Brief News

Ukraine – Ukraine

It has been 50 days since Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded his neighbor Ukraine, and US officials say the strength of the Russian military appears to be fading against the Ukrainian resistance. In the latest blow against Moscow, Ukraine claims one of the Russian Navy’s most important warships has been hit by cruise missiles fired from Ukraine.

Russia, however, says the ship was evacuated due to a fire. On the ground, Ukraine says the last remaining defenders of the besieged city of Mariupol were recently able to join forces, further bolstering their resistance against Russia. This comes as President Joe Biden yesterday told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky the US was sending his nation an additional $800 million worth of weapons, ammunition and other security assistance.

Covid-19 – Rise of cases

The mask mandate aboard planes, trains and buses in the US has been extended until May 3, the federal government confirmed. The CDC said the order will remain in place to allow the agency to “assess the potential impact the rise of cases has on severe disease, including hospitalizations and deaths, and health care system capacity.”

The mandate had been set to expire on April 18. Flight crew unions initially applauded the extension for protecting staff unable to avoid close contact with passengers, but some major airline CEOs have said they want it to end.

The US is now averaging 38,345 new Covid-19 cases per day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, but this daily rate is still one of the lowest since mid-July.

Grocery prices – Biggest increase since 1981

In the year ending in March, food prices rose 8.8%, the biggest 12-month increase since 1981, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced this week. As for the types of foods that have become notably more expensive, flour jumped 14.2%, milk rose 13.3%, eggs went up 11.2% and fruits and vegetables went up 8.5%.Bacon increased 18.2% and butter went up 6%.

Prices are spiking across the board as food supplies tighten due to several factors, including droughts impacting crops and disruptions in the market caused by the war in Ukraine. A few items did become slightly cheaper last month though. Doughnuts, peanut butter and ham all declined less than 2%. 

Elon Musk – Offer on Twitter

Elon Musk has made an offer to buy Twitter. According to the Security and Exchange Commission, Musk has offered to acquire all the shares in Twitter he does not own for $54.20 per share, valuing the company at $43.4 billion. That represents a 38% premium over the closing price on April 1, the last trading day before Musk disclosed that he had become Twitter’s biggest shareholder.