The News Not Noise Letter: News That Doesn’t Suck (And Some That Does)
Guess what’s officially over? Plus: a long-overdue tribute to a Star Wars great, and would you do this to stop using passwords?
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A quick rundown of this week’s big stories:
COVID Emergency Over: The World Health Organization officially declared that the COVID-19 pandemic is no longer a “global emergency.” They have lowered the pandemic from their top alert level, though WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus clarified that COVID remains a “global health threat.” This announcement marks a symbolic end to the three-year crisis that dramatically altered our lives and our world. The US did not use it as an opportunity to meaningfully change our health system and many people are still grappling daily with the after-effects of the crisis – especially those of you in the healthcare field and anyone struggling with Long COVID. One out of six global deaths was in the US. On the other hand the US helped drive rapid and effective development of multiple vaccines and shown resilience in our move to post-pandemic life. We are changed. We’ve had the opportunity to learn lessons and evolve. Will we use those lessons to grow into a more healthy, balanced and equitable nation? It’s possible that it’s too soon to know. The emergency is over but the aftershocks are not.
Jobs Numbers: This is news that doesn't suck for anyone but the Fed. Today a news jobs report shows that the economy grew at a healthier rate than expected. The US added 253,000 jobs with the unemployment rate at 3.4%. That’s down from 3.5% in March. This means that despite rising interest rates, bank failures, fears of recession, loan slowdowns, tech layoffs, market uncertainty – businesses still continue to grow and hire. This is great news for obvious reasons, but challenging for the Federal Reserve, which is trying to slow economic growth as a way to bring down inflation. We don’t know how this will shape the Fed’s decisions about future rate hikes.
Interest Rates: Speaking of….The Fed raised interest rates again this week by a quarter of a percentage point. Interest rates for federal funds are now between 5% and 5.25%. The Fed said that “tighter credit conditions” may slow inflation, and hinted they may not continue raising rates if they see inflation cooling. But that was before the latest jobs report. We’ll keep you posted.
Debt Ceiling: As the June 1 deadline to raise the debt ceiling draws nearer, Congress is stuck in a partisan battle of wills that could have dire impacts on the global economy—and Americans’ wallets. The House GOP is insisting that they will not raise the debt ceiling unless Dems agree to significant spending cuts. After insisting for months that he will not negotiate on the debt ceiling, President Biden invited Congressional leaders from both parties to a May 9 meeting at the White House to discuss the topic. Will they make any progress? Check out this newsletter to understand how we got here. We don’t know when or if DC will reach a deal. Experts advise: don’t make decisions based on panic.
Coronation Preview: The official coronation of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla will take place Saturday, eight months after Queen Elizabeth II’s death. The event is estimated to cost taxpayers between £50 million and £100 million ($63-125 million). The UK is in the midst of a major cost-of-living crisis with soaring inflation and skyrocketing food and energy prices in part driven by pandemic-era supply-chain issues and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Public opinion of the coronation (and its expense) is divided.
Here’s some news that doesn’t suck:
May the Fourth Be With You: It’s about time — the Hollywood Walk of Fame finally acknowledged iconic Star Wars actor Carrie Fisher with her very own star on the walk, posthumously. Costars Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill have had stars on the Walk of Fame for years. Fisher’s daughter Billie Lourd wore a dress with an image of Fisher as Princess Leia to the dedication ceremony and gave an emotional address. “I feel so lucky that even though [my children] won't get to meet my mom, they will get to know a piece of her through Leia.” Hamill, who played Leia’s twin Luke Skywalker, also spoke at the ceremony where he remembered Fisher as a “gorgeous, ferociously independent take-charge woman who took our breath away.”
Passwords Are Done: Tired of keeping track of all your passwords—or worse, recycling the same password for everything despite knowing the security risks of doing so? Google may have the answer: “passkeys.” Passkeys are a way for the website you are visiting to confirm your identity through connecting with a face or fingerprint scan from the device you’re using or a special physical dongle. They are more secure and much harder to hack than traditional passwords, especially if you use common passwords and reuse them across different websites. I’m sure some of you will raise concerns about personal privacy and protecting your identity, which are all legit. But, I think most of us already give Apple our Face ID and fingerprints. So why not Google too? (I don’t know. What do you think?) You can set up passkeys for your Google account here.
Best Signs of the Writers Strike: The Hollywood writers’ strike is underway and unlikely to end anytime soon. With the picket line filled with quick quippy writers, the protest signs do not disappoint. Here’s a sampling of their pointed prose:
Noise Alert! 2023 Met Gala Lookbook: The 2023 Met Gala took place on Monday, and hundreds of actors, musicians, models, and influencers showed up in looks inspired by the late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. While most of the looks were predictably over-the-top, flesh-baring, black-and-white gowns and suits, a few attendees chose to honor Lagerfeld’s legacy in a different way: by dressing as his beloved cat, Choupette. Doja Cat gave an interview where she only responded to questions by meowing, and Jared Leto wore a troublingly lifelike fursuit of Choupette (which, reportedly, the real Choupette disliked because she “doesn’t like rivals” 🙄). Kim Kardashian wore a dress made of 50,000 freshwater pearls, some of which “popped” off the dress en route – which was apparently inspired by a Playboy photospread she did in her early years (another reminder that the Kardashians are mainstreaming porn-culture and monetizing it while the teen-girl mental health crisis explodes. Sorry that’s not NTDS but can’t let this go without mentioning it). Kardashian directed her daughter North West to pick up the pearls and stow them in her purse. Actress and activist Jameela Jamil took issue with the celebration of Lagerfeld, blasting “famous feminists (who) chose to celebrate a man who was so publicly cruel to women, to fat people, to immigrants, and to sexual assault survivors.” The Met Gala is a huge fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. Here’s that cat costume:
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