"The latest on the Ukraine-Russia crisis…"
"Three decades ago, the newly independent country of Ukraine was briefly the third-largest nuclear power in the world… Thousands of nuclear arms had been left on Ukrainian soil by Moscow after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. But in the years that followed, Ukraine made the decision to completely denuclearize… In exchange, the U.S., the U.K. and Russia would guarantee Ukraine's security in a 1994 agreement known as the Budapest Memorandum."
"Fossil hunters in Scotland say they have recovered the remains of the world’s largest Jurassic pterosaur, adding the creature – known informally as a pterodactyl – also boasted a mouthful of sharp teeth for spearing and trapping fish."
"Soot pollution is accelerating climate-driven melting in Antarctica, a new study suggests, raising questions about how to protect the delicate continent from the increasing number of humans who want to visit… Researchers estimate that soot, or black carbon, pollution in the most popular and accessible part of Antarctica is causing an extra inch of snowpack shrinkage every year."
"It's not easy for a 500-pound bear to sneak around a neighborhood — and it sounds impossible for one to break into a house through a small window. But the animal known as Hank the Tank is no ordinary bear: California's wildlife agency says he has broken into at least 28 homes in South Lake Tahoe, adding that he's responsible for '152 reports of conflict behavior.'"
"Following the Bing children into their 40s, the new study finds that kids who quickly gave in to the marshmallow temptation are generally no more or less financially secure, educated or physically healthy than their more patient peers. The amount of time the child waited to eat the treat failed to forecast roughly a dozen adult outcomes the researchers tested, including net worth, social standing, high interest-rate debt, diet and exercise habits, smoking, procrastination tendencies and preventative dental care, according to the study published in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization." (Grokked from Kelly Link)
"Experts have warned against how to properly store leftover rice because items such as rice and pasta contain a bacterium called Bacillus cereus. The bacteria produces a toxin when heated and left out too long, according to the CDC. In 2019, a teenager died in his sleep after eating leftover pasta that wasn't refrigerated overnight, a case that was reported in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology… The medical team learned that although the Massachusetts student had received a first dose of the meningococcal vaccine, he never received the recommended booster. His roommate also ate the leftover food and vomited but didn't have life-threatening reactions."
"In January, high school students walked out of their Columbia, Missouri, classrooms to pressure their school board to reinstate a mask mandate. With COVID prevention policies expiring statewide, their experience — and a whole history of student-led walkouts — might prove instructive."
"Chemicals cost more than just money: Today, petrochemical production spews out nearly 2% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Now, researchers have taken an important step to vastly reduce that footprint, by using bacteria and waste gases from steel plants, rather than petroleum, as the starting ingredient for dozens of commodity chemicals. So far, the process has been used for three commodity chemicals. But because researchers may be able to expand it to others, it could help the chemical industry escape its reliance on fossil fuels, and effectively remove carbon from the skies."
"Twenty years after 3G was first introduced in the United States, paving the way for a new generation of mobile apps, the network is officially being phased out… AT&T is set to pull the plug on its 3G network Tuesday, with other major US carriers expected to follow suit later this year. The move impacts everything from older phones to home alarm systems and roadside assistance systems."
"The U.S. Women's National Soccer team has reached a proposed settlement in its class action equal pay lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation… U.S. Soccer has agreed to pay a lump sum of $22 million in back pay to the players, ESPN reports, which will be distributed in a manner proposed by players and approved by the court. The federation will also put $2 million into a fund for USWNT players' post-career goals and charitable efforts, with each player able to apply for up to $50,000."
"This winter, the Federal Trade Commission warned about an increase in student loan scams. Those scams prey on confusion. President Biden said during his campaign that he was open to forgiving some student debt, but that hasn't happened yet… In the meantime, the federal government put federal student loan payments on pause during the pandemic. With that pause now set to expire at the beginning of May, people are anxious and scammers are swooping in."
"A jury in Brunswick, Ga., unanimously found defendants Travis McMichael, his father Greg McMichael, and their neighbor William 'Roddie' Bryan guilty on all counts in a federal hate crimes trial… The jury deliberated for four hours. At the heart of this case was a question of whether or not race was a motivating factor in why the three defendants chased and shot Ahmaud Arbery as he ran through their coastal Georgia neighborhood in February 2020."
"Indeed, the app’s UX design nudges people to choose a three hour 'limit'… This daily time limit setting pops up a notification to the user once their app activity hits their preferred limit, reminding them to be conscious of how much time they are spending on the app — and maybe making it easier for them to choose to quit out of the app voluntarily."
"A fire aboard a ship carrying cars in the mid-Atlantic is dying out, a Portuguese navy officer said Tuesday, and the huge vessel is expected to be towed to the Bahamas."
"As oil rapidly approaches $100 a barrel, JPMorgan warned Tuesday that a spike in energy prices and other ripple effects from the Russia-Ukraine crisis could hurt both the stock market and the economic recovery."
"Germany on Tuesday halted the certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline designed to bring natural gas from Russia directly to Europe, after Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized breakaway parts of eastern Ukraine and ordered troops into the region."
"Tesla says its company-backed insurance, now on the market in just five states, may reach 45 by the end of the year. GM, which revived its old GMAC insurance unit as OnStar Insurance in 2020, says it hopes to hit $6 billion in yearly insurance revenue by decade’s end."
"The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to take up the case of a graphic designer in Colorado who creates websites to celebrate weddings but does not want to work with same-sex couples out of religious objections."
"A clip of Eric Trump calling his father from the stage of a political rally has gone viral because of the former president’s somewhat lacklustre response to being told by his son that he loves him."
"What this all shows is that the primary focus of Trump's fundraising since leaving office is to benefit him -- not the Republican Party… The money Trump has doled out so far is an absolute pittance compared with how much he has raised. And while he has endorsed more than 100 candidates in the 2022 election cycle, he's proved far more willing to issue a statement of support than to, well, put his money where his mouth is."
"The Supreme Court said on Tuesday that it will not take up former President Donald Trump's case challenging the disclosure of his White House documents to the House January 6 investigation, a formal conclusion to his unsuccessful bid to keep those records secret."
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