On Friday, a Predator surveillance drone operated by United States Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) diverted from its normal route along the Canadian border in order to circle the skies over Minneapolis. Hours earlier, a third night of protests had escalated as thousands demonstrated following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a police officer held his knee to Floyd’s neck for several minutes. (The officer has since been fired and charged with third-degree murder.) And while federal authorities say the unarmed drone was there “to provide situational awareness,” the presence of a military-grade …
How to fix the WHO, according to an expert
“The W.H.O. really blew it,” President Donald Trump tweeted on April 7, referring to the World Health Organization. “For some reason, funded largely by the United States, yet very China centric. We will be giving that a good look.”
Trump’s tweet, coincidentally, came on World Health Day, which honors health care workers around the world and celebrates the 1948 founding of the World Health Organization. The global health institution was created in a post-World War II world, based on the belief the planet had to work together to fight diseases and promote the health of all citizens.
And …
Taylor Swift used to be apolitical. Now she’s slamming Trump on Twitter.
On Friday, Taylor Swift became one of the most prominent voices denouncing President Donald Trump’s tweets regarding the unrest in Minneapolis. “We will vote you out in November,” Swift warned Trump, saying that he had “stok[ed] the fires of white supremacy and racism [his] entire presidency.”
In Minneapolis, protests have been raging over the past few days in response to the police killing of George Floyd on Monday. Shortly after midnight on Friday morning, Trump tweeted that he wanted to dispatch military troops to Minneapolis to shoot American citizens, saying, “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.” …
Inconceivable! The Vox Book Club is reading The Princess Bride in June.
As the Vox Book Club enters its third month, you may have a question about our June book pick. You may want to know if it has sports in it.
To that I say: It has fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles.
That’s right, this June we’re reading William Goldman’s The Princess Bride.
You’ve probably seen the classic 1987 movie adapted from The Princess Bride. If …
Trump’s executive order on social media is legally unenforceable, experts say
Despite President Donald Trump’s threats that Republicans might shut down social media companies in retaliation for fact-checking his tweets, the executive order he signed on Thursday unsurprisingly doesn’t come anywhere close. Even in the order’s more limited scope, legal experts say it will be difficult to enforce.
Trump’s new order aims to limit social media companies’ legal protections if they don’t adhere to unspecified standards of neutrality. It comes just two days after Twitter fact-checked two of his tweets that made misleading claims about voting by mail in the 2020 elections.
“Twitter is completely stifling FREE SPEECH, and I, as …