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I always imagined it would be the almond that would bring the joy. Or maybe the little acorn would become the oak. Or perhaps chestnuts would stop merely roasting and finally catch fire. And who would bet against the mighty peanut, never one to shy awayfrom coming out of its shell? I must be a total numbnuts, because I never imagined it would be the pistachio, the cashew's colorful cousin, that everyone would go nuts for. In today's marketplace of products and ideas, success seems to come down to going viral. From Dubai chocolate to TikTok videos to Pistachio Lattes, Bloomberg (gift article) with the nuts and bolts that explain why Pistachios Are Everywhere Right Now.
2
Bad Beet
"Less than three months after he declared war on synthetic food dyes, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has already secured the cooperation of the makers of some of America’s most colorful culinary products. If they fulfill their promises, Jell-O snacks, Kool-Aid beverages, and Lucky Charms cereals, among a host of other foods, will be rid of synthetic dyes by the end of 2027." But it turns out these efforts that have showed promise still might melt in RFK Jr's hands. NYT (Gift Article): Kennedy’s Battle Against Food Dyes Hits a Roadblock: M&M’s. "Kirk Vashaw, the fourth-generation head of Spangler Candy, which makes Dum-Dums lollipops and candy canes, said that the company has made some products with natural flavors and colors since the 1980s ... "They have never sold well because the taste isn’t the same ... If people are celebrating and eating treats, they don’t want to be tasting beets." (RFK, I'm sure we can work out a compromise. How about you let us keep our life-saving vaccines and we agree to taste the beets?)
3
The Storm is a Forecast
"Even without final answers about the cause of the Texas death toll, one longtime emergency manager said one fact is clear: 'That many people did not need to die,' said Michael Coen, who served as FEMA’s chief of staff during the Biden and Obama administrations." But the sad truth is that we're setting ourselves up to increase the death tolls of events like the Texas flash floods. The federal government is done with nature, but nature is just getting started with us. Politico: Why Texas’ floods are a warning for the rest of the country.
+ In the short term, potential victims of storms and fires will be at greater risk because of the cutting of government programs. But the attitude that is driving those cuts is part of a much broader long term risk. NYT (Gift Article): Trump Hires Scientists Who Doubt the Consensus on Climate Change.
+ As I mentioned yesterday, we dig into these analyses and try to figure out what went wrong, in part to get some answers before the story moves off the front pages and people stop asking questions, and in part because the science and the politics is easier to consider than the human tragedy, which, like the raging waters of the Guadalupe, is almost impossible to absorb. The River.
+ US Coast Guard rescue swimmer hailed as a hero after saving 165 kids from Texas flooding.
4
Dream Chaser
"BYD, which stands for 'Build Your Dreams,' is essentially banned from American roads by tariffs imposed to protect U.S. automakers that double the price of imported Chinese plug-ins. Erecting tariff walls may buy the domestic auto industry some time, but it ultimately won't insulate American manufacturers from BYD or the bigger threat that it represents. The company embodies a Chinese industrial model that is leaving America in the dust." NYT (Gift Article): Why Americans Can’t Buy the World’s Best Electric Car. "Earlier this year it unveiled an autonomous driving system that may be as good as Tesla’s, if not better, as well as technology that BYD says can charge cars in just five minutes — as quickly as filling a gas tank. Its top-end models include the YangWang U8, a luxury S.U.V. that can rotate 360 degrees in place and operate in water like a boat over short distances." (As an added bonus, with all this innovation, the BYD CEO doesn't have time to Tweet all day...)
5
Extra, Extra
What's Up, Doctrine? Our foreign policy seems to regularly change on a whim. Today, that whim is in a good direction. Trump says U.S. will resume sending weapons to Ukraine after pausing last week. From Tom Nichols in The Atlantic (Gift Article): Who’s Running American Defense Policy? "In such a system, no one is really in charge except Trump—which means that on most days, and regarding many issues, no one is in charge."
+ Marco Existence: "An impostor pretending to be Secretary of State Marco Rubio contacted foreign ministers, a U.S. governor and a member of Congress by sending them voice and text messages that mimic Rubio’s voice and writing style using artificial intelligence-powered software." WaPo: A Marco Rubio impostor is using AI voice to call high-level officials. (And it turns out the high-level officials prefer the imposter...)
+ A Right-Wing and a Prayer: Another hole has been poked in the increasing porous separation of church and state. "The I.R.S. said on Monday that churches and other houses of worship can endorse political candidates to their congregations, carving out an exemption in a decades-old ban on political activity by tax-exempt nonprofits."
+ Shoe Removal Getting the Boot: "The rule came after Richard Reid tried — and failed — to ignite his homemade shoe explosives on an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami on Dec. 22, 2001." TSA to end shoe removal policy at some airport security checkpoints.
+ Chemical Warfare: "In January 2021, after a nitrogen leak at a poultry plant in Georgia killed 6 workers and injured scores more, federal investigators arrived at the scene. The team, from a small federal agency called the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, traced the fatal leak to a freezer part that had been bent out of shape. A series of recommendations to improve safety followed." Sounds good, right? Well, it is. In fact, the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board is so good that even the industry it covers is in favor of it. But you know what happens to good programs that everyone supports. NYT (Gift Article): Trump Wants to Kill a Chemical Safety Board. Chemical Makers Object.
+ Ask Backwards: Elon Musk announced an improved version of his AI Grok. The latest version criticizes Democrats and Hollywood’s ‘Jewish executives.’
+ In a Bad Spot: "When Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz spiked a slider in the dirt to begin the third inning of his most recent outing, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Ortiz has thrown more than 1,500 pitches this season, and a third of them have been balls out of the strike zone. There was no reason to think twice about one that slipped. But within the gambling industry, alarms were blaring. A betting integrity firm had identified unusual wagering activity on that specific pitch being a ball—a pitch Ortiz had just hurled so wildly that it couldn’t have been hit with a tree branch." WSJ (GIft Article): The Scourge of ‘Spot-Fixing’ Is Coming for American Sports.
6
Bottom of the News
"Ulf Kristersson’s bodyguards appear to have inadvertently revealed his location, routes and movements – including details of hotels and his private addresses – by uploading their workouts to the app, making them publicly available." Swedish PM’s private address revealed by Strava data shared by bodyguards.