1.24.2018

We scour 100+ sources so you don't have to. Culture, science, sports, politics, business, and more - all packaged in a 5-minute read below.
 

New Chemical Attacks in Syria.
The US accused the Syrian government of a new chemical attack yesterday, after reports that up to 21 people were injured by rockets loaded with chlorine gas on Monday. The attack took place in Eastern Ghouta, one of the remaining enclaves of Syrian rebels and the site of one of the worst known chemical attacks in decades nearly four years ago. The Syrian government has frequently used chemical weapons - which are banned by a multilateral treaty (see 101) - against rebels during its seven-year-long civil war, drawing widespread criticism from world leaders. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley both blamed Russia for creating an environment that allowed the attack, which Russia denies. Separately, officials said US airstrikes killed 150 ISIS fighters in eastern Syria over the weekend. 

School Shooting in Kentucky High School.
At least two were killed and seventeen wounded after a student began shooting at a rural Kentucky high school yesterday. The student - a fifteen-year-old whose name is being withheld - reportedly carried a handgun into Marshall County High School in the far western part of the state where he fired inside a crowded atrium until he was out of ammo. A female student was killed at the scene and a male student died from gunshot wounds at the hospital. The suspect will face murder and attempted murder charges, and reports say officials will ask to try him as an adult.  It was the first fatal school shooting in the US in 2018 - 24% of US parents say they fear for their child's safety while at school. 

Oscar Nominations Announced.
Nominations for the 90th annual Academy Awards were announced yesterday, led by The Shape of Water (13 nominations) and Dunkirk (8). Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, the crime drama that won a Golden Globe for Best Picture and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast, received 7 nominations (see the full list of nominations here). With the awards coming in the wake of the #MeToo movement, recent accusations against James Franco may have blocked a nomination for his lead in The Disaster Artist. In advance of the March 4th ceremony - hosted by Jimmy Kimmel on ABC - check out the biggest snubs and some surprise milestones. In related reading, check out Vanity Fair's look at Harvey Weinstein's frantic final days.
 

> Ursula K. Le Guin, famed fantasy novelist, dies at 88 (More)
> #1 seed Rafael Nadal out at Australian Open, retires quarterfinal match due to injury (More) | Full bracket here (More)
> LeBron James is youngest in NBA history to score 30K points (More) | A timeline of his scoring milestones (More)
 

> Apple jumps into home assistant wars, launches HomePod to compete with Google, Amazon (More)
> First detailed images from giant star outside the solar system captured, reveal future of our Sun (More)
> Researchers bring 'brain-on-a-chip' one step closer, would create computers that operate like the human brain (More)
 

> Senate confirms new Federal Reserve Bank Chair Jerome Powell in 84-13 vote (More)
> World Economic Forum kicks off in Davos, Switzerland (More) | What is the World Economic Forum? (More) 
> Tesla CEO Elon Musk's new compensation package includes zero cash pay, all equity rewards ties to stock appreciation - could net $55B+ if shares increase 10x in next decade (More)
 

> Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer (D-NY) pulls back $25B offer for border wall funding - for now (More)
> 6th and final round of NAFTA talks kickoff in Montreal, focus on how much domestic content in autos earns duty-free status (More)
> Double car bombing kills at least 33 in Benghazi, Libya (More)

A great visual breakdown of how other Americans live (from Flowing Data).

Ugh Millennials: Have triple the student debt of their parents - and other gloomy financial numbers.

What it's like to live in the Yaktusk, Siberia, the coldest city in the world. 

Why most people will never see a penny of their winnings from HQ Trivia.

Pitchfork launches What's Good, a new weekly music playlist from Founder and Editor-in-Chief Ryan Schreiber.

Photos of the kind-of-insane sport of downhill ice skating. 

Not All Heroes Wear Capes, Part II: Dad makes epic save of two children from oncoming sled (via Reddit).

China bans "hip-hop culture" and tattoos from television.

Clickbait: A 9-year-old accidentally shared marijuana gummies with her class.

Historybook: Caligula assassinated (41); RIP Winston Churchill (1965); Ted Bundy executed (1989); RIP Thurgood Marshall (1993); Department of Homeland Security opens (2003).

"SUCCESS CONSISTS OF GOING FROM FAILURE TO FAILURE WITHOUT LOSS OF ENTHUSIASM."
-Winston Churchill
 

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