Short Takes – 5-15-23

Satellite photos show impact of burst of water sent to Lake Mead. TheHill.com article. River scouring experiment. Pull quote: “The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation opened up the flow down the Colorado River and downstream to Lake Mead on April 24, sending a gush of water at 39,500 cubic feet per second (cfs) and lasting 72 hours. The desired effect: push sand and sediment out of the riverbed below the dam to build up sandbars further down the river. Those sandbars provide camping spots for people along the river.”

Democrats press Biden to use 14th Amendment on debt ceiling. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “The 14th Amendment, passed by the Senate in 1866 shortly after the end of the Civil War, states “the validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.””

Lawmakers call on Biden to nominate new national cyber director. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: ““While we applaud the White House’s efforts under Director Inglis to stand up the office and his strong leadership in drafting the National Cybersecurity Strategy, we are extremely concerned that the three-month delay (and counting) in nominating a candidate to replace Chris will hinder the implementation of the strategy and lead to a lessening of the stature of the office,” the lawmakers said in the letter.”