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Hannah Jewell
AI. AI.
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PwC Advertiser
Cut through the AI noise with PwC,
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Hannah Jewell
the US is struggling to maintain a fragile truce with Iran. The CDC held back a report about COVID vaccines, and a new study revealed the cognitive benefits of logging off. That's some of what we'll get to on the 7 from the Washington Post. Hello everyone, I'm Hannah jewell. It's Thursday, April 9th. Let's get you caught up with today's seven stories. Number one, since President Trump declared a two week ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday, the status of that deal has been mired in confusion. Both sides are claiming victory, but Iran and the US do not agree on the ceasefire's terms. Trump's goals at the start of the war, like the elimination of Iran's nuclear program and ballistic missiles and regime change, have not been achieved. But the White House is still touting the deal. Here's Press Secretary Caroline Levitt at a press conference yesterday.
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Caroline Levitt
Iran could no longer tolerate being bombed or taking the gamble of what was to come. Following President Trump's 8pm deadline last night, Iran has agreed to open the Strait of Hormuz and and as the President said, we have received a proposal from the Iranians that has been determined to be a workable basis on which to negotiate.
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Hannah Jewell
While Iran did let some ships through the Strait of Hormuz yesterday, no oil or gas tankers have passed since the ceasefire took effect. Another point of tension is in Lebanon. Israel declared that its assault on Lebanon was not covered by the truce. Hours after the U S Iran ceasefire took hold, Israel killed at least 182people across the country, according to Lebanese authorities. Iran warned of a military response if the strikes on Lebanon did not stop. Negotiations between Iran and the US are expected to begin on Friday. Vice President J.D. vance is likely to head up the American delegation. Number two is a Post exclusive. The CDC delayed publishing a report that showed COVID vaccine benefits. The report had been scheduled for publication on March 19 in the CDC's flagship scientific journal, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly report. It showed that the COVID 19 vaccine cut the likelihood of emergency department visits and hospitalizations for healthy adults last winter by about half, according to scientists who spoke to the Post. Acting CDC Director Jay Bhattacharya delayed it over concerns about its methodology, even though the same methodology has been used many times, including in a study published in the same journal the week before. The delay has raised concerns among current and former officials that information about the vaccine's benefits are being downplayed because they conflict with the views of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy. Jr. He is an outspoken critic of COVID 19 shots once calling them the deadliest vaccine ever made and has taken steps to limit their recommendation. Three officials said. Pam Bondi will not testify in Congress about the Epstein files the former attorney general had been scheduled to appear next week to testify about the Justice Department's investigations of Jeffrey Epstein. The Justice Department said yesterday that isn't happening. Officials cited President Trump's decision to fire her last week. In a letter, officials argued that Bondi had been subpoenaed in her official capacity as attorney general, a job she no longer holds. But Bondi might not be off the hook. A committee spokesperson suggested that it intends to continue to pursue Bondi's testimony despite the Justice Department's letter. Bondi has faced intense scrutiny for her oversight of the Justice Department's effort to release the Epstein files. Her handling of the matter is believed to have played a role in Trump's decision to remove her from the Post last week. 4. The Gilgo beach murder suspect admitted to killing eight women over three decades in a court hearing in Suffolk County, N.Y. yesterday. Long island architect Rex Huerman pleaded guilty and confessed to the serial slayings and dismemberments, which began in 1993 and continued through 2010. The case rose to national prominence after police discovered the remains of the women near Gilgo beach in late 2010 and 2011. But for more than a decade, the cases remained cold. He was finally arrested in 2023 when investigators matched DNA from a pizza crust to hair found on one of the victims. Elizabeth Botchkill is the mother of Jessica Taylor, who Whorman killed in July 2003. She spoke at a news conference after the guilty plea and I am glad that this is over. As far as him pleading guilty, it took a big chunk of stress off of me and my family. According to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, Hooerman is expected to face three consecutive life sentences, as well as an additional hundred years behind bars. A Supreme Court remade by Trump has ushered in historic defeats for civil rights. That's our fifth story. Trump made three appointments to the high court in his first term, Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, creating a 6:3 conservative majority. Together, they have helped push the court to the right. A Post analysis published this morning lays bare some of the key impacts. The Post examined 270 decisions handed down by the court in its first five terms between 2020 and 2024. It found that this court is the first since at least the 1950s to reject civil rights claims in a majority of cases involving women and minorities. The shift brings to an end a streak of successive courts expanding such protections that began during the civil rights movement. The analysis also found that the court has entered a new era of extreme partisanship. No court over the past seven decades has been as polarized. A simple detox could erase years of social media brain damage. That's number six. Most people spend way too much time on their phone. According to surveys, the average American spends four and a half to five hours on their phone every single day. Research suggests heavy use of social media and AI could impact your attention and memory. Research suggests heavy use of social media and AI could impact your attention and memory. But a new study with over 400 participants suggests we can reverse some of the damage. For 14 days people used an app to block the Internet on their smartphones, though they could still make calls and text. By the end of the study period there had been improvements in their sustained attention, mental health and self reported well being. The improvement in attention was the most striking. Participants effectively erased a decade of age related decline. And the detox had a larger effect on depression symptoms than antidepressants. Even those in the study who cheated and broke the rules for a few days still noticed positive results. Yet more evidence that it's a good idea to log off. And at number seven, a tiny experiment taking place on the Artemis 2 mission could reshape medicine. As the four Artemis astronauts looped around the moon this week, they were accompanied by four transparent chips about the size of a thumb drive. Those chips were seeded with the astronauts bone marrow cells. Scientists plan to compare them to chips that stayed back on Earth after the astronauts splashdown tomorrow. Studying the chips will help NASA which wants to know the effects of deep space on human biology like exposure to radiation or differences in gravity. That is critical to know as the agency plans to send astronauts back to the moon and beyond. These chips can be used to model different organs including lungs, livers and hearts. The hope is that they could also be useful here on Earth and someday be used to test the effectiveness and toxicity of new drugs. That could help shift away from reliance on animal models that often fail to predict what happens in human biology. So good luck on the return journey tomorrow astronauts and keep those chips safe. Alright, you're all caught up. If you plan to block Internet access on your phone for 14 days, just do one little thing for us first. Leave us a lovely rating or review Wherever you listen to the seven, it helps us grow our show. So does telling a friend about the seven, which you can always do face to face and in a state of blissful cognitive health. I'm Hannah Jewell. I'll meet you back here tomorrow. AI AI AI. Literally.
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PwC Advertiser
Exactly.
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Hannah Jewell
And AI AI AI AI AI AI AI AI AI, AI, AI AI AI. Got it.
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PwC Advertiser
Everyone has an opinion on AI. But are any of them right for your enterprise?
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Hannah Jewell
AI AI.
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PwC Advertiser
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