On Alert Over Off Alerts
Plus: The U.S. deports people to Eswatini, fraudsters make bank off of Biodiesel fraud & British teens can vote in national elections.
Now that the floodwaters have figuratively receded in Kerr County, Texas, the picture is becoming clearer. Despite finger-pointing at FEMA and NOAA, the National Weather Service issued multiple timely flash flood warnings ahead of the disaster. So why didn’t more people get to higher ground?
The answer may lie in a universal phenomenon that’s particularly acute in Texas: alert fatigue.
According to the Houston Chronicle, a 2024 RAND study found that nearly 30% of Texans have opted out of emergency phone alerts—nearly double the national average. And Texas gets tons of alerts, not just because of its size. The state issued 29% of all Amber Alerts nationwide last year, far more than any other state.
We now have alerts for everything: Blue alerts, feather alerts, silver alerts, camo alerts, ebony alerts… basically anything you can think of. First responders and healthcare professionals are even ignoring alerts, and it’s not hard to see why. While Amber Alerts have helped recover missing children, only 30% of those alerts were stranger abductions—50% were dad deciding to extend his weekend without telling anyone and 20% were either hoaxes or runaways. Many of these alerts don’t even meet the DOJ’s criteria, making it a lot easier to ignore them.
Of course, reducing the number of alerts can be a hard sell for some people as it requires telling a lot of worried families, “No.” But the alternative is a public that gets sick of getting a loud alert in the middle of a movie, and turns it off, even though it might save someone’s life.
Welcome to the Gist List—a news roundup, things you should know, and my thoughts leading up to today’s podcast episode.
Here’s what’s on my mind:
🇸🇿 The U.S. deports five people to Eswatini.
⛽ Slovakia holds up Russian sanctions over gasoline.
🌽 Fraudsters pull off the most boring yet brilliant heist with biodiesel fuel.
🗳️ British teens can vote in the next election.
💍 Diamonds aren’t forever, apparently.
The Gist List
U.S. Deports Immigrants from Jamaica, Cuba and Other Countries to the African Kingdom of Eswatini (AP)
The Department of Homeland Security deported five men convicted of violent crimes—including murder and child rape—to the African nation of Eswatini. And before you ask, that is the name of the country formerly known as Swaziland. The country has a 29% HIV+ rate, and the king has 11 wives. They now have five prisoners that they can’t wait to get rid of.
The deported men were from Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen, and Laos. Understandably, their home countries didn’t want them back, so we played a global game of pass-the-porridge until they landed in Eswatini, which is now holding them in isolation pending yet another deportation back to their home countries.
The U.S. is reportedly seeking more deals with African countries to receive deportees, but considering that there was blowback even in Africa’s only absolute monarchy, Eswatini, we might be running out of the goodwill necessary to do this.
EU Fails to Approve New Russia Sanctions, Ball Now in Slovakia's Court, Says EU Foreign Chief (Reuters)
The European Union almost got a new sanctions package against Russia across the finish line on Tuesday—and they would’ve gotten their way with it, too, if it weren’t for meddling Slovakia. The package would have banned transactions with Nord Stream gas pipelines and cracked down on Russian banks that were helping people cheat the current sanctions.
So what’s Slovakia’s deal? They’re not actually blocking the sanctions themselves—they’re holding them up because they’re mad about something else: a separate EU proposal to stop buying Russian gas entirely by 2028. Since the EU needs unanimous approval for sanctions, the entire continent is in a position to be Slovak-walked by a landlocked nation of 5.5 million, best known as the ancestral home of Andy Warhol, who predicted that in the future, every country will be a famous pain-in-the-ass for 15 minutes.
Sex, Lies and Green Energy: Biodiesel Fraudsters Pull $145M Heist (Farm Journal)
I don't normally turn to Farm Journal for potboilers—well, maybe corn or carrots. But this story has it all: a Jersey brawler, three Indiana brothers, 35 million gallons of biodiesel, death threats, diamonds, and a tower of lies.
Here’s the grift: The criminal farm-fresh masterminds bought used biodiesel (which had already been sold and credited once), pretended it was freshly made, then resold it with new federal tax credits and fuel certificates. Fake paperwork, fake invoices, and real profits—$145 million worth.
You almost have to admire the creativity. Most people smuggle diamonds or artwork. These guys smuggled recycled fuel through a loophole in the Renewable Fuel Standard. BRILLIANT.
UK to Lower Voting Age to 16 by Next General Election (Semafor)
The British government will lower the voting age to 16 by the next general election in an effort to improve participation in the democratic process. Labour says it’s about fairness: 16-year-olds can work, pay taxes, and serve in the military (something I was surprised to hear), so they should have a say. Now, even British teens can participate in the American pastime of complaining about the age discrepancy between being able to go to war and have a drink.
Some Labour MPs fear the change could benefit smaller, leftier parties, like the Greens or Reform U.K. In reality, 16-17 year olds are a small part of the electorate and probably won’t swing the national vote, and if they are anything like 18-21 year olds in the U.S., they probably won’t even show up. They might even support a Boris Johnson comeback because he’s giving delulu.
Are Diamonds Even a Luxury Anymore? De Beers Reckons With Price Plunge (WSJ)
With the market flooded with lab-grown diamonds, De Beers is having a harder time convincing customers of the “Diamonds are Forever” line. Lab diamonds used to be a novelty, but are now mainstream and cheaper than ever. De Beers CEO Al Cook calls the lab variety a “huge con”—which is exactly what you would expect from the guy sitting atop the cartel that was barred from operating in the U.S. for decades and still operates under a binding judicial settlement. Lab diamonds are chemically the same as a natural diamond, cost a LOT less, and no one’s kids are getting killed in a mine in Africa over them.
With the marketplace all aglitter with lab diamonds, their prices have fallen 86% to $745 per carat, and natural diamonds have dropped 40% to $3,925 per carat. De Beers is now relaxing its “Diamonds are Forever” slogan and replacing it with “Worth the Wait.”
Is That BS? The Great Lanternfly War
Sadie Dingfelder returns to assess the national stomp-fest against lanternflies and asks: Did it do anything, or was it all buggage and bluster? You can also read her article about it here.
This newsletter was put together in collaboration with Kathleen Sykes. All mistakes and attempts at cringe Gen Z slang belong to Mike Pesca.
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