Putin talks with Carlson: For the first time since ordering the invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has sat down for a lengthy interview with a Western media personality, the Kremlin confirmed today. Putin was interviewed by Tucker Carlson, the former Fox New host who was fired following the Fox News libel settlement with Dominion Voting Systems. Carlson has been streaming his own shows on social media recently. A spokesperson for Putin said that many other requests to interview Putin had been received from Western journalists and news organizations but Carlson was selected because he often takes positions that are different from other news media. Carlson often expressed support for Putin.
New Hamas plan: Hamas has submitted a new plan to release the hostages it holds and Israel quickly rejected the plan. Hamas said it would release the hostages when Israel puts a cease-fire into effect and withdraws from Gaza. Hamas also demanded a massive humanitarian effort to help the Palestinians. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Israel today for talks following his visits to Arab countries. He said that a lot of work needs to be done before there will be a deal between Israel and Hamas.
Chinese hackers at work: CNN reported this morning that it has obtained a security report that shows Chinese hackers have had access to some computer systems that control infrastructure in the U.S. for at least five years. The report says the Chinese hackers have broken into computer systems at energy, transportation and water systems. CNN said that the report was produced by the FBI, National Security Agency and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Mother of shooter convicted: A jury in Michigan has found the mother of a boy who shot and killed four high school students guilty of involuntary manslaughter. The jury decided that Jennifer Crumbley was aware of her son’s deteriorating mental health yet bought him a gun a few days before he took the gun to school and opened fire. Prosecutors also presented evidence that school officials had called her about her son’s mental health the morning of the shootings but she failed to take him out of school. Some court observers see the case as a precedent for holding parents responsible for actions of their children.
Supreme Court arguments: The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to provide an audio feed tomorrow so that people can hear what happens during oral arguments about whether Colorado can keep Donald Trump off the ballot. Colorado’s courts have ruled that Trump is not eligible to serve as president because the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment prohibits anyone who has taken an oath of office and then participated in an insurrection or given support and comfort to insurrectionists from holding federal office. Oral arguments are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Eastern time tomorrow.
Uber’s financials: Uber today reported its first profit since becoming a public company more than a decade ago. For 2023, Uber had revenues of $37.2 billion and profits of $1.1 billion. Uber provided 9.4 billion trips during 2023 that produced $137.8 billion in gross booking collections. The number of trips in 2023 was up by 24% from the total in 2022. Uber said that during an average month it had 150 million active customers.
