The Navigator, Saturday, September 14, 2024
Fur babies, sand wars, rich Millennials on the move, Iran's biker gangs and more
Happy weekend, subscribers!
This week, the first U.S. presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump occurred in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; it was likely the last. Pop superstar Taylor Swift endorsed Harris shortly after, causing a 400-500% spike in voter registration. In the following days, memes mocking Trump’s false claim that Haitian immigrants are eating cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio, took over social media and the airwaves.
The threat of Trump’s misinformation campaign came into clear view on Friday when two Springfield City School District elementary schools were evacuated, and a middle school was closed Friday morning "based on information received from the Springfield Police Division," according to school officials. Students were released to their parents.
All eyes are on the Federal Reserve this upcoming week. It’s expected to cut interest rates on Tuesday—the first since the onset of the pandemic. This move comes on the heels of recent reports showing that the labor market and inflation continue to cool. When the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates, borrowing becomes cheaper, which can stimulate spending and investment in the economy. The big question is how big the cut will be.
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China could soon have more pets than toddlers. Why that’s a headache for Beijing (CNN)
After ending the one-child policy in 2016 and making yet another major birth policy shift in 2021, the government now wants couples to have three children. But Beijing hasn’t been as successful in driving up births as it was in deterring them.
Nation With Lowest Birthrate Is Rocked by Soaring Sales of Dog Strollers (The Wall Street Journal)
Pooches in prams outpace actual baby carriages in South Korea, leaving officials barking mad
The California sand wars: As beaches shrink, neighbors and cities fight for what’s left (The Los Angeles Times)
Beaches are disappearing as sea levels rise and coastal development interferes with the replenishment of sand. Now one of the earth’s most common commodities is a precious resource to residents that cities spend millions of dollars on.
The ‘feral 25-year-olds’ making Kamala Harris go viral on TikTok (The Washington Post)
Harris’s “digital rapid response” operation and all-Gen-Z TikTok team are tapping the trends and rhythms of internet culture to create an online presence that’s unique in presidential politics.
Is the Entire World Conspiring to Make It Look Like Trump Lost the Debate? (New York Magazine)
An intriguing theory by Matt Taibbi.
Trump’s Repetitive Speech Is a Bad Sign (The Atlantic)
If the debate was a cognitive test, the former president failed.
Rich millennials are moving out of California, new study says. Here’s where they’re going (Sacramento Bee)
The state had a net loss of 9,181 wealthy millennial households in recent years, according to a new SmartAsset study.
Can better bread be a climate change solution? These bakers think so (NPR)
A team of scientists and bakers in the Pacific Northwest is searching for ways to make whole wheat bread resilient to a warming world — and more delicious.
Why AI Is So Bad at Generating Images of Kamala Harris (WIRED)
Race and gender are part of it, but there’s more to those unconvincing pictures of the presidential candidate.
Iran turns to Hells Angels and other criminal gangs to target critics (The Washington Post)
Iran has cultivated ties with criminal networks in the West to carry out a recent wave of violent plots in the United States and Europe.