Dose Of News Useful Today

Thursday, June 18th

Down Under

Good morning. There’s been a lot of talk recently about what’s above us (space), but today we’d like to shift the focus to what’s beneath us. Here’s three quick facts:

The deepest hole ever drilled measures ~7.5 miles deep - roughly halfway through the Earth’s crust (the top & thinnest layer of the planet’s interior).
The temperature inside the Earth can reach as high as 10,800ºF.
The Earth’s inner core measures a whopping 1,516 miles in diameter, 30% smaller than the Moon.

Daily Sprinkle

“It always seems impossible until it is done.”

- Nelson Mandela

The Great Social Media Debate

The DOJ unveiled a proposal Wednesday that would roll back legal protections granted to online platforms in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. The move comes as President Trump signed an executive order last month to restrict social media platforms’ legal immunity after claiming he was unfairly targeted on Twitter.

A deeper dive…
Section 230 gives social media companies immunity to liability for their users’ actions. It allows platforms to police their sites and filter content as they deem appropriate.

The DOJ’s proposal would end civil immunity in cases where companies are complicit in illegal behavior. If aware of the illicit activity, platforms could be held financially accountable for user drug trafficking, online scams, child exploitation, and terrorism.
The current “good faith” standard relies on platforms to use their best judgment in censoring inappropriate content. The proposal would provide a more precise definition of “good faith.”
Companies would also have to provide a public explanation in line with their terms of service before removing content.

Representatives for Twitter and Facebook have spoken out against the plan. They argue that taking away platform immunity would restrict more speech online by exposing companies to liability for whatever their users say.

What’s Next?
Congress must adopt the DOJ’s proposal before it becomes law. Other lawmakers have previously expressed interest rolling back some protections given in Section 230:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unsuccessfully pushed to remove language mirroring Section 230 from the USMCA North American trade deal last December.
A bipartisan group of senators introduced a bill in March to remove legal protections under Section 230 for tech firms that fail to adequately police child sexual abuse imagery.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced a bill on Wednesday that would withhold legal protections under Section 230 from companies that do not revise their terms of service to include a pledge to operate in good faith.

So… what are people saying?

Section 230 largely shields Twitter, Facebook, et.al from presidential ire, action

LEFT CENTER → The Palm Beach Post (Opinion)

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Coronavirus Updates & Protests

Global cases rose to nearly 8.39 million yesterday (up ~140k from yesterday), with over 450,200 deaths (up ~5.1k). The number of confirmed U.S. cases rose past 2.23 million (up ~25k), with 119,928 confirmed deaths (up ~817). See how cases are changing in your state.

China canceled over 1,200 flights to and from Beijing on Wednesday as 137 cases emerged this past week. The city had reportedly spent the last two months COVID-free.
Germany recorded an increase in COVID-19 cases largely linked to a sizable meatpacking plant where 657 workers tested positive.
Former Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe was charged with 11 counts - including first-degree murder - in the killing of Rayshard Brooks.
NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order on Wednesday making Juneteenth - the day commemorating the abolition of slavery in the U.S. - a holiday for state employees.
GOP senators introduced a police reform bill yesterday. The legislation will be debated on the Senate floor next week.

Bolton Book Excerpts Released

Excerpts from former national security advisor John Bolton’s ‘tell-all’ book titled “A Room Where It Happened” were released yesterday by the New York Times and Washington Post. The DOJ filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against Bolton on Tuesday to stop the book’s publication (scheduled for June 23).

LEFT CENTER → NYT (No $)	RIGHT CENTER → WSJ (No $)

Venezuela Supreme Court Replaces Political Leaders

Venezuela’s Supreme Court replaced the leaders of two political parties in opposition to President Nicolás Maduro on Monday and Tuesday. The move comes ahead of a future (unscheduled) vote to determine the members of the National Assembly - Venezuela’s only branch of government run by the opposition. The Venezuelan government has not made any comments.

More: In January 2019, Juan Guaidó - the President of the National Assembly - declared himself the legitimate leader of Venezuela following the widely disputed results of the May 2018 election. Guaidó’s leadership is formally recognized by roughly 60 countries, including the U.S.


NEUTRAL → Associated Press	NEUTRAL → Reuters

Protests & The Coronavirus Effect

PepsiCo said they will change the Aunt Jemima name and image due to its racist origins. Mars separately announced a similar change with its Uncle Ben’s brand.
Registrations of new Tesla vehicles in 24 states fell by a combined 33% in April and May, according to new market data. The broader auto industry saw registrations fall 43%.
Bankrupt retailer J.C. Penney kicked off liquidation sales at 136 stores across the U.S. on Wednesday. Check out the full list of stores here.
Mortgage purchase applications rose 8% last week (ending June 12) compared to the week before, reaching the highest level in more than 11 years.
Target said it will raise its minimum wage to $15 starting July 5 and give all hourly workers a one-time $200 bonus. The company had temporarily raised its wages by $2 in March during the onset of COVID-19.

Hertz So Good

Bankrupt car rental firm Hertz has suspended its plan to sell up to $500 million in shares after the SEC launched a review into the sale. SEC Chairman Jay Clayton on Wednesday said the regulator had issues with Hertz’s plan to sell stock in the middle of bankruptcy proceedings. In a government filing Monday, Hertz warned potential investors that it is almost certain the new shares will become worthless.

Status Update

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in an op-ed published Tuesday said the company’s 2020 goal is to “help 4 million people register to vote.” The company said it plans to launch a tool that will allow users to see fewer political advertisements.

Twitter announced a new voice message option for tweets that allows up to 140 seconds of audio on Wednesday. Users will be able to listen to ‘Voice Tweets’ as they scroll through their timeline and read other conventional text tweets.

See Ya Later, Alligator

Trent Tweddale of Wesley Chapel, Florida, was walking his six-year-old rescue dog, Loki, last Monday when the pup put his paws in a river that had swelled from recent rains. Suddenly, a 13-foot alligator lunged out of the water and attacked Loki, grabbing his front leg and pulling him into the river.

Trent, a former Army staff sergeant, didn’t hesitate as he jumped to Loki’s rescue. He plunged knee-deep into the swampy stream and repeatedly hit the alligator’s head until the attacker let go. Trent received only a few minor scratches from the encounter. After emergency surgery on his front leg, Loki returned home safely.

Flier Education

As a librarian for Montgomery County Public Schools in Virginia, Kelly Passek values the impact she has on students’ academic growth. When her school district transitioned to online learning due to the pandemic, Kelly puzzled over how to connect young pupils with the resources they need to succeed.

Last week, Kelly began using drones to deliver books to secluded students, becoming the first school district in the world to do so. The librarian fulfills online book requests at the school library, preparing individual boxes and then dropping them off with the drone service Wing for aerial shipment.

Based Waste

Shortages of personal protective equipment have occurred worldwide as hospitals scramble to keep medical workers safe from the spread of COVID-19. In Uganda, where hundreds of tons of plastic are discarded annually, entrepreneurs Peter Okwoko and Paige Balcom saw an opportunity to turn an environmental issue into a medical solution.

Peter and Paige previously co-founded Takataka Plastics, a business that ordinarily recycles plastic bottles as roofing tiles. Now, the pair uses the waste to create face shields for medical workers, making 1,200 of the eco-friendly face shields so far.

TOGETHER WITH

Self-reflection just got social

Daily Haloha is a simple and uplifting daily routine, wrapped in a charming little app. It’s designed to help us all look inward and then share outward with others, positively and anonymously.

Say hello to your new daily routine
Each day the entire world gets a new thought-provoking fill-in-the-blank question. Then, all you have to do is open the app, and…

Check in with yourself
- Take a moment to pause, reflect, and fill in the blanks with a little bit of “you”.
Connect with another
- Then “swap” your Haloha with another random human somewhere in the world, anonymously and judgment-free.
Be a part of the bigger picture
- Then browse the Haloha Wall to see how the world is feeling.

Be a part. Not apart.

Download the Daily Haloha app here. It’s free! Because of course, the best things in life usually are.

***Get started now to answer today’s Daily Haloha question presented by the DONUT***

🚀 Whatever Floats Your ~~Boat~~ Rocket... SpaceX has begun hiring engineers to help develop and build floating spaceports for the company’s Super Heavy-class launch vehicles bound for the Moon and Mars.

⚛️ Quantum Leap… researchers in Denmark have succeeded in teleporting information between two microchips using a quantum entanglement of photons.

🧬 Gene Machine… three people with inherited blood disorders (two with beta-thalassemia and one with sickle cell disease) no longer require transfusions following successful treatment with CRISPR gene-editing technology.

🐢 The Tortoise & The Spares… Diego, the 100-year-old Galápagos tortoise, has finally been returned to his native island of Española. Around 50 years ago, Diego was just one of two males of his species left alive. Today, he is known for fathering ~40% of the 2,000 giant tortoises alive today.