Terror Threat at Swift Concert, Hobbit Fossils, & Dog Perfume

Good Morning! Today’s edition is 814 words, a 3 minute read.

First-time reader? Sign up here!

Big Stories

Taylor Swift Concerts Cancelled After Terror Threat

Three Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna were canceled after officials arrested two suspected extremists planning an attack.

• The concerts were part of Swift's Eras Tour booked at the Ernst Happel Stadium. Barracuda Music, the event organizer, canceled the shows for safety reasons, following government confirmation of the planned attack.

• A 19-year-old main suspect radicalized online and pledging allegiance to the Islamic State, was arrested in Ternitz. Another person was arrested in Vienna. Authorities found chemical substances during the investigation. Security measures were initially increased for the concerts, but the risk remained, leading to the cancellation.

• The Vienna stadium was sold out for the concerts with an estimated 170,000 fans expected to attend. The situation brought back memories of the 2017 Manchester attack at an Ariana Grande concert, where a suicide bomber killed 22 people and injured over 100.

Arizona Elector Takes Plea Deal

Loraine Pellegrino pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in the Arizona fake electors case.

• She is the first of the 11 electors for former President Trump to make a deal with the state Attorney General's Office. She pleaded to one charge of filing a false instrument and will receive three years of probation without jail time. The details of her plea agreement are sealed, and it is unclear if she will have to testify or cooperate with the prosecution.

• Pellegrino and 17 others were indicted on nine felony counts, including conspiracy, forgery, and fraudulent schemes. Arizona was one of seven states where Republican electors cast their votes for Trump despite Biden winning the state's electoral votes.

• She will serve unsupervised probation and perform community service. The plea follows former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis's agreement on Monday to cooperate with the attorney general's office in exchange for dropped charges.

“Hobbit” Fossils

Scientists have found that an ancient human cousin species, Homo floresiensis, was even smaller than they previously thought.

• Nicknamed "hobbits" they lived on the Indonesian island of Flores between 50,000 and 100,000 years ago. Recently found fossils from 700,000 years ago show that early members of this species were about 2½ inches shorter than their later descendants.

• The first hobbit fossils, discovered in 2003, were found in a cave called Liang Bua. These early humans were about 3 feet 6 inches tall, but the new findings from Mata Menge show that their ancestors were around 3 feet 3 inches tall. The small size of these humans is thought to be due to phyletic dwarfism, where species on islands evolve to be smaller because there are no predators and fewer resources.

• They survived on the island for about 500,000 years, among animals like pygmy elephants, rabbit-sized rats, and Komodo dragons. Despite their small brains, they used stone tools, hunted small animals like dwarf elephants, and possibly used fire.

Little Stories

• Costco is cracking down on membership sharing across the country. Members will soon need to scan their cards when entering stores. The goal is to turn non-paying users into paying members, similar to Netflix's efforts to stop password sharing. (More)

• On Wednesday, Russia said it was fighting off a large attack from Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region. Russia rushed to send more soldiers to the area. Ukraine has not confirmed the attack, which would be a big change in their strategy as they try to keep important front lines in the east. (More)

• Southern California had more than 277 aftershocks after Tuesday's 5.2 earthquake, with two being 4.0 or stronger. The U.S. Geological Survey said it's still unlikely to have a bigger quake. The quake and aftershocks happened about 90 miles from Los Angeles but didn't cause much damage. (More)

• Olympic Update: Quincy Hall won gold for the U.S. in the 400-meter final by coming from behind. Three American sprinters—Noah Lyles, Kenny Bednarek, and Erriyon Knighton—made it to the 200-meter final. Katie Moon, the defending American gold medalist, won silver in the pole vault. In basketball, the Team USA women beat Nigeria to move to the semifinals, while the U.S. men lost to Poland in a volleyball semifinal. U.S. artistic swimmers won a silver medal, their first medal in 20 years. (More)

• Tropical Storm Debby is taking a break over the western Atlantic but still causing rain in the Carolinas. Debby hit Florida as a Category 1 hurricane and is now off the South Carolina coast, 55 miles southeast of Charleston. The storm will move north and hit South Carolina again this morning, then continue up the Carolinas and the Mid-Atlantic on Thursday and Friday. (More)

Extra Credit

Couples are running their families like a corporation.

Dolce & Gabbana announces dog perfume.

Top 50 companies for people with a high school degree.

Pandas return to the San Diego Zoo for the first time in five years.