| | | Tensions at the Ukrainian border continue to escalate. In the U.S., the Supreme Court backed a mask mandate one week after dismissing another. Americans began registering for free at-home COVID tests yesterday, a day early, in a ploy to smooth out technical difficulties. And speaking of technical difficulties, 5G service has been delayed near airports after airlines warned of catastrophic consequences. All this and more in today’s Presidential Daily Brief. | | |
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| IMPORTANT | | | 1 - No Quiet on the Western Front Russia is pushing troops to Belarus, near Ukraine, stoking invasion fears An unspecified number of troops has begun moving from the far east to the west ostensibly for major war games, according to Russian officials. U.S. press secretary Jen Psaki contextualized the move in stark terms: “We’re now at a stage where Russia could at any point launch an attack in Ukraine.” The U.K. responded to the move by delivering anti-tank weapons to Ukraine. All this comes after last week’s talks between Russia and the U.S. and NATO failed to diffuse any of the mounting tension at the Ukrainian border. (Source: AP) |
| 2 - Mixed Messages The Supreme Court rejects request to block mask mandate on planes Less than a week after justices blocked a vaccine-or-test mandate for large employers by a 6-3 vote, the high court denied a bid to block a federal mask mandate for air travel. A father filed the emergency application on the behalf of himself and his 4-year-old autistic son, claiming they both are medically incapable of wearing masks for long periods of time. Justice Neil Gorsuch, who manages emergency applications in some Western states, referred the matter to the full court where the justices denied the request without comment or written dissent. (Source: TheHill) |
| 3 - Jumping the Gun Free COVID test website opens a day early On the site, Americans can request up to four rapid at-home COVID tests for home delivery. The beta version of the website was informally launched yesterday, to “ensure as smooth of an official launch tomorrow as possible,” according to a White House official. President Biden announced the initiative back in December when he received criticism for not providing at-home tests to Americans before they began drowning in Omicron cases. If you missed the soft launch yesterday, don’t worry: the official launch is expected to pop off sometime this morning. And if you’re lucky, you can also access one of the 400 million free “high quality,” nonsurgical N95 masks, which the White House is expected to announce later today. (Sources: Axios, NYT) |
| 4 - 5G Delayed AT&T and Verizon announced they will delay 5G near key airports After some back and forth, the telecommunication giants will acquiesce to the nation’s airlines’ requests. The news comes after the airline industry desperately warned that the new 5G service could interfere with aircraft systems, making many flights impossible. AT&T agreed to work with federal regulators to settle the dispute; meanwhile, they promised to delay turning on new cell towers in a 2-mile radius of federally designated airports (although they did not specify how many and for how long). Verizon’s statement was more terse: blaming inept airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration, they said “we have voluntarily decided to limit our 5G network around airports.” (Sources: AP, NYT) |
| 5 - Briefly Here are some things you should know about today: Jakarta no longer capital of Indonesia. Due to sustainability concerns, the city of Nusantara will now serve as Indonesia’s capital. (Source: CNN) Oil prices hit their highest since 2014. The surge seems influenced by global political tensions in the UAE and Russia. (Source: Reuters) Extent of eruption damage in Tonga is slowly revealed. The island nation fears that relief efforts could bring COVID to a country that only had its first case in October. (Source: BBC) New details revealed of alleged pattern of fraud in the Trump Organization. Former President Trump and his two adult children, Ivanka and Don Jr., face civil investigation inquiries from N.Y. Attorney General, Leticia James, for “fraudulent or misleading” practices. (Source: NYT) |
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| | | Watch Gita Gopinath, IMF Chief Economist Fighting to Save the World’s Poor |
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| INTRIGUING | 1 - Espionage Gone Wrong Israeli police secretly spied on their own citizens without judicial oversight The Israeli spyware company NSO Group has drawn criticism from around the globe for making powerful surveillance tools available to various regimes. Now, for the first time, an Israeli newspaper has accused the national police of targeting their own citizens using NSO tech. The paper says police have hacked the cell phones of Israelis regardless of whether they were suspected of crimes, including activists who protested former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israeli Public Security Minister Omer Bar Lev pushed back, tweeting that the police do not wiretap or hack devices without a court order, but nonetheless he said he would seek more oversight. (Source: NPR) |
| | | 2 - Money Games Microsoft will buy Activision Blizzard for $68 billion -- in cash You may know Activision for its hugely popular games like Call of Duty and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. You also might have heard the company has been reeling from reports of sexual misconduct and harasssment among the company’s executives. This past Monday, Activision fired dozens of its executives after an extensive investigation. As part of the deal, controversial CEO Bobby Kotick will remain CEO and will report to Phil Spencer, Microsoft’s Xbox boss. The all-cash deal seems like another aggressive move by Microsoft to beat out Meta in the race to create the metaverse. (Source: NBCNews) |
| 3 - A Dark Day for Hamsters Hong Kong authorities found that the popular pets have COVID… and could spread it Authorities at the Agriculture, Fisheries, and Conservation Department in Hong Kong announced that the sale of hamsters and the import of small mammals would cease immediately after many tested positive for coronavirus at a pet store where an employee also tested positive. While the U.S. CDC has said animals don’t appear to play a significant part in spreading the virus, Hong Kong isn’t taking any chances. 2,000 hamsters and small animals will be executed by the state, and anyone who bought a hamster after January 7th will have to quarantine and turn in their hamster for execution. (Source: AP) |
| 4 - A Note on Health An English violin-maker has created a vegan violin from various fruits Padraig O’Dubhlaoidh has been making violins for 40 years. Now, he’s made an animal-free violin, the first to be registered with The Vegan Society’s trademark. Usually, violins are made using bones, horns, hooves, and horsehair. O’Dubhlaoidh’s instrument is made using nature’s non-living bounty: steamed pears for the inlay, wild berries for dye and local spring water for adhesive. The craftsman hopes that the over-$9,000 instrument will be a welcome innovation for vegan musicians who perhaps have avoided the violin over questions of ethics. For a specific subset of people, this is probably music to their ears. (Source: BBC) |
| 5 - Bad News Browns Defensive tackle for the Cleveland Browns Malik McDowell arrested McDowell has been charged with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence, and public exposure, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office. The incident report states that police were responding to a call about a naked man walking near a children’s learning center that was in session. When police confronted McDowell, he tackled a deputy and punched him in the eye and head before being tazed and apprehended. This isn’t his first brush with the law. In 2019, McDowell was charged with driving while impaired, obstructing justice, assaulting a police officer, and receiving and concealing stolen property. (Source: ESPN) |
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