The Doomscroll News Report

This week, HANNA IS BACK! But we also had the very special pleasure of speaking with the outgoing Swedish Representative to Taiwan Helena Reitberger about the role of a trade office, how much Sweden and Taiwan really have in common, areas of cooperation, and how people can get involved themselves! We also cover a little bit of everything else this week with a new segment "news salad" to discuss some topcs we didn't have full-discussion time for this week!

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UK Prime Minister Burnham: 1. Why Britain is getting a new prime minister without a general election (Sylvia Hui, AP), 2. Britain's new prime minister, Andy Burnham, vows to end years of instability (Elizabeth Piper, Andrew Macaskill and Alistair Smout, Reuters), 3. Burnham says 20% rate cut for pubs in England is 'first step', as Badenoch asks: 'Is that it?' (BBC)

Iran War escalations: 1. US launches new strikes as Iran warns of regional turmoil (Al Jazeera), 2. Yemen's Houthis attack Saudi tanker as US launches more Iran strikes (Ottilie Mitchell and David Gritten, BBC), 3. Trump escalates threats, vows to target Iranian bridges and power plants (Liz Landers and Daniel Okay, PBS), 4. Pentagon Withheld Dozens of U.S. Military Injuries in Iran War (Eric Schmitt, New York Times)

New York Times subpoena: 1. 3 reporters for The New York Times after admitting legal errors (Michael R. Sisak, Eric Tucker, and Larry Neumeister, AP), U.S. Withdraws Subpoenas Issued to New York Times Journalists (Michael M. Grynbaum and Jonah E. Bromwich, New York Times), 3. Times Journalists Subpoenaed as Trump Escalates Pressure on Media (Michael M. Grynbaum, New York Times)

This week, host Amanda Stephens, is joined by Rti's resident tech specialist Tomasz Koper to discuss the very large and increasingly present question: who owns the rights to use or keep tabs on your image? We'll be looking at a case study in the UK with faical image scanning in big box stores, and from social media last week with Meta's Muse AI image generator.

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Meta's Muse: 1. Meta Now Lets Anyone Use Your Instagram Photos in AI Images—Unless You Opt Out (Reece Rogers, Wired), 2. Introducing Muse Image: Image Generation Built for Your World (Meta press release), 3. Meta scraps AI image feature days after launch following privacy backlash (Natalia Bueno Rebolledo and Mrinmay Dey, Reuters), 4. Meta pulls new AI image feature after days of backlash (Kali Hays, BBC)

UK face scanning: 1. Alarm over launch of facial recognition in UK shops that instantly alerts police (Jessica Murray, The Guardian), 2. Facewatch retail facial recognition to notify police of repeat offender matches (Chris Burt, Biometricupdate.com), 3. Sainsbury's ejects man misidentified as offender (Kateryna Pavlyuk, BBC)

Stanford Law Review: Privacy in the Age of Big Data, A Time for Big Decisions (Omer Tene & Jules Polonetsky)

This week, we'll be discussing China’s newly implemented Ethnic Unity Law, and what that may mean for both members of China's ethnic minorities currently living in China, those living abroad in exile, and journalists covering China and its human rights abuses abroad. We'll also be taking a look at the effects of the Trump administration's defunding and essentially shuttering of Voice of America and Radio Free Asia over a year after its drastic cuts to international programs.

Joining us on the program is an expert in all of those areas, Gulchehra Hoja. She shares with us her experience growing up in East Turkestan, or as China calls it "Xinjiang Province," how she went from a host working for CHinese state media to a reporter for Radio Free Asia, the kind of work that she was able to do in that position, and the devastating and tragic effects the current Trump administration cuts have had. She also gives us her take on the chilling effect China's new legislation is likely to have at home and abroad.

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China's new law: 1. China's new 'ethnic unity' law raises legal risk concerns in Taiwan (Wen Kuei-hsiang, Sophia Yeh, Chen Kai-yu and Sunny Lai , Focus Taiwan), 2. Is China’s new ethnic unity law a step towards forced assimilation? (Einar Tangen, Zumretay Arkin, William Yang, and Mohammed Jamjoom, Al Jazeera’s “Inside Story” podcast)

Hoja's past reporting: 1. Internment Camps in Xinjiang’s Aksu Separated by Crematorium Targeting Uyghur Families, Women & Children , 2. Uyghur refugees face deportation from Kazakhstan, 3. For Uyghur family, a legacy of rootlessness, 4. “Ethnic integration policy” and Uyghur assimilation Forced Labor Investigations

Hoja's book: A Stone is Most Precious Where It Belongs: A Memoir of Uyghur Exile, Hope, and Survival (Gulchehra Hoja)

This week, lonely host Amanda Stephens is joined by returning guest Michelle Chiang to talk about the Japanese politicians stirring the pot by... just being pregnant and taking medical leave? And also how we feel about this year's momentous July 4th as Americans abroad.

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Japaenese politicians and "matahara": 1. A Mayor Is Taking Maternity Leave in Japan. Some Men Are Furious. (Javier C. Hernández and Kiuko Notoya, The New York Times), 2. A mayor in Japan announced her maternity leave - and got the whole country talking (Kurumi Mori, BBC), 3. She’s Upending Japanese Politics With Two Words: ‘I’m Pregnant’ (Javier C. Hernández and Kiuko Notoya, The New York Times)

The Great American Fair: 1. The Great American State Fair Celebrates America, and Trump (Brent McDonald, Whitney Shefte, Caroline Kim and Ben Laffin, NYT videos), 2. Freedom 250 website, the official website of the fair

This week, in Hanna's absence, Amanda discusses current events with fellow Rti-hosts who may have a stake in the global turmoil. First, Michelle Chiang joins to discuss why Starbucks South Korea got a state-mandated history lesson last Monday, then Fil Leskovsky and Eloise Phillips join to discuss Keir Starmer's resignation, and the only member of British politics we all still support.

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Starbucks: 1. Gwangju Biennale honours sacrifice that brought democracy to South Korea (Justin McCurry, The Guardian), 2. How a Starbucks marketing stunt spiralled into mass boycotts in South Korea (Raphael Rashid, The Guardian), 3. Starbucks Korea to temporarily shut all stores for history lesson after bungled coffee promotion (Raphael Rashid, The Guardian), 4. Gwangju Uprising, (Wikipedia)

Keir Starmer: 1. Starmer quits as Labour leader and paves way for contest for new prime minister (Richard Wheeler, BBC), 2. Keir Starmer to step down as prime minister two years after historic election victory (Pippa Crerar, The Guardian),

Larry: 1. Larry the Cat outlasts six British Prime Ministers (Reuters), 2. Literal cat fight breaks out between Downing Street and British Foreign Office (DAN BILEFSKY, The Seattle Times, via The New York Times)

This week hosts Amanda and Hanna are tackling screwworm in the United States, the Iran war again (with a little early guessing about the newly-announced MOU), and wrap up with all the fun interactions taking over our feeds of world-cup travelers discovering a new love for host-cities.

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Screwworm: 1. How Nuclear Flies Protect You from Flesh-Eating Parasites (Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell/ Youtube), 2. Flesh-eating screwworm has reached the US — a comeback driven by organized crime (Max Saltman, CNN), 3. Political blame game follows as screwworm parasite threatens cattle in Texas (Jeffery Collins and AP, PBS), 4. Screwworm spread tests US readiness after Trump staffing cuts (Nathaniel Weixel, The Hill)

Middle East MOU: 1. Inside Trump’s New Deal with Iran ( Rachel Abrams and David E. Sanger, The New York Times' Podcast "The Daily"), 2. Trump says the US and Iran have signed a deal to end the war - as it happened (Kylie MacLellan, Farouq Suleiman, Dagmarah Mackos and Zoe Law, Reuters), 3. Oil and gas unlikely to return to prewar prices for months even if Hormuz reopens (Jillian Ambrose, The Guardian), 4. Iran declares victory and Israel holds its ground as US framework deal faces first test (Aleksandar Brezar, Euronews)

Fifa interactions: 1. FIFA World Cup Fans Visiting America Are Going Viral for the Most Wholesome Reasons (Liz Kocan, CNET)

Hanna and Amanda talk about the way the internet has become fuel for fanning the flame of extremist movements and actions and when it's time to call a spade a spade. We also talk about how everyone can't stop talking about AI, often to the wrong crowds; even the Pope has written new religious doctrine about getting it under control.

This week, hosts Amanda and Hanna talk stocks-- or try to-- as they cover what it means for SpaceX and other AI companies going public on the stock market. Then a review of what's happening in Iran, and the ceasefires (or less-fires?) in the middle east, the pressure Trump is facing domestically to end the war, and wrap up with a fun new animal look-alike in the New Delhi zoo.

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Stocks: 1. 8 Things To Know Before SpaceX Goes Public (Joel Shulman and Sophia Acevedo, Forbes), 2. How Elon Musk Engineered the World’s biggest I.P.O. (Ryan Mac and Michael Barbaro, NYT "The Daily" Podcast), 3. Can the stockmarket swallow Anthropic, SpaceX and OpenAI? (The Economist), 4. Anthropic IPO and Alphabet stock offering reminiscent of dot.com bubble – expert (The Independent UK Finance, via Yahoo)

Iran: 1. 'Crazy' phone call between Trump and Netanyahu complicates Iran talks (Bernd Debusmann Jr, BBC), 2. Israel and Lebanon agree to implement ceasefire if Hezbollah stops attacks (David GrittenandHelen Sullivan, BBC), 3. US House delivers rebuke to Trump as it votes to halt Iran war (Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu, BBC), 4. Ukraine hit by large-scale Russian attacks (CNN, via Reuters), 5. Hezbollah rejects new Israel-Lebanon ceasefire (DW News, Youtube)

Zoo lookalike: 1. Buffalo named Donald Trump for his golden locks is a sensation at a Bangladesh zoo (Al Emrun Garjon and Julhas Alam, AP)

Hosts Hanna and Amanda tackle the heatwaves that struck near the end of May, why that may be one of MANY problems for the very-quickly-upcoming FIFA games, and what even happened with the so-called "Enhanced Games."

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Heat wave:

FIFA controversies:

Enhanced Games:

This week, hosts Amanda and Hanna discuss the ripple effects of the Trump-Xi summit, the Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda, and media reforms in Hungary after Orban's depature and why they may actually give us... hope?

Trump-Xi Summit: 1. What was actually achieved at Trump and Xi’s ‘stalemate summit’ in Beijing? (Amy Hawkins, The Guardian), 2. Trump warns Taiwan against declaring independence, hours after summit with China's Xi (Ian Aikman, BBC), 3. MOFA response to US President Trump’s comments to the media following the Trump-Xi summit (Taiwan’s MOFA), 4. Taiwan will not provoke conflict nor give up sovereignty, says president (Koh Ewe, BBC), 5. Trump claims he will speak to Taiwan’s president, departing from decades-long diplomatic norms (Alastair McCready and other agencies, The Guardian)

Ebola outbreak: 1. Ebola outbreak may be spreading faster than first thought, WHO doctor warns (BBC News Youtube), 2. A rare Ebola strain is spreading with no vaccine. Here's what you need to know (Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR), 3. US funding cuts have hampered response to the deadly Ebola crisis, aid workers say (Lauren Kent and Jennifer Hansler, CNN)

Hungarian Media: 1. Orban's media empire crumbles after Hungary election defeat (Anita Komuves, Reuters)