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Nature

*Lion, tigers, snails, oh no! Six Giant African Snails were found by customs agents in the luggage of a person traveling from Ghana to Detroit International Airport on Friday. These particular snails are slow movers but multiply quickly by laying as many as 1,200 eggs per year. They are an invasive species and feed on 500 different types of plants and produce. Once they clear out your garden these maniacs will turn to your home, munching on wood, stucco, and paint. They’re basically right out of a horror movie.

Why it matters: In addition to wreaking havoc on gardens and homes these snails carry parasites that can lead to meningitis and other diseases in humans.

Why were they being smuggled? For two reasons. They are considered a delicious bar snack in west African cultures. And some people keep them as pets. Here snaily snaily snaily.

The big picture: Giant African Snails are extremely difficult to eradicate. It took 10 years and $1 million to get rid of them the first time they appeared in Florida in the 1960’s. Currently, there are wild populations living in Florida, Hawaii, and parts of the Caribbean.

Business & Economy

*You’re fired. Amazon axes 9,000 more jobs, bringing the 2023 total to 26,000. Tech employees have taken a beating in the last few months with nearly 50,000 jobs cut across the sector. However, most tech companies still have more employees than they did three years ago suggesting they are looking to increase efficiency rather than adjusting to shrinking demand for their products.

*💩 That stinks. It’s a frustrating time for journalists covering all things Twitter. In his latest stunt, CEO Elon Musk tweeted that Twitters’ press email account will auto-reply a single poop emoji to journalists’ inquiries.

*Digital gold continues to soar. Bitcoins value broke the 28,000 dollar mark for the first time in 9 months. Experts say the public’s distrust in the current banking environment is the reason behind the surge.

Politics

*Biden uses his first veto. President Biden is seeking to end a Trump-era measure that banned government investors from considering environmental impacts and possible lawsuits when making decisions for Americans’ retirement plans. Biden will likely use this tactic more often now that the House of Representatives has a Republican majority.

*Idaho goes wild west. Idaho is on the verge of allowing firing squads to execute condemned prisoners if the state can’t get a hold of the drugs used for lethal injection.

Sports

*Rick Pitino signs 6-year deal to coach St. John’s men’s basketball team.

*The U.S. spanked Cuba 14-2 to reach World Baseball Classic Final.

World

*American hostage is coming home. After being held hostage for 6 years by terrorists in Niger, aid worker Jeffery Woodke is returning home. America has been working to get Woodke released for years unsuccessfully. Niger’s government was instrumental in facilitating the rescue and did so without paying any ransom to the terrorist group. French Journalist Oliver Dubois, who was captured in 2021 was also released Monday.

*Two students involved in shooting at Texas high school. One student was killed while the other remains in the hospital. The shooter, who is a classmate of the victims, is now in custody and will face a capital murder charge.

*EU helps Ukraine strap up. More than a dozen EU member states have agreed to supply Ukraine with one million artillery shells in the next year. Ukraine desperately needs the ammunition to hold off further Russian advances and to launch their own counterattacks in the coming months.

Extras

*Pack your bags for Finland. Finland ranks as the happiest place in the world for the sixth time in a row.

*Who's a good rat? Louisiana Family allowed to keep their 22 pound rodent as a pet.

*UFO spotted in California. An instagram video shows unidentified flying objects in the California night — decide for yourself it its burning space debris or aliens.