Tip News Daily Brief

Your Daily Brief

December 28th, 2022

Good morning, and happy Wednesday! As he does at the end of every year, former President Barack Obama shared his favorite songs of 2022, including music from Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Zach Bryan, and a few other newcomers you may not have heard of. Take a look and tell us what you think of his picks…and could someone please let us know what all the hype around Bad Bunny is about?

In Today’s Brief

Belarus: Sentences Olympic swimmer
Winter Blizzard: Death toll rises
J.J. Watt: Retiring from NFL
Avatar: Sequel nearing the $1B mark

...and more

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Top Tips

Southwest flight disruptions

The U.S. Department of Transportation said it would examine the number of canceled and delayed flights from Southwest Airlines in recent days.

According to the website FlightAware, which tracks real-time flight data, over 2,600 Southwest flights were canceled yesterday. The figure represented 85% of the day’s total canceled flights within, to, or out of the United States. In a message posted to Twitter, the Department of Transportation said that it was concerned by the airline’s “lack of prompt customer service,” adding that it will examine “whether cancellations were controllable and if Southwest is complying with its customer service plan.”

In a separate statement, Southwest also called the situation “unacceptable” and said it would “continue operating a reduced schedule by flying roughly one-third of our schedule for the next several days.”

Kidnapping plot sentence

The co-leader of a plot to abduct Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 received a sentence of 16 years in prison yesterday.

Adam Fox and another defendant, Barry Croft Jr., were each convicted on one count of conspiring to abduct the governor and conspiring to obtain a weapon of mass destruction. Prosecutors said they planned to use explosives to destroy a bridge as part of the plot. According to a Justice Department filing, the two men “intended to kidnap Governor Whitmer from her vacation cottage near Elk Rapids, Michigan” in 2020 and use “destructive devices to facilitate their plot by harming and hindering the governor’s security detail and any responding law enforcement officers.”

Fox and Croft were convicted at a second trial in August, months after a different jury in Grand Rapids, Michigan, failed to reach a verdict but acquitted two other men. Croft is scheduled for sentencing today.

Russian tycoon mystery

Indian police are investigating the passing of a Russian politician and businessperson who lost his life after reportedly falling from the third floor of his hotel.

The body of Pavel Antov, 65, was found outside the Hotel Sai International in Rayagada, where he was believed to have been vacationing with three other Russian nationals. According to Police Superintendent Vivekanand Sharma, Antov’s death came two days after his travel companion Vladimir Budanov passed away of a heart attack at the same hotel. In June, Antov reportedly described a missile attack on Kyiv as “terror” on his WhatsApp before deleting the message and reaffirming his support for the war in Ukraine.

Antov was a member of the Russian parliament’s United Russia party and the founder and vice president of the country’s Vladimir Standard meat company. Antov joins a growing list of Russian business figures who have lost their lives this year, with six of them associated with Russia’s two largest energy companies.

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Around the Globe

Former Belarusian swimmer and three-time Olympic medalist Aliaksandra Herasimenia was sentenced to 12 years in prison for calling for sanctions and actions “aimed at harming the national security of Belarus,” per state media; it marks Belarus’ first court verdict against dissidents that was announced in absentia (More)
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said that the country will extend its military service from four months to a year starting in 2024 (More)
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that bans the supply of crude oil and oil products to nations that agreed to a $60-per-barrel price cap; the ban will take effect on February 1st and last for five months, per the decree published on the Kremlin website (More)

On the Homefront

The death toll in Erie County, NY, from this past week’s blizzard has risen to at least 31, with thousands still without power; at least 62 people have been confirmed dead across nine states as of last night (More)
A Maricopa County judge rejected Arizona Governor-elect Katie Hobbs’ request to sanction gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake over her lawsuit challenging her election defeat (More)
The Supreme Court voted to put on hold a judge’s decision invalidating the emergency order of Title 42, a pandemic-era measure that restricts immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border (More)

Glitz & Games

Arizona Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt announced his retirement from the NFL after this season, saying this past Sunday’s game in Glendale, AZ, was the last home game of his career (More)
Box office ticket sales for Avatar: The Way of Water surpassed $955M globally, making the film the No. 2 top-grossing movie of the year behind Top Gun: Maverick (More)
BTS member RM has become the first of the seven-person South Korean group to have a solo album reach the top 10 of the Billboard 200 with his latest release Indigo (More)

Business & Markets

Major indexes in the stock market ended mixed, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 falling to begin the last trading week of 2022 (Dow +0.11%, Nasdaq -1.38%, S&P 500 -0.40%)
AMC Theaters CEO Adam Aron called for a salary and stock pay freeze for himself and other executives at the company due to a drop in the company’s share price; AMC stock (NYSE: AMC) is down -85% year-to-date (More)
The Internal Revenue Service announced that it is delaying the $600 reporting threshold for 1099-K tax forms; the updated law enacted by the American Rescue Plan required third-party transaction networks like Venmo, PayPal, eBay, and Etsy to issue 1099-K forms for users who received over $600 in payments during 2022 (More)

Tip & Tricks

Bump This: The piano-driven single “ticket home” by Daniel Leggs sounds a bit like something that the late John Lennon might have written if he were making music today - listen on Apple Music and Spotify
Good News: Read about Antoine Moses, a 23-year-old Canadian who broke a world record by planting over 23K trees in 24 hours; Moses says he has planted over 1.3M trees so far in his effort to combat the effects of deforestation
Nerd Out: Learn how some areas of Japan have installed underground sprinkler systems that spray warm water to melt snow and ice from roads during winter storms like the one that just left more than 60% of Americans under weather warnings (we’re not sure if this is genius or just another way to create more ice–let us know what you think)
Go Deep: Read up on a new study conducted by University of Copenhagen researchers that explains why some people gain more weight than others even when they eat the exact same things (hint: it’s all about gut microbes)
Say What: “I actually cut about 10 minutes of the movie targeting gunplay action. I wanted to get rid of some of the ugliness, to find a balance between light and dark,” James Cameron said during an interview on his decision to remove some gunfight scenes in Avatar: The Way of Water
Hot Goss: New York Representative-elect George Santos admitted that he fabricated his work experience and college education during his campaign for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives
Life Hack: Journaling can help you externalize your thoughts and manage anxiety, and sometimes you need inspiration to point yourself in the right direction - check out these 30 journaling prompts to help get the juices flowing

Looking Back…

On December 28th: U.S. President Richard Nixon signs the Endangered Species Act (1973); the Detroit Lions become the first team in NFL history to lose all 16 games in the regular season (2008); Leonard Bernstein's musical On the Town premieres in New York City (1944); American actor Denzel Washington is born (1954).