Fact & Spin

December 17, 2022: More JFK files, journalist Twitter suspensions, powerful Japanese military

Facts & Spin for December 17, 2022 top stories: More JFK assassination files are released, Twitter suspends the accounts of at least five journalists, Russia launches renewed missile attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, Japan announces plans to build a more powerful military, The US Senate passes a record $858 billion defense act, The UK launches a probe into claims its troops killed Afghan civilians, Biden Calls for the African Union to join the G20, A California county considers secession to become new US state, Denmark wants to scrap a public holiday to boost its defense budget, and a new study finds Parkinson's is more prevalent than earlier estimates.
Sources: https://www.improvethenews.org/
 
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December 16, 2022: Iran UNCSW expulsion, NHS strikes, and Puerto Rico referendum

Facts & Spin for December 16, 2022 top stories: The UN expels Iran from its women’s rights body, Russia and Ukraine exchange dozens of prisoners, Istanbul’s mayor is sentenced to prison for insulting officials, UK nurses hold the biggest strike in NHS history, Biden says the US is 'all in' on Africa's future, the US House approves a Puerto Rico referendum bill, Georgia's Secretary of State calls for an end to runoffs in the state, a US Senate report finds widespread abuse of female inmates by prison workers, a US House report alleges missteps in the intelligence community’s handling of COVID, and Scotland proposes allowing children to be elected to parliament.
Sources: https://www.improvethenews.org/
 
Brief Listener Survey: https://www.improvethenews.org/pod

December 15, 2022: Meta Ethiopia lawsuit, DRC floods, 4 migrant deaths

Facts & Spin for December 15, 2022 top stories: Meta is sued for allegedly inciting violence in Ethiopia, Flooding in the Democratic Republic of the Congo kills at least 141, The US is reportedly ready to provide advanced missile defense systems to Ukraine, Four migrants die after their boat capsizes in the English channel,US Senator Bernie Sanders withdraws his Yemen War Powers Resolution, The UN says a famine declaration in Somalia has been narrowly averted, Business magnate Rupert Murdoch is deposed over Fox New’s 2020 election reporting, The US Fed increases interest rates by another 0.5%, Florida Governor DeSantis calls for a grand jury on COVID vaccines, and the CDC finds that long COVID can be deadly.
Sources: https://www.improvethenews.org/
 
Brief Listener Survey: https://www.improvethenews.org/pod

December 14, 2022: Bankman-Fried arrested, China chip action and cancer vaccine

Facts & Spin for December 14, 2022 top stories: Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is arrested in the Bahamas, the EU breaks a stalemate with Hungary and agrees to €18B in aid for Ukraine, the US Senate looks to avert a government shutdown, Bangladesh arrests the leader of the largest Muslim party, Bolsonaro supporters attack police headquarters in Brazil, China takes action against US chip curbs with the World Trade Organization, Alabama and Utah ban the use of TikTok on State government devices, official data shows that the UK saw its greatest number of strikes since 2011 in October, Moderna and Merck have some success with a cancer vaccine, and Israel gene-edits hens to lay only female eggs.
Sources: https://www.improvethenews.org/
 
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December 13, 2022: EU parliament corruption, Trump-ban Twitter conspiracy and fusion energy breakthrough

Facts & Spin for December 13, 2022 top stories: Four people are charged in an EU parliament corruption investigation, Previous Twitter management is accused of tweaking the rules to permanently ban Trump, Peru’s president seeks early elections as protests rock the country, Biden and the G7 pledge more military assistance to Ukraine, The UN says over 11k children have been killed or maimed in Yemen's civil war, A Libyan man suspected in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing arrives in US custody, The second Oath Keepers Jan. 6 sedition trial begins, Twitter's paid blue tick is re-launched, China deactivates its national COVID tracking app, A girl is cleared of incurable cancer with a new base editing therapy, and the US is set to announce a breakthrough in fusion energy.
Sources: https://www.improvethenews.org/
 
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December 10, 2022 top stories: ‘Twitter Files’ 2, Sinema party swap and ancient Greenland DNA

Facts & Spin for December 10, 2022 top stories: Twitter is accused of keeping “secret blacklists” to limit users, Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema leaves the Democratic party, Italy, Japan and the UK announce plans to merge projects for a new fighter jet, a Moscow shopping mall catches fire, the US House backs a record military spending bill, 28 oil tankers get logjammed in Turkish waters, China and Saudi Arabia sign a strategic partnership agreement, the Keystone pipeline is shut down following a Kansas oil spill, economists agree the US is heading into a shallow recession, and scientists discover a lost world in Greenland after sequencing two-million-year-old DNA.
Sources: https://www.improvethenews.org/
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December 9, 2022: Griner release, Iran execution and more Trump documents

Facts & Spin for December 9, 2022 top stories: Brittney Griner is released in a Russian prisoner swap, Putin admits the Ukraine war could be a “long-term process,” Iran carries out its first protest-related execution, more classified documents are found at a Trump storage site, Narendra Modi’s BJP is set for a record win in India’s Gujarat state, Pakistani investigators say journalist Arshad Sharif’s killing in Kenya was “planned,” FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is said to be facing a market manipulation inquiry, the Biden admin. urges SCOTUS to hold Big Tech liable for recommending dangerous content, NFL’s Dan Snyder is accused of obstructing a House probe into the Washington Commanders, and Croatia joins Europe's free-travel zone.
Sources: https://www.improvethenews.org/
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December 8, 2022: Peru president arrest, Warnock Georgia win and foiled German coup

Facts & Spin for December 8, 2022 top stories: Peru’s president is impeached and arrested after attempting to dissolve Congress, Raphael Warnock defeats Herschel Walker in the Georgia Senate runoff, Washington says it 'neither encouraged nor enabled' Ukraine to strike Russian territory, Germany arrests 25 people accused of plotting a coup, Argentina’s vice president is sentenced to six years in prison for corruption, Turkey reportedly sets a two-week deadline for the Syrian Democratic Forces to withdraw from Northern Syria, The US Supreme Court hears arguments on congressional district maps, Twitter fires its general counsel over possible internal document suppression, China loosens more COVID restrictions, and the EU agrees that airlines should have to pay more to pollute.
Sources: https://www.improvethenews.org/
 
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December 7, 2022: Extramarital Sex Law, Trump Org. Fraud, and Child Marijuana Use

Facts & Spin for December 7, 2022 top stories: Indonesia passes a new criminal code outlawing extramarital sex, the International Criminal Court (ICC) opposes the EU’s plan for a Ukraine tribunal, Al Jazeera urges the ICC to investigate the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, the Trump Organization is found guilty of multiple counts of criminal tax fraud, the US Department of Justice subpoenas election officials in key swing states, Google launches an anti-misinformation campaign in India, the EU says Meta can’t run targeted ads without consent, Australia raises interest rates to a 10-year high, Musk’s Neuralink faces a federal probe over animal tests, and a report finds that child marijuana use has soared nearly 250% in the last 20 years.
Sources: https://www.improvethenews.org/
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December 6, 2022: Stolen COVID Funds, Twitter Files, and Chinese Astronauts

Facts & Spin for December 6, 2022 top stories: The US secret services says Chinese hackers stole millions in COVID relief funds, Elon Musk releases the “Twitter Files” on Hunter Biden, Multiple blasts strike Russian airfields, An anti-government protest turns deadly in Syria, Iran’s Attorney General says the Morality Police will be disbanded, A power grid attack leaves a North Carolina county in the dark, A web designer takes on Colorados’s Anti-Discrimination Act, Senate candidates Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker make their last pitch in the Georgia midterm election runoff, India signals it will continue to buy oil from Russia, The Confederation of Business Industry says the UK economy will shrink in 2023, and three Chinese astronauts return to Earth.
Sources: https://www.improvethenews.org/
 
Brief Listener Survey: https://www.improvethenews.org/pod