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“Taco Tuesday”

What Taco Bell wants removed as a trademark. It wants the phrase to live más.

 
Top Story

Dartmouth

The Story

Native Americans are calling for change

What happened?

In March, Dartmouth College shared it had the skeletal remains of 15 Native Americans in its possession. Up until the 20th century, many archeologists and anthropologists used Native American remains for science. Following an audit, Dartmouth said it found “a series of cataloguing and physical inventory errors.” The college revealed that some remains thought to be non-Native are “in fact Native American.” Dartmouth said it doesn’t have a record of how or when its anthropology department got a hold of these remains. Now, the discovery reportedly has Native American students on campus calling for accountability.

Go on.

One student reportedly said the college's mislabeling is a “mistake that us Natives are paying for.” One Native American leader reportedly said it's important for tribes to recover remains as it allows them to “lay them to rest according to our traditions.” Meanwhile, Dartmouth's president apologized and said the college would take “careful and meaningful action.” The college has hired an independent team to determine the origin of the remains and repatriate them. Cleansing ceremonies on campus have also been held to help students feel more comfortable. It comes as dozens of other schools and museums are also grappling with how to best address the (sometimes stolen) Native American artifacts and remains.

Explain. 

In 1990, Congress passed a law to set up a system for federally funded institutions to give back remains to Native communities. However, the law puts the burden on tribes to provide evidence that the remains are their ancestors. It also only applies to federally recognized tribes. About 884,000 Native American artifacts — including 102,000 human remains — are still held by colleges, museums, and other institutions to this day. The leader of the Association on American Indian Affairs reportedly said not returning the remains shows how some “value the idea of Native Americans as specimens more than they do as human beings.”

theSkimm

Native American remains and cultural items have been stolen for decades. Some US agencies and museums are already looking to right their wrongs. Now, Dartmouth is the latest school to face accountability.

 
And Also...This

Where abortion access is seeing restrictions….

North Carolina. Yesterday, the state’s Republican-led legislature overrode the governor’s veto of a bill banning most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy. The legislation allows exceptions in cases of rape, incest, or if the mother’s life is at risk. However, it also includes other restrictions like requiring that patients have an in-person visit with a doctor before an abortion. The legislature's latest move comes after Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) vetoed the bill over the weekend, keeping abortion legal in the state up until the 20-week limit. Now, Cooper says lawmakers “broke their promises to protect women’s reproductive freedom.” However, Republicans say the measure is about saving lives. The 12-week ban will now go into effect July 1. 


What had senators asking questions…

AI. Yesterday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called for regulations to artificial intelligence during a hearing before a Senate subcommittee. OpenAI is the creator of ChatGPT, the chatbot that's helped people write everything from essays to computer code. AI's popularity has raised concerns about what the tech could mean for data security, misinformation, and jobs. Now, Altman is suggesting that a global or US agency be created to license AI companies. It's unclear how lawmakers will proceed following the hearing, but Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said the hearing marked “a critical first step towards understanding what Congress should do.” Meanwhile, IBM's ​​Chief Privacy and Trust Officer Christina Montgomery said it was important to regulate risks, not the tech itself.

Bank failures. Yesterday, three former banking execs came face-to-face with the Senate Banking Committee — weeks after Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapsed. In his testimony, SVB’s former CEO Greg Becker said SVB’s unwinding was caused by a chain reaction of unforeseeable events. Signature Bank’s execs said they believed they were in a “strong position to weather the storm,” if the FDIC hadn’t stepped in. The execs blamed regulators, the media, and even depositors for the massive bank run that forced them to close their doors. Meanwhile, lawmakers maintained the execs failed to address risk-management problems that were brought up by regulators.


What researchers are talking about…

The Black mortality rate. Yesterday, a study found that racial inequalities resulted in an additional 1.6 million deaths among Black Americans, compared to white Americans, between 1999 and 2020. Researchers said the additional deaths represented 80 million years of “potential life lost.” Heart disease, cancer, and infant mortality were the largest contributing factors, according to researchers. However, the study also found that COVID — which disproportionately affected Black Americans — was a leading cause of death in 2020 and erased nearly two decades of progress. Now, researchers say “new approaches” to health equity are needed as “current efforts to curb or eliminate mortality disparities have been minimally effective.” 


What’s got parents running to Target…

Their return policy.


While Google is doing some spring cleaning…

Apple is taking inspiration from its voice notes.


What's another thing men will never understand…

Vagina allergies.

 
 

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Skimm'rs

We like to celebrate the wins, big and small. Let us know how your friends, neighbors, coworkers (and yes, even you) are making career moves, checking off goals, or making an impact in the community.

Peas in a pod…Stephanie Z (NJ). She and her students created a recycling program that has saved over 10,000 coffee pods from ending up in landfills. Cool beans.

(Some) Birthdays…Mike Minikes (NY), Callie Kiernan (NY), Bridget Donahue (DC), Kavita Goss (CA), Christine Schmidt (IL), Margo Denman (NY), Amy Goldberg (MA), Rachel Shaw (VA), John Hood (IL), Alli Quattlebaum (TN), Susan Cook Newsome (IL), Melissa Kowalchik Dougherty (TN), Kimberly Rogers (MN), Alison Cupp (OK), Jennifer Mengerink (OH).

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