Tuesday, April 5th, 2022
Western Outrage, 'Diversity Quota' Defeat & Historic Win
All the news in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Zocdoc.com/newsworthy and kiwico.com (Listen for the discount code)
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...
Next Steps in Ukraine
World leaders are demanding Russia be held accountable for what they say are war crimes in Ukraine. Horrifying images have come out of the area around Ukraine’s capital that show the aftermath of cruel attacks and ongoing torture against civilians. So, the U.S. says it’s supporting an investigative team that includes American experts. They’re collecting and analyzing evidence of war crimes. Plus, President Biden says there should be a criminal trial over this, perhaps even against Russian President Putin. Also, the White House says more sanctions will be announced later this week.
Read more: ABC News, Fox News, USA Today, WSJ (WARNING: Some of these articles include graphic images)
US Seized Russian Yacht
The U.S. Justice Department’s new task force just seized its first luxury yacht from a Russian oligarch. It was owned by a Russian billionaire with close ties to President Putin. American investigators say he’s been using U.S. banks to support and maintain the yacht, even though he’s been sanctioned. They say, until now, he’s been getting away with it by using shell companies and money laundering techniques. Since the invasion started, Spanish, French, and Italian authorities have seized superyachts, too, along with other assets from Russian oligarchs.
Read more: Politico, AP, WSJ, Axios, CBS News, DOJ
UN Climate Report
A landmark report from the United Nations is calling for drastic action to rein in global warming. It says the world is on track to warm to a crisis level, leading to more dangerous heat waves, floods, and storms that would impact millions of people. However, the UN report said it’s not too late to avoid those problems. It laid out the steps countries, industries, and regular people can take right away, including growing renewable energy and cutting down on fossil fuels. The report also calls for cutting-edge approaches, like technology that can suck greenhouse gasses out of the air. Also, it says people could plant more trees and eat less meat, among other things.
Read more: Reuters, NPR, AP, Axios, NY Times, IPCC
Senate Reaches Covid Relief Deal
It seems Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill have reached a deal for the next Covid-19 relief package. It’s not exactly what President Biden asked for, though. The White House requested $22.5 billion in emergency funding. Senate negotiators agreed on a bill worth less than half of that. All $10 billion of it is set to go to agencies within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, mostly for more vaccines, treatments, and testing. There’s also some money for researching and developing vaccines for future Covid-19 variants. Top lawmakers from both parties say they hope to pass it by the end of the week.
Read more: AP, Politico, NY Times, WSJ, Axios, White House
NCAA Men’s National Championship
It was the largest comeback in national championship history. The Kansas Jayhawks bested the North Carolina Tar Heels to take home the top prize in men’s college basketball. For a while, it looked like Kansas was going to lose. At the end of the first half, North Carolina was 16 points ahead. However, Kansas came back strong, eventually winning 72-69. This marks the Jayhawks’ fourth national title in school history. This time around, the college town of Lawrence was prepared for the celebrations. Several streets were closed to cars last night so fans could flood them.
Read more: ESPN, AP, The Athletic, NCAA
KBJ Nomination Advanced
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is now clearly on track to become the next Supreme Court justice. The Senate passed a procedural hurdle yesterday. All 50 Democrats and three Republicans voted to move her nomination forward. Senate leaders say the official vote will be later this week. So, unless anyone has a big change of heart before then, it looks like the final decision will come down 53-47, and that’s enough to get Jackson on the bench. If she’s confirmed, as expected, she’ll take over for Justice Stephen Breyer, who plans to retire this summer. She’ll become the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
Read more: WaPo, WSJ, AP, Fox News
Judge Tosses CA Board Diversity Law
A judge struck down a California law that was the first of its kind in the country. The law required public companies in the state to have a certain level of diversity on their board of directors. Now, a judge ruled it’s unconstitutional. California’s governor signed the law in 2020. It said publicly-traded companies based in California must have at least one racially, ethnically, or otherwise diverse director by the end of 2021 and more by the end of this year. For now, that law is on hold. The state could still appeal the decision.
Read more: WSJ, AP, Axios, NY Times
Fortnite Raises $144M for Ukraine
The maker of the hit game Fortnite raised $144 million in relief money for Ukraine in just two weeks. Video game developer Epic Games, along with Microsoft’s Xbox, announced it would take its Fortnite proceeds from the last two weeks and donate them to people affected by Russia’s invasion. PC Gamer says this looks to be the single-biggest financial donation to Ukraine made by a U.S. company so far. Now, the money will go to several aid groups.
Read more: The Verge, Engadget, Variety, Fortnite, PCGamer, Humble Bundle, Riot Games
Elon Musk Twitter Shares
Elon Musk is now Twitter’s largest shareholder. It was just revealed that he bought around a 9% stake in the company. As of Friday, CNBC says his shares were worth nearly $3 billion. For years, Tesla’s CEO has been one of Twitter’s most famous users. At times, he’s raised questions about the platform. For example, he asked his followers if they feel Twitter allows free speech. When most said no, he asked what should be done about it. It’s not clear what Musk plans to do with his shares, but one analyst says that given his recent talk online, he could eventually try “some sort of buyout.”
Read more: Fox Business, WSJ, CNBC, Bloomberg, CBS News, Elon Musk Twitter, SEC
Report: Crypto Ownership Doubled in 2021
It seems 2021 was a breakout year for cryptocurrency. That’s according to the crypto platform Gemini. It asked nearly 30,000 people across 20 countries about their crypto-buying habits. It learned that crypto ownership nearly doubled last year in the U.S, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. However, developing countries like Brazil and Indonesia led the way in embracing crypto, perhaps because their local currencies have been devalued. This trend is expected to continue, no matter where people live.
Read more: Reuters, Blockworks, Coingecko, Gemini
Trivia Tuesday
What’s the most expensive home 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
Q: Which country did bagels originate from?
A: Poland
Read More: The Atlantic, Business Insider, NY Times, Smithsonian Magazine