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Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Wednesday, April 6, 2022:
ZELENSKYY ADDRESSES U.N.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is urging the U.N. Security Council to hold the Russian military accountable for war crimes. Appearing virtually yesterday, Zelenskyy told council members that Russian forces had tortured and shot civilians in the back of the head, blown them up with grenades, and crushed them to death with tanks. The Ukrainian president essentially liked the crimes to those of the Nazis in World War II, saying that those responsible for the crimes should be brought before a panel of judges similar to the Nuremberg Trials. Meanwhile, on the ground in Ukraine, NATO officials warn that despite Russia’s recent pullback, its forces are just regrouping for another round of deployment. NY TIMES
NEW RUSSIA SANCTIONS
In coordination with the G7 and European Union, the U.S. is expected to announce new sanctions on Russia today. According to a Biden administration official, the sanctions package "will impose significant costs on Russia and send it further down the road of economic, financial, and technological isolation." It will include a ban on all new investment in Russia and increase sanctions on Russian financial institutions along with government officials and their family members. Following the aforementioned atrocities, global powers are moving aggressively to cut off all economic outlets Russia uses to fund the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. CNN
MUSK ON BOARD
After purchasing a 9.2% stake in Twitter, Tesla CEO Elon Musk will join the company’s board of directors. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em it seems: Musk had been a vocal critic of the social media company. After the announcement, Musk tweeted that he wants to work with CEO Parag Agrawal and the board “to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!". After Twitter share prices surged over 25% Monday following news of Musk's stock purchase, TWTR saw another 3% jump on news that he was joining the board. CHEDDAR
Hey Elon, next time let us know BEFORE you buy a stock.
TWITTER GTES EDIT BUTOTN
Later in the day, the social media giant dropped another bombshell in addition to the Musk news: the edit button is arriving. Twitter will begin testing the feature with its Twitter Blue subscribers in the next few months. Former CEO Jack Dorsey feared that making tweets editable could change their meaning after they started circulating. The addition of the edit feature catches Twitter up with rival social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, which already allow users to edit after posting content. After Musk purchased his stake in the company, one of his first tweets was a poll asking followers if an edit button should be added. When announcing the edit feature, Twitter said they “didn’t get the idea from a poll,” followed by a winking face emoji. THE VERGE
BILLIONAIRES LIST
Forbes released its annual World Billionaires List, which was topped by, who else: Elon Musk, whose net worth is estimated to be $219 billion. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos checked in at number two with a net worth of $171 billion. Russia was the country to see the most citizens lose billionaire status, with 34 fewer on the list than last year, likely a ripple effect of the country’s invasion of Ukraine. A tech crackdown in China caused 87 of its citizens to fall off the list, though the economic powerhouse is still home to the second-highest number of billionaires in the world, behind the U.S. Forbes counted 2,668 billionaires globally with a total net worth of $12.7 trillion. That's down from 2,756 last year with a total net worth of $13.1 trillion, the biggest drop since the 2009 financial crisis. CHEDDAR
We just missed the cutoff.
STUDENT LOAN PAUSE EXTENDED
The Biden administration is expected to extend a moratorium to freeze federal student loan payments through August 31. Originally set to end on May 1, student loan payments have been halted since early in the pandemic to give borrowers some breathing room as they adjusted to the pandemic’s economic impact. The extension affects 43 million Americans who owe a combined $1.6 trillion. Students who took out loans to pay for school will not be asked to make payments until the late August deadline, and interest rates are expected to remain at 0% during that period. Even following the extension, members of Congress are pushing the President to push the moratorium to 2023. CHEDDAR
AMAZON ROCKET DEAL
The e-commerce mega-corporation says it signed the biggest deal in the history of the commercial space industry, inking a contract with three companies, including Amazon founder Bezos’ Blue Origin, for up to 83 rocket launches. The rockets will take off over the next five years, with service beginning later this year or in 2023. The launches are a part of the company's Project Kuiper which aims to send up 3,000 satellites that will provide high-speed internet worldwide. Financial details of the deal have not been released, but Amazon said in 2020 that it was investing more than $10 billion in the project. SPACE.COM
INTERNSHIP FRENZY
Goldman Sachs reported that it received 236,000 applications from aspiring interns in the past year, 79,000 of which were in the Americas. Sure, it makes sense that a quarter of a billion people want to thrive professionally and economically. But last year, a survey of 13 Goldman analysts circulated online which shared their harsh realities of life at the bank, which included working from morning until midnight, leading to burnout and overall poor work-life balance. The acceptance rate for an internship at Goldman Sachs is less than 2%, so despite knowing the potential sacrifices of health and happiness, the next generation appears eager to be a part of the prestigious pipeline. INSIDER
Clearly, they’ve heard about the bonuses.
TIGER A GO?
“As of right now,” Tiger Woods says will be playing in the Masters, which tees off tomorrow. The golf and pop culture icon is just 14 months removed from a car accident in which he nearly lost his right leg. Woods has won the legendary tournament in Augusta, Georgia five times. If he can win one more green jacket, he ties Jack Nicklaus’ record for most times winning the Masters. Though he hasn’t 100% confirmed his participation, he’s set to tee off at 10:34 a.m. ET tomorrow. ESPN
While we stubbed our toe and couldn’t get off the sofa all weekend.
FOX NEWS, LITERALLY
Police in D.C. captured a fox that reportedly attacked multiple people on Capitol Hill, including a lawmaker and a journalist. Congressman Ami Bera said he was walking outside the Capitol building when the animal came up behind him and nipped the back of his leg. Político reporter Ximena Bustillo tweeted that she too was bit in the back of the leg by a fox. The red fox became the talk of the town in Washington; Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was even asked during a GOP leadership press conference if he’d seen it. Animal control was able to capture a fox, though it's unclear whether there was more than one offender. FOX NEWS
SAY WHAT??
"I think as you look at what's successful, brands, and toy brands in particular, in this particular chapter are going to be about nostalgic brands that have longevity."
- Richard Dickson, President and COO of Mattel
Need2Know Podcast Note: The Need2Know podcast is taking a break for now. We're looking forward to bringing you more context and analysis on the big stories of the day in a few weeks. In the meantime, check out our archive on Apple or Spotify, or watch on YouTube, and send us your feedback!
