Vox Sentences - 5Geez

Verizon and AT&T delay launching 5G in response to safety concerns from major airlines; Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet his Russian counterpart to try to ease tensions between Moscow and Ukraine.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

AT&T and Verizon delay launching 5G 

Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

• Verizon and AT&T have announced they will delay launching 5G networks around some airports after several airline executives warned the rollout could cause major flight disruptions. [NBC / Chantal Da Silva and Jay Blackman]
• In a letter sent to economic and transportation officials Monday evening, CEOs of airlines including Delta, United, and Southwest said activating the C-band radio frequencies that new 5G networks will run on within two miles of airways could impact low-visibility equipment pilots use in bad weather.  [Reuters / David Shepardson]
• It’s unclear whether 5G networks would actually interfere with aviation equipment; networks in Europe haven’t negatively impacted travel, but the Federal Aviation Administration is concerned 5G could scramble altimeters in older planes. [Recode / Rebecca Heilweil]
• Out of caution, airlines were planning to cut back flights. To avoid stranding thousands of Americans, the executives had asked the Biden administration to delay the rollout of Verizon and AT&T 5G service, planned for Wednesday. [BBC / Jonathan Josephs]
• The White House said it’s “actively engaged with the FAA, FCC, wireless carriers, airlines, and aviation equipment manufacturers to reach a solution that maximizes 5G deployment while protecting air safety and minimizing disruptions.” [CNBC / Leslie Josephs]
• In response to the concerns, AT&T and Verizon will limit 5G service around some US airports, though the broader launch will continue Wednesday as planned. [Axios / Margaret Harding McGill]

Blinken will meet his Russian counterpart amid tensions with Ukraine

• Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva this week as the US attempts to deescalate mounting tension between Moscow and Ukraine. [Reuters / Simon Lewis and Susan Heavey]
• Russia has amassed 100,000 troops near its border with Ukraine, raising concern that the Kremlin could be planning an invasion. Additional Russian troops arrived in Russian-allied Belarus on Monday to participate in “Allied Resolve” military exercises. [Reuters]
• “We’re now at a stage where Russia could at any point launch an attack in Ukraine. And what Secretary Blinken is going to go do is highlight very clearly there is a diplomatic path forward,” press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday. [AP / Matthew Lee]
• Blinken’s meeting with Lavrov could be a positive sign for future US-Russia security talks, which stalled last week. “The fact that Foreign Minister Lavrov and the Secretary are meeting on Friday says to me that diplomacy is not dead,” a State Department official said Tuesday. [Axios / Dave Lawler and Zachary Basu]

Hong Kong authorities will kill 2,000 hamsters to “cut the transmission chain” after 11 tested positive for the coronavrius, though there is little evidence for animal-to-human infection.[Washington Post / Shibani Mahtani and Theodora Yu]

• Microsoft will buy Activision Blizzard — famous for games like Call of Duty and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater — for $68.7 billion [CNBC / Steve Kovach]
• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced plans to create a special police force to oversee the state’s elections, which critics say is intended to scare people away from voting. [The Week / Joel Mathis]
• A year after winning the more votes than any US presidential candidate in history, President Biden is unpopular; a poll last week found his approval rating at 33 percent. Some experts believe that may have more to do with the pandemic and Democrats’ high expectations than Biden’s actual record. [Guardian / Lauren Gambino]

“We are frustrated by the FAA’s inability to do what nearly 40 countries have done, which is to safely deploy 5G technology without disrupting aviation services, and we urge it do so in a timely manner.” 

[An AT&T spokesperson on the company’s decision to delay the launch of its 5G service]

This Sunday, the greatest telescope in the history of humanity is scheduled to reach its destination nearly a million miles from Earth. Vox’s Unexplainable explored what it will do when it gets there. [Spotify]

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