Extra, Extra
Harms Dealers: “In short, Mexico claims that illegal gun trafficking isn’t just an unwanted byproduct of the industry’s design choices, marketing campaigns and distribution practices. Instead, according to the lawsuit, feeding demand for illegal weapons is central to the industry’s business model.” Mexico is suing US gun-makers for arming its gangs − and a US court could award billions in damages.
+ Hunter Blatherers: “An FBI informant has been charged with fabricating a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden, his son Hunter and a Ukrainian energy company, a claim that is central to the Republican impeachment inquiry in Congress.”
+ A House is Not a Home: “Like everyone else looking to buy a house in 2024, investors want to buy cheap if they can, but affordable homes are scarce. Inventory is still low across the country as sellers cling to lower mortgage rates they locked in years ago.” Investors bought a record 26% of the affordable houses in the US last quarter.
+ Boss Mode: “Democracy could use a win. All around the world, states have been taken over by strongmen dead set on extracting as much wealth as they can from the societies they rule. In Russia and Venezuela, Myanmar and Angola, weak electoral systems have given way to hyper-corrupt autocracies. And democrats haven’t really figured out how to fight back. Successful methods to get rid of criminal regimes are desperately needed but vanishingly rare. Which is why what’s happening in Guatemala right now demands attention.” Quico Toro in The Atlantic (Gift Article): How to Defeat a Mafia State.
+ Two Gorillas Walk Into a Bar: “If you have ever watched a group of great apes at the zoo or elsewhere, the primates are dynamic. They pick dirt and insects off one another, play games and get into scuffles. Sometimes, it even looks like our relatives pull pranks, but that behavior has never been formally examined — until now.” WaPo (Gift Article): Do apes joke around? “The human cognitive tools that help us learn humor may date back at least 13 million years.” (And my kids think my jokes get old…)
