Thursday, May 19th, 2022
Embassy Reopened, Senate Race Recount? & Equal Pay Rewarded
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp.com/newsworthy and Pampers.com
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.
The U.S. Reopens Kyiv Embassy
The U.S. reopened its embassy in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv for the first time in three months. It first closed because there were fears Russia would invade Ukraine. Now, that invasion is happening, and it’s just as brutal as ever. Because of that, officials in the U.S. say there needs to be American support there for Ukrainians. The embassy will have more security measures for the small number of diplomats who will work there.
Read More: Politico, CNN, Fox News, Reuters, State Dept.
Ukraine War Crime Trial
Ukraine is also in the middle of the first war crimes trial against a Russian soldier since the invasion began. Yesterday, he pleaded guilty to killing an unarmed civilian. For that, he could get life in prison. The Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office is also looking into thousands of potential war crimes involving more than 600 other suspects. Also this week, the International Criminal Court sent what it called the “largest-ever single deployment” of war crimes investigators into Ukraine. They’re tasked with finding more evidence, even though Russia says it’s not guilty of any war crime.
Read More: AP, WSJ, Axios, Politico
Social Media Investigated for Shooting
Social media platforms are being investigated in connection to a recent mass shooting. The New York attorney general wants to know if they helped the shooter plan, promote, and stream the attack. The man suspected of killing ten people in Buffalo, New York said he was influenced by racist memes and discussion forums on the site 4chan. Then, he outlined plans for the attack on the messaging platform Discord, and he broadcast the violence on the Amazon-owned streaming site Twitch. Now, the New York attorney general’s office is looking into 4chan, Discord, Twitch, and more.
Read More: CNBC, The Verge, NPR, Axios, NY AG
Disinformation Board Paused
The federal government is pressing pause on the Disinformation Governance Board. That’s the initiative that was meant to fight the spread of misleading or false information. However, it faced backlash. Some critics worried it would be used to censor free speech. Now, the Department of Homeland Security says the criticism has become a distraction from other important work, so it’s putting the board on hold while it’s under review. The review is set to take a few months. Then, it will give the federal government recommendations about how to move forward.
Read More: ABC News, Fox News, BBC, AP, Axios
PA Senate Primary Tight Race
One of the most closely-watched races of this week’s midterm primary elections, the Republican Senate primary in Pennsylvania, is still up in the air. The winner could be either celebrity surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz or former hedge fund executive David McCormick. As of this morning, 96% of the ballots are counted, and Oz is leading by 0.2%. Pennsylvania state law says if the margin of victory is within a half percentage point, there will have to be a recount.
Read More: CBS News, WSJ, NBC News, AP
Other Primary Races Update
The Pennsylvania Senate race is also expected to be one of Republicans’ most competitive contests with the Democrats this fall. On the Democratic side, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman won his party’s nomination even though he was in the hospital recovering from a stroke. Fetterman was up against current Congressman Conor Lamb. He won by more than 30 points. Congressman Lamb wasn’t the only incumbent to lose his primary, though. The youngest member of Congress, U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn, failed to hold onto his House seat, too.
Read More: Philadelphia Inquirer, NY Times, Fox News, NPR
New Masking Recommendations
The latest wave of Covid-19 is spreading across the U.S. Nationwide, the average number of new, confirmed Covid-19 cases has surpassed 100,000 a day for the first time since February, and about 3,000 Americans a day are getting admitted to the hospital with Covid-19. The CDC says right now, about a third of the U.S. population lives in areas that are considered high risk. It says that in those areas, people should consider wearing masks again in indoor public places.
Read More: NY Times, WaPo, AP, CNN, WSJ, White House
Defense Production Act for Baby Formula
President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to try and deal with the nationwide baby formula shortage. That’s the law that lets the White House order private companies to do something when it’s for the good of the country. In this case, it means the suppliers of key ingredients in baby formula are required to give their resources to formula manufacturing plants before sending them to other customers. The president also announced an initiative that means Defense Department aircraft will pick up formula from overseas that meets U.S. health and safety standards. That way, it can get to the shelves in U.S. stores faster.
Read More: WaPo, Fox News, CBS News, CNBC, White House
Big Stock Market Drop
Both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones saw their biggest losses since 2020. This time, major retailers led the drop. Target and Walmart recently reported that high costs and inflation have affected profits and forecasts for the future, even though customers are still buying. For example, the fuel prices are cutting into their profits. AAA says gas prices in the U.S. pushed to another new high yesterday. Investors worry about this, as well as rising interest rates and the war in Ukraine.
Read More: WSJ, CNBC, Fox Business, Reuters
US Soccer Labor Deals
History was made in American soccer. For the first time, the U.S. Soccer Federation agreed to pay both the national men’s and women’s teams equally. To appear in official competitions like the World Cup, the men and women will get identical appearance fees, and they'll have the same performance-based bonuses for all games and competitions because they will be pulling their winnings together. The revenue from broadcasting, partnerships, and sponsorships will also be split 50-50 between the men’s and women’s teams. They’ll get an equal cut of ticket revenue, there are agreements to improve player health and safety, and more.
Read More: ESPN, Reuters, NY Times, Fox Business, US Soccer
PGA Championship Begins
Most of the best golfers in the world are coming together today for the PGA Championship. Some of the headliners include Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Jordan Spieth, not to mention the reigning Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, who is still ranked number one. Tens of thousands of fans are going to be watching the action in person at the Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. For those watching at home, it will be on either ESPN or CBS. The tournament wraps up on Sunday.
Read More: CBS Sports, Golf, ESPN, The Athletic
TikTok’s New Ad Partner
TikTok is testing a new ad format. It encourages creators and influencers with as few as 1,000 followers to take part in challenges for brands. They’re called Branded Missions. The creators won’t get paid unless their videos perform well. If they do and the creators are at least 18 years old, the brand will pay creators with cash and boosted traffic to their account. It’s essentially crowdsourcing ad campaigns.
Read More: TechCrunch, Business Insider, Ad Age, TikTok
TikTok Crediting Tools
TikTok is also adding new tools to encourage users to directly tag and credit the original creators of a video or trend through a new button in the app. There will also be a new pop-up during the posting process, explaining the importance of credit. For years, some TikTokers, especially within the Black creator community, have felt their ideas and videos have been ripped off.
Read More: Variety, NBC News, THR, TikTok
Thing to Know Thursday: Concert Tours Go Green
Coldplay has found some unique ways to make its tour as environmentally friendly as possible. The band made some new editions to concerts, like kinetic dance floors that create electricity when people move on them and energy-storing stationary bikes. Coldplay’s tour also includes a stage made of recycled steel, biodegradable confetti, compostable wristbands for the audience, and a backstage generator powered by vegetable oil. The band is just one of several musicians who have promised to go greener lately. Billie Eilish, Harry Styles, The Lumineers, Dave Matthews Band, Shawn Mendes, John Mayer, The Chicks, Jason Isbell, and more say they’re working to reduce the climate footprint from their tours, too.
Read More: AP, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Coldplay