What We're Watching & What We're Ignoring

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

Next Tuesday's Brexit vote – The Brexit mess looks set to get messier. Next Tuesday, Theresa May will likely lose a scheduled vote in the House of Commons on her Brexit plan.

Jeremy Corbyn continues to resist calls by some within his Labour Party to push for a new Brexit referendum. Instead, he wants a general election "at the earliest opportunity" to "break the [Brexit] deadlock."

Irrefutable proof of time travel – In 1958, CBS aired an episode of a Western TV show called "Trackdown" in which a conman tries to sell a town a "wall" to protect citizens from the fake threat of a meteor shower. "I am the only one, just me," the fraudster assures the gullible crowd. The con man's name? Trump. Love the president or hate him, it's hard to take your eyes off this clip, which has so far stood up to fact-checking.

WHAT WE'RE IGNORING

Robo-soldiers – Engineers are now building robots that can perform many of the physical tasks associated with military infantry. We're ignoring this story because, really, what could go wrong?

Narendra Modi waves – A few speakers at the annual Indian Science Congress made international headlines this week with comments that suggest politics and ideology might be clouding their scientific judgment. Among our favorite claims from the podium: stem cell research was discovered in India thousands of years ago, a demon king from a Hindu religious epic owned 24 types of aircraft, Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein were both wrong about gravitation, and gravitational waves should be renamed "Narendra Modi Waves." Less fanciful Indian scientists have denounced these comments as an embarrassment to their country.

More from GZERO Media

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington after Israel and Lebanon accepted a ceasefire deal on Nov. 26, 2024.
Yuri Gripas/ABACAPRESS.COM via Reuters

The Israeli Security Cabinet has approved a ceasefire for Lebanon, President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday, welcoming the opportunity to start reestablishing peace in the Middle East. Early Wednesday, 13 months of fighting ended as the ceasefire took hold, and thousands of displaced Lebanese civilians began returning to their homes in the South.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks after reading a letter to be sent to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, warning that tariffs would cause inflation and job losses in both countries, at National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, November 26, 2024.
Carlos Ramos Mamahua/Presidencia de Mexico/Handout via REUTERS
Art by Annie Gugliotta/GZERO Media

With the US Thanksgiving holiday approaching, millions of American families will soon sit down to a turkey dinner. That makes it as good a time as any to ask an important question: Why are turkeys, which are not actually from Turkey, called turkeys? No other animal is named for so many countries that it's not actually from.

Security force personnel walk as smoke billows from tear gas shells fired to prevent an anti-government protest by supporters of the former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) demanding the release of Khan, in Islamabad, Pakistan, November 26, 2024
REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro

Supporters of jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan broke through numerous barricades to clash with police in the capital, Islamabad, on Tuesday, leaving at least six members of security forces dead. On Wednesday, Khan's party said demonstrations were “temporarily suspended” owing to “government brutality.”

A view of the anchor of the Chinese ship, the bulk carrier Yi Peng 3, in the sea of Kattegat, near the City of Grenaa in Jutland, Denmark, on Nov. 20, 2024.
Mikkel Berg Pedersen/Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS

Last week, two underwater Baltic Sea communications cables. were cut under suspicious circumstances. Many initially suspected Russian sabotage, but a preliminary investigation found that a Chinese cargo ship had passed through the Baltic Sea near each cable around the time they were severed.

Generative AI is transforming the way we work and innovate, with the potential to boost the US economy by $3.8 trillion by 2038. A new white paper from Accenture and Microsoft explores the current state of gen AI and how it is fueling advancements across industries — from healthcare to travel to clean energy. Innovations like open-source models and reduced input costs are making generative AI more accessible and delivering real-world benefits like higher wages, lower consumer costs, and new products and services across industries. Read more.