Picks of the Week š§
Elections, Primaries, Russia Spill, UK Universities Decline, Positive Economic News, Minimalism
Hello! Happy Friday and welcome to another edition of Inside The Newsroom. Amid the intensity of Covid-19 and protest coverage, Iāve been thinking of ways to remain focused on the myriad of other important issues happening around the world. So weāll tackle the hardest-hitting issues in the first part of each week with a podcast or newsletter focusing on a specific topic, and then round up the most interesting news every Friday. Today marks the start of a slight change to the structure (corporate lingo!) of Inside The Newsroom, and I hope you continue to find this whole thing useful. Enjoy š¤
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St Kitts and Nevis Election š°š³
The Caribbean island held the first of several elections happening around the world this month. Similar to previous elections so far this year and those still to come, the St Kitts and Nevis election was largely based on the incumbent governmentās actions to limit the spread and impact of Covid-19. The island of 52,000 people has seen just 15 confirmed cases of the virus, and has remarkably recorded no deaths, which is likely why the ruling Team Unity coalition ā made up of the Peopleās Action Movement, Peopleās Labour Party and Concerned Citizensā Movement ā recorded a comfortable victory, defeating the opposition Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party by nine seats to two.
Paula Jean Swearengin Wins Democratic Primary
Friend of the podcast Paula Jean Swearengin won her Democratic primary for U.S. Senate from West Virginia this week, squeaking past Richard Ojeda and Richie Robb with 38 percent of the vote. From our conversation in February, Paula Jean is running on a platform that aims to address the chronic problems with coal and opioid addiction ā the Mountain State has the worst drug overdose mortality rate of any state ā and now she must work on uniting her party and steal the votes of Republicans on the fence in order to defeat incumbent senator Shelley Moore Capito, whoās voted Donal Trump 95 percent of the time.
Credit: Politico š
Russia Oil Spill
You might have seen that Vladimir Putin declared a state of emergency in the Siberian city of Norilsk last week, after 20,000 tons of oil spilled into Lake Pyasino. A week after the oil began to spill and officials have warned that it could take years to clean up, in whatās being described as one of the worst oil spills in history. The World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace Russia have acknowledged that climate change likely played its part in the spill, due to thawing permafrost ā aĀ thickĀ subsurfaceĀ layer of soil thatĀ remainsĀ below freezing point throughoutĀ theĀ year ā though the risks are thought to have been known for months, if not, years.
UK Universities Slide
As if Brexit and Covid-19 werenāt enough, the UKās top universities are sucking more than usual compared with other elite schools around the world. According to the 2021 QS World university Rankings, the UK had its worst performance ever, with the U.S. now dominating all top four spots. Ugh! In all seriousness, rankings are just rankings. The more important issue is the fact that the UK is among several countries who welcomes the brightest and most ambitious students from around the world to its institutions, and then proverbially spits them out once theyāre done learning. Despite overwhelming evidence that international students benefit the economy, nationalism and emotion are the factors that set policy, and the UK continues to lose out on the best minds.
Positive Economic News š
The U.S. economy is officially in recession, but the good news is that the downturn is expected to be less severe as first thought. FiveThirtyEight surveyed 34 economists, and improving jobs reports and numbers are cause for growing optimism that the economy might return to normal sooner rather than later. That doesnāt take away from the destruction already caused by the pandemic shutdown and other factors, but at least there appears to be some light at the end of a dark tunnel.
Power of Minimalism
I consider myself to be a fledgling minimalist, recently introduced to the concept via the aptly-named Minimalism Netflix documentary. Itās one of those notions that makes so much sense in theory, but actually downsizing, whether itās your closet, friendship group, or number of ways you can be contacted, is hard. The thought of cutting ties with that one person who only provokes negative energy often ends with you telling yourself āyeah, but Iāve been friends with them since we were kidsā and minimalism remains an illusion. Iām here to tell you that Iāve done every single one of the downsizing operations mentioned above, and in a time where all we really have is mental space, I canāt describe how much more focused Iāve become since the lockdown started. But! For every minimalist out there, thereās a hoarder, which for the record there is nothing wrong with, but itās interesting to see the opposite angle to every idea.
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