President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Ukraine; Jimmy Carter is receiving hospice care; and Meta launches a new subscription service. These stories and more highlight your daily rundown for Monday, Feb. 20, 2023.
Biden makes surprise visit to Ukraine
In a display of American support for Ukraine, President Biden made a surprise visit to the area ravaged by Russia’s missile attacks.
The timing of the visit comes just four days before the anniversary of the war in which hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost. The U.S. has pledged nearly $100 billion in direct aid and equipment to Ukraine.
President Biden is set to also visit Poland, a neighboring country and fellow NATO ally during his trip overseas.
Meanwhile, over the weekend at the Munich security conference in Germany, Vice President Kamala Karris denounced Russia’s actions in the war as criminal.
Jimmy Carter receives hospice care
Former President Jimmy Carter is receiving home hospice care after several hospital stays. The 98-year-old is the longest lived U.S. president. The 39th president of the United States served one term in the White House from 1977 to 1981.
After multiple hospital stays, Carter decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention according to a statement from the Carter Center.
The statement also said Carter has the support of his medical team and family for the decision to go home. The world has offered a show of support for the former president.
Meta launches subscription service
The parent company of Facebook and Instagram has announced a new paid subscription service, which, among other features, would allow users to pay for a verified account.
The announcement might sound familiar as Twitter implemented a fee for verified accounts on its platform last year. The service dubbed Meta Verified was announced over the weekend. And while the company will make between $11 to $15 per subscription CEO Mark Zuckerberg says the move is more about increasing authenticity and security across its platforms.
A soft launch begins this week in Australia and New Zealand. Then it will go global with the new social media subscription plans.
North Korea tensions escalate
Japan is calling for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council after North Korea fired two ballistic missiles toward Japan on Monday. This followed an intercontinental ballistic missile fired by the north on Saturday.
The second weapons test in three days is prompting Japan, South Korea, and the U.S. to conduct its own military drills in response. The recent missiles are seen as a major escalation and violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Gun interceptions at U.S. airports
A record number of guns were intercepted in the U.S. airports last year. At airport checkpoints, more than 6,500 guns were being improperly stowed in passengers’ luggage. And with the exception of pandemic disrupted 2020, the number of weapons intercepted has climbed every year since 2010.
Experts don’t think this is an epidemic of would be plane hijackers. But an increase in the number of Americans carrying firearms. According to TSA, interceptions are more frequent in states with laws more friendly to carrying a gun.
The top ten cities for gun interceptions last year included Dallas, Austin, Houston, and three airports in Florida, Nashville, Atlanta, Phoenix, and Denver.
Changes made to Roald Dahl books
Hundreds of changes to Roald Dahl books are being criticized as censorship. The Daily Telegraph first reported the revisions approved by the book’s British publisher Puffin Books and Dahl’s estate.
Classic children’s books like “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “The Witches,” and “Matilda” are receiving a few alterations. The words fat, ugly, and crazy are being scrapped from its pages after nearly 60 years since some books were first published. References to boys and girls have been changed to “people” or “children”.
New passages, not written by Dahl, were added to the texts to offer more context when needed according to the publisher. Proponents of the changes say it protects young people from hurtful stereotypes. While critics call it censorship.
