as part of our plans for world media domination, we’re incredibly excited to unveil our revamped website - theweeklyrundown.us - and a new weekly blog, hottakes! unlike twitter and your average newspaper’s oped section, we’re planning on doing some actual research here before proclaiming that Sesame Street is just a cover for a secret FBI sting operation targeting furries. 

expect lengthier articles published each wednesday directly to our website instead of emailed out, sometimes related to the news, sometimes not. we figured we’d start out with a super chill topic no one ever has opinions on - the origins of the arab israeli conflict <link>.

big idea: progressives cry themselves to sleep

1. progressives lost a special primary election for a house seat in ohio this week. this followed similar defeats against moderate dems in recent weeks in new mexico, louisiana, virginia, and new york city. these losses came despite progressive luminaries like uncle Bernie and AOC endorsing and stumping for their losing candidates. most of these defeats weren’t even that close, with the ohio election ending in a six-point margin.
2. what’s particularly interesting is that these winning ‘moderate’ candidates are fairly left of center and embraced progressive talking points, like a $15 minimum wage, a permanent child tax credit, and medicare for all. what separated them from their progressive counterparts was mostly their tamer rhetoric, less flashy style, and unwillingness to insult the democratic party or Joe. turns out hating on a septuagenarian with aviators just comes off as elder abuse, not campaigning. 
3. progressives seem intent on looking down at the democratic base of black and minority voters and working class whites instead of earning their votes. they keep blaming money and advertising for their losses, despite their chosen candidate in ohio outraising her moderate opponent by more than a 2:1 margin. we’ll see if progressives learn anything from their defeats in time for 2022’s big redistricting fights.

story to watch: Apple spies on iCloud users

1. Apple is receiving considerable flak over its plan to begin scanning images uploaded to its iCloud service (including those taken on iPhones and iPads) for child pornography. if these illegal images are found on a user’s account by its algorithms, a human will verify the results and notify law enforcement. Facebook-owned WhatsApp has already criticized the move - who knew Facebook could ever be so right?
2. privacy advocates are disappointed because it essentially ends Apple’s promises of end-to-end encryption and that “what happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone”. this method could be weaponized by authoritarian regimes around the world which Apple has happily complied with in the past, like china. governments could order Apple to use its algorithms to target images of political dissent. experts analyzing Apple’s technical setup for this think it’s a way to view images, even if they’re encrypted.
3. the question here really is do the ends justify the means? can corporations decide which crimes are so heinous they’ll use your supposedly private data to turn you into the cops? what’s next - images of not wearing masks indoors? people breaking probation rules? kids skipping school? us shamefully chowing down on a Taco Bell black bean chalupa at midnight on a tuesday?

this week’s image: america as you’ve never seen it

• (FCC) the FCC released a map of the US - highlighting the 4G coverage of AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. finally, the proof we needed to hate on AT&T’s garbage reception.

this week’s number: $37k racial equity difference

1. a recent analysis found that among workers who own shares in their employers, black employees typically own $36,764 less in equity than their white counterparts. the gap between latino and white employees was $29,197.
2. reasons for these gaps include discriminatory hiring practices (eg look at how many black engineers work in silicon valley), less financial and negotiation literacy in minority populations, and less access to capital (companies may require workers to pay money upfront to join equity programs). equitable ownership of stocks is one of the best ways to ensure wealth is distributed more equally than in the past, and companies are failing miserably at this. 

what we’re watching: “Ted Lasso”

1. “Ted Lasso”, the surprise (and only) hit on Apple+ is back for season two, and you can bet we’re watching it. the emmy nominated comedy stars Jason Sudeikis as a lovable but clownish american football coach attempting to coach a british soccer club. the show first premiered last year during the heart of the pandemic, delivering a much needed dose of folksy charm and optimism. 
2. so far, the second season keeps to the recipe which made the first season so deliciously heartwarming - and we can’t wait to see how the rest of the season...plays out

and, in case you missed it:

• new york’s auto show, one of the industry’s largest, was cancelled due to concerns over the delta variant
• scientists are predicting emperor penguins will be virtually extinct by 2100 due to climate change
• some old, mean white guy from new york sexually assaulted women he employed. surprise, surprise?

the weekly rundown is produced by Yunus, Faisal, and Ahmed. learn more about us and email us your comments and feedback!