Tip News Daily Brief

Your Daily Brief

August 23rd, 2023

Good morning, and happy Wednesday! Over 200 people dressed in inflatable Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur costumes competed in a race at a horse racing track in suburban Seattle over the weekend. Ocean Kim took top honors in the 100-yard dash after officials agreed Kim, of Kailua, Hawaii, hit the finish wire just ahead of the pack. Check out the photos of the racing T-rexes and let us know what you think about the T-Rex World Championship Races!

In Today’s Brief

Greece: Firefighters discover 18 dead
Biden: Launches loan repayment plan
Lauryn Hill: 25th-anniversary tour set
IBM: Selling the Weather Company

...and more

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Top Tips

UPS agreement ratified

UPS workers ratified the Teamsters-negotiated labor deal reached nearly a month ago, allowing the next five-year contract covering 340K employees to take effect.

The Teamsters released in a statement that 86% of the votes cast were in favor of ratifying the contract. It was passed by the highest vote for a contract in the history of the Teamsters at UPS. The new agreement eliminates a two-tiered wage system and institutes raises across UPS’ workforce. More than 40 supplemental agreements were also ratified, except for one that covers roughly 170 members in Florida. The national master agreement will go into effect as soon as that supplement is renegotiated and ratified.

The agreement averted the largest single strike against a company in U.S. history. The consulting firm Anderson Economic Group estimated a 10-day UPS strike could have cost the U.S. economy more than $7B and triggered “significant and lasting harm” to the shipping industry and its workers.

Pakistan cable car rescue

Eight people who were trapped in a disabled cable car hanging above a valley in Pakistan returned safely to the ground yesterday.

The six children and two adults became trapped when a cable snapped while they were crossing a river canyon in the Battagram district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Residents used mosque loudspeakers to alert neighborhood officials of the emergency and a helicopter took two children to safety after almost 12 hours in the air before it was forced back to base in the dark. Rescuers then used the cable keeping the gondola from falling into the valley as a zipline to rescue the rest of those stranded late yesterday night.

Villagers frequently use cable cars to get around Pakistan’s mountainous regions, but the cars can be poorly maintained. In 2017, 10 people lost their lives when a cable car fell into a ravine in the mountain resort of Murree after its cable broke.

Fyre Festival returns

Billy McFarland, the co-organizer of 2017’s Fyre Festival, announced that tickets are on sale for Fyre Festival II, reportedly set to take place at the end of 2024.

McFarland spent four years behind bars on multiple counts of fraud after the original festival, located on the Bahamian island of Great Exuma, was deemed a scam, with McFarland duping investors and customers out of $26M. He was released from federal prison in 2022 and claims to have drawn up plans for the newest festival while under house arrest. Specific dates, locations, and festival lineup have not yet been shared, but tickets have gone on sale.

Fyre Festival was promoted as “the cultural experience of the decade,” but customers, who paid $1.2K to over $100K hoping to see artists such as Blink-182 and the hip-hop act Migos, arrived to learn that performances were canceled. Their accommodations and “gourmet” food–as the festival advertised–consisted of tents and packaged food, prompting attendees to use the hashtag #fyrefraud on social media.

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Quick Tips

Around the Globe

Greek firefighters found the bodies of 18 people near a village in northern Greece that was scorched by a wildfire that has been burning for days; firefighters in the country are currently battling 65 wildfires, according to Greek media (More)
Japan will start releasing treated radioactive water from the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean tomorrow; the decision comes weeks after the UN's nuclear watchdog approved the plan (More)
37 Senegalese survivors of a failed migration attempt to Spain returned home after a month at sea; more than 60 migrants are still missing and feared dead from the voyage (More)

On the Homefront

Lawyer John Eastman turned himself into the Fulton County jail yesterday as part of the 2020 election interference case in Georgia, according to the jail’s online database; Eastman is one of former President Trump's 18 co-defendants in the case (More)
Hollywood studio Lionsgate reinstituted mask mandates for nearly half its employees amid a reported spike in Covid-19 cases; the mandate will be in effect until further notice at the company’s flagship office in Santa Monica, California (More)
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco has filed for chapter 11 in an effort to facilitate any potential settlements from lawsuits accusing the Catholic Church of enabling child abuse (More)

Glitz & Games

In partnership with Annmarie

Five-time Grammy recipient Lauryn Hill announced a 25th-anniversary tour for her debut solo album, 1998’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill; the album was the first hip-hop album to receive an album of the year Grammy and made Hill the first woman to receive five Grammys in one night (More)
Max’s ‘And Just Like That’ has been renewed for a third season; since the launch of season two, the show ranks as the number one Max Original overall and is the most-watched returning Max Original to date, according to the head of original content (More)
The NBA has fined Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden $100K for public comments he made about his status with the team; Harden had made public comments saying he would not perform the services called for under his player contract unless he were traded to another team (More)

From our partners: Refresh your skincare routine – Annmarie's Clean Skincare bundle includes four of their best-selling products that work together to cleanse, nourish, and protect your skin, giving you a radiant and glowing complexion. Get the Annmarie Gianni Clean Bundle for under $20 and enjoy a bonus of their popular Antioxidant Lip Balm!

Business & Markets

Major indexes in the stock market ended mixed, with the Nasdaq ending with gains and the S&P 500 and Dow closing with losses (Dow -0.51%, Nasdaq +0.06%, S&P 500 -0.28%)
IBM announced it is selling The Weather Company and its assets to Francisco Partners, a tech-focused private equity firm, for an undisclosed sum; IBM has reportedly been exploring a sale of the unit, which it says serves an average of 415M people monthly, since April (More)
Meta is releasing a web version of Threads, in order to increase the app’s functionality and engagement; Threads was quick to sign on users after it was introduced in July, but the app saw a drop-off in growth the following week due to limited functions (More)

Tips & Tricks

Feel Good: Meet Hilary Oxley, a 90-year-old London resident who celebrated her most recent birthday by going skydiving with her granddaughters…and in the process, proving that it’s never too late to face our fears and embark on amazing new adventures
Sneak Peek: See Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell reunite as burger chain employees Dexter and Ed in the teaser trailer for Good Burger 2, the upcoming sequel to the 1997 cult classic Nickelodeon film
Bump This: Canadian folk duo Ocie Elliot channel the nostalgic sound of summer coming to an end in their new acoustic ballad “Free” - listen on Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube
Chow Down: Canned wild-caught salmon is an easy source of protein, omega-3 fats, and B vitamins for smooth metabolic and neurological processes - try out this recipe for salmon cakes that make for a great dinner entrée or leftovers on a salad for lunch the next day
Go Deep: Read up on how conditions such as inclement weather and the ongoing war in Ukraine have contributed to a rice shortage around the world…and how things may be primed to get worse before they get better
Hot Goss: One day after news broke that Demi Lovato has parted ways with her music manager Scooter Braun, reports surfaced that both Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber were in the process of also parting ways with Braun
Life Hack: Giving in to late-night cravings has been linked to poorer measures of metabolic health, and could mean that something is off or lacking during your daytime routine - try these five daytime habits that could help curb your late-night cravings and improve your metabolism

Tip-Offs

The cities with the most likelihood of car accidents.

Comparing the price of a Big Mac around the world.

See photos of six of America’s coolest tiny homes.

…and recent shots of India’s ongoing moon mission.

Travel experts weigh in on 7 essential cities to visit.

A man’s experience of attending 17 Olympic Games.

Simple tips for an adult to start making new friends.

Examining the rising popularity of eco-friendly funerals.

Looking Back…

On August 23rd: William Wallace is executed for treason for leading Scottish resistance forces against English rule (1305); a botched bank robbery in Stockholm results in a hostage situation and gives rise to the term “Stockholm syndrome” (1973); the first season of Survivor ends in the U.S. (2000); basketball player Kobe Bryant is born (1978).

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