IMPORTANT | | | | Dominoes Fall | Biden Imposes Harsh Sanctions as Russian Troops Enter Ukraine President Joe Biden targeted Russian banks and oligarchs with what he called a “first tranche” of sanctions cutting off Russia from Western finance. More than two dozen European Union members agreed to impose their own first round of sanctions. And Germany announced it will not certify the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline coming from Russia, officially killing the lucrative, long-desired deal. All of this in response to Russian troops moving into rebel-held regions of eastern Ukraine, where the eight-year conflict has killed almost 14,000 people. Western powers call it an invasion, but Putin has consistently rejected that term. (Sources: AP, France 24) |
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| | Verdict on Hate | Ahmaud Arbery's Murderers Found Guilty of Hate Crimes One day before the second anniversary of Arbery’s murder, Greg McMichael, his son Travis McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan were found guilty on all of the federal charges they faced, including attempted kidnapping, the use of a firearm to commit a crime and hate crimes. Witnesses called by the prosecution described multiple racist remarks made by the men in the past, including an FBI analyst who shared messages and memes taken from their social media history and phone records. Neighbors and former co-workers of the McMichaels also recounted the father-son duo’s troubling history of racism. (Source: NBC News) |
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| | Colombia Chooses Choice | Constitutional Court Decriminalizes Some Abortions It’s part of a larger trend across South America called the “green wave,” after the bright green bandanas worn by feminist pro-choice advocates. Colombia joins Argentina, Mexico and Ecuador in loosening abortion laws in a largely Catholic region. For the past 15 years, Colombians could get an abortion for only three reasons: if the mother’s life was in danger, if the fetus was the product of rape or if the fetus was fatally deformed. Now all abortions up to 24 weeks of pregnancy have been decriminalized, a move that could open the door to greater abortion access down the line. (Source: Al Jazeera) |
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| | The Last Stand Falls | Supreme Court Deals Death Blow to Trump’s Drain-the-Clock Strategy Former President Donald Trump has spent months trying to prevent U.S. lawmakers from obtaining his White House records, appealing court decisions until the case finally reached the Supreme Court. But the high court turned away Trump’s final appeal to stop the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot in a brief unsigned order issued Tuesday with no comment. Its refusal leaves intact a lower federal appeals court ruling that found Trump’s attempt to assert executive privilege over the documents unpersuasive. While Trump could still start new litigation to try to block the documents, it’s unlikely at this point. (Source: The Hill) |
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| | Briefly | Here are some things you should know about today: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken cancels meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The two were set to meet in Geneva this week, but Blinken said Russia’s actions in Ukraine show that Moscow is not serious about diplomacy. (Source: Reuters) Worldwide COVID-19 cases drop 21% over last week. The World Health Organization reported that deaths fell 8% worldwide to 67,000 last week, the first decline in weekly deaths since early January. (Source: AP) Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor returns to in-person oral arguments after starting the year remotely. Sotomayor is at high risk for COVID-19 and was the only justice wearing a mask yesterday. (Source: CNN) |
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| INTRIGUING | | | | Too Many Children Left Behind | New Paper Explores Why the US Struggles to Combat Child Poverty Economists Anna Aizer, Hilary W. Hoynes and Adriana Lleras-Muney have released a new paper on why the U.S. lags far behind the rest of the developed world when it comes to fighting child poverty. During the pandemic, the Biden administration implemented an enhanced Child Tax Credit, issuing parents checks of up to $300 per month per child. The program was a resounding success, reducing child poverty by around 30% and lowering household food insufficiency by 26%. But Republicans in Congress prevented the credit from being renewed, saying it was too generous and that it encouraged parents to stop working. (Source: NPR) |
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| | News Gets Old | Americans, Especially Democrats, Are Less Interested in National News A new poll from Gallup and the Knight Foundation has found that across the board Americans grew markedly less interested in national news over the past year. But what most surprised researchers is that for the first time since 2018, Democrats reported being less interested in national news than Republicans and independents. Just 34% of Democrats said they pay a great deal of attention to national news, down from 69% last year. And within that demographic, young Democrats aged 18 to 34 are driving the change: Only 24% reported a great deal of attention, down from 70% last year. (Source: Axios) |
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| | Women’s Soccer Win | Equal Pay on the Way for US Soccer Players After $24 Million Settlement The women’s national team sued the U.S. Soccer Federation back in 2019 over gender discrimination in pay, medical treatment, travel arrangements and overall workload. Now, after a yearslong fight, the case has been settled in court, ending in a $24 million settlement that stipulates men and women will from now on be paid equally in all friendlies and tournaments, including the World Cup. It’s long-overdue justice for a team that has won four FIFA Women’s World Cup titles, catapulting gifted players like Hope Solo, Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan to stardom. (Source: The Hill) |
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| | OnlySnakes | OnlyFans Accused of Blacklisting Adult Performers The platform isn’t explicitly intended for pornography, but it has become a lucrative way for adult performers to cash in through a subscription model. Now recently unearthed legal documents from November show that rival adult website FanCentro has accused OnlyFans of bribing its employees to facilitate a complex blacklist of adult performers working with other websites. They allege that OnlyFans directed an undisclosed social media company to disable those performers’ accounts by putting their media on a terrorism database. OnlyFans says the legal claim has “no merit,” although it has not yet issued a legal response. (Source: BBC) |
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| | Whew, False Alarm! | Green Bay Packers Quarterback Clarifies Cryptic Instagram Post If you were alarmed by Aaron Rodgers’ long, reflective Instagram post hashtagged #MondayNightGratitude you’re not alone. NFL fans and pundits flew into a frenzy of speculation about his future, especially due to the inclusion of a picture showing his absence from a pregame national anthem that many interpreted as his way of saying goodbye. But Rodgers set the record straight yesterday on The Pat McAfee Show, explaining that he had just finished a 12-day “Panchakarma” cleanse, which left him feeling grateful for the people in his life. “There’s nothing cryptic about gratitude,” he said. (Source: ESPN) |
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| ABOUT OZY OZY is a diverse, global and forward-looking media and entertainment company focused on “the New and the Next.” OZY creates space for fresh perspectives, and offers new takes on everything from news and culture to technology, business, learning and entertainment. www.ozy.com / #CarlosWatson / #OZY Curiosity. Enthusiasm. Action. That’s OZY! |
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