Tip News Daily Brief

Your Daily Brief

February 7th, 2023

Good morning, and happy Tuesday! In the wake of travel disruptions for so many Americans this winter (including us), a group of senators introduced a passenger bill of rights that would force airlines to compensate flyers during airline-caused delays and cancellations. On the other hand, some critics are saying this would decrease competition and lead to higher airfares. What do you think of this idea?

In Today’s Brief

Kosovo: Tentative peace deal with Serbia
Maryland: Plot to attack power grid
Tom Brady: Heading to Fox in 2024
AMC: New ticket pricing model

...and more

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Earthquakes in Turkey

At least 4.3K people lost their lives and thousands were injured when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey and affected the northern part of Syria yesterday morning.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the tremor hit at 4:17 AM local time with an epicenter near the city of Gaziantep. It was followed by a second magnitude 7.5 quake 12 hours later in Kahramanmaras, about 50 miles north of Gaziantep. In terms of magnitude, the first tremor is the strongest earthquake to hit Turkey since 1939, when a magnitude 7.8 quake killed 30K people.

Turkey's disaster agency said more than 2.9K people have died, while Syria’s death toll is estimated at over 1.4K people as of yesterday evening. More people are still believed to be trapped under the rubble of toppled buildings, with the death toll expected to rise as rescue workers in both countries search through the wreckage.

Google launches ChatGPT rival

Alphabet-owned Google announced an “experimental conversational AI service” called Bard that the company plans to begin rolling out in the coming weeks.

According to a blog post from Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Bard will be powered by Google’s Language Model for Dialogue Applications–or “LaMDA,” for short–and the public will be able to use its AI features as part of Google search. Describing its functionality, Pichai wrote: “Bard can be an outlet for creativity, and a launchpad for curiosity, helping you to explain new discoveries from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to a 9-year-old, or learn more about the best strikers in football right now, and then get drills to build your skills.”

While Pichai didn’t mention OpenAI nor its proprietary AI chatbot ChatGPT in his blog post, Google’s announcement comes days after ChatGPT was recognized as the fastest-growing app in history, reaching 100M users in two months.

Trial of Hong Kong 47

Proceedings began yesterday in the trial of 47 activists in Hong Kong who were charged under a national security law that China’s Communist Party imposed following protests in 2019.

Of the 47 charged, 16 have pleaded not guilty. All 47 are associated with a movement advocating for Hong Kong’s independence from mainland China and were arrested in 2021 under legislation that Beijing imposed following anti-CCP protests that occurred around the former British colony. The defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit subversion for their alleged roles in an unofficial primary election in 2020. Per prosecutors, the election was aimed at picking candidates who could gain control of the territory’s Legislative Council and “subvert the Hong Kong government.” Over 600K people cast votes.

The trial is expected to last 90 days. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Some have reportedly been held without bail in pre-trial custody for nearly two years.

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Around the Globe

A second balloon spotted over Latin America is confirmed to belong to China and is “of a civilian nature and used for flight tests,” according to Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning (More)
Eight amateur rugby players in Argentina were sentenced in connection to a 2020 murder of an 18-year-old law student from a Paraguayan-born family; five of the eight defendants received life sentences while the other three received 15 years for playing a “secondary” role (More)
Kosovo has accepted a proposed peace plan from the European Union aimed at normalizing the country’s relations with Serbia, according to Kosovan Prime Minister Albin Kurti (More)

On the Homefront

New York City municipal workers will no longer need to be vaccinated against Covid starting on Friday; the new rule also applies to non-public schools as well as early childcare and daycare staff, per Mayor Eric Adams (More)
FTX’s new management sent “confidential messages” to politicians and political organizations asking them to return contributions made by the company or its founders as the firm seeks to regain assets to repay its estimated 1M creditors (More)
FBI officials and Maryland authorities arrested and charged two suspects in connection with an alleged plot to attack Baltimore’s power grid; Sarah Beth Clendaniel and Brandon Clint Russell are charged through a federal criminal complaint with conspiracy to destroy an energy facility, per authorities (More)

Glitz & Games

‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ is the most-watched Marvel film premiere on Disney+ across the globe based on the number of hours streamed in its first five days, according to Disney (More)
Tom Brady will begin sportscasting duties for Fox in the fall of 2024 and is expected to call NFL games with Kevin Burkhardt (More)
Paramount is reportedly in talks to end ‘Yellowstone’ after its fifth season, with co-creator and showrunner Taylor Sheridan working with the studio and network to sunset the show and plot a potential franchise extension (More)

Business & Markets

Stocks closed lower for the second straight trading day, with the Nasdaq leading the losses (Dow -0.10.%, Nasdaq -1.00%, S&P 500 -0.61%)
AMC Entertainment Holdings announced a new pricing program that will set the price of movie tickets based on a seat’s location; front-row tickets will reportedly be cheaper while seats in the middle of the auditorium will be more expensive (More)
Tabloid publication ‘National Enquirer’ has been sold by American Media Inc. to VVIP Ventures for an undisclosed price, according to a joint statement from the two companies; National Examiner, Globe, and the UK edition of Enquirer are also part of the sale (More)

Tips & Tricks

Feel Good: Watch the crowd go wild for a 7th-grader in North Dakota who sunk four consecutive shots during halftime at a local basketball game…and took home $10K as a result (someone’s coming for your job, Steph Curry)
Sneak Peek: Listen to Matthew McConaughey voice a secret agent-version of Elvis Presley in the official teaser for the animated Netflix film AGENT ELVIS (unfortunately, there are no “alright, alright, alright’s” to be heard)
Bump This: The dancehall beat and flowy melodies in Ghanaian musician Stonebwoy’s new single “More Of You” will keep your head bobbing all morning - listen on Apple Music and Spotify
Chow Down: If you’re looking to work more veggies into your diet in a delicious way, try this recipe for ital stew that’s packed with nutrients, fully vegan, and presents a perfect opportunity to use up some different ingredients sitting in your refrigerator
Go Deep: Find out what the world’s longest-running study on happiness has revealed truly makes us happy…and why
Hot Goss: Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. are reportedly set to reunite in a third installment of the classic ‘90s horror franchise I Know What You Did Last Summer
Life Hack: To boost the health of your hair, skin, and nails, look no further than your local grocery store to get all the natural nutrients you need - here are nine foods that will keep your complexion young as you age

Tip-Offs

See how Amish people get by without electricity.

23 good things already happening in 2023.

A visual ranking of the artists with the most Grammys.

What the U.S. can learn from India’s TikTok ban.

The full moon captured over snow-covered Minnesota.

…and golden hour at South Australia’s Bunda Cliffs.

Examining the mental toll of layoff anxiety.

How two brothers accidentally invented the tater tot.

Looking Back…

On February 7th: The Missouri city of New Madrid is destroyed in one of the largest earthquakes in U.S. history (1812); Abdullah II becomes king of Jordan hours after the death of his father, Hussein (1999); the animated Disney film Pinocchio has its world premiere (1940); British novelist Charles Dickens is born (1812).

In partnership with Short Squeez