This week we discussed high school musicians losing their opportunity to perform with the US Marine Band. And we revisit Mike's 2022 commentary on NCAA swimmer Lia Thomas, newly relevant as the Trump administration moves to defund University of Pennsylvania grants.
The Department of Homeland Security makes cuts to its office for civil rights and civil liberties and other oversight offices, saying these offices slow down enforcement. Immigration officials at checkpoints are detaining travelers to the US over what were once minor visa violations. Sudan's military has retaken the seat of the country's government after nearly two years.
President Trump makes a pivot from Bitcoin to stablecoins in his latest policy statements. Reality check: stablecoins now account for over 50% of all crypto settlement volume, with Tether becoming the 7th largest holder of US Treasuries globally. We break down how stablecoins are being used in emerging markets, why Tron dominates the stablecoin landscape despite centralization concerns, and what this means for Bitcoin's relationship with the traditional financial system.
Notes:
- Tether is 7th largest buyer of US treasuries globally
- Stablecoins now 50% of all crypto settlement volume
- Tether holds $113 billion in treasuries
- Tron handles ~40% of stablecoin transactions
- Tether earns ~$4 billion yearly on Treasury yields
- Trump now promoting stablecoins for dollar dominance
Check out our Bitcoin scaling conference! Visit opnext.dev to learn more.
Timestamps:
00:00 Start
00:34 Trump video
03:09 Reaction
06:53 Tether buying treasuries
11:08 Other stablecoins
17:35 Arch Network
18:05 The Tether Eye of Sauron
20:10 Who's using stablecoins
22:18 Where are stablecoins traded?
26:31 Volume of all crypto transactions compared
32:33 A realistic view
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Reset checks in with a panel of Chicagoans — whose jobs were considered essential during the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020 – for their reflections on the fifth anniversary of the lockdown. They also discuss how that “essential” label has transferred to today. The panel included Sharif Nassr, founder and CEO of the children’s nursery Caterpillar Care Chicago; Hannah Chavez, who was employed as a Whole Foods grocery store worker in 2020; and Elise Foster, president of Branch 11 of the National Association of Letter Carriers union.
For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
Measles is said to be the most contagious virus on Earth, so during this latest outbreak, we're discussing the real-world impacts, what's different about this year's surge, and what everyone needs to know to stay protected.
You’ll hear from an epidemiologist about the science and broader implications, then later, we get a frontline look at how a rural Texas hospital is responding.
On this week's "CBS News Weekend Roundup", host Peter King gets the latest on the court battle over the Trump administration deporting more than 200 people last week from CBS News White House correspondent Nancy Cordes. CBS's Linda Kenyon reports on President Trump's executive order to abolish the Department of Education. And on this week's Kaleidoscope segment, CBS News correspondent Allison Keyes speaks with David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, about the Trump administration's deportations.
If you’re overwhelmed by the sheer volume of lawless acts, constitutional crises (we count five), and huge Trump administration losses in court this week - honestly, same. But if anyone can render this swirling storm of lawsuits and orders and injunctions legible, and put them in terms that can help make sense of this moment, it’s Dahlia Lithwick. On this week’s show, Dahlia is first joined by Quinta Jurecic, a fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and a senior editor at Lawfare, to discuss the deeply worrying shift in the Trump regime’s posture toward judges and the rule of law, that’s been playing out inside and outside the courts this week. Next, Dahlia speaks with a lawyer who secured a big win against Elon Musk and DOGE this week in one of the USAID cases. Mimi Marziani explains the litigation strategy, and its limits.
Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus to get access wherever you listen.
On 27 December 2024, astronomers spotted an asteroid that was potentially heading towards earth.
Named 2024 YR4, it was estimated to be between 40m and 90m across, with the potential to cause massive damage if it hit a populated area of the planet.
The chances of that happening, however, seemed to fluctuate significantly - ranging from 1% to a peak of 3%, before falling to virtually zero.
Tim Harford investigates what was going on, with the help of Davide Farnocchia, a navigation engineer at NASA?s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Lizzy McNeill
Series producer: Tom Colls
Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound Mix: Hal Haines
Editor: Richard Vadon
