📅 Welcome to Wed-news-day

🇳🇬 Nigeria Prison Attack

Gunmen using explosives and rockets broke into a prison in southwestern Nigeria on Monday, freeing more than 1,800 inmates from custody.

• Local officials said the gunmen also raided the state police’s main office, looting its armory and torching dozens of vehicles.

More: Nigerian police blamed the attack on an outlawed separatist group, though a spokesman for the group denied its involvement.

💉 Biden Accelerates Vaccine Eligibility

President Biden on Tuesday directed states to make COVID-19 vaccines eligible to all adults by April 19, nearly two weeks earlier than originally proposed.

• Every state except Hawaii has said it would meet the White House’s deadline, which is voluntary (Nearly 40 states will have opened up vaccine eligibility to anyone 16+ by the end of this week – check out yours).

🏛️ Arkansas Passes Transgender Law

Arkansas became the first state to enact legislation banning gender conforming treatments and reassignment surgery for transgender youth, despite a veto from Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R).

• The state’s Republican-controlled House and Senate voted 72-25 and 25-8, respectively, to override Gov. Hutchinson’s veto of the measure, which he called a form of government overreach.

More: The ACLU has said it will sue to block the legislation.

🧠 In the Know...

🇰🇵 North Korea is skipping this year’s Olympics due to virus concerns, becoming the first country to do so.

🇺🇸 The State Department denied earlier reports saying the U.S. is considering a boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

☝️ 1 Last Thing

📢 California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced plans to lift most COVID-19 restrictions in the state by June 15. (From the Left | From the Right)

💰📈 Forbes Billionaires 2021

Forbes published its 35th annual list of the world’s wealthiest people, which covers a record 2,755 billionaires – 660 more than a year ago.

• Jeff Bezos topped the list for the fourth year running, recording a net worth of $177B.
• Elon Musk jumped from 31st last year to second this year with a net worth of $151B.

The U.S. had the most billionaires with 724, followed by China with 698 (including Hong Kong & Macau).

More: This year’s billionaires are worth a combined $13T – up from $8T last year.

👑 Master of Coin

The NBA’s Sacramento Kings will become the first major sports franchise to offer all players and staff the option to receive their salary in bitcoin, team chairman Vivek Ranadivé said Monday on Clubhouse.

• The team originally began accepting bitcoin in 2014 for a range of products including tickets, food, beer, and merchandise – both online and in-person.

Yes, but: It’s effectively no different than an athlete getting paid in dollars, then using those dollars to buy bitcoin (as was noted by Mavericks owner and crypto enthusiast Mark Cuban).

More: The combined value of the cryptocurrency market surpassed $2T for the first time on Monday. Bitcoin is the biggest digital currency, accounting for more than 50% of market capitalization.

🚙📖 Silver(ado) Linings Playbook

GM on Tuesday confirmed plans to produce an all-electric Chevy Silverado pickup truck in addition to the company’s new all-electric Hummer SUV.

• The automaker will build the Silverado EV at Factory ZERO – an assembly plant in Detroit, MI, that's being reconfigured to solely produce electric vehicles. (The factory’s name is a nod to the zero-emission vehicles that will be produced there.)

More: The Silverado EV is expected to go on sale as early as 2023 alongside the Hummer EV. Both will be featured as 2024 models.

🧠 In the Know...

🏦 Credit Suisse took a $4.7B hit following Archegos Capital’s meltdown. Dig deeper.

👟 Nike won its court battle against the Brooklyn company behind Lil Nas X’s “Satan Shoes.” (Though the company has already sold all but the 666th pair, with no plans to make more in the future).

☝️ 1 Last Thing

🍿 The first trailer for Space Jam: A New Legacy starring Lebron James dropped over the weekend.

👒👗Dressed to the Nines

La Verne Ford Wimberly has been attending the Metropolitan Baptist Church for over twenty years. The 82-year-old sits in the same pew week after week, and is always dressed in her Sunday best.

When services moved virtually last year, she knew she couldn’t log on “looking slouchy in [her] robe.”

• La Verne woke up early, got dressed as usual, and logged on from her living room to join the rest of the congregation.

Images: Washington Post

La Verne’s outfit was a hit – and she decided to continue to dress up for virtual services, to the great pleasure of fellow churchgoers.

“I wanted not only to keep myself motivated, but I wanted to help keep others motivated as well, to inspire them, encourage them, and kind of eradicate some types and forms of depression, isolation, fear and despair.”​

Fifty-four colorful outfits later, La Verne has officially made it a whole year of dressing up for church in her living room.

• She hopes to be back in the sanctuary soon and “will probably be the first one in the door.”