88
The Week
in Brief.
BRIEFLY STATED
Number of people caught cheating on the exam to
become a prison guard in Italy. Officials suspect
the Mafia was behind the mass cheating.
About 8,000 people took the exam for 400 jobs.
May 20-26
NAMES IN THE NEWS
@BOURDAIN/TWITTER.COM
Quotable
Louisiana Passes ‘Blue Lives
Matter’ Law
Louisiana is poised to become the first state to expand
its hate crime laws to protect police, firefighters, and
emergency medical crews. The ‘Blue Lives Matter’ law
would allow prosecutors to seek greater fines and jail terms
against anyone convicted of intentionally targeting first
responders because of their profession. Advocates say the
law is needed because in some areas there is a concerted
effort to terrorize police. Critics say expanding hate crime
groups to job categories dilutes the laws’s impact. New
Orleans Black Lives Matter supporters said the move is not
a positive reaction to their movement and that those in
uniform come with a lot of protection already.
Barack Obama and
Anthony Bourdain
WIN MCNAMEE/GETTY IMAGES
This is not Disneyland. ...
Veterans have died waiting
in line for their care.
TUKTUK DESIGN/SHUTTERSTOCK (PEOPLE)
SURVEY SAYS
YOUNG
ADULTS
AREN’T LEAVING
THE NEST
AP PHOTO/PETROS GIANNAKOURIS
FLAT DESIGN/SHUTTERSTOCK (WIFI)
ALEXANDER MAK/SHUTTERSTOCK (SOLDIERS)
President Barack Obama and celebrity chef Anthony
Bourdain made a splash on social media with the meal they
shared at a Vietnamese noodle shop during Obama’s 10th
trip to Asia since his inauguration. Their Hanoi interlude,
which came just hours after Obama announced he was
lifting the U.S. arms embargo on Vietnam, will air on a
September episode of Bourdain’s CNN show, “Anthony
Bourdain: Parts Unknown.” Bourdain created a buzz
posting photos and details of their outing for his millions
of social media followers: “Total cost of Bun cha dinner with
the President: $6.00. I picked up the check;” “Low plastic
stool, cheap but delicious noodles, cold Hanoi beer;” “The
President’s chopstick skills are on point.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan referring to Veterans Affairs Secretary
Robert McDonald’s inflammatory comments comparing long
wait times at VA health care facilities to waiting in line at a
Disney amusement park.
Actress and activist Angelina Jolie after being appointed a visiting
professor at the London School of Economics to work with
graduate students at the Center for Women Peace and Security.
Married or
cohabiting
in own
household
Living alone,
single parents,
and other heads
Other living
arrangement
AP PHOTO/CLIFF OWEN
I just get the letters
in my mind.
1880
1940
1960
2014
30%
35%
20%
32.1%
45%
46%
62%
31.6%
3%
22%
14%
3%
5%
16%
13%
22%
Akash Vukoti, 6-year-old spelling protégé from Texas, telling
Vox about his natural talent. Akash, who is the youngest
entrant in this year’s National Spelling Bee, says his favorite
word is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
(a type of lung disease).
12
Maximum hours per day that for-hire drivers—including
taxis, Uber, Lyft, black cars, and limos—would be allowed
to work under proposed rule changes by New York’s Taxi
& Limousine Commission. After the 12-hour limit, drivers
would have to take an 8-hour break.
WHO CREATES THE PROPAGANDA?
The 50 Centers staunchly support the Chinese communist regime in debates about politics online and spread
venom against those who have been declared enemies
of the Party, including dissidents, Tibetans, Falun Gong
practitioners, and others. Their goal is to drown out dissidents rather than engage in meaningful conversation.
WHO ARE THE 50 CENTERS?
The findings of the new study by Gary King and colleagues at Harvard show that 50 Centers are actually
government employees who spam the internet with
hundreds of millions of fake posts meant to distract the
public. The strategy is "way more sophisticated than
anybody realized," King said.
60,00
Number of factory jobs Apple and Samsung supplier
Foxconn replaced with robots at a single factory in China.
Company's cash holdings and percent overseas
APPLE $215.7 billion
$
360B (ORACLE); DENIS LININE (CISCO); TAMISCLAO (APPLE); TANUHA2001 (MICROSOFT, GOOGLE); GOLDEN SIKORKA (PLANE); EKLER/SHUTTERSTOCK (MAP)
Number of ATMs hit by fraudsters making withdrawals
with fake credit cards over a less than 3-hour period in
Japan. The massive scheme netted about $13 million.
A team at Harvard University using a leaked database of online propaganda has analyzed the inside
workings of China's potent propaganda force.
WHAT DO THEY DO?
Percent of 18 to 34-year-olds by living arrangement
Living in
parent(s)
home
INSIDE CHINA'S ONLINE
PROPAGANDA ARMY
Called “50 Centers,” “The 50 Cent Party,” or “The 50 Cent
Army,” members of this group blight message boards
and online forums in China with an incessant barrage of
pro-regime commentary and propaganda. They earn
their title for the presumed wage they earn per post.
They are often the butt of jokes among Internet users.
For the first time since records have been
kept, living with a parent is now the single
most common living arrangement for young
adults (18–34). Dating back to 1880, the most
common arrangement had been living with
a significant other. According to Pew Research
Center, the new trend is fueled by two factors: young
Americans marrying later or not at all, and the weak
job market.
I hope other academic
institutions will follow
this example.
1,400
YURI GRIPAS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
93% overseas
MICROSOFT $102.6 billion
$
US TECH GIANTS
TAKE OFF WITH
HUGE CASH
Just five tech companies are sitting on $504 billion
in cash, which is 30 percent of the $1.7 trillion in cash
held by all non-financial American companies in 2015,
according to a new analysis by ratings agency Moody’s.
Perhaps more significantly, the bulk of this money—
some 72 percent—is kept offshore to avoid U.S.
corporate tax rates. This is a big jump from 64 percent in 2014 and 58 percent in 2013. Moody’s said
that unless U.S. tax laws are changed—which nobody
expects during an election year—these overseas stockpiles will likely continue to grow.
94% overseas
ALPHABET-GOOGLE
$73.1 billion
$
59% overseas
CISCO $60.4 billion
$
94% overseas
ORACLE $52.3 billion
$
87% overseas