Good morning. It's Wednesday, May 21, and we're covering pressure on Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, a mass jail escape, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4 million intellectually curious readers. Sign up here.
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The UK paused trade negotiations with Israel yesterday, citing concerns over the recent escalation of the war in Gaza. The announcement came alongside new sanctions targeting Israeli settlers and organizations accused of attacking Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
The news followed an 11-week blockade, triggering severe supply shortages and famine warnings across Gaza. Israeli officials told aid agencies Sunday that around 100 trucks per day would be allowed in from Monday to Friday—roughly one-fifth of the prewar average. Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and militants, says more than 53,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in October 2023.
The announcement comes as Israel launched a new military operation in Gaza this week. Israel says the offensive is needed to dismantle Hamas, whose leader Israel is believed to have killed in a recent airstrike. Israel also aims to free the 58 remaining hostages, up to 23 of whom are believed still alive. |
COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements |
US health officials released new guidelines for COVID-19 vaccine booster shots yesterday, narrowing approval to Americans over 65 and anyone older than 6 months with at least one risk factor for severe illness. For those between 6 months and 64 years, regulators will require more stringent randomized controlled trials to test the clinical efficacy and safety of each booster rather than rely on immune response data.
Developed under the first Trump administration, COVID-19 vaccines became publicly available in December 2020 in the US. Globally, researchers estimate the vaccines saved between 15 million and 20 million lives, with average rates of severe side effects such as myocarditis reported between 1 and 10 per million. Since the pandemic, the uptake of boosters—tweaked annually based on dominant strains—has fallen significantly. About half of Americans 75 or older received this season’s shot.
The announcement was made via a New England Journal of Medicine article. Read it in full here. |
A New Orleans jail maintenance worker was arrested Monday for helping 10 inmates escape last week. The 33-year-old employee—who says he acted under duress—shut off water in a jail cell, allowing inmates to remove a toilet and sink fixture, dig a hole, and flee. Before leaving, they scrawled messages on the cell wall: "we innocent" and "to easy LOL" (sic).
The inmates—ages 19 to 42—were being held in Orleans Parish jail on charges including murder and armed robbery. After escaping through a hole in the cell, the inmates ran down a flight of stairs, scaled the prison wall, and fled on foot on Interstate 10. Four have since been recaptured; a search for the six others is ongoing. The escape, which went undetected for hours, is believed to be among the largest in Louisiana's history.
Orleans Parish jail has been under a federal consent decree since 2013, designed to address conditions including overcrowding and understaffing. Observers say some areas of the jail have gone unsupervised for hours. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> George Wendt, six-time Emmy-nominated TV and stage actor best known for "Cheers," dies at age 76 (More) |
> Chess legend Magnus Carlsen draws against "the world" in 46-day game; 143,000 players competed against Carlsen, with their moves determined by popular vote (More) |
> NFL owners approve proposal to allow players to compete in flag football at the 2028 Summer Olympics (More) | Indiana Fever-Chicago Sky matchup Sunday hauled in 2.7 million viewers, the most-watched WNBA regular season game since 2000 (More) |
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> Google debuts real-time language translation for Google Meet, beginning with English-Spanish translation for Google AI subscribers (More) | See highlights from Google I/O, the company's annual developer conference (More) |
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> New species of dumbo octopus discovered more than 3,425 feet below the surface off the Australian coast; the "flapjack" octopus can flatten itself along the seafloor or stretch vertically like an umbrella (More) |
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> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -0.4%, Dow -0.3%, Nasdaq -0.4%) driven by tech stocks drop; S&P 500 ends six-day winning streak (More) | Tesla stock up as CEO Elon Musk commits to staying in the role for five years, plans to reduce political spending (More) |
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> GM CEO Mary Barra tops Fortune's list of 100 most powerful women in business, followed by Accenture CEO Julie Sweet, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser (More) |
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> Trump administration secures release of US Air Force veteran from detention in Venezuela; veteran's father says his son traveled there to get treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (More) |
> European Union adopts four new sets of sanctions against Russia, targeting fleet of ships covertly exporting oil (More) | See war updates (More) |
> Sudan's military says it has taken full control of Khartoum state, ousting all rebel forces (More) | Sudanese government accuses the United Arab Emirates of launching a drone strike on Port Sudan, the first allegation of direct UAE military involvement in the conflict (More) | See recent war developments (More, w/maps) |
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Historybook: American Red Cross is founded by Clara Barton (1881); FIFA, world governing body of association football, founded (1904); Amelia Earhart is first woman to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic (1932); Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jane Addams dies (1935); Rapper Notorious BIG born (1972). |
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