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Your Daily BriefJuly 24th, 2022 |
Good morning, and happy Sunday! A lot went down over the past two days, so while you (hopefully) start gearing up for one more day of relaxation before the work week, here’s what we have for you:
In Today’s Brief
- China: Court rules against a single woman wanting to freeze her eggs
- President Biden: Physician reports improving Covid symptoms
- Vince McMahon: Resigns from WWE
- Cadillac: Previews its most expensive sedan ever
- Mega Millions: Jackpot prize reaches $790 million
- Top Tips: WHO declares monkeypox a global health emergency, Russian missiles strike Ukrainian port following a grain deal, Google fires engineer who claimed its AI chatbot was sentient
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WHO declares the monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency
With over 16,000 cases reported in 75 countries, the World Health Organization has declared the monkeypox virus outbreak a global health emergency.
The classification is the highest level of alert that WHO can issue. According to WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, there have been five deaths reported from the outbreak so far. Following the second meeting of the organization’s emergency committee regarding the outbreak, yesterday’s designation is the second global health emergency the WHO has declared in two years, the other being the coronavirus pandemic.
When declaring the emergency, Dr. Ghebreyesus said most monkeypox cases found outside of Africa—where the virus is endemic—were currently concentrated among men who had sex with men, particularly those with multiple sexual partners.
Russian missiles strike Ukrainian port hours after a grain export deal was signed
Less than one day after Ukraine and Russia signed a deal to reopen Ukrainian ports for grain exports in the Black Sea, Ukraine reported that Russian missiles struck the port city of Odesa.
The agreement between the two countries–which followed talks brokered by the United Nations and NATO member Turkey–was reached with the intent of freeing up food supplies to avoid a worldwide food shortage. As part of the deal, Ukraine aimed to export 5 million tons of grain per month, and Russia provided assurances that it would not attack Black Sea port facilities such as those in Odesa.
Following the strike, Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko tweeted that Russia had undermined “its commitments before the UN and Türkiye under the Istanbul agreement,” and added that Russia will bear “full responsibility” in the event of a global food crisis.
Google fires engineer who claims its AI was sentient and had a soul
After placing him on paid administrative last month, Google fired the engineer who claimed its Artificial Intelligence chatbot became sentient and had a soul.
Blake Lemoine–the former Google engineer who worked in the company's responsible AI organization–published a post on Medium in June, in which he wrote that Google's chatbot LaMDA “has been incredibly consistent in what it wants and what it believes its rights are as a person.” In his writings, Lemoine said that Google executives dismissed his claims and that the company’s human resources department engaged in religious discrimination against him before placing him on leave.
When confirming its decision to fire Lemoine, Google said in a statement that “LaMDA has been through 11 distinct reviews,” adding that the company “extensively” reviewed Lemoine’s claims and found them to be “wholly unfounded.”
Around the Globe
- At least 22 people were killed in flash foods stemming from rains in Iran’s southern province of Fars, according to a provincial official
- A Chinese court ruled against Teresa Xu, an unmarried woman seeking the right to freeze her eggs after the Beijing Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital refused to perform the procedure
- Orange and MasMovil Ibercom have entered into a binding agreement to combine their Spanish operations into a joint telecommunications company valued at close to $19 billion
On the Homefront
- President Biden’s physician reported that the President’s primary symptoms from Covid-19 now include “sore throat, rhinorrhea, loose cough and body aches,” and noted his condition continues to improve following his second full day receiving antiviral treatment Paxlovid
- A 76-year-old man was arrested after DNA obtained through a breathalyzer test at an unrelated traffic stop linked him to two decades-old murders in California
- David Jakubonis has been arrested on a federal assault charge for attempting to stab New York gubernatorial nominee Lee Zeldin, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York (Zeldin was not injured)
Glitz and Games
- WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon announces he will retire from the company amid allegations of misconduct
- 22-year-old Olympic hurdler and sprinter Sydney McLaughlin broke her own world record for the 400-meter hurdle at the World Track and Field Championships, completing the event at 50.68 seconds
- Streaming service Disney+ adds R-rated Marvel films Deadpool, Deadpool 2, and Logan to its platform in the United States
Money Moves
- Major indexes in the stock market ended Friday's trading session in the red with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading losses (Dow -0.43%, Nasdaq -1.87%, S&P 500 -0.93%)
- Verizon stock (NYSE: VZ) fell by more than 7% after the company adjusted guidance on slower wireless revenue growth
- General Motors previewed the upcoming electric Cadillac Celestiq sedan, the most expensive Cadillac ever that is expected to cost about $300,000 or more when it goes into production in late 2023
Tip & Tricks
- Bump This: Billie Eilish is making acoustic guitar great again in her new track “TV” - listen on Apple Music and Spotify
- Nerd Out: Check out this prototype electric car developed by a student team at the Eindhoven University of Technology that removes and stores carbon dioxide from the air as it drives
- Cash Grab: The Mega Millions jackpot prize rose to $790 million after no ticket matched the winning numbers drawn Friday night (unrelated, but does anyone out there have $10 we can borrow?)
- Go Deep: Read about brine pools at the bottom of the Red Sea that kill anything that swims into them and could shed light on how life on Earth began
- Say What: “From the moment she came into our world, Shonka brought joy, spirit and of course her voice and her music. Whenever she was on set, on stage or even just in the room, everyone always felt uplifted,” Elvis director Baz Luhrmann said in an Instagram post remembering actress and singer Shonka Dukureh, who died on Thursday at age 44
- Hot Goss: Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift reunited to celebrate the former’s 30th birthday and we’ve never felt older
- Life Hack: Holding your breath as long as you can and slowly exhaling will help snap you out of feeling sleepy (though nothing beats a 2 pm nap on a Sunday–we know you know what we’re talking about)
Looking Back…
On July 24th: U.S. Supreme Court rules that President Richard Nixon must provide Watergate transcript tapes to prosecutor Leon Jaworski (1974); Brigham Young and fellow Mormons arrive in Salt Lake City (1847); World War II drama Saving Private Ryan is released in theaters (1998); Jennifer Lopez is born (1969).
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