Wednesday, March 2nd, 2022
Freedom Over Tyranny, Texas Tests Trump & Opening Day Canceled
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Rothys.com/newsworthy and kiwico.com (Listen for the discount code)
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…
State of the Union Recap
President Biden’s first State of the Union started with the president talking about the war in Ukraine. He said, “Freedom will always triumph over tyranny.” President Biden again promised American forces would not fight in Ukraine but said the U.S. would ban Russian planes from American airspace. Then, he moved on to issues here at home. He talked about plans to address inflation by investing in American manufacturing, speeding up supply chains, and more. He also launched new efforts focused on mental healthcare and pushed Congress to pass more of his proposals.
Read more: NY Times, WSJ, AP, WaPo, White House
Russian Troops Stalled
Russia has been escalating its strikes from both the air and the ground. However, while at least three major cities are surrounded, the capital of Kyiv isn’t one of them. The long convoy of Russian tanks and troops that was headed toward Kyiv came to a stop yesterday. American defense officials say they could be stopped to regroup but that the Russians are also running low on fuel and food. These setbacks have given Ukrainian troops and volunteers more time to prepare for battle. Even though Ukrainians are putting up a powerful fight, analysts say there will be more tough times ahead for Ukraine.
Read more: NPR, WaPo, NY Times, WSJ,
Russia Addresses UN Rights Forum
Russia’s foreign minister tried to justify the country’s attacks at the United Nations Human Rights Council. He accused Ukraine of trying to get nuclear weapons and trying to claim Russian territory. Both are claims western nations say are not true. More than 100 diplomats walked out of his speech in protest. Meanwhile, support for Ukraine is only getting stronger. NATO is still promising to give the country hundreds of millions of dollars worth of weapons, and the U.S. and other Western countries have committed to humanitarian aid.
Read more: Fox News, NY Times, Axios, Reuters
IEA Tapping Oil Reserves
The U.S. and 30 other world powers are making moves meant to lower gas prices that have been soaring in recent weeks. They agreed to release 60 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves. Half of that will come from the U.S. and the rest from countries in Europe and Asia. All members of the International Energy Agency agreed the step was needed because oil prices were already rising before Russia’s invasion started impacting fuel supplies. Then, in response to the war, the cost of oil surged to more than $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014.
Read more: Bloomberg, Business Insider, WaPo, Axios, IEA
Texas Primary Results
Texas just held the country’s first primary of the year. Political analysts say it’s the first real test of how much influence former President Trump still has over the Republican party. Trump has come out against all four Texas Republicans in Congress who voted to certify President Biden’s victory in the 2020 election and supports their challengers instead. Most of them sailed through primaries anyway, but one race was so close that it’s now going to a runoff. As for the race for governor, it’s going to come down to the current Gov. Gregg Abbott and former presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke.
More Businesses Shunning Russia
Some of America’s best-known companies, like Apple, Google, Ford, Harley-Davidson, and ExxonMobil, are now the latest to punish Russia for invading Ukraine. Apple says it’s pausing tech sales in Russia, and both Apple and Google are restricting access to Russian state-owned media outlets, like RT and Sputnik. Ford and ExxonMobil both said they’re suspending operations in Russia. Plus, two of the world’s biggest container lines suspended shipping to and from Russia, meaning Russia is effectively cut off from a large chunk of the globe’s shipping capacity.
Read more: Reuters, BBC, CNBC, WSJ, Business Insider, Mastercard, Visa, ExxonMobil, Apple, Google, Ford
MLB Cancels Opening Day & Some Games
Major League Baseball will scrap regular-season games for the first time in 27 years. The league is canceling opening day on March 31st and at least a week of regular-season games because the owners and players couldn’t come up with a deal. They missed the deadline for them to agree on a new contract earlier this week and didn’t hit the pushed-back deadline, either. The players won’t get paid for missed games, but the players’ union said it plans to push for those games to be rescheduled when talks start back up.
Read more: AP, ESPN, USA Today, MLBPA
National Read Across America Day
Today is ‘National Read Across America Day.’ It’s meant to encourage children of all ages to pick up books at school and home. It’s celebrated on the birthday of the well-known children’s author, Dr. Seuss. The White House recognized Dr. Seuss' books as classics that have inspired reading for generations. However, the business that preserves his legacy stopped publishing six of his books last year because some characters were drawn in racist and insensitive ways. Even the association that founded Read Across America encourages a more diverse reading list for kids.
Read more: Fox News, AP, White House, DODEA
Find a book: NEA
Ash Wednesday
Today marks the first day of Lent for Christians, also known as Ash Wednesday. You may see Catholics with smudges of ashes on their foreheads today, which is part of the tradition. Many will also choose to give up something for the next 40 days, like chocolate, social media, or alcohol. This year, the pope is encouraging people to fast and pray for Ukrainians during the crisis there. Lent is meant to be a season of reflection and preparation leading up to Easter, which falls on April 17th this year.
Read more: WaPo, Fox News, Christianity
Work Wednesday: Companies Raising Wages
Big companies keep on raising wages to try to attract and keep workers. Amazon, Bank of America, Chipotle, and Costco are just a few of the places upping their workers’ pay this year. Just this week, Target announced its new starting hourly wages will range from $15 to $24 an hour. It’s all part of a growing trend. Large retailers can afford it since many are also seeing their profits increase in the last year. Still, some economists say companies continue to pass their labor expenses onto customers, which may be contributing to inflation.
Read more: WSJ, CNN, NY Times, Target, DOL