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Mo News: Mariupol, Musk, Marijuana & the Marathon
Mosheh Oinounou
April 18, 2022
Mo News: Mariupol, Musk, Marijuana & the Marathon
Monday, April 18, 2022
2022-04-18
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Hi everyone,
Hope you had a nice holiday weekend. Friendly reminder: Today is Tax Day. The deadline to file income tax returns (or request an extension) is tonight at midnight in your time zone.
Here's what's on our radar this week:
Twitter has implemented a "poison pill" to kill Elon Musk's takeover bid. So what's next?
In Ukraine, the strategically important city of Mariupol is on the verge of collapse.
This week marks the unofficial marijuana 4/20 holiday. We'll take at where things stand in terms of marijuana legalization.
The FDA is looking into Lucky Charms after hundreds of people say they've gotten sick from the cereal, including some Mo News readers!
To the economy, a new survey finds about 3 million people don't ever plan to return to the workforce.
An inspiring story of a Boston Marathon survivor who lost her foot in the bombing, and is back to run in today's 126th Boston Marathon.
Coachella's back after a two-year hiatus. We'll break down the biggest performances and surprise appearances.
And our dose of positive news to start the week with Good Mood Monday.
Quick program announcement: The weekly Mondays with Mosh Instagram Live Q/A will take place TOMORROW Night. Yes, I know Tuesdays with Mosh has less of a ring. Either way, see you then.
~ @Mosheh
💰 ELON vs. TWITTER
The drama will likely continue this week surrounding Elon Musk's $43 billion bid to buy Twitter and take the company private. The board has not only rejected that offer, but voted unanimously Friday to adopt a limited duration shareholder rights plan, known as a “poison pill." ~ CNBC
What's a Poison Pill? A common corporate tactic to fend off a hostile takeover. It works by flooding the market with shares, in order to dilute the stake of the person who's trying to take over the company.If any person or group acquires beneficial ownership of at least 15% of Twitter’s outstanding common stock without the board’s approval, other shareholders will be allowed to purchase additional shares at a discount. The plan will remain in effect for one year. ~AP
What's Next? Musk, who currently owns about 9% of Twitter, has said that if the board rejects his bid, he would "need to reconsider my position as a shareholder," which could potentially cause the stock to plunge. He spent the weekend tweeting. The board's latest move could also open the door to a more desired investor or consortium of investors to buy a big stake of Twitter. ~ Yahoo! Finance“They’re gearing up for a battle here with Musk,” said Daniel Ives, an analyst for Wedbush Securities. “They also have to give themselves time to try to find another potential buyer.”
"Incompatible" with Democracy? Musk's plans to privatize Twitter has caused concern among privacy experts, including one former Harvard professor who told The Washington Post that having one person in control of the social platform "is a disaster" for user privacy.Shoshana Zuboff, the author of “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism," said taking the company private would leave Musk, like Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, with an amount of data about people and the ability to manipulate them that “cannot be compared to anything that has ever existed." For his part, Zuckerberg is overseen by a board of directors and the Securities and Exchange Commission looking after the interests of shareholders, since it is a public company. A private Twitter, owned solely by Musk, would not be mandated to have any oversight.
🇺🇦 UKRAINE: MARIUPOL ON VERGE OF FALLING
All eyes this week are on the strategic port city of Mariupol, which is close to coming under complete Russian control, as the war enters its eight week. The Russians gave Ukraine a Sunday ultimatum to lay down their weapons; the Ukrainians are showing no sign of surrendering the city.
President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukrainian fighters are outnumbered six-to-one by the Russians. He accused Russian forces of “deliberately trying to destroy everyone who is there.” ~ NY Times
Significance of Mariupol: The city sits on the Sea of Azov. Controlling Mariupol would give Russians a land corridor from the eastern Donbas region to the Crimean peninsula, which Putin annexed in 2014. Mariupol has been under heavy bombardment by Russian forces for weeks, and analysts are predicting it could be the first major Ukrainian city to fall.Zelensky said this weekend that Ukraine needs more support from the West to have a chance at saving Mariupol. He asked for "all the necessary heavy weapons, planes and, without exaggeration, immediately" in order to "reduce the pressure of the occupiers on Mariupol." ~Axios
This map is the latest assessment by the Institute for the Study of War. The Russians appear to be trying to control of the entire Ukrainian coast. They have expanded beyond Crimea to occupy a significant strip along the southern coast. They are also looking to capture the Donbas (Luhansk and Donetsk) region. Mariupol connects the two regions.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv is also under heavy shelling again. Ukrainian officials say the rockets hit an apartment building and other areas, killing at least five people.Also destroyed in a missile strike--the restaurant operated by celebrity chef José Andrés’ non-profit World Central Kitchen (WCK).
🔥 4/20: THE STATE(S) OF MARIJUANA
This Wednesday is April 20th aka 4/20 Day, when many Americans celebrate marijuana. We wanted to take a look at where things stand in terms of legalization.
Up In Smoke: It's now looking like a Senate Democratic plan to decriminalize marijuana nationally is being pushed back from April to August. Many Republicans and a handful of Democrats still oppose the idea, and right now the Senate is split 50-50. Democrats need their entire caucus plus ten Republicans to vote yes in order to bypass a filibuster. ~ The HillWhat's In The Plan: The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act will remove “cannabis from the federal list of controlled substances" and “help repair our criminal justice system, ensure restorative justice, protect public health, and implement responsible taxes and regulations."On April 1, the U.S. House passed the bill by a vote of 220-to-204, largely along partisan lines, with three Republicans joining most Democrats to back the legislation. Two Democrats voted no.Even if the bill goes onto pass the US Senate, it is still unclear if President Biden would sign it. ~Washington Post
via Insider
States On Their Own: Until Congress acts, every state is doing its own thing. Recreational marijuana is now legal in 18 states, plus Washington D.C. and Guam. 38 states have legalized medical marijuana — meaning that a majority of Americans have access to cannabis, whether medically or recreationally.~ US News & World ReportNew Jersey Joins the Party: Adults 21 and older in the state will be able to buy marijuana from select dispensaries starting this Thursday, April 21. New Jersey officials wanted to wait until after the "holiday" to begin sales. ~NJ.com
BTW: Where did 420 come from? It's thought to derive from a group of Californian high school students in the 1970s who traditionally consumed cannabis at 4:20 PM. It can actually be traced back to "five Northern California men now in their 60s with bad backs and graying hair." ~ AP
🎤 COACHELLA STARTS
One weekend down, one to go for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The festival is back after a two-year hiatus because of the pandemic. On Friday, headliner Harry Styles brought Shania Twain to the stage, crediting her for teaching him how to sing. They performed a duet of "Man! I Feel Like a Woman" and "You're Still the One." ~ People
Styles also debuted two new songs, plus performed favorites like "Watermelon Sugar."
Billie Eilish headlined the second night. At 20, she's the youngest artist to headline the music festival. She was joined by Gorillaz vocalist Damon Albarn to perform Gorillaz hit “Feel Good Inc.” ~ NY PostEilish also gave a shout out to 2018 headliner Beyoncé: “Thank you, Coachella! I’m sorry I’m not Beyoncé.”
Megan Thee Stallion made her first Coachella appearance.
🗞 THE SPEED READ
About 3 million Americans who dropped out of the U.S. workforce during the pandemic plan to stay out indefinitely--with many citing persistent illness fears or physical impairments. The workforce dropouts tend to be women, lack a college degree and have worked in low-paying fields. (WSJ)
A weeklong protest by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott against President Biden's recent immigration policy reached a resolution on Friday. But the gridlock it created has resulted in hundreds of millions of lost dollars and delays in shipments of everything from avocados to automobile parts that will have a longer-term impact. (CNN)
It's the highest monthly total in two decades and underscores challenges President Biden will face in the coming months. The March 2022 total is a 24% increase over March 2021. Biden had pledged to reverse many of President Trump's immigration policies, but has struggled both operationally and politically.(Reuters)
U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials said they are examining reports from more than 100 consumers who told the agency that they got sick after eating Lucky Charms recently. Thousands of people have complained on a consumer website, saying they have experienced nausea, vomiting and diarrhea after eating the cereal. The agency hasn’t yet issued a recall. (Fox News) Dozens of you sent me Direct Messages on Instagram over the weekend saying recent stomach ailments after consuming the cereal now make more sense.
According to an FDOE news release Friday, the department did not initially include 54 of the 132 submitted textbooks on the state’s adopted list. The department states 41% of the submitted textbooks included references to critical race theory, common core and social emotional learning. The state said grades K-5 had the most materials rejected. (ClickOrlando.com)
On Monday morning, Adrianne Haslet will step to the starting line at the Boston Marathon, ready to begin another 26.2-mile journey that will end at the spot where, nine years ago, she lost her left foot and very nearly her life. A ballroom dancer when the bombing occurred, Haslet most often uses the word “gratitude” to describe her state of being after first overcoming the loss of her leg and then severe arm injuries suffered in 2019, when she was struck by a car as she crossed a street. (Washington Post)
☀️ GOOD MOOD MONDAY
Watch this street vendor's reaction when a man buys her entire cart of dream catchers. They sell for the equivalent of $20 each and she says it takes her a full day to make each one.
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Top Banner Photo Credit [Photo by GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images]