Mom and son graduate college together, fulfilling 18-year promise

Carolyn and Immanuel Patton, a mother-son duo from Maryland, have graduated college together, fulfilling a promise the younger Patton first made to his mom when he was 5 years old. “I remember I just told my mom … one day, it’s gonna be you and me. We’re going to get our degrees at the same time,” Immanuel Patton, 23, recalled to “Good Morning America.”
Read more: https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/family/story/mom-son-graduate-college-fulfilling-18-year-promise-96425306?source=Snapzu

Ukraine war: Russian athletes cannot be allowed at Olympics, Zelensky says

Olympics chiefs say Russian and Belarusian athletes could compete as neutrals, but Ukraine opposes the move.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64448808?source=Snapzu

6th cop suspended from Memphis force over Tyre Nichols killing

There's something different about Officer Hemphill. Can't quite put my finger on it.
Read more: https://bbs.boingboing.net/t/6th-cop-suspended-from-memphis-force-over-tyre-nichols-killing/240888?source=Snapzu

Annie Wersching, ‘24’ Actor and Tess in ‘The Last of Us’ Video Game, Dies at 45

Annie Wersching, an actor best known for her roles in “24” and “Bosch” and for originating the role of Tess in the 2013 video game “The Last of Us,” has died fol…
Read more: https://variety.com/2023/tv/obituaries-people-news/annie-wersching-dead-the-last-of-us-24-1235505825/?source=Snapzu

China's 2022 smartphone sales plunge to lowest level in a decade

China's smartphone sales endured a record fall in 2022, tumbling 13% to their lowest level in a decade as COVID controls and a slowing economy sapped consumer appetite, data from third-party research firms showed.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/chinas-2022-smartphone-shipments-lowest-10-years-research-firm-2023-01-29/?source=Snapzu

Behind the Inclusive-Sounding Ads of this $100 Million PR-Blitz-for-Jesus it's the Same Old Conservative Christian Fantasy

This month, a $100 million advertising campaign and website have been launched nationwide to help a particular figure rebrand. In the current climate, just who, do you think, might warrant such a massive PR blitz?
Read more: https://religiondispatches.org/behind-the-inclusive-sounding-ads-of-the-100-million-pr-blitz-for-jesus-its-the-same-old-white-conservative-fantasy/?rss=1?source=Snapzu

Children ‘seriously harmed’ at scandal-hit mental health hospitals

Special report: In an expose of private children’s hospitals, workers say inadequate staffing put patients in harm’s way. Rebecca Thomas reports
Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/mental-health-abuse-children-huntercombe-b2270448.html?source=Snapzu

Japan firm opens whale meat vending machines to push sales

A Japanese whaling operator, after struggling for years to promote its products amid protests from conservationists, has found a new way to cultivate clientele and bolster sales: whale meat vending machines. The Kujira (Whale) Store, an unmanned outlet that recently opened in the port town of Yokohama near Tokyo, houses three machines for whale sashimi, whale bacon, whale skin and whale steak, as well as canned whale meat....
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/us/japan-launches-whale-meat-vending-machines-to-promote-sales/ar-AA16PH9j?source=Snapzu

McDonald's president who made $7.4 million last year says proposal to pay fast-food workers $22 an hour is 'costly and job-destroying'

McDonald's president calls AB 257, or the FAST Act, 'costly and job-destroying.' A coalition led by chains like McDonald's has secured a referendum vote in November 2024.
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-exec-slams-california-lawmakers-for-passing-fast-food-law-2023-1?source=Snapzu

Three seconds of audio could end up costing Fox $504,000

Despite being a well-known illegal sound that many film and television productions have been fined over, US media titan Fox stands accused of playing the Emergency Alert System attention tone to promote an NFL show on dozens of TV channels. The Federal Communications Commission, which polices use of the sound to protect its integrity, now wants to fine the organization $504,000 – just as it did for Hollywood action film Olympus Has Fallen ($1.9 million, 2014) right down to Jimmy Kimmel Live ($395,000, 2019).
Read more: https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/27/fox_eas_tones_fine/?source=Snapzu

You can now sponsor refugees yourself. Here’s how.

Biden’s new Welcome Corps program offers an amazing opportunity to do good.
Read more: https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/23569848/how-to-sponsor-refugees-welcome-corps-biden?source=Snapzu

Jay Leno’s 30-Year Run at NBCUniversal Poised to End as CNBC Cancels His ‘Garage’ Car Series

The host has had a presence on at least one of NBC's channels since he took over 'The Tonight Show' in 1992.
Read more: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/jay-leno-nbc-career-cnbc-cancels-jay-leno-garage-1235311065/?source=Snapzu

US will no longer have Christian majority by 2070, study reveals

The United States remains home to more Christians than any other country in the world. By 2070, those demographics could see a shift and the religion that has long been the country’s majority denomination could become a minority, according to a new study.
Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/us-christian-majority-fading-2070-b2166999.html?source=Snapzu

Chemical weapons watchdog blames Syria’s air force for deadly 2018 chlorine attack

An investigation by the global chemical weapons watchdog established there are “reasonable grounds to believe” Syria’s air force dropped two cylinders containing chlorine gas on the city of Douma in April 2018, killing 43 people. A report published Friday by a team from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons offered the latest confirmation that the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad used chemical weapons during his country’s grinding civil war.
Read more: https://www.timesofisrael.com/chemical-weapons-watchdog-blames-syrias-air-force-for-deadly-2018-chlorine-attack/?source=Snapzu

11 of the Sleaziest Snake Oil Ads From Truth Social

Former President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to abandon Truth Social, the destitute social media platform he created after Twitter and Facebook kicked him off their sites. But in recent months, both Twitter and Facebook have welcomed him back. That’s bad news for Truth Social which, like all social media platforms, makes its money on holding users’ attention long enough to show them ads.
Read more: https://gizmodo.com/donald-trump-truth-social-facebook-sleazy-snake-oil-ads-1850040614?source=Snapzu

‘There Is a Real Sense That the Apocalypse Is Coming’

When Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — many of them carrying Christian symbols like crucifixes, statues of the Virgin Mary and even life-sized portraits of Jesus Christ — a terrible thought occurred to Bradley Onishi: “Could I have been there?”
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/01/27/apocalypse-coming-christian-nationalism-00079317?source=Snapzu

Two Florida Reptile Dealers Sentenced to Prison for Conspiring and Trafficking in Protected Reptiles

Two Florida men were sentenced on charges of conspiracy and trafficking in protected timber rattlesnakes and endangered Eastern indigo snakes on Friday, Dec. 5. A federal judge in Philadelphia sentenced Robroy MacInnes, 55, of Inverness, Florida, and Robert Keszey, 48, of Bushnell, Florida, to 18 months and 12 months in prison respectively for their role in trafficking in state and federally protected reptiles.
Read more: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-florida-reptile-dealers-sentenced-prison-conspiring-and-trafficking-protected-reptiles?source=Snapzu

Former Detroit Lions Linebacker Jessie Lemonier Dead At 25

Former Detroit Lions linebacker Jessie Lemonier has passed away, the team announced. He was only 25.
Read more: https://www.tmz.com/2023/01/26/jessie-lemonier-dead-at-25-linebacker-lions-chargers-nfl-xfl-usfl/?source=Snapzu

If not him, who? Florida man begs for action on sister’s cold case murder

The Walker family murders haunt a victim’s brother, who wants answers before he dies. He points to the ‘In Cold Blood’ killers.
Read more: https://www.tampabay.com/news/crime/2023/01/26/in-cold-blood-killers-sarasota-murder-case/?source=Snapzu

'Shameful': UK Approves 'Emergency' Use of Banned Bee-Killing Pesticide

Biodiversity defenders have sounded the alarm about the United Kingdom government's Monday decision to provide another so-called "emergency" exception for the use of an outlawed neonicotinoid pesticide lethal to bees.
Read more: https://www.commondreams.org/uk-approves-bee-killing-pesticide?source=Snapzu

Schools chief fired after boy, 6, shoots teacher in Virginia

Teacher Abigail Zwerner, who was seriously injured in her classroom, is suing the school district.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64406295?source=Snapzu

Google shut down thousands of pro-Beijing disinformation channels on Taiwan, COVID-19

Google says it shut down more than 50,000 accounts promoting pro-People’s Republic of China (PRC) disinformation in 2022 that focused on Taiwan, COVID-19 and U.S. politics. The takedowns are the latest salvo in an ongoing battle between Google and a campaign it has named “Dragonbridge.”
Read more: https://therecord.media/google-shut-down-thousands-of-pro-chinese-govt-disinformation-channels-on-taiwan-covid-19/?source=Snapzu

Google to shut down spam backdoor for political campaigns

Google plans to end a controversial pilot program that allows political groups to bypass Gmail’s spam filters later this month, as first reported by The Washington Post Tuesday. Google launched the program last September in response to Republican accusations that the company’s algorithms disproportionately flag conservative fundraising emails as spam.
Read more: https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/24/23569761/google-gmail-spam-backdoor-republicans-gop-rnc-nrsc?source=Snapzu

Global coronavirus death toll could be 60% higher than reported

Mortality statistics show 122,000 deaths in excess of normal levels across 14 countries analysed by the FT
Read more: https://www.ft.com/content/6bd88b7d-3386-4543-b2e9-0d5c6fac846c?source=Snapzu

Dave Chappelle Confronts Anti-Trans Backlash, Says Protesters Threw Eggs at His Fans

Dave Chappelle released the second episode of his “The Midnight Miracle” podcast with co-hosts Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey and confronted the backlash that has surrounded him for years
Read more: https://variety.com/2023/film/news/dave-chappelle-trans-backlash-protesters-threw-eggs-fans-1235482449/?source=Snapzu

Erdogan tells Sweden not to expect Nato bid support

The Turkish president's warning comes after protests in Sweden, including a Quran burning.
Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64380066?source=Snapzu

North Korea behind $100m crypto theft, FBI says

California-based Harmony said in June it had been the target of a cyberattack that stole $100m worth of digital assets.
Read more: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2023/1/24/north-korea-behind-100m-crypto-theft-fbi-says?source=Snapzu

‘Lachlan gets fired the day Rupert dies’: Murdoch biography stokes succession rumors

New book by Australian reporter Paddy Manning hints at Succession-style feud with ramifications for US rightwing politics
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/oct/31/rupert-murdoch-successor-news-corp-paddy-manning-book?source=Snapzu

Tim Allen denies flashing Pamela Anderson on 'Home Improvement' set

In her new memoir shared with Variety prior to publication, Pamela Anderson is alleging a disturbing incident she says happened on the set of "Home Improvement" with her former costar Tim Allen.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/23/entertainment/pam-anderson-tim-allen-book/index.html?source=Snapzu

Barely open a year, Disney's $5,000 Star Wars hotel slashes prices

The hotel only has 100 rooms but has consistently struggled to sell out.
Read more: https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/disney-star-wars-hotel-slashes-prices-17734196.php?source=Snapzu

Chris Evans Jokes with Jeremy Renner After His Accident: 'Has Anyone Even Checked' on the Snowplow?

Jeremy Renner can always count on friend Chris Evans to be there for him. Shortly after Renner, 52, posted a message on social media about being on the mend and looking forward with a positive outlook after his snowplow accident, Evans, 41, reacted with a light-hearted response to his Marvel costar.
Read more: https://people.com/movies/chris-evans-jokes-with-jeremy-renner-about-snowplow-after-his-accident/?source=Snapzu

U.S. ‘No Fly List’ Leaks After Being Left in an Unsecured Airline Server

The list, which was discovered by a Swiss hacker, contains names and birth dates and over 1 million entries.
Read more: https://www.vice.com/en/article/93a4p5/us-no-fly-list-leaks-after-being-left-in-an-unsecured-airline-server?source=Snapzu

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes attempted to flee US, prosecutors claim

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes attempted to flee the US shortly after her conviction on fraud charges last year, prosecutors claim. According to a new court filing, the 38-year-old bought a one-way ticket to Mexico last January. "Only after the government raised this unauthorised flight... was the trip cancelled," prosecutors said.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64347162?source=Snapzu

How the U.S. Government Amassed $31 Trillion in Debt

Two decades of tax cuts, recession responses and bipartisan spending fueled more borrowing — contributing $25 trillion to the total and setting the stage for another federal showdown.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/22/business/economy/federal-debt-history.html?source=Snapzu

This lunar year will be the Year of the Rabbit or the Year of the Cat, depending on where you live

On Jan. 22, 2023, more than a billion people globally will welcome the Year of the Rabbit – or the Year of Cat, depending on which cultural traditions they follow – as the start of the Lunar New Year.
Read more: https://www.stltoday.com/news/world/this-lunar-year-will-be-the-year-of-the-rabbit-or-the-year-of-the/article_2e25df22-7fc3-55c4-a853-7c33e94f5753.html?source=Snapzu

Buzz Aldrin marries ‘longtime love’ on 93rd birthday

The Apollo 11 astronaut tied the knot with Anca Faur, who has a doctorate in chemical engineering, in Los Angeles. It is his fourth marriage.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/01/21/astronaut-buzz-aldrin-marries-anca-faur/?source=Snapzu

Crime App ‘Citizen’ Fires Overseas $2 an Hour Workers

Workers in Kenya and Nepal listened to police radio in American cities to fill Citizen with content. They were recently fired without severance.
Read more: https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkg5nk/citizen-fires-overseas-kenya-nepal-workers-cloudfactory?source=Snapzu

Archaeologists discovered a new papyrus of Egyptian Book of the Dead

Dubbed the "Waziri papyrus," scholars are currently translating the text into Arabic.
Read more: https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/01/archaeologists-discovered-a-new-papyrus-of-egyptian-book-of-the-dead/?source=Snapzu

This Redditor took out $76,000 in loans to trade meme stocks thanks to hype on Wall Street Bets. It became an 'addiction' and he even lost $6,000 of his girlfriend's money.

Reddit user Aaron took out loans to bet on meme stocks following r/wallstreetbets and used his girlfriend's money too. Now he has huge monthly repayments.
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-meme-stocks-wall-street-bets-subreddit-wsb-wallstreetbets-redditor-2023-1?source=Snapzu

Rapper Flo Rida awarded $82.6 million after winning lawsuit against energy drink company Celsius

Flo Rida's legal team claimed that he was not compensated in the form of promised bonuses and stock options for his work with Celsius.
Read more: https://www.insider.com/flo-rida-wins-82-million-lawsuit-energy-drink-company-celsius-2023-1?source=Snapzu

Jeremy Renner Says He Broke 30 Bones in Snowplow Accident, Grateful for It “Uniting Actionable Love”

Jeremy Renner is letting fans know that he broke 30 bones in the New Year’s Day snowplow accident that led to his hospitalization, but that he continues to be on the road to recovery. The actor took to Instagram on Saturday to share a photo of himself receiving medical attention on his legs. “Morning workouts, resolutions all changed this particular new years...
Read more: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/jeremy-renner-broke-30-bones-snowplow-accident-1235306119/?source=Snapzu

CNN Wants Jon Stewart or Bill Maher to Be Its ‘Gutfeld!’

Oh man, Greg Gutfeld is absolutely going to feast on the report that CNN is looking to launch a late-night comedy show. If he didn’t consider himself the king of late night before, the Fox News comedy commentator surely will now.
Read more: https://www.cracked.com/article_36626_cnn-wants-jon-stewart-or-bill-maher-to-be-its-gutfeld.html?source=Snapzu

Finding your essential self: the ancient philosophy of Zhuangzi explained

Zhuangzi was the gadfly of ancient Chinese philosophy. His paradoxical writings encourage a stance of therapeutic scepticism towards the world.
Read more: https://theconversation.com/finding-your-essential-self-the-ancient-philosophy-of-zhuangzi-explained-196215?source=Snapzu

Facebook approves ads calling for children’s deaths in Brazil, test finds

YouTube had no problem passing the same test.
Read more: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/01/facebook-approves-ads-calling-for-childrens-deaths-in-brazil-test-finds/?source=Snapzu

Police raided a gym after Siri called emergency services because it misheard a boxing instructor's words, owner says

A trainer triggered the Siri feature on his Apple Watch after he shouted: "1, 1-2" and "nice" or "good shot," per the gym owner.
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/siri-apple-police-raid-gym-emergency-services-2023-1?source=Snapzu

Federal prosecutors are investigating whether Amazon hid injury rates to fraudulently secure loans

Prosecutors for the Southern District of New York are investigating whether Amazon "engaged in a fraudulent scheme" to deceive lenders about injury rates at its warehouses in order to obtain credit, the Department of Justice said Wednesday. The investigation was announced on the same day federal workplace safety regulators filed four new citations against Amazon over hazards related to its pace of work, which inspectors found put workers at high risk for back, muscle, and joint injuries.
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/investigation-sdny-amazon-hid-injuries-defraud-lenders-2023-1?source=Snapzu

Did Aliens Land on Earth in 1945? A Defense Bill Seeks Answers.

The Defense Department’s annual spending bill requires it to review U.F.O. sightings dating to 1945, the year some believe an object from space crashed in the New Mexico desert.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/13/us/ufo-new-mexico-congress.html?source=Snapzu

David Crosby, Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash Co-Founder, Dies at 81

Singer-songwriter-guitarist David Crosby, a founding member of two popular and enormously influential ’60s rock units
Read more: https://variety.com/2023/music/news/david-crosby-dead-dies-byrds-crosby-stills-nash-1235495467/?source=Snapzu

The Black Death may not have been spread by rats after all

The Black Death ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1353, killing millions. Plague outbreaks in Europe then continued until the 19th century. One of the most commonly recited facts about plague in Europe was that it was spread by rats. In some parts of the world, the bacterium that causes plague, Yersinia pestis, maintains a long-term presence in wild rodents and their fleas. This is called an animal “reservoir”.
Read more: https://theconversation.com/the-black-death-may-not-have-been-spread-by-rats-after-all-196521?source=Snapzu

Auburn Banned TikTok, and Students Can’t Stop Talking About It

The school’s prohibition brings a geopolitical fight front and center for TikTok’s biggest fans: young Americans.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/15/business/auburn-tiktok-ban-students.html?source=Snapzu