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Mini stories:
- The US is considering sanctions against a group of Israeli military soldiers in the West Bank who are routinely involved or even provoking violence, and even accused of human rights violations. We will keep you guys posted.
- 15 MILLION people in the US are under severe weather warning
So severe spring weather is headed towards about 15 million people in the middle of the country this week… Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas are all set to be hit by severe wind and thunderstorms and possibly the large hail and tornadoes that tend to come with them.
Iowa and Missouri may be affected as well. As always, please tune in to your local weather coverage for more time specific warnings and safety guidance.
+Afghanistan / Pakistan rains
According to CNN, as we have reported yesterday, over 130 people have died across Afghanistan and Pakistan and over 600 animals have been killed too. There is damage to over 100,000 acres of agricultural land, according to The Guardian, and apparently this type of rain IS normal for monsoon season in both these countries… But we are not currently IN monsoon season. One of most affected areas has received THREE TIMES its average April rainfall, and Pakistan has received double.
+An Earth Day investment
President Biden marked Earth Day with a MASSIVE investment of $7 billion for solar energy with a specific focus on “disadvantaged communities,” according to The Guardian. The program is also expected to create as many as 200,000 jobs
- Opening statements in Trump’s first criminal trial
Opening statements were heard yesterday in Trump’s hush money Manhattan trial, but they were not televised to the public, so we only have what journalists managed to capture with their words, to go off of.
They also heard from the first witness in this criminal trial, a man by the name of David Pecker. He was formerly the publisher of a publication called the National Enquirer, who the prosecution is alleging participated in what’s called “catch and kill” efforts – basically where a news publication will pay to buy a story from a journalist, and then never publish it. They own it, so no one else can publish it, but they want it hidden, so they never actually run the story. This is obviously an ideal tactic for politicians looking to keep a story out of the press… One like, oh, them allegedly raping a pornstar while married.
The whole things wrapped up by about 1pm ET. Court will resume at 11am ET today.
- The state of the TikTok app
OK so you guys may have been worried or confused about what is going on with TikTok. Things, on the surface, are a bit intricate. But we are here to break it down for you guys, and the summary here is: the app doesn’t seem to be going anywhere any time soon. Let’s get into the details.
So this past week, the ban on the app that would force the sale of the company to a US company passed the House. And now it goes to the Senate for a vote, where it looks likely to pass. But as a reminder, if TikTok’s parent company were to be able to sell the company to a US company, the app would stay. But also, TikTok’s parent company Byte Dance, has also vowed to fight the legislation in court… So even IF the bill does pass, the app would likely stay active here while things play out in court.
Americans have also taken to TikTok and news outlets to voice their passion for the app, how it has helped businesses, and social causes, and more. The app has truly changed conversations around mental health and familial relations and LGBTQIA+ language and so much more. It’s hard to even calculate its impact on American society… But I know one thing, Americans want their data protected, but they want TikTok to stay overall… So where is the happy medium we can come to here? Especially with President Biden creating an account on the app… It’s hard to imagine the app just disappearing… And it looks like that would be logistically and legally difficult as well. We will keep you guys posted.
And that, is the News Du Jour!
Today, I wanted to leave you guys with the quote:
“There’s no comparison between the sun and the moon, they both shine when it’s their time.”