Happy Wednesday Everyone! Today’s newsletter: 1,092 words…4 mins
🗞 Today’s Edition: Greece Lights The Olympic Flame, Guardsmen Critically Wounded in D.C., Nigeria Declares National Emergency, Greta Dyes Venice Green, IL Girl Burned Alive… & much more!
🚨 Watch For:
Updates on the the health of the 2 National Guardsmen
🚨🚨Note: The Newzhawk team will be travelling over the next two days. We will be back in your inbox Monday, Dec. 1st.
Meanwhile, here’s wishing you and your families a very Happy Thanksgiving!
📜THE HIGHLIGHT
One killer insight to stash in your back pocket
🔥 Greece Lights The Olympic Flame
The Olympic flame for the Winter Olympics - Milano Cortina 2026 - was lit today in ancient Olympia — inside the Archaeological Museum of Olympia, because Greece expected a downpour that… never came.
Yes, the sun was out. Yes, the ceremony stayed inside. Zeus is sending mixed signals.
This ceremonial event, a cornerstone of modern Olympic tradition since 1936, symbolizes the purity, continuity, and peace of the Olympic spirit, drawing from the sun's rays as a nod to the God Apollo.
✨Still, the ritual delivered its usual myth-meets-media energy:
Greek actress Mary Mina (your High Priestess for the day) invoked Apollo and Zeus before lighting the sleek, ice-blue 2026 torch using a backup flame from Monday’s sunny rehearsal. Tradition preserved; vibes intact.
😘 The handoff = chef’s kiss
🇬🇷 Petros Gkaidatzis + 🇮🇹 Stefania Belmondo held the torch together — symbolizing the flame’s jump from Greece to Italy.
Luge legend Armin Zoeggeler joined the opening stretch for extra Olympic clout.
🫡 Ceremonial pit stop:
At the Pierre de Coubertin monument, Milano Cortina chief Giovanni Malagò promised Games that will “light up all of Italy” and boost youth opportunity.
🏃 The journey begins:
75 days
14,000+ km
10,000 torchbearers
🛣 Route highlights:
Greece’s 12 ski resorts
Christmas in Naples
New Year’s in Bari
A 4,554m trek up Monte Rosa
Venice’s Grand Canal glow-up
A Cortina homecoming (70 years after 1956)
💡Bottom line: The road to Milano Cortina 2026 is officially lit — even when the weather trolls.
♟️THE CHESSBOARD
Geopolitics Decoded In 3 Moves
🧑🚒 Hong Kong’s Deadliest Blaze in Decades
A catastrophic high-rise fire ripped through Hong Kong’s Wang Fuk Court estate Wednesday — killing 36, injuring 29, and leaving 279 missing.
Flames jumped across bamboo scaffolding on the 31-story towers, built in 1983 and mid-renovation, turning the complex into a vertical fuse.
Over 800 firefighters battled the blaze; one, Ho Wai-ho, died in action — Hong Kong’s first on-duty firefighter death in a decade.
💡Bottom line: Officials call the rapid spread “unusual,” probing material failures as evacuees crowd shelters and ask the city’s hardest question: How did this happen?
🚨Nigeria Declares a Nationwide Security Emergency
Nigeria just entered full crisis mode. President Bola Tinubu declared a nationwide security emergency after a surge of mass kidnappings.
Includes 300+ schoolchildren abducted in Niger State and dozens seized in Kebbi and Kwara.
Reminiscent of the Chibok kidnappings (2014), where hundreds of school kids were seized in attacks on boarding schools with many still missing.
The plan: Recruit 50,000 new police, expand army intake, reassign VIP bodyguards to real policing.
Intelligence units are deploying forest guards to hunt bandits operating from remote bushland.
💡 Why it matters: This comes against a backdrop of long-running violence involving bandit gangs, Boko Haram, and Islamic State carrying out killings, ransom kidnappings, and attacks on villages, schools, and churches, particularly in the north and Middle Belt. Abuja’s betting a shockwave of manpower can stop a kidnapping epidemic spiraling toward Chibok-level trauma.
🟢 Greta Goes Green (Literally) in Venice
Venice woke up neon yesterday after Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion activists dumped fluorescent green, non-toxic dye into the Grand Canal — a climate SOS aimed at Italy’s post-COP30 resistance to fossil-fuel limits.
Greta + ~35 activists unfurled a “Stop Ecocide” banner from the Rialto Bridge and staged a silent, red-veiled flash-mob walk through, stunning tourists.
Police slapped them with $172 fines and a 48-hour Venice ban, while regional officials blasted the stunt as “vandalism.”
"If she wants to save the planet, start by respecting it."
💡 Bottom line: Harmless dye, a city in shock, heated debate — and a canal that looked like Slimer did a swim-through.
🗽THE EMPIRE FILES
Political Drama From DC To NYC
National Guard troops in the closed off area; First image of the suspect being taken to the hospital
🪖 Guardsmen Shot Near White House
Two West Virginia National Guard members have been critically wounded near Farragut West Metro, D.C., after exchanging gunfire with a suspect, who is also hospitalized.
The area was locked down as FBI, ATF, Secret Service, and U.S. Marshals responded.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the surge of 500 additional troops, saying this attack “has stiffened our resolve”.
Trump called the shooter “the animal” and promised consequences.
⚡This is a breaking news story and is developing rapidly; investigation is ongoing; officials urge public caution as security remains tight.
🚄 Girl Set On Fire On Chicago Train
Chicago is reeling after Bethany MaGee, 26, was doused in gasoline and set on fire on a CTA Blue Line train - an unprovoked attack by Lawrence Reed, a 50-year-old man with 70+ prior arrests.
MaGee remains in critical condition; Reed is now charged federally with terrorism.
Trump blasted the Democrats’ “soft-on-crime” failures, calling for tougher sentencing.
Democrats pointed to mental-health gaps and systemic fixes.
💡Bottom line: This comes weeks after the brutal murder of Iryna Zarutska, another horror that stunned the country — fueling outrage over a system that repeatedly fails to keep violent offenders off public transit.
🤖 CODES & POWER
Tech Wars, Crypto Chaos, and AI’s Black Mirror Moments
🪙 Tether’s Got The Midas Touch
Tether just became the world’s largest non-central-bank gold holder, stacking 116 tonnes (~$8.7B) to back USDT and XAU₮.
That’s ~7% of Tether’s assets sitting in Swiss vaults, with HSBC gold traders driving the buildup.
The twist: S&P downgraded Tether this week, citing transparency and concentration risks.
⚡ Investors are watching — both for bullion gains and balance-sheet drama.
🚕 China’s Pony.ai Goes Full Robotaxi Mode
Pony.ai is tripling its robotaxi fleet by end-2026, aiming for 3,000 vehicles after hitting ~961 today.
The Chinese AV player is already running paid rides in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen — and eyeing expansion into 8 countries, including Singapore and Qatar, via partners like Bolt and Uber.
⚡Revenue surged 72% YoY to $25.4M, but losses ballooned to $61.6M. Shares popped 6%, because investors apparently love driverless chaos.
📺 FUN FACTS & TRIVIA
America’s Oldest Sporting Events
The oldest continuous sporting event in America is the Kentucky Derby which first started on May 17, 1875, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
Any guesses on the second oldest..?
The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, which began in 1877.