How do otters protect salt marshes from erosion? Shellfishly Nature
Woman tossing trash falls into dumpster, survives getting compacted in garbage truck AP. Good news!
Column: A judge voids Musk’s huge Tesla pay package as dishonest, and hoo boy, is he steamed LA Times
Tesla shareholders will vote on moving incorporation to Texas, says Elon Musk FT
Fed to increase staff members, tighten restrictions on access Anadolu Agency
At the Money: Forecasting Recessions (interview) Claudia Sahm, The Big Picture
Climate
John Podesta to succeed John Kerry as top U.S. climate diplomat WaPo
At Mann’s Defamation Trial, Defendants Are Doubling Down on Climate Denial DeSmogBlog
The struggle to meet rising demand for nuclear power FT
Guardrails Aren’t Designed To Work On Giant EVs: Study Jalopnik. A weakness in the “guardrails” trope.
#COVID19
How does the nasal cavity’s immune system combat SARS-CoV-2? News Medical
While COVID-19 surges, California guts mitigation efforts in schools Prism Reports
Breathing room: Why parents and experts are calling for a clean-air revolution in schools TVO Today. Canada.
10 success stories of government action in the United States Brookings Institution. In a bitter irony, the lessons of #2 (“Anti-smoking campaigns”) and #3 (“Air pollution reduction”) aren’t being applied to aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2; not for this pandemic, at least.
China?
Weakened China won’t overtake US economy ‘until 2080′ The Telegraph
Dry bulk watches Evergrande liquidation after 16.5% drop in real estate investment Hellenic Shipping News
China merges hundreds of rural banks amid looming financial crisis Bloomberg
China employment pressure ‘worsening’ this year in absence of solutions to shore up jobs South China Morning Post
Chartbook Carbon Notes 10: In China, clean energy is now THE driver of overall economic growth. Adam Tooze, Chartbook
Chinese leaders hint at increased focus on politics and Communist Party discipline for coming year South China Morning Post
Myanmar
Myanmar military extends state of emergency, vows to ‘crush’ opposition Al Jazeera
Commentary: Beijing hedges its bets in Myanmar Channel News Asia
India
A Library In The Forest Madras Courier
Syraqistan
Blinken admits UNRWA allegations yet to be ‘born out’ as backlash over Gaza aid cut rises The New Arab
Abolish the U.N.’s Palestinian Refugee Agency Bret Stephens, NYT
SITREP 1/31/24: Secret Back-Channel Talks Spur Hopes on Iran De-escalation + Zelensky-Zaluzhny Showdown Simplicius the Thinker(s)
Scoop: State Department reviewing options for possible recognition of Palestinian state Axios. Commentary:
The “banal debate” between the U.S. and Israel is over “whether the bantustan shall be repackaged and marketed as a ‘state’.”
Scathing response to the @axios scoop on the Biden administration and Palestinian statehood from former Israeli peace negotiator Daniel Levy: https://t.co/zGgW6RUpSn pic.twitter.com/dYoLZD0Tmx
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) January 31, 2024
‘Swarming’ the US in West Asia, until it folds MK Bhadrakumar, The Cradle
The Risks in Attacking the Houthis in Yemen The New Yorker
Is the Red Sea effect on container shipping being overblown? Hellenic Shipping News
How war destroyed Gaza’s neighbourhoods – visual investigation Guardian. Image:
Rubble from Bone London Review of Books
European Disunion
Europe’s angry farmers fuel backlash against EU ahead of elections Reuters
Fun thread:
Dear Old Blighty
Tears, anger and an apology: Nicola Sturgeon at the Covid inquiry Holyrood
New Not-So-Cold War
Differing views on mobilisation: Washington Post explains why Zelenskyy might dismiss Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Ukrainska Pravda
ICJ rejects most of Ukraine’s ‘terrorism’ case against Russia Al Jazeera
Russia and Ukraine exchange hundreds of war prisoners France24
South of the Border
CITGO: A Multi-billion Dollar Heist? Venezuelanalysis
IMF board authorises $4.7 billion for Argentina after Milei’s reforms France24
Biden Administration
A Cynical Deal in Congress May Yet Save Ukraine Bloomberg
House passes $78 billion tax bill in bipartisan vote The Hill
The Bezzle
Moral Bankruptcy Maureen Tkacik, Prospect
Binance Code and Internal Passwords Exposed on GitHub for Months 404 Media
Private Schools, Public Money: School Leaders Are Pushing Parents to Exploit Voucher Programs ProPublica
Spook Country
Spycraft and Statecraft William Burns, Foreign Affairs
Digital Watch
Erik Brynjolfsson: ‘This could be the best decade in history — or the worst’ FT. Worth reading in full.
It’s true, LLMs are better than people – at creating convincing misinformation The Register
FBI confirms it issued remote kill command to blow out Volt Typhoon’s botnet The Register. The deck: “Remotely disinfects Cisco and Netgear routers to block Chinese critters.” Hmm.
Healthcare
Report: At least 8,500 schools in US at risk of measles outbreaks Scripps News
The Forgotten Lessons Of Infectious Disease Control Nate Bear, ¡Do Not Panic!
Intestinal microbiota programming of alveolar macrophages influences severity of respiratory viral infection Cell. Mouse study. From the Abstract: “These findings uncover complex interactions that mechanistically link the intestinal microbiota with [alveolar macrophages (AMs)] functionality and [respiratory virus infections (RVIs)] severity.”
Our Famously Free Press
The Garrison Project wants to bridge the gap between national and local criminal justice reporting The Nieman Lab
Boeing
‘I would absolutely not fly a Max airplane’: Ex-Boeing manager raises alarm on jets returning to service LA Times
Zeitgeist Watch
Chicken Littles Are Ruining America David Brooks, The Atlantic
Guillotine Watch
In the Shadow of Silicon Valley Rebecca Solnit, London Review of Books. Well worth a read.
Black Injustice Tipping Point
The retconning of George Floyd Radley Balko, The Watch
Class Warfare
NS Delivers 12-Month Progress Report on East Palestine Efforts Railway Age
How to Build an Origami Computer Quanta
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here
