5.15.2018

All your news in a single email. We scour 100+ sources so you don't have to. Culture, science, sports, politics, business, and more - all packaged in a 5-minute read below.
 

SCOTUS Strikes Down Betting Ban.
The Supreme Court overturned a long-standing ban on sports betting by a vote of 6-3 yesterday, opening the door to allow gambling on sporting events in all 50 states. The case focused on a 1992 federal law known as the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (or PAPSA), which prohibited most forms of sports betting in all 50 states except Nevada and New Jersey. In the case of New Jersey, the state had one year to establish a system - it took 20, and when it passed a law in 2012 establishing sports betting in the state, the NCAA and four major professional sports leagues sued. The decision found that PAPSA violated something called the anti-commandeering doctrine - the federal government can't compel the states to carry out and enforce a federal law (outside of powers expressly designated to the federal government). 

The American Gaming Association estimates that nearly $150 billion is placed in illegal bets each year in the US. 

Ebola Outbreak Grows.
An outbreak of Ebola has infected 39 people, of which 19 have died, in the Democratic Republic of Congo the World Health Organization said yesterday. The first known case was reported on April 4th, and officials are following up with close to 400 people who came in contact with the various patients. The outbreak is centered in a town called Bikoro that is near three major urban centers with populations totaling over 14.5 million people. The DRC government has pre-approved the use of an experimental vaccine, with plans to apply it in the small town. Africa last saw a serious outbreak of the virulent hemorrhagic disease in 2014, when a two-year-long pandemic infected over 26,600 and killed more than 11,300 people in West Africa (see historical outbreaks). 

Contrary to popular belief Ebola is not highly contagious - it's on par with hepatitis C (it's just much more lethal). 

Dozens Killed in Jerusalem Protests.
At least 58 Palestinians were killed and over 2,700 were injured as protests erupted at the Gaza-Israel border over the opening of the new US Embassy in Jerusalem yesterday. It was the deadliest day at the border (see photos), which often sees clashes between protesters and Israeli guards and is about 50 miles from the Embassy, since 2014. The Embassy was relocated after decades of being located in Tel Aviv, a symbolic gesture that also sparked protests when the decision was made last December. Because Palestinians consider East Jerusalem their capital (see background) - though Israel controls the entire city - the subsequent recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel  has sparked backlash among Muslim communities across the globe. Israel blamed Hamas, the Islamist political group that leads Gaza, for the violence, which comes against the backdrop of ongoing weekly border protests. 
 

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> First lady Melania Trump undergoes kidney surgery to address medical issue described as "benign, but requiring attention" (More)
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> State prosecutors drop felony invasion of privacy case against Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens after prosecutor named as witness, special prosecutor expected to refile charges (More)
 

> Digital printing and technology firm Xerox cancels proposed $6B deal with FujiFilm (More)
> Elon Musk announces "thorough reorganization" at Tesla, shares down 3% (More)
> Chief Investment Officer of CalPERS - California's $350B pension fund - to step aside at end of 2018 after subpar investment returns during 5-year tenure (More)
 

> Facebook suspends 200 apps over potential data misuse amid internal investigation into privacy enforcement following Cambridge Analytica data breach (More)
> Scientists appear to successfully transfer memories between two snails by injecting RNA from one snail to the other, has implications for understanding how memories work (More)
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> Margot Kidder, best known for playing Lois Lane in Superman films, dies at 69 (More)
> Cannes Film Festival leaders sign pledge to improve gender equity in filmmaking (More)
> Dave Chappelle, Jon Stewart announce joint comedy tour beginning June 11 (More)

Unemployment in America mapped over time. 

American Air bans goats, hedgehogs, and insects as eligible service animals on flights. 

Meghan Markle's dad drops out of Royal Wedding. 

Solar-powered buoy measures the largest wave ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere.

Ranking the most beautiful spot in every state. 

An Ohio woman became the oldest person in the US at 113-years-old. 

Florida high school criticized after using caged tiger as prom prop. 

"Man with the golden arm" retires after saving 2.4 million babies. 

Clickbait: Dismembered feet keep washing up on shore in western Canada. 

Historybook: Susan B. Anthony & Elizabeth Cady Stanton found National Woman Suffrage Association (1869); RIP Emily Dickinson (1886); HBD Madeleine Albright (1937); HBD City of Las Vegas (1909); First McDonald’s opens in California (1940).
 

"Independence is happiness."
- Susan B. Anthony
 

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