Fuel For The Summer
May 11, 2022
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“The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.” – Vince Lombardi
In Bad Company
The Covid-19 pandemic changes many aspects of our lives, not least of which included the way we work. A significant portion of the population switched to remote work back in March of 2020, and many people found themselves enjoying the flexibility of a work-from-home setup. Companies, on the other hand, had mixed reactions to remote work, and have begun to require in-person work over the past year or so. Many looked to Big Tech companies, including Apple, Microsoft, and Google, and the social media giants like Twitter and Facebook, for guidance on requiring their employees to come back into the office.
Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky said at the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit last week that he’s one of the executives encouraging a flexible work environment. The company announced that they’ll allow all employees to work remotely indefinitely, but that should any of them choose to return to offices, they’ll look pretty different. Chesky said, “I think an office as we know it is kind of an outdated notion…It’s primarily, as it’s currently designed, an anachronistic form factor from a pre-digital age.” While he’s unsure of what the new offices will look like, he hopes “to be really innovative in the office and workplace design of the future.” Chesky also said he plans to do in-person meetings on a quarterly basis to encourage collaboration between employees.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, however, is the biggest company in the world. Apple has already asked employees to visit the office for one or two days a week, and on May 23, many of Apple’s employees will be required to go to the office at least three days per week. The policy has already led to a rather high-profile departure – Ian Goodfellow, a director of machine learning, announced that he’d be leaving the company late last week. Goodfellow told colleagues, “I believe strongly that more flexibility would have been the best policy for my team.” A group has also been formed, called “Apple Together,” which has organized to try to convince Apple to return to a remote work setup. While we don’t know if Apple Together will be able to make any headway in their mission, hemorrhaging top talent might do the trick. (CNN, Ars Technica)
A Hot Mess
- Teams of meteorologists across the world are predicting that the Earth has a 50-50 chance to hit the global warming threshold within the next five years. The news is harrowing, as just one year ago, the same forecasts saw only a 40% chance, and a decade ago, it was a measly 10%.
- The team, coordinated by the United Kingdom’s Meteorological Office, also said there is a 93% chance that the world will set a record for the hottest year by the end of 2026. “We’re going to see continued warming in line with what is expected with climate change,” said U.K. Met Office senior scientist Leon Hermanson, who coordinated the report.
- Other scientists outside the team have also expressed their concerns about the state of the world. “This is a warning of what will be just average in a few years,” said Cornell University climate scientist Natalie Mahowald. (AP)
Violence In Sri Lanka
- As protests continue to rage in Sri Lanka calling for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaska, security forces have been ordered to shoot looters and rioters on sight. Tens of thousands of army, navy, and air force members were deployed to the streets of Colombo, the island’s capital, but despite their presence, the city’s top police officer was assaulted by a mob who accused him of not doing enough to protect peaceful protestors.
- Police have reported that eight people have died and over 200 people have been wounded since Monday. Some were injured by pro-government mobs, others when police fired tear gas into crowds. Lawyers acting for the protesters told the BBC they were filing cases against supporters of the prime minister. (BBC)
Additional World News
- Foreign business urges China to change course on Covid (CNN)
- US Congress plans nearly $40 bln more for Ukraine, COVID aid to wait (Reuters)
- Two slain in Mexico are the latest in unrelenting slaughter of journalists (Guardian)
- South Korea’s new President Yoon Suk Yeol urges North Korean denuclearization in inauguration address (CNN)
- Japan announces fresh economic sanctions against Russia (Reuters)
- Keir Starmer: I’ll quit if given Covid lockdown fine by police (BBC)
- More than 40 dead in Ecuador prison riot (CNN)
- Embattled Israeli leader vows to keep government afloat (AP)
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Fuel For The Summer
- On Monday, the U.S. average price for gasoline rose to $4.328 per gallon, back up after prices at the pump had slowly decreased as supply recovered from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year. The new peak is just one cent shy of $4.331, the all-time high gas price posted on March 11 earlier this year.
- Coming into 2022, gas prices were already high as the industry continued to struggle with COVID-19-induced supply chain issues. When Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, the shaky equilibrium was destroyed, sending prices sky-high to the aforementioned $4.331. To combat this, the Biden administration unloaded record amounts of fuel from U.S. stockpiles, looking to cut prices, but this solution turned out to be a temporary fix.
- Experts expect prices to continue their climb over the next few weeks as inflation continues to worsen, with some predicting that prices will hit $4.50 a gallon, a new record. Despite the bad news at the pump, things are still not quite as bad as they were during the 2008 recession: prices would need to hit $5.30 a gallon to outdo the inflation-adjusted record set in 2008. (NYT, $)
As Far As The Prize Can See
- This year’s Pulitzer Prizes were announced Monday, with the New York Times taking home prizes in various categories, including international reporting, national reporting, and criticism. The Washington Post won the public service category for its coverage of the January 6 attack on the Capitol, and writers from the Tampa Bay Times won the investigative reporting prize for their report revealing the health consequences of a lead smelter in Tampa, Florida.
- The slew of journalism prizes come at a dangerous time for the press, as 12 reporters died covering the invasion of Ukraine and 8 more died doing their job in Mexico. According to a Pulitzer board spokesman, it is “essential that journalists at every level keep doing the difficult and sometimes courageous work to bring the public true and revelatory stories” amidst violence and corruption. (CNN)
Additional USA News
- Vicky White, Alabama corrections officer who escaped with Casey White, has died in hospital, sheriff says (CNN)
- ‘Ultra-MAGA’ longshot roars into contention in key Senate race (Politico)
- Dr Oz embraced Trump’s big lie – will Maga voters reward him in Senate race? (Guardian)
- Boeing is losing the plane race. So it packed up and left for Washington (CNN)
- McConnell criticizes protests outside justices’ homes (The Hill)
- A New Mexico man convinced the FBI he was not a threat. Then he carried out a school shooting. (NBC)
- US temporarily suspends tariffs on steel imported from Ukraine (CBS)
- Alabama ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth takes effect (NBC)
Facing The Music
- In a court settlement filed in Illinois on Monday, Clearview AI, a facial recognition surveillance company, has agreed to permanently ban most private companies from using their service. This marks the end of a 2020 lawsuit filed by the ACLU that claimed the company had taken data without users’ consent.
- Many of the photos available in Clearview’s database were taken from social media platforms, specifically Facebook. The injunction prevents them from working with most private businesses and individuals, including government employees operating outside of a professional capacity. Clearview also can’t deal with any Illinois state or local government agency for five years and will have to make an effort to remove photographs of any Illinois residents.
- They’ll also have to provide an opt-out program for residents who want to either block searches with their faces or the collection of their photographs. Thanks to Illinois’ revolutionary biometric privacy law, tech companies have been held more accountable for their data gathering as of late. The ACLU said, “Clearview can no longer treat people’s unique biometric identifiers as an unrestricted source of profit. Other companies would be wise to take note.” (The Verge)
Additional Reads
- Bodies surfacing in Lake Mead recall mob’s time in Las Vegas (NBC)
- There’s a 1,000-pound great white shark swimming near the Jersey shore (CNN)
- How to watch this week’s rare “super flower blood moon” total lunar eclipse (CBS)
- Scientists Detect the Biggest Extraterrestrial Earthquake Ever (Vice)
- Biden announces partnership with internet providers to lower costs for low-income households (CNN)
- NASA Mission Finds Tonga Volcanic Eruption Effects Reached Space (NASA)