Thursday, February 10th, 2022
Europe Evacuation Plan, Mega Media Merger & Team USA Wins Golds
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 peruse the latest happenings...
Eastern Europe Evacuation Plan
The U.S. now has a plan to get thousands of Americans out of Ukraine if Russia invades. As several news outlets report, some troops who were recently deployed to Poland from North Carolina will start preparing in the coming days. They’ll set up checkpoints, tent camps, and other temporary facilities inside Poland’s border with Ukraine. The troops aren’t authorized to enter Ukraine if a war breaks out, but since Poland is the closest NATO neighbor, they’ll coordinate evacuations from there. Right now, there are roughly 30,000 Americans in Ukraine. Western officials say an invasion is likely within weeks, but Russia still denies any attack plans.
Read more: NBC News, Reuters, WSJ, CNN
3rd US-Canada Border Crossing Blocked
Truckers protesting pandemic restrictions have now blocked a third point along the U.S.-Canada border, and it’s starting to impact the auto industry. Automakers rely on those routes to move parts and other components between the U.S. and Canada. Because the border crossings have been blocked, Ford, Honda, GM, Stellantis, and Toyota had to halt some production this week. Roads are also shut down in the major cities of Ottawa and Toronto. These protesters are still upset about Covid-19 restrictions, especially vaccine mandates. Now, movements like this are starting to catch on in other parts of the world, too.
Read more: NY Times, WaPo, Fox News, Politico
More Mask Mandates Ending
Even more states in the U.S. are announcing plans to lift mask mandates. In the past week, 10 states have decided to either do away with or scale back mandates, sometime in the next couple of months. Some of the latest ones include New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Elsewhere, it’s been a while since any vaccine mandates have been in place. Still, the CDC says no matter what the mandates are, it’s still too early for anyone to stop wearing masks. The agency’s director acknowledged that case counts are getting better, but she says the rates of hospitalizations and deaths are still too high to ease up.
Read more: NPR, USA Today, The Hill, Bloomberg, White House
First Black Woman to Lead Fed Bank
For the first time in history, one of the 12 Federal Reserve banks in the U.S. will be led by a Black woman. The Boston Fed picked economist Susan Collins as its next chief. She’ll start her job in July, meaning she’ll have a vote on financial policy in the second half of this year. It could be an especially important time since it’s likely going to be when the U.S. is in the middle of raising interest rates to deal with inflation.
Read more: Boston Globe, Axios, Reuters, CNBC, Boston Fed
Team USA’s Gold Medals
Team USA has reason to celebrate at the Winter Olympics. Three Americans won gold medals in their sports. Figure skater Nathan Chen is the first American man to win gold since 2010 and only the 7th U.S. men's skater to top the podium in history. Also, in a great comeback story, American Lindsey Jacobellis snowboarded her way to a gold medal, getting redemption 16 years after her infamous stumble. Plus, American snowboarder Chloe Kim defended her title, winning her second straight gold medal in the event. Right now, Team USA has three gold medals, five silver, and one bronze.
Read more: AP, The Athletic, NY Post, USA Today, NBC News, Olympics
Olympics Doping Controversy
Russia is at the center of another Olympic doping controversy. A Russian teen skating sensation who broke records on the ice Monday reportedly failed a drug test. That is holding up the team figure skating medal ceremony that was supposed to happen Tuesday night. 15-year old Kamila Valieva led her team to gold and landed a historic quad jump. Now, Russian media says she tested positive for a drug used to treat a heart condition called Angina. The drug has been banned since 2014 because it can improve a person’s endurance and blood flow.
Read more: Reuters, USA Today, NY Post
WarnerMedia-Discovery Merger Approved
Two media giants are joining forces to make one of the nation’s biggest conglomerates. Discovery and AT&T’s Warner Media got the final okay from U.S. regulators for their $43 billion deal. The combined company passed the government’s antitrust review. It will now be called Warner Brothers Media. That means the two companies will blend TV channels like CNN, TBS, TNT, HGTV, and Animal Planet, as well as the Warner Bros. film studio and streaming services like HBO Max and Discovery+. Now, they need the Discovery shareholder approval, which is expected to come in the next few weeks.
Read more Axios, NY Times, Deadline, The Verge, SEC
Magazine Print Editions Cut
Some of America’s favorite magazines will no longer be available in print. ‘Entertainment Weekly’, ‘In-Style’, ‘Parents’, and three others are going digital-only. The move also triggered 200 job cuts, which accounts for less than 5% of the company’s workforce. The media company that publishes the magazines says it’s embracing the inevitable digital future. However, it also runs 19 other magazines like ‘People’, ‘Better Homes and Gardens’, and more. It will keep those print versions and will invest in them.
Read more: WSJ, NY Times, Axios
Snoop Buys Death Row Records
Hip-hop star Snoop Dogg now owns the popular record label that launched his iconic career nearly three decades ago. Snoop bought Death Row Records, calling it “an extremely meaningful moment.” A lot of records from that label are considered classics of the hip-hop genre that defined an era. Other big stars who released music from the label include Tupac Shakur, MC Hammer, and Dr. Dre. The announcement comes just days before Snoop is set to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show. Snoop is also putting out a new album tomorrow.
Read more: Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Reuters, NPR, Blackstone
Thing to Know Thursday: Record Super Bowl Betting
Americans are expected to smash records this year by betting nearly $8 billion on the Super Bowl. The number of people placing bets is up, too. The American Gaming Association says 31.5 million Americans will wager on the game. That’s a 35% jump from last year. The uptick highlights growth in sports betting, especially now that it’s legal in more states. Many people are trying to guess how close the game might be. Most experts think it will be close, but that the Rams will win it. However, the Bengals were also considered underdogs for the last couple of games, and they pulled off upsets.
Read more: AP, The Athletic, ESPN, American Gaming Association