The Supreme Court, British AI, Flag Flying, & Apple Watches
January 14, 2025
Hello, readers – happy Tuesday! Today, we’ll be talking about Supreme Court decisions, the U.K.’s commitment to AI, China’s exports, an earthquake, flags, how the L.A. fires have affected Hollywood, and Apple Watches.
Here’s some good news: Tim Maxwell, an international cultural heritage lawyer, is part of a larger push to return shipwrecked colonial treasures to their countries of origin as reparations for slavery. Also, Sharon Stone and Halle Berry both donated all the contents of their closets to help victims of the Los Angeles fires.
“The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge.” – Thomas Berger
Quiet Quitting On Capitol Hill

The Supreme Court got back to work this week, but it seems like the justices weren’t too happy about returning to their swanky Capitol Hill offices. Instead of giving any cases the green light yesterday, the court instead refused to hear a case and struck down another lawsuit from Utah. All in a day’s work!
First, the court refused to hear an appeal from oil and gas companies looking to prevent future lawsuits from people attempting to sue them for their role in the climate crisis. That opens up gas giants like Shell, Chevron, and Exxon Mobil to slews of future suits, as well as one current case: the city of Honolulu is taking a swing at big oil for failing to adequately inform the public about the dangers of burning fossil fuels. It’s estimated that Big Oil has known about climate change since the 1950s, but instead chose to mislead the public about the dangers of global warming.
The day’s second rejection targeted a lawsuit by lawyers for the state of Utah seeking to seize control of 18.5 million acres of federal land within its borders. “For more than 100 years, the Supreme Court has affirmed the power of the federal government to hold and manage public lands on behalf of all Americans,” said one opponent of Utah’s land grab. If the state had somehow managed to win that case, millions of acres of public land across America would be in danger of slipping into state hands.
The Brits Bet On Big Data
Britain is looking to get in on that AI action – a little late, but better than never. On Monday, the country’s Labour government outlined its “pro-innovation” approach to regulating the AI. Reading between the lines, that means something like, “We’re worried about lagging behind the AI race so we’ll just remove as many guardrails as we can in the hopes that our dying/dead empire will rekindle its power with the help of computer brains,” but that doesn’t roll off the tongue quite as nicely.
Interestingly, the AI strategy didn’t contain any details on the government’s plans to actually fund AI research, but it did say that Downing Street wants to build a national supercomputer to increase the U.K.’s computing power. It also said that the government will set up “growth zones” for AI developments with “streamlined” approval processes, especially for power access. Possibly most concerningly, British AI will be fed CCTV footage from across the nation to, uh, “inspect roads” and report potholes to authorities. Yup, AI is even going to take away your pothole-reporting privileges.
Want To Know More?
Water shortage fears as Labour’s first AI growth zone sited close to new reservoir (Guardian)
A Bumper Month For Beijing
- After a dismal 2024, things are looking up for the Chinese economy – and it’s not even Lunar New Year yet! According to official reports released by Beijing yesterday, the country’s December exports were 10.7% higher than last year, beating analysts’ projections (7%). With that spike, the country had a trade surplus of $104.84 billion in December, contributing to a whopping $992.2 billion surplus for all of 2024.
- Why? Two reasons: first, U.S. buyers were looking to snap up inventory from Chinese factories ahead of Donald Trump’s promised tariffs on Chinese imports, which might reach as high as 60%. Second, countries participating in Beijing’s “Belt and Road” infrastructure also bought up a lot of Chinese goods last year, accounting for roughly 50% of China’s trade in 2024. Looking ahead, Beijing says it wants to increase its imports and is not pursuing a trade surplus with any other country.
Fire And Brimstone Here, Quakes And Waves There
- As wildfires raged across the Pacific, Japan was worried about a different element of danger. After a magnitude 6.6 earthquake shook the island nation’s southwestern reaches on Monday morning, authorities were forced to issue a tsunami advisory telling citizens to avoid beaches in fear of a monster wave.
- Unfortunately for some coastal developments, a tsunami wave did actually appear, though it was smaller than what you may be picturing. The wave peaked at heights of 1 meter (3.2 feet) in certain areas, arriving just half an hour after the initial earthquake. One person was slightly injured in the whole event and no damages were reported, though authorities are warning people to stay alert for landslides and other hazards as aftershocks are expected over the next few days.
More Mixed Nuts
- Italy releases Iranian man wanted by U.S. over drone attack that killed 3 soldiers (NPR)
- Ministers from 17 countries meet for Saudi talks on speeding aid to Damascus (Guardian)
- Thousands of students protest in Serbia against violation of civil rights, spy agency crackdown (AP)
- 1 poll finds majority of Greenland respondents support joining US (The Hill)
- North Koreans are far from ‘cannon fodder,’ Ukrainian soldiers say (Politico)
The Flag’s A Drag
- Across the country, it’s expected that American flags be flown at half-mast through the end of January out of respect for former President Jimmy Carter, who died on Dec. 29. Both President Joe Biden and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis directed that U.S. flags be flown at half-staff, but President-elect Trump has decided to ignore his president and his governor.
- Trump has expressed his frustration that flags will be at half-staff on Inauguration Day for his second term, and flags at his private Mar-a-Lago club are back to flying at full height. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also ordered that flags at all state buildings be flown at full-staff on Inauguration Day yesterday.
How Will Hollywood Handle The Blaze?
- The L.A. wildfires have devastated California residents, and in a city synonymous with the entertainment industry, it’s tough to ignore the ripple effects on Hollywood as well. The Oscars have shifted back this year’s nominations until Jan. 23, and voting for this year’s nominations has also been extended by five days, closing Jan. 17.
- Interestingly, the Grammys have confirmed that the telecast will proceed as planned on Feb. 2 in Los Angeles, with a focus on “raising additional funds to support wildfire relief efforts and honoring the bravery and dedication of first responders who risk their lives to protect ours.” The Sundance Film Festival will also be going ahead.
More Nuts In America
- Democratic states train non-doctors on providing abortions to expand US access (Guardian)
- Judge to allow release of Jack Smith’s report on Trump election interference case (NBC)
- Bannon vows to have Musk “run out” of the White House (Axios)
- Senate braces for ‘train wreck’ as hearings kick off for Trump Cabinet picks (NBC)
- Protest crowd estimates down, ticket demand high for Trump inauguration (WaPo, $)
Using Apple Products Everyday Keeps The Doctor Away
- What’s better than a stainless steel Rolex Cosmograph Daytona? In some aspects, the answer to that question might soon be “an Apple Watch Ultra 3.” According to Bloomberg, Apple’s upcoming top-of-the-line smartwatch is expected to come with some major health and fitness-focused upgrades that we’re sure many health nuts will be willing to shell out for.
- The new watch will feature a high blood pressure detection tool on top of its existing suite of health monitoring features (which include sleep apnea detection, heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen tracking, and fall detection). The next-gen smartwatch will also offer satellite connectivity, granting users 5G access in remote locations for activities like hiking and camping.
- The tech giant’s next-generation AirPods are also expected to ship with even more health features (newer AirPods can already act as hearing aids), including heart rate monitoring and other health sensors. It seems like Tim Cook is targeting the senior and outdoorsy demographics.
More Loose Nuts
- Dazzling Ice Castles draw tourists to New Hampshire and other states (NBC)
- Baby gorilla smuggled on Turkish Airlines flight is recovering in Istanbul (USA Today)
- Kangaroo species went extinct in the Pleistocene. Research hops in with a possible explanation. (NPR)
- A Texas man is arrested in Indianapolis on a charge of stalking WNBA’s Caitlin Clark (NPR)
- Blue Origin delays launch of New Glenn mega-rocket (TechCrunch)
Team Thoughts
Kayli – Considering how much the entertainment industry was already struggling, these fires are likely to make things significantly worse.
Marcus – Imagine showing up to work, going through your to-do list, and just crossing out half the items. These justices are living the dream!