2.22.2018

All your news in a single email. 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.
 

Student Protests Following FL Shootings.
High school students across southern Florida and a number of other states organized walkouts yesterday to protest gun violence, including thousands gathering at the Florida state house in Tallahassee (see photos). The protests follow the attack on a Parkland, FL, high school that killed 17 - and have been credited with keeping the issue at the top of the news cycle (analysis found coverage of past shootings plummeted after one week and vanished after two). President Trump held a listening session with those affected by school shootings - hearing an emotional plea (see video) from Andrew Pollack, whose daughter, Meadow, was killed in the Parkland attack. US-wide walkouts are planned for March 14th and a national protest is scheduled in DC on March 24th. 

Two possible shootings have been thwarted in the past week - in California and Maryland - after officials heard students discussing plans. In both cases firearms were found at the student's homes. 

2018's Most Innovative Companies.
In one of the most comprehensive rankings around, Fast Company released its 2018 list of the world's most cutting-edge companies. The top five were tech-heavy, led by Apple, Netflix, Square (mobile payments), Tencent (Chinese conglomerate built around a messenger app with 1B monthly users), and Amazon. Surprises near the top of the list - which spans over 350 enterprises across 36 categories - include CVS Health (for pivoting its business model), the Washington Post (for bringing an Amazon attitude to news), and the NBA (for using tech to draw viewers). On the same day, MIT released its Top 10 breakthrough technologies for 2018 - always eagerly anticipated by techies - which included 3-D printing of metals, artificial wombs, and earbuds that seamlessly translate foreign language.

Take a look back at MIT's top tech from 2017 and 2016.

Rev. Billy Graham Passes Away.
The Rev. Billy Graham, America's best known Christian evangelist, passed away yesterday at the age of 99. One of the most influential American religious figures of the 20th century, Graham became internationally known beginning in the 1950s through his embrace of radio and then television as a medium for preach - cutting-edge technologies at that point that allowed him to reach millions. Graham is also widely considered the father of the modern evangelical political movement, counseling every President from Harry Truman to Barack Obama. Graham's son Franklin - a more firebrand religious conservative - has risen to prominence as Graham's health faded in recent years. 
 

> US Women's Hockey wins gold in shootout over Canada (More) | US wins gold, silver in freestyle skiing halfpipe (More)
> Study says 94% of women in entertainment biz experience sexual misconduct (More)
> 2018 Brit Awards: Newcomer Dua Lipa is big winner; Kendrick Lamar wins Best Int'l Solo Artist; full list of winners here (More)
 

> Amateur astronomer makes first observation of early stages of a supernova (More) | How a star dies 101 (More)​
> Researchers look to tackle sickle cell disease using CRISPR, but face challenge in signing up black patients (More)
> New study links ancient cave drawings with the origins of human language (More)
 

> Housing supply shortage & rising mortgage rates lead to biggest decline of US home sales in 3 years  (More)
> Wall Street falls after last Fed meeting foreshadows rate increases (More)
> Ford's President of North America stepping down due to behavior "inconsistent with company code of conduct" (More)
 

> Special Counsel Mueller files new sealed charges against ex-Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and associate Rick Gates in Russia probe (More)
> Milwaukee health contractor company charged with falsifying records in 2016 dehydration death of inmate (More)
> Lawsuits filed in four states over Electoral College winner-takes-all allotment (More)

Vox | Julia Belluz. What if that's wrong? New studies - including one that basically confined 17 obese patients, measured their every move, and controlled what they ate - are questioning whether low-carb diets are the magic key to weight loss, and highlighting the complexity of how diets interact and impact the body.
 

NY Mag | William Brennan. The true story of a clean cut roommate who turns out to be an aggressive squatter with expert knowledge of state tenancy laws, rooting tenants out of their homes up-and-down the East Coast. More shockingly, he wasn't operating in secret - he openly spoke with reporters about his tactics. Hard to find a worse roommate experience than living with Jamison Bachman.

See the trailer for Chance the Rapper and Dwyane Wade's documentary about growing up in Chicago.

Stranger Things' David Harbour dances with penguins in Antarctica. 

Hasbro's Little Chewbacca is fully interactive and flying off shelves.

Researchers pinpoint the "Middle of Nowhere" in the US.

Data finds single fathers twice as likely to die early than single mothers or partnered fathers. 

See the most corrupt countries in the Western world. 

Just hours after the Florida shooting, Russian bots went nuts with divisive gun control posts on Twitter.

Ugh Millennials: Are using avocados to propose.

Clickbait: UK police ask public to stop calling emergency line over KFC chicken shortage. 

Historybook: RIP Amerigo Vespucci (1512); HBD George Washington (1732); Miracle on Ice as US Hockey defeats the Soviet Union at Winter Olympics (1980); RIP Andy Warhol (1987).

"THEY ALWAYS SAY TIME CHANGES THINGS, BUT YOU ACTUALLY HAVE TO CHANGE THEM YOURSELF."
- Andy Warhol
 

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