One Sentence News / March 14, 2023
The news simply summarized / Listen to the podcast
Biden administration approves huge Alaska oil project
Summary: The US government has given formal approval for a sprawling new oil project called Willow in Alaska, and it’s also expected to issue a flurry of new rules that would limit future oil leases in the region.
Context: The details on those limitation plans are still sparse, but it’s believed that the Biden administration is attempting to balance the energy needs of the present—a period in which energy security for the US will in part depend on the country’s capacity to pump and refine oil for at least several more decades—with the desire to keep global average temperature increases moderated—something that’s more difficult with every gallon of gas pumped and used as fuel; there are other complexities here, too, like the fact that the drilling will occur in the US’ largest single expanse of pristine, undeveloped land, which isn’t a good look and is harmful for local ecosystems, and it’s a sensitive issue for local Native American communities and environmental activists, who have been campaigning to get young people to speak out online about the project—a project that researchers have warned could put current climate goals beyond reach; there are likely to be legal challenges to this decision, and it’ll probably be a while before all the details and legalities and final rulings are worked out.
—The New York Times
Gary Lineker to return to Match of the Day after BBC suspension
Summary: A BBC sports commentator named Gary Lineker, who was taken off air for criticizing the language used by the British government when discussing the country’s policy on asylum on social media, has been reinstated by the network after several days of disrupted programming and controversy.
Context: This scandal didn’t get much play outside the UK, but it became a bit of a to-do in local media because the BBC is fairly central to the British media ecosystem and is funded by the government, so issues related to perceived impartiality amongst staff are especially tricky and, at times, fraught, especially when they touch on British politics; notable here is that Lineker wasn’t punished for similar criticisms leveled at the Qatari government, and that the BBC is currently run by a Tory donor who was once the current Prime Minister’s boss at Goldman Sachs—he’s currently under investigation because of his lucrative friendship with former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as well; so in essence, Lineker criticized the current government’s approach to immigration-related issues, the network panicked that this might lead to government-applied consequences and a diminishment in their cozy relationship with the governing Tories, but then backed down after a firestorm of criticism and Lineker’s colleagues support of him, in some cases walking off the job in solidarity, which led to a lot of difficult-to-fill air time.
—The Guardian
After SVB failure, US acts to shore up banking system confidence
Summary: Following the rapid collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last week, which was triggered by a bank-run, US authorities have announced extraordinary measures to make sure depositors at this and another at-risk bank, Signature Bank, will be made whole, as part of a larger effort to avoid a banking contagion in the country.
Context: This story, thankfully, seems to be coming to a fairly cozy end for most everyone involved, but the underlying story is that the US government doesn’t want its banking sector to seem weak and doesn’t want investors to lose faith in that banking system, so they shored things up using an insurance fund set aside for this type of use-case, and that allowed them to ensure folks with money in the bank, even those with deposits higher than the usual $250,000 government-insured ceiling, had access to their money beginning yesterday; there’s a chance we’ll see some other failing banks collapse in the aftermath of this initial pair of collapses, but it would seem that the short-term risks, at least, have been bulwarked by this bending of typical FDIC policy.
—Reuters
The hubbub surrounding President Biden’s plans to eliminate or reduce a whole lot of students’ and former students’ education-related debt continues, but lawsuits from private loan companies are beginning to fly, with those who are owed money by these students irked that they’re not being paid interest on those (often quite substantial) loans because of a pandemic-era loan-payment suspension, which could help determine how that larger-scale effort eventually plays out.
—Chartr
60%
Income tax rate in Côte d’Iviore—the highest in the world.
That’s not too much higher than the income tax rates in Finland, Japan, Denmark, and Austria (with 56.95%, 55.97%, 55.9%, and 55% rates, respectively), but it’s the only African country in the top ten list of highest global personal income tax rates.
—Quartz
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