The WTA Hits Pause in China

Image: USATSI

💰 Why it’s a big deal: This is an unprecedented move from a sports organization and means the WTA could potentially lose hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. It also puts China in a tough spot – continue its “normal” way of doing things when a prominent individual says something they don’t like (another recent example: Jack Ma), or bow to the WTA’s demands for an investigation.

⏪ Let’s back up: Peng accused a former top government official of coercing her into sex in a social media post early last month. Following the allegation, the Chinese government removed almost all references of her on social media within the country, and she disappeared from public life.

• Her absence led to calls from other tennis stars and the World Tennis Association to prove her safety.

🤔 Connecting the dots… Ms. Peng re-emerged last weekend at a youth tennis tournament, and then appeared in a video call with the International Olympic Committee later the same day. The IOC maintains that she’s fine, but hasn’t mentioned details about the conversation or said anything about the allegation. (Important to note: The Winter Olympics are being held in Beijing this February, and the official Peng accused of sexual assault played a key role in securing the event for the country.)

As we covered two Mondays ago, the WTA was still skeptical of her safety. It had previously threatened to pull all of its tournaments out of the country unless she was proven safe and a "credible" investigation into the allegation occurred… and we know how that’s played out so far.

🇨🇳 Zoom out: As the CCP continues to flex its grip over China, sports organizations and politics are increasingly clashing. A prime example – global rights groups and others have called for a boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing over China's human rights record.

🎁 The first known U.S. case of the Omicron variant was detected in California yesterday, per the CDC. The patient is a San Francisco resident who recently returned from South Africa.

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A candlelight vigil at Lakepoint Community Church in Oxford, MI, Tuesday night; Image: Nick Hagen/NYT

Hours later, prosecutors charged the suspect – a 15-year-old sophomore male – with first-degree murder and terrorism and said he’d be charged as an adult.

“Active shooter” is defined as when the shooter embarks on a “continuous episode of violence”

☝️ Zoom out: There have been 222 shooting incidents at U.S. K-12 schools this year, according to data from the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security. That’s the most in any year since they began collecting data in 1970.

• Since the start of September, there've been 107 on-campus gun incidents, including 35 attributed to escalations of disputes.

💬 What they’re saying: “As kids have returned to school, a lot of the violence is representative of increases in gun violence we’re seeing across the country,” said David Riedman, principal investigator for the K-12 School Shooting Database.

• A recent study in the peer-reviewed journal Nature found gun violence across the U.S. rose by 30% during the first 12 months of the pandemic compared to the year before.

Whatever Floats Your… City?

Image: Oceanix

• The first prototype city will cover nearly 200 acres and boast an initial population of 10,000 people, along with a total cost of $200 million.

🌊 How it works: The plan is to construct the city atop a series of hexagonal modules that are stable enough to resist a Category 5 hurricane.

• Oceanix ultimately aims to make their cities self-sufficient through a combination of freshwater systems, aquaponic agriculture, rooftop solar panels, and reefs underneath the platforms where residents can grow shellfish and kelp.

👁️ Looking ahead… The company says it's negotiating with at least 10 governments to build more floating cities. The first hexagonal modules are expected to be in the water near Busan by 2025.

Images: GoodNewsNetwork

Imagine this…

You’re a referee at a local league hockey game in Edmonton Canada, and the puck is about to drop.

• Just before the game starts, one of the players approaches you on the ice and points out their substitute goalie.

“By the way…” he says, “Our goalie tonight is completely blind.”

🏒 “He’s got Spidey Senses”… Nelson Rego became the first blind goaltender in the region last month after subbing in for an injured friend.

• Nelson used his sense of hearing to pick up on the puck’s location, making several saves in goal and earning the respect and admiration of his teammates.

What's the smallest U.S. state by area?

A) Delaware
B) Rhode Island
C) New Jersey
D) Hawaii

(keep scrolling for the answer)

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B) Rhode Island

The top four smallest states are Rhode Island (1,034 sq. mi), Delaware (1,955), Connecticut (4,845), and Hawaii (6,423).