Illegal Migrant Crime Streak & CNN Debate | Afternoon Update | 6.21.24

What should the US do with an unprecedented influx of immigrants seeking asylum? While many advocate deportation, research suggests the US could benefit economically by allowing immigrants currently in the US to stay and work.

Border state governors are busing thousands of immigrants to northern cities to pressure the Biden administration to stop a surge of border crossings. Critics call the gambit cruel and inhumane. But neither side has a plan to fix the underlying problem.

In Caste, Isabel Wilkerson argues that the racial tensions in the United States are better explained through the lens of caste, not race—a 400-year-old hierarchy placing white people at the top and Black people at the bottom. Wilkerson examines the different caste systems around the world and how they damage the lives of everyone involved, even those at the top. She believes that to understand how to move forward, we must examine the past and the racial structures that keep progress as a nation at bay.

In this guide, we’ll explore the basics of Wilkerson’s caste theory, the eight tenets of a caste system, how the caste system affects the lives of people in the upper and lower castes, and how we can move away from caste and create a more equitable society. We’ll also compare Wilkerson’s ideas to those of other books on the subject of race, such as Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow.

Before the White House and The Apprentice, Donald Trump was a real estate mogul whose large-scale projects made him one of the most well-known developers in New York City.

In this autobiography, Trump recounts his early life and career—from building low- and middle-income housing with his father in NYC’s outer boroughs to erecting luxury apartments in Manhattan. Trump outlines the eleven principles that guide his business decisions, and how they played out in the deals that defined his early career, including projects such as Trump Tower in New York, his first casino ventures in Atlantic City, and his gamble on the United States Football League.

The post-pandemic economy is splitting onto two tracks: one filled with those who’ve built up savings through the pandemic and are fueling a superheated housing market, and another with those who are increasingly priced out of affordable housing. Economists agree that the solution is to increase supply through home-building, but even at accelerated levels, it will take a decade for the housing deficit to be bridged.

A February cyberattack on Change Healthcare, which handles 50% of all US medical claims, severely disrupted the health care system's operation and exposed its vulnerability to cyber threats. The attack highlighted the sector’s systemic weaknesses, including outdated technology, a lack of dedicated cybersecurity staff, and inadequate emergency protocols.

Are you aware that you’re being watched by big tech companies? In The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, Shoshana Zuboff explores the concept and consequences of “surveillance capitalism”—a term she created to describe the invasive and controlling data collection practices that tech companies like Google, Microsoft, and Facebook have adopted to maximize their profits. By learning about these practices, you’ll be better equipped to protect your privacy and fight to protect the privacy of us all.

In this guide, we’ll explore what surveillance capitalism is, how it’s been able to thrive despite growing opposition, and what we can do to prevent it from destroying our freedom and democracy. We’ll also expand on Zuboff’s ideas by suggesting counterarguments to some of her claims, adding context where possible to enhance understanding, providing updated examples of tech companies’ actions, and recommending concrete steps you can take to combat surveillance capitalism.

The ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline exposed a growing cybersecurity threat to US firms. Energy companies are tempting targets—deep-pocketed and sensitive to disruption—and are uniquely vulnerable because of aging computer networks and wide-ranging infrastructure. Regulators have limited tools to counter the threat: They can’t outlaw ransom payments or the problem will move underground, and they can’t force cryptocurrencies, which underpin many ransoms, to reveal their owners.

When a total solar eclipse occurs, our planet, our moon, and our host star align to enable the tiny moon to block out the giant sun. But what can this astronomical event coming April 8 tell us about our solar system and our place within it?

What’s out there in the vast reaches of space? Are we alone in the universe? Renowned astronomer Carl Sagan offers some insight into these questions and many more in his widely acclaimed book, Cosmos.

Sagan is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and perhaps the greatest astronomer of our age. In this book, he provides a comprehensive description of the science, philosophy, and history of astronomical discovery, from ancient Ionia to the time of the book’s publication in 1980.

In this guide, we’ll delve into Sagan’s theories about the possibility of interstellar travel, the search for extraterrestrial life, and man’s quest for understanding the mysteries of the universe. As we go along, we’ll update the information with the most recent scientific discoveries and provide perspectives from other experts in related fields.

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI is about the Osage Reign of Terror—the 1920s organized killings of members of the oil-rich Osage Indians. Powerful and bigoted whites systematically exploited and murdered the Osage people to expropriate their wealth, showing us the horrors that result when racism and greed align. The murders were also a major catalyst for the growth of the FBI, and the triumph of its rational and scientific vision of law enforcement—and a shift away from the era of frontier justice, corrupt and incompetent local sheriffs, and rogue “lawmen.”