Good morning. It's Thursday, Jan. 11, and we're covering rising violence in Ecuador, the departure of a coaching legend, and much more. First time reading? Sign up here.
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At least 12 people have died and over 130 prison workers have been held hostage amid widespread gang violence—including a brief takeover of a live TV station—in Ecuador sparked by the weekend prison escape of a high-ranking gang leader. The nation’s new president, Daniel Noboa, announced a 60-day state of emergency in response.
The upheaval came on the heels of the Saturday escape of 44-year-old drug lord José Adolfo Macías Villamar—also known as “Fito”—as he was serving a 34-year sentence for homicide and drug crimes. Fito is the leader of Los Choneros, an established drug-trafficking group that has seen its influence decline. Reports allege the group may have been behind last year’s assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.
Ecuador's homicide rate has increased by over 500% since 2016 amid increased gang warfare, with an estimated quarter of the country’s prisons controlled by various syndicates. The 35-year-old Noboa has promised to build new high-security prisons for gang leaders and plans a referendum to increase security measures against organized crime. |
University of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban announced his retirement yesterday, stepping down after 17 seasons with the Crimson Tide. The news came 10 days after a 27-20 playoff loss to Michigan, in what became his final game at Alabama.
The 72-year-old Saban is widely considered one of the greatest coaches in college football history, leading Toledo (1990), Michigan State (1995-99), LSU (2000-04), and the NFL's Miami Dolphins (2005-07) before heading to Tuscaloosa. He won seven national championships—one with LSU, six with Alabama—becoming only the second coach to win titles at two programs. He amassed a record of 201-29 at Alabama, along with nine conference championships, while coaching four Heisman winners. Saban spent 109 weeks ranked No. 1 at Alabama, more than any other program has in total.
No indication behind the timing of the decision was made. See top candidates to replace him here. |
US financial regulators approved yesterday the creation of exchange-traded funds based on bitcoin, a move that allows mainstream investors to invest in the cryptocurrency via their regular brokerage accounts. The decision is expected to significantly increase the number of investors holding bitcoin.
The financial vehicles are known as spot bitcoin ETFs (see overview)—the investor purchases shares in the ETF, which in turn directly holds bitcoins as the underlying asset. Such funds tracking, for example, the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and many other assets, have long been available. A spot bitcoin ETF is expected to generally track the movement of bitcoin's value without requiring the investor to directly buy bitcoin.
The widely expected approval came one day after the Securities and Exchange Commission's account on X (formerly Twitter) was hacked, purporting to make the announcement early.
One bitcoin is roughly equal to $46,600 as of this writing (see current price). |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> NFL games averaged 17.9 million television viewers, up 7% from last year and the best ratings since 2015 (More) | Pete Carroll out as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks after 14 seasons and a 2013 Super Bowl win (More) |
> "Barbie," "Oppenheimer," and "Succession" lead TV and film nominations for the 2024 Screen Actors Guild Awards (More) | ... and also headline nominations at 2024 Directors Guild of America Awards (More) |
> Screen Actors Guild and music recording industry support bipartisan legislation that would penalize the unauthorized use of AI video deepfakes and voice clones (More) |
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> OpenAI launches store allowing users to build and share customized versions of its ChatGPT chatbot; analysts liken the marketplace to an early version of Apple's App Store (More) |
> Genetic analysis finds variants associated with multiple sclerosis arrived in Europe roughly 5,000 years ago, as populations migrated from Western Asia (More) |
> Study links snowpack decline in the US Southwest and Northeast—key water sources for major population centers—with rising global temperatures; some areas decreased by 10% or more per decade since 1981 (More) |
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> Markets close up (S&P 500 +0.6%, Dow +0.5%, Nasdaq +0.8%), with investors expecting positive data on inflation to be released later this morning (More) |
> Amazon lays off "several hundreds" of employees in Prime Video and MGM divisions; Amazon-owned Twitch to cut headcount by 35%, or around 500 employees (More) |
> Software giant SAP to pay $220M in a coordinated global settlement over charges it bribed various government officials across the world between 2014 and 2022 (More) |
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> Former Gov. Chris Christie (NJ) drops out of GOP presidential primary, just ahead of Monday's Iowa caucuses (More) | GOP holds primary debate with Gov. Ron DeSantis (FL) and former Gov. Nikki Haley (SC); former President Donald Trump appears on Fox (More) |
> Closing arguments to begin today in civil fraud trial against former President Donald Trump and the Trump Organization (More) | See trial overview (More) | House Oversight Committee advances Hunter Biden contempt charges for ignoring subpoena for private testimony, full floor vote to follow (More) |
> US and British naval forces repel largest drone and missile launched by Houthi rebels into the Red Sea to date (More) | Al-Shabab militants capture United Nations helicopter after craft is forced to make an emergency landing in central Somalia (More) |
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> How SEO Killed the Internet
The Verge | Mia Sato. The internet once offered the promise of unlimited knowledge at the click of a button. Instead, it has become dominated by content whose only purpose is to land on Google's front page. (Read)
> Big Village, Tiny Homes
Texas Tribune | Lucy Tompkins. Austin, Texas, is carrying out one of the most ambitious efforts to address chronic homelessness. Can its combination of secure housing and community structure offer a nationwide solution? (Read) |
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