Extra, Extra
Bet Threat: Legalized gambling in many states meant that millions of people were suddenly walking around with souped-up casinos in their pockets. Prediction markets mean that people in all 50 states can bet on anything, anytime. “Everything is gambling now”: How betting is taking over America. “These days, you can wager on everything from Sunday’s Super Bowl LX, November’s midterm elections, March’s Oscars, this winter’s weather, the words that commentators will use — even the second coming of Jesus Christ.” The stats are already insane. “Nearly 40 percent of men and 20 percent of women gamble online daily. Two percent of these bettors gamble more than ten hours a day … Most bettors are men. They’ve gotten younger and younger as sports betting companies gamified gambling. Pokémon, the trading card and video game mega-franchise, co-opted slot machine and casino imagery in the 1990s, and technology companies latched on, eager to bring in young gamblers to replace the old heads. Public schools see problems with boys, and sports betting stokes some school officials’ fears of it becoming as ubiquitous as cellphones and as poisonous as social media.” Prospect: The Scourge of Online Sports Betting.
+ Harm to Table: “A number of people working at hunger relief organizations and in education, who asked not to be identified for the record for fear of retribution, said the food instability and lack of access to social services are not simply a byproduct of the ICE crackdown but rather part of the agency’s strategy, essentially weaponizing food. Among other tactics, they said, the agency is tracking food delivery volunteers and staking out donation distribution centers.” NYT (Gift Article): Hungry Families, ICE and Secret Grocery Networks in Minneapolis. This is America, folks. And from ProPublica: Letters from the Children Detained at ICE’s Dilley Facility. From a nine year-old: “Seen how people like me, immigrants are been treated changes my perspective about the U.S.”
+ Death Wish Granted: “A small group of conservative activists has worked for 16 years to stop all government efforts to fight climate change. Their efforts seem poised to pay off.” Trump Allies Near ‘Total Victory’ in Wiping Out U.S. Climate Regulation.
+ No Longer Deep Sixed: “If we found six men that they were hiding in two hours, imagine how many men they are covering up for in those three million files.” Democratic congressman Ro Khanna names six men appearing in unredacted Epstein files.
+ Guthrie Case: “The FBI on Tuesday released new surveillance photos from the night Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, disappeared. The images show someone wearing a ski mask and gloves.”
+ Update: Measles Bad: “Dr. Mehmet Oz has urged Americans to get vaccinated against measles, one of the strongest endorsements of the vaccine yet from a top health official in the Trump administration, which has repeatedly undermined confidence in vaccine safety.” (In addition to the public statement, he might want to send an internal memo.)
+ Winter is Coming: “As tensions with Russia in the Arctic rise, U.S. Special Forces have been prepping for the future or war in the high north in Sweden.” How do you fight where it’s hard to even survive? In this video piece, WSJ’s Sune Rasmussen joined U.S. Green Berets in a grueling Arctic training camp to find out.
