Monday, April 4th, 2022
Brutal War Images, Sarah Palin’s Comeback? & Grammy Winners
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by kiwico.com (Listen for the discount code) and Zocdoc.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 to review the latest happenings...
Russia/Ukraine Fighting
Ukrainian forces are now retaking control over the whole region around their capital. With that, they’re reporting horrors from the ground, like clear signs that torture and execution-style killings happened there. Russia says the accusations aren’t true. However, Ukraine is now asking organizations like the International Criminal Court to send investigators to see the evidence of war crimes for themselves. Attacks are still happening on the ground, but some Russian and Ukrainian negotiators say they’ve made some progress in peace talks. They’re reportedly meeting again today.
Read more: NPR, AP, NY Times, WSJ, WaPo
Tougher Sanctions Possible
Several European leaders are calling for tougher sanctions against Russia. Lithuania became the first country in the European Union to ban fuel imports from Russia. Germany’s defense minister said the whole EU should do the same. That’s a big turnaround since, in the past, Europe has been reluctant to cut off Russian fuel. Russia supplies 40% of Europe’s gas and 25% of its oil.
Read more: WaPo, Politico, Reuters, MarketWatch
More Help for Ukraine
The U.S. is sending more help to Ukraine. The Defense Department announced that another $300 million worth of military supplies are on the way. That includes armed drones, laser-guided rocket systems, machine guns, armored vehicles, and more. On top of that, for the first time, the White House will reportedly work with allies to transfer Soviet-made tanks to Ukraine. The New York Times cites an American official who said they’ll go to the eastern part of the country, but it’s not clear when.
Read more: NY Times, The Hill, WaPo, NBC News, DOD
Sacramento Shooting Rampage
There’s an intense manhunt underway following the worst mass shooting in Sacramento, California history. Just as bars were letting out early yesterday morning, police say at least two shooters opened fire in the downtown entertainment district. Six people were killed, and a dozen more hurt, some critically. Investigators are now begging anyone who might have tips or videos to come forward so they can find the people responsible. So far, they haven’t released their names, descriptions, or a possible motive.
Read more: Sacramento Bee, NBC News, Fox News, AP, SACPD
Sarah Palin Run for Congress
One-time vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin announced she’s running for Congress. The Republican is hoping to replace Congressman Don Young. He held Alaska’s one seat in the U.S. House since 1973 but died suddenly last month. Now, Palin says she wants to honor Young’s legacy and fight against what she called “the left’s socialist, big-government, America-last agenda.” Fox News says Former President Trump encouraged Palin to run last week. She faces a lot of competition, though. About 40 other candidates are running for the same seat. A special election is slated for this summer.
Read more: Politico, Fox News, NY Times, ABC News, Sarah Palin
Record Low Covid Hospitalizations
Right now, there are fewer Covid-19 patients in American hospitals than at any other time in the pandemic. The hospitalization rate for Covid-19 has fallen more than 90% in the last two months or so. Some hospitals are even going days without a single Covid-19 patient in the ICU. This is the first time that’s happened since early 2020. Doctors hope this means they’ll see people start to catch up on yearly checkups and cancer screenings.
Read more: CNN, NBC News, AP, HHS
Flight Cancellations
Airlines canceled or delayed thousands of U.S. flights over the weekend. Florida thunderstorms snarled air traffic at some of the country’s top travel destinations like Orlando, Miami, and Tampa, as well as New York and Baltimore, among others. Southwest Airlines faced more than bad weather. It also dealt with a backend technical problem. Overall, several airlines canceled or delayed about 12,000 flights across the country over the weekend. FlightAware is showing cancellations for today, too.
Read more: AP, USA Today, CNBC, Southwest, Flight Aware
Alaska Airlines Pilot Strike
15,000 Alaska Airlines passengers were stranded Friday. As the Seattle Times reports, dozens of flights were canceled because some pilots were picketing, and that left planes with no one to fly them. Alaska Airlines and the pilots’ union have been locked in contract negotiations for almost three years.
Read more: Seattle Times, NY Post, AP, WaPo, Alaska Pilots. Flight Aware
Amazon Workers Vote to Unionize
In a historic move, Amazon workers in New York voted to become the web giant’s first union in the U.S. It was an uphill battle for the new, independent group, which is made up of former and current workers. Now that there is a union, CNBC says workers could challenge Amazon’s labor model which makes Prime two-day shipping possible. Now, the Amazon Labor Union has to get to work trying to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement with Amazon. However, Amazon says it’s looking at options, like filing objections to the election.
Read more: Fox Business, CNBC, WaPo, AP, NY Times, Reuters, Amazon
NCAA Women’s Championship
There’s a new NCAA women’s basketball national champion. South Carolina took down Connecticut last night to claim the title. Player Destanni Henderson scored the most points ever in her college career with 26. That helped the Gamecocks secure their second title in school history. It was an especially exciting win for South Carolina since their opponent, the UConn Huskies, have been a dominant force in women’s basketball, racking up a record 11 NCAA championships.
Read more: ESPN, NY Times, WaPo, NCAA
NCAA Men’s Championship Preview
North Carolina faces Kansas in the men’s final game of March Madness. Kansas is considered the favorite since they came into the tournament as a No. 1 seed. No. 8-seeded North Carolina fought their way here, most recently, by handing their fierce rival Duke a loss in the Final Four on Saturday. North Carolina takes on Kansas tonight at 9:20 ET on TBS.
Read more: CBS Sports, Bleacher Report, USA Today, NCAA
Will Smith Projects on Hold
Will Smith is seeing more fallout from the shocking slap at the Oscars. The actor’s planned Netflix movie, “Fast and Loose”, has reportedly been put on hold. On top of that, The Hollywood Reporter’s sources say Smith’s Sony movie, “Bad Boys 4”, was paused, even though that one was already in development.
Read more: Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Page Six
Will Smith Resigns from Oscars
On Friday, Will Smith announced he’s resigning from The Academy. As Variety reports, that means he can no longer vote on who should win an Oscar, but his decision to resign doesn’t impact his awards. For instance, he can keep his Best Actor Oscar and still be nominated in the future. The Academy’s president said the group still plans to move forward with its investigation and will also vote later this month, as planned, on other potential disciplinary actions against him.
Read more: CNN, Deadline, Variety, CBS News
Grammy Awards
The Grammys lit up Las Vegas with star-studded performances and, of course, a lot of awards. There were some emotional moments, too. Ukraine’s President Zelensky made an appearance and pleaded for support in his country’s war with Russia. The ceremony also paid tribute to Foo Fighters’ long-time drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died while on tour last month. Foo Fighters also won 3 Grammy awards last night. 19-year old hitmaker Olivia Rodrigo won Best New Artist. The night’s top prize went to the most nominated artist of the night, Jon Batiste. He had 11 nods but took home 5 Grammys, including the biggest one: Album of the Year.
Read more: Variety, AP, USA Today, Grammy
Money Monday: Coin Shortage Request
Businesses need help bringing coins back around. The U.S. Treasury got a letter from a group of trade associations that represent businesses that rely on coins like banks, convenience stores, and laundromats. It asks the Treasury to remind Americans to dig out their coins and get them moving again. To be clear, it’s not a coin shortage. It just says coins need to be put back in play. The letter says one of the problems is that stores might not be able to make exact change for people who pay in cash. It could also hit people who don’t have bank accounts.
Read more: AP, Get Coin Moving, Federal Reserve