Missile Tests, Migration Changes, Mayor Indictments, & Meta’s New Tech

September 26, 2024

Hello, readers – happy Thursday! Today, we’ll be talking about Zelenskyy’s visit, Israel and Lebanon, China’s missiles, France’s immigration, Hurricane Helene, an indicted mayor, and Meta’s new glasses. 

Here’s some good news: Scientists in the Philippines have created a new variety of rice that could help ease the chances of developing diabetes. Also, Amgen said its drug helped improve daily activities in patients suffering from a rare muscle-weakening disease. 

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” – Leo Buscaglia

A Sales Pitch To Save His People

Yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the U.N. General Assembly in New York, where he panned a peace plan put forth by China and Brazil, describing it as a return to Ukraine’s “brutal colonial past” as a former Soviet satellite. He also warned that Russia will target nuclear power plants and other energy sources to make Ukrainians suffer through a cold winter. 

Zelenskyy is expected to visit Washington later this week to negotiate aid packages with U.S. leaders. He’s set to meet with President Biden and Vice President Harris separately, and will also appeal to Congress. Zelenskyy currently has no plans to meet with Donald Trump for reasons we’ll discuss right… now.

On Tuesday, the Don basically highlighted his intention to not meet with Zelenskyy by praising  Russia’s military history and poking fun at Washington’s willingness to send military aid to Ukraine. “Every time Zelenskyy comes to the United States, he walks away with $100 billion,” he said at a rally in Savannah, Georgia, where he also praised the Ukrainian president as “the greatest salesman on Earth.” He further outlined his plans to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict by somehow figuring out a way for the U.S. to disentangle itself from the war. As with most of his policy promises, Trump was unclear on how, exactly, he would accomplish that goal…maybe “concepts of a plan” will do the trick.

More Ceasefire Talks, But Not In Gaza

On Monday, Israel began another bombing campaign in Lebanon, launching missiles at targets across the country. So far, Israeli missiles have killed over 600 people (over a quarter of them women and children) and injured thousands more. Now, the IDF has reportedly started preparing for a ground offensive into Lebanese territory, though hopefully, it doesn’t come to that.

Diplomats are apparently working to secure a 21-day ceasefire in the conflict, which will hopefully help the neighbors cool off. Yesterday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told reporters, “We have made important progress in the last few hours and we will continue our efforts in the coming hours. We are counting on both parties to accept it without delay, in order to protect civilian populations and allow for diplomatic negotiations to begin.”

The U.S. has responded to the situation by moving more troops to the Middle East. Yesterday, dozens of military personnel were dropped off in Cyprus, adding to the troops and ships that were shifted into the region following Monday’s bombings. At the same time, Biden told the hosts of ABC’s “The View,” “An all-out war is possible, but I think there’s also the opportunity – we’re still in play to have a settlement that can fundamentally change the whole region.” Inspiring stuff.

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A Big Test Raises Big Worries

• Yesterday, Beijing tested an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time since the early 1980s. According to analysts, the missile was fired from near Hainan (China’s southernmost province) and landed way out east in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, near French Polynesia. While the U.S. and its allies in East Asia were (understandably) a little bit spooked by the launch, China reportedly played everything by the books, issuing warnings to the Philippines and other countries along the missile’s path. 
• According to one policy expert at the National University of Singapore, the launch comes “at a time when China has considerably heightened tension with Japan, with the Philippines, Taiwan of course, and political insecurity tensions with the US. It’s a fraught time. It’s also UN general assembly week. China is sending a strong signal about the power they can project around the world.”

New Government Prepares Its Shiny New Boot

• France’s new right-wing government is already making moves. On Wednesday, Bruno Retailleau, the new right-wing interior minister, promised that reforms to the country’s immigration policies were on the horizon. The changes come in response to the recent murder of a 19-year-old university student, who was allegedly killed by a 22-year-old man from Morocco.
• “This is an abominable crime,” said Retailleau. “It is up to us, as public leaders, to refuse to accept the inevitable and to develop our legal arsenal, to protect the French. If we have to change the rules, let’s change them.” Jordan Bardella, the leader of the far right National Rally (RN), also decided to chime in on X, posting, “Our justice system is lax, our state is dysfunctional and our leaders are letting the French live alongside human bombs.”

More Mixed Nuts

• Demonstrations being held in Italy against ‘repressive’ security bill (Guardian)
• Thailand’s king signs same-sex marriage into law (CNN)
• Taliban to be taken to international court over gender discrimination (Guardian)
• Italy opens greenwashing probe into Shein website (Reuters)
• Arrest of Alleged Terrorgram Collective Leaders Sows Panic in Neo-Nazi Telegram Channels (ProPublica) 
• Europe’s intense rainfall in September twice as likely thanks to climate change (NPR)

Helene Heads Toward Land

• This afternoon, Hurricane Helene is expected to make landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 4 (as of writing), making it potentially the strongest storm to hit the U.S. in over a year. Wind speeds in the storm are expected to reach at least 130 mph by this afternoon, and flooding and other dangers are also expected.
• The center of the hurricane is expected to make landfall around Apalachicola, Florida, but the storm is expected to hit most of the Southeast at some point over the next few days. Helene strengthened as it passed over the warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico – this is likely to become more common as the planet continues to warm. 

A Mayor Scandal

• Federal prosecutors have indicted New York City Mayor Eric Adams after a lengthy investigation. The charges are not known, as of writing, but should be made public this morning (maybe around the time you’re reading this story). There’s a sort of unspoken rule that the DOJ shouldn’t take big steps in criminal cases within 60 days of a presidential election, so this is quite the scandal.
• The charges (though, again, not public) may have something to do with Adams’ ties to Turkey. Shortly after news of the indictment became public, Adams released a statement proclaiming his innocence and vowing to fight the charges. Adams is the first mayor in New York City history to be indicted while in office. Gov. Kathy Hochul has the power to remove him, but as of writing, has not indicated that she would do so.

More Nuts In America

• 3 houses have collapsed into the sea within a week in Rodanthe, North Carolina. Here’s why it’s happening. (CBS)
• 1 dead and suspect in custody after gunman hijacks city bus, Los Angeles police say (CNN)
• Man who staked out Donald Trump at golf course charged with attempting an assassination (AP)
• CNN Poll: Harris leads Trump among young voters but falls short of Biden’s 2020 winning margin (CNN)
• Biden, on ‘The View,’ says ‘at peace’ with exit but insists he would’ve beaten Trump (ABC)
• White House urges Ohio residents near chemical leak to heed calls to evacuate (Guardian)

Sick Shades, Tech Bro

• Yesterday, Meta kicked off its annual Meta Connect conference, unveiling a range of new goodies for all the greedy little consumers out there (said endearingly). While a new, cheaper VR headset and a new generation of Meta’s AI were both pretty cool reveals, the real stars of the show were the all-new Orion augmented reality glasses, an expensive prototype that the company is hoping to improve into a consumer-grade product.
• The glasses are basically a computer you wear on your face that you can interact with via a pair of see-through screens (the lenses of the glasses). The wearable tech uses a wristband and eye-tracking software to let users interact with its software. For example, Orion allows users to send messages and calls via Meta’s Messenger app, play a game of virtual ping-pong with their hands, or even overlay recipes based on the ingredients it sees using the power of AI.
• While that all sounds super cool, Orion won’t actually be available to consumers, at least in its current form. Currently, each pair of Orion glasses cost about $10,000 to produce, and Meta has chosen to make just a small batch to improve its testing processes. The company plans to have Orion-like glasses available for sale within a few years, but they’re being very, uh, corporate about the cost: Meta execs told The Verge to “expect a price tag that is comparable to the phones and laptops of today.” See you in a few years, I guess!

More Loose Nuts

• Finland zoo to send giant pandas back to China because they’re too expensive to keep (CNN)
• Woolly rhino found preserved in Russian permafrost after 32,000 years (CNN)
• Google files EU antitrust complaint over Microsoft’s cloud practices (The Verge)
• South Sudan medics trial AI app to identify snakes and improve bite treatment (Guardian)
• Radiation should be able to deflect asteroids as large as 4 km across (Ars Technica)
• World’s first AI art museum to explore ‘creative potential of machines’ in LA (Guardian)

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Team Thoughts

Kayli – The Orion glasses sound like the ones Magnussen wears in Sherlock(said not endearingly). If you haven’t seen Sherlock, watch it, and then you’ll know what I mean. 

Marcus – If you’re worried about the fishies who might have been disturbed by the test missile, don’t worry – it was carrying a non-explosive warhead. Though we’re sure the missile still traumatized some wildlife.