Friday 03.21.25

An Olympic swimming champion from Zimbabwe made history this week when the International Olympic Committee elected her as its new leader. Kirsty Coventry will be the IOC’s first female and first African president. Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and on With Your Day.
 

By Jade Walker

Social media videos show a fire near London’s Heathrow Airport.

Heathrow Airport

Global travel was disrupted today when a “significant power outage" at an electrical substation prompted the complete shutdown of Heathrow Airport in London. The outage occurred when a transformer at a nearby substation caught fire overnight. The shutdown at one of the world's busiest travel hubs could affect more than 1,300 flights. “We expect significant disruption over the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens,” the airport stated. The cause of the substation blaze is under investigation.

Musk at Pentagon

Elon Musk is expected to visit the Pentagon today at the invitation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. A Pentagon spokesperson said the tech billionaire was “just visiting.” However, a report in The New York Times said Musk would be briefed on the US military’s top-secret plan for any potential war with China during his visit. In a late night post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump denied that claim. The visit comes as the Pentagon, encouraged by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, considers major cuts to the top of the military in an effort to embrace the Trump administration’s push to shrink the federal government.

Social Security data

A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Social Security Administration from giving members of Elon Musk's DOGE team access to agency data containing individuals’ personally identifiable information. The judge said the Trump administration had failed to show why the group needed “broad access to millions of Americans’ sensitive” data, and likened the DOGE team’s demands to a “fishing expedition.” She also ordered DOGE affiliates to delete any personally identifiable information they had already acquired from the agency and to remove any software they had installed on the SSA’s computer system.

Ukraine

Russia launched a large-scale drone attack on the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa overnight that hit civilian infrastructure, injured at least three people and sparked a massive blaze. The strike came just days after Trump attempted to negotiate a temporary ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine — but only succeeded in getting the two countries to agree to temporarily halt attacks on energy infrastructure. Peace talks to end the conflict are scheduled to resume Monday in Saudi Arabia. 

Bridges

Transportation safety officials said 68 bridges in 19 states should be assessed for risk of collapse if hit by a ship. The Golden Gate Bridge in California; the Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg, George Washington and Verrazzano-Narrows bridges in New York City and the Mackinac Bridge in Michigan all made the list of structures with higher than acceptable risk ratings. The recommendation was issued nearly one year after a container ship lost power and struck a pillar of the Key Bridge in Baltimore, causing it to collapse. Six construction workers who were working on the bridge fell into the Patapsco River and died.

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Conor McGregor seeks presidency in Ireland
The former MMA star and figurehead for the far-right in Ireland plans to run for president on an anti-immigration platform. However, he faces an uphill battle getting his name on the ballot.

Mariah Carey wins copyright battle
A federal judge has ruled that the pop star did not steal the holiday classic “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” In 2023, two songwriters filed a $20 million lawsuit accusing Carey and her co-writer of infringing the copyright of their country song, which had the same title and theme. 

Former coach accused of hacking athletes’ accounts
Former NFL and University of Michigan assistant football coach Matt Weiss allegedly obtained access to more than 2,000 college students’ social media, email and cloud storage accounts, then tried to get private photos and videos of female athletes, according to an indictment filed Thursday.

Bella Ramsey opens up about autism diagnosis
"The Last of Us" star sought a psychiatric assessment while filming the first season of the series after a crew member with an autistic daughter assumed Ramsey had autism too. The actor said receiving the diagnosis was "freeing."  Season 2 of HBO's "The Last of Us" debuts in April. (HBO, like CNN, is a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery.)

The Cheesecake Factory menu gets a makeover
The casual dining restaurant chain is ditching 13 menu items and replacing them with 20 new dishes and cocktails. So, say goodbye to the white chicken chili and loaded mashed potato omelette, and say hello to the Asian cucumber salad and the double smash burger.

Last week, 10% of readers who took the quiz got a perfect score and 45% got eight or more questions right. How will you fare?

5

This is how many minutes Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD says its new ultra-fast charging system will take to charge its latest models, allowing them to go 250 miles. In comparison, Tesla’s Superchargers take 15 minutes to charge its EVs for a range of 200 miles.

Why do people do this?

— Actress/singer Selena Gomez, asking while eating chicken wings covered with increasingly spicy hot sauces on the popular YouTube series “Hot Ones.” She appeared on the show with her fiancé Benny Blanco to promote their collaborative album, “I Said I Love You First.”

Even in a bad timeline, happiness is possible
An expert offers some simple tips on how to lead a happier life.