Friday, February 4, 2022 Top Stories
It is Friday, February 4. Here are today’s top stories.
—
Winter Olympics kicks off
The Winter Olympics in Beijing, China has officially started. The Olympic cauldron was lit. The U.S. delegation marched around the Beijing National Stadium, which is called the “Bird’s Nest,” but there were no U.S. government officials present because the Biden administration is doing a diplomatic boycott of China due to allegations of human rights abuses. Several other countries are also doing a diplomatic boycott, such as Japan or India.
There are 222 Olympic athletes from the U.S. in total. Russian athletes are again not allowed to compete under the Russian flag because of a doping scandal but individual athletes from Russia can compete under the ROC flag, which stands for “Russian Olympic Committee.”
In separate but related news, the presidents of China and Russia had a meeting prior to the Opening Ceremony in which both declared they were opposed to any expansion of NATO. This means China is showing a posture that it supports Russia’ position in the Ukraine conflict.
—
Gold cube in Central Park
On Wednesday morning an artist named Nicals Castello placed a golden cube in the middle of New York City’s snow-covered Central Park for several hours. The cube is worth just under $12 million and is made of over 400 pounds of gold. There was a group of NYPD officers keeping watch over the cube as curious passer-bys took selfies. The reason for this art display is to promote a new cryptocurrency, the “Castello Coin.”
—
U.S. accuses Russia of planning fake attack video
The Biden administration said it has intelligence that shows Russia is considering creating a fake video that shows Ukrainian forces attacking Russian troops and use the video as a pretext for invading Ukraine. The video would show dead Russian soldiers and fake mourners.
An AP News reporter challenged the State Department spokesperson on where the evidence was for the “fake video.” The spokesperson said he couldn’t do this to protect “sources and methods.” The spokesperson said the reporter shouldn’t doubt the credibility of the U.S. government over the Russian government.
—
[Sponsored Video from Sorenson: www.sorenson.com]
—
Former Chicago cop convicted of murder released
Former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke, who was convicted of murdering a 17-year-old teenager named Laquan McDonald in 2014, was released from state prison custody on Thursday. He served half of his six-year, nine-month sentence and was eligible for release due to good behavior. There is outrage over Van Dyke’s early release.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she understands why this feels like an injustice, but she pointed out that Van Dyke was the first Chicago police officer in over 50 years to be convicted of a crime committed in the line of duty.
—
South Dakota bans trans athletes from female sports teams
South Dakota Gov. Noem signed a bill into law that bans transgender girls and college-aged transgender women from playing on female high school and college sports teams. South Dakota now joins Florida, Texas, Arkansas, and Mississippi in banning transgender athletes. Gov. Noem said the law is about fairness, but those who are opposed to the law said it is discrimination. The law is set to take effect on July 1 but is expected to be challenged in court.
—
Austria signs nationwide vaccine mandate in law
Austrian President Van der Bellen signed a nationwide Covid-19 vaccine mandate into law. Austria now requires all adults to get the Covid-19 or face fines of up to 600 euros. Adults who don’t take the vaccine can face up to four fines a year. Authorities plan to check people’s vaccine status on March 15. The law will last until January 31, 2024. Those who are pregnant or those who have a vaccine exemption for health reasons are exempt. Austria is the first country in the European Union to do this, and Germany could be next.
—
That is all the top stories for this week. Thank you for watching “The Daily Moth.” Have a good weekend and stay with the light.
—
https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/beijing-winter-olympics-2022-opening-ceremony-spt-intl-hnk/index.html
https://apnews.com/article/winter-olympics-putin-xi-meet-0e9127176250c0cab19b36e75800052e
https://www.the-sun.com/news/4604672/gold-castello-cube-central-park/
https://www.vice.com/en/article/dyp4pv/gold-cube-in-central-park-is-a-bizarre-crypto-ad
https://www.axios.com/russia-invasion-ukraine-pretext-video-false-flag-96067bed-551c-4b28-aa8b-778a645bc9e0.html
https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1489336004637044746
https://abcnews.go.com/US/chicago-bracing-protests-release-cop-convicted-murder-laquan/story?id=82647106
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transgender-athletes-female-sports-teams-south-dakota-kristi-noem/
https://www.axios.com/austria-covid-vaccine-mandate-law-8f34f54f-41dd-4434-84a5-63ebef6a9e3e.html