Tip News Daily Brief

Your Daily Brief

June 21st, 2023

Good morning, and happy Wednesday! Standing amongst a field of flowers, a bear stands idle while he looks for his bowtie. Kick-start your mental engines today by seeing if you can spot the bear’s bowtie in this week’s optical puzzle!

In Today’s Brief

Andrew Tate: Hit with charges in Romania
Bernie Sanders: Launches Amazon probe
Ryan Murphy: Dropping Netflix for Disney
Tesla: Musk meets with Indian PM Modi

...and more

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Top Tips

Hunter Biden to plead guilty

President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden agreed to plead guilty to willful failure to pay taxes in 2017 and 2018 and one firearm offense.

Per a court filing, Biden is to plead guilty to failing to pay taxes on over $1.5M in income in both 2017 and 2018. According to familiar sources, the DOJ plans to recommend that he serve 24 months of probation for the tax charges, meaning he likely won’t face prison time. Biden will also enter into a probation agreement on the charge of unlawfully owning a gun while being a drug user.

Hunter Biden has been under federal investigation since 2018. Hours after the plea deal was announced, House Oversight Chairman James Comer said that he read two additional FBI informant files related to an alleged $10M bribery scheme involving both President Biden and Hunter, but more than half the content was redacted.

Missing submarine whistleblower

The director of marine operations at OceanGate, the company whose submersible went missing Sunday on an expedition to the RMS Titanic, was reportedly fired after he raised concerns about the submarine’s carbon fiber hull and other systems before its maiden voyage.

According to a filing in a 2018 lawsuit, David Lochridge was terminated from OceanGate in January 2018 after presenting a quality control report to senior management detailing “numerous issues that posed serious safety concerns.” In his report, Lochridge expressed his worry that “visible flaws” in the hull’s carbon fiber raised the risk of smaller flaws expanding into larger tears when the submarine underwent large changes in pressure as it made its way to and from the deep ocean floor.

As of this writing, OceanGate’s submersible that went missing with five passengers aboard has less than 40 hours of oxygen left, per U.S. Coast Guard officials. A search and rescue mission is still underway.

Ukraine accounting error saga

The Department of Defense said that it overestimated the value of the weapons it has sent to Ukraine over the past two years by $6.2B, resulting in a surplus that will be used for future security packages.

According to Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh, that figure was calculated following a review of the accounting error that was first reported in May. Per Singh, the Pentagon overvalued the aid it sent to Ukraine by using replacement costs rather than the book value of equipment that was pulled from its stocks. Taking that into account, Singh said final calculations show there was an overvaluing error of $3.6B in the fiscal year 2023 and $2.6B for the year prior, accounting for a total of $6.2B.

Following Russia’s invasion, the U.S. has approved four rounds of aid to Ukraine totaling about $113B. Congress approved the latest aid round in December, totaling roughly $45B for Ukraine and NATO allies.

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Quick Tips

Around the Globe

Social media personality Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan were indicted in Romania on charges of rape and human trafficking; two women were charged along with the brothers, and all four are accused of forming a criminal group to “sexually exploit women,” per Romanian prosecutors (More)
A record 28.7 tons of shark fins were confiscated in Brazil from two export companies; the country’s environmental protection agency estimated that approximately 11K blue sharks and shortfin mako sharks were killed to make up a haul of that size (More)
Four Israelis died when two Palestinian attackers opened fire at a restaurant and gas station near an Israeli settlement in the West Bank yesterday, according to local authorities; several others were wounded before authorities shot the gunmen (More)

On the Homefront

An Arkansas law that prohibited doctors from providing gender-affirming care to minors was overturned by a federal judge; the law was passed in 2021 after overriding a veto from then-governor Asa Hutchinson (More)
A tentative trial date for the Trump classified documents case has been set for August 14th in Florida by U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon (More)
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders launched a Senate investigation into working and safety conditions at Amazon warehouses in the U.S. yesterday (More)

Glitz & Games

In partnership with Xero Shoes

Ryan Murphy will depart Netflix at the end of his five-year, nine-figure overall deal, and will reportedly make a new home at Disney; Murphy is the producer behind shows such as Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, 911, and American Horror Story (More)
The NFL will reinforce the league’s gambling policy by implementing additional measures for players amid a series of recent violations (More)
The Broadway stage adaptation of ‘Life of Pi’ will play its final performance on Sunday, July 23rd; a North American tour is scheduled to launch in the fall of 2024, with locations and dates to be announced (More)

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Business & Markets

Major indexes in the stock market closed yesterday’s trading session lower, with the Dow leading losses (Dow -0.72%, Nasdaq -0.16%, S&P 500 -0.47%)
Elon Musk met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York to talk about establishing potential Tesla operations in India (More)
Disney’s chief diversity officer Latondra Newton is exiting her role after more than six years, according to an internal memo (More)

Tips & Tricks

Feel Good: Meet Michael Leigh, a 90-year-old British Judo master who just received his ninth degree, or dan, joining a group of just six others in the UK who hold the same distinction
Sneak Peek: Tennis gets dramatic in the official trailer for Challengers, an upcoming film starring Zendaya as a Grand Slam champion caught in the middle of a love triangle while she navigates her way in and out of the sport
Bump This: Nigerian singer Asake pays homage to the iconic neo-expressionist artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in his catchy new track “Basquiat” - listen on Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube
Chow Down: Whether you’re looking for lunch prep or a quick weeknight dinner, try out this recipe for a 15-minute salmon salad that’s full of protein from the salmon, eggs, and chickpeas to power up your metabolic health
Go Deep: Modeling may seem like glitz and glamour, but there’s a darker side to it that not many people see - check out this deep dive into the underbelly of fashion modeling and read some first-hand accounts of abuse and exploitation for yourself
Hot Goss: Avril Lavigne and rapper Tyga have reportedly broken up on friendly terms after going public with their relationship in February following Lavinge’s split from her then-fiancé
Life Hack: On top of the food we eat, muscle dysfunction can also contribute to bloating - here are three tips for easy movement to beat bloat, according to a physical therapist

Tip-Offs

From best to worst, a ranking of all 27 of Pixar’s movies.

Why more bands from the 90s and 00s are now reuniting.

A look inside Hall of Fame NFL coach Dick Vermeil’s winery.

…and a video tour of one Japanese artist’s infinity rooms.

The science of procrastination and how to get stuff done.

Margot Robbie takes you on a tour of Barbie’s dreamhouse.

Learn the dangers of the waters around the Titanic wreck.

…and how the color of your swimsuit might save your life.

Looking Back…

On June 21st: U.S. troops defeat Japanese forces on Okinawa during WWII (1945); John Hinckley, Jr., is ruled to be innocent by reason of insanity in the shooting of U.S. President Ronald Reagan (1982); the WNBA debuts with the league’s first game, in which the New York Liberty defeat the Los Angeles Sparks (1997); novelist Jean-Paul Sartre is born (1905).

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