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IMPORTANT
| | | Open the Flood Gates | Biden Opens America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve The U.S. will release 1 million barrels of oil every day for the next six months to help get energy prices under control. President Joe Biden announced the move yesterday, saying it could lower prices “anywhere from 10 cents to 35 cents a gallon” at the pump. The average gas price is $4.23 a gallon, up $1.36 from a year ago. Biden also said he wants Congress to fine energy companies that lease public lands but aren’t producing, and he said he’ll invoke the Defense Production Act to encourage mining of critical minerals for electric vehicle batteries. (Sources: NYT, AP) |
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| | | All Talk, No Gas | Putin Gives European Energy Buyers an Ultimatum — With No Bite In an effort to stop Russia’s hyperinflation, President Vladimir Putin announced that starting today, “unfriendly” states must make their gas payments in rubles, the country’s floundering currency. If they don’t, Putin implied their Russian supply would be nixed. But upon further inspection, the decree has a glaring loophole that lets European buyers pay in their own currency and authorize Russia’s state-controlled Gazprombank to convert the money to rubles for formal payment. Experts speculate that the decree was likely an effort for Putin to save face, while Germany condemned it as “political blackmail.” (Sources: The Guardian, BBC) |
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| | | Clashes in Colombo | Dozens Arrested in Sri Lankan Capital Amid Economic Protests Colombo police deployed tear gas and water cannons as they clashed with large crowds attempting to storm President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s house Thursday night. ​​At least 54 were arrested, and authorities imposed a curfew overnight, branding the protesters “organized extremists.” Protests in the island nation of 22 million have been worsening since a foreign exchange crisis left the government without funds to pay for essentials like food and fuel. As a result, citizens must contend with 13-hour rolling blackouts. Sri Lanka is seeking a bailout from the International Monetary Fund, and has asked for financial help from China and India. (Source: Al Jazeera) |
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| | | | | ‘We See You’ | US Lawmaker Urges Federal Protections for Trans Youth On yesterday’s Transgender Day of Visibility, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the mother of a trans child, wrote in a Teen Vogue op-ed that lawmakers “cannot wait any longer” to pass federal protections for transgender children. She called out Republican state legislatures that are using trans kids and their families as a “political wedge issue” — like in Texas, where parents can now be investigated for seeking gender-affirming care for their children. Jayapal pushed the Senate to pass the Equality Act, which has stalled for a year after passing in the House, calling it “our best chance for achieving full protection for LGBTQ+ Americans.” (Sources: Teen Vogue, Axios) |
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| | | Briefly | Here are some things you should know about today: U.S. hits COVID record low. Weekly average hospitalizations fell by 32% to 16,760, the lowest number since the start of the pandemic. (Source: NBC News) Putin orders a draft. To bolster the flagging Ukraine invasion, Russia will draft 134,650 men aged 18-27. (Source: The Hill) Amazon workers vote on unionization. Warehouse workers in New York City look set to unionize as they finalize their vote tally today, while yesterday 53% of Alabama workers voted against unionizing. (Source: Reuters) |
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INTRIGUING
| | | | | Bricks and Mortar Shells | Ukraine Gets Aid From an Unexpected Source: LEGO Zelenskyys Chicago-based toy shop Citizen Brick specializes in making “far-out versions” of LEGO miniatures based on offbeat things like the Breaking Bad meth lab or a strip club. So when owner Joe Trupia wanted to find a way to help Ukraine, the next step was obvious: custom LEGO-based figurines of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and miniature Molotov cocktails emblazoned with Ukrainian flags. Within hours of their release they raised over $145,000 for nonprofit Direct Relief, selling out Citizen Brick’s entire inventory. The toys have become the stuff of legends, since Trupia can’t make any more for the foreseeable future. (Source: NPR) (Image Source: Citizen Brick) |
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| | | Nevertheless, They Profited | Inflation Boosts US Corporate Profits to New High in 2021 A new report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed that American companies’ pre-tax profits rose 25% in 2021 to a staggering $2.81 trillion, the largest annual increase since 1976. That suggests that while companies spent 2021 bemoaning the rising prices of labor and materials, they shifted the costs of inflation to consumers, who saw prices rise 6.7%. Recent data shows that trend is continuing, with February’s consumer prices up 7.9% year over year. Meanwhile, corporate profits slowed significantly in Q4, so perhaps corporations will soon start feeling the pinch they’ve been passing along to consumers. (Sources: Fortune, Axios) |
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| | | Road to Reparations | California Task Force Sparks Debate With Lineage-Based Reparations The idea of compensating African Americans for the harms of slavery has been around a long time, but California is moving closer to being the first state to make it a reality. Its reparations task force recently voted 5-4 to recommend compensation based on lineage rather than race, which narrows the group of potential recipients to only the descendants of enslaved and free Black people who were in the U.S. during the 1800s. Proponents say the plan is more likely to survive legal challenges than race-based reparations, which would offer compensation to any Black Americans. (Source: The Guardian) |
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| | | Trafficked Treasures | Feds Seize $1 Million in Stolen Antiquities From Ivy League School Thirteen artifacts, collectively valued at $1.29 million, were seized from an unnamed Ivy League school's art gallery Wednesday by Homeland Security. The pieces were recovered as part of a decadelong investigation into antiquities trafficker Subhash Kapoor, who investigators called “one of the most prolific commodities smugglers in the world.” The Manhattan art dealer was first arrested in Germany in 2011 and ongoing investigations have linked him to $145 million worth of stolen objects over 30 years. Kapoor is currently jailed in India, but Homeland Security officials expect him to be extradited to the U.S. after his release. (Sources: Artnews, NBC News)
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| | | Drama on the Court | Giannis Antetokounmpo Becomes Milwaukee’s All-Time Leading Scorer The power forward scored 44 points Thursday night in a 120-119 win over the New York Nets, bringing his total to 14,216 and surpassing NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's franchise mark of 14,211. Antetokounmpo set the record in particularly dramatic fashion, converting a 25-foot step-back jumper to tie the game at 110 with 18 seconds left, sending it into overtime. Then he sealed the win with two big free throws in the final three seconds of extra time. “It's beyond impressive what he's done,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said, “and he's got a lot more left ahead of him.” (Sources: ESPN, SI) |
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COMMUNITY
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