Airline Disaster Likely Caused By Russia

Good Friday morning! We hope you had a wonderful holiday. Here is a captivating look at what happens when flat earthers realize they are wrong. Have a great weekend!

In Today’s Brief

• FDA: Egg recall

• El Salvador: Metals mining

• Trump: Inauguration donations

• Holiday sales: Unexpected surge

• Bad Bunny: New album

... and more

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Top Tips

1) Shot down

A commercial airline crash in Kazakhstan is being attributed to Russian forces.

• The news: An Azerbaijan Airlines flight from Baku to Grozny, the capital city of Chechnya, went down near the Kazakh city of Aktau, splitting in half after hitting the ground. At least 38 of the 67 people on board died.

• The reaction: Russian aviation officials surmised a bird strike incident while the Kremlin condemned "hypotheses." But reports said Azerbaijan believe a Russian anti-missile defense system brought the flight down, similar to the 2014 Malaysia Airlines disaster over Ukraine. The flight was over a war zone before diverting hundreds of miles off course.

• Big picture: Azerbaijan has signaled it does not believe Russia purposely shot the plane down, but that it expects an eventual admission. NATO has called for an investigation into the incident. There are also allegations Russia refused to allow the plane to make an emergency landing at several of its airports.

2) Near miss

The head of the World Health Organization was caught in the middle of an Israeli military operation.

• The news: Israel carried out an airstrike on Yemen's Sanaa International Airport. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus alleged he and other United Nations workers were about to take off when the operation began. He said his team was safe, but one of the plane's crew was injured.

• The impact: Israel carried out a series of airstrikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, including the airport attack. At least six people were killed and dozens were injured. The Iranian-backed Houthis vowed revenge while the WHO and UN team said it is stuck until the airport damage is assessed.

• Big picture: The Houthis have menaced ships in the Red Sea ever since Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza began. The Houthis control territory near the critical waterway. Israel has shifted its military focus toward the group after degrading Hamas and Hezbollah. 

3) Family feud

Things got out of hand on Christmas night in Phoenix.

• The news: Three people were shot and one stabbed in an altercation at Sky Harbor International Airport. The incident was allegedly the result of a family dispute inside Terminal 4, the airport's busiest.

• More details: A woman was taken to the hospital with life-threatening gunshot wounds. Three men -- two shot, one stabbed -- were in stable condition. A fifth person -- a woman -- was detained with no injury information disclosed.

• Unrelated issue: A man with no connection to the shooting incident was arrested with firearms at the airport. Cops said he received an erroneous text claiming there was an active shooter incident and arrived with weapons.

Quick Tips

U.S. News

• The FDA has issued its highest-level recall for eggs sold at Costcos in five Southeastern states. The products were exposed to salmonella; the order says there is a "reasonable probability" of death or serious health issues if consumed (More)

• A Minnesota airport straddling the border with Canada will close effective today. The Piney-Pinecreek Border Airport near Roseau had the only border-straddling paved runway; it was shuttered due to low use and high maintenance costs (More)

• President Joe Biden signed a law making the bald eagle the official national bird. It was one of 50 bills he signed off on; another prevents former members of Congress from collecting pensions if convicted of crimes (More)

World News

• El Salvador reversed a seven-year ban on metals mining. Strongman President Nayib Bukele has pushed to end the prohibition, arguing it will boost economic growth; the Salvadorian government has full control over any mining activities (More)

• At least 6K inmates escaped following a fatal Mozambique prison uprising on Christmas Day. At least 33 people died and 15 were injured as the African nation grapples with violence after contested elections (More)

• South Korean lawmakers are moving to impeach Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the country's acting president. He has not cooperated with opposition party requests about suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol's upcoming trial (More)

Political News

• President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration fund is expected to bring in a record-breaking sum. Carmakers and tech companies like Amazon and Ford are among the major companies that have made seven-figure donations so far (More)

• Marianne Williamson announced her candidacy to chair the Democratic National Committee. The self-help author sought the party's presidential nomination in 2020 and 2024 (More)

• Trump nominated Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Marino to be Ambassador to Panama. The president-elect has threatened to reclaim the Panama Canal if fees for American ships to transit are not adjusted; there is no apparent mechanism for the canal to revert to U.S. control (More)

Business & Markets

• Major indexes closed mixed yesterday. The Dow Jones eked out a small gain as trading resumed after Christmas (Dow+0.07%, Nasdaq -0.05%%, S&P 500 -0.04%).

• U.S. holiday retail sales were up 3.8% YoY, according to Mastercard. That spike beat expectations by 0.6%; online shopping was up 6.7% YoY (More)

• Former Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons died at 76. The executive helped the media giant reverse its infamous merger with AOL; he also had leadership stints at CBS and Citigroup and with the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers (More)

Entertainment & Sports

• Bad Bunny has a new album coming next month. The Grammy Award winner will release the 17-song Debi Tirar Mas Fotos, or I Should've Taken More Photos, on Jan. 5 (More)

• The Kansas City Chiefs clinched the top seed in the AFC playoffs. The two-time reigning Super Bowl champions defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day to secure home-field advantage (More)

• Child actor Hudson Meek died at 16 after falling out of a moving vehicle in Alabama. He was best known for his role in Baby Driver (More)

Quick Hitters

• Fun Stuff: A retired couple recreates their friends' Christmas card every year, posing in place of their young children. It has become a sweet, and very funny, tradition.

• Clutch Save: A massive 440-pound television from the 1980s was set to be discarded in a demolition. But a team of gamers rescued the relic -- which cost $100K in today's money at the time -- from a restaurant in Japan.

• Go Deep: Commercial airline flights are objectively longer than 30 years ago. But more flights record early arrivals these days. What gives? Here is a look at how the industry strives to meet some metrics at the expense of others.

• Take Note: Counterfeit alcohol -- especially the top-shelf stuff -- has become a significant issue worldwide. The consequences can range from frustration to fatalities.

• Life Hack: Speedcubing -- the sport of solving puzzles at breakneck speed -- has become quite popular. Scientists say it can make you happier, too.

Watch This

All the weird stuff that happened in 2024.

Links

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• How 'brain rot' content is damaging our minds 📱

Looking Ahead …

If Speaker of the House Mike Johnson struggles to retain his gavel when the new House is sworn in early next year … it could complicate Jan. 6’s electoral college certification.

Question of the Day

Yesterday’s results:

Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?

• No (51%)

• Yes (49%)