Serena Williams Retires

It’s Wednesday, August 10. Welcome to the News Diet. Today I’m gonna talk about the retirement of Serena Williams, the explosions in Crimea, the US approval for Finland and Sweden to join NATO, as well as the suspect in the Albuquerque killings. Let’s be informed so we can get on with our day.

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Yesterday, Serena Williams announced that she plans to retire. Serena is Vogue’s cover model for the magazine’s coveted September issue, and the article is a piece written by her, revealing her sadness around the decision. She’s currently 40 years old, and suffered a severe hamstring injury last year that took her out for almost a year. She expressed her desire to continue playing, but ultimately decided that expanding her family would take priority, and that she didn’t want to be a pregnant athlete again like she was with her first daughter in 2017. She even expressed resentment towards male athletes, for not having to experience the physical toll of carrying, delivering, and recovering from having a child while trying to be a world class performer. 

Serena Williams is known around the world as one of the greatest female athletes in the history of tennis. She’s been playing for decades, having won her first US Open in 1999 at the age of 17. Since then she’s won 73 singles titles, 23 in doubles, two in mixed doubles, and four Olympic gold medals. Overall, she’s earned nearly $100 million in prize money over her career. She’s also made waves in fashion and entertainment, as well as started a venture capital firm called Serena Ventures which invests in early stage companies.

Serena is currently playing at the Canadian Open, and is scheduled to play the Western & Southern Open next week, and then is hoping to play the US Open as her final tournament later this month.

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Yesterday an explosion on the Crimea peninsula killed one person and injured eight others. The peninsula has played a key role in the Russia/Ukraine conflict, as Russia claimed control over the region back in 2014, and has been using it as a base during the current invasion. Already, both the Ukrainians and the Russians deny the explosions were an attack, but rather Moscow claims the cause was was stored ammunition that was detonated from fire safety violations.

So far, all fighting has taken place in Ukrainian territory, and even an aid to Ukrainian President Zelensky adamantly denied their involvement, likely knowing what such a move could instigate a severe response from Russia. The base is more than 100 miles from the frontlines of the fighting, so this area has had little action from the conflict. In fact, Russian tourists vacationing on the beaches were seen leaving after the explosions left dark smoke in the air.

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President Biden has formally endorsed Finland and Sweden’s membership into NATO. Last week I talked about how the two Nordic countries applied for membership in May, in hopes of securing military support in case Russian President Putin decides to target them, as he has threatened to do. The two countries are usually known for taking neutral stances in times of military conflict; but with Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, who is not a part of the NATO, Finland and Sweden have changed course and are hoping to expedite their joining of the defense alliance. 

Last week, the Senate approved of their membership in an almost unanimous vote, with only one Senator voting no. With the US’s backing, now 23 out of 30 members needed have given the thumbs up. All 30 will have to say yes in order for their membership to be made official. It’s only been about three months since their application, which makes this one of the fastest application processes in NATO history. Most consider the swift timing important, as Putin has warned of retaliation towards those attempting to join the alliance. But should Finland and Sweden officially join, then it would make any kind of conflict much harder considering NATO members consider an attack against one as an attack against all.

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In Albuquerque, New Mexico, the police and FBI have arrested a suspect connected to four homicides, who they believe are connected. All the victims in these cases are Muslim, which has sparked narratives of a potential hate crime spree, but authorities are still investigating the motive behind the attacks. And also, even though he’s only still a suspect, it’s speculated that the man in custody might be a muslim himself. 

Three of the victims were all killed within days of each other, and they all attended the same mosque. But the fourth was from back in November of 2021. Police say they became aware of the suspect from tips from within the Muslim community, and when they went to search his home, he was actually pulling out in his car. They detained him and continued with the search, where they found evidence linking him to the killings. The police are continuing to investigate and are still calling for more tips from the public. 

Albuquerque actually has a low record of hate crimes in the area, according to FBI data. From 2017 to 2020, there was only one anti-Muslim hate crime recorded a year.

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It’s Wednesday, August 10. And you’ve just been informed. Now it’s time to get on with your day. I’m Michele Carroll. Thanks so much for listening.

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If you enjoyed the episode and want to continue following a healthier alternative for staying informed, where we forgo partisan fighting and fear-driven narratives, then please be sure to hit that subscribe button - as of course you’ll get more of this show in your feed and also you’ll be helping this new channel grow and reject sensational media. Thank you so much for your support, and I can’t wait to see you in the next episode.

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https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-nato-biden-finland-6a04422190bdd7e75440f7e176a88109

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https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-religion-pakistan-new-mexico-albuquerque-86dc44b0546834282ac9b171b37b32f7

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/islamic-communities-fearful-after-4-killings-in-albuquerque/2022/08/09/d5cf5e98-1799-11ed-b998-b2ab68f58468_story.html

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-muslim-killings-arrest-new-mexico/40850530

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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/09/russian-airbase-on-western-coast-of-crimea-damaged-in-explosions

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/one-killed-blasts-rock-russian-air-base-annexed-crimea-2022-08-09/

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https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/08/09/sports/serena-williams-retirement

https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/34373677/serena-williams-says-planning-evolve-away-tennis 

https://www.vogue.com/article/serena-williams-retirement-in-her-own-words