Thursday, June 30th, 2022
U.S. Military Expansion, R. Kelly Sentenced & High-Tech Sports Training
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.
New US Deployment in Europe
The U.S. is about to make its biggest military expansion in Europe since the Cold War. The Pentagon announced it’s creating a permanent headquarters for U.S. forces stationed in Poland, the first on the eastern side of NATO. More American troops will go to Romania and the Baltic states bordering Russia on a rotating basis. Then, the U.S. says it’s going to boost defense capabilities in Germany and Italy, improve naval operations in Spain, and send more fighter jets to the UK.
Read More: Defense Dept, Axios, WSJ, Reuters
NATO’s New Strategy Blueprint
At the NATO summit, the alliance released its updated “strategic concept” with priorities and goals for the decade ahead. It labeled Russia as “the most significant and direct threat” and called China a strategic “challenge”, accusing the country of bullying its neighbors and forming a partnership with Russia. That’s a big change from the last strategic concept that came out in 2010. That one called Russia a “strategic partner and didn’t mention China. NATO leaders also agreed to send more support to Ukraine’s military.
Read More: NATO, Politico, AP, Sky News, Newsweek
20 Convicted for Paris Terror Attack
20 people were convicted for their roles in the worst Islamic terror attack in France’s history. It was a spree of shootings and bombings in 2015 that killed 130 people in and around Paris. Only one of the men convicted this week carried out the attacks since the other attackers either blew themselves up or were killed by police. He got a life sentence, the most severe punishment under French law. The other people who were convicted offered some kind of logistical help to the attackers or intended to take part in the attacks. Their sentences range from two years to life in prison.
Read More: NY Times, AP, Reuters, Axios
R. Kelly Sentenced
Former R&B star R. Kelly is set to spend the next 30 years in prison. He was found guilty last year of leading a criminal enterprise that recruited women, underage girls, and boys for sex, forced labor, child pornography, and psychological abuse. During his sentencing, several of Kelly’s accusers described the torture they went through. Kelly decided not to testify at his trial or give a statement at his sentencing hearing. Still, he denies doing anything wrong. His lawyers say they plan to appeal. Either way, Kelly faces more legal trouble. He’s charged with similar crimes in Illinois and Minnesota.
Read More: NPR, Fox News, AP, LA Times
SCOTUS Native Lands Decision
In a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court said Oklahoma can prosecute crimes committed against Native Americans on tribal lands as long as the people being accused are not Native Americans. As Justice Kavanaugh wrote in the majority opinion, “Indian country is part of the state, not separate from the state.” On the other side, Justice Gorsuch said tribes should be free from state interference unless Congress decides otherwise. Either way, the decision is final, meaning tribes now only have the power over Native Americans who commit crimes on indigenous reservations.
Read More: SCOTUS, Cherokee Nation, WaPo, Fox News, Axios, NPR
Breyer Retirement Effective Today
The Supreme Court has just two more cases to decide this term: one about environmental protections and one about immigration. Both rulings are expected to be announced today. With that, today is also the day when Justice Stephen Breyer officially retires after nearly 28 years on the bench. A replacement has been ready to go since the Senate confirmed her in April. Today, Ketanji Brown Jackson will be sworn in as the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court.
Read More: SCOTUS, NBC News, WSJ, Reuters, USA Today
Subvariants Now Most Common
The most dominant Covid-19 variants in the U.S. are now omicron subvariants. The CDC says BA.4 and BA.5 represent more than half of all new Covid-19 cases getting diagnosed in the U.S. Research suggests the subvariants are good at getting around immune defenses, so people who have already had a different version of Covid-19 are more at risk. The subvariants also seem to be more contagious in general. The good news is that even as the virus circulates more, experts think the rates of hospitalizations and deaths will stay low. However, they say there will always be more risk for senior citizens of people who are immune-compromised.
Read More: CDC, NY Times, Fortune, WSJ, US News
US GDP Dip
Data from the first few months of 2022 is in, and it shows the U.S. economy shrank at a slightly faster rate than previously estimated. The GDP shrank at a 1.6% annual pace, and the latest Commerce Department figures show consumer spending rose only 0.5% in the early part of this year. That’s worse than expected and a slowdown from late last year. Experts also say the economy is likely to continue to slow. The Fed has been raising interest rates to try and calm soaring inflation, which will likely slow the economy. Some forecasters have been predicting a recession by next year.
Read More: BEA, MarketWatch, NY Times, CNN, Fox Business
Regulator Requests TikTok Ban
One regulator says TikTok poses an unacceptable national security risk. Brendan Carr is one of the FCC’s commissioners, and he wrote a letter to Apple and Google’s parent company, asking them to remove TikTok from their app stores. Carr says TikTok is not just an app for sharing funny videos as it seems. He says it’s a sophisticated surveillance tool that gathers personal and sensitive data, and people in Beijing are the ones getting the information. Carr said Apple and Google should reply to him in statements by the end of next week if they don’t remove TikTok.
Read More: CNBC, NY Post, WaPo, WSJ
First Player with Limb Difference on USWNT
For the first time, a soccer player with a limb difference played on the U.S. Women’s National Team. Carson Pickett was born without a left hand and forearm. This week, she stayed on the field for all 90 minutes of the U.S. vs. Colombia game which the Americans won 2-0. After the game, Pickett tweeted, “Dream come true.” As part of the national team, she’s hoping to use her large platform to advocate for other people like her.
Read More: USWNT, SI, CNN, USA Today, WaPo
Thing to Know Thursday: AI Could Help with Sports Injuries
The future of sports could be safer than ever, thanks to technology. New tech aims to prevent injuries before they happen and provide highly-tailored workouts and practice drills that reduce the risk of getting hurt. For example, a soccer team in the UK, Liverpool FC, says it reduced player injuries by a third last season because it adopted an AI-based analytics program that offers prescriptions for training and suggests optimal rest times. Still, analytics experts say there are hurdles to overcome. For example, it’s tough to collect long-term data, sensor data can vary slightly, and psychological and emotional factors can’t be tracked.
Read More: WSJ, Forbes, NASA Bone