OUR PICKSThe Stage Is Being Set for an American Nuclear Power Revolution | Deepfakes Are Evolving | Whatever Happened to ‘the Big One’?, and more
· Trump–Biden Debate Conspiracies Have Already Flooded the Internet
Republican lawmakers, right-wing media outlets and influencers, and Trump himself are pushing conspiracies about Biden’s health and the debate in general
· US Surgeon General Declares Firearm Violence a ‘Public Health Crisis’
48,204 people in the U.S. died from firearm-related injuries in 2022, which includes suicide, homicide and unintentional deaths
· Homeland Security: Border Arrests Fell More Than 40% Since Biden’s Halt to Asylum Processing
The restrictions Biden announced at the beginning of June cut off asylum access when arrivals at the border reached a certain number
· The Stage Is Being Set for an American Nuclear Power Revolution
There’s no telling how much clean energy the United States might produce
· Whatever Happened to ‘the Big One’?
The quest to predict major earthquakes before they happen
· Deepfakes Are Evolving. This Company Wants to Catch Them All
Hany Farid, a leading expert on image and video manipulation, says that detecting deepfakes will take more than AI alone
· America’s $34.5-Trillion National Debt Is a Crisis in the Making
The national debt must be called out for what it is—one of the greatest home-grown threats to America
Trump–Biden Debate Conspiracies Have Already Flooded the Internet (David Gilbert, Wired)
The Republican online ecosystem has gone into overdrive ahead of the first US presidential debate. Lawmakers and influencers are pushing wild conspiracy theories about President Joe Biden, and instead of coming up with anything new, they are recycling tired old allegations that have already been debunked—including claims that Biden will be “jacked up” on performance-enhancing drugs.
“He’s sleeping now, because they want to get him good and strong,” former president Donald Trump said of Biden at a campaign rally over the weekend, without providing any evidence. “So a little before debate time, he gets a shot in the ass. They want to strengthen him up. I’d say he’ll come out all jacked up.”
This is an almost exact repeat of a claim Trump made at a rally in 2020, when he claimed Biden would get “a big fat shot in the ass” in order to debate “better than ever before.” Trump also made a similar claim against Hillary Clinton in 2016. Trump has also called for Biden to take a drug test before the event, which he also did in 2020.
US Surgeon General Declares Firearm Violence a ‘Public Health Crisis’ (VOA News)
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy declared gun violence a public health crisis on Tuesday, calling for greater gun control, including the banning of assault rifles.
Murthy issued the first Surgeon General’s Advisory on Firearm Violence to address his concerns.
The advisory highlights strategies to reduce firearm deaths, such as implementing universal background checks for gun buyers, prohibiting assault weapons for civilian use, and requiring safe firearms storage.
The document says firearm violence is the leading cause of death among 1 to 19-year-olds in the U.S.
“The increasing number of children and adolescents dying from firearm related injuries and the reverberating mental health impacts on society make firearm violence an urgent public health crisis in America,” the advisory reads.
The advisory says that 48,204 people in the U.S. died from firearm-related injuries in 2022, which includes suicide, homicide and unintentional deaths.
