YOUTUBE RULE CHANGES
YouTube has updated the requirements to join their partner program, making it easier for creators to qualify for options that can earn them money such as paid chat, channel memberships, and more. Previously, creators had to reach one thousand subscribers to qualify, but now it only takes 500, or 3,000 watch hours or 3 million short views. Several features, including ad revenue sharing, will still be reserved for larger channels. YouTube is following other platforms, like TikTok, in opening these options for smaller micro-influencers.
MORE FLIGHT TURBULENCE
Researchers at Redding University in the United Kingdom looked at data from 1979 to 2020 and found that "clear air turbulence," caused by unexpected changes in the jet stream, increased by 55 percent. The study cited changes in wind speeds caused by warming air. Clear air turbulence can't be detected by radar, which makes it harder for pilots to avoid. In addition to being uncomfortable for passengers, it can damage aircraft and waste fuel. The most affected routes were in the U.S. and the North Atlantic, followed by Europe, the Middle East, and South Atlantic.
Police said a drive-by shooting left 10 people hurt in Lakeland, FL.
Alec Baldwin was formally charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the filming of "Rust" in 2021.
The U.S. Justice Department has requested documents from Tesla related to its Autopilot and “Full Self-Driving” features.
The costs of COVID-19 vaccines are expected to skyrocket once the government stops buying them, with Pfizer saying it will charge as much as $130 per dose, and millions of people are expected to be kicked off of Medicaid.
Parts of the south are bracing themselves for an onslaught of wet wintry weather that will last for most of the workweek.
The World Health Organization chief says the coronavirus remains a global health emergency.
A sixth officer involved in the beating death of Tyre Nichols was relieved of duty, according to Karen Rudolph, a spokeswoman for the Memphis Police department.
The same day, U.S. health officials reported the first known case in which the new coronavirus was spread from one person to another in the United States.
While the unit that killed Nichols has been disbanded, advocates say nothing less than a cultural change in law enforcement broadly will provide the safety and liberty Black people demand.
Video showing five Memphis officers beating a Black man was made public Friday, one day after they were charged with murder in the death of Tyre Nichols.
