A second Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, New York will vote on whether to form a union, reported CNBC. The outcome of the vote, scheduled to begin on April 25th and last until May 2nd, will decide whether employees at the LDJ5 facility join the Amazon Labor Union, an independent, worker-led movement formed last year in Staten Island. Roughly a mile away, another Staten Island Amazon warehouse (known as JFK8) is set to hold its own union election next week.

Both elections are the latest development in a battle with Amazon on one side, unions and Amazon warehouse workers on the other side, and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) serving as the referee. NLRB ordered a re-run of a union election held at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama after determining that the tech giant illegally interfered in the vote. Votes for that election are scheduled to be counted on March 28th. 

Earlier this week, NLRB sued Amazon over the termination of Gerald Bryson, an employee of the JFK8 facility, who the agency believes was fired in retaliation for his activism. According to a tweet by ALU, Bryson’s employment at Amazon appears to have been reinstated after a federal judge complied with NLRB’s request to issue an injunction.

Staten Island workers have accused Amazon of union-busting and actively targeting workers involved in the union. Last month the NYPD arrested three labor organizers at the JFK8 facility — including ALU president Chris Smalls — after an Amazon manager complained that they were trespassing, reported The Daily Beast.

The first branch of Google’s Equiano underwater internet cable — which will eventually run from Cape Town, South Africa to Lisbon, Portugal — has landed in Lomé, Togo, the company announced Friday. The massive fiber optic cable will be Google’s first to run from Africa to Europe, and is expected to bring internet connectivity to millions of people across both continents. This will be especially impactful in Togo, where according to DataReportal an estimated 74 percent of people don’t have access to the internet. The cable is expected to deliver 20 times more internet capacity to the region.

Google began investing heavily in subsea cable internet nearly a decade ago, with its first co-owned cable project Unity (which stretches from Chikura, Japan to Redondo Beach, California) going into service in 2010. The company has invested in—either solely or as a part of a consortium — a total of 19 undersea cables. Its most recently completed project, Dunant, went into service in January 2021 and runs from Virginia Beach to the French Coast.

Alphabet far from the only tech giant to invest heavily in undersea cables, which have become more ubiquitous with the growth of the mobile internet. Google along with Meta, Microsoft and Amazon now dominate the world’s critical cable infrastructure, as the Wall Street Journalnotes. Last month, Meta announced plans to build at least two transatlantic undersea cables by 2027.

Undersea cables have one notable downside: The cables can tear and break, either due to natural disasters or human activity like fishing. Cable breaks are particularly common along the coasts of Africa, and can leave entire regions without connectivity for days. Last year a massive mudslide in South Africa caused two undersea cables to break, which led to service disruptions and slowdowns across the entire continent. But in the event of a break, a nearby undersea cable can be used as a backup.

Once in service, Equiano will provide additional insurance to a region that badly needs it. After Togo, Equiano’s next stop will be in Nigeria and Namibia, before heading to its final landing in Cape Town, South Africa. It is expected to be fully in service later this year.

Paypal will now allow peer-to-peer payments to and from Ukraine. The company announced today that it was significantly expanding its services in Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s invasion. Prior to this, Ukrainian Paypal customers could only use the payment platform to send money outside of the country. Earlier this month, the company announced it was exiting Russia, citing the country’s “violent aggression” against Ukraine.

Paypal users in Ukraine will now be able to send money to and receive money from outside the country, as well as domestically. It’s a move that likely will make life easier for Ukrainians receiving financial support from family and loved ones who live abroad. Ukrainians will also be able to send funds directly to their bank account by linking their Visa or Mastercard debit or credit card.

Perhaps most significantly, Paypal is waiving its own fees (until June 30th) for both sending and receiving funds in Ukraine. The payment platform traditionally charges a fee for international transactions that starts at 5%, and increases depending on your payment method and the region where your recipient resides. 

A new payment option is likely to have a significant impact in Ukraine, where only a few options exist to send or receive money abroad. Sending money to individuals in Ukraine (or virtually anywhere abroad) can be costly. Every payment platform that serves a global customer base in Ukraine (including WesterUnion, MoneyGram, Remitly) charges an international transaction fee or commission, and exchange rates can often be unfavorable. Hopefully, this temporary grace period from Paypal will make a significant impact for those seeking to send money to loved ones in Ukraine. 

The British defense secretary has ordered an inquiry into a video call he received on Thursday from an imposter pretending to be Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine’s prime minister. In a series of tweets, the Right Honorable Ben Wallace disclosed that the man asked “several misleading questions” and he eventually ended the call after becoming suspicious. The official described the hoax as a “desperate attempt”, and pinned the blame on Russia. 

“No amount of Russian disinformation, distortion and dirty tricks can distract from Russia’s human rights abuses and illegal invasion of Ukriane. A desperate attempt,” wrote the Conservative politician in the tweet. Wallace did not reveal any evidence backing his claim that Russia was responsible for the fake call, nor name any individuals involved.

Deborah Haynes of Sky News noted that the perpetrators went to “great lengths” to stage the video call, including placing a Ukrainian flag behind the so-called “Ukrainian prime minister” and using fake details from the Ukraine embassy. At one point, the culprit asked Wallace if he received “the substance” they sent. A few more minutes of similarly absurd questioning finally raised enough alarm bells for Wallace to abort the call.

A pair of Russian comedians known as Lexus and Vovan are infamous for regularly pranking world leaders. As Irish Times notes, the pair once called former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, posing as the president of Kyrgyzstan. The same pair also pretended — in a call to the actual Poroshenko— to be Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They also duped British Prime Minister Boris Johnson into taking an 18-minute video call with an actor who was impersonating the prime minister of Armenia. During the call, Johnson talked about the UK’s plans for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal. While the Kremlin denies employing the pair, Russian state media often congratulates their actions.

While a security snafu at this level is no doubt embarrassing to the British defense ministry, disclosing that such a call happened is also important to national security. As Haynes notes, raising awareness of the call could thwart any attempts to doctor the footage and release it in order to mislead the public.

Fans of Resident Evil and the zombie apocalypse genre writ large can look forward to Netflix’s live-action reboot this summer. The streamer announced that the series — which takes place 14 years after a virus causes the apocalypse — will premiere on July 14th. The new show is not to be confused with Resident Evil:Infinite Darkness, an anime adaptation of the survival horror video game that debuted on the platform last summer. 

The live-action series will star Lance Reddick (The Wire, Lost) as Albert Wesker, who fans will remember as the police captain who turns out to be a villain set to destroy humanity. Oh, and he’s a family man! Ella Balinska (Charlie’s Angels) has also been cast in the series, as well as Tamara Smart (The Worst Witch, Artemis Fowl). Also starring in the show is Siena Agudong (No Good Nick), Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Riverdale) and Paola Nuñez (Bad Boys for Life).

We still don’t know many details about the plot, but here’s what Deadline has gathered so far. The show takes place in 2036, nearly 14 years after a virus has turned most of the world into blood-sucking zombies. Jade Wesker, the show’s protagonist, has yet to find out her dad is an evil genius who works for the Umbrella Corporation, the Big Pharma company from the video game that develops bioweapons for militaries around the world. 

The show is set in New Racoon City, the new city built over Raccoon City, which was nuked due to a T-virus outbreak. T-virus (also known as Tyrant Virus) is the highly infectious virus that turns humans into blood-thirsty zombies and is featured in promo stills for the live-action series. The show follows the Wesker daughter as she pieces together the awful truth behind what her father actually does for a living. We’ll likely find out even more about what’s in store for New Racoon City once Netflix releases a teaser trailer.

Twitter said it has "labeled or removed" more than 50,000 pieces of content that broke its policy on manipulated media in the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the company shared in a blog post today. Additionally, the platform removed roughly 75,000 accounts for “inauthentic behavior” and spam. Though this number encompassed users not specifically engaged in war propaganda, it included accounts associated with #IStandWithPutin, a hashtag that went viral last month thanks to a coordinated campaign of fake accounts. 

Unlike previous times where a single government or a state information campaign was to blame, Twitter found a wide range of actors were responsible for manipulating the platform, such as those recirculating old conflict footage as if it were new, as well as the many Ukraine-related fundraising scams that have cropped up in the wake of the invasion.

Last month Twitter also promised to not amplify any tweets from users that included links to state-affiliated media (a step-up from its old policy, which was not to amplify or promote tweets that were only directly from accounts of the state-affiliated media). Since February 28th, Twitter says it has labeled more than 61,000 unique tweets that included links to state-run media. It estimates doing so reduced the reach of these tweets by around 30 percent. 

Twitter has allowed Kremlin-backed media like RT and Sputnik (as well as other state-run media) to continue to operate their verified accounts, but labels and accordingly demotes what the outlets tweet. Both propaganda outlets are also banned from advertising on Twitter.

Misinformation about the invasion of Ukraine has thrived on social media, especially in the form of misleading photos and video. The government of Russia has blocked access to most Western-operated platforms for civilians (including Google, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok), largely as a way to suppress dissent amongst its own people. But the Kremlin’s own disinformation campaigns on these platforms appear to continue apace. A Russia-backed theory that the U.S. is helping Ukraine build bioweapons was further amplified by Chinese state media, as well as far-right and right-wing figures in the United States.

Cryptocurrency will soon be a legal asset class in Ukraine, thanks to a new bill signed into law by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation tweeted today that both foreign and Ukrainian cryptocurrency exchanges are cleared to operate in the country. Crypto companies will soon be able to open accounts in Ukrainian banks as well. The world has sent an estimated $100 million in crypto donations to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, including the Ukrainian military, aid groups, hacktivists and everyday citizens.

“The signing of this Law by the President is another important step towards bringing the crypto sector out of the shadows and launching a legal market for virtual assets in Ukraine,” wrote Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation in its announcement of the law’s signing.

Cryptocurrency has technically not been illegal in Ukraine (hence the millions in donations and the nation’s status as the leading country for crypto adoption). But digital assets in Ukraine have more or less operated in a legal gray area. Neither people nor companies in Ukraine could own or trade crypto in the market, for example. A spike in crypto crime and money laundering in Ukraine and Eastern Europe in recent years led to the nation's government cracking down on the industry.

The new law sets forth a legal framework for Ukraine’s burgeoning crypto industry to exist, as well as taps the National Bank of Ukraine and its National Commission on Securities and Stock Market to serve as regulators. It also paves the way for more laws and a tax code on crypto, which, hopefully, will further legitimize the crypto industry in Ukraine. 

Skydivers Luke Aikins and Andy Farrington will attempt a feat that has never been done before (and likely for good reason): The two cousins and professional daredevils will each fly their own Cessna 182 “experimental aircraft” to an elevation of 14,000 feet, simultaneously pitch the planes into a vertical nosedive and then proceed to leap into each other's' respective aircraft. Hulu will be livestreaming the aeronautical feat, courtesy of Red Bull TV, on April 24th.

Both Aikin and Farrington regularly perform aerial acts that are not for the faint of heart as members of the Red Bull Air Force, the members of which are some of the best professional skydivers and wingsuit flyers in the world. Aikin made history in 2016 by becoming the first person to jump 7600 meters without a parachute, engineers designed what amounts to a human-sized fish net to break his fall. Andy Farrington’s career highlights include winning the Red Bull ACES championship — a global wingsuit racing competition — twice. Despite being the youngest member of the Red Bull Airforce, the 39-year old has more skydives, BASE jumps and flying hours under his belt than any other member of the team.

The act of plane swapping wouldn’t be technically possible without significant alterations to the aircraft themselves. Aircraft engineer Dr. Paulo Iscold designed a custom airbrake system that allows for both planes to maintain a controlled vertical descent after the cousins disembark. In other words, both planes will descend in a more controlled fashion, roughly at the speed of the skydivers’ descent.

Plane Swap will be livestreamed on Hulu on Sunday, April 24th at 4:00 pm PT/7:00 pm ET.

Doordash has launched a gas rewards program aimed at helping delivery drivers mitigate the high cost of fuel. While it’s better than nothing, it’s more complicated and possibly less impactful than the fuel surcharges recently added by Uber and Lyft.

Beginning on March 17th, drivers for Doordash will be able to receive 10% cashback on gas purchases, though only if they’re enrolled in the company’s own DasherDirect Visa cards. On top of that, drivers who drive a certain amount of miles per week will qualify for weekly gas rewards, ranging from $5 to $15 per week. Unlocking the $5 discount requires drivers to complete at least 100 miles worth of trips in a week. Drivers who total more than 225 miles worth of trips will earn a $15 weekly bonus. Some Dashers easily soar past that—Gridwise calculated that the average courier on the platform traveled anywhere from 75 to 290 miles per day—but others have quit the platform in recent weeks due to rising gas prices. One viral TikTok video by a Dasher showed her earnings amounted to roughly $6 an hour after deducting the price of gas.

Like most delivery platforms like Instacart and UberEats, Doordash drivers are responsible for fuel costs and the maintenance and care of their vehicle. But earnings can vary greatly per week due fluctuating demand, how much customers choose to tip and gas costs. When gas prices are high, drivers often have to do a cost-benefit analysis on the fly, as TheRideShareGuy notes.

Both Uber and Lyft recently unveiled gas surcharges in order to account for high fuel prices — which unlike DoorDash opted to pass the additional expense onto customers. Uber drivers will receive anywhere from $0.45 to $0.55 a trip. A 2019 study by Uber ex-chief economist John List found that the average Uber driver makes just under 30 trips a week. This amounts to approximately an extra $13.50 per week to help with gas. While not insignificant, the extra income may not do much to offset the costs of drivers in states like California where the average has crept up to $6 a gallon.

The fish-out-of-water sitcom Ted Lasso took home four major awards Sunday at the 27th annual Critics Choice Awards, a night that was dominated by the streaming platforms. The Apple TV+ original nabbed best comedy series, beating out other critically-acclaimed favorites like HBO Max’s Hacks and Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building. Jason Sudeikis, who plays the show’s namesake character, won Best Actor in a comedy series for his performance in the show’s second season. It’s the second time Sudeikis has taken home that particular trophy for his role on the show, and he won it over the comedy legends Martin Short and Steve Martin, who were both nominated for Only Murders in the Building.

Brett Goldstein, the British actor who plays Roy Kent, the gruff but kindhearted former team captain, won best supporting actor in a comedy series. We’re about to see a lot more from him. Goldstein, who also serves as one of the show’s writers, recently signed a multiyear development deal with Warner Bros. TV, where he’ll develop, create and produce new projects for WBTV, including HBO Max. Finally, Hannah Waddingham, the British actress and West End veteran who plays Lasso’s boss, Rebecca Walton, won best supporting actress in a comedy series. Walton has also won an Emmy Award for her role in the series.

The night was a major victory for Apple TV+, which also scored nominations for CODA (Troy Kotsur won the best supporting actor in a film.) Ted Lasso scored the most awards this year of any nominated TV show. Thanks to the pandemic’s impact on the movie business, virtually every category included works from streaming platforms or premium cable channels like HBO and Showtime. The night was also a major victory for Netflix, which nabbed Best Picture for Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog.

The Critic Choice Awards have traditionally been overshadowed by the Golden Globes and SAG Awards. But thanks to some lucky timing and rescheduling, this year’s show makes it one of the last awards shows before both the Academy Awards and the Primetime Emmys, thus escalating its importance since it’ll be a likely forecast of future winners.