 |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| Happy Friday, Daily Briefing readers! All eyes were on President Joe Biden on Thursday evening as he gave his first prime time address to the nation since taking office. Today, he'll hold a celebratory ceremony at the White House with Democratic leaders, who played a major part in quickly getting the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 rescue package to the president's desk. |
| 💡How well have you been paying attention to the news this week? Test your knowledge with our weekly quiz! |
| An important anniversary is coming up: Tomorrow marks one year since Breonna Taylor's death. Are the sweeping police reforms in Louisville, Kentucky, enough to prevent another Breonna Taylor case? And here's how a tiny park in the city became the heart of a movement. In this article, Alia E. Dastagir explains why we need to talk more about the racial trauma of Black death. |
| In other news, the racial tensions hanging over the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin have emerged as a crucial sticking point in determining the jury who will decide his fate in the death of George Floyd. |
| Steve and Jane are back to close the week with Friday's news. |
| But first, here are some stories from Thursday night, in case you missed them: |
| ⚖ Biden focused the majority of his speech on the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, but he also took time to denounce violent attacks against Asian Americans during the pandemic as un-American, calling for the attacks to end immediately. |
| 👑 Questioning Meghan Markle's Blackness based on her skin color as a way to downplay her experience with racial discrimination is deeply troubling, writes Cydney Henderson. |
| 🎶 Nick Jonas' fourth solo album "Spaceman" was released Friday. The pop singer/actor has beamed up a collection of R&B-lite love songs, which are largely inspired by his wife of two years, actress Priyanka Chopra. |
| 🏀 The Kentucky men's basketball team lost to Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament on Thursday and finished its season an anemic and uncharacteristic 9-16. Gentry Estes answers the question: What the heck happened to Kentucky? |
| ⏰ Don't forget that clocks spring forward at 2 a.m. Sunday (except in Arizona). Love it or hate it, daylight saving time is nearly here. |
| If you'd rather listen, check out the 5 Things podcast. 🎧 |
| Here's what's happening today: |
Biden to hold celebratory signing event for relief bill |
| While President Joe Biden moved up his signing of the COVID-19 stimulus bill to Thursday, he will still hold a celebratory signing event with congressional leaders on Friday. The $1.9 trillion bill includes direct payments of up to $1,400 for individuals, billions to help schools and colleges reopen, and funding for vaccine distribution – along with many other measures aimed at helping America recover from the pandemic. The signing comes days before a federal boost to unemployment benefits was set to expire. All eyes were on Biden on Thursday evening as he gave his first prime time address to the nation since taking office. He urged Americans to be unified in battling the coronavirus and to continue to take precautions against its spread while the administration works to make vaccines more widely available. He struck a hopeful tone for the country's return to a semblance of normality while also acknowledging the loss all Americans have faced. |
| |
What else people are reading |
| ✝ Bible teacher Beth Moore and Black pastors have cut ties with Southern Baptists. Some say a string of recent departures should serve as a wake-up call for the Nashville-based network of churches. |
| 🐦Geoffrey Hill, a professor, bird curator and expert on bird coloration, confirmed Illinois couple Chelsea and Richard Curry have spotted a rare yellow cardinal. Hill said in 2019 that people have a "one-in-a-million" chance to spot one. The rare bird actually visits the Curry household three to four times a day, even during bad weather. |
| 🏀 Monmouth women's basketball coach Jody Craig resigned, two days after she was suspended. School officials still haven't said why Craig was benched ahead of the MAAC tournament. |
COVID-19: Oklahoma to lift restrictions; California nears vaccine milestone |
| Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt announced Thursday he will roll back his few remaining COVID-19 restrictions , despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention saying it's too soon for states to start undoing virus prevention measures. Stitt said he will issue a new executive order Friday to eliminate the restrictions on public gathering limits, attendance limits at indoor sporting events and a mandate that state employees working and visitors to state buildings wear masks. In California, Los Angeles County, once the epicenter of the pandemic, may soon open up indoor dining, movie theaters and gyms . The county could move to the "red tier" in California's tier-based system as early as Monday if the state reaches its goal of administrating two million vaccine doses to residents in its disadvantaged areas — which appears likely to happen Friday, according to the Los Angeles Times. |
| |
'Blockbuster blizzard' expected to hammer Denver area |
| One of the biggest snowstorms in years, perhaps decades, is forecast to blast the Denver metro area with several feet of snow this coming weekend. The storm should be a long-duration event, from Friday through Sunday, that could result in snowfall totals nearing two feet in Denver and piling as high as three feet in places west of Denver, AccuWeather said. "The storm has the potential to rank among the biggest on record in Denver," AccuWeather meteorologist Bernie Rayno said. Heavy snow will stretch north into Wyoming and Nebraska, where as much as 5 feet could fall in some spots, according to meteorologist Ryan Maue, who called the looming storm a "blockbuster blizzard." The weather will feel "all the more shocking" because of the recent springlike weather in some places, AccuWeather said, where temperatures of 70 degrees were recorded this week. |
| |
It has been a year since Broadway shut its doors |
| On March 12, 2020, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo banned gatherings of 500 or more in the city, effectively forcing all Broadway theaters to shut their doors in the face of coronavirus concerns. The move plunged into darkness one of New York City's most popular tourist attractions, causing turmoil in the industry. Now that the country is beginning to reopen thanks to the rapid delivery of the COVID-19 vaccines, Broadway performers are now waiting for the intermission bell to call them back to the stage. The shutdown did bring about the online show "Stars in the House," which has raised more than $715,000 for entertainment industry assistance organization The Actors Fund. |
| |
🎧 Remembering the legacy of the cassette tape creator 🎧 |
| Lou Ottens, the engineer who oversaw the development of the cassette tape, died at the age of 94 in the Netherlands on March 6, according to a local report. The onetime head of product development at Philips Electronics, Ottens oversaw the creation of the cassette recorder as an alternative to cumbersome reel-to-reel tapes. The music recording and playback format, which hit its peak in the '80s, led to ubiquitous portable music listening and endless sharing of mixtapes. Our friend Mike Snider looked back at the impact the cassette tape had on his life, including his memories of "painstakingly creating 90-minute cassette recordings of my favorite songs for my soon-to-be wife, Julie, to play in her Honda station wagon and on the boombox in her condo." |
 | | Lou Ottens, who oversaw the creation of the compact cassette tape, when he was head of Philips Electronics' product development department, with the first audiocassette. | | Philips Museum | |
Are the days of sharing Netflix passwords numbered? |
| A new effort to crack down on shared Netflix passwords has been rolled out among a select number of users — for now. The streaming giant is testing a feature in which a message pops up for viewers asking them to verify their account via a text or email sent to them. Users who can't confirm will get a prompt to set up a new account that comes with a 30-day free trial. The feature comes as the company faces increasing competition from Disney+, HBO Max and Hulu. It's estimated that about a third of Netflix users have shared their passwords with others. |
| |
ICYMI: Our top stories published Thursday |
| |
| Contributing: The Associated Press |
| |
| |
| |
No comments:
Post a Comment