Friday, March 18th, 2022
Russian Losses, Covid Czar Replaced & Amazon Buys MGM
All the news you need in around 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Indeed and Masterworks
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 the latest happenings...
Russian Losses
The Russian war on Ukraine has entered its fourth week, and the latest U.S. and British intelligence reports suggest Russian forces haven’t made much progress in recent days. The Pentagon estimates 7,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since the invasion began; that’s higher than the number of American troops killed over two decades of war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Read more: NYT, CBS News, Newsweek
Search for Survivors
In the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, rescuers are reportedly searching the rubble for survivors of that large theater hit by a Russian airstrike, even as more bombs fell. Ukrainian officials report that hundreds of Ukrainians were using the theater as a shelter, and had even spelled out ‘children’ in big white letters outside to warn warplanes not to attack it. It’s not clear how many people were hurt or killed, but there are reports of some survivors. Russia denies blowing it up.
Read more: AP, WSJ, BBC
U.S. Citizen Killed
The U.S. Secretary of State confirmed a U.S. citizen has died in Ukraine. He didn’t share any other details, but the AP reports the man’s family is saying he was gunned down while waiting in line for bread in the city of Chernihiv. They say he was seeking medical treatment for his partner. He’s at least the second U.S. citizen to be killed in this conflict.
Read more: WaPo, AP, CBS News
Biden, Putin & Xi
Russian President Putin has acknowledged the impact of Western sanctions on his country’s economy, calling it a new reality that won’t be easy, though he insisted it’s only temporary. Russia has seen factory closures, job losses, and inflation. Meanwhile, the U.S. isn’t letting up. Today, President Biden is set to talk with Chinese President Xi to likely warn China (again) not to provide support to Russia.
Read more: WSJ, Al Jazeera, Axios, Reuters, CNN,
Suspending Trade Status
The U.S. House voted with overwhelming bipartisan support to end normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus. It would essentially allow the U.S. to put higher tariffs on Russian goods. The bill now goes to the Senate.
Read more: NYT, The Hill, NBC News
Covid Czar Replaced
The White House is getting a new Coronavirus Coordinator. Jeff Zients is out and Dr. Ashish Jha is in. Dr. Jha is the Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health and has been a practicing physician. He’s also been an expert weighing in on cable and network TV news, so President Biden praised his “wise and calming public presence.” Biden also thanked Zients, who is scheduled to leave next month, for leading the vaccination efforts so far.
Read more: FOX News, WaPo, White House
Moderna’s 4th Shot
Moderna is following in Pfizer’s footsteps and is asking the FDA to authorize a fourth dose of its Covid-19 vaccine. But while Pfizer is only asking to provide the second booster to Americans 65 and older, Moderna’s request is for all adults. Stay tuned to see what the FDA and CDC have to say about it.
Read more: WaPo, AP, ABC News, Moderna
Child Driving in Deadly Crash
It turns out that a child was driving the pick-up truck that caused a deadly crash in West Texas. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says a 13-year-old was driving illegally when the truck crossed into the opposite lane and collided with a van. Nine people died. The teen who was driving and the man with him died. In the van, six New Mexico college students and their golf coach were also killed.
Read more: AP, ABC News, USA Today
Mortgage Rates Top 4%
The cost of a home loan is going up. The mortgage loan company Freddie Mac just said mortgage rates rose above 4% for the first time in almost three years (since 2019). The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.16% this week, which is up from 3.85% last week. Of course, those higher rates come after the Fed raised interest rates on Wednesday and signaled it may keep raising rates later this year.
Read more: WSJ, CNN, MarketWatch
Interest in Electric Cars Soars
Interest in electric cars seems to be soaring right along with gas prices. A new analysis from “QuoteWizard” found Google searches for electric vehicles jumped 300% between February and March. Even though electric cars could help save money on gas, they may still be out of reach for a lot of people due to rising car prices. Already, for the second time in a week, electric carmaker Tesla raised all of its car prices in the U.S. and China, blaming inflation pressure in raw materials.
Read more: QuoteWizard, The Hill, Detroit Free Press, Grow, CNBC, The Verge
Target’s First Solar-Powered Store
Target is going even greener. It unveiled the most sustainable store in its history, and the only one so far, powered completely by solar energy. It’s in Vista, California, and it also marks the company’s first net-zero energy store. If all goes well, it could become a model for more stores around the country.
Read more: Star Tribune, CNBC, The Hill, Target
Amazon Acquires MGM
Jeff Bezos meets James Bond. Amazon just closed the deal to buy the iconic Hollywood studio MGM for a reported $8.5 billion. It’s Amazon’s second largest acquisition after Whole Foods. Industry experts told Variety that the catalog of content, especially the James Bond franchise, is likely a big reason Amazon made the purchase. The mega-merger adds MGM’s more than 4,000 movies and 17,000 TV episodes to Amazon Studios and the company’s video streaming platform. It’s not clear yet exactly when or what MGM movies and TV shows will be available on Prime Video.
Read more: WSJ, AP, The Verge, Variety, NPR, Deadline, Amazon
Holi & Purim Celebrated
Today marks the start of the Hindu holiday Holi, also known as the festival of colors. Millions of people in India and around the world will celebrate the start of spring, along with love, happiness, and good triumphing over evil. Its signature tradition is seen through people spreading colorful powders on each other. Also, the Jewish holiday Purim was this week. It celebrates the story of Queen Esther. Jewish communities celebrate the holiday with big feasts, costumes, and more.
Read more (Holi): CNN, Al Jazeera, Delish, Parade
Read more (Purim): Chabad, USA Today
Feel Good Friday: Students Invent Hugging Tool
A group of college students helped a man hug his grandchildren again after he suffered a stroke. The man said he was missing the big bear hugs with his family, so his daughter challenged her occupational therapy students at Arkansas State University to come up with a solution. They designed what they named the “HugAgain.” It works with a strap he can grab with his other hand and wrap around the person he’s hugging. The emotional video showing him using it for the first time has since gone viral on social media!
Read more: Today, THV11, CBS News, Facebook (Watch)