Arrest made in mail bomb case | Authorities arrested a man in Florida for the mail bombs | Banking regulators did JPMorgan Chase a solid
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I get it. The news this week has been kinda nuts. You tried to focus on work, but you kept getting distracted by news about letter bombs. “They found a bomb where? And where? And where? Oh, now they caught a guy?” Doesn’t it feel like the news cycle is getting faster and faster? And crazier and crazier? It is hard to keep up. You’ve got news fatigue. I think I’ve got a solution. It’s called WYWW SmartBrief (stands for While You Were Working). I sift through all the day’s news and bring you a wrap up of the things that matter - not the noise that will be forgotten in a matter of days (or hours!). And once in awhile, I might even try to make you laugh. Check out today’s issue below and subscribe to WYWW. It’s free.
Authorities arrested a man in Florida for the mail bombsWhy it matters: Law enforcement in this country can be pretty darn good at its job. In a nation of 325 million people and with evidence scattered all over the country, authorities identified, apprehended and charged a suspect in just a few days. That is impressive. Food for thought: The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, unified the people of the United States. Based on what you've seen, heard and read over the last few days, do you think the US would have been unified again if all those mail bombs had killed their intended targets? Vox (10/26),Fox News (10/26)Banking regulators did JPMorgan Chase a solidWhy it matters: There is no reason for regulators to keep a rather significant punishment they were imposing on JPMorgan Chase a secret other than as a favor to the bank to protect its reputation and stock price. What's next? "Double-secret" regulation? Bloomberg (tiered subscription model) (10/26)The trade war has produced some strange bedfellowsWhy it matters: The trade war has done a real number on the principles and ideals of US farmers. Not only are they accepting money from a government bailout, now they are literally feeding Iran. Wow. What will those farmers say and do if the US ever decides to bomb, bomb, bomb their newest customers in Iran? Financial Times (subscription required) (10/26)Y Combinator set its sights on carbon emissionsWhy it matters: The Y Combinator has an excellent track record of helping launch success stories like Airbnb, Dropbox and Reddit. Now that it has set its sights on tackling the problem of carbon emissions, it will be interesting to see if any of its moon shots pays off. Speaking of "moon shots" ... haven't we been there, done that? Shouldn't we start calling them Mars shots? Vox (10/26)
Seen and Heard
Podcast: Just in time for Halloween The Ringer's Bill Simmons and Sean Fennessey offer their takes on the best horror films you can go home and watch this weekend. The Ringer (10/26)Podcast: Can red and blue meet in the middle? With the midterm elections just around the corner, it seems the US is growing more and more divided. Isabel Sawhill, a senior fellow in Economic Studies at Brookings, shares her insights on how communities of red and blue can be married to form a more perfect Union. The Brookings Institution (10/26)
The Noise You Can Ignore
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Theories about the letter bomb suspect This is sort of a repeat from yesterday, but it still rings true. Ideas being floated about the suspect's motives are pure guesses. Let law enforcement do its job. CNN (10/25)News about Facebook censoring itself For every page Facebook takes down, a bunch more pop up to take its place. The genie is out of the bottle. CNBC (10/26)
Here and There
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Bankers in South Africa are eager to lend (Some readers have asked me for more international stories, so here you go...) As South Africa tackles major issues like health care and education, bankers in the country aren't sure where to put their money to work. I was in Cape Town earlier this year at the height of the Day Zero fears about the city running out of water. Things were so nutty that people floated the idea of towing an iceberg from Antarctica to Cape Town so it could melt and provide water. So it seems an infrastructure push might make sense. Investing in desalination and optimizing the country's agriculture sector so it wastes less water would also help. After all, it is hard to educate people and keep them healthy without water. Bloomberg (tiered subscription model) (10/26)
Hmm...
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On the habit and history of "dumbing down" I have a sneaky suspicion that dumbing things down is how society got to where it is today (and no one seems to be happy about where society is today). I am a bigger fan of "smarting up." If you are smart and have something to share with the world, share it your way and make the rest of the world smart up. The Atlantic (10/2018)
Deep Dive
Screen abolitionists versus screen liberalists The piece spends lot of time telling readers what most people already know: Kids can get addicted to screens (phone, tablet, TV, etc). And while it might be interesting to read what some Silicon Valley parents are doing to fight the scourge of screen time, there is zero mention of what might be the most effective countermeasure: modelling. Parents setting a better example for their kids could be the silver bullet - even in Silicon Valley. This topic is near and dear to me because I recently started putting my phone away from 6pm to 9pm. That is family time, so I don't want my kids to see me using my phone unless it is to play music for the house or to talk to friends and family. It's tough because I am obviously a news junkie, but there usually isn't any news breaking during that time frame that I can't wait until 9pm to learn. I admit I haven't been perfect. I got caught peeking at my fantasy football stats during Monday Night Football. But at least I am trying... The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (10/26)
My name is Sean McMahon and since I joined SmartBrief in 2003, I have produced content on a variety of topics including finance, energy, infrastructure, politics, telecommunications and international development. I'm a Libra who likes long walks on the beach, hiking Table Mountain and playing/coaching/watching soccer. Go Barca! Today's edition of WYWW was edited whilst listening to "2002" by Anne-Marie. It is a pure pop song, but I reckon any artist who can craft lyrics from a mash up of Jay-Z, Britney Spears, Nelly and *NSYNC is worth a listen. If you like WYWW, hate WYWW or want to submit a story, shoot me an email. Yes, I actually read them.
