Hello, readers – happy Thursday! Today, we’re talking about college protests, TikTok’s response to being banned, war in Ukraine, avocado orchards, Arizona’s abortion law, Biden’s pardons, and Taylor Swift breaking records.
Here’s some good news: about 4 million more workers will qualify for overtime pay thanks to a new rule from the Biden administration, resulting in an income transfer of about $1.5 billion from employers to workers. Also, the European Parliament approved rules to ban the sale, import, and export of goods in the E.U. made using forced labor.
“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” – Helen Keller
Campuses Go To War Over A War
(Columbia University encampment Selcuk Acar via Getty Images)
The Israel-Hamas war has killed over 35,000 people, including over 34,000 Palestinians and about 1,410 Israelis. Due to the U.S.’s close relationship with Israel, the country’s role in the conflict has become a hot topic in America – with the hottest discussions taking place on college campuses.
Jewish students, community leaders, and many non-Jewish politicians have criticized the protests as antisemitic, saying that protesters are spreading antisemitic chants and messages. Columbia has cracked down on the protests multiple times, calling on riot gear-clad NYPD officers to arrest over 100 students, but the protests have continued across the country.
Yesterday, the world’s policemen cracked down on the world’s biggest app. U.S. President Joe Biden signed a bill that will ban TikTok unless its China-based parent company ByteDance sells the app within 270 days. This is likely just the beginning of a long legal battle – TikTok says it plans to challenge the ban in court.
“Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere,” said TikTok CEO Shou Chew in a TikTok. “We are confident and we will keep fighting for your rights in the courts. The facts and the Constitution are on our side, and we expect to prevail,” he added. Luckily, ByteDance is on a court-case hot-streak – it’s beaten a Trump-era attempt to force a sale or ban of the app and Montana’s attempt to instate a statewide ban on the app just last year.
Analysts say that the U.S. portion of TikTok alone could sell for tens of billions of dollars, but tech giants like Meta or Google that could afford that price tag would likely be blocked from purchasing the company due to antitrust measures. Separating the app from ByteDance would be quite the operation – TikTok’s infamous algorithm is actually owned by ByteDance and worked on by the company’s Chinese engineers.
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Ah Yes, The Avocado Wars Of 2024
(Avocado farm by Alfredo Estrella via Getty Images)
You know how people always talk about conflicts over water that are supposed to take place once our planet starts to dry out far into the future? Those are happening right now in Mexico – and we don’t even have flying cars yet! Mexico has been facing an extensive and intensive drought for a while now, and farmers have begun feuding over water, with local subsistence farmers taking on commercial avocado and berry farmers. The subsistence farmers claim that commercial farmers have long diverted water sources away from local towns, leaving local residents deprived of the water necessary to live their daily lives.
Recently, things have come to a head – residents and subsistence farmers from the town of Villa Madero marched up to commercial farming operations, ripping out the illicit water pumps and holding pools that the commercial farms are allegedly using to steal water. That action might have been satisfying in the moment, but local leaders are worried about repercussions from the groups who back the commercial farmers – avocado farmers often pay protection fees to national cartels, which might retaliate for the damage.
Ukraine Goes Ballistic On Russia
The cat’s out of the bag! In an official statement, U.S. officials announced that Ukraine has been using American long-range ballistic missiles to hit targets deep into Russian territory, including a military airport. The Army Tactical Missile Systems, known as ATACMS, were supplied to Ukraine as early as February, but their usage has been kept under wraps to avoid escalating the conflict. Now that the U.S. has passed a bill sending over $60 billion worth of military aid to Ukraine, it’s safe to assume that the White House is prepared for the conflict to escalate no matter what.
On the same day that the U.S. released that statement, a Ukrainian drone attack struck two Russian state-owned oil depots in the country’s western region. According to Ukraine’s national security service, the attack destroyed 26,000 cubic meters (slightly less than 1 million cubic feet) of fuel, starting a fire that was eventually contained without any injuries.
Yesterday, Arizona state House lawmakers voted to pass a bill to repeal the Civil War-era abortion ban in the state. Three Republicans joined the Democrats in repealing the law, which made abortion a felony punishable by up to five years in prison for anyone who performs or helps a woman obtain the procedure.
Members of the Republican-controlled state Senate voted in favor of a similar motion last week, with two Republicans joining all the Democrats to push for a repeal. The state Senate could vote on the repeal as early as next Wednesday, where it’s likely to pass, and Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs is a lock to sign it.
Sixteen Second Chances
President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that he has pardoned 11 people convicted of non-violent drug charges and commuted the sentences of five others. Most of them had received longer sentences than they would have under current laws. Biden noted that his decision reflects his commitment to fighting the racial disparities in drug sentencing.
According to the president, those who were pardoned have demonstrated their commitment to improving their lives and transforming their communities, while those who received commutations “have shown that they are deserving of forgiveness and the chance at building a brighter future for themselves beyond prison walls.” “America is a nation founded on the promise of second chances,” Biden said.
If you needed any more confirmation that Taylor Swift is a global music powerhouse, Spotify has some hard data for you. According to the streaming platform, her new album, The Tortured Poets Department, has become the first album to ever garner 1 billion plays in a single week, putting Swift ahead of fellow industry leaders like Beyoncé, Drake, Bad Bunny, and The Weeknd.
In the real world, the album is also performing at a record-breaking level. It’s expected to sell over 2 million album-equivalent units in its first week, making it the strongest first week for an album since Adele’s 25, which came out nine years ago. It’s even breaking modern vinyl records (get it?), selling 700,000 LPs in just three days – that number is already record-breaking, and there are still four more days left in the week.
While millions of people have tuned in to consume Swift’s latest output, the album has received mixed reviews from both critics and listeners alike. The album’s length has become one point of critique – The Tortured Poets Department is actually a 31-track double album when you include The Anthology, its second half. In it, Swift goes over the minutiae of multiple past relationships, which might prompt some listeners to pay more attention while boring others.
Editor’s Note: I just want to make sure everyone knows that I, personally, think the album is a masterpiece.
