Mexico water crisis, SAG Awards, and ranking property taxes.

Adam Rogers
February 26, 2024

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Big Stories

Mexico City could be months away from running out of water.

Mexico City's challenges stem from its geography, rapid urbanization, and prolonged droughts. The situation has been made worse by historical decisions like draining lakes as well as leaky water delivery systems.
With drought conditions worsening and reservoirs at historic lows, experts warn of a looming "day zero" where the city's water supply could collapse, sparking social and environmental crises. Without significant rain, “day zero” could arrive as early as June 26.
A 3-year project to install and improve water infrastructure is underway. But tensions are rising as some of the city’s 22 million residents face unequal access to water and often rely on expensive water truck deliveries. Others — usually in wealthier areas — are mostly unaffected.

Google paused its Gemini AI image generator after it created inaccurate historical pictures.

Google launched the Gemini image generator tool in February which was originally called Bard. So far, it is struggling to catch up with Microsoft-backed OpenAI.
Users on social media quickly called out the tool for depicting pictures of white historical figures as people of color. The images posted included a Nazi as a black man, a US founding father as a black woman, and an “early French novelist” as an Asian man.
In response, Google paused Gemini’s image generation feature and pledged to “re-release an improved version soon.”

Donald Trump won South Carolina’s Republican primary on Saturday.

Trump easily beat former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley in her home state, claiming 59.8% of the vote to Haley’s 39.5%. Haley couldn’t stop Trump’s momentum despite holding far more campaign events in the state. However, she promised to stay in the race through the primaries on March 5.
Trump has now swept every contest that counted for Republican delegates. This weekend’s victory is a good indicator of what is to come. Since 1980, with one exception, every Republican candidate who won South Carolina’s primary has gone on to be the party’s nominee.
A 2020 rematch between Trump and President Biden is likely. The two have begun ramping up attacks against each other, and Biden has stepped up his fundraising trips around the country.

Tyler Loudon, the husband of a former BP merger and acquisitions manager, pleaded guilty to insider trading after earning $1.76 million on illegal trades by listening to his wife’s work calls while she was handling a potential acquisition of TravelCenters of America. He's been instructed to forfeit the profits and pay an equal fine. (More)

Ukrainian President Zelensky said that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed during the war — much lower than the US estimate of 70,000. It is rare for Ukraine to reveal loss totals publicly. It is considered a sign of the country’s dire need for foreign funding. (More)

At the SAG Awards, "Oppenheimer" continued its winning streak, clinching top prizes including, Best Movie Cast and Best Actor for Cillian Murphy. Lily Gladstone took Best Actress honors for "Killers of the Flower Moon." Television winners included FX's "The Bear" and HBO's "Succession.” Barbra Streisand received a lifetime achievement honor. (More)

Duke men’s basketball star Kyle Filipowski was injured in a collision with a fan during a court storming by Wake Forest fans after the team upset Duke 83-79. Filipowski believes the contact was intentional. The incident has reignited safety concerns about fans rushing onto the court after games. (More)

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan announced that the US, Israel, and several other Middle Eastern countries have come to an “understanding” on the terms of a cease-fire deal in Gaza. Hamas still hasn’t said if they would sign on to the agreement. (More)

A strong wind pushed a passenger airplane to speeds over 800 mph.

Does your pet have what it takes to be the next Cadbury Bunny?

Ranking US property taxes by state.

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