Birth Rates, A Nuclear Plant, The Smithsonian’s Declaration, & Robot Cars
June 11, 2025
Hello, readers – happy Wednesday! Today, we’ll be talking about birth rates, sanctioning Israeli ministers, a new nuclear plant, the Austrian school shooting, the Smithsonian, minimum wage, and robot cars.
Thank you all for the outpouring of support as we wind down Daily Pnut’s operations! Many of you have asked what’s next for us:
Kayli will keep writing about the news on her Substack, or you can connect with her on LinkedIn.
Marcus will also keep writing on his Substack, recording conversations with his grandmother, who came to America from China as a child.
“You may drive out nature with a pitchfork, yet she’ll be constantly running back.” – Horace
Low Fertility Raises Alarms
A new report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) shows that fertility rates around the globe are plummeting. The report encapsulates demographic trends from South Korea, Thailand, Italy, Hungary, Germany, Sweden, Brazil, Mexico, the U.S., India, Indonesia, Morocco, South Africa, and Nigeria – which make up a third of the world’s population – and show, in the words of UNFPA head Dr. Natalia Kanem, that “the world has begun an unprecedented decline in fertility rates.”
Why are global fertility rates facing such a decline? According to the report, it’s not because people don’t want to have kids – 39% of respondents said that financial pressures have led them to have fewer children than they’d like, with only 12% of people saying that infertility was the reason that they didn’t have all the children they wanted. “Most people surveyed want two or more children. Fertility rates are falling in large part because many feel unable to create the families they want. And that is the real crisis,” said Kanem. “Many countries are grappling with ageing and shrinking populations, labour shortages, and rising healthcare and pension costs. These are real concerns, yet they are leading some to the wrong conclusions,” she added, referring to policies reducing access to contraceptives or short-sighted “baby bonus” proposals.
Sanctions And A No-State Solution
Yesterday, the U.K., Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Norway placed sanctions on two far-right Israeli ministers for their comments inciting violence against Palestinians, freezing their assets in all five countries and preventing the Israelis from entering their borders. The ministers in question are Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich – you might remember their names for a variety of genocidal reasons, but here’s a refresher.
Ben-Gvir is notorious for supporting several terror attacks on Palestinians. For example, he kept a photo of mass murderer Baruch Goldstein in his living room until 2020. Smotrich, meanwhile, is an advocate for implementing a policy allowing IDF troops to shoot to kill when Palestinians throw rocks at them, describes himself as “a proud homophobe,” and also stated that starving Gaza’s entire population would be “just and moral.” Ben-Gvir is serving as Israel’s security minister, while Smotrich is the country’s finance minister.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the sanctions, writing that the U.S. stands “shoulder to shoulder” with Israel (and the targeted ministers). U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also announced an important shift in public U.S. policy yesterday, saying that the White House no longer supports a two-state solution that will give Palestinians some land within Israel’s current borders, saying a Palestinian state should be carved out of “a Muslim country” instead.
A Reactor For His Majesty
- The British Isles? More like the British Three Mile Islands. Hopefully not, but the U.K. is indeed investing a whole lot of money into its nuclear power program. Yesterday, the British government announced that it would be shelling out £14.2 billion (roughly $19 billion) to build an onshore nuclear power plant, which is expected to create about 10,000 jobs.
- The plant will likely be built along the East Suffolk coastline using a pre-approved plan for a plant called Sizewell C, and its construction will be led by the French state-owned energy company EDF. Alongside the massive nuclear power plant announcement, Downing Street also announced a £2.5 billion contract with Rolls-Royce SMR – yes, that Rolls-Royce – to build smaller nuclear reactors across the country.
A Tragedy In Austria
- At least 10 people were killed in a school shooting in Austria yesterday. The attack took place at the BORG Dreierschützengasse high school in Graz, and was carried out by a former student. The 21-year-old suspect used a handgun and a long gun in the shooting, and took his life after killing 10 and wounding 12 more.
- “Today is a dark day in the history of our country,” said Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker soon after peace was restored, calling the shooting “a national tragedy that shocks us deeply.” According to the AP, the shooting was the deadliest event to occur on Austrian soil since World War II.
More Mixed Nuts
- Israeli navy attacks rebel-held Yemeni port city of Hodeida, a first in the conflict (AP)
- Peru drops plan to shrink protected area around Nazca Lines archaeological site (Guardian)
- Greta Thunberg hits back at Donald Trump over anger management jibe (Politico)
- EU calls for lower price cap on Russian oil in move to tighten sanctions (Guardian)
- Islam grows, Christianity slips as share of world population, survey finds (WaPo, $)
- The World’s Oceans Are a ‘Ticking Time Bomb,’ Reaching Dangerous Acidification Levels Earlier Than Scientists Thought (Ars Technica)
The Culture Wars Hit A Museum
- The Smithsonian released a statement to affirm the institution as an “independent entity” that will continue to be governed by a Board of Regents, or board of trustees, and managed by Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch. The statement comes over a week after President Trump said he would fire the director of the National Portrait Gallery.
- In a previous executive order, Trump said the Smithsonian had come “under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology” and that his administration would “prohibit” funding for “exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy.”
A Weird Moment For Wages?
- Well, well, well, look how the tables have turned. Missouri GOP Sen. Josh Hawley introduced legislation Tuesday to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour starting next year and would also call for an increase in subsequent years to match inflation.
- The federal minimum wage currently sits at $7.25 per hour and has not risen since 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The bipartisan legislation is most shocking considering Hawley is a hard right-winger on almost every other issue, but beggars can’t be choosers.
More Nuts In America
- Mike Johnson says Newsom should be “tarred and feathered” (Axios)
- Trump heads to Fort Bragg while facing criticism for deploying military at Los Angeles protests (AP)
- Republican chair of House homeland security committee to retire early (Guardian)
- Trump front and center in crowded New Jersey governor primary races (ABC)
- Scientists warn against attempts to change definition of ‘forever chemicals’ (Guardian)
- U.S. says it has arrested another Chinese researcher accused of smuggling biological material (NBC)
Keep Austin…Safe?
- Tesla isn’t known for shipping well-finished products to consumers. The Cybertruck made headlines last year for its door panels falling off and its trunk’s ability to slice off people’s fingers, the Model 3 has had panel gap issues for years, and the company’s “self-driving” features have killed multiple people. On Thursday, the electric automaker is scheduled to officially launch its Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas – while unmanned Teslas prowling the streets of Austin sounds dangerous enough, it seems that the program is launching without the ability for humans to provide remote assistance to its cars.
- Here’s some context: existing self-driving car companies like Google’s Waymo and Amazon’s employ way more personnel than you’d expect. Besides a team of software nerds writing algorithms, these companies also have an army of support staff on hand 24/7 who can tell stuck vehicles to move out of traffic, talk to car passengers who need assistance, communicate with law enforcement, and even (slowly) drive the vehicles themselves. Tesla hasn’t disclosed any details about its support infrastructure – which it’s calling “teleoperations” – to federal regulators at all.
- Last month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration prodded Tesla for its teleoperations plan, but interestingly gave the company a deadline of June 19 to respond to its probe. Tesla’s Robotaxis will go live on June 12. Various Austin city officials declined to share any information on Tesla’s plan when asked about it by Wired, and Tesla itself didn’t reply, either. At this point, it’s not a matter of if the Robotaxi rollout will cause a traffic jam in Austin, but how many traffic jams it will create. We’ll just have to wait and see.
More Loose Nuts
- Smuggler traveling from Thailand stopped with lizards, tarantulas, possums, authorities in India say (CBS)
- How humpback whales are playfully communicating with humans, according to scientists (ABC)
- Meta Is Creating a New A.I. Lab to Pursue ‘Superintelligence’ (NYT, $)
- Leaders of sex-focused women’s wellness company that promoted “orgasmic meditation” convicted in forced labor trial (CBS)
- Dozens of states sue to block the sale of 23andMe personal genetic data (NPR)
- Astronomers left puzzled by high-altitude clouds forming on young planet (Guardian)
- A Researcher Figured Out How to Reveal Any Phone Number Linked to a Google Account (Wired, $)
