 Four electrical substations were vandalized in Washington, leaving more than 14,000 without power on Christmas day. Substations belong to two power companies, Tacoma Public Utilities. and Puget Sound Energy. More: - Tacoma Public Utilities said nearly 7,300 people had lost electricity, which was restored by noon for all but 2,700. The remaining also regained power by 6.30 in the evening.
- Puget Sound Energy reported that vandalism occurred in the wee hours of Sunday, cutting power for 7,700 people. They, too, had restored the electricity by 5 in the evening.
- Sherrif's office has observed forced entry in all four vandalism cases, damaging the equipment to cause the outage. No arrests have been made yet.
Zoom Out: - Nearly 47,000 homes had lost power when perpetrators shot up a power station in North Carolina's Moore County, triggering a federal investigation.
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In a significant policy upheaval, the Chinese National Health Commission announced that it would not require inbound travelers to go into quarantine. Though China had reversed its Zero-Covid policy after a slowing economy had resulted in protests across the country, the quarantine requirements remained. More: - The restrictions are set to lift from Jan. 8 onwards. The relaxation comes after three years of strict lockdown rules.
- The previous quarantine rules required travelers to undergo mandatory five-day quarantine followed by three-day home isolation.
- The condition has now changed to providing a negative RT-PCR test for all international travelers in the preceding 48-hour period.
Zoom Out: - China will increase the vaccine rate for the elderly and people with severe illnesses.
- China is the last major country to treat COVID-19 like an endemic.
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 1.6 million asylum applications are pending with U.S. immigration courts and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, reports Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. The analysis comes against the backdrop of the surge in people waiting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, braving the cold weather. More: - The immigration courts have experienced a seven-fold increase between 2012 and the end of the fiscal year 2022, from a backlog of 100,000 to 750,000 cases.
- The asylum seekers belong to 219 countries and speak 418 languages, according to the Syracuse group. About 3 out of 10 are under the age of 18.
- Latin Americans lead the tally, with a majority of asylum seekers from Guatemala, Venezuelan, Cuba, and Brazil. Florida and Massachusetts have seen the highest case growth.
- The average wait time for an asylum hearing is 4.3 years. Omaha, Nebraska, has the highest average wait time of 5.9 years.
Zoom Out: - Border forces continue to come across 1,500-1,600 migrants daily in E.L. Paso, Texas, CNN reports. This number had dropped since early December, when they encountered 2,500 people daily.
- In addition, the borders are hurting from the smuggling of undocumented migrants. The Border Patrol Chief in El Paso tweeted last week that in 48 hours, agents foiled 12 smuggling attempts and arrested 15 human smugglers and 57 migrants.
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 GOOD NEWS: Korean tourists stranded during the snowstorm during Christmas weekend found respite in a New York Man's home. The tourists were traveling from Niagara falls to Washington DC when they got stuck in the blizzard near Buffalo. More: - Alex Campagna invited a group of Korean tourists when they knocked on his door, asking for a shovel to dig their bus out of the snow.
- Alex offered them couches, air mattresses, and sleeping bags as he knew the blizzard would not allow them to carry on.
- The tourists repaid their kindness by cooking varied Korean foods for Alex and his family.
- The groups are reported to have stayed Friday and Saturday. On Christmas day, a bus drove the tour group to New York.
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 Researchers have discovered a mammal's foot preserved inside the guts of a fossilized Microraptor Zhaoianus, a meter-long (3 feet) feathered theropod. Previous studies have found fish, birds, and lizards in the stomachs of Microraptor specimens, but this is the first time mammals have been found. More: - The research, published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, found that the foot belonged to a rodent-like mammal and measured about a centimeter (0.4 inches).
- A varied diet categorizes them as generalist predators, similar to foxes and crows.
- Generalist predators are considered important stabilizers in ecosystems because they can feed on several species.
- Microraptor belongs to the Therapod family, a family that includes Tyrannosaurus rex. This indicates that T-rex may have had a similar diet.
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President Yoon Seok-yeok pardoned former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. Lee was convicted in 2018 for bribery and embezzlement and sentenced to 17 years in prison. He was the former CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction. More: - Lee, 81, served as President of South Korea from 2008-2013. He is credited for taking South Korea through the 2008 financial crisis reasonably unharmed.
- Yoon pardoned 1300 people to foster "national unity through reconciliation, tolerance, and consideration" on Tuesday.
- Amongst the pardoned are Kim Kyoung-soo, a former provincial governor, and Choi Kyoung-hwan, a former finance minister.
Zoom Out: - Last year, President Moon Jae-in pardoned former President Park Geun-hye after she was found guilty of abuse of power and bribery.
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- Southwest airlines cancel two-thirds of its flights on Monday. Officials say to expect delays and cancellations on Tuesday and Wednesday also.
- Ukraine makes a massive push to recapture a city in the Northern Luhansk region. The majority of the region is under Russian control.
- Serbia moves its army to the Kosovo border as tension mounts between minority ethnic Serbs and majority ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
- The Japanese PM sacked Kenya Akiba, making him the fourth minister to get the axe in the cabinet. He is accused of infringing on election law and of ties with the Unification Church
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UPCOMING EVENTS
- January 05 - AMA with Gun.io - Building and managing software development teams w/ Deividi Silva (Watch On Demand)
- January 06 - AMA with LinearB - Improving workflow for developers w/ Ori Keren (Watch On Demand)
- January 10 - Inside Startups Coffee Break (Register Here)
- January 17 - Inside Marketing Coffee Break (Register Here)
- January 31 - Growth Summit 2023 (Register Here)
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 |  | Skand Kurdur is a Management Consultant who has previously worked in health tech and government sectors. Skand has experience in digital media strategy, sales, and business development. Skand is interested in Business, Tech, and Sports. |   | | Editor | Vibha Chapparike is a Freelance Writer & Editor at Inside.com. With her post-graduation in Management and Finance completed, Vibha is expanding her knowledge in venture capital, business, startups, and technology. She has had a career in public relations and communications. An ardent reader and writer currently residing in Singapore, you can follow Vibha on Twitter @VChapparike. | |
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