In a new initiative aimed at raising funds for global conservation efforts, nature now has its own artist page on Spotify. This endeavor from the “Sounds Right” project is backed by the United Nations, with a goal of utilizing music as a tool for protecting and restoring the environment.

The project curates a playlist featuring songs that incorporate sounds from nature such as rainfall, animal calls or gusts of wind. The playlist also includes tracks from artists like David Bowie, Ellie Goulding and V from BTS. Just like any other musician on the audio streaming platform, “NATURE” will receive royalties based on the number of listens generated.

Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.

Point phone camera here

Half of the royalties that NATURE’s artist page brings in will be allocated to the environmental nonprofit charity EarthPercent. The group will then distribute the funds to various conservation initiatives around the world.

Sounds Right has identified organizations for potential funding which operate in the regions of India, Indo-Burma, Myanmar, Philippines, Atlantic Forest, Tropical Andes, Madagascar, the Indian Ocean Islands and Sundaland. Forbes estimated that this initiative could generate more than $40 million over the next four years.

Over that span, the Sounds Right project hopes to reach more than 600 million individual listeners. Following its launch on April 18, the initiative already garnered more than 2.5 million listeners in its first month of operation alone.

Apple’s latest ad faced swift backlash on social media. In a bid to promote its new ultra-thin iPads, the tech giant debuted a spot featuring an industrial press crushing creative products on Tuesday, May 7. The ad suggests that the tasks performed by these objects can now be achieved by the new iPad.

While Apple CEO Tim Cook touted the ad’s creativity, it did not sit well with many on social media. Critics took to X, formerly Twitter, criticizing the commercial for being “destructive” and “out of touch.”

Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.

Point phone camera here

Reactions varied. Some users called for the ad to be pulled and re-edited. Others like Adam Singer, vice president of marketing at AdQuick, called it a “perfect metaphor for today’s creative dark age.”

Eric Newcomer criticized Apple for running a commercial that seemingly devalues its own products.

“Can’t believe Apple ran such an out of touch commercial that treats devices Steve Jobs would have cherished as trash,” Newcomer said.

The criticism was bipartisan.

“Are you trying to run your company into the ground? This makes me never want to buy iProducts ever ever ever [sic] again,” Conservative columnist Quin Hillyer wrote in a critique of Apple.

“‘Crushing Obsolete Creativity.’ Is that really the message you want to pass on? Seriously?” a user displaying “#FreePalestine” next to their X logo wrote.

Even comparisons to Apple’s iconic 1984 ad emerged, with one user noting a stark contrast between the two eras: from exploding conformity to crushing vibrancy.

However, not everyone was critical. Some defended Apple, dismissing the outrage as overblown.

“Man, oh man! People will seriously complain about any little thing nowadays!! It was just a commercial,” wrote one user. “Seriously, get off your computer, or put down your phone (which is probably an iPhone…) and get outside, and take a breath… #ItsNotThatBad.”

The ad controversy comes as questions arise about the company’s direction, especially with reports of underperforming products like the Apple Vision Pro and lagging sales in the China market.

In an effort to curb the transmission of rabies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is implementing new regulations for dogs arriving in the United States from abroad. Beginning Aug. 1, all incoming dogs must be at least six months old and have a microchip. The announcement came from the CDC on Wednesday, May 1.

Additionally, dogs from countries where rabies is common must be vaccinated against the disease. These measures will replace a temporary order from 2021. The order stopped the entrance of canines from more than 100 nations where rabies is still common.

Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.

Point phone camera here

The choice of six months as a minimum age requirement aligns with the age at which dogs can receive their first rabies vaccination. Microchipping serves as a way that officials can verify the rabies vaccination status of dogs. Microchips can also confirm that owners completed the CDC import form.

These updated regulations mark the first significant change to CDC dog entrance policies since 1956. The change comes amidst a rise in international pet travel and an increasing number of rescue organizations and breeders operating outside U.S. borders. However, widespread vaccination efforts in the 1970s eradicated the strain of rabies typically associated with dogs in the U.S.

Since 2015, there have only been four incidents of rabies-infected dogs entering the country. CDC officials blamed an uptick on incomplete or fake rabies vaccination certificates.

The CDC cautions that, depending on a dog’s history of travel, a blood test might be required to confirm immunity to rabies. Fake vaccination records have become more common amongst owners of young dogs under six months old.

However, the CDC’s move has faced criticism. Animal welfare advocate Jennifer Skiff, speaking to The Associated Press, presented the challenges faced by diplomats and military personnel in meeting these requirements, sometimes forcing them to leave their dogs behind. She called the new regulations unwarranted and excessively costly.

In Italy, where food is deeply intertwined with the nation’s cultural identity, a new government proposal may require Italians to pay more on their energy bills in order to support the farms that make the nation’s world-renowned culinary scene possible. Rome is attempting to place restrictions on the installation of solar panels in areas designated as agricultural land in a move that energy companies say will drive up electricity costs for consumers.

Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.

Point phone camera here

The warning of higher energy prices stems from concerns that the new limitations will hinder the installation of large-scale solar farms. Italy already faces a shortage of large solar farms, which contributes to increased renewable energy costs across the country. Power generated from larger solar installations costs a third of what electricity from residential rooftop systems charge. Those large installations can also produce triple the energy of a rooftop plant with the same amount of investment.

Approximately 42% of Italy’s land is classified as agricultural land. This potentially limits the available space for more expansive solar energy infrastructure. This raised concerns among environmentalists, who fear that the new regulations could jeopardize Italy’s 2030 emission reduction goals.

Solar is one of Italy’s largest sources of renewable power. It supplies about 10% of the nation’s total electricity. Green energy advocates worry the new limitations on solar expansion will cause the country to fall short of producing the necessary power from clean sources that it needs in order to retire coal plants in the next decade. However, Italian Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said the government remains committed to reducing its carbon footprint and this plan will not impact those emissions targets.

The proposed regulations still allow for the installation of solar panels over agricultural fields and vineyards, a practice known as dual-use solar. This approach enables the land to serve multiple purposes by generating power during periods of sunlight while allowing crops to continue growing.

Tensions are mounting as French President Emmanuel Macron suggested to The Economist that he might send troops to Ukraine if Russia breaks through the front lines. Macron warned that a Russian victory could prompt further aggression in Europe. In response, Russia has stated that any French soldiers deployed would be considered legitimate targets.

Amid these rising tensions, Russia has reiterated its warning that Ukraine’s newly acquired F-16 fighter jets will be viewed as a “nuclear-capable” threat. The Russian Foreign Ministry has described the deployment of F-16s as a “purposeful provocation” by the U.S. and NATO, cautioning that any aggression towards Crimea could lead to severe retaliation.

Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.

Point phone camera here

The F-16 jets — provided by Western allies to update Ukraine’s aging Soviet-era fleet — aim to boost Ukraine’s military capabilities with longer range and improved maneuverability. The jets will be compatible with U.S. weaponry previously supplied to Ukraine, such as the AIM-9M Sidewinder missile and the AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile, which target enemy radar equipment.

Ukraine’s military, which has been training with the F-16s since November of last year, plans to deploy them soon. Despite the Fighting Falcon’s capability to be outfitted with nuclear weapons, Ukraine does not possess a nuclear arsenal. Currently, there is no indication that nuclear-armed nations plan to arm Ukraine with such weapons.

However, former U.S. military pilots are skeptical about the impact of F-16 jets on the conflict, noting that Russia has deployed advanced air-defense systems like the S-400, which pose a significant challenge to the F-16s, beyond those encountered in past conflicts.

According to the open-source intelligence site Oryx, which verifies losses with visual evidence, Ukraine has lost at least 85 combat aircraft since the invasion began.

For the media, Election Day is one of the most popular days for reporting. News outlets often plan for it months, even years, in advance. However, a new Associated Press poll found most Americans don’t trust the media to do its job properly on its biggest night of the year.

Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.

Point phone camera here

The poll shows that 53% of Americans are “extremely” or “very concerned” that news organizations will report misinformation or inaccurate results during the election. Meanwhile, 30% reported being “somewhat concerned.”

About 47% of Americans also believe news outlets won’t verify or fact-check information before airing it. Another 44% believe the news outlets will be biased in how they announce results on Nov. 5.

Only one in 10 said “they have a great deal of confidence” in the media on election night.

It’s not only the media’s election coverage Americans are skeptical of. As a whole, Americans’ trust in the news is at a historic low.

Polls show that 32% of Americans say they have confidence in the media. The only other time in history that levels were so low was during the presidential election of 2016.

While most Americans said they doubt they’ll hear honest reporting on election night, interest in even tuning in is also down. According to an NBC poll, Americans who say they “have a high interest” in the 2024 election is at a 20-year low.

One-third of adults under the age of 30 are following the presidential race while two-thirds of older adults said they are.

Straight Arrow News understands Americans’ burn out on traditional media. There are known biases in traditional and popular networks. Fox News leans right. CNN leans left. SAN doesn’t try to hide media bias. Instead, we highlight it with a Media Miss™ tool so people can get a clear picture on what perspective they will get, depending on the news source reporting a story.

The Biden administration confirmed it paused shipments of ammunition to Israel amid fears of a potential ground invasion near the Gaza border city of Rafah. Republicans demanded answers following this development.

Last month, Congress passed a $95 billion foreign aid package for Israel and Ukraine. The package allocated $15 billion for the Israeli military.

Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.

Point phone camera here

According to U.S. officials, the administration halted the shipment of 3,500 bombs to apply pressure on Israeli leadership. The White House expressed concerns that Israel could use the weapons its offensive in Rafah. Over 1 million Palestinians sought refuge in the city amidst the Israel-Hamas conflict.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., accused the president of appeasing what he termed Biden’s “radical anti-Semitic base.”

“It is time for the Biden administration to stop holding up that aid to Israel,” Scalise said. “Congress came together in a very bipartisan way to pass that much-needed relief so that they can go out and root out a terrorist organization who killed Israelis, who killed Americans, who still has about 130 hostages that they’re holding. And the Biden administration is going to hold up the aid to Israel?”

Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Ted Budd, R-N.C., penned a letter to the Biden administration, demanding to know why Congress was not notified of the decision to delay the weapons shipment.

In the letter, Republicans asked for clarification on why the Biden administration withheld aid without informing Congress, whether there are plans to withhold aid in the future and how delaying aid helps Israel defend itself from terrorists.

The decision to postpone the weapons shipment follows President Biden’s repeated assurances since Oct. 7 that he stands with Israel. Biden emphasized his commitment to Israel’s security when signing the military aid package into law.

“My commitment to Israel, I want to make clear again, is ironclad,” Biden stated two weeks ago. “The security of Israel is critical. We’ll always make sure Israel has what it needs to defend itself against Iran and terrorists it supports.”

In February, Biden issued a memorandum stipulating that recipients of U.S. military aid must adhere to U.S. laws. The Biden administration is set to deliver its verdict to Congress on Wednesday, May 8, regarding whether Israel violated international or U.S. laws when it conducted airstrikes on Gaza or withheld humanitarian aid for Palestinians.

If Israel is found to have violated U.S. laws, Biden could face increased pressure from Democratic lawmakers to continue withholding military aid to the Jewish state.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. revealed in a 2012 deposition — as part of his divorce proceedings from his second wife — that he had experienced a parasitic worm eating part of his brain. The finding was first reported by the New York Times on Wednesday, May 8.

Kennedy said that it occurred in 2010, causing memory loss and mental fogginess. At first, doctors suspected a tumor upon finding a dark spot on his brain scans, but one doctor offered a different diagnosis: a dead parasite.

Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.

Point phone camera here

Kennedy claimed the abnormality was discovered in his scans was due to “a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died.” He speculated that the infection may have been contracted during a trip to South Asia.

Around the same time, Kennedy reported suffering from mercury poisoning due to his heavy diet of tuna and perch, both fish known to carry high levels of mercury. Kennedy claimed that he had mercury levels in his body 10 times higher than the recommended amount by the Environmental Protection Agency. Medical experts suggest mercury poisoning could have been the more likely cause of Kennedy memory loss and brain fog.

Infectious disease experts interviewed by The New York Times suggested that based on Kennedy’s descriptions, the parasite was likely a pork tapeworm larva, although they did not treat Kennedy directly.

Tapeworms usually reside in the stomach and intestines, according to the Mayo Clinic. However, the Mayo Clinic does state that it is possible for tapeworms to migrate out of human intestines. In India, a teenager died in 2019 after being infected with tapeworms after the parasite formed cysts in his brain. The brain infection is known as neurocysticercosis and results in around 2,000 hospitalizations a year in the United States.

An expert on parasites at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln said once the worm is in the brain, cells calcify around it, which can mimic a tumor on brain scans. The calcification likely remains in the brain forever.

Doctors concluded that Kennedy’s cyst contained the “remains of the parasite.” Kennedy said he has since had it monitored and said there are no changes.

Kennedy also said that he has since recovered from the mercury poisoning after treatment and has no lingering symptoms of memory loss or mental fogginess. However, he has had other health issues in the past, including heart problems and hepatitis C.

When asked by the NYT if his health could impact his capacity to be president, Kennedy’s campaign spokesperson dismissed the notion, saying, “That is a hilarious suggestion, given the competition.”

Doctors do caution that treated parasitic infections and mercury poisoning can lead to permanent brain damage, although full recovery is possible.