Social Media Warnings, Pork Prices, & Super Old Fruit
June 18, 2024
Hello, readers – happy Tuesday! Today, we’re talking about social media warnings, nuclear weapons, pork, the E.U.’s plan for the environment, New Jersey corruption, taxing tips, and really, really old fruit.
Here’s some good news: NASA says the Voyager 1 is fully functional once again after it began acting strangely back in November. Also, at Bogotá’s Care School for Men, an innovative city-led program, men learn how to do their share of housework and child care, including changing a diaper, styling a ponytail, and basic cleaning skills.
Please note: there will not be a new edition of Daily Pnut tomorrow in honor of Juneteenth. We’ll be back in your inboxes bright and early on Thursday morning!
“My father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.” – Clarence Budington Kelland
Scrolling Takes A Toll

If you’re the kind of person who’s embarrassed to let anyone see the “screen time” report on your phone, then you know just how addictive social media can be. Would it make you feel better to know that you’re not alone? In fact, it’s such a big issue that the surgeon general is getting involved. In a Monday opinion piece in The New York Times, Dr. Vivek Murthy said that social media is a contributing factor in the mental health crisis among young people and called on Congress to require warning labels on social media platforms to explain their effects.
Up to 95% of youth ages 13 to 17 say that they use a social media platform, and more than a third say that they use social media “almost constantly,” according to 2022 data from the Pew Research Center. “A surgeon general’s warning label, which requires congressional action, would regularly remind parents and adolescents that social media has not been proved safe,” Murthy said. The warning label would be similar to those found on cigarettes, as “Evidence from tobacco studies show that warning labels can increase awareness and change behavior,” Murthy explained.
A Bombshell Report
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a Swedish think tank, released a report yesterday revealing that the world’s nine nuclear-armed nations deepened their reliance on nuclear deterrence in 2023. In a separate report, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons said that those nine nations spent a combined total of $91.4 billion on their arsenals in 2023.
Speaking of “uh oh, more nuclear weapons,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday that the military alliance could, for the first time, face a significant nuclear threat from two fronts – Russia and China – which means it may be necessary to increase the number of deployable warheads as a deterrent. Dmitri Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin, accused Stoltenberg of “another escalation of tension,” while a NATO spokesperson tried to downplay the comments and explained that, aside from modernization, there are “no significant changes to our nuclear deterrent.”
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A Pork In The Road

- China’s Ministry of Commerce said yesterday that it will be investigating the prices of pork from the European Union. The news comes just a few days after the E.U. increased tariffs on electric vehicles from China, contributing to fears that Beijing’s retribution could cause major economic issues.
- The investigation is expected to last about a year to 18 months. A hike in import tariffs could be very costly for European pork producers if it ends up hurting demand in China, the world’s largest pork market and the main destination for E.U. pork exports. The E.U. is the second-biggest pork producer after China.
The Bloc Breaks The Deadlock
- Speaking of the E.U., they also passed the Nature Restoration Plan yesterday after months of stalemate and protests. Under the new law, E.U. countries will be required to restore at least 30% of habitats such as forests, rivers, grasslands, wetlands, lakes, and coral beds deemed in poor condition by 2030.
- The E.U. Parliament’s main political group, EPP, and other conservatives and the far right have insisted the plans would undermine food security, fuel inflation, and hurt farmers. The law was finally adopted at a meeting of environment ministers in Luxembourg with support from 15 of the 27 member states and 65% of the E.U. population. Austria’s vote in favor of the plan helped to break the months-long deadlock.
More Mixed Nuts
- Greek island searches for missing tourists intensify amid hiking deaths (Guardian)
- Indian man extradited to US in connection with alleged plot to assassinate Sikh separatist (ABC)
- Mayor-elect pulled off bus and assassinated near resort city of Acapulco (CBS)
- Vladimir Putin to visit North Korea as he seeks further military support (Guardian)
- India train crash leaves at least 8 dead, dozens injured as freight train plows into passenger train (CBS)
Middle East Mixed Nuts
- Netanyahu disbands his war Cabinet (NBC)
- The war in Gaza has wiped out entire Palestinian families. AP documents 60 who lost dozens or more (AP)
Pruning Corruption In The Garden State
- New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin charged George Norcross, one of the state’s most powerful Democrats, and his allies with a long-running corruption scheme. Norcross has long been the subject of scrutiny by law enforcement and even a political task force, but has never been charged. According to Platkin, Norcross has run a criminal enterprise for over a decade that has harmed businesses, individuals, and “especially — especially — to the city of Camden,” one of the state’s poorest cities.
- Norcross attended the press conference and sat in the front row closest to the podium, staring at Platkin as he announced the 13-count indictment. His team of attorneys refused when one of Platkin’s staffers asked him to sit somewhere else. This also comes as the state’s Senator Bob Menendez is midway through his second federal bribery trial.
The Tipping Point
- Former President Trump introduced a plan to stop taxing tips a little over a week ago during a campaign stop in Nevada. According to a new analysis released Sunday from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), a nonpartisan watchdog group, this shift would cost the federal government up to $250 billion over 10 years.
- CRFB President Maya MacGuineas said Trump’s idea would create an incentive to push more income into tipping, which we don’t want, because it “could lead to a larger shift toward lower base pay.” Congress will have the chance to rewrite the country’s tax laws in 2025, when Trump’s 2017 tax laws are set to expire.
More Nuts In America
- The first tropical threat of hurricane season will likely form in the Gulf. Here’s what to expect (CNN)
- Mike Johnson’s Intelligence Committee choices anger some GOP lawmakers (WaPo, $)
- 3 men set for pleas and sentencings in prison killing of James ‘Whitey’ Bulger (AP)
- Schumer to bring up vote on gun bump stocks ban after Supreme Court decision (CBS)
- Biden targets Trump’s conviction as tensions ramp up ahead of debate (CNN)
A Berry Exciting Discovery
- We all know there’s a secret tunnel under Mount Vernon, the home of President George Washington, that’s accessed by a secret sliding door and…oh, wait, was that only in National Treasure: Book of Secrets? Well, archeologists excavating Mount Vernon discovered something almost as cool – 35 glass bottles filled with cherries and berries.
- The bottles were found in five storage pits in the mansion’s cellar, with 29 of them intact and containing “perfectly preserved cherries and berries, likely gooseberries or currants,” according to a news release. The bottles were extracted from the pits and refrigerated, and are expected to undergo scientific analysis, the release states.
- The crews recently discovered two intact European-manufactured glass bottles, also from the 18th century, filled with liquid, cherries, and pits in the same cellar. The excavation was part of the $40 million revitalization project that’s been going on at the property for about a year.
More Loose Nuts
- Scientists may have found an answer to the mystery of dark matter. It involves an unexpected byproduct (CNN)
- Willie Mays won’t attend Negro League tribute game at Rickwood Field (ESPN)
- Scooter Braun announces retirement as a music manager 5 years after Taylor Swift dispute (USA Today)
- Apple Touts AI Intelligence, Inks ChatGPT Deal While Elon Musk Pouts (CNET)
- Adidas is investigating allegations of embezzlement and kickbacks in China (CNN)