🚨 Stalkers – December 15 2022

*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 5:00pm AM. 

The Lead: U.S. Economy

credit: ap

The US House of Representatives passed a bill to extend the government shutdown until December 23. The Senate is expected to vote on it by Friday. 

But, that’s less than 10 days. What happens after December 23? Democrats hope to pass a $1.7 trillion spending bill for the coming year, but Republicans are hesitant to do this before they take control of the House in January. 

Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve has raised interest rates again, this time by 0.5%. This puts rates between 4.25% and 4.5%, which is a 15-year high. This indicates a slowing of the aggressive hikes we’ve seen all year. Experts don’t expect rates to come down until 2024 at the earliest.

The Collapse of Peru

credit: epa

Peru is in a state of emergency, declared by the country’s interim government. The President has sent soldiers into the streets to end protests that have become violent in some areas. 

President Pedro Castillo was ousted from office last week and vice president Dina Boluarte was promoted to the office. Protests were already happening over a fertilizer shortage and drought that was crippling the economy. 

Former President Castillo was detained before he could seek asylum at the Mexican embassy in Peru. He has continued to seek asylum, and Mexican President Lopez Obrador may still support this. 

Some say that this was a Western-backed coup. Others say that Castillo was ousted by his own party. Protestors are demanding new elections and a new constitution. 

This the season for something Sweet.

Towers of Sweets Big Enough to Share 

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Mrs. Fields will wrap up your delicious cookies in unique, creative packages that will thrill the people who get them. 

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Stalking Elon Musk

masked man caught stalking Elon Musk's family credit: twitter

Elon Musk confirmed that doxxing is not allowed on Twitter and will result in permanent suspension. 

This comes as the account @ElonJet was suspended. This was an account that followed Musk’s private jet and broadcast travel to the world. Musk says that his son was followed in a car last night and someone climbed onto the hood. A person wearing a mask blocked his son's car from moving. Musk says legal action is being taken against the people who were stalking him. 

As it relates to Twitter, Musk clarified the doxxing policy: No real-time location sharing. Sharing locations of a person on a “slightly delayed basis” is okay. You can also share your own live location, although my opinion is that you shouldn’t. Twitter updated its Private Information policy to reflect this.

What's Trending?

credit: giphy

Christopher Reeve is trending for two reasons. First, because 44 years ago today “Superman: The Movie” debuted in theaters. Second, Henry Cavill announced that he would not play Superman again in the next theatrical release because writers have decided to do more of an origin story and need a younger actor. 

tWitch is trending because the entertainer died by suicide at the age of 40.

Aortic aneurism is trending after it was confirmed that this was the cause of death of 49-year-old American soccer writer Grant Wahl who collapsed in Qatar on December 9. He is the third journalist to die suddenly while covering the World Cup in Qatar. 

News By The Numbers

6. That is how many police officers were reported to their supervisors for having a snowball fight on the job. 

£2.4. That is the size of a research grant in the UK which will study whether or not ketamine is useful for treating alcohol addiction. 

2008. That is the cut-off birth year for buying cigarettes in New Zealand. Anyone born after that year will never be able to buy them. 

The Covid Time Warp

credit: getty

Did Covid lockdowns warp our collective sense of time? One researcher says that it did! 

A psychologist in Liverpool conducted surveys and found that some felt time went slower during lockdowns and others felt it went faster. Results were dependent on emotional states and many people reported upheaval in their emotional state. 

“We're aware of time. We're aware of the fragility of time. We're aware of what happens when your time to do the things you want is taken away from you,” said Ruth Ogden, the researcher. “And that's the real thing that will have changed, is how people value time.”

One person said that this change in perception motivated him to spend more time into his kids. Those of us who were locked down with our kids may feel differently. As in, we’re glad that the kids can now go off to school. That’s what I would have said if she’d asked me. Which she didn’t. 

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