On Monday, a devastating earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, leaving thousands dead and injured. Local activists in Aleppo reported a particularly tragic scene, in which a pregnant mother died before rescue workers could reach her. The World Health Organization warned that the death toll could rise "eightfold" as rescue efforts continue, and the current death toll stands at 2,600.
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A lucky ticket holder in Washington state has won the fifth-largest Powerball jackpot in history, worth $754.6 million. More than 2 million tickets won cash prizes in the Saturday drawing, with four tickets matching five of the numbers and winning $1 million each. The winner of the jackpot has yet to be identified, but they will have the option to take the lump sum or an annuity of 30 payments over 29 years.
Rescue teams in Turkey and Syria have been working tirelessly to pull survivors from the rubble following a powerful earthquake on Friday, including Ghanaian national soccer star Christian Atsu, who was successfully rescued and is receiving treatment. CNN Turk broadcast the rescue live, with a 14-year-old boy with a black eye also being carried on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance. The rescue of Atsu offers a glimmer of hope that others will survive the freezing conditions, and the Ghana Football Association has asked people to keep praying for those still missing.
Renowned author Salman Rushdie has made a triumphant return to the literary world, six months after surviving a brutal stabbing attack. Despite sustaining physical and mental injuries, Rushdie has refused to adopt the role of a victim and is promoting his new book, Victory City. His return is a testament to his resilience and determination, as he has vowed to eschew feelings of bitterness and continue writing.
At a briefing on Monday, Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck revealed that Chinese balloon threats have gone undetected by the United States in the past, highlighting an “awareness gap” that needs to be resolved. The discovery of the balloon has raised questions about the security of the U.S. and Gen. VanHerck said that the U.S. needs to figure out how to better detect these threats in the future. The Biden administration has not yet commented on the issue.
Authorities in Ohio have successfully released toxic chemicals from a train that derailed on Friday night, after Governor Mike DeWine ordered evacuations in the area. Flames and black smoke billowed from the derailment site late in the afternoon, and the exact amount of vinyl chloride released into the air is still unknown. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is monitoring air quality in the area and no injuries have been reported.
At Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Saturday, a potentially catastrophic collision between a FedEx cargo jet and a Southwest Airlines jet was narrowly avoided. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the FedEx aircraft had been cleared to land on the same runway as the Southwest flight, but the FedEx flight "discontinued the landing and initiated a climb out" and the two aircraft passed each other with an estimated separation of 1,000 feet. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is now investigating the incident, which serves as a reminder of the importance of air traffic controllers in ensuring safety. The FAA is committed to ensuring the safety of the traveling public and is working with the NTSB to determine the facts of this incident.
Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has announced the launch of a new chatbot tool called “Bard”. It is built on a large language model and combines the breadth of the world’s knowledge with the power, intelligence and creativity of AI. Alphabet is sharing Bard with “trusted testers” ahead of making it more widely available to the public in the coming weeks, as they seek to capitalize on the growing popularity of chatbot tools.