Tuesday, January 4th, 2022
CEO Convicted, Boosters for Kids & RIP BlackBerry
All the news in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Masterworks.Art/newsworthy and kiwico.com (Listen for the discount code)
Story Summaries
All the news stories mentioned in today's episode are listed with links below, so you can spend as much -- or as little -- time as you want to read the latest happenings...
FDA Cleared Boosters for 12+
American health regulators say they’re hoping to protect more Americans against the worst symptoms of Covid-19, especially those that come from the Omicron variant that’s now spreading quickly around the country. Once again, they are expanding the number of people who are eligible for booster shots. This week, the FDA decided to authorize the 3rd shot of Pfizer’s vaccine for all 12- to 15-year-olds. The shots were already available to people 16 and up. Also, now anyone eligible no longer needs to wait six months between the 2nd and 3rd Pfizer doses. The FDA now says five months will do.
Read more: CNN, Reuters, WSJ, FDA
Elizabeth Holmes Found Guilty
The founder and former CEO of Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes, was found guilty of fraud. Her federal trial lasted nearly four months. In that time, prosecutors called more than 30 witnesses, including former employees, business partners, and investors. Plus, Holmes took the witness stand for more than 20 hours to defend herself. Her company, Theranos, claimed to have a test to detect conditions like diabetes and cancer with just a few drops of blood. However, the tests did not work, and after the company collapsed, she was charged with fraud, and eventually convicted. She now faces up to 20 years in prison. A sentencing date hasn’t yet been set.
Read more: NPR, WaPo, AP, WSJ, NBC News
Haiti PM Assassination Attempt
It looks like a crisis is worsening in the Caribbean nation of Haiti. Just six months after its president was assassinated, the country’s new prime minister had to flee. His office says a group of gunmen tried to assassinate him, too. Haitian media is pointing to possible gang involvement. Ever since the president’s killing over the summer, gangs have become more powerful. They now control parts of the country and have been behind a surge of mass kidnappings for ransom.
Read more: Reuters, WaPo, The Guardian, CBC
South Africa Parliament Fire
South Africa’s government was targeted this week. A man was arrested for setting a fire in the country's 130-year old parliament complex. Images from the scene show flames shooting from the top of the building and plumes of thick, black smoke pouring into the streets of Cape Town. Thankfully, the parliament isn't in session because of the holidays, so no one was hurt. The suspect is expected in court today. For now, it’s not clear what his motive might have been.
Read more: BBC, NY Times, CNN, Axios
Latest U.S. Snow Storms
This week, much of the U.S. has been dealing with frigid temperatures, heavy snow, and strong winds. The Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Pacific Northwest were hit by winter storms. Federal offices and schools were forced to close, thousands of flights were grounded, and power was knocked out for thousands of people. In Washington and Oregon, most of the snow fell in the mountains, but big cities like Portland got heavy rain that caused some flooding. On the other side of the country, it’s finally expected to stop snowing today. About nine inches of snow fell in Washington, D.C. and surrounding areas.
Read more: WaPo, Politico, Reuters, AP, KATU, NWS
Biden Plan Targets Meatpacking Companies
President Biden hopes a new plan will help fight inflation and bring down the rising cost of food. He’s dedicating $1 billion to help out independent meat producers. The hope is the extra funding will boost competition in the meat market and, in turn, lower prices on the shelves. The White House blames the food price hikes on large companies having too much power. For example, just four big meatpacking companies control 85% of the U.S. beef market. The plan includes money for financing grants, guaranteeing loans, worker training, and more.
Read more: Bloomberg, Fox Business, CNN, USA Today, White House
Apple Reaches $3 Trillion Market Value
Apple hit a major milestone yesterday, becoming the first publicly-traded company to ever be worth $3 trillion. That’s more than the GDP of the UK. It didn’t stick, though. Just after Apple toppled the market value of $3 trillion, it dipped just below that to close out for the day. Still, that means Apple has tripled its value in less than four years. The company has benefited from its new iPhone 13 and other older models rising in sales. Plus, there are subscription services like Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud, and the app store. A lot of new products are also expected this year.
Read more: The Verge, Forbes, CNBC, NY Times
Classic BlackBerry Stops Working Today
If you’re still using your old BlackBerry, it might finally be time to move on. Starting today, BlackBerries that use the company’s operating systems will officially stop working. Those devices won't be able to use data, text, or call, not even to 911. This change doesn’t impact newer devices like the BlackBerry KEY2 since that one runs on Android. Still, for a lot of people, this represents the end of an era. The first BlackBerry smartphone arrived in 2002.
Read more: NY Times, NPR, WaPo, Blackberry
David Bowie Catalog Sold
Warner Music Group spent more than $250 million for the rights to an iconic rock star's music. The deal was reached with the estate of the late David Bowie after months of negotiations. The catalog spans six decades of hits. It covers songs from his 26 studio albums, plus a posthumous album release that comes out this Friday, called “Toy”. That new release is just the start of a Bowie celebration weekend on what would have been his 75th birthday. As part of Bowie 75, there will be pop-up stores in New York and London.
Read more: Variety, LA Times, BBC, WaPo, WMG
Trivia Tuesday
Q: The actor Tom Cruise considered pursuing a career in what sport before getting hurt?
Play along on today’s Instagram Stories quiz. We’ll also have the answer right here next week.
Last Week’s Trivia Tuesday Answer
Q: On every continent except Antarctica, there is a city named what?
A: Rome
Read More: NatGeo, Popular Mechanics, History Of Yesterday, History