Wednesday, January 25 top stories
It is Wednesday, January 25. Here are today’s top stories.
U.S. and Germany to provide tanks to Ukraine
The Biden administration plans to send about 30 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine and Germany said it would provide 14 of its Leopard 2 tanks. Germany will also allow other European countries to provide their Leopard 2 tanks.
USA Today explained that “modern, capable tanks are seen as critical to Ukraine’s ability to resist an expected springtime offensive by Russian forces and help Ukrainians claw back parts of their country…”
U.S. tanks rely on jet fuel for its engine, while German tanks use diesel fuel. The U.S. and Germany are expected to provide training to Ukrainian troops on how to operate the tanks.
“Doomsday Clock” moves closer to midnight
A group of scientists who maintains the “Doomsday Clock,” an imaginary clock that measures how close we are to the end of the world — which happens at midnight — has moved the clock forward 10 seconds. The clock is now 90 seconds away from midnight.
The group of scientists said we are closer to the end because of Russia’s threats to use nuclear weapons in its war against Ukraine. The scientists said Russia’s war has also weakened the global will to cooperate on climate change.
Ticketmaster executives grilled by senators
On Tuesday, several executives with Ticketmaster faced tough questions from senators about its chaos in November when it started selling Taylor Swift concert tickets. There were many delays and lockouts and those who were able to purchase tickets tried to sell them at extremely high rates.
Senators on the Judiciary Committee said millions of fans were stuck in virtual queues for hours waiting to buy tickets and that it shows that there is a lack of competition and market domination by Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn) said 27% of ticket prices were fees and that some tickets had up to 75% of its price based on fees. She said the fees are too high and there’s not enough competition.
Ticketmaster and Live Nation executives blamed those who used bots and cyberattacks to engage in ticket-scalping as the main cause of the chaos.
ABC News said the hearing “highlighted a conflict over who or what sets ticketing fees.”
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Paris Hilton now a mom
Paris Hilton announced that she and her husband Carter Reum are now parents to a baby son via surrogate.
This is a process in which a separate person carries a pregnancy using a fertilized egg from the parents, who may not be able to become pregnant for various reasons.
Paris previously explained that she began an in-vitro fertilization (IVF) process with her husband during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Paris made the announcement by posting an Instagram picture of a baby’s hand holding on Paris’ thumb with the caption, “You are already loved beyond words.”
Update on airline worker who was killed by jet engine
Here is an update on the airline worker who was killed when she was sucked into a jet engine at an Alabama airport on December 31. Her name is Courtney Edwards. She was 34 and a mother of three. She worked for an American Airlines regional subsidiary, Piedmont Airlines.
The National Transportation Safety Board did an investigation and released a preliminary report that said the worker already knew about the dangers of being near running jet engines and had received a warning that the plane in the incident would keep its engines on until electricity from the ground could be connected.
The NTSB said the worker set up a safety cone at the rear of a parked aircraft and walked along the edge of the plane’s left wing, which put her directly in front of an engine. The worker was “pulled off her feet” into the engine and was killed. The pilot said the airplane shook violently and that the engine automatically shut down. The plane was filled with passengers at the time.
A union that represents airport workers honored Edwards by saying “she was away from her family working on New Year’s Eve making sure passengers got to where they needed to be for the holidays.” A GoFundMe for Edwards and her family has raised over $100,000.
DOJ sues Google over dominance in online ads
The Department of Justice and eight state attorneys general filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google and its parent company Alphabet because it believes that Google is too dominant in the online ad industry.
The DOJ wants Google to be forced to sell off a large portion of its advertising technology, which has brought the company hundreds of billions of dollars of revenue in recent years.
Google said customers can use other products if they want to and that if the lawsuit is successful, it would “slow innovation, raise advertising fees, and make it harder for thousands of small businesses and publishers to grow.”
Google is already facing a separate antitrust lawsuit from the DOJ during the Trump administration over its search results technology.
Analysts said this type of lawsuit moves very slowly in federal courts, sometimes taking years or more than a decade to resolve.
That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.axios.com/2023/01/24/justice-department-google-antitrust-lawsuit
https://abcnews.go.com/US/2023-doomsday-clock-announcement-expect/story?id=96495463
https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/current-time/
https://people.com/parents/paris-hilton-husband-carter-reum-welcomed-baby-boy/
https://www.kktv.com/2023/01/24/airport-crew-member-pulled-into-engine-plane-report-says/