Thursday, April 14th, 2022
Border Backup, Formula Shortage & Music Becomes History
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Pampers.com and Indeed.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 peruse the latest happenings.
More U.S. Aid for Ukraine
The U.S. is sending Ukraine another military aid package. This one is worth $800 million. The Biden administration says it will include heavy artillery, radar, armored personnel carriers, drones, boats, helicopters, and more. With that, the U.S. has now given Ukraine about $2.6 billion in military assistance since Russia invaded. The U.S. also decided to share more intelligence. The U.S. hopes that will help Ukraine figure out how the Russian military plans to attack and how the Ukrainians should respond.
Read More: WSJ, AP, Reuters, Axios, CNBC, White House
Police Capture NYC Shooting Suspect
New York police say they caught the man who attacked passengers on a Brooklyn subway train. The suspect was arrested yesterday, and he now faces a federal terrorism charge. Several news outlets cited police sources who say the tip that ended up leading police to him came from the actual suspect. He apparently called and told officers to come get him. Investigators still don’t know what motivated the man to shoot 10 people on the subway. If found guilty, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Read More: NY Times, AP, Fox News, CNN, WSJ, NYPD
MI Deadly Traffic Stop/Protests
Hundreds of protesters have been calling for justice following a deadly shooting at the hands of a police officer. Police in Grand Rapids, Michigan released videos that show what happened. A white officer shot and killed a 26-year-old Black man, Patrick Lyoya, during a traffic stop. At one point, the officer and Lyoya wrestled for control of the officer’s stun gun. Then, as the officer was lying on Lyoya’s back, he shot him in the back of the head. The officer is now on paid leave while he’s under investigation. For now, he hasn’t been charged with a crime. Protesters are calling for criminal charges and for him to be fired from the police department.
Read More: Detroit Free Press, NY Times, AP, NBC News, WSJ, Grand Rapids PD
TX Border Crossing Backup
Some of the world’s busiest trade bridges are severely backed up or shut down because of a new order by the Texas governor. Gov. Greg Abbott ordered that commercial trucks from Mexico go through extra inspections along the 1,200-mile border with Texas. He says that’s necessary to curb human trafficking and the flow of drugs into the U.S. However, truckers say it now takes an hour to go through each truck. This week, that’s left drivers waiting more than 36 hours to cross in some places, slowing down the supply chain, and destroying several loads of fresh produce. Trade groups say this will cause more shortages and higher prices at grocery stores.
Read More: AP, WSJ, Fox News, Texas Tribune, Gov. Abbott
First TX Bus Drops off Migrants in DC
Gov. Abbott is frustrated with President Biden’s border policies, and he’s showing it with another controversial step. He sent some migrants that crossed into Texas from Mexico on charter buses and charter flights to the U.S. Capitol in Washington. The first busload from Texas arrived in D.C. yesterday. A second bus is on its way now. Gov. Abbott says the migrants are taking the steps voluntarily, but some critics in Texas say it’s a waste of tax dollars.
Read More: WaPo, Fox News, CBS News, The Hill, Gov. Abbott
East Coast Storms
Today, thunderstorms could pop up anywhere from Florida to New England. Some places could see strong winds that could do damage, as well as heavy rain and hail. However, the weather isn’t expected to be nearly as bad as it was in the middle of the country this week. Tornadoes tore through towns from Texas to Iowa. Today on the east coast, forecasters warn severe weather could pop up suddenly, so people should keep an eye out for changing weather.
Read More: Accuweather, WaPo, Weather Channel, USA Today, NOAA
Transportation Mask Mandate Extended
Once again, U.S. health officials extended the mask mandate for most transportation. This time, it’s a two-week extension, so the CDC has time to look into a recent rise in Covid-19 cases. This means until at least May 3rd, masks are going to stay mandatory on planes, airports, trains, train stations, buses, ships, subways, taxis, and more. Separately, the Biden administration renewed the government’s public health emergency for Covid-19. That means millions of Americans can keep getting free Covid-19 tests, vaccines, and treatments for at least three more months.
Read More: Reuters, WaPo, CNN, NPR, TSA
Baby Formula Shortage
There’s a shortage of baby formula right now, and it’s causing some stores to limit how much formula you can buy at once. National chains like Target, Walmart, Walgreens, and CVS are said to be only allowing parents to buy a handful of formula products per transaction. The shortage has also led to the cost of formula going up, too. On top of supply chain issues related to the pandemic, a recall from a major manufacturer earlier this year made the shortage worse.
Read more: CBS News, Insider, WaPo, WSJ
Google to Add 12,000 Jobs
Google plans to invest $9.5 billion in the U.S. and says it’ll create at least 12,000 new, full-time jobs by the end of this year. The internet search giant also says the investment will lead to thousands more jobs for its local suppliers, partners, and communities. The money will go into American offices and data centers in several states, including Nevada, Nebraska, and Virginia. Google is opening a new office in Atlanta, Georgia this year as well.
Read more: WSJ, MarketWatch, Reuters, Fox Business, Google
IMDb TV Becomes Amazon Freevee
What was once IMDb TV will now be called Amazon Freevee. The streaming video service was launched back in 2019, and now Amazon hopes the rebrand will make it more clear to viewers what makes it stand out: it’s free. It’s supported by ads instead of subscription fees. Along with the name change, Amazon plans to grow its slate of original programming by 70% by the end of the year. The update will officially happen on April 27th.
Read more: The Verge, Deadline, Variety, THR, Amazon Studios
Songs Added to Nat’l Recording Registry
Some classic songs, albums, and recordings are getting preserved for future generations. The Library of Congress picked 25 new editions to be inducted into the National Recording Registry. It means they’re considered important contributions to American culture and history. They include Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”, Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca”, and debut albums from Alicia Keys and the Wu-Tang Clan. It’s not just music getting preserved, either. There are also recordings, like public radio station WNYC’s broadcasts from September 11th, 2001.
Read More: AP, NPR, WaPo, NBC News, LOC
Thing to Know Thursday: Big Tech Invests in Carbon Removal
Some of the world’s biggest tech companies are investing in a new company called Frontier. It plans to spend $925 million on technology that can pull heat-trapping carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. The tech giants will pool their money together to pay different companies to remove carbon in their own ways. In many cases, Frontier will be paying start-ups to test their ideas and get the technology up and running. However, even if everything goes well, experts say removing carbon won’t solve climate change by itself.
Read More: The Verge, CNBC, Protocol, Gizmodo, The Atlantic, Meta