The UK blocks Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, citing concerns it would harm competition in cloud gaming. / Reuters How British American Tobacco circumvented sanctions in order to sell cigarettes to North Korea—a scheme that ended in a $635 million fine. / Financial Times Why the demise
President Joe Biden wants four more years in office "to finish the job." Here's a report card on some key pledges. / The Economist, Politico Some 14% of Biden's 2020 voters now prefer to support Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. / Wake Up to Politics This month,
China's ambassador to France questions the sovereignty of former Soviet states, a comment China afterward deemed "totally unacceptable." / The Guardian North Dakota becomes the latest state to ban abortion, with exceptions for rape, incest, and medical emergencies in the first six weeks. / Associated Press An analysis
Long lines of United Nations vehicles and buses are seen leaving Sudan's Khartoum as thousands flee the fighting. / BBC News "The night before street warfare broke out, I was at a cultural center listening to a panel of feminist speakers." / 1843 Magazine Russian mercenaries The Wagner
The United States Supreme Court maintains access to the abortion pill mifepristone pending litigation. / Politico In the US, the risk of death at every age is now higher for boys and men than for girls and women. / The Washington Post Derek Thompson: The average American my age is roughly six
In his first visit to Kyiv since the invasion, NATO's chief states his support for Ukraine's membership—though there's no clear roadmap for when it might happen. / CNN A Russian warplane accidentally bombed Belgorod, a Russian city 25 miles from the Ukrainian border. / BBC
In the United States, people ages 65 and older and those who are immunocompromised can receive an additional dose of Covid-19 vaccine this spring. / STAT A new low-cost Covid vaccine that doesn't require refrigeration provided immunity in rhesus monkeys for one year. / Stanford Medicine The case
An investigation into the "black box" of website content that's been used to train the most popular AI chatbots. / The Washington Post Related: To scrape back money from the AI companies that have scraped its content, Reddit will begin charging companies for API access. / Engadget Multiple
No matter any doomsday scenarios discussed, there appears to be little urgency in Washington around the debt ceiling. / Wake Up to Politics The United States' astonishing economic record would be reassuring if not for our poisonous politics. / The Economist Related: A leaked cache of emails from 2019 and 2020
A new study finds that in countries with higher numbers of Black primary care physicians, Black patients have longer life expectancies. / STAT Four people were killed on Saturday night and up to 20 injured in a shooting at a 16th birthday party in Alabama. / AL.com In Kansas City, a
