The News Diet
The News Diet
The reopening of a baby formula factory, California's church shooting, Elon Musk and Twitter, and Russia and Ukraine
The reopening of a baby formula factory, California's church shooting, Elon Musk and Twitter, and Russia and Ukraine. Let's be informed so we can get on with our day.
It’s Tuesday, May 17. Welcome to The News Diet, a healthier alternative for staying informed. I’m your host, Michele Carroll.
Today I’m going to talk about the reopening of a baby formula factory, the California church shooting, Elon Musk’s new concern about Twitter, and updates on Russia and Ukraine.
Let’s be informed so we can get on with our day.
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Last week I talked about the baby formula shortage, and how the low supply has forced some retailers, like CVS and Walgreens, to enact limits on how many items can be purchased. Depending on where you are in the country, baby formula supply is down 31-40%.
The reason for the shortage is a mix of the general supply chain issues the global economy is experiencing due to Covid restrictions and geopolitical events; but also, formula manufacturer, Abbott Nutrition, was forced to recall several of their products and shut down a production plant after four babies were suspected of contracting bacteria infections after consuming their product.
Well yesterday, the CEO of Abbott announced that the company has reached an agreement with the FDA to restart production of the plant. The agreement includes review of an independent expert to ensure compliance, a sanitation plan, environmental monitoring plan, employee training programs, and tests on the products. However there is a caveat that should any contamination be detected during these reviews, then production would be forced to shut down again.
The FDA and a court will have to officially approve of the agreement first, which is called a consent decree. If they do, then the facility could resume production within two weeks.
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Authorities revealed yesterday that they believe a shooting that took place at an orange county church over the weekend was politically motivated. On Sunday, a shooter attacked a group at the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church. One person was killed, and five others were shot. The suspect is currently in custody.
The shooter is supposedly a Chinese immigrant, and the community he targeted was Taiwanese. China and Taiwan are currently in the middle of a tense geopolitical situation, where China still considers neighboring Taiwan a part of its national territory, but Taiwan sees themselves as a self ruling democracy after splitting from China over 70 years ago. Tensions in the region have risen recently, with Beijing not counting out using force to reclaim the island, and have been accused of recently flying fighter jets near the country as a form of intimidation. There’s been comparisons between the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, as a possible scenario for the two Asian countries.
Authorities say they found evidence that the shooter had a bias against Taiwanese people and the country, including notes he left in his car regarding his feelings. He is currently being held on $1 million bail.
https://www.npr.org/2022/05/16/1099244312/hate-against-taiwanese-led-to-church-attack
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According to Elon Musk, his recent bid to buy Twitter is now on hold after the company claimed that spam and bots only account for less than 5% of the platforms users. Elon seems to think that this estimation is way too low, sharing his own suspicion of a number closer to 20%, and now wants more details. Bot accounts have been accused of being behind much of the platform’s misinformation dissemination and propaganda.
A few weeks ago, the social media platform agreed to be bought by Elon Musk for $44 billion. And now the purchasing process is underway, which is expected to take a few months. Elon is known for conducting business in an unconventional way, and this deal seems to be no different, which has caused uncertainty for Twitter stakeholders, employees, and investors - with it’s stock rising and falling with each new update about the deal.
His $44 billion bid comes out to $54.20 a share. The longer that the current stock price continues to be lower than that, the more speculation that Elon could try to renegotiate a lower purchasing price.
https://www.axios.com/2022/05/16/elon-musk-twitter-deal-lower-price
https://www.axios.com/2022/05/13/elon-musk-says-twitter-deal-temporarily-on-hold
https://www.axios.com/2022/04/25/twitter-elon-musk-deal
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An update on Ukraine and Russia:
Russian forces are continuing their invasion. But while they have made some advances, so far their efforts seem to be hitting continuous roadblocks now nearing three months into the conflict. Ukrainian forces have reportedly held strong and even pushed out the Russians in several key battleground areas like the country’s capitol of Kyiv, and recently another major region of Kharkiv.
Yesterday, hundreds of Ukrainian fighters were evacuated after weeks off being trapped under a steel plant, as Russian forces gained control of the surrounding city of Mariupol. The fighters are out, many injured, but it’s unclear to what extent the Russians will hold them captive or not.
News outlets are finding it difficult to verify many of the claims coming out of the region, and also to report accurate data, considering the ongoing violence, but so far estimates have Russian casualties between 7,000-15,000 and Ukrainian troop casualties at around 2,500 to 3,000. Ukraine has also suffered many civilian casualties, with the UN recording around 2,700. These numbers are from sources outside of the two countries, like NATO and the UN, as both Ukraine and Russia have reported drastically different numbers.
Outside of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland have both announced plans to apply for NATO membership, much to the disapproval of Russia. Both countries decided to try and join the military alliance after seeing how the current situation is unfolding - how devastating the conflict has been for Ukraine to have to defend themselves on their own. Considering the circumstances, Sweden and Norway’s applications could be expedited, but the process has already hit a snag. In order to join NATO, all current members must approve the application. And current member, Turkey, has already objected. The Turkish President accused the Scandinavian countries of supporting terrorist organizations - likely referring to Sweden’s support for the SDF, or the Syrian Democratic Forces, which is an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias that the West has partnered with in their fight against ISIS. So, it’s still unknown if Turkey will change their mind, because Sweden and Norway can’t join without them.
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-kyiv-moscow-6dc968ea8d353132bd8b8cb58b04734c
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-counter-attacks-russian-forces-east-2022-05-16/
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It’s Tuesday, May 17. And you’ve just been informed. Now it’s time to get on with your day. I’m Michele Carroll. Thanks so much for listening.
If you like The News Diet, be sure to subscribe to the show wherever you listen to your podcasts so you can always get the latest episode; and leave a review as we all know how that helps boost a show’s visibility! If you have any suggestions on how I can improve the show, I definitely want to hear from you. I want The News Diet to be as valuable as possible for you, so if you feel compelled, please feel free to reach out to me on Twitter or Instagram @TheNewsDiet, or directly to my email, Feedback@thenewsdiet.com.