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AT&T Outage Was Coast-To-Coast Pain

Your unbiased daily news brief

Author

James Kratch
February 23, 2024

Good morning and happy Friday. They say crime does not pay, but an Oklahoma man tried. Evan James Coker pleaded guilty to wire fraud after hacking a government auction site to lower the price of his winning bids. Coker attempted to pay $1 each for several items, including three cars he had bid a combined $40K for. Have a great weekend.

In Today’s Brief

  • Moon: U.S. lunar lander success

  • Biden: Meets with Navalny’s widow

  • Teamsters: Rare donation to GOP

  • Reddit: IPO filing goes public

  • Wendy Williams: Diagnosed with aphasia

... and more

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Top Tips

1) Zero bars

The U.S. dealt with widespread cellular and internet outages yesterday.

  • Shut down: AT&T's network felt the brunt of the outages, with over 80K customers reporting a loss of service from coast-to-coast when counting affiliate Cricket Wireless. Verizon and T-Mobile also had some outages reported, but the providers said those customers were mostly calling AT&T users.

  • Back online: AT&T said it had restored service for all customers by yesterday afternoon after the outages began in the early morning hours. Almost all major cities were impacted to some extent, including Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and New York.

  • Big picture: AT&T reportedly believes a software update issue caused the outages, assuaging fears of a malicious cyberattack. But it is still a concern -- 911 calls were impacted in some areas and about 70% of American adults live in cellular-only households according to the most recent data.

2) Sartorial strikeout

Major League Baseball is melting down over its new uniforms.

The situation: The league has shifted to Nike-generated and Fanatics-produced "performance jerseys" that are lighter than older duds. But the change has led to an avalanche of complaints by players and fans as spring training begins.

At issue: Players have griped the material does not allow them to tailor their uniforms as they have in the past. There are also concerns the pants will be see-through after Fanatics altered the shade of white it uses. Fans are alarmed at the aesthetics, especially when a long name is on the back of the jersey.

Big picture: MLB said it is addressing player concerns, including more customization options, and working to shore up supply chain issues. But the "amateurish" look may be harder to fix without a fabric change. 

3) Talk it out

Co-working is being introduced to Capitol Hill.

  • What's happening: A House subcommittee on modernization has created a collaboration space in the Cannon House Office Building. A set of couches have been set up in efforts to encourage staffers to interact across party and other lines in a relaxed environment.

  • The motivation: Oklahoma Rep. Stephanie Bice, who heads the subcommittee, hopes it is a small step toward making Washington function better. Partisan tensions are at arguably an all-time high and Congress had its least-productive year in decades in 2023.

  • Big picture: The subcommittee is making other changes, including more efficient scheduling tools and streamlining tasks like constituent requests. The effort comes as a wave of retirements hits, especially in the House.

Quick Tips

U.S. News

  • The Odysseus lunar lander successfully touched down on the Moon last night. It is the first American aircraft to reach the lunar surface since Apollo 17 in 1972; NASA partner Intuitive Machines is the first private company to put a lander on the moon (More)

  • China plans to loan two giant pandas to the San Diego Zoo as soon as this summer. The only four pandas currently in the U.S. are scheduled to leave Zoo Atlanta next year (More)

  • An FBI informant involved in House Republicans' impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden was re-arrested. Alexander Smirnov is alleged to have lied about Biden receiving foreign bribes; prosecutors successfully appealed his pre-trial release (More)

World News

  • President Biden met with the widow and daughter of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in San Francisco. Biden will announce sanctions on the Kremlin today after Navalny died suddenly at a prison colony (More)

  • A Japanese organized crime leader was charged with conspiring to sell uranium and plutonium to Iran and other countries. Takeshi Ebisawa allegedly planned to obtain the materials from insurgents in Myanmar (More)

  • The U.S., UK, France and Germany endorsed outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as NATO's next Secretary General. He still must shore up support with Eastern European countries in the bloc (More)

Campaign News

  • The Teamsters' political action committee has made a $45K donation to the RNC. The money will be directed toward the party’s convention; it is the first time the union has made a significant donation to the GOP in 20 years (More)

  • A New York City law allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections was ruled unconstitutional by an appellate court. Mayor Eric Adams' administration could appeal to the state supreme court (More)

  • Donald Trump's campaign said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is not in the former president's vice presidential mix. Trump surprisingly said DeSantis was on a short list earlier this week during a Fox News town hall (More)

Business & Markets

  • Major indexes closed higher yesterday, riding the wave after chip giant Nvidia's strong quarterly earnings. The Nasdaq was up over 450 points (Dow +1.18%, Nasdaq +2.96%, S&P 500 +2.11%).

  • Reddit's IPO filing went public before its New York Stock Exchange debut next month. The social media company said it lost $91M last year and had $800M in revenue (More)

  • Capital One's takeover deal with Discovery includes a breakup clause. Discover can pivot to a rival bid if it pays a $1.4B fee; there is no penalty for either side if the merger is blocked by regulators (More)

Entertainment & Sports

  • Former talk show host Wendy Williams was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and dementia. Williams will be the subject of an upcoming Lifetime documentary (More)

  • ABC must face religious discrimination claims by two General Hospital crewmembers fired for refusing COVID-19 vaccines. A judge ruled their "sincerely held" beliefs should have led to exemptions (More)

  • Three-time Olympic champion Gabby Douglas withdrew from her planned return to gymnastics after a positive COVID-19 test. Douglas still has time to qualify for this summer's Paris Games; she has not competed since the 2016 Games (More)

Quick Hitters

  • Travel Hack: Getting your luggage wrapped in plastic is a smart move. It can help protect against in-transit opening, rough handling, theft and other issues.

  • Be Safe: Volkswagen has recalled over 260K vehicles due to a fuel tank issue. Several models are impacted, as well as an Audi model.

  • New Trend: Walking barefoot everywhere has become hip on social media. But doctors advise against it for myriad reasons.

  • Listen Up: Bed Kingdom, a bedding brand, surveyed over 10K Spotify playlists to curate the best tunes to help people fall asleep. Here is what the research suggests.

  • Life Hack: Did you know parchment paper is excellent for cleaning bathroom fixtures? Here are a few other handy cleaning tips. 

  • Be Well: Pop quiz: What’s the body’s most abundant protein? The answer: Collagen. NativePath's Certified Grass-Fed Collagen Powder is made from grass-fed, pasture-raised cows and contains 18 grams of protein per suggested serving. Start incorporating it daily to support skin elasticity, joint health, bone strength, and muscle growth and maintenance.*

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Monopoly is the best-selling board game in the world. But why?

Looking Ahead …

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced national elections for May 29. Current polls suggest the ruling African National Congress party could lose its parliamentary majority; it has controlled the government since Nelson Mandela's election as the country's first president in 1994.

Question of the Day — Friday Trivia Edition

Where was the Declaration of Independence stored during World War II?

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How often do you use a crosswalk on a busy street?

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