NASA/NOAA: Earth Logs Hottest July on Record
According to US government agencies NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Earth just endured its warmest July on record "by a long shot," with NOAA's chief scientist Sarah Kapnick adding that "it’s very likely that July 2023 was hotter than any month in any year since at least 1850."
Kapnick said that 2023 will almost certainly rank in the top five hottest years on record, also giving it a "50 percent probability" of becoming the hottest ever. The NOAA said ocean temperatures also hit record highs for a fourth consecutive month in July, with a brewing El Niño pattern to entrench in 2024.
Chief of NASA's Ocean Ecology Laboratory, Carlos Del Castillo, said the past 10 years have been the warmest decade for the world’s oceans since the 1880s.
Narrative A
Despite grand pledges from governments to reduce carbon emissions, the Earth is still heating up at a faster rate than ever before. Even as the leader in this global fight, the United States' climate budget is running out of money. If we wish to save ourselves from this lethal heat and its resulting natural disasters, we must exponentially increase our efforts to stop emitting CO2 into the atmosphere.
Narrative B
While climate change is an urgent issue, journalists and activists have an obligation to separate the facts from fiction and describe environmental problems honestly and accurately. The catastrophic framing of climate change does far more harm than good, not only by impacting the mental health of our youth but by alienating and polarizing large portions of the population and distracting from other important issues. Climate alarmism must be taken with a grain of salt.
Nerd narrative
There is a 50% chance that the average global temperature in 2100 will be 2.55˚C higher than the average global temperature in 1880, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Trump Indicted in Georgia 2020 Election Loss Case
On Monday, a grand jury in Georgia issued an indictment against Donald Trump, accusing the former president of attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden. This marks the fourth time Trump has been criminally charged in five months.
The 98-page indictment lists 41 charges against 19 defendants, including Trump's former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, and former White House lawyer John Eastman.
All the defendants are accused of breaking Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act by allegedly trying to copy election data and convince lawmakers to throw out legitimate election results.
Pro-Trump narrative
With the indictment having been accidentally released by the Fulton County clerk of courts before the grand jury had even voted, the rigged nature of the American legal system is blatantly apparent to witnesses. Trump's right to due process has been continually violated, while the speed and timing of prosecutors' attacks can only be viewed as politically motivated.
Democratic narrative
The improvement Trump is continuing to gain in the polls from his growing list of indictments is most likely a temporary high. The reality of Trump's legal woes will soon become apparent, and his GOP support will wane. With a vast amount of campaign funds being directed towards court battles rather than electioneering, Trump's current aura of invincibility is unsustainable.
Nerd narrative
There's a 40% chance that Donald Trump will be jailed or incarcerated before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Suspected Russian Spies Held in Major UK Security Investigation
The BBC has revealed that three Bulgarian nationals have been arrested and charged for possessing identity documents with "improper intention," having been held in custody since February — reportedly on suspicion of being spies for Russia.
The three alleged spies are named Orlin Roussev, Bizer Dzhambazov, and Katrin Ivanova. While five were initially detained in February, only three have been charged.
The BBC has reported that the three held identity cards and passports from the UK, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Slovenia, Greece, and the Czech Republic.
Narrative A
Following last year's mass exodus of Russian intelligence influence out of Europe, Moscow is attempting to aggressively rebuild its network in the West. European agencies continue to respond to this threat and are keeping their guard up as tensions with Russia remain at their highest since the end of the Cold War.
Narrative B
It's unknown whether the West is getting better at detecting Russian spies, or whether Russia is simply spying more. Despite recent European success, it's agreed that the Kremlin still poses a larger intelligence threat than any other country. It still remains a legitimate possibility that Western knowledge of Russia's spy network is merely the tip of an extensive, and effective, iceberg.
Montana Youth Win Landmark Climate Change Case
On Monday, a Montana state court judge ruled in the case of Held v. Montana, deciding that the state had violated the rights of 16 youth and young adults when a law was passed that prohibited agencies from taking climate change into account when approving new fossil fuel projects.
In reversing the law, state District Court Judge Kathy Seely ruled that the legislation violated the state constitution's clause guaranteeing a "clean and healthful environment."
The plaintiffs, who were between the ages of 2 and 18 when the suit was filed in 2020, argued that Montana was responsible for an outsized share of global emissions due to its oil, gas, and coal production. At trial, many of the youth testified about the effects of climate change on their lives and family.
Left narrative
This win is dramatic, to say the least, as a common law basis for a right to a safe climate may be established in the US. Several states have a clean environment clause in their constitution, which are now open to climate-centered interpretation in light of this ruling. The American people may finally have legal recourse against environmental degradation and climate destruction. This is a huge win for the planet.
Right narrative
The reasoning was highly suspect in this ruling, with the state's assessment of this being a publicity stunt having only a kernel of truth to it. Montana's role in climate change is infinitesimally small, with the plaintiffs trying to get a remedy the court simply cannot provide. This reasoning will not withstand scrutiny nationwide, as it's legislatures, not the legal system, that establish environmental regulation.
Russia Raises Interest Rate to 12% Amid 17-Month Ruble Low
Russia's central bank on Tuesday hiked interest rates from 8.5% to 12% in an emergency move aimed at stemming rising inflation and strengthening the ruble, which on Monday slid to its lowest point since the early weeks of the Ukraine war.
After Russia launched its invasion in February 2022, a raft of sanctions caused its currency to plummet to as low as 136 rubles to the dollar. But by June, as oil and gas prices surged, it rocketed to 50 rubles to the dollar, making it one of the best-performing currencies in the world.
However by January of this year, as European countries weaned themselves off Russian oil and gas — a major source of income for the Kremlin — the ruble slid to roughly 66 to the dollar. It has since continued to slump and on Monday it slid past 101 rubles to the dollar — wiping off more than a quarter of its value since the beginning of the year.
Pro-Russia narrative
The weakened ruble has been caused by monetary policy that's allowed Russian borrowing to go up and up, thus increasing the money supply and driving up inflation. Nonetheless, Russia's central bank has all the necessary tools at its disposal to tackle this problem and the trend will soon be reversed.
Anti-Russia narrative
The slump in Russia's currency is a consequence of the Western sanctions that have squeezed Russia's economy, largely in the form of decreased income from exports of Russian oil and gas. The Kremlin is also spending more and more on its war effort, therefore its public finances are taking a toll.
Nerd narrative
There's a 78% chance that Russia's GDP (in 2015 USD) will be at least $1.50 trillion in 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
China Stops Releasing Youth Employment Data
After youth unemployment rates hit a record 21.3% in June, China's National Bureau of Statistics has announced that it will halt releasing those numbers to "further improve and optimise labour [sic] force survey statistics."
This is the latest month in a series of consecutive record highs, with the youth unemployment rate from April to June rising to 20.4%, 20.8%, and 21.3% in each respective month. It also comes as a record 11.6M college graduates seek employment this year.
The increase in youth unemployment — which represents the 16-24-year-old age bracket — is another indicator of an overall economic slowdown, with official data released last week showing consumer prices falling 0.3% over the past year.
Anti-China narrative
The PRC's expected post-COVID economic rebound is not happening, and Beijing should be worried. Due to declining exports and imports, shrinking property values, and the remaining demographic effects of the one-child policy, China is looking at a depressing economy over the next decade.
Pro-China narrative
While youth unemployment is dealing with some issues, the overall unemployment rate in China is stable. Furthermore, most of the 11M college students set to graduate in 2023 already have jobs lined up, which means the youth demographic is still strong and getting stronger. The reason Beijing has paused the release of certain economic data is to give the PRC time to represent a more realistic — and factually optimistic — outlook for the country.
Nerd narrative
There's a 69% chance that China's GDP will exceed the United States' GDP in any year before 2041, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Report: Vice Blocked Stories Offensive to Saudi Arabia
The Guardian reported on Tuesday that Vice Media blocked news stories that could potentially offend the government of Saudi Arabia after the media company recently signed a high-profile deal with the MBC Group, which the Saudi government controls.
The report cites John Lubbock, a freelance writer, who said that he and two other writers were tasked by Vice to author a piece about Saudi youth campaigning for transgender rights. After intervention by senior management, Lubbock's story was pulled before a deadline.
Managers at Vice said that the decision was motivated by the possibility that the story could pose a threat to the outlet's staff in Saudi Arabia. In another recent example, a Vice film about Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman was deleted after being uploaded, allegedly for the same reason.
Narrative A
Vice, which has already lost so much of its credibility, is seeing the last nail in the coffin as the company has decided to rebrand as a mouthpiece for the Saudi royal family. Though the kingdom has plenty of money to wield influence, its awful human rights record has improved little, and Vice's acquiescence to Saudi interests is morally repugnant.
Narrative B
Vice, which has granted endured financial trouble in recent years, plans to re-orient itself away from the news and toward culture and lifestyle media. Vice has worked in Saudi Arabia since 2017 and has maintained its editorial independence. Saudi Arabia only seeks to energize the country and the region's youth.
Ex-Miss. Police Officers Plead Guilty to Torturing Two Black Men
Six former Mississippi police officers have pleaded guilty to state charges for torturing two Black men in January. The officers, all of whom are White, already pled guilty in a related federal civil rights case.
Former Rankin County deputies — Christian Dedmon, Hunter Elward, Brett McAlpin, Jeffrey Middleton, and Daniel Opdyke — as well as ex-Richland Police officer Joshua Hartfiel, were charged with conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice. Dedmon was also charged with home invasion and Elward with home invasion and aggravated assault.
The group, which dubbed itself the "Goon Squad" for their willingness to use excessive force and cover up their actions, entered a Braxton, Miss. home on Jan. 24 without a search warrant before hurling racial slurs at and physically and sexually abusing Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker.
Left narrative
The vile and racist abuse by these officers is indicative of the widespread issues with policing in Mississippi and the US at large. The Rankin County Sheriff must resign, as there is no way for him to restore legitimacy to a police department that has been plagued with racism and excessive force. Whether or not the sheriff committed abuse himself doesn’t take away from the horrific actions that took place under his leadership.
Right narrative
While the abuse by the six police officers was absolutely horrific, the actions of rogue officers shouldn't delegitimize an entire county’s police force or be seen as an indictment against law enforcement in general. The Rankin County Sheriff understands what actions must be taken to address the problems. The sheriff took swift action to investigate the abusive officers and make sure they were prosecuted at the state and federal levels. His leadership proves he should not resign and represents proper administration of law and order.
US Agency to Announce 'Surveillance Industry' Regulation
Rohit Chopra, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — a US government agency — will announce Tuesday a new rule to restrict the types of consumer data that can be sold by businesses. It will require data brokers, or any other company in the so-called surveillance industry, to be covered by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Bureau officials have already stated that they aim to broaden the number of companies currently subject to the 53-year-old law, including the use of data derived from payment histories, personal income, and criminal records.
The Bureau wants to ensure that data brokers selling sensitive information do so only for valid financial purposes, such as employment background checks or credit decisions, rather than to give third parties unnecessary access to private data for self-interested reasons. Examples of third-party use could include training artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms or chatbots.
Democratic narrative
The Biden admin. has worked to protect sensitive consumer data since he took office. Prompted by a series of executive orders, the White House has strengthened bureaucratic powers to hold tech companies accountable and stop them from stealing digital data. As AI grows in importance, Biden is taking steps to protect citizens from the surveillance industrial complex.
Republican narrative
Sadly, Biden's history with tech companies shows the White House has no intention of protecting all Americans. If his administration actually cared about this, they wouldn't have demanded that Big Tech suppress conservative speech from social media. Bullying platforms to censor conservative users require leveraging surveillance state techniques. The American people deserve better policies and First Amendment protections.
Nerd narrative
There's a 29% chance that a dense machine-learning model with at least 100 trillion parameters will be trained before 2026, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
At Least 10 Dead After Explosion in Dominican Republic
A deadly explosion left at least 10 people dead and another 37 injured in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic on Monday, according to the office of Pres. Luis Abinader. Abinader’s officer also reported Tuesday that 11 more are missing following the blast.
Pres. Abinader visited the site of the explosion, located just west of the capital city Santo Domingo. He called the search for survivors “very difficult” and said that authorities were still trying to extinguish the fire amid the debris of collapsed buildings and destroyed vehicles.
The explosion occurred at a bakery in San Cristobal’s “Old Marketplace” city center, and the fire spread throughout the area to a hardware store and furniture store. The cause of the explosion remains unknown and there has been no preliminary estimate of damages.
Narrative A
Following the explosion in San Cristobal, many people throughout Latin America are living in fear about which future catastrophes could lie ahead. As local factories continue to manufacture plastics, there could be an increased risk that plants aren’t abiding by the proper safety protocols and that government officials will continue turning a blind eye. Government officials in the Dominican Republic must turn up their level of scrutiny on businesses that circumvent regulations and expose entire communities to tragedies like this tragedy.
Narrative B
Pres. Abinader and the government of the Dominican Republic are working tirelessly to help all of the victims impacted by Monday’s explosion in San Cristobal. Not only is the government providing resources for the people of San Cristobal, but it's also investigating the cause of the explosion to ensure no such tragedy happens again. Authorities will investigate all businesses to ensure they are compliant with safety regulations and crack down on those that aren’t following the rules.