do you have the zara death pants
ALSO: Hegseth wants to "measure troops' testosterone levels," the betting craze hits weddings, people are still nervous to shop on social media, and more
Happy Tuesday, July 21st!
FYSA, every Tuesday and Friday, I’ll be in your inbox with the latest in politics, tech & social media, culture, and other relevant topics – and I’ll share some notes and tips on what I’m keeping my eye on.
I’M ALSO LOOKING FOR MORE PEOPLE TO DO MINI INTERVIEWS FOR GROUP CHAT CORRESPONDENT :) Tips, thoughts, concerns, good jokes, bad jokes, tea, etc?
And finally, if you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with your network (and/or your chronically online friends), or buy me a matcha, that would be so appreciated 🙏
Federal Agents Were Told F.B.I. Will No Longer Investigate ICE Confrontations
Federal agents around the country were told in recent days that the F.B.I. would no longer investigate confrontations with immigration agents — cases that sometimes yield evidence that could be used to prosecute Department of Homeland Security agents implicated in violent encounters, according to people briefed on the decision. (NYT gift link, 7/19)
Israel’s $50 Million Experiment to Change U.S. Public Opinion
Israel has retained at least six firms to help with the effort in the U.S. over the past year. Three dozen new people, many of them marketing professionals, have registered as foreign agents for Israel. The country is on track to spend more than any other on U.S. influence disclosed with the federal government this year, said Nick Cleveland-Stout, a researcher who studies foreign lobbying at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. (WSJ gift link, 7/18)
Democratic senators want answers about Hegseth’s military testosterone plan
Senate Democrats are pressing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for answers about his directive requiring the military to measure troops’ testosterone levels, seeking details on how the policy will be carried out amid concerns over how it will apply to women and whether it could inadvertently encourage service members to self-medicate with potentially dangerous supplements. (ABC News, 7/20)
How period trackers share your private details
Mozilla uncovered numerous privacy problems across various apps, but Stardust was the only one found sharing detailed reproductive health data with another company. The report found that Stardust sends users’ health information to a data management company called RudderStack, which isn’t named in its privacy policy. (BBC, 7/15)
Social platforms draw consumers in, but conversions falter
About half of consumers discover new products on social media. That rate rises among Generation Z, with three-quarters using social for discovery. In comparison, only 38% of global shoppers find new items through search engines and 36% through physical stores. Trust limits purchases, however. In the U.S., about one-quarter of consumers trust social commerce checkout experiences. (Social Media Today, 7/20)
Lucy’s note: shot…
Etsy Is In Its Flop Era, and Sellers Are Fleeing
Once a quirky bastion of amateur vulva jewelry and twee crocheted dolls, longtime Etsy sellers like Olson are now migrating from the platform in large numbers due to their frustration with policies they feel are lax. Competitors are emerging. Fybe, for instance, a new online crafts marketplace, will open to vendors August 1. It explicitly prohibits AI-generated content and drop-shipping on the platform, and will rely on volunteer moderators and direct conversations with sellers to ensure all products are human-made. (WIRED, 7/21 – free version)
Lucy’s note: …chaser
Want to Bet on My Wedding?
The Stahls said that more than 25,000 couples so far had created a betting pool using their app, which costs a one-time fee of $49.99. Guests can monitor the status of their bets on their phones via a live leaderboard throughout the wedding. At the end of the event, the app sends a notification to all participants letting them know how they performed and, if applicable, whom they may owe money to. (NYT gift link, 7/19)
World Cup revives America’s drinking culture
Beer sales across the U.S. are up 5.5%, according to the D.C.-based Beer Institute, with 45% of tournament watchers planning to drink beer while watching matches. Before the tournament began, fans were expected to drink an extra 1 billion pints globally, according to a Financial Times report. (Axios, 7/19)
‘Zara death pants’: are these the world’s most dangerous trousers?
There are many more videos on social media of people tripping and saying how they’ve been left battered and bruised, hence they’ve been dubbed the deadly Zara trousers or Zara death pants. Zara’s flowing palazzo trousers are also deemed particularly perilous. (The Guardian, 7/15)
Here’s how your peanut butter jar — and nearly everything else — can be recycled
A quick scrape is all you need to recycle your peanut butter jar. Just don’t leave enough to weigh it down. In fact, scrubbing in hot water at home may negate the energy savings of recycling them (tossing the jar into an already-full dishwasher is fine if you want). (WaPo, 7/21 – free version)
Extra Credit 🤓
The hot-or-nots for this week:
HOT
Peaches and Amaretto
Any video of Zendaya explaining her Odyssey press tour looks
NOT
Starting Halloweeen stuff now, we’re gonna ruin it people!!!
That’s all for now – I’ll see you on Friday!