protests, another Houthi attack, student loan forgiveness, Microsoft’s panic-investment, and a bad day for Warner Bros. Discovery.
Here’s some good news: Domino’s launched a promotion called “You Tip, We Tip” that rewards customers with $3 off a future online delivery order for every $3 or more they tip a Domino’s delivery driver. Also, on Tuesday, the Dodgers-Diamondbacks game was delayed by a swarm of bees. A beekeeper left his son’s baseball game to come handle the problem – the bees were removed and released elsewhere. Oh, and the beekeeper got to throw out the first pitch.
“A great source of calamity lies in regret and anticipation; therefore a person is wise who thinks of the present alone, regardless of the past or future.” – Oliver Goldsmith
Even More Chaos On Campus
On Tuesday night, pro-Israel demonstrators violently attacked a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on UCLA’s campus just before midnight, attacking pro-Palestine protesters by firing fireworks at the encampment, swinging wooden planks at students, and spraying bear spray.
Just hours before the incident, UCLA chancellor Gene Block had described the pro-Palestine encampment as “unlawful” and the tactics as “shocking and shameful.” While the university’s UCLA campus police (UCPD) were called to the scene soon after the attack began, they quickly withdrew once officers came under attack as well. LAPD arrived on the scene at about 1:40 a.m. yesterday, but waited until 3:00 a.m. to take any action. Pro-Israel demonstrators left and none were arrested. Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass described the night’s violence as “abhorrent,” while California Governor Gavin Newsom called the lack of response “unacceptable.”
While the cops in California were demonstrably unwilling to intervene, police on the East Coast seemed happy to use force against pro-Palestine students at Columbia University. NYPD and private security forces worked together to raid Columbia’s Hamilton Hall, which was being occupied by pro-Gazan student demonstrators. Police used flashbangs and other riot gear to flush out protesters, leading to almost 300 arrests overnight.
Want To Know More?
- Police clear pro-Palestine encampments and arrest hundreds on US college campuses (Guardian)
- At Brown, a Rare Agreement Between Administrators and Protesters (NYT, $)
- Northwestern University’s deal with student protesters offers example of successful negotiations (ABC)
The Brits Start Giving The Boot
While police in America struggle to respond to division on college campuses, U.K. authorities are beginning a concerted effort to deport immigrants, arresting asylum seekers who arrived in the U.K. without permission. It’s all part of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s flagship immigration policy, which will eventually ship the people off to Rwanda.
Sunak reportedly wants the first deportation flights to take off in July. So far, about 7,500 people have sought asylum in England this year, arriving on small boats that cross the English Channel from France, a treacherous journey that took five lives last week alone. His government hopes that the deportation scheme will discourage people from attempting to cross the Channel.
Meanwhile, the union for Britain’s senior civil servants has launched a court challenge against the new law, claiming that complying with U.K. government orders to book flights for migrants would force them into a difficult legal position. This is due to a temporary order from the European Court of Human Rights, which calls on civil servants to halt the deportation flights while a case against the Rwanda law is still being considered. The civil servants claim it’s “irresponsible” for the government to put them in such a position.
Looking For An Exceptional Travel Card?
- Planning on doing some jetsetting this year? This amazing, no-hassle card has no annual fee + $250 for travel.
- Summer travels are just around the corner. With high rewards, no annual or foreign transaction fees, and a $250 bonus offer for travel, turn everyday purchases into once-in-a-lifetime travel experiences.
- It’s truly remarkable to find such generous features in a no annual fee card. Start turning travel dreams into reality.
Georgia Has Russia On Their Mind
- Georgian lawmakers have backed a “Russia-style” foreign agent law that would force organizations that receive over 20% of their funding from sources outside the country to register as “foreign agents.” The country’s parliament voted 83-23 in favor of the bill, indicating that the legislation is likely to be signed into law within a few weeks. Their decision was met with criticism from the West and widespread protests, which law enforcement cracked down on using pepper spray and water cannons.
- While the ruling Georgian Dream party says the bill will increase transparency and protect Georgia’s democracy, many worry it will be used to censor Western-backed NGOs. For example, one Georgian Dream lawmaker has expressed his hopes that the head of one NGO, Transparency International’s Georgia branch, will be made to “disappear” from public life when the bill is passed. The group has long focused on exposing corruption and government mismanagement of public resources, so you can see the problem there.
The Rebels Gain Some Range
- Last Friday, the MSC Orion, a Portuguese-flagged container ship, was attacked by a drone in the Arabian Sea. On Tuesday, Houthi rebels announced that they’d successfully attacked a ship in the region. The two events mean that the Houthis have significantly extended their attack range, as the drone attack took place over 375 miles off the coast of Yemen over deep ocean waters.
- While the ship “sustained only minor damage and all crew on board are safe,” according to the Joint Maritime Information Center (which is part of the U.S.-led Combined Maritime Forces in the Mideast), the attack does raise questions about the possibility of an upgrade to the Houthis’ military capabilities.
- Since last October, Houthi strikes have been concentrated in the Red Sea just off the coast of Yemen, and the group isn’t known to have an expeditionary naval fleet or any infrastructure capable of supporting long-distance drone strikes. The Houthis also claimed on Saturday that they’d taken down a U.S. military MQ-9 Reaper drone – the Pentagon has since confirmed that the drone crashed but it was still investigating.
More Mixed Nuts
- China highway collapse sends cars plunging, leaving at least 24 dead, dozens injured (CBS)
- SNP defeats Labour’s motion of no confidence in Holyrood (Guardian)
- Fujian: China’s newest aircraft carrier heads to sea for first time (CNN)
- Colombia’s president says thousands of grenades and bullets have gone missing from army bases (AP)
- Saudi Arabia activist sentenced to 11 years in prison for ‘support’ of women’s rights (Guardian)
POTUS Pulls Out All The Stops For A Polling Advantage
- Yesterday, President Biden announced that the administration would forgive over $6.1 billion in student loan debt for borrowers who attended The Art Institutes. The school system shut down last year after the Department of Education found that it had falsified “postgraduation employment rates, salaries, and career services.”
- This brings the total forgiveness approved by the Biden administration to almost $160 billion for nearly 4.6 million borrowers, an average of nearly $35,000 per student. “We will never stop fighting to deliver relief to borrowers, hold bad actors accountable, and bring the promise of college to more Americans,” Biden said.
Scared Into Spending $1 Billion
- According to new emails released as part of the ongoing U.S. Justice Department antitrust case against Google, Microsoft invested $1 billion in OpenAI in 2019 because it was “very worried” that Google was years ahead in scaling up its AI efforts. The emails are between Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott, CEO Satya Nadella, and co-founder Bill Gates.
- Scott says he was initially dismissive of AI efforts at OpenAI and Google DeepMind, but when things moved toward natural language processing models, “I got very, very worried.” Scott also mentions that Google had an advantage over Bing because of its investment in AI – though I think we can all agree Google’s had an advantage over Bing since day one.
More Nuts In America
- US judges reject new Louisiana voting map with second majority-Black district (Guardian)
- Christian conservatives wrestle with shifting GOP stance on Arizona abortion ban (NPR)
- Florida’s 6-week abortion ban takes effect, cutting off access in much of the South (NBC)
- Mitt Romney says his dog scandal doesn’t compare to Kristi Noem’s: ‘I didn’t shoot my dog’ (Guardian)
- ‘Outbreak’ of opioid overdoses in Austin, Texas, linked to 8 deaths and over 50 emergency calls (NBC)
Will The Bros Go Broke?
- Warner Bros. Discovery is discovering the definition of rock bottom. The entertainment conglomerate’s already-low stock price took a steep almost-10% drop on Tuesday following a report in The Wall Street Journal that Warner Bros. might be forced into an expensive bidding war over its NBA broadcasting rights, one of the company’s most valuable assets.
- WBD has already been struggling under the leadership of CEO David Zaslav, who said in 2022 that the company didn’t “have to have the NBA,” with its stock declining by 70% since its IPO in 2022. WBD’s cable network TNT has invested heavily in its NBA broadcasts, and the company has also recently signed a sports super-streaming deal with Disney and Fox Corporation – losing part or all of its NBA broadcasting rights could change how that deal shakes out.
- Due to its current relationship with the NBA, WBD apparently had an exclusive negotiating window with the league, but was unable to strike a deal, allowing other media companies to submit bids, including NBCUniversal. NBC “is prepared to pay an average of about $2.5 billion a year,” which is about double the current amount paid by WBD. While he’s fumbled the bag in managing the company over the past few years, Zaslav’s executive pay package ballooned to $50 million this year.
More Loose Nuts
- Two men charged over felling of Sycamore Gap tree (Guardian)
- Automatic emergency braking at speeds up to 90mph required under new rule (The Verge)
- Chinese astronauts return to Earth after 6 months on space station (AP)
- Daniel Radcliffe says rupture with JK Rowling over trans rights is ‘really sad’ (Guardian)
- Move over New York Times, now LinkedIn is adding brain-busting games (CNN)