Wednesday, February 16th, 2022
Russia Pullback?, Gunmaker Liable & Hollywood Sign Makeover
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by StitchFix.com/newsworthy and Masterworks.Art/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 about the latest happenings…
Russia Announces Troop Pullback
Russia says some of its troops are backing off the Ukrainian border, but that doesn’t mean an invasion is off the table. Russia’s president wouldn’t commit to withdrawing all of its troops. He said Russia’s next moves will depend on how the situation evolves. So far, the U.S. and its allies haven’t seen any evidence that Russia has actually started to pull back troops at all. As of yesterday, the U.S. said 150,000 Russian forces were massed near Ukraine. So, President Biden says an invasion is still possible. That said, Biden is promising to give Russia every chance to resolve its conflicts with talks, not violence.
Read more: NY Times, CNN, WSJ, AP, CBS News, White House
Ukraine Cyberattacks
Some analysts think Russia might try to attack Ukraine in other ways besides a full-on war. Just yesterday, Ukraine was hit with a series of cyberattacks. They knocked out the websites of the Ukrainian Army, the Defense Ministry, and major banks. So far, it’s not clear who’s behind the attacks, but the Washington Post cites intelligence that says that it was likely Russian government hackers. The White House is making sure American federal agencies are also prepared for Russian cyberattacks, and it’s encouraging critical industries to tighten up their security, too.
Read more: AP, NPR, WaPo, Politico
White House Seeks More Covid Relief
The White House is asking Congress for more money to fight Covid-19. The Health and Human Service Department laid it out in a call with lawmakers. People on the call told news outlets that HHS requested another $30 billion for things like antiviral drugs, testing, and $3 billion to fight future variants. Most Republicans and some Democrats are skeptical, though. They say the White House should spend all of the money from the last relief bill first. However, supporters say the U.S. needs to order soon to have supplies ready for later this year.
Read more: WSJ, Axios, AP, WaPo, Covid Money Tracker
Prince Andrew Settles Abuse Lawsuit
It looks like Prince Andrew won’t answer any more questions about sexual abuse allegations. He’s settled the lawsuit against him. As we’ve reported before, an American woman has been suing the member of the British royal family, saying he raped her when she was a teen. That dates back 20 years when he was friends with Jeffrey Epstein. It’s unclear how much he is paying to settle the suit. Andrew still insists he is not guilty. So far, he has not been charged with a crime, but he still could be if there’s enough evidence.
Read more: WaPo, Fox News, NY Times, Newsweek, US Courts
Sea Levels Rising Rapidly
It seems America’s coastline is going to look a lot different 30 years from now. A new government report says sea levels could rise another foot by 2050. That’s as much as they rose in the entire 20th century. The biggest rise is expected on the gulf and east coasts. You can probably guess what scientists are blaming: climate change. They say the warming Earth has caused ice sheets and glaciers to melt, and that’s why sea levels are rising. The researchers say what’s going to happen by 2050 likely can’t be undone. However, if changes are made now, things might not have to get that much worse for the end of the century.
Read more: AP, WaPo, WSJ, Politico, NOAA
3rd Person Cured of HIV
It’s another breakthrough in the fight against HIV. A woman is thought to be the 3rd person cured of this virus. Scientists say she’s in remission four years after getting a transplant of stem cells harvested from umbilical cord blood. While success stories like hers do bring hope, researchers say it’s not feasible for all the millions of people living with HIV. All three of the patients who were cured got the transplant as part of cancer treatment, and experts say if the patients don’t have cancer, doing this process is risky.
Read more: NY Times, NBC News, Axios, Reuters, The Guardian, CROI
Pregnant Vaccination Study
There’s more evidence showing women who get vaccinated for Covid-19 while they’re pregnant may benefit their babies, too. Researchers from children’s hospitals and the CDC looked at hundreds of babies who were in the hospital over the past six months. The CDC says the Covid-19 vaccines were 61% effective at protecting babies whose moms got the shots while pregnant from going to the hospital. That protection rose to 80% when the women were vaccinated later in their pregnancy. However, the CDC still doesn’t recommend pregnant women wait to get the shots.
Read more: CNBC, Reuters, WSJ, CNN, CDC
Sandy Hook Families Settlement
For the first time, a gun manufacturer is being held liable for a mass shooting in the U.S. Families of the victims in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting reached a $73 million settlement with gunmaker Remington Arms. 20 1st graders and six educators were killed nine years ago when a shooter opened fire inside the school. He was using a rifle designed by Remington. So, nine families and one survivor sued the gunmaker for its role in the tragedy, saying the company should have never sold such a dangerous weapon to the public.
Read more: Fox Business, WSJ, WaPo, NY Times, PBS News Conference
Olympics Hockey, Skiing Updates
The long winning streak came to an end for Team USA’s men’s hockey team. They fought a close game against Slovakia in the quarter-finals this morning. It was tied up through overtime, but the Americans lost in a shootout. Now, all eyes are on the American women. Tomorrow, they face rival Canada to decide who takes home gold and who takes home silver. Earlier this morning, Team USA freestyle skiers kept their Olympic medal streak going in men’s slopestyle. Americans won gold and silver in the event. So right now, Team USA is still in third, with 19 medals; eight of them are gold.
Read more ESPN, USA Today, NY Times, Olympics
Rams Super Bowl Parade
Los Angeles will honor the Rams for winning the Super Bowl with a parade today. It’s the 1st big victory parade in L.A. since the start of the pandemic. No parades were held after the Lakers and Dodgers championship wins in 2020. Now, even the most famous part of Tinseltown is giving the Super Bowl champs a nod with the Hollywood sign. Workers put covers over the iconic Hollywood letters to change them to read: Ram’s house.
Read more: KTLA, KABC, Ramswire, KTVU, LA Times
Super Bowl Viewers
More than 112 million people watched the Super Bowl this year. That’s across NBC, Telemundo, Peacock, and NFL digital platforms. Overall, the viewership numbers were up nearly 13% from last year. That made it the most-watched since 2015.
Read more: Variety, Deadline, AP, NBC Sports Press Box
Work Wednesday: 4-day Work Week in Belgium
The four-day workweek is catching on around the world. Belgium is the latest country to announce its employees can work a shorter workweek and earn the same salaries. Their new reform package says the decision is up to the employee. They can request a four-day workweek for a six-month trial. If they like it, they can keep it. If they don’t, they can opt-out. Companies can still refuse the request, but they have to give a reason. A lot of other countries are doing some form of this. The UK started a trial program last year, and other countries like Canada, New Zealand, and Australia are doing something similar.
Read more: Fortune, BBC, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Forbes