Wednesday, March 9th, 2022
Russia Oil Ban, “Don’t Say Gay” Bill Explained & Quarterback Frenzy
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp.com/newsworthy and Rothys.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 about the latest happenings…
U.S. Banning Russian Oil
The U.S. is taking another big step to hit Russia’s economy as punishment for invading Ukraine. President Biden announced the U.S. will ban imports of all Russian fossil fuels, including oil. Biden also banned any American investment in Russia’s energy industry. The ban has widespread support on Capitol Hill, even though President Biden says it will mean higher gas prices for Americans. The UK says it will partially match the White House’s commitment by banning Russian oil, but it will still get natural gas and coal from the country.
Read more: Bloomberg, WSJ, CBS News, AP, White House
Heavy Fighting Continues
Russia is making headway in its brutal invasion. The Russian forces have captured a strip of southern and coastal Ukraine. However, the Ukrainians have been able to slow them down in other areas, like the capital of Kyiv. Since Ukraine is fighting back so fiercely, American spy chiefs say Russian President Putin is about to get even more aggressive. Already, thousands of Ukrainians are thought to have been killed. The U.S. estimates about 2,000-4,000 Russian troops have died in battle, too.
Read more: AP, WSJ, CNN, Fox News, CBS News
2M Ukrainian Refugees
Several evacuation convoys have failed since Russian troops have reportedly been firing on the Ukrainian refugees. NATO says Russian forces may be targeting the evacuees on purpose, something Russia denies. Still, one evacuation effort was reportedly successful yesterday. Overall, the UN says more than two million people have fled Ukraine since the fighting started less than two weeks ago. Most of the Ukrainian refugees are going to Poland, so that country is racing to open new shelters.
Read more: NY Times, WaPo, NPR, Reuters
US Prisoners Released from Venezuela
At least one American from the so-called CITGO6 is finally able to come home. To recap: back in 2017, six Houston-based executives traveled to Venezuela for a CITGO petroleum business meeting, but they were sentenced to prison there. The U.S. has said they were imprisoned on false charges without due process. Now, several news outlets are citing sources who say one of the six was finally let out of prison. Another American was released, too. He was detained more than a year ago because he brought a drone into the country. For that, Venezuelan law enforcement charged him with terrorism.
Read more: Reuters, NY Times, CNN, AP, State Dept.
First Capitol Riot Criminal Trial Ends
The first person to face a criminal trial for his role in the Capitol riot was just convicted. A jury found him guilty of every change he faced. Those included gun charges and one for obstructing Congress’ certification of the presidential election. He faces up to 20 years in prison for the obstruction charge alone. He’s among more than 775 people who are still facing charges in the January 6th attack. More than 200 others have pleaded guilty to a variety of misdemeanor and felony charges. Reports say this jury verdict could impact hundreds of other accused people who haven’t made a plea deal yet.
Read more: ABC News, WSJ, NY Times, NPR
Proud Boys Leader Charged with Conspiracy
The former leader of the right-wing group Proud Boys was arrested on conspiracy and other charges, even though he wasn’t in Washington, D.C. on January 6th, 2021. He’s accused of coming up with plans to storm the Capitol and encouraging members during the attack. So far, no comment from him or his attorneys about the arrest and new charges.
Read more: CBS News, Reuters, AP, Axios, DOJ
FL ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill Passes
State lawmakers in Florida approved a controversial bill. The measure says educators in Florida can’t talk about sexual orientation or gender identity with students in kindergarten through 3rd grade. Lessons about those topics will also be banned for other grades unless they’re deemed “developmentally appropriate.” Schools also have to tell parents about any changes in a student’s mental, emotional, and physical health, and that includes matters of gender identity or sexual orientation. If schools don’t follow the new rules, parents can sue.
Read more: Politico, NPR, CNN, Fox News, WSJ
All States Drop Mask Mandates
Every state in the U.S. has now decided to drop its mask mandates. Hawaii became the 50th state to announce it will no longer require masks at indoor public places. The state is also lifting strict entry requirements for travelers later this month. By the way, private businesses can still set their own rules, so they might keep requiring face coverings.
Read more: HNN, NY Times, AP, Axios, Gov. Ige
Google Buys Mandiant
Google is beefing up its security with the second-biggest deal in the company’s history. The tech giant is shelling out $5.4 billion for the cybersecurity firm Mandiant. With a big shift to remote work, plus the ever-growing Russia-Ukraine crisis, cyberattacks are top of mind. The head of Google Cloud says Mandiant will keep users safe and secure by bringing more end-to-end security features across the cloud. The deal still has to get the okay from stockholders before it can be finalized.
Read more: WSJ, The Verge, AP, Reuters, Google, Mandiant
More U.S. Brands Leave Russia
Another day and another slew of U.S. companies are pulling out of Russia. This time, it’s some of America’s most iconic brands that were facing ramped-up pressure to leave. McDonald’s, Starbucks, PepsiCo, and Coca-Cola all announced they’re suspending business in Russia because of the Ukraine invasion. It’s a significant move since some of these brands have been operating in Russia since it was part of the Soviet Union.
Read more: CNBC, AP, CNN, McDonald's, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo
Spotify, Discord Outage
We’ve got another round of internet outages to tell you about. The latest popular apps to quit working for a while are Spotify and Discord. They’re back up and running now, but the audio-streaming giant and the popular chat platform were both down for thousands of users yesterday. While those two were hit the hardest, other sites reportedly faced technical problems, too. It’s still not clear what was behind the problems.
Read more: The Verge, TechRadar, Reuters, Downdetector, Spotify, Discord
Amazon Launches Amp
Amazon’s new app Amp is letting users host their own live radio shows. Users can pick from tens of millions of licensed songs to create a live show for free. Users will also be able to take callers and pre-schedule their shows. It’s being compared to the app Clubhouse but with more music and less chatting. Not everyone can use it just yet, though. Amazon launched a beta version, so it’s only available to IOS users who have an access code.
Read more: TechCrunch, CNBC, Cnet, Amp, Amazon
NFL QB Announcements
In the NFL, one star quarterback is switching teams while another is staying put, despite rumors he was leaving. First, we’ll talk about longtime Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson becoming a Denver Bronco. He has a no-trade clause in his contract, though. That means he can’t be traded to another team without his permission, so the deal still needs to be finalized. Denver was in the running for the Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but he announced he’ll be back with Green Bay for his 18th season.
Read more: USA Today, CBS Sports, Fox News, NFL, Aaron Rodgers
Work Wednesday: Strong Hiring, Low Unemployment
U.S. employers added nearly 700,000 workers to their payrolls last month. The Labor Department said that was the biggest gain in seven months. The rate of people without jobs fell, too. The unemployment rate edged closer to the 50-year low of 3.5%. However, we should note the latest job numbers are results from mid-February, so they don’t show what impact, if any, Russia’s invasion had on the economy here in the U.S. We’re already facing the effects of that with things like high oil prices.
Read more: Reuters, WSJ, CNBC, BLS