Boeing 737 Crashes in Iran

A Ukranian Boeing 737 plane carrying 176 passengers and crew members crashed shortly after takeoff from Iran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran early Wednesday morning, killing everyone on board. Iranian state television cited technical problems as the reason for the crash, though the circumstances are not yet fully known.

Venezuela’s Guaidó Reinstalled

Venezuelan lawmakers stormed the National Assembly on Tuesday, forcing their way past security forces loyal to contested president Nicolás Maduro, who had previously attempted to seize control of the parliament on Sunday. Once inside, opposition leader Juan Guaidó was sworn in for a second term as Venezuela’s interim president.

Earthquakes in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico Governor Wanda Vazquez declared a state of emergency yesterday after a series of earthquakes killed at least one person and caused power outages in most of the country. The largest quake registered at magnitude 6.4, the most powerful to hit Puerto Rico in over a century.

Utopia Unveiled

In conjunction with the CES technology conference in Las Vegas, Toyota announced plans to build a “prototype city of the future” on a 175-acre plot of land at the base of Japan’s Mt. Fuji. The project, known as “Woven City,” is expected to break ground in 2021, and will house around 2,000 employees, retailers, and visiting scientists on its grounds.

Speaker Subterfuge

On Tuesday, Santa Barbara-based electronics company Sonos announced a lawsuit against Google for patent infringement. The lawsuit centers around Sonos’ patented technology that allows smart speakers to wirelessly play music in different rooms, which the company alleges Google’s Chromecast Audio and several other products infringes upon.

Model $

Tesla shares rose 3.88 percent Tuesday, the latest in a six-month period that has seen the Silicon Valley automaker’s market capitalization roughly double to $84.5 billion, just $2 billion shy of Ford and General Motors combined. CEO Elon Musk presided over the launch of the Model Y in China yesterday, as GM separately reported its biggest-ever year-to-year sales drop in China, roughly a 15 percent decrease from 2018.

Foster the People

Jessica Benzakein was only 12 years old when she was placed into foster care after her mother surrendered her parental rights. Hoping to spare others from the kind of instability and loneliness that no child should suffer, Jessica decided to become a foster mom and give other children the life that she missed out on. Jessica began fostering with an emphasis on keeping siblings together - since she and her own brother were separated at a young age - and wanted to help ensure that wouldn’t happen to anyone else.

On Friday, Jessica’s family of 3 (which includes her biological son and daughter) became a family of 9, when her adoption of six boys was declared official in court. Jessica has been fostering her six new sons (who are all related biologically) for several years, saying that they’ve truly given her a sense of purpose. Jessica is able to provide the comfort of a loving family and a supportive home life not just to others in need, but also to herself.

Urine Trouble

Everyday heroism can save lives, especially when the potential victims are fortunate enough to be in the company of quick-thinking first responders. On a recent flight from China to New York, an elderly man experienced a painful medical emergency causing his bladder to become dangerously full, and putting his life in mortal danger. The plane was still six hours away from landing, so two on-board surgeons stepped in to help the man.

Zhang Hong and Xiao Zhanxiang worked together to create an emergency medical device from straws, a needle syringe, and oxygen masks, using the device to simulate a catheter and expel the urine from the man’s body after he’d gone into shock. If it weren’t for the two surgeons’ brilliant MacGyver-esque ability to improvise, it’s possible the man may not have survived the flight. The two doctors and flight crew are proof that amazing things can be accomplished with ingenuity, teamwork, and selflessness.