Who the Hell is Steve Bannon? 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. Ontario to give first-time home buyers $4,000 rebate
“The move, announced by Finance Minister Charles Sousa in Monday’s fall economic update, is meant to provide some pocketbook relief to buyers struggling to break into the province’s real-estate market. The average price of a home in Toronto and area in October was $762,975, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board. Prices ranged from an average of $429,407 for a condominium to over $1-million for a detached house.” – Globe and Mail
2. Critics denounce Trump’s top aide as a white nationalist
“Civil rights groups, Democrats and some Republican Party strategists on Monday denounced President-elect Donald J. Trump’s decision to appoint Stephen K. Bannon to a top White House position, warning that Mr. Bannon represents nationalist and racist views that should be rejected by the incoming president.” – New York Times
+1: Gingrich: Possible top Trump aide worked in finance, so not anti-Semitic – Times of Israel
+1: From 2015, Joshua Green profiles Steve Bannon, then executive chairman of Breitbart News. – Bloomberg
+1: Bill Mitchell’s revenge – BuzzFeed News
3. Facebook’s fight against fake news was undercut by fear of conservative backlash
“According to two sources with direct knowledge of the company’s decision-making, Facebook executives conducted a wide-ranging review of products and policies earlier this year, with the goal of eliminating any appearance of political bias. One source said high-ranking officials were briefed on a planned News Feed update that would have identified fake or hoax news stories, but disproportionately impacted right-wing news sites by downgrading or removing that content from people’s feeds. According to the source, the update was shelved and never released to the public. It’s unclear if the update had other deficiencies that caused it to be scrubbed.” – Gizmodo
+1: Google’s top news link for ‘final election results’ goes to a fake news site with false numbers – Washington Post
4. Kellie Leitch reports break-in at Collingwood home
“Leitch says her home alarm sounded early Saturday and as she left the house to wait for police she noticed the garage lights were on, but they had been turned off by the time officers arrived, and no intruder was found.” Police said they found no evidence of a break-and-enter, though the house alarm did go off. ” – Toronto Star
5. So why do we bite our nails?
“If nail biting is like the rats’ grooming, it might explain why people bite their nails during stressful situations or while engaged in difficult tasks: we go to nail biting for comfort. The ‘soothing’ theory is also supported by recent research connecting nail biting to perfectionism. Nail biters are perfectionists, people who over-plan and get frustrated quickly if they’re idle.” – The Verge
