IMPORTANT
| | | Mass Graves | Satellite Images Show Apparent Burial Pits Near Mariupol Hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin prematurely declared victory in the battle for Mariupol, satellite images were released showing what looked like mass graves adjoining a cemetery in the village of Manhush, about 12 miles from the besieged port. The images, taken by Maxar Technologies from March 23 to April 6, revealed long rows containing between 200 and 300 freshly dug 6-by-10-foot pits. Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko accused Putin’s forces of “hiding their military crimes” in the pits, which city officials estimate could contain between 3,000 and 9,000 bodies of Ukrainian civilians. (Sources: AP, NYT) |
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| | | | | Clinics Reopen | Federal Judge Blocks Kentucky’s New Abortion Law Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings temporarily blocked a state law that had effectively halted abortions in Kentucky. The law, which bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, also contains onerous reporting requirements that the state’s two remaining clinics said they couldn’t comply with. Jennings didn’t rule on the law’s constitutionality: Instead she focused on the clinics’ claims that a lack of clear guidelines made meeting the reporting demands impossible. Planned Parenthood Kentucky announced that its clinic would resume abortions with immediate effect. CEO Rebecca Gibron said, “This is a win, but it is only the first step.” (Source: AP) |
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| | | ‘The Gig’s Up’ | UK Parliament Backs Investigation Into Boris Johnson’s Alleged Lies After a brief respite afforded him by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the heat is back on the British prime minister. Following backlash against a government attempt to delay the inquiry, a Commons committee will now investigate claims that Johnson lied to MPs about parties he attended during lockdown. Members of his own Conservative Party objected to the delay and some called for Johnson’s resignation. Former Brexit minister Steve Baker said, “The prime minister should just know the gig’s up.” And William Wragg lamented being “asked to defend the indefensible. Each time part of us withers.” (Source: The Guardian) |
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| | | Non-Starter | CNN’s New Streaming Service Pulls the Plug After 3 Weeks On March 28, big names like Anderson Cooper and Carl Bernstein celebrated the launch of CNN+, the news network’s ambitious new streaming service. Yesterday — following a merger between CNN’s former owner WarnerMedia and Discovery that put Discovery in control of the network — it was announced that CNN+ will stop streaming April 30. “While today’s decision is incredibly difficult, it is the right one for the long-term success of CNN,” said Chris Licht, the network’s incoming president. Coming two days after Netflix announced its first subscriber loss in a decade, the news underlined concerns for the future of a crowded streaming market. (Source: NYT) |
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| | | Briefly | Here are some things you should know about today: Suspect named. Portuguese authorities have declared an official suspect in the 2007 disappearance of Madeleine McCann. He’s the first official suspect since Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry, were named 15 years ago. (Source: BBC) 20 years. A Chinese national has been imprisoned for torturing mineworkers in Rwanda after a video of him whipping a man went viral. (Source: Al Jazeera) Operations suspended. Chinese mining firm MMG has halted work at its Las Bambas mine in Peru citing “safety concerns” due to ongoing protests by locals who were relocated to make way for the mine. Las Bambas accounts for 2% of global copper production. (Source: BBC) |
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INTRIGUING
| | | | | B Minus | Will Bees Get Smaller Because of the Climate Crisis? Climate change could lead to an increase in smaller-bodied bees and a reduction in larger species like bumblebees, leafcutters and mason bees due to their lower heat tolerance. Researchers who trapped and studied more than 20,000 bees in a subalpine region of the Rocky Mountains over an 8-year period found that bigger bees — and in particular bumblebees — were less prevalent during hotter years. Smaller, soil-nesting bees increased in abundance at these times. The scientists warned of “cascading effects on pollination and ecosystem functioning.” For example, losing larger bees, which are able to fly farther, could reduce long-distance pollination. (Source: The Guardian) |
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| | | This Is (Not) a Drill | Man Inhales Dentist’s Drill Bit A routine tooth-filling in Kenosha, Wisconsin, went rapidly downhill when Tom Joszi swallowed a drill bit. “I didn’t really even feel it going down,” he said. “When they did the CT scan they realized, ‘You didn’t swallow it. You inhaled it.’” The 1-inch bit lodged so deep into Joszi’s lung that regular scopes couldn’t reach it, and he was told part of his lung might have to be removed. Instead, doctors used a device designed for early cancer detection to navigate his airways and extract the bit. “I was never so happy as when I opened my eyes,” Jozsi said. (Source: AP) |
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| | | Gender Curious | Some Common Mushrooms Probably Have More Than 17,000 Sexes Don’t tell J.K. Rowling. Trichaptum shelf fungi — a common plate-like ’shroom found on Northern Hemisphere trees — likely have 17,550 biological sexes. While scientists have long surmised that some fungi have thousands of sexes, recent advances in technology allowed a team led by University of Oslo geneticist David Peris to actually crunch the numbers. Scientists still aren’t sure why fungi need so many sexes, but Peris thinks it’s probably got something to do with their sedentary lifestyle. If you can’t move, having so many variants to choose from makes it more likely your neighbor will be sexually compatible. (Source: The Scientist) |
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| | | Putin the Pig | German Wildlife Park Renames 440-Pound Russian Boar At a ceremony involving a golden watering can and a marzipan cake adorned with Disney-esque pigs, an animal park near Mehlmeisel in Bavaria renamed the pig formerly known as Putin. The boar had been given the name due to his pure Russian genes that make him three times bigger than German hogs. Following a social media contest that received 2,700 suggestions, he was renamed Eberhofer, after a policeman from a popular Bavarian book series. Park operator Eckard Mickish said that since Russia invaded Ukraine he’d felt bad every time he said Putin’s name and he worried what Ukrainian visitors might think. (Source: Reuters) |
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| | | Fifth Time Lucky? | Manchester United Appoints Erik Ten Hag as New Manager The 52-year-old veteran coach, currently with league-leading Dutch team Ajax, will join the Red Devils in the summer on a three-year deal with the option of a fourth. As Man U’s fifth permanent manager (there have also been three interim/caretaker managers) since Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, Ten Hag is intent on improving the club’s dismal return of three (relatively minor) trophies in nine years. “I know the history of this great club and the passion of the fans,” he said. “I am absolutely determined to develop a team capable of delivering the success they deserve.” (Source: Sky Sports) |
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