Tuesday morning news drop
Economic shock and awe: The strategy behind the economic sanctions against Russia Think of it as an economic shock and awe campaign. Never before has such a large, modern economy been cut off so quickly from most of the world. (60 Minutes)
The Weakness of the Despot An expert on Stalin discusses Putin, Russia, and the West. (New Yorker)
Could Putin actually fall? What history teaches us about how autocrats lose power — and how Putin might hang on. (Vox)
Russia’s war for Ukraine could be headed toward stalemate Casualties, equipment losses and a lack of progress on the ground are taking an unsustainable toll, experts say (Washington Post)
These journalists filmed the agony in Mariupol and escaped while being hunted down by Russian forces The Russians were hunting us down. They had a list of names, including ours, and they were closing in. We had been documenting the siege of the Ukrainian city by Russian troops for more than two weeks and were the only international journalists left in the city. We were reporting inside the hospital when gunmen began stalking the corridors. Surgeons gave us white scrubs to wear as camouflage. (CBC)
I was a nuclear missile operator. There have been more near-misses than the world knows As a 22-year-old I controlled a warhead that could vaporize a metropolis. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the public is waking up again to the existential dangers of nuclear weapons. (The Guardian)
Would-be home buyers may be forced to rent the American dream, rather than buy it Every American is feeling the bite of inflation. Groceries cost more, gas costs more, everything seems to cost more. This past week, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates in an effort to tame the highest inflation in 40 years. (60 Minutes)
Apple Is Crypto’s Biggest Wild Card: Crypto applications for the iPhone could attract more than 1 billion new users. “Apple’s position on crypto is between neutral and hostile. However, iPhone could be the tool that on-boards millions of people to the ecosystem.” How? By creating a user-friendly way to interact with the crypto economy. “You have to remember that Apple is a company that makes products for people to access protocols.” (Bloomberg)
Obamacare Is Boosting Economic Health: The 12 states holding out against Medicaid expansion are laggards in job-market strength and income growth. Even the ones that signed up late are doing better. (Bloomberg)
Tired of waiting for driverless vehicles? Head to a farm For years Americans have been told autonomous technology was improving and that driverless vehicles were just around the corner. Finally they’re here, but to catch a glimpse of them, you’ll need to go to a farm rather than look along city streets. Beginning this fall, green 14-ton tractors that can plow day or night with no one sitting in the cab, or even watching nearby, will come off the John Deere factory assembly line in Waterloo, Iowa, harkening the age of autonomous farming. (AP)
How vaccination status might predict views on the Russian invasion of Ukraine New poll indicates that “vaccine refusers are much more sympathetic to Russia.” (Toronto Star)
