Monday, January 17th, 2022
MLK Day, Hostages Freed & Tennis Star Ruled Out
All the news you need in about 10 min:
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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 review the latest happenings...
MLK Day Today
It's Martin Luther King, Jr. day in the U.S. That means Americans are honoring his life and legacy. He dedicated his life to the nonviolent struggle for civil rights before he was assassinated in 1968. Parades will be marching through some cities, but some other parades and rallies got canceled again this year either because of Covid-19 or bad weather. Still, there are ways to honor the civil rights leader by following his example and giving back. People are encouraged to donate to a good cause and/or volunteer. There are thousands of service projects planned around the U.S.
Read more: The Hill, CNN, Kiss FM, White House
Find a Volunteer Opportunity Near You: AmeriCorps
March for Voting Rights
Martin Luther King Jr.’s family will make a push for new election laws today. The King family and other civil rights and voting rights advocates are holding a march across the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge. Marchers will call on Congress to pass new federal standards for elections, but lawmakers have already been butting heads over the two election bills democrats proposed. The first would make election day a national holiday, among other things. The second would give the federal government more control over state procedures. However, Republicans say election decisions should be up to each state, not the federal government.
Read more: Reuters, WaPo, AP, WSJ
Voting Bills Future
President Biden and some other Democrats were pushing for a big rule change in the Senate. With that change, the bills would only need 50 votes instead of 60, so it would be easier to get the voting bills passed. However, to change that Senate rule, every Democrat would have to be on board, and at least two of them already say they aren't okay with it. Without the rule change, it's unlikely the voting bills will have enough support to pass. However, the Senate is scheduled to start dating them tomorrow anyway.
Read more: NY Times, CBS News, WSJ, CNBC
Texas Hostage Situation
Four Americans who were held hostage over the weekend are now free. A standoff happened at a synagogue in a suburb of Fort Worth, Texas. The rabbi was holding his Saturday service when an armed man stormed the building. He trapped the rabbi and three other people inside and started making threats. Throughout the day, about 200 local, state, and federal law enforcement officials surrounded the synagogue. After an 11-hour standoff, the team stormed the building and got all hostages out unharmed. Moments later, the suspect was dead. Officials didn’t say how he died, and they’re still working to determine a motive.
Read more: AP, Reuters, WaPo, NY Times, WSJ, White House
Weekend Winter Storm
Millions of Americans up and down the East Coast are now getting the brunt of a strong winter storm. It’s the same one that brought dangerous weather to the Midwest and Southeast over the weekend. Snow fell as far south as Pensacola, Florida. This morning, wet roads are expected to refreeze in parts of Georgia and the Carolinas, causing black ice. Overnight, the storm started moving up the coast, from the mid-Atlantic to New England. The wind is also a concern. Big cities like Boston and New York are among those under high wind warnings today.
Read more: CNN, NPR, ABC News, NY Times, WaPo, NWS
Pacific Volcano, Tsunami
West coast cities in the U.S. got the all-clear, but they were under a tsunami advisory over the weekend because of a massive volcano eruption in Tonga. The underwater eruption was so loud, people could hear it 5,000 miles away in Alaska. It sent ash, gas, and steam at least 12 miles into the air. As of Sunday, New Zealand’s prime minister said no one there has been seriously hurt, but roads and homes were flooded. Two people died in Peru. The eruption sent large waves to the U.S., too, like in California, Oregon, and Washington.
Read more: WaPo, CNN, AP, NY Times, RNZ
Novak Djokovic Deported
The Australian Open started today without the No. 1 tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic is unvaccinated but got a medical exemption from the tournament to play. When he arrived in Australia, though, the border patrol said his exemption wasn’t valid, so he was detained. Eventually, the Australian immigration minister revoked his visa. Then on Sunday, three federal judges in Australia confirmed that ruling, canceled his visa, and deported him. Djokovic has won a record nine Australian Open titles already.
Read more: Fox News, WaPo, BBC, Australia Prime Minister
Netflix Raises Prices
The streaming giant Netflix is upping its prices in the U.S. and Canada by $1-$2. As Reuters reports, the price hike went into effect Friday for new users, and the new prices will roll out to existing subscribers in the coming weeks. Netflix says the price jump is meant to help keep a wide variety of entertainment options on the site. Every plan is getting a little more expensive in the U.S. In Canada, only the premium plan is changing. The streaming service last updated its prices in October of 2020.
Read more: Reuters, The Verge, CNBC, Netflix
Betty White 100th Celebration
People all around the world are celebrating the life of Hollywood's golden girl, Betty White. She would have been 100 years old today. A movie to celebrate her milestone birthday was planned before she passed away on New Year's Eve. It was initially called ‘Betty White: 100 Years Young.’ Now the tribute is called ‘Betty White: A Celebration’. It can be seen in 1,500 American theatres, today only. The documentary will feature White and interviews with friends like Ryan Renolds and Carol Burnett.
Read more: USA Today, Hollywood Reporter, Daily Mail, Fathom Events
Weekend Box Office
This weekend at the box office, Spider-Man was dethroned from its top spot. ‘Scream 5’ beat ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ at the North American box office, even though Spider-Man has been on top for the last month. Scream is described as a requel, as in reboot and sequel, since it's both the 5th film in the franchise and a reboot with a new, younger cast mixed in with some of the original actors. It brought in more than $30 million on its debut weekend in North America.
Read more: Deadline, Variety, AP
Money Monday: Comic Book Sales
A single page of an original Spider-Man comic book just sold for a record $3.36 million. That’s the most expensive page from a comic book ever sold at an auction. The page shows Spider-Man’s first time wearing the infamous all-black suit. Heritage Auctions says it's now the world’s most valuable page of original comic book artwork. Other comic books have been hot sellers, too. Last month, a rare Superman comic flew off the auction block for more than $2.6 million. The 1938 original first Superman comic book cost only a dime when it was first published.
Spider-Man Page Sells: AP, WaPo, Heritage Auctions
Superman Comic Sells: AP, MarketWatch, Houston Chronicle