[Jack Aylmer]

THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION IS REPORTEDLY REMOVING ITS SUPPORT FOR A CAP ON PLASTIC PRODUCTION. 

GOVERNMENTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD ARE SET TO COME TOGETHER IN BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA MONDAY, FOR THE FIFTH AND FINAL ROUND OF NEGOTIATIONS FOR A UNITED NATIONS  GLOBAL TREATY TO END PLASTIC POLLUTION. 

GRIST REPORTS WHITE HOUSE STAFFERS TOLD ADVOCACY GROUPS LAST WEEK THEY NO LONGER SEE A MANDATORY PRODUCTION CAP AS A REALISTIC POSSIBILITY.

INSTEAD, THE STAFFERS SUGGEST A FLEXIBLE APPROACH WHERE COUNTRIES WOULD SET THEIR OWN VOLUNTARY TARGETS FOR REDUCING PLASTIC PRODUCTION. 

ACCORDING TO FAST COMPANY, THIS GOES AGAINST A SIMILAR MEETING IN AUGUST WHERE THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION MENTIONED SUPPORTING THE LIMITING OF PLASTIC PRODUCTION JOINING COUNTRIES LIKE NORWAY AND PERU. 

A SPOKESPERSON FOR THE WHITE HOUSE COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY NOW TELLING GRIST THEY BELIEVE THERE ARE DIFFERENT WAYS TO ACHIEVE THE REDUCTION WHICH COULD INCLUDE A TAX ON PLASTIC PRODUCTION. 

THE WORLD WILDLIFE FUND SAYS OVER 90 PERCENT OF THE PLASTIC THAT POLLUTES OUR PLANET IS MADE UP OF SINGLE USE PLASTICS LIKE PLASTIC BAGS AND CUTLERY … AND MICROPLASTICS LIKE WHAT’S ADDED TO COSMETIC PRODUCTS.

SOME COUNTRIES AND ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS ARGUE THAT VOLUNTARY TARGETS WON’T BE ENOUGH TO CURB POLLUTION AND SAY THE U-S BACKING OUT COULD WEAKEN THE TREATY.

OIL EXPORTING NATIONS WANT TO FOCUS MORE ON RECYCLING AND WASTE MANAGEMENT INSTEAD OF DIRECTLY CURBING NEW PLASTIC CREATION, WHICH COULD IMPACT THEIR BOTTOM LINE IN THE PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY.

FOR SAN – I’M JACK ALYMER.

FOR ALL YOUR LATEST NEWS HEADLINES – DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP TODAY.

[Lauren Taylor]

RESEARCHERS ESTIMATE 136 MILLION ADULTS OR ABOUT HALF THE U-S ADULT POPULATION ARE ELIGIBLE FOR SEMAGLUTIDE SHOTS LIKE OZEMPIC OR WEGOVY, ACCORDING TO A NEW STUDY PUBLISHED IN JAMA NETWORK THIS WEEK.

NEARLY 26,000 ADULTS PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY WHICH FOUND 8,504 HUNDRED OF THEM WERE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE SEMAGLUTIDE SHOTS FOR DIABETES, WEIGHT MANAGEMENT AND-OR PREVENTING CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE.

SEMAGLUTIDE SHOTS TREAT TYPE 2 DIABETES BY INCREASING AN INDIVIDUAL’S  INSULIN LEVELS, ACCORDING TO THE MAYO CLINIC, AND MAY BE USED FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

RESEARCHERS FOUND THE MEAN AGE TO BE 50.7 YEARS AND 49.1% WERE WOMEN. THEY ALSO ESTIMATE “THAT MORE THAN 39 MILLION ADULTS QUALIFY FOR INDICATIONS OTHER THAN WEIGHT MANAGEMENT ALONE, A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE OVER THE ESTIMATED 15 MILLION CURRENTLY TAKING” THE MEDICATION.

NEARLY 40 MILLION ADULTS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THE MEDICATION TO TREAT DIABETES OR A SECONDARY PREVENTION OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE.

THE STUDY’S AUTHORS SAY BASED ON THEIR CALCULATIONS NEARLY 4.3 MILLION INDIVIDUALS WITHOUT DIABETES BUT WITH CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE MAY GAIN COVERAGE FOR THE MEDICATION.

THE RESEARCHERS SAY MORE THAN HALF OF US ADULTS WHO HAVE ALREADY TAKEN SEMAGLUTIDE MEDICATION SHARED THAT AFFORDABILITY OF THE MEDICATION IS A BARRIER TO ACCESSING IT AND THAT THERE SHOULD BE AN INCREASED EFFORT TO PROMOTE EQUITABLE ACCESS FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED THE MEDICATION.

THE MAYO CLINIC LISTS A SLEW OF SIDE EFFECTS OF TAKING SEMAGLUTIDE MEDICATION WHICH CAN INCLUDE: BELCHING, EXCESS AIR OR GAS IN INTESTINES, STOMACH PAIN, BLURRED VISION, CONFUSION, LACK OF APPETITE, NAUSEA, VOMITING AMONG OTHERS.

[Simone Del Rosario]

It’s official. The U.S. government wants to break up Google. But will the same hold true when the White House changes hands in January?

Back in August, a federal judge ruled Google illegally maintained a monopoly in internet search. This gave the Department of Justice a major antitrust victory in a case that actually started during the first Trump administration. 

Now, the Biden DOJ says competition cannot be restored unless Google is forced to sell off Chrome, its dominant web browser. 

Judge Amit Mehta set a two-week hearing on remedies for April – when President-elect Donald Trump will be back in charge of the DOJ. 

Bill Kovacic: The new administration could come forward and say, ‘We mentioned a breakup. We don’t have the enthusiasm for it that we did before. Of course, Judge, if you thought it was appropriate, that’s your call. It’s not ours. You are ultimately the decision maker about remedy, but our view is that it’s no longer required, and we’re not asking for it.’

Simone Del Rosario: Ok, so that’s a possibility. What has Trump said about it all? While he’s certainly no fan of Big Tech or Google, he has so far sidestepped calling for a breakup. 

Donald Trump: I think Google’s rigged just like our government is rigged all over the place.

Bloomberg EIC: So you would break them up, in other words. 

Donald Trump: I’d do something. You have to have, look, I give them a lot of credit. They’ve become such a power, such a power, and you’ve got to give them credit for that. How they become a power is really the discussion. At the same time, it’s a very dangerous thing because we want to have great companies, we don’t want China to have these companies. 

Bill Kovacic: He said that he might not be fond of a breakup, that Google’s an important company. Don’t want to injure them in some way. I don’t know if that was a well-considered view about remedies, but his nominee to head the Department of Justice, Matt Gaetz, has said, breakup sounds good to me when it comes to this company. And the Vice President-elect Vance has said, breaking them up sounds good to me too. So it seems within the upper echelon of the Trump brain trust that there’s a lot of enthusiasm for going through with the structural remedy.

Simone Del Rosario: Google is appealing the ruling, telling Straight Arrow News, “The DOJ cotinues to push a radical agenda that goes far beyond the legal issues in this case. The government putting its thumb on the scale in these ways would harm consumers, developers and American technological leadership at precisely the moment it is most needed.” 

Bill Kovacic: We haven’t had something like this in ages, that is, to have the elaborate discussion of what antitrust law should do after a finding of liability in this kind of setting, Google has the opportunity to come forward and say, ‘You wanted an extraordinary form of intervention. We have something that is much better, equally effective and not as disruptive.’

Simone Del Rosario: The last time antitrust officials tried to break up a Big Tech company of this magnitude, it was Microsoft in the late ’90s and early 2000s. In the end, through a convoluted appeals process, the DOJ eventually backed off its call to break up Microsoft and settled for a lesser antitrust penalty. 

Bill Kovacic: A big part of the task of the Justice Department in the coming months, if they want a breakup, is to give the judge assurances that it’s worth doing. A number of judges in the past have said, I’m a single unelected official bearing the burden of determining the future of an important sector that makes me nervous. I’m willing to travel the path that the government suggests, but I want assurances that it is the right path.

Simone Del Rosario: For more on what Google has been accused of and potential fixes that involve Android and more, search “Google Monopoly” for this story with all the Google apps at SAN.com and the Straight Arrow News app. 

[Karah Rucker]

ARE WE SEEING A REVOLUTION TAKE SHAPE IN THE NEWS INDUSTRY?

WITH A MIX OF MIS-TRUST – A DECLINE IN LEGACY TV VIEWERSHIP AND REVENUE –

– ALL IN A WORLD MORE PLUGGED INTO PHONES THAN THE TELEVISION –

NEWS COMPANIES ARE SHIFTING STRATEGY –

TARGETING THE DIGITAL NEWS CONSUMER.

BUT THE NEWS **BUSINESS MODEL – IS STILL FIGURING OUT HOW TO MAKE MONEY –

TRANSITIONING FROM TV ADVERTISING TO ONLINE PAYWALLS.

BUT ARE PEOPLE ACTUALLY SUBSCRIBING?

AND WHERE ARE PEOPLE TURNING IF THEY WANT TO CONSUME NEWS WITHOUT PULLING OUT THEIR WALLET.

ACCORDING TO A NEW SURVEY –

ONLY 12 PERCENT OF VOTERS SAY THEY HAVE PAID TO SUBSCRIBE TO AT LEAST ONE NEWS SOURCE.

DESPITE THIS LOW NUMBER OF PAID SUBSCRIBERS IN THE COUNTRY –

SEVERAL BIG-NAME NEWS OUTLETS ARE TRYING THEIR HAND AT IT –

BANKING ON THAT NUMBER GROWING.

CNN MADE THE SWITCH LAST MONTH –

AFTER A FEW FREE ARTICLES, A USER IS ASKED TO SUBSCRIBE.

{FAST GFX ARTICLE PULL GFX}

IN CNN’S OWN ARTICLE ABOUT THE ANNOUNCEMENT –

THEY WROTE –

“For brands like CNN that make most of their money from cable television, the challenge is clear: to develop new digital revenue streams that can offset declines in legacy TV.”

REUTERS DID THE SAME.

LAST MONTH – ACTIVATING ITS PAYWALL.

SAYING IN ITS ARTICLE –

“This new subscription plan ensures Reuters can expand the reach of its award-winning coverage at an affordable price, while allowing us to further invest in our reporting and products for subscribers.”

THEY JOINED A CROWDED FIELD.

ACCORDING TO A REUTERS INSTITUTE STUDY –

75 PERCENT OF AMERICA’S LEADING NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES ARE BEHIND PAYWALLS.

30 PERCENT OF ALL NEWS SITES USE PAYWALLS.

BUT THAT STUDY ALSO FOUND 80 PERCENT OF AMERICANS ARE UNINTERESTED IN EVER PAYING TO READ THE NEWS.

THE DIGITAL-FIRST MEDIA APPROACH – HAS BEEN COSTLY FOR SOME COMPANIES.

THIS YEAR – THE BBC ANNOUNCED ITS NIXING 500 FULL TIME POSITIONS.

DISNEY’S ABC TV STATIONS LAID OFF 3 PERCENT OF THE NEWS DIVISION.

CNN CUT 3 PERCENT.

THE LA TIMES CUT 20 PERCENT OF ITS NEWSROOM.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BEING THE MOST RECENT TO ANNOUNCE AN 8 PERCENT STAFF REDUCTION.

THE AP SAID IN A STATEMENT –

Our customers — both who they are and what they need from us — are changing rapidly. This is why we’ve focused on delivering a digital-first news report. We now need to accelerate on this path. Doing so will require making some difficult changes so we can invest more fully in our future.”

SOME media analysts ARE SUGGESTING THE MOVE TO HAVING CONSUMERS PAY FOR NEWS –

WHILE POLLS SUGGEST PEOPLE AREN’T DOING THAT –

COULD ALSO BE SACRIFICING THE QUALITY OF NEWS PEOPLE ARE CONSUMING IN THEIR SEARCH FOR TRUSTWORTHY AND FREE CONTENT.

POLLSTER AND STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS OPINION CONTRIBUTOR FRANK LUNTZ –

POSTED ON X –

“ONLY 12 PERCENT OF VOTERS PAY FOR NEWS. KEEP THIS IN MIND WHEN YOU’RE WONDERING WHY MISINFORMATION SPREADS SO RAPIDLY, WHILE THE ARTICLES AND POSTS THAT DEBUNK IT CAN’T SEEM TO MAKE A DENT.”

THE ATLANTIC – A LEFT-LEANING NEWS ORGANIZATION – ALSO WROTE ABOUT THE FALL OF CREDIBLE NEWS CONSUMPTION IN A WORLD WHERE NEWS IS LOCKED BEHIND PAYWALLS. 

BUT IT’S PIECE TITLED “DEMOCRACY DIES BEHIND PAYWALLS” –

WAS BEHIND A PAYWALL.

THE FOUNDER OF A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION “FIRST DRAFT” THAT FOCUSES ON MISINFORMATION –

TOLD BOSTON’S NPR STATION THAT PEOPLE AREN’T PAYING FOR NEWS –

SAYING THIS BUSINESS MODEL – IS LEADING PEOPLE FURTHER AWAY FROM THE INDUSTRY.  

“When people go and search on google, they’re just not able to open the link at sites that have fact-checked information. 

“There’s now this “like what’s the point, ugh, i know what’s going to happen when i click on that link. So we know that people are turning to one another for information, they’re spending more time on social media platforms where there are other people that will give that information for free, they’re spending more time listening to podcasts, and so they’re relying on these closed sources of people who look like them, sound like them, and gives them information that enforces their world views.”

IF YOU’VE MADE IT THIS FAR IN OUR REPORT DISSECTING A TRANSFORMING MEDIA SPACE – THANK YOU FOR WATCHING OUR STORY.

YOU’LL NOTICE WHEREVER YOU FOUND US – WHETHER IT BE ON OUR WEBSITE OR YOUTUBE –

YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO PAY FOR IT.

WHILE OUR INDUSTRY IS NO DOUBT FACING WOES –

WE LOOK AT IT AS AN OPPORTUNITY.

WE’RE ON A MISSION TO PROVE THERE IS STILL MEANINGFUL JOURNALISM OUT THERE.

MANY OF US HERE AT S-A-N INCLUDING MYSELF LEFT LEGACY NEWS TO TRY AND REACH VIEWERS WHO ARE LEAVING TRADITIONAL NEWS TOO.

DO ME A FAVOR SINCE YOU’VE GOTTEN THIS FAR.

TRY OUT OUR MOBILE NEWS APP – IT’S FREE IN YOUR PHONE’S APP STORE.

CHECK OUT MORE OF OUR CONTENT –

BASED ON UNBIASED, STRAIGHT FACT REPORTING.

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT ON THIS MISSION.

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS, I’M KARAH RUCKER.

[ryan robertson]

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN SAYS HE’S OPEN TO DISCUSSING A CEASEFIRE IN UKRAINE WITH PRESIDENT ELECT DONALD TRUMP, BUT ONLY UNDER STRICT CONDITIONS.

PUTIN’S PROPOSAL WOULD FREEZE THE CONFLICT ALONG CURRENT FRONT LINES, ALLOWING RUSSIA TO HOLD ONTO SIGNIFICANT TERRITORY, INCLUDING CRIMEA AND LARGE PARTS OF DONETSK, LUHANSK, ZAPORIZHZHIA, AND KHERSON REGIONS. ALTOGETHER, IT’S AN AREA ABOUT THE SIZE OF VIRGINIA, AND MAKES UP CLOSE TO 20% OF UKRAINE’S TERRITORY. THE AREA ALSO INCLUDES VITAL LAND ROUTES TO CRIMEA. HOWEVER, PUTIN RULED OUT RETURNING CRIMEA OR MAKING MAJOR TERRITORIAL CONCESSIONS. OH, AND HE’S ALSO DEMANDING UKRAINE ABANDON ITS NATO AMBITIONS.

RUSSIA’S TERMS REPORTEDLY INCLUDE LIMITS ON UKRAINE’S MILITARY SIZE AND GUARANTEES TO PROTECT THE USE OF THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE. WHILE MOSCOW SAYS IT’S WILLING TO OFFER SECURITY GUARANTEES TO UKRAINE, IT INSISTS NATO MUST STAY OUT OF THE COUNTRY ENTIRELY.

THE KREMLIN’S POSITION REFLECTS ITS BROADER GOAL OF SECURING TERRITORIAL GAINS AND COUNTERING WHAT IT SEES AS NATO’S ENCROACHMENT–EVEN THOUGH NATO MEMBERS JOIN THE ALLIANCE VOLUNTARILY. PUTIN FRAMED THE CONFLICT AS A TURNING POINT IN RESISTING WESTERN INFLUENCE IN RUSSIA’S SPHERE OF CONTROL.

THE POTENTIAL TALKS COULD RESEMBLE A 2022 DRAFT AGREEMENT DISCUSSED DURING THE ISTANBUL NEGOTIATIONS. THAT PLAN SUGGESTED UKRAINIAN NEUTRALITY IN EXCHANGE FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY GUARANTEES FROM U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. BUT KYIV REMIANS FIRM, DEMANDING FULL TERRITORIAL SOVEREIGNTY, INCLUDING THE RETURN OF CRIMEA.

ALL OF THIS ISN’T HAPPENING IN A VACCUUM. REPORTS FROM THE FRONTLINES SHOW THE FIGHTING IS GROWING MORE INTENSE. RUSSIA ADVANCED MORE RAPIDLY THIS YEAR THAN AT ANY POINT SINCE THE EARLY DAYS OF THE WAR.
THE KREMLIN SAYS IT WILL CONTINUE MILITARY OPERATIONS IF NO CEASEFIRE IS REACHED. WITH PUTIN HOLDING DECISIVE CONTROL OVER ANY NEGOTIATIONS, A TEMPORARY TRUCE MIGHT BE POSSIBLE, HOWEVER MOST ANALYSTS AGREE A LONG-TERM PEACE DEAL REMAINS UNLIKELY.

FOR MORE OF OUR UNBIASED, STRAIGHT FACT REPORTING – BE SURE TO DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP TODAY, OR LOG ON TO SAN.COM.