US Money For Ukraine Has Officially Run Out
The sorry state of the news biz & Jon Stewart returns to the Daily Show
Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up!
Good morning,
Vacation planning? The Wall Street Journal has ranked America’s best and worst airlines.
2023 marked the third consecutive year Delta received the top-spot, but Alaska Airlines wasn’t far behind and could have tied (or dethroned) Delta if they had done better with baggage 💼. (These are 2023 ratings. Post-blowout, we will see how Alaska fares in ‘24)
JetBlue was the worst ranked airline for the third straight year. Blame the congested skies over its New York City hub. But travelers lodged the most complaints about Frontier, which saw 4x the average complaint rate across the nine airlines surveyed.
✈️ Don’t say we didn’t warn you. Have a good one!
Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren
🇺🇦 PENTAGON HAS NO MORE MONEY FOR UKRAINE
Where military operations stand between Ukraine and Russia. Via: BBC.
The Pentagon is officially out of money for Ukraine as we approach the two-year mark since Russia’s Feb. 2022 invasion. Ukraine says it is running out of ammunition without American help, as Russian attacks have escalated in recent weeks.
WHERE’S THE $$ ?
The Biden administration is now urging other countries to continue sending ammunition and missiles to Ukraine in order to fill the funding gap until Congress approves more aid.
President Biden has been asking Congress to pass a $110 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and the US-Mexico border. $61.4 billion is slotted for Ukraine.
The US sent a final $250 million air defense and weapons package for Ukraine late last year.
Over the last two years, the US has given Ukraine $44.2 billion in security assistance, as part of more than $100 billion in overall aid.
CAPITOL HILL STANDOFF: There is a rift among Republicans on Capitol Hill about further support for Ukraine—with a growing number saying it is time to close America’s checkbook. Even House and Senate Republicans who support further Ukraine assistance are holding it up, using it as leverage to extract concessions from the White House regarding stronger US-Mexico border policies.
Talks have lasted weeks. A frustrated Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is pushing back on members of his own party, arguing that supporting Ukraine is “about cold, hard American interests.”
NO END IN SIGHT
This week, Russia launched 40+ missile attacks on Ukraine’s two biggest cities. They have been increasing attacks in recent months with much of the world distracted by the war in the Middle East.
Russia currently occupies about 20% of Ukraine. And last year’s Ukrainian counteroffensive didn’t move much along the 600 mile battle line.
Without an influx of weapons, Ukraine could find itself soon making the choice between sending outgunned soldiers into battle or giving up territory to the Russians.
🗞 MEDIA IN TURMOIL: LA TIMES, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED & MORE
The Los Angeles Times announced they are cutting over 20% of their staff, the latest news outlet to cut jobs in recent months. Sports Illustrated gave layoff notices to most of its staff last Friday. Buzzfeed News, Jezebel, and Popular Science have all closed up shop in the last year. National Geographic recently fired all of its full-time writers, Conde Nast is planning another round of layoffs, the Washington Post recently conducted buyouts, and Vice remains in bankruptcy. Sadly, we could keep going. 🫣
And then there is local news: More than 200 counties in America now have zero local news outlets. The decline of local news is accelerating to the point that the US will have lost one out of three newspapers in less than 20 years.
LA LA LAND
The largest newsroom on the West Coast is in chaos as the layoffs of about 115 journalists were set in motion Tuesday. The move wasn’t a complete shock: hundreds of workers walked-off the job to protest the planned layoffs last Friday.
What’s up: The paper is reportedly losing $30-$40 million a year.
Billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong bought the paper in 2018 and says he poured about a billion dollars into the paper. The layoffs will shrink the newsroom back to the size it was when he bought it.
He is among billionaires like Jeff Bezos (Washington Post) and Marc Benioff (Time Magazine) who had hoped to save journalism with acquisitions in recent years. It hasn’t worked out.
The LA TIMES cuts included nearly all of its Washington bureau and the 2024 campaign coverage team.
NOT ALONE
News outlets across the country cut nearly 2,700 jobs in 2023. Some surviving local news outlets only have a handful of reporters left.
Print and TV outlets have yet to figure out a market solution to replace revenue streams that have dried up in the digital era, as advertising has shifted to platforms like Google and Meta.
The crisis is leading to a scramble for alternatives.
A group of non-partisan philanthropies plans to commit more than $500 million to support local journalism. Meanwhile, lawmakers are looking for ways that government can help via news vouchers to tax credits.
📺 JON STEWART BACK AT THE DAILY SHOW
Don’t call it a comeback: Jon Stewart will return as the host of late-night TV’s “The Daily Show.” But it’s only through the 2024 election cycle and just on Monday nights beginning Feb. 12. A rotating team of correspondents will host Tuesday through Thursday.
The news comes as late-night has seen troubling numbers when it comes to both viewers and ad revenue.
MOMENT OF ZEN
With a peak viewership of around two million, Stewart anchored the hit cable show for 16 years. It became a must-watch for political and media commentary.
Viewership plunged by about half when Stewart left the show in 2015. He was replaced by Trevor Noah.
Noah left in 2022, and since then, “The Daily Show” has used a rotation of guest hosts like Leslie Jones and Kal Penn.
Stewart returns after his short-lived Apple TV+ series “The Problem” failed to gain traction and was cancelled.
LATE NIGHT’S SLUMP
The late-night landscape has changed a lot since Stewart’s time on the show. It costs a lot of money to make late-night shows. Traditional late-night now competes with streaming services and social media, and many people want to watch shorter, viral clips online instead of tuning in in real time.
In 2023, ad revenue was down more than 60% from its peak in 2016 across the top six late-night shows, an Axios analysis found.
When "The Late Late Show with James Corden" ended last year, CBS chose to retire the program altogether.
⏳ SPEED READ
🚨NATION
📌 FAA to allow grounded Boeing 737 MAX 9 jets to fly (REUTERS)
📌 Boeing mis-installed plane piece that fell out of Alaska jet (SEATTLE TIMES)
📌 United Auto Workers union endorses Biden for president (NBC NEWS)
📌 Ohio lawmakers vote to override governor’s veto of ban on gender-affirming care for minors (CNN)
📌 Arizona GOP Chairman Jeff DeWit resigns after leaked tape showed him floating a job for Kari Lake to skip Senate race (CBS NEWS)
🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
📌 US hits Iraq militia sites and anti-ship missiles in Yemen as fight with Iranian proxies intensifies (AP)
📌 Hungary backs Sweden’s NATO bid, potentially removing last hurdle to accession (CNN)
📌 More than 70 are dead after an informal gold mine collapsed in Mali, an official says (ABC NEWS)
📌 Israel denies attack on UN refuge in Gaza that drew rebuke from Washington (REUTERS)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
📌 Chipotle wants to hire 19,000 workers for busy spring season, will offer new financial perks (CNBC)
📌 Ford will recall nearly 1.9 million Explorer SUVs to secure trim pieces that can fly off in traffic (AP)
📌 A blood test for Alzheimer’s is almost here (TIME)
📌 EBay to eliminate about 1,000 jobs, or 9% of full-time workforce (CNBC)
📌 New colonies of emperor penguins revealed by bird poop visible from space (NBC NEWS)
🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
📌 Netflix emulates old-school cable TV playbook with addition of live sports (REUTERS)
📌 Draymond suspensions cost him Team USA Olympic spot (NBC SPORTS)
📌 Sofia Vergara says she and Joe Manganiello split over the decision to have kids (CNN)
📌 Taylor Swift's alleged stalker accused of visiting her NYC home 30 times (FOX NEWS)
📌 Jim Harbaugh leaving Michigan to accept San Diego Chargers head-coaching job (YAHOO SPORTS)
🗓 ON THIS DAY: JANUARY 24
1905: The largest diamond ever found, coming in at 3,106-carats and weighing 1.33 pounds, in a mine in Pretoria, South Africa. The “Cullinan” diamond was gifted to the King of England and eventually divided into multiple smaller diamonds, several of which can be seen today in the Tower of London.
1924: The first Winter Olympics were held at Chamonix in the French Alps. It featured just six sports and was coined the “International Winter Sports Week.”
1961: President John F. Kennedy holds first ever live TV news conference.
1964: Beatles score first of 25 No. 1 hits in the US with “I Want To Hold Your Hand.”