Thursday, April 7th, 2022
Eastern Ukraine Exodus, Oil Execs Confronted & Expect ‘Zuck Bucks’
All the news you need 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 peruse the latest happenings.
Latest Fighting in Ukraine
The U.S. military says all Russian ground forces have left the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv. However, those northern Ukrainian cities aren’t necessarily safe. The U.S. says Ukrainian forces have been clearing away landmines and booby traps the Russians left behind. Still, thousands of Ukrainians have returned to those cities. Meanwhile, Ukrainians in the eastern part of the country are starting mass evacuations. Russia is now focused on the east, and Ukraine’s government is telling its people who live there to leave now while they still can.
Read More: WSJ, NY Times, NPR, Fox News
New Russia Sanctions
The U.S. and European allies are doing more to punish Russia’s economy. First, the U.S. rolled out a new wave of sanctions. They target two more large banks, as well as family members of Russian President Putin and other top officials. The UK followed suit, and the European Union is expected to announce more penalties soon. Tomorrow, the EU is expected to ban all imports of Russian coal. Ukraine’s president says he welcomes these steps but says they’re still not enough.
Read More: AP, Axios, Reuters, CNBC, CBS News, White House
IEA Releasing More Oil
American allies are tapping into their oil reserves. The executive director of the International Energy Agency says, besides the United States, members will release 60 million barrels of oil from storage. That’s the IEA’s second release in a month, and it’s on top of the 180 million barrels the U.S. has already promised. The releases are meant to tame oil prices after recent spikes. However, there is debate about how much impact they will make.
Read More: Axios, NPR, WSJ, Reuters
Oil Executives Testify in Congress
Top oil company executives defended themselves in front of a U.S. House panel this week. Many Democrats accused them of exploiting the situation in Ukraine to rip off customers in the U.S. However, the executives say there’s no price gouging. They argued that prices are high for other reasons, like Russia invading Ukraine, supply chain shortages, and restrictive U.S. energy prices. Republicans say President Biden’s agenda is to blame since he decided to pause new oil and gas leases on federal land. He also canceled the Keystone XL pipeline that would have carried more oil from Canada.
Read More: NY Times, WSJ, AP, Reuters, AAA
No Police Charges in Amir Locke’s Death
Prosecutors decided not to file charges against the police officer who shot a 20-year-old Black man in Minneapolis. Amir Locke was staying on a couch in his cousin’s apartment when a SWAT team came in, without knocking, as part of a murder investigation. Locke didn’t have anything to do with that investigation. However, he was startled awake and grabbed a gun. With that, an officer shot and killed him. Prosecutors say the shooting didn’t necessarily violate protocol since police can use deadly force if they feel their life is threatened. The officer who opened fire said he thought it was a life-or-death situation.
Read More: Minneapolis Star Tribune, ABC News, AP, Fox News, Hennepin County Attorney
Severe Storms Update
As expected, the southeast is having to clean up from more big storms. At least five tornadoes were reported in Georgia yesterday. One was reported in the Florida panhandle. Thankfully, they didn’t seem to do quite as much damage as the ones that hit other states earlier this week, but there were some homes damaged and trees uprooted. Today, the east coast could see a few more intense storms, bringing heavy rain, strong winds, and large hail to parts of Florida and the mid-Atlantic. All severe weather should be out of the U.S. for the weekend.
Read More: Weather Channel, WaPo, CNN, NOAA
Pinterest Bans Climate Misinformation
Pinterest says it will now remove any content that has false or misleading information about climate change. Users can flag information they think breaks this rule. Pinterest will also use automated systems to enforce this. Other big social media platforms have taken steps to push back against misrepresented scientific data. For example, Facebook will add a warning label when it finds false information. However, it looks like Pinterest is the first to say it will take the content off the platform completely.
Read More: CNN, WSJ, TechCrunch, Pinterest
Meta to Make ‘Zuck Bucks’
Meta is reportedly working on a new type of digital currency that’s been dubbed Zuck Bucks. At least, some employees have reportedly given it that nickname, seemingly after founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The Financial Times says Zuck Bucks won’t be a cryptocurrency based on blockchain technology. Instead, Meta is reportedly leaning towards creating in-app tokens. They could be used to reward favorite characters across Meta’s suite of platforms, like Facebook and Instagram.
Read More: Financial Times, The Verge, Reuters
MLB Opening Day
Today is Opening Day. That means Major League Baseball is kicking off its regular season. There are seven games scheduled. Two of the openers were pushed back to Friday because of bad weather. Remember, this season was almost going to be shortened because of the 99-day lockout. However, the players’ union and the league came to an agreement last month, just in time to avoid any game cancellations.
Read More: NBC Sports, CBS Sports, MLB, SI, WaPo
Masters Tournament Starts (With Tiger)
This year’s first major golf championship gets underway today. Round one of the Masters is set to begin at Augusta National Golf Club. There, one of the biggest names in golf may be making another comeback. This week, Tiger Woods said he plans to play. If he does, it will be his first professional tournament since he was badly hurt in a car crash last year. Although it’s not clear how well he’ll play, Woods has attracted more bets than any other golfer in the tournament.
Read More: Fox News, ESPN, NPR, Forbes, PGA
Ye Replaced at Coachella
Nine days before thousands of people were set to show up at Coachella, the music festival confirmed one of the top headliners had dropped out. Rapper Kanye West, who now goes by Ye, will no longer be the top performer for night three. The festival didn’t explain why, but it already has a new headliner. Swedish House Mafia and The Weeknd are now officially on the lineup. Coachella runs two weekends this month, from April 15th-17th and April 22nd-24th. The California festival is expected to welcome up to 125,000 concert-goers each day.
Read More: AP, CBS News, NY Times, Page Six, Coachella
Thing to Know Thursday: Brands Marketing Mental Health
Companies are finding a new way to connect with and promote their products to their customers. Car companies, meal kit makers, hotels, and more are talking about mental health. For example, new TV commercials from Powerade have the slogan, “Pause is Power”. Meal-kit maker Blue Apron is focusing its marketing on turning the chore of cooking into a form of therapy. Also, Kimpton hotels are offering guests access to a free virtual therapy session. Those are just a few examples. One advertising executive says the pandemic inspired more people to talk about mental health, so it’s been destigmatized.
Read More: WSJ, GWI, Forbes