Monday, March 7th, 2022
Ceasefire Fails, Midwest Tornadoes & Batman’s Big Bucks
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 review the latest happenings...
Russia Steps Up Attacks
Over the weekend, Russian forces stepped up their attacks on residential areas in Ukraine, making it difficult for people to evacuate. Already, more than 1.5 million Ukrainians have fled the country since the fighting started less than two weeks ago. The U.N. calls this “the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since WWII.” Hundreds of thousands more are still trying to escape the fighting. Others are volunteering to fight back.
Read more: AP, WSJ, NY Times, WaPo, President Zelensky
Ukraine Ceasefire Fails
Russian and Ukrainian forces agreed to an 11-hour ceasefire in the southern port city of Mariupol so civilians could evacuate, but Ukrainian officials say Russians kept attacking, even along the so-called humanitarian corridor. Russian forces also recently struck a Ukrainian military airbase, as well as a commercial airport, making it difficult for Ukrainians to fly out. International leaders are still calling on Russia to negotiate, and the third round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian leaders is planned for today.
Read more: BBC, AP, Reuters, LA Times
Protests in Russia and Ukraine
People all around the world are coming together to protest the war in Ukraine, and that includes people in Ukraine and Russia. For days, thousands of people have gathered in the southern port of Kherson, calling for Russia to go home. That's the first major Ukrainian region Russia has conquered since the war started. Meanwhile, in Russia, thousands more people turned out in dozens of cities to protest the war. Those rallies have been daily in Russia, even though unauthorized protests are illegal there. More than 13,000 Russians have been arrested for protesting since last month.
Read more: NY Times, NY Post, CNN, WaPo, BBC
Brittney Griner Detained in Russia
An American basketball player is being held in Russia on criminal charges. Russian officials detained seven-time WNBA All-Star and Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner. Custom officials there say they found vape cartridges in her luggage with hashish oil inside, which is a marijuana concentrate. Over the weekend, customs released the video of Griner going through airport security and officials checking her bag. However, the video was taken last month, so Griner may have been in custody for a while. If she’s found guilty on these drug charges, she could get up to 10 years in prison.
Read more: ESPN, NY Times, Fox News, USA Basketball, Russia Customs, US Embassy
Deadly Iowa Tornado
Americans are having to clean up from two separate natural disasters. First, several tornadoes tore through central Iowa. They destroyed homes, knocked down trees and powerlines, and sent debris flying. Sadly, seven people were killed, making this the state’s deadliest storm in more than a decade. One meteorology professor told the AP this storm likely caused more than $15 billion in damages.
Read more: Des Moines Register, CNN, WaPo, AP, Weather Channel
Florida Fires
Crews are battling at least four dangerous wildfires in the Florida panhandle. People in at least 1,100 homes were told to flee over the weekend, and a nursing home for veterans had to evacuate in Panama City. As of this morning, the biggest fires are less than 50% contained. They have burned through more than 16 square miles and are still growing.
Read more: AP, CNN, NY Times, WKMG
Freedom Convoy DC Protests
A miles-long line of American trucks, RVs, and cars are circling the nation’s capital. This is the American offshoot of Canada's “Freedom Convoy”. They’re protesting Covid-19 restrictions. It started in California and picked up hundreds more drivers as it moved east. The drivers are promising weeks of traffic disruptions. Plus, one of the convoy’s organizers says he and other protesters are hoping to meet with lawmakers tomorrow. They promise to be peaceful, but law enforcement agencies are still paying attention.
Read more: WaPo, NY Times, Reuters, Axios, NBC News, The Guardian
More Businesses Suspend Services in Russia
Big businesses like TikTok and Netflix turned their back on Russia over the weekend. The video-sharing app suspended new content and live-streaming there, and Netflix ended its services in protests of the invasion. Two top accounting firms pulled out of the country, along with American Express, Visa, and Mastercard, which left Russian banks scrambling to turn to a Chinese card system. Zara, Ikea, and Puma closed their stores, and Microsoft suspended all sales there. Meanwhile, companies still doing business in Russia are facing backlash. Hashtags like #BoycottMcDonalds and #BoycottCocaCola are trending on Twitter
Read more: Reuters, Financial Times, CNET, Newsweek, AP, CNBC, Fox Business, Variety, TikTok, Mastercard, Visa, Microsoft, IKEA, Showtime
Shell Buys Russian Oil
Oil giant Shell is facing fierce criticism after buying 100,000 tons of heavily-discounted oil from Russia. On Twitter, Ukraine’s foreign minister asked the company if Russian oil smells like Ukrainian blood to them, but Shell says it’s navigating the dilemma with care and promises to donate the profits to a fund for Ukrainian humanitarian needs.
Read more: CNBC, Reuters, BBC, Shell
FTC on WW Data Collection
The company best-known as Weight Watchers is now facing a $1.5 million fine because the federal government says its app collected information on children. It has to do with the company’s free mobile app for kids, Kurbo, which is supposed to help kids ages 8-17 keep track of their health goals. The FTC says the app illegally collected sensitive information that violates child privacy acts. Kurbo's lawyers defended the app, saying it never sold the data to third parties or targeted kids with ads. However, they agreed to pay the fines to settle the claims and delete any sensitive information.
Read more: CBS News, Newsweek, CNET, FTC
New Fast Phone-Charging Technology
New, record-breaking technology could let your phone fully charge in just nine minutes. That’s reportedly 12 times faster than it takes to charge the iPhone 13. This high-speed flash charge technology comes from Chinese phone maker Oppo. It was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress. Experts say Apple and Samsung are already working to follow suit with this kind of technology. However, for now, it will only be available in Oppo’s OnePlus smartphone when it comes out this summer.
Read more: The Sun, MacRumors, Daily Mail, Daily Star, OPPO
Amazon Streaming ACM Awards
Amazon is streaming the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas. That means, for the first time in decades, the ACMs won’t air on network TV. CBS refused to renew its contract last year after ratings slipped to an all-time low. Instead, the award show has a new home and will air on Amazon Prime in a sped-up, concert-like format without commercials. It marks the first major award show to live-stream exclusively. Country music legend Dolly Parton is hosting, and there will be more than 20 performances from other big stars.
Read more: Rolling Stone, US Magazine, AP, ACM
Batman Movie Best Opening 2022
This weekend saw the biggest movie debut at theaters so far this year. “The Batman” brought in $128.5 million in North America. It was the best opening weekend for any movie since “Spider-Man: No Way Home” in December of last year. It blew past industry expectations, with experts thinking Batman’s darker material would’ve hurt its numbers at the box office. It’s gotten a lot of positive reviews, but some criticisms, too. TMZ says some Twitter users are calling it “too political” and “woke”.
Read more: WSJ, Hollywood Reporter, AP, TMZ
Money Monday: U.S. Household Debt Climbing
American households took on $1 trillion in new debt last year. That's the biggest spike in 14 years, since before the 2008 financial crisis. The New York Federal Reserve said it’s mainly because mortgages and cars cost more now. The price of the average American home went up nearly 20% last year, which boosted mortgage balances. The other big factor is the rising prices for new and used cars, which drove auto loans to a record. Also, experts say pent-up demand for travel and entertainment had more people swiping their credit cards. Americans added $52 billion to credit card debt in the last three months of 2021.
Read more: WSJ, Reuters, New York Fed