Indicators of the Week are back! We are here, as always, to bring you the most fascinating snapshots from the week of economic news.
On today's show, we're digging into the embattled aerospace company, Boeing. We look at how paying your rent with a Wells Fargo credit card is costing the bank millions of dollars a month. And we learn how much richer the Planet Money coffers are after we invested in the funds that track stock trading by congresspeople and their families on both sides of the aisle.
ICYMI, preorder our new Indicator t-shirt at the NPR shop. For more ways to support our show, sign up for Planet Money+ where you'll get sponsor-free listening, bonus episodes, and access to even more Indicator merch.
Calgary, a city of about 1.6 million people, has been cut off from more than half of its water supply since a water main break on June 5. Experts warn that much of Canada's water infrastructure is aging and in poor condition. They say that if this can happen in Calgary, it can happen anywhere.
The Oilers are one win from history. The Panthers are one loss from infamy. Zach Hyman scored his playoff-leading 16th goal and Stuart Skinner made 20 saves as Edmonton defeated Florida 5-1 on Friday to force Game 7 in the Stanley Cup final.
As we celebrate Fair Use/Fair Dealing Week, we are reminded of all the ways these flexible copyright exceptions enable libraries to preserve materials and meet the needs of the communities they serve. Indeed, fair use is essential to the functioning of libraries, and underlies many of the ordinary library practices that we all take for granted. In this blog post, we wanted to describe a few of the ways the fair use doctrine has helped us build our library.
Fair use in action: Web Archives and the Wayback Machine
The Internet Archive has been archiving the web since the mid-1990’s. Our web collection now includes more than 850 billion web pages, with hundreds of millions added each day. The Wayback Machine is a free service that lets people visit these archived websites. Users can type in a URL, select a date range, and then begin surfing on an archived version of the web.
Web archives are used for a variety of important purposes, many of which are themselves fair uses. News reporting and investigative journalism is one such use of the Wayback Machine. Indeed, thousands of news articles have relied upon historical versions of the web from the Wayback Machine. Just last week, 13 links to the Wayback Machine were used in a CNN story about an Ohio GOP Senate candidate’s previous statements that were critical of former President Trump. Our web archive also becomes an urgent backup for media sites that are shut down suddenly, whether by authoritarian governments or for other reasons, often becoming the only accessible source both for the authors of these stories and for the public. Another important purpose web archives can serve is as evidence in legal disputes. Attorneys use the Wayback Machine in their daily practice for evidentiary and research purposes. In 2023 alone, the Internet Archive attested to 450 affidavits in cases where Wayback Machine captures were used as evidence in court.
The Wayback Machine also makes other parts of the web, such as Wikipedia, more useful and reliable. To date, the Internet Archive has been able to repair over 19 million broken links, URLs, that had returned a 404 (Page Not Found) error message, from 320 different Wikipedia language editions. There are many reasons, including bit rot and content drift, why links stop working. Restoring links ensures that Wikipedia remains an accurate and verifiable source of information for the public good. And we hope to build new tools and partnerships to help create a more dependable knowledge ecosystem as more and more content on the web is created by generative AI.
The Fair Use doctrine is broadly considered to be what makes web archiving possible. Without it, much of our knowledge and cultural heritage–huge amounts of which are now artifacts in digital form–would be at risk. In today’s chaotic information ecosystem, safeguarding this material in an open, accessible, and transparent way is vital for history and vital for democracy.
Fair use in action: Manuals collection
Whether you are an individual who has rendered an appliance useless because you lost the instructions, or a professional mechanic looking to fix an old vehicle, owners’ manuals are invaluable. As the right to repair movement has amply demonstrated, copyright should not stand as an obstacle to using machines you’ve bought and paid for. This is a place where fair use can shine.
Over the years, the Internet Archive has received manuals, instruction sheets and informational pamphlets of all kinds. The Manuals collection has well over a million items—or users to access 24/7 at no cost. This resource gives people the right to repair and extend the life of their products. Whether you are a rocket scientist needing to operate your space shuttle, a mechanic who needs to repair a vintage VW Bug, or a curious kid trying to fix up your mom’s old computer, having free online access to the technical documentation you need is essential. And in many cases, there would appear to be no other way to get access to this crucial information.
Some preserved manuals are a single printed page with poorly constructed diagrams. Others are multi-volume tomes that give exacting details on operation of a complex piece of machinery. These materials are more than instructions or a list of components. They reflect the priorities and approaches that companies and individuals take with products, as well as the artistic and visual efforts to make an item clear to the reader.
This collection is a cool example of how fair use provides a framework for the Internet Archive to share critical knowledge with consumers. At the same time, it provides a historical timeline of sorts for innovation and the development of technology.
From preserving our digital history to providing access to manuals of obsolete devices, fair use helps libraries like ours serve our community. And while there are no doubt a variety of commercial projects that properly rely on fair use, fair use is at heart about the public good. As we celebrate Fair Use week, we should remember the crucial role it plays, and ensure that we preserve and protect fair use for the good of future generations. For more on events and news on Fair Use/Fair Dealing Week, visit FairUseWeek.org.
HALIFAX – While visiting his retired parents, William MacInnis was flabbergasted to discover a single jar of pickles which, unlike every single other product in the house, did not bear the Costco wholesaler’s Kirkland branding. “How the hell did this get in here,” mused a puzzled MacInnis as he snacked on a bowl of his […]
Pierre Poilievre’s refusal to get a national security clearance so he can read the report on foreign interference in Canada’s elections is raising eyebrows, with many suggesting that maybe he can’t get a security clearance because he poses a security risk. Nonsense! There are many totally reasonable reasons for why Mr. Poilievre would choose not […]
CALGARY – With WestJet now charging a $25 fee to book flights over the phone, the airline has also announced they will now charge a similar $25 fee every single time a person in Canada utters the name “WestJet”. Reports indicate that WestJet, which recently introduced their “Just The Wings” Basic Fare, has already begun […]
OTTAWA – Wealthy Canadians have begun a ‘Freegains convoy’ to Ottawa in their BMW X3s in protest of the government’s plan to raise the inclusion rate on annual capital gains in excess of $250,000.00 dollars. “Not since the city of Toronto tried to build affordable housing in Rosedale has our community been so united in […]
CALGARY – After two weeks of restricted access to water for showers, laundry, and other acts of hygiene, sources have reported that Calgarians now smell like Edmontonians do all year long. “Jesus, it reeks like Whyte Avenue in here,” said a Calgarian eating in a crowded restaurant. “If I wanted to smell filthy, sweat-drenched people […]
TORONTO – After standing for 54 years as a testament to midcentury architecture and a source of memories for generations of young people, the Ontario Science Centre was announced to be closing today, the result of strain on its roof as it struggled to support the added tonnage of Premier Doug Ford’s bullshit. “The bullshit […]
NEW YORK—As extreme heat continued to batter states across much of the Midwest and East Coast, authorities warned Friday that dozens of Americans had died in what’s really the least of the nation’s problems right now. “We’ve seen numerous elderly citizens expire in what is, ultimately, a pretty minuscule part of…
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) signed a new law ordering that a poster-sized display of the Ten Commandments must be hung in every state classroom under the argument that they are “foundational documents of our state and national government.” What do you think?
The Wombat ADB-USB input converter is now back in stock! Thanks for everybody’s patience during this manufacturing delay.
The Wombat is a bidirectional ADB-to-USB and USB-to-ADB converter for keyboards and mice.
Connect modern USB keyboards and mice to a classic ADB-based Macintosh, Apple IIgs, or NeXT
Connect legacy ADB input hardware to a USB-based computer running Windows, OSX, or Linux
No special software or drivers are needed – just plug it in and go. The Wombat is great for breathing new life into your vintage Apple hardware collection.
In brief: The Sun has reached its highest point in the sky, so why is this not the warmest time of summer? We explain. Also, we take a look at a forecast that includes rising temperatures and reduced rain chances. Beginning Sunday or so, it looks like we’ll be in the mid-90s for awhile.
Summer solstice
Thursday was the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere—but only just. The Sun reached its highest point in the sky over Houston, a peak altitude above 84 degrees, at 1:23 pm CT. The time from sunrise to sunset was 14 hours, 3 minutes, and 31 seconds. Today will be one whole whopping second shorter. But for the next six months our days will progressively get shorter, until the winter solstice on December 21, when the day length will be just 10 hours, 14 minutes, and 2 seconds.
On of the quirks of Texas’ weather is that, while the Sun reaches the highest point of the sky in June, our hottest weather does not come until nearly two months later, in early- to mid-August. This is not true for all of the northern hemisphere, but there is a decided lag in Texas peak heating due to a number of factors. These include weather patterns (pervasive high pressure systems are more common in August than June), and a lag in ocean heating that brings the warmest onshore flows from the Gulf of Mexico later in the summer. Essentially, it takes longer for the ocean to heat up than it does the land.
Climatological midpoint of summer. (Brian Brettschneider)
The bottom line is that, even as our days get shorter over the next two months, on average our temperatures will continue to go up. Summer has not peaked in Houston, my friends. Fortify yourselves, because it has only just begun.
Friday
With Tropical Storm Alberto dissipating over Mexico, our seas are beginning to recede and winds have died down. Any lingering coastal flooding concerns should completely subside by this evening. Winds today will be generally from the east, at 5 to 10 mph. What about rain chances? I expect to see the development of some spotty showers later this afternoon. These will be more likely south of I-10, but even then overall chances are low, perhaps 20 or 30 percent. Skies, otherwise, should be partly to mostly sunny with highs of around 90 degrees. Lows tonight will be in the upper 70s.
Saturday
Expect sunny skies, with highs in the low- to mid-90s. Winds will be light, from the east. This will be a great day for outdoor activities, especially those that involve water of some sort. With the Sun high in the sky, please be sure and protect your skin.
Houston is marching into “high” heat levels based on the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature, a useful measurement of heat impacts. (Weather Bell)
Sunday
Skies should again be sunny, with highs generally in the mid-90s. There will be a smattering of rain chances, perhaps on the order of 20 percent. But most of us should remain dry.
Next week
You may have noticed that the National Hurricane Center has highlighted an area in the southern Gulf of Mexico where yet another tropical depression or storm may form during the next several days. This is almost exactly where Alberto formed, but we are not overly concerned this time. Why? Because this system is likely to be smaller than Alberto, so the upper Texas coast will probably see considerably less wind and less coastal flooding. Moreover, with high pressure building over the southern United States, it’s not clear how much, if any, precipitation we’ll see from this second tropical system.
Tropical outlook for Friday morning. (National Hurricane Center)
What all of this means is that, for most of next week, Houston is likely to see mostly sunny skies and daytime temperatures in the mid-90s. There will be some daily rain chances, perhaps on the order of 30 percent with the afternoon seabreeze, but I’m not expecting anything too organized. Rain chances may inch up a bit next weekend, but we’ll have to see about that.
Have a great weekend, everyone. After a busy spell, I’m looking forward to not writing about the weather for a couple of days!
PHILADELPHIA—Noting that the quiet, intense individual clearly came to win, locals at Gelman’s Tap reported Wednesday that a foreign guy was slamming Diet Cokes and dominating the pool table. “I’m not exactly sure who that guy is, but he doesn’t speak much English, he got here exactly when the place opened at six, and…
Pop star Justin Timberlake, 43, was charged with one count of driving while intoxicated after failing to stop at a stop sign and veering outside his lane of travel in Sag Harbor, NY, with the singer telling the police he “had one martini and I followed my friends home.” What do you think?
LOS ANGELES—Showing off his new accent Friday during the press tour for the film, Austin Butler has reportedly been unable to stop making revving noises since starring in The Bikeriders. “Brmm, brmm, brmm, brmm, brmm, brmm, brmm,” said the 32-year-old Hollywood actor, whose speech was inflected with a rumbling sound…
TALLAHASSEE, FL—Claiming the move would empower women to take control of their bodies, the Florida Legislature passed a new law Friday that allows cesarean sections to be performed by any machete-wielding lunatic. “Starting today, women in Florida will no longer have to go through the traditional red tape and can…
Solar activity is still increasing in a sunspot cycle that is proving way more intense than scientists predicted. Just how much stronger is it going to get?
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The Power Macintosh G5 was was released in 2003 into a sea of technological challenges and change. What looked like the next great chapter for PowerPC ended up bringing it to an end. I talk about how it all went down and interesting details about the machine along the way. From the 1.6GHz low-end machine to the top-end "G5 Quad". The all-metal accessible case, the water-cooled CPU, 64-bit, OS X, new monitors and a karaoke machine companion product.
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