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Today's main news
Democratic and Republican voters in Michigan head to the primary today. President Biden and former President Donald Trump are expected to win their respective parties' nominations. Still, opponents of Biden's support for Israel's war in Gaza are demanding that Democrats send a message with a “no commitment” vote.
Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images
- NPR's Don Gonyea, based in Michigan, says: first Why there is disillusionment among voters This is especially evident in Arab and Muslim communities.. He added that he used to hear people worry about third-party voting during general elections, but never during primary week. Dear Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, the first Arab-American mayor of a majority Arab-American city, says: first Leila Fadel said her community is “not big enough for a candidate to win,” but “big enough for a candidate to lose.” Fadel reported that the young people she interviewed, progressives, and especially young black voters, were also angry and shared her concerns about civil rights in the United States.
- Negotiations for a temporary ceasefire are underway in the Gaza Strip. President Biden told reporters last night that he hopes to have a deal announced by next Monday.
- Check out what a photojournalist is all about. Captured Last week I was on the ground in Gaza, Israel, and Lebanon.
An active-duty U.S. Air Force member lost his life by self-immolation. Sunday outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. In a video just before the incident, Aaron Bushnell, 25, said it was an act of protest against Israel's war on Gaza and that he would “no longer be complicit in genocide.”
- Michael Biggs, a sociologist at Oxford University, studies people who die by self-immolation. he says morning edition The “most obvious parallel” to Sunday's incident is that of Quaker Norman Morrison, who set himself on fire outside the Pentagon to protest the Vietnam War. Biggs added that these acts differ from other acts of self-harm because individuals often act for a political cause and in most cases there is no clear case of previous “psychological instability.” According to Biggs, self-immolation tends to have a greater impact in countries outside the West. In the West, it's often seen as too extreme, and “in democracy you see there are other ways to get your voice heard.”
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, 988 Suicide and crisis lifeline Dial 9-8-8 or crisis text line Text HOME to 741741.
The Federal Trade Commission and nine states have filed suit to block the $24.6 billion merger. It is one of the two largest supermarket chains in the United States, Kroger and Albertsons. If merged, it would be the largest U.S. grocery merger in recent history. Kroger owns stores such as Ralphs, Harris Teeter, Fred Meyer, and King Soopers. Albertsons, its top direct competitor, owns stores such as Safeway, Vons, and Jewel-Osco. The FTC claims the merger would eliminate competition for workers and shoppers.
- The two companies said the merger was “essential to survival in today's grocery business.” NPR's Alina Selyukh reports. They say blocking the deal would only benefit non-union national retail giants, including Walmart, Amazon and Costco. Selyukh added that the case is interesting because it is the first time regulators have argued that a merger should protect workers as well as consumers and prices.
picture show
Claire Harbage/NPR
Two years have passed since Russia invaded Ukraine. NPR photographer and video editor Claire Harbage realized that life goes on even during long wars. Sharing his experience covering the war, Harbidge contrasts the initial resilience and perseverance of the first year with the current sense of stagnation as people face impossible choices for survival.
See photos of civilians In Ukraine, we live our daily lives while war is going on.
deep sea diving
Olivier Le Moal/Getty Images
This Thursday is leap day. This day was added to the Gregorian calendar. Every four years (except years divisible by 100, except years divisible by 400), the leap year rule can be confusing. morning edition We asked experts in history, astronomy, and economics to analyze why leap days exist, the superstitions surrounding them, and alternative calendar formats.
- One year, or the time it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun, is actually 365.242190 days. Leap days account for an extra .242190 of a day.
- Many leap year superstitions concern marriage and love. According to an old Irish tradition, women can propose to men on Leap Day. In Greece and some other countries, it is unlucky to get married on Leap Day.
- Life can be tricky when it comes to taking leaps. — People with leap day birthdays. Some online forms do not recognize February 29 as a valid date of birth.
- One economics professor claims the current calendar is confusing. And we propose something new: an intermittent leap at the end of the year, so that the date falls on the same day of the week every year.
3 things you need to know before you go
Riley McClenagan/NASA
- Victor Glover was fascinated by a televised space shuttle launch when he was 10 years old. He later became the first African American to spend extended time on the International Space Station. He will soon become one of the first humans to visit the moon in 50 years.
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine students receive free tuition. After Ruth Gottesman, chair of the university's board of trustees, donated $1 billion to the school.
- Most of the United States will see a total solar eclipse in April. A group of Harvard astronomers has created a sonification tool that turns solar eclipses into sounds so that people who are blind or have limited vision can experience the phenomenon. (via Texas Standard)
This newsletter was edited by: Majid Al Waheidi. Mansi Khurana Contributed.