Friday, February 4th, 2022
Terrorist Takedown, Winter Games Begin & Prime Price Hike
All the news you need in around 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Rothys.com/newsworthy and StitchFix.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...
ISIS Leader Killed
A high-stakes, overnight raid ended with the death of the global leader of ISIS. He’s known as Hajji Abdullahi. U.S. special operations forces carried out the raid early yesterday morning. It took months of military planning, including dozens of rehearsals. The U.S. got a tip months ago that the top terrorist was hiding out on the top floor of a house in northwest Syria, and he was. Instead of letting the U.S. take him alive, the Pentagon says Abdullah blew himself up, along with members of his own family. President Biden said the operation “took a major terrorist off the battlefield and sent a strong message to terrorists around the world.”
Read more: AP, NY Times, CNN, WSJ, DOD
Russia Fake Video Plan Exposed
New U.S. intelligence shows Russia was planning to use a fake video to convince people invading Ukraine was justified. Pentagon leaders say Russia planned to make it seem like Ukrainian forces attacked them and to film it. They say it was going to show staged explosions and use corpses and actors to play grieving mourners, all to spark outrage. Now, the U.S. says it hopes by making the plan public, they’ve spoiled it for Russia. Meanwhile, Russia has built up even more troops and military hardware around Ukraine’s borders.
Read more: WaPo, Reuters, AP, Fox News, Axios
Winter Olympics Begin
The 2022 Olympic Games formally kick off today. The opening ceremonies are happening this morning at 7 a.m. ET, though it’s evening in Beijing. The same Chinese filmmaker who directed the opening ceremonies at the 2008 Summer Games will do it again this year, but he says it will be simpler this time around. Apart from the pageantry, there will be the usual parade of athletes and lighting of the Olympic cauldron. For Team USA, women’s speedskater Brittany Bowe and men’s curler John Shuster will carry the American flag. Then, it’s time for the actual games. There will be 109 medal events across 15 sports.
Read more: NBC Sports, Axios, WaPo, NY Times
Winter Olympics Cybersecurity
Even though Americans are still competing in Beijing, they’re being warned to keep their guards up. For example, the FBI told athletes to bring a temporary cell phone with them instead of the one they usually use. There’s fear Chinese hackers could carry out all kinds of cyberattacks. Also, because of the pandemic, athletes at this year’s games are required to download an app to track their health. The FBI thinks that app could be a security risk, too. The International Olympic Committee says it's safe, but Americans will likely have burner phones just in case.
Read more: NPR, ABC News, The Hill, FBI
Winter Storm Impacts
As expected, a major winter storm brought freezing rain, ice, and snow from Texas to upstate New York. It prompted airlines to cancel thousands of flights, and it made road travel especially dangerous. Trees and powerlines toppled, and as of this morning, hundreds of thousands of people are still without power, most of them in Tennessee. The storm brought thick ice from Texas to Ohio. It also brought possible tornadoes to the deep south. Also, it brought more than three feet of snow to one part of New Mexico and more than a foot across several midwestern states. Now, it’s going to start impacting the northeastern U.S.
Read more: CNN, CBS News, WaPo, NY Times, WSJ
Facebook Loses Users, Stock Plunges
For the first time, Facebook is losing users, and shares in Meta took an even deeper dive because of it. The number of people using the app globally on a daily basis fell by about half a million in the last three months of 2021. That still left about 1.93 billion users logging on every day, but the lack of growth added to the downfall of parent company Meta on Wall Street yesterday. Meta’s stock price plunged more than 26%, shaving $230 billion off its market value. The company blames several things, like its competitor TikTok and Apple’s new privacy changes.
Read more: Recode, USA Today, WaPo, AP
Amazon Price Hike
Prime members should get ready to pay more. Amazon is raising the price for its Prime services for both new and current users. The yearly subscription is going up another $20 to $139. The monthly subscription is going up by $2 to $15 a month. The tech giant says its prices are rising because of increased wages and transportation costs. As of last year, there were more than 200 million Amazon Prime members.
Read more: The Verge, Deadline, CNBC, USA Today, Amazon
Money to Revamp WNBA
Dozens of investors, from Nike to Condoleezza Rice, are putting millions of dollars into the WNBA to try and revamp the league. The WNBA raised $750 million, and that marks the largest-ever capital investment for a women’s sports property. As for where the money will go, the WNBA commissioner says she wants to focus on what brings in revenue, like player marketing, fan engagement, and brand elevation across the globe.
Read more: NY Times, Forbes, WSJ, The Athletic, AP, WNBA
NASA Retiring ISS
It’s almost a wrap for the International Space Station. NASA announced it’s retiring the station in less than 10 years. When the time comes, it will plunge into a remote part of the Pacific Ocean called Point Nemo. The ISS has been in space since 1998, but it wasn’t built to last forever, and it’s aging. It’s already spent 24 years helping scientists and researchers study Earth and space. Once the agency retires the old station, it will pay private agencies to use their spacecraft instead.
Read more: USA Today, NPR, CNN, NASA
Feel Good Friday: School Celebrates Custodian Becoming U.S. Citizen
A beloved school janitor got the surprise of a lifetime. Leo Magalang works at a suburban Chicago Elementary School. He’s also an immigrant from the Philippines. Just one day after he was sworn in as a brand new U.S. citizen, teachers and students at his school surprised him with a heartwarming celebration. When he walked into work, he saw all the students and teachers from his school lining the hallways, cheering, and waving American flags. Along with the grand entrance, the students wrote him letters to say congratulations on his big milestone.
Read more: WMAQ, Today, Plainfield School District #202