Friday, January 21st, 2022
Weapons for Ukraine, “Great American Sickout” & #BettyWhiteChallenge
All the news you need in around 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Seed.com/newsworthy and BetterHelp.com/newsworthy
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 reading the latest happenings...
Ukrainian Officials Sanctioned
The world is still watching closely to see if Russia really will invade Ukraine, but the U.S. now says some of Ukraine’s biggest threats come from within. They say four Ukrainian officials have been working with the Russian government to destabilize Ukraine. The U.S. imposed economic sanctions on them this week. American government officials say they’ve been working with Russia since 2020 to make it harder for Ukraine to function independently. Now, about 100,000 Russian troops have been sent to Ukraine’s border, leaving many world leaders to believe an attack is coming.
Read more: CNBC, AP, CNN, US Treasury
More Arms to Ukraine
The U.S. gave the go-ahead for NATO members to send American-made weapons to Ukraine. Ukraine will get antitank weapons and air defense systems. The U.S. is also planning on sending Ukraine five helicopters. Other NATO members have sent weapons, too, and the British government sent in troops to train Ukraine’s military. Of course, the hope is none of this will be necessary. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken plans to meet with his Russian counterpart today.
Read more: Politico, WSJ, Reuters, ABC News
Havana Syndrome Investigation
The CIA has been working to solve the so-called Havana Syndrome. Now, the agency says it hasn’t found any evidence a foreign country could be behind it, as many people suspected. The mysterious ailment has been popping up all over the world since 2016. About 1,000 American diplomats and their support staff say they’ve heard strange sounds, felt pulses of pressure in their heads, and had some other unusual physical sensations. Then, they were left with nausea, headaches, and vertigo. Now, the CIA says a lot of the cases are related to environmental causes, undiagnosed medical issues, or stress. However, others still can’t be explained.
Read more: NY Times, WaPo, NBC News, NPR
Past Month’s Historic Covid Surge
Since the start of the pandemic, more than 69 million Americans have tested positive. Now, data from Johns Hopkins University shows that more than a quarter of those cases were reported in the past month alone. As you know, that’s after the highly-contagious omicron variant became dominant in the U.S. Still, the CDC says the cases reported are an undercount. So, health officials in some places are analyzing wastewater to figure out how Covid-19 is circulating. One company tracking the wastewater found viral levels are dropping in big cities but still rising in smaller ones.
Read more: CNN, NY Times, Johns Hopkins, Biobot Analytics
Record Number of Americans Out Sick
Some people are calling it the “Great American Sickout”. Early this month, the Census Bureau says almost 9 million Americans had to stay home from work because they either had Covid-19 or they were caring for someone who did. That's 6% of the U.S. workforce. It’s also a record number of Americans out sick since the bureau started tracking it at the start of the pandemic. On top of that, more than three million Americans told the bureau they weren't working either because they were worried about the virus spreading.
Read more: CBS News, The Hill, WaPo, Census Bureau
Adele Postpones Residency
Adele announced she was postponing her Las Vegas residency just one day before it was supposed to start. The popular singer posted a tearful apology video to her fans on social media and said she was “gutted” by the decision to postpone. She blamed delivery delays and said half of her team and crew came down with Covid-19, so it’s just impossible to finish the show now. Adele did say all the dates will be rescheduled, and she’ll give updates when she has them.
Read more: BBC, Variety, NBC News, Adele
New Peanut Allergy Study
A new study shows young children may be able to overcome their peanut allergy if it's treated early enough. Researchers slowly gave more and more peanut butter protein powder to a group of toddlers to build up their tolerance to peanuts. After 2.5 years, almost three-fourths of them could handle around 16 peanuts without having an allergic reaction. Six months after they stopped the treatment, a fifth of the kids still had the same tolerance. The study showed it worked best in the youngest children. However, the study’s co-author said more research needs to be done to see how long the effects last.
Read more: AP, UPI, Lancet
Pacifier Recall
If you have a baby at home, you may want to check their pacifiers. A popular brand is recalling two designs because they could come apart and be a choking hazard. The brand is Mushie and Co., and the two designs in the recall are classic and daisy. They were sold all over the country at stores like TJ Maxx, Amazon, and some baby boutiques. The recalled pacifiers were sold between April and December of last year. Thankfully, no injuries were reported, but officials say to stop using them right away.
Read more: NBC News, USA Today, Mushie, CPSC
Get Refund Here: Mushie
Amazon Opening Physical Clothing Store
Amazon is rolling out a new rival for retailers: A physical clothing store. The tech giant is opening its first brick-and-mortar clothing store in Southern California. It's called Amazon Style, and it'll sell clothes, shoes, and accessories for women and men. It’s not your average shopping experience. It's more of a high-tech experience. The store will only display one of everything, and the rest will be in the back of the store so customers won't have to sift through racks. Instead, shoppers will use the Amazon app to scan the item’s QR code. They can add items to the physical dressing rooms or checkout counter. It will open later this year.
Read more: LA Times, Reuters, USA Today, CNBC, Amazon
Youngest Woman to Fly Solo Around The World
A British- Belgian teen pilot is now the youngest woman to fly solo around the world. 19-year-old Zara Rutherford landed her small plane in Western Belgium yesterday, 155 days after taking off from that same spot. Her flight around the globe was only supposed to take three months, but bad weather and visa issues kept her away for an extra two months. She broke the record set by 30-year-old American aviator Shaesta Waiz in 2017. However, Rutherford can’t beat the overall record since Briton Travis Ludlow set that one last year as an 18-year-old.
Read more: Reuters, CBS News, NPR, NY Times
‘Encanto’ Song Beats ‘Frozen’ Hit
There’s a new top Disney song. The song from the hit movie “Encanto” just beat out the oscar-winning hit “Let It Go” from the movie “Frozen”. The new song is called “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”, and it’s catchy. The tune is now the highest-charting song from a Disney animated movie since 1995. It hit No. 4 on this week’s Billboard Hot 100 chart, thanks to 29 million streams and 8,000 downloads. “Let it Go” made it to No. 5 in 2014.
Read more: People, EW, Today, Billboard
Feel Good Friday: Betty White Challenge Success
Animal shelters are feeling the love thanks to Betty White and social media. The actress was a dedicated animal-welfare activist. After she died, fans on social media started asking people to give $5 to any rescue or animal shelter in her honor. Well, the #bettywhitechallenge took off, and by Monday, which would have been her 100th birthday, animal organizations were blown away by the response. One Canada-based animal shelter raised more than $400,000 from the challenge. Shelters in Florida, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin got more than $50,000 each. The list goes on and on.
Read more: WSJ, People, CNET, American Humane