Issue 9
December 15, 2023
1 House passes defense bill
2 Defense bill extends government surveillance powers
3 "Donut effect" reshaping America's cities
4 China launches secret spy space plane, US delayed
5 Oil demand falls ‘drastically’
6 New lunar geologic age
1791 Bill of Rights ratified
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1 House passes defense bill devoid of culture-war items
The House, in a decisive vote Thursday, passed the annual defense policy bill, delivering a bipartisan rebuke to its most conservative members who had sought to infuse the legislation with a wishlist of provisions to undo Pentagon policies encompassing abortion access, diversity and LGBTQ+ rights.
The $886 billion, 3000 page National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was approved by a vote of 310-118. The bill passed the Senate on Wednesday night and will now proceed to President Biden to be signed into law. (Washington Post)
2 Defense bill also includes short-term extension of controversial government surveillance powers
The new bill includes a short-term extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Surveillance Act through April 19th (CNN, Politico)
3 "Donut effect" reshaping America's cities
The most pronounced dynamic shaping U.S. cities heading into 2024 is "the donut effect" — a hollowing of the urban core as people, jobs and retailers flee to the suburbs and exurbs. For all the talk of 2023 being the year of downtown recovery, the reality looks more like a swirl of experiments in how to attract residents, commuters and visitors to cities where the pulse beats differently than it did pre-pandemic. (Axios)
Editors note: Exurbia rising
4 China launches secret spy space plane, US delayed
China launched its secret space plane for a third time on Thursday, while the US Space Force is still waiting for its X-37B to get off the pad after multiple delays. (South China Morning Post)
5 Oil demand falls ‘drastically’, OPEC+ market share shrinks
Opec+ now controls barely half of global oil production as demand growth slows “drastically” and US output reaches new highs. The International Energy Agency said recent production cuts to prop up the oil price have reduced the market share of Opec+ to just 51 per cent — the lowest since the expanded cartel was set up in 2016. (FT)
6 Human artifacts on surface of moon leads to new lunar geologic age: scientists
A new geological epoch has begun on the moon, which reflects the fact that humans are now the biggest influence on the lunar surface. The researchers named the moon's new epoch the "Lunar Anthropocene."
"Cultural processes are starting to outstrip the natural background of geological processes on the moon," Justin Holcomb, a postdoctoral archaeology researcher at the University of Kansas and lead author of a new paper, said in a statement. (Live Science)
This day in history
1791 Bill of Rights ratified
