Newslit Daily

Today’s pick

How Did This Many Deaths Become Normal?. The United States reported more deaths from COVID-19 last Friday than deaths from Hurricane Katrina, more on any two recent weekdays than deaths during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, more last month than deaths from flu in a bad season, and more in… (Ed Yong / The Atlantic)

Meta's Sheryl Sandberg: 'No two countries run by women would ever go to war. If half the world were run by women, Sandberg believes the world would be 'safer' and 'much more prosperous.' (Ryan Browne / CNBC)

U.S. Probes Options Trade That Gained on Microsoft-Activision Deal. Federal prosecutors and securities regulators are investigating large bets that Barry Diller, Alexander von Furstenberg and David Geffen made on Activision Blizzard Inc. shares in January, days before the videogame maker agreed to be acquired by Microsoft. (Dave Michaels / Wall Street Journal)

Twitter is launching a Tor service for more secure and private tweeting. Twitter is launching a version of its site as a Tor onion service, optimizing it for the privacy-protecting and censorship-evading network. Software engineer Alec Muffett announced the news today on Twitter, describing it as “possibly the… (Adi Robertson / The Verge)

'I'm the Operator': The Aftermath of a Self-Driving Tragedy. Rafaela Vasquez liked to work nights, alone, buffered from a world she had her reasons to distrust. One Sunday night in March 2018, Uber assigned her the Scottsdale loop. She drove a gray Volvo SUV, rigged up with cameras and lidar sensors, through… (Lauren Smiley / WIRED)

A genius Twitter bot is calling out companies that post platitudes for International Women's Day. It's International Women's Day, and many corporations have launched effusive tributes to their female employees on social media. Women are powerful! Women are resilient! Women are amazing! But one genius Twitter bot is pointing out truth… (Anne Quito / Quartz)

Everything Apple Announced: iPhone SE, Mac Studio, iPad Air. On Tuesday, Apple held its first product announcement event of 2022. The company unveiled an array of new devices, including a new iPhone SE with 5G, a new version of the iPad Air, and Mac Studio, a whole new desktop PC with a powerful new… (Gear Team / WIRED)

🇺🇦 Ukraine Crisis

* Saudi, Emirati Leaders Decline Calls With Biden During Ukraine Crisis. (Dion Nissenbaum / Wall Street Journal)

* The UK's shameful Ukrainian refugee policy. (Financial Times)

* U.S. expected to announce ban on Russian oil as soon as today, NBC News reports. (Kevin Breuninger / CNBC)

* Putin's Endgame Starts to Look Like Reducing Ukraine to Rubble. (Marc Champion / Bloomberg)

* I Was Wrong About Putin. (Sergei Dobrynin / The Atlantic)

Thanks for reading to the bottom and soaking in our Newslit fuelled highlights for your morning.

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— Jose Montes de Oca

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Today’s pick

White House to Order Broad Review of Cryptocurrencies. The White House is set to release an executive order this week tasking several federal agencies with conducting a broad review of cryptocurrencies, including studying the creation of a U.S. digital currency, according to a person… (Andrew Duehren / Wall Street Journal)

Samsung confirms hackers stole Galaxy source code. Hackers have successfully stolen internal company data and source code for Galaxy devices from Samsung, the South Korean tech giant confirmed today. (James Vincent / The Verge)

The Hidden Role of Facial Recognition Tech in Many Arrests. The technology is spreading fast among police, and often wrong. But people charged with crimes are rarely told an algorithm came into play. (Khari Johnson / WIRED)

Stanford cryptography researchers are building Espresso, a privacy-focused blockchain. Greylock led an investment in Espresso, a privacy and scalability-focused blockchain being built by Stanford researchers. (Anita Ramaswamy / TechCrunch)

Linux has been bitten by its most high-severity vulnerability in years. Linux has yet another high-severity vulnerability that makes it easy for untrusted users to execute code capable of carrying out a host of malicious actions including installing backdoors, creating unauthorized user accounts, and modifying scripts… (Dan Goodin / Ars Technica)

🇺🇦 Ukraine Crisis

* EU Aims to Cut Dependence on Russian Gas by Almost 80% This Year.(Ewa Krukowska / Bloomberg)

* How the West Can Win. (Eliot A. Cohen / The Atlantic)

* Russia Recruiting Syrians for Urban Combat in Ukraine, U.S. Officials Say. (Gordon Lubold via Wall Street Journal)

* Some Russian officials think invading Ukraine was 'a mistake': report. (Jake Lahut / Business Insider)

* Photos: Ukrainian Refugees Say Goodbye to Home and Family Members. (Alan Taylor / The Atlantic)

Thanks for reading to the bottom and soaking in our Newslit fuelled highlights for your morning.

I hope you found it interesting and, needless to say, if you have any questions or feedback let me know by hitting reply or on Twitter.

Take care and see you tomorrow!

— Jose Montes de Oca

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Today’s pick

The Surge in Gas Prices Isn't Slowing Down. Prices at the gas pump are soaring to near record levels across the U.S., threatening to further pressure consumers and an economy already struggling with sky-high inflation. On Sunday, the national average price for regular gasoline hit $4 a… (Scott Patterson / Wall Street Journal)

Bed Bath & Beyond shares surge 70% after GameStop chairman reveals big stake, pushes turnaround. Bed Bath & Beyond surged after GameStop Chairman Ryan Cohen revealed he had a nearly 10% stake in the retailer, through his investment company RC Ventures. (Lauren Thomas / CNBC)

Misinformation on TikTok is a whole different beast': How publishers are tackling the Ukraine-Russia war disinformation problem on TikTok. Falsified videos and propaganda is circulating social media, but publishers have to take a specific approach on TikTok to try and combat this issue. (Kayleigh Barber / Digiday)

Netflix Is Shutting All Services in Russia After Ukraine War. Netflix is shutting its operations in Russia, one of the largest media companies to pull out of the market following the attack on Ukraine. No new customers will be able to sign up and it's unclear what will happen with existing accounts. (Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg)

Attackers can force Amazon Echos to hack themselves with self-issued commands. Academic researchers have devised a new working exploit that commandeers Amazon Echo smart speakers and forces them to unlock doors, make phone calls and unauthorized purchases, and control furnaces, microwave ovens, and other smart appliances. (Dan Goodin / Ars Technica)

🇺🇦 Ukraine Crisis

* Russia Recruiting Syrians for Urban Combat in Ukraine, U.S. Officials Say. (Gordon Lubold / Wall Street Journal)

* Who's the Imperialist Now? (Shadi Hamid / The Atlantic)

* Food crisis looms as Ukrainian wheat shipments grind to halt. (Emiko Terazono / Financial Times)

* Orban Signs Order Authorizing NATO Troops Stationing in Hungary.(Zoltan Simon / Bloomberg)

* Biden Caught Between Inflation and Calls to Ban Russian Oil. (Timothy Puko / Wall Street Journal)

Thanks for reading to the bottom and soaking in our Newslit fuelled highlights for your morning.

I hope you found it interesting and, needless to say, if you have any questions or feedback let me know by hitting reply or on Twitter.

Take care and see you tomorrow!

— Jose Montes de Oca

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Today’s pick

The Wolf of Main Street. The fastest-growing landlord in the U.S. Midwest, Monarch Investment and Management Group, used evictions to drive up rents during the pandemic. (Kriston Capps & Sarah Holder / Bloomberg)

If Currency Reserves Aren't Really Money, the World Is in for a Shock. Sanctions have shown that currency reserves accumulated by central banks can be taken away. With China taking note, this may reshape geopolitics, economic management and even the international role of the U.S. dollar. (Jon Sindreu / Wall Street Journal)

How a simple security bug became a university campus 'master key'. When Erik Johnson couldn't get his university's mobile student ID app to reliably work, he sought to find a workaround. The app is fairly important, since it allows him and every other student at his… (Zack Whittaker via TechCrunch)

Amazon's Twitch Suffers Exodus of Executives Amid Strategy Fight. Twitch, the popular site where people go to watch other people play video games, has lost at least six top employees since the beginning of the year, including the chief operating officer, chief content officer and head of creator development. (Cecilia D'Anastasio via Bloomberg)

Cybercriminals who breached Nvidia issue one of the most unusual demands ever. Chipmaker has until Friday to comply or see its crown-jewel source code released. (Dan Goodin via Ars Technica)

🇺🇦 Ukraine Crisis

* When Vladimir Putin escalates his war, the world must meet him. (The Economist)

* Putin Thought Ukraine Would Fall Quickly. An Airport Battle Proved Him Wrong. (James Marson via Wall Street Journal)

* Putin's Financial Isolation by World's Powerful Is a Cautionary Tale for Xi Jinping. (Shawn Donnan via Bloomberg)

* China Declared Its Russia Friendship Had 'No Limits.' It's Having Second Thoughts. (Lingling Wei via Wall Street Journal)

* Stay Calm and Don't Advocate for a War Against Russia. (Tom Nichols via The Atlantic)

Thanks for reading to the bottom and soaking in our Newslit fuelled highlights for your morning.

I hope you found it interesting and, needless to say, if you have any questions or feedback let me know by hitting reply or on Twitter.

Take care and see you tomorrow!

— Jose Montes de Oca

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Today’s pick

Reinvention and Nostalgia: The Project to Remake Twitter. The company is undertaking a far-reaching effort to change how it works. For some, it is an echo of their early idealism and a vision for what the internet could have been. (Kate Conger / The New York Times)

TikTok Faces Scrutiny in State Attorneys General Probe of Online Harms to Children. State prosecutors add video-sharing platform to their investigation into social media’s psychological effects on young users. (John D. McKinnon / Wall Street Journal)

Trump is blowing Truth Social's launch. Former President Trump is blowing the launch of his new social media company, via a series of unforced errors. (Dan Primack / Axios)

Epic Games is acquiring music platform Bandcamp. The companies announced the news, saying that Bandcamp would “keep operating as a standalone marketplace and music community” but use Epic's resources to expand internationally and continue adding new features. (Adi Robertson / The Verge)

Amazon is shutting 68 retail stores, ending Amazon Books, 4-star and Pop Up shops. Over the years, the e-commerce giant has launched an array of brick-and-mortar concepts, but sales growth has noticeably lagged the company’s overall retail business. (Annie Palmer / CNBC)

Home Office-backed campaign against encryption targets Facebook investors. The UK government plans to target Facebook's largest investors, Vanguard Group and BlackRock, through a child safety campaign to stop the social media giant from encrypting its messaging platforms. (Madhumita Murgia in London / Financial Times)

Google tells employees in Bay Area and other U.S. locations to return to offices in April. Google told employees on Wednesday that it expects them to begin returning to physical offices April 4. The company said most workers should plan to return three days a week. (Jennifer Elias / CNBC)

Thanks for reading to the bottom and soaking in our Newslit fuelled highlights for your morning.

I hope you found it interesting and, needless to say, if you have any questions or feedback let me know by hitting reply or on Twitter.

Take care and see you tomorrow!

— Jose Montes de Oca

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Today’s pick

Trapped in Silicon Valley's Hidden Caste System. Born in a cowshed in India, Siddhant now works for Meta in California. But he hides his background as a Dalit and fears he can never reveal his true self. (Sonia Paul / WIRED)

Instagram rolls out encrypted direct messaging in Ukraine and Russia. As part of a series of actions Meta is taking in response to the conflict in Ukraine, which have included restricting state media and increased efforts around fact-checking, the company… (Sarah Perez / TechCrunch)

The Teenager Who Tracks Elon Musk's Plane Has a New Obsession: Monitoring Russian Oligarchs, Vladimir Putin. Jack Sweeney, a Florida student, is now publicizing the movements of planes owned by Russian oligarchs, aircraft associated with President Putin. (Ginger Adams Otis / Wall Street Journal)

Facebook has stopped recommending Russian state media globally. Meta has stopped recommending content by Russian state media to all users of Facebook, and soon Instagram, as the country's ongoing invasion of Ukraine wages on. (Alex Heath / The Verge)

Apple halts product sales in Russia. Apple has stopped selling its products on its Apple store in Russia, the company confirmed on Tuesday. Apple also said on Tuesday that it has removed Russian state-controlled outlets RT News and Sputnik News from its App Store around the world. (Kif Leswing / CNBC)

🇺🇦 Ukraine Crisis

* U.S. Expected to Ban Russian Flights From American Airspace. (Alison Sider and Andrew Tangel via Wall Street Journal)

* China ready to 'play a role' in Ukraine ceasefire. (Financial Times)

* The Impossible Suddenly Became Possible. (Anne Applebaum / The Atlantic)

* UAE cancels visa-free regime for Ukrainians just days into Russian invasion. (Natasha Turak / CNBC)

* Exxon to Shut Down Oil Production in Russia After Ukraine Attack. (Christopher M. Matthews / Wall Street Journal)

Thanks for reading to the bottom and soaking in our Newslit fuelled highlights for your morning.

I hope you found it interesting and, needless to say, if you have any questions or feedback let me know by hitting reply or on Twitter.

Take care and see you tomorrow!

— Jose Montes de Oca

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Today’s pick

The UN's climate report highlights the dangers of natural solutions. Planting carbon-sucking trees and crops can compete with food production, alter ecosystems, and place strains on biodiversity. (James Temple via MIT Technology Review)

TikTok expands maximum video length to 10 minutes. The app is now challenging YouTube with longer-form content. (James Vincent / The Verge)

Instagram is shutting down its standalone IGTV app. Instagram is ending support for its standalone app for IGTV, the company announced on Monday. (Aisha Malik via TechCrunch)

Airbnb to offer free housing to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. Airbnb will offer free, temporary housing for up to 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine. The company will fund these stays with help from donations to the Airbnb.org Refugees and individual Airbnb hosts. (Sarah Alessandrini / CNBC)

How Twitter's CMO Takes A People-First Approach To Leadership. I spoke to Twitter's CMO Leslie Berland about her unique leadership approach as well as Twitter’s efforts to combat harassment on the platform, how they’re elevating marginalized voices and of course, the enormous responsibility the platform undertakes during world events. (Amy Shoenthal / Forbes)

Advertisers are pulling ads from war coverage, and it's making it hard for publishers to monetize readership spikes. Publishers say advertisers are pulling ads to avoid their messages appearing near Russia-Ukraine war coverage. Meanwhile, ad buyers are advising advertising clients to steer clear of the news. (Lindsay Rittenhouse / Business Insider)

The List of Foreign Companies Pulling Out of Russia Keeps Growing. What was an enticing new market 30 years ago is now spurned. The invasion of Ukraine is causing a mass exodus of companies from Russia, reversing three decades of investment by Western and other foreign businesses there following the collapse of the… (Stephanie Baker / Bloomberg)

Thanks for reading to the bottom and soaking in our Newslit fuelled highlights for your morning.

I hope you found it interesting and, needless to say, if you have any questions or feedback let me know by hitting reply or on Twitter.

Take care and see you tomorrow!

— Jose Montes de Oca

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Today’s pick

SWIFT Ban Means the Fed May Need to Be Ready With Dollars. The decision to exclude various Russian lenders from the SWIFT messaging system could result in missed payments and giant overdrafts within the international banking system. (Benjamin Purvis / Bloomberg)

Supreme Court Will Hear Biggest Climate Change Case in a Decade. The court could handcuff President Biden’s climate change agenda — and restrict federal agencies from enacting new regulations governing health, workplace safety and more. (Coral Davenport / The New York Times)

Google disables Maps traffic data in Ukraine to protect citizens. Google has temporarily disabled live traffic features offered by Google Maps in Ukraine to protect users' safety. (James Vincent / The Verge)

Ukraine Leads the World. Vladimir Putin's Ukraine invasion isn't going according to his script, and for that the world owes a great debt to the heroic people of Ukraine. (The Editorial Board / Wall Street Journal)

Russia central bank hikes interest rates to 20% from 9.5% to bolster ruble. Russian's central bank has nearly doubled the country's key interest rate from 9.5% to 20% as its currency, the ruble, hit a record low against the dollar on the back of a slew of new sanctions and penalties… (Natasha Turak / CNBC)

Ukraine's Volunteer 'IT Army' Is Hacking in Uncharted Territory. The country has enlisted thousands of cybersecurity professionals in the war effort against Russia. (Matt Burgess / WIRED)

How new sanctions could cripple Russia's economy. EVER SINCE Russia seized Crimea in 2014 Western sanctions have failed to bite or act as a credible deterrent against Russian aggression. The new measures targeting Russia's financial system announced by America, the EU and other allies on February… ( The Economist)

Thanks for reading to the bottom and soaking in our Newslit fuelled highlights for your morning.

I hope you found it interesting and, needless to say, if you have any questions or feedback let me know by hitting reply or on Twitter.

Take care and see you tomorrow!

— Jose Montes de Oca

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Today’s pick

Behind the stalkerware network spilling the private phone data of hundreds of thousands. A fleet of spyware apps share the same security flaw. (Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch)

China Is About to Regulate AI-and the World Is Watching. Sweeping rules will cover algorithms that set prices, control search results, recommend videos, and filter content. (Jennifer Conrad / WIRED)

Proctorio subpoenas digital rights group in legal spat with critical student. The controversial proctoring platform Proctorio has filed a broad subpoena against the prominent digital rights nonprofit Fight for the Future as part of its legal battle with Miami University student Erik Johnson. (Monica Chin / The Verge)

Why This Economic Boom Can't Lift America's Spirits. Discontent is widespread in spite of rapid job growth, wage gains and strong asset values. At the root of it: rising prices of common goods, shortages and the pandemic’s continuing undertow. (Josh Mitchell / Wall Street Journal)

Supreme Court to Hear Case of Web Designer Who Objects to Same-Sex Marriage. The case may settle a question left open in 2018: how to reconcile claims of religious liberty with laws barring discrimination based on sexual orientation. (Adam Liptak / The New York Times)

The Five-Day Workweek Is Dying. America is slowly returning to normal. Stadiums are packed. Travel has bounced back. Restaurant reservations are surging. But even as they resume normal leisure activities, many Americans still aren't going back to the office. (Derek Thompson / The Atlantic)

Why I Quit as FDIC Innovation Chief: Technophobia. Agencies that protect the U.S. financial system assume that 20th-century rules can be jury-rigged to cover 21st-century technology. (Sultan Meghji / Bloomberg)

Thanks for reading to the bottom and soaking in our Newslit fuelled highlights for your morning.

I hope you found it interesting and, needless to say, if you have any questions or feedback let me know by hitting reply or on Twitter.

Take care and see you tomorrow!

— Jose Montes de Oca

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Today’s pick

Exclusive: Austrian Programmer And Ex Crypto CEO Likely Stole $11 Billion Of Ether. Who hacked The DAO in 2016, diverting 3.6 million ether? We identify the apparent hacker — he denies it — by following a complicated trail of crypto transactions and using a previously undisclosed privacy-cracking forensics tool. (Laura Shin via Forbes)

Never mind Big Tech - 'little tech' can be dangerous too. An inquiry opened last week into a scandal that has horrified Britons: how hundreds of people running UK post offices were wrongly prosecuted for false accounting and theft on the basis of a faulty computer system. (Sarah O’Connor via Financial Times)

Yale Law School to Cover Full Tuition and Fees for Lowest-Income Students. Yale Law School will begin covering full tuition for its lowest-income students next fall, as the elite graduate program aims to diversify its ranks and make obtaining a law degree more affordable. (Melissa Korn and Sara Randazzo via Wall Street Journal)

The US Copyright Office says an AI can't copyright its art. The US Copyright Office has rejected a request to let an AI copyright a work of art. Last week, a three-person board reviewed a 2019 ruling against Steven Thaler, who tried to copyright a picture on behalf of an algorithm he dubbed Creativity… (Adi Robertson via The Verge)

The US is unmasking Russian hackers faster than ever. The White House was quick to publicly blame Russia for a cyberattack against Ukraine, the latest sign that cyber attribution is a crucial tool in the American arsenal. (Patrick Howell O'Neill via MIT Technology Review)

An Obscure Corner of Wall Street Is Making Billions Trading Inflation. Small teams have been making the most of global price shocks with trades that can be just as volatile. (Donal Griffin via Bloomberg)

TikTok Wants Longer Videos-Whether You Like It or Not. The company knows that clips over 60 seconds in length stress users out. That won't stop it from chasing the lucrative long-video market. (Chris Stokel-Walker via WIRED)

Thanks for reading to the bottom and soaking in our Newslit fuelled highlights for your morning.

I hope you found it interesting and, needless to say, if you have any questions or feedback let me know by hitting reply or on Twitter.

Take care and see you tomorrow!

— Jose Montes de Oca

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