Good morning. It's Thursday, Nov. 21, and we're covering new US policy on weapons in Ukraine, a historically strong storm system impacting the Northwest, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4 million intellectually curious readers. Sign up here.
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President Joe Biden announced yesterday the US will send antipersonnel landmines to Ukraine, reversing a ban in place since 2022. Officials suggested the devices will shore up Ukraine's defenses against Russia's deployment of small squads across its lines; rights groups say the mines will endanger civilians.
More than 160 countries are signatories to the 1997 Ottawa Convention banning the mines designed to detonate on contact. Russia and the US are not party to the treaty, with Russia deploying mines since the start of the conflict. Ukraine—a signatory—manufactures them. The US-supplied mines are reportedly nonpersistent, designed to self-deactivate after a set period. Analysts estimate that since the war began, 20% of Ukraine's territory has become contaminated by mines.
Separately, the US closed its embassy in Kyiv yesterday amid tips of a possible air attack following the launch of short-range US-made ballistic missiles into Russia; the embassies of several European countries have followed suit. |
Bomb Cyclone Hits Northwest |
Two people have died in Seattle, as a bomb cyclone impacts the Pacific Northwest. Nearly 600,000 customers have lost power.
A bomb cyclone occurs when a storm system undergoes bombogenesis, with its central pressure dropping rapidly within 24 hours. This particular storm system has been fueled by an atmospheric river, a band of moisture in the sky with water vapor levels comparable to average flow levels at the mouth of the Mississippi River. The resulting weather system has unleashed hurricane-level winds in parts of Oregon and Canada, with Vancouver Island witnessing winds as high as 101 mph—the equivalent of a Category 2 storm.
Heavy winds, rain, and snow are expected to continue impacting the region in the coming days. A separate storm is due to hit the Northwest tomorrow as the current storm moves east. See live updates here. |
Laken Riley Killer Sentenced |
Georgia nursing student Laken Riley's killer was convicted yesterday of all 10 counts related to her Feb. 22 murder. The defendant, a 26-year-old Venezuelan migrant, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The trial, which began Friday, followed the relatively rare trajectory in which a criminal defendant foregoes their right to a trial by jury in favor of a bench trial, with the judge determining the outcome. The trial centered on DNA, surveillance video, and photo evidence tying Jose Ibarra to Riley's death after she went on a morning run near the University of Georgia and failed to return.
Ibarra entered the US illegally in September 2022. His immigration status did not play a role in the trial; however, it became a flashpoint in the 2024 presidential election, in which immigration was regularly cited as a leading concern for voters. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> Green Day, Lady Gaga, Travis Scott, and Post Malone tapped to headline 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (April 11-13, 18-20) (More) |
> "Rust" film debuts in Poland just over three years after on-set shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins (More) |
> Detroit Tigers' Tarik Skubal and Atlanta Braves' Chris Sale win AL and NL Cy Young Awards for MLB's best pitchers; MVP announced tonight (6 pm ET, MLB Network) (More) | LPGA announces $131M in prize money for 2025 season, a 90% increase from 2021 (More) |
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> The gut microbiome is shaped in part by social networks in localized areas, study finds, suggesting such microbes can be passed from person to person (More) | What is the gut microbiome (More, w/video) |
> Researchers release updated Human Cell Atlas, cataloging 62 million cells across 18 biological networks; dubbed the "Wikipedia of cells," project seeks to map 37 trillion cells from birth to old age (More) |
> Squid-inspired device allows doctors to deliver drugs orally that would otherwise require needles; design uses tiny jets to shoot drugs into tissue lining once in the digestive tract (More) |
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In partnership with New Sapience |
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> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.0%, Dow +0.3%, Nasdaq -0.1%) (More) | Target shares close down 21% after retailer posts weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings, lowers forecast for holiday quarter (More) | Nvidia beats Q3 revenue and earnings expectations (More) |
> Billionaire Gautam Adani indicted in US on federal charges of securities fraud, including for allegedly lying to US investors over $250M in bribe payments to Indian government officials (More) | Archegos Capital founder Bill Hwang sentenced to 18 years in prison for fraud, market manipulation tied to his firm's 2021 collapse (More) |
> Vertical farming startup Oishii raises $150M in funding; company is best known for growing strawberries in its New Jersey vertical farm (More) |
📈 1440 Business & Finance: Our deep dive into IPOs comes out at 8:30 am ET this morning—sign up here to get it in your inbox! |
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> House Speaker Mike Johnson (R, LA-4) announces policy requiring people to use Capitol bathrooms aligned with their biological sex; decision follows election of first openly transgender Congress member (More) | Senate Judiciary Committee requests FBI files on since-dropped investigation into attorney general pick Matt Gaetz (R); House Ethics Committee defers decision on releasing their report (More) |
> President-elect Donald Trump selects former acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker to serve as ambassador to NATO (More) | See running list of Trump appointments (More) |
> Board denies parole to Susan Smith, convicted in the 1994 murders of her children; case gained worldwide attention alongside OJ Simpson trial, with Smith originally pinning the murders on a Black gunman (More) |
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> Talking Out Loud to Yourself
Time | Angela Haupt. Talking to yourself is stigmatized—an activity for children playing pretend, not for adults of sound mind. But could talking to yourself out loud have hidden benefits? (Read) |
> Could Humans Hibernate?
Aeon | Vladyslav Vyazovskiy. Examining the concept of hibernation—from why some animals do it to the history of hibernation in literature. (Read) |
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