Voting Rights Legislation Blocked in the Senate
Democrats’ hope of passing new voting rights legislation was crushed on Wednesday when Senate Republicans blocked the Freedom to Vote and Voting Rights Advancement Acts by invoking the filibuster rule, which requires 60 votes to pass most measures, according to the Associated Press. The bills would have prohibited partisan gerrymandering, made Election Day a national holiday, …
Sharing Platitudes About MLK’s Dream Will Not Further Its Realization
Central to Martin Luther King Jr.’s pursuit of Black liberation was a call for the fundamental redistribution of wealth and economic resources. More than a half-century after his assassination, King’s radical demand is glaringly absent from the mainstream MLK Day discourse. For some, the oversight may be borne out of ignorance or uncertainty, though as …
Spotify to Close In-House Podcast Studio
Spotify is shutting down its in-house podcast division, Studio 4, and either laying off or reassigning between 10 and 15 staff members, according to Deadline. The last day for those laid off will be January 21. Others have been offered new roles with Spotify’s three acquired networks Gimlet, Parcast, or The Ringer. “When you have …
Crypto Investors Sue Kim Kardashian and Floyd Mayweather
Kim Kardashian and Floyd Mayweather are being sued for allegedly tricking cryptocurrency investors in a pump-and-dump scheme. The lawsuit claims that the celebrities deceived their followers for personal profit by encouraging them to purchase EthereumMax (EMAX) tokens, only to cash out once their price was inflated, according to Reuters. “Defendants touted the prospects of the …
Virtual Real Estate is the New Hot Commodity
The pandemic has ushered in an unprecedented virtual land rush in the metaverse, according to CNBC. Investors are shelling out millions of dollars for certain plots across the digital frontier, where people are able to live, work, and play as avatars. “The metaverse is the next iteration of social media,” said Andrew Kiguel, CEO of …
2021 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Increase Knocks Climate Goals Off Target
A new study conducted by the independent research organization Rhodium Group found that U.S. greenhouse gas emissions bounced back significantly last year, jumping more than six percent over 2020, when the economy took a hit as a result of pandemic shutdowns. “The strongest rebound and quickest rebound happened in freight. Those are diesel trucks picking …
Making Music Out of Mushrooms
Musician Tarun Nayar spends much of his time experimenting with sound in Canada’s old-growth forests. At the age of seven, Nayar began studying Indian classical music with Narendra Verma – a disciple of the famous Indian sitar virtuoso and composer Ravi Shankar, according to VICE. These formative lessons taught Nayar not only about the technical …
Afghanistan Faces Unparalleled Humanitarian Crisis
Afghanistan has spiraled into one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises since American troops left the country last August, according to The New Yorker. Experts estimate that around 22.8 million people – more than half of Afghanistan’s population – will likely face famine this winter. The nation’s health care system is also in shambles. …
Canada Reaches Settlement with First Nations Groups Over Family Separations
Canada is taking steps to repair a history of discrimination in its child welfare system by paying $31.5 billion to those who suffered from the unnecessary foster care placement of Indigenous youth over the past 30 years, according to The Washington Post. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada has described the country’s years of …
Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Convicted in Criminal Fraud Case
Elizabeth Holmes, the founder and former CEO of failed biotech startup Theranos, was found guilty on Monday of four out of 11 federal charges, including one count of conspiracy to defraud investors and three counts of wire fraud, according to the Associated Press. Holmes now faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine …