Three news stories summarized & contextualized by analytic journalist Colin Wright.
Note: This is a difficult note to write, because I love OSN and I know there are a lot of people who read and listen to it, and who rely on it to help them maintain a situational awareness about the world.
But I recently made the decision to put OSN on pause, indefinitely, so I can reallocate the (significant) time and energy required to produce it each day to other things, for the foreseeable future. I’m truly sorry to those who will be disappointed by this decision, but thank you very much for your support, attention, and for caring about what happens in the world.
So! Tomorrow’s (Friday) edition of the email will be the last one, for now.
If you’re a paying OSN subscriber, you’ll be refunded whatever balance is left on your subscription—I’ll leave the OSN archive online, but I’m removing the option to pay for it, as while I may come back to it at some point, I don’t know when that might be and I don’t want to tie up your money for the duration.
(I’m still running my news analysis podcast, Let’s Know Things, and I curate a weekly selection of news-related links in my Notes On the News email, if you’re interested.)
Thanks again, and I’ll see you one more time, tomorrow :)
Kenyan protesters promise more rallies after at least 23 die in clashes
Summary: Protestors in Kenya, demonstrating against new tax hikes in the country, fought with police outside parliament earlier this week, eventually breaking into the parliamentary compound just minutes after the body voted in favor of these hikes; 23 people were killed during these protests across the country, and protest leaders are encouraging people to keep hitting the streets, and to occupy the State House, the president’s office and residence, and the local offices for the World Bank and IMF later this week; President Ruto now says he won’t sign the bill into law in response to these protests.
Context: This is being seen as the most serious crisis Ruto has faced since he stepped into office two years ago, and the government has deployed the army to help keep the peace during what it’s calling a “security emergency”; lawmakers have said the tax hikes are necessary to avoid a budget gap, though they removed a few of the more contentious ones in the final version of the bill in order to avoid creating any more turmoil; protestors are now demanding, online, in addition to the whole of the bill being voided, that Ruto resign from office.
—Reuters
Biden pardons thousands of US veterans convicted under law banning gay sex
Summary: US President Biden has announced that he will pardon thousands of veterans who were convicted, over the past six decades, under a law that banned gay sex in the military, which in many cases resulted in dishonorable discharges, and a consequent loss of benefits, alongside all the other social and legal consequences of being discharged in that way.
Context: The US government has a long history of witch-hunts, including a big one in the 1950s that became known as the “lavender scare,” which aimed to weed out anyone who would today be considered LGBTQ+ from government employment, including in the military; a policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell” under former President Bill Clinton allowed such people to serve in the military as long as they weren’t open about their sexuality, and that was repealed in 2010, but throughout that period, service-members were still persecuted for their sexuality if they were at all public about it.
—The Guardian
Israeli military must draft ultra-Orthodox Jews, Supreme Court rules
Summary: Israel’s Supreme Court has ruled that the country’s military must draft ultra-Orthodox Jewish men who are religious students, despite a long-time exemption this group has enjoyed.
Context: Netanyahu’s far-right allies in government, those that are keeping him in office, are themselves made up of and supported by ultra-Orthodox organizations, and that’s part of why they’ve been able to avoid the draft for this long, despite the military being spread somewhat thin during its invasion of the Gaza Strip, and new rumblings that it might also enter a more formal conflict with Lebanon-based Hezbollah, as well; this decision could make life more difficult for Netanyahu, who will likely be pressured by his allies to do something about this ruling, though it could temper some of the protests that have been erupting on a regular basis across the country, some of which have been focused on this—in the minds of many, unfair—draft exclusion.
—The New York Times
After a long period in which few NATO members met the recommended military spending threshold of 2% of their GDP, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has nudged that number up, with only 7 countries hitting that goal in 2022, but (an estimated) 23 managing it in 2024.
—Sherwood
$50.7 trillion
Anticipated size of the US national debt by 2034, according to a new projection from the Congressional Budget Office.
That’s up from the Office’s previous projection just four months ago, which came in at $48.3 trillion.
—The Washington Post
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