‘People Want Their Problems Solved, Not Exploited.’ Here’s What We’re Reading Today

The Daily 5 is Sharp’s essential reading list for what’s happening in the world today. Make sure to follow us on Twitter or subscribe to the Sharp Insider newsletter to stay up to date.

Here’s what we’re reading today:

1. Trudeau delivers first speech to UN

“Justin Trudeau’s first speech to the United Nations General Assembly included some less-than-subtle references to the politics practiced by people such as Donald Trump.

“The prime minister mentioned no names, but warned three times in his speech about politicians who exploit anxiety for personal gain.”

2. Toyota’s using human waste to power its electric car

“Hydrogen fuel cell cars could help solve the global warming crisis, but nobody wants to buy them. Yoshikazu Tanaka, chief engineer of the Toyota Mirai, Toyota’s hydrogen fuel cell car, calls it a ‘chicken or the egg’ problem: no one wants to purchase hydrogen cars because there are no hydrogen fuel stations, and nobody wants to build hydrogen fuel stations because there are no hydrogen cars.

“But Toyota thinks it may have found a solution. For unlimited clean energy, it’s turning to one of the dirtiest places there is: the toilet.”

3. Trump used $258,000 from his charity to settle legal problems

“If the Internal Revenue Service were to find that Trump violated self-dealing rules, the agency could require him to pay penalty taxes or to reimburse the foundation for all the money it spent on his behalf. Trump is also facing scrutiny from the office of the New York attorney general, which is examining whether the foundation broke state charity laws.

“More broadly, these cases also provide new evidence that Trump ran his charity in a way that may have violated U.S. tax law and gone against the moral conventions of philanthropy.”

+1: President Trump’s first term: The New Yorker examines what the first four years of Donald Trump could look like.

+1: Donald Trump Jr. facing backlash after comparing Syrian refugees to poisonous skittles.

4. Amazon’s pricing algorithm is ripping you off

“Amazon bills itself as ‘Earth’s most customer-centric company.’ Yet its algorithm is hiding the best deal from many customers.”

+1: The Nokia 3210 made cell phones cool. Here’s what it could tell us about the next world-changing gadget.

5. Humans are winning the war on rats

“Rats spread disease, decimate crops and very occasionally eat people alive. For centuries, we have struggled to find an effective way of controlling their numbers. Until now …”

 +1: The five-second rule is a lie.