Tuesday, March 15th, 2022
Ukraine “Decimated”, Equal Pay Day & Dolly Bows Out
All the news 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 read the latest happenings...
Peace Talks
Russia is keeping up its attacks against Ukraine, even as the two sides continue peace talks today. Yesterday’s talks were put on what was called a “technical pause,” but negotiations are expected to restart today. There was a bit of optimism before the talks, but Russia’s government has insisted it won’t stop until “all plans” for the invasion are fulfilled.
Read more: WSJ, NYT, CNN
Mariupol Latest
Russia has been surrounding the Ukrainian city of Mariupol for more than a week now, and it’s seen some of Russia’s most brutal shelling since the invasion began. Reports say hundreds of people have finally been able to escape, but hundreds of thousands more are left behind without heat, food, or clean water. A convoy of trucks that was on its way to help, carrying relief supplies and bringing buses to evacuate people, was not allowed into the city.
Read more: AP, WaPo
UN’s Warning
The United Nations Secretary-General showed his anger at the situation in Ukraine saying the country was “being decimated before the eyes of the world,” and that the impact on civilians is reaching “terrifying proportions.” He also warned of the global impact, adding that nuclear war is 'back within the realm of possibility.'
Read more FOX News, Axios, CNN, Twitter
FOX News Correspondent Injured
Russian forces continue to pound areas all around Ukraine, including the capital city of Kyiv. Fox News reports that one of its correspondents was just outside the capital covering the war when he was hurt. Benjamin Hall is a longtime war correspondent. The network says he was hospitalized but it doesn’t have a lot of details yet.
Read more: FOX News
Refugee Crisis
The United Nations now says more than 2.8 million Ukrainian refugees have fled their homes since the Russian invasion began, and around 1.5 million of those refugees are believed to be in Poland. Polish authorities are now turning sports arenas into shelters, and two of the biggest cities in Poland are warning they’re running out of supplies. Nearly 10% of the population of Poland’s capital of Warsaw is now Ukrainian refugees. Meanwhile, the British government is now offering to pay residents 350 pounds, or about $456, a month to house refugees.
Read More: Reuters, Axios, WaPo, Independent, BBC, Politico
Manchin Opposes Raskin
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin said he won’t support President Biden’s pick for a key position on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. Biden nominated Sarah Bloom Raskin to essentially be the nation’s top banking regulator. Raskin has urged financial regulators to better understand how climate change can impact the financial system and may want to shift spending away from fossil fuels, while Sen. Manchin says American economic experts should be focused on issues like rising inflation and the cost of energy. Since the divided Senate decides whether to confirm Raskin, Manchin is seen as a possible make-or-break vote.
Read more: WSJ, Politico, CNN, Axios, The Hill
Fed Meeting Begins
The Federal Reserve is making big moves this week. Today, the Fed begins its two-day policy meeting, and by the end of it tomorrow, the Fed is expected to raise interest rates in an effort to curb inflation.
Read more: CNBC, MarketWatch, WSJ, ABC News
Equal Pay Day
Today is Equal Pay Day. It symbolizes how far into a new year the average American woman must work to make the same amount of money that a man earned the year before. The latest government data shows the average woman working full-time, year-round, earned 83 cents for every dollar paid to their average male counterpart. The wage gap is even greater for most women of color. The organization that started Equal Pay Day encourages everyone to wear red to help raise awareness.
Read more: US News, Forbes, White House, Census, Pay Equity
Pete Davidson Going to Space
Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson is the latest celebrity to grab a ride to the edge of space. He’s part of a six-person crew going on a Blue Origin rocket later this month. The rocket will go up and back in about 10-minutes and provide a few minutes of weightlessness at the top. They blast off on March 23rd.
Read more: CBS News, The Verge, LA Times, NY Times
Send Your Name Around the Moon
You may not be able to afford a ticket to space anytime soon, but at least your name could go. NASA is letting anyone add their names to a flash drive that’ll go on its Orion spacecraft when it orbits the moon later this year.
Read more: CNN, USA Today
Add Your Name to the Mission: NASA
Russia & US in Space Together
A U.S. astronaut’s return home hangs in the balance as tensions with Russia escalate. After nearly a year in space, Mark Vande Hei is slated to come home from the International Space Station on a Russian capsule on March 30th. However, with the deadly conflict and punishing sanctions happening on Earth, there have been some concerns (and some unconfirmed reports) that Vande Hei could be left behind. Russia’s space corporation denies those claims and says it will, in fact, bring home the astronaut as planned. NASA also insists nothing has changed about his return home.
Read more: AP, The Verge, The Guardian, NASA
Ford Sells SUVs with Missing Chips
Ford is trying to get customers their vehicles faster, even during a global chip shortage. It’s going to start selling and shipping some Ford Explorer SUVs without all their features, at least temporarily. Instead of waiting on the chips, Ford says it’ll move forward with sales and offer some Explorers without features like rear heating and air conditioning controls. A spokesperson said buyers will get a deal on the vehicles missing the features, and dealerships will be able to install the chips later on.
Read more: The Verge, Freep, Auto News
iOS 15.4 is Here
More than two years into the pandemic, you can finally unlock your Apple iPhone with a mask on. The newly-released iOS 15.4 update unleashes that feature for Face ID along with some other new options, like Airtag anti-stalking alerts, Siri’s new gender-neutral voice, and the Tap to Pay feature. The new update is available for the iPhone 6 and later, except for the Face ID mask unlock feature, which only works on iPhone 12 or later models.
Read more: CNET, TechCrunch, MacRumors, WSJ
Dolly Parton Declines
A music icon is saying ‘no thanks’ to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Dolly Parton, who was already inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame, is pulling out of this year’s Rock Hall nominations, saying she hasn’t “earned that right.” She explained she doesn’t want to take votes away from other nominees but said she’d love to make a rock and roll album in the future. She made the Rock Hall’s shortlist alongside other first-time nominees, like Eminem, Lionel Richie, Duran Duran, and A Tribe Called Quest.
Read more: Pitchfork, AP, New York Times, Dolly Parton
Trivia Tuesday
Q: Which U.S. state has the longest cave system in the world?
Play along on today’s Instagram Stories quiz. We’ll also have the answer right here next week.
Last Week’s Trivia
Last Week’s Q: Who was Sports Illustrated’s first female Sportsperson of the Year?
Last Week’s A: Billie Jean King
Read More: Sports Illustrated, Women’s Sports Foundation, ESPN