Drone attacks rock Kyiv, a look at NFL Week 6: 5 Things podcast
On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: Drone attacks rock Kyiv
Ukraine's capital is again under fire. Plus, national correspondent Elizabeth Weise looks at growing ship collisions with whales, NFL Week 6 is almost in the books, travel reporter Zach Wichter says premium economy is airlines' answer to shifting passenger expectations and there's a tax deadline today if you filed an extension.
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Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Monday, the 17th of October, 2022. Today, more attacks on Kyiv, plus how to help avoid whale and ship collisions, and more.
Here are some of the top headlines:
Chinese leader Xi Jinping will be presented with a third term today by the country's ruling Communist party. He's already said to remain in power for the rest of his life after China abolished the two term limit on the presidency.
The death toll has risen to at least eight after a fire at an Iranian prison. Details of the fire remain scarce, but it broke out on Saturday as protests continue across Iran triggered by the death of a young woman in police custody.
And the New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Guardians 4-2 last night to force a decisive Game 5 back in New York tonight. The winner takes on the Houston Astros in the ALCS.
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Waves of explosive-strapped drones hit Kyiv earlier today as residents of Ukraine's capital prepared to start their week. Blasts echoed across the city and some drones set buildings on fire. It's not clear just how many drones hit Kyiv, though some appear to include Iranian-made Shaheds. Previous Russian airstrikes on Kyiv were mostly with missiles. A Ukrainian Air Force spokesman said 13 drones were shot down in the Kyiv region, though many got through. And 18 people had to be rescued from one destroyed apartment building. Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, said on social media, "The whole night and the whole morning this enemy terrorizes the civilian population. Kamikazi drones and missiles are attacking all of Ukraine."
Drones present challenges to Ukrainian air defenses. Some Western countries promised in recent weeks to strengthen Ukraine's air defenses with systems that can shoot down drones, but much of that weaponry has not yet arrived. Strikes on Kyiv had also been rare in recent months after Russia failed to overtake the city in the war's early days. Strikes last week were the first heard in the capital city center in months. Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said they were in retaliation for the bombing of a bridge connecting Crimea with the Russian mainland.
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Whales, every year, are hit by ships, especially off the US West Coast. So far 2018, 2019, and 2021 have been the worst years on record for whale-ship collisions, but a group of scientists is working to give the mammals a fighting chance. Producer PJ Elliott spoke with National Correspondent Elizabeth Weise to find out more.
Elizabeth Weise:
So it's not something that I think a lot of us have ever really contemplated, but it turns out probably about 80 whales a year get killed up and down the West Coast when they are run over by really big ships. I mean we're talking container ships, tanker ships, not just a sailboat. And that's just on the West Coast. More die on the East Coast. And given that whale populations are relatively small because they're still rebuilding after whaling ended, 80 whales is a lot for some of these species.
PJ Elliott:
So I would've assumed that these ships would had some sort of sonar to help them avoid whales and anything else for that matter. But on the other hand, why don't whales know that they should probably get out of the way?
Elizabeth Weise:
Yeah. So that was a question that I asked the marine biologist. I was actually out on a boat out near the Farallon Islands just off of the San Francisco Bay with a bunch of marine biologists and I'm like, "Hey, why aren't they getting out of the way?" And one of them said, "Listen, whales have been swimming around for 50 million years and they've never had to worry about anything bigger than them running over them because there's never been anything bigger than them out there. It's only been in the last 40 to 50 years." So that's one reason. Another reason is that, especially in the Pacific, the water, the whales can see in the water, but the water, it's got a high turbidity, you can't see very far in it. So they can't see the ships coming at them.
In terms of hearing them, the ships are so big and they're making such a racket that it's hard for the whales to know exactly where the ships are. And then the other thing is, and this was kind of sad, one of the biologists said basically the whales don't have time to learn because if they get hit by a ship, they die. So there's no coming back and telling everybody else, "Hey guys, watch out." It's just you get hit by the ship, you're dead. And that doesn't make for a lot of learning.
Taylor Wilson:
You can read Elizabeth's full story with a link in today's show description.
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Week 6 in the NFL is almost in the books, and things are not really where many expected they'd be at this point. The Philadelphia Eagles are 6-0, the New York Giants are 5-1, and a lot of teams are 3-3. USA TODAY Sport's Mackenzie Salmon has some overreactions.
Mackenzie Salmon:
Time to overreact to Week 6. Let's start in the NFC, in Philly, where the Eagles remained as the only undefeated team in the league and left no doubt who the best team was in the conference. Jalen Hurts gets maybe the biggest win of his career and has Philly in the driver's seat for the NFC East and more. The Eagles truly feel like the only complete team in the NFC. And as for Dallas, they finally looked like a team playing with a backup quarterback. Dak is close to returning, we need him back now.
We said it last week and this week was no different, the NFC juggernauts of the past are no more. The Packers and Bucks are no longer elite. It's debatable if they're even good, but for Green Bay, it's close to panic time. Losing by 17 to the upstart Jets at home is utterly shocking. But the signs of demise has kind of always been there. The Packers' defense isn't nearly as good as we thought it was and Aaron Rogers has zero threats on the outside. There ain't nothing to fear from this team. And same can be said for the Bucks. Brady honestly looks insanely old behind this makeshift offensive line. This defense is no longer making the stops to win the game. Both have time to right the ship though. Both will still be in the playoff conversation, but both are not what they were last year. Maybe Aaron and Tom are second guessing coming back.
So who is elite in the NFC? The New York Football Giants have a claim. Yeah, you heard that right. The Giants are 5-1 after yet another comeback win against a playoff team from last year. This is no longer a gimmick. The Giants are for real. The question now becomes, is Danny Jones growing into a franchise quarterback, a development that could shape the Brian Daboll era in New York. Another team that can make a claim for elite status: the Minnesota Vikings. Yeah, they keep beating bad teams in close games, but 5-1 is 5-1. And after years of "Minne" losing the games they're supposed to win, they're finally coming through.
While not elite, apologies are in order for Seattle and Atlanta. Many thought these teams would be battling for the number one pick, both proved this week they're going to be in the playoff conversation down the stretch.
Taylor Wilson:
For more from week six and the entire NFL season, head to USA TODAY Sports.
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Is Premium Economy the new Business Class? Is Business Class the new First Class? PJ Elliott spoke with travel reporter Zach Wichter to find out more about what airlines are doing about shifting passenger expectations when it comes to luxury.
Zach Wichter:
In Economy, things are pretty much as they have been. The market pressures in Economy are towards getting more people on the plane, packing seats in tighter without reducing comfort too much. In the rest of the plane, the pressure is towards more luxury. And so over the decades what we've seen is that Business Class has gotten more luxurious.
When airlines first introduced Business Class, it may have just been a dedicated section of the Economy cabin. It sort of evolved into bigger seats, and then eventually the expectation on long-haul flights for Business Class was that those travelers would have a fully flatnbed. Once that happened, Business Class for some airlines pushed First Class out because there wasn't enough of a distinction between a bed in Business Class and a bed in First Class. And once that happened, there was this wide gap between what was available in Economy and what was available in Business Class. And so airlines started developing this mid-tier product, which has become kind of known as Premium Economy, which in some ways is similar to the original Business Class on long-haul flights. Premium Economy, in long haul, generally these days means a bigger seat that's sort of like a recliner, so you get a little more leg room, maybe some extra amenities, but it's still a seat. You're not getting a bed, you're not going to be able to lie flat as you travel across the ocean if you're flying Premium Economy.
PJ Elliott:
So Zach, is there a world where Economy is eliminated from these flights and it's just a plane full of First Class, Business, and Premium Economy?
Zach Wichter:
I don't think so. I think the market pressures that lead to Economy versus Premium Economy or Business Class are just totally different. With everything forward of Economy on an airplane, the pressure is towards more luxury, it's towards... People are willing to spend X amount of dollars extra to get X amount of extra luxury. In Economy, the market pressures are just different. That is, we're trying to squeeze as many people on the plane as possible to drive the ticket prices down because people want to travel. So the questions about what's driving spending habits in Economy versus what drives spending habits in the other cabins forward of Economy are just different. So Economy is never going away just because these evolutions are happening on separate but parallel tracks.
Taylor Wilson:
Nearly 19 million taxpayers requested a six month extension for filing taxes this year, so that means plenty of people are looking at a deadline for today to file their federal income tax returns. Those filing will want to make sure to have all the right paperwork in hand, especially for any payments they received in 2021 for the advanced trial tax credit. Those advanced payments are not taxable, but they're an important part of calculating your tax refund when filing a 2021 return. You'll also want to know the exact amount you received for stimulus payments in 2021. For more, head to the Money section on USATODAY.com.
And you can find 5 Things every morning right here, wherever you're listening right now. Thanks to PJ Elliott for his great work on the show and I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kyiv rocked by drone attacks, NFL Week 6 recap
