5 issues to know for March 24: TikTok, Flood watches, Faculty strike, Passports, France | CNN

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Whenever you’re hurrying by means of the grocery retailer, studying the components on meals labels might be not on the prime of your thoughts – until you’re contemplating an allergy or different dietary restrictions. Scientists and lawmakers, nevertheless, advocate customers ought to do their greatest to keep away from gadgets that include these controversial chemical compounds. On the listing is purple dye No. 3, steadily used for meals coloring in candies and processed snacks.

Right here’s what else you must know to Get As much as Velocity and On with Your Day.

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TikTok CEO Shou Chew testified Thursday earlier than Congress as scrutiny mounts over the app’s ties to China and its potential dangers to nationwide safety. It was a uncommon probability for the general public to listen to from Chew, who gives only a few interviews. But his firm’s app is among the many hottest in America, with greater than 150 million lively customers. The listening to, which lasted for greater than 5 hours, kicked off with calls from a lawmaker to ban the app within the US and remained combative all through. Chew used his testimony to emphasize TikTok’s independence from China and play up its US ties. Nonetheless, a lot of Chew’s makes an attempt to emphasize that his firm shouldn’t be an arm of the Chinese language authorities appeared to fall on deaf ears. Quite a few members of Congress interrupted Chew’s testimony to say they merely don’t imagine him.

The identical system that introduced uncommon tornadoes to California this week will set off widespread extreme thunderstorms right now for the mid-South and Ohio Valley. Greater than 20 million persons are below flood watches right now throughout a big swath of the US stretching from Oklahoma to West Virginia. The storm already handed by means of the Oklahoma-Missouri border late Thursday, based on the Climate Prediction Middle, drenching elements of the states with a number of inches of rain. In the meantime, northeast Louisiana, southeast Arkansas and western Mississippi are additionally at average danger for extreme thunderstorms that might convey sturdy tornadoes, massive hail and damaging wind gusts of greater than 70 mph. There’s additionally a slight danger for extreme thunderstorms from central Texas to southern Indiana by means of this morning.

Los Angeles colleges will reopen right now following the conclusion of an enormous three-day strike over wages and higher working circumstances. 1000’s of faculty staff started picketing Tuesday after almost a yr of unsuccessful negotiations with the college district, leaving greater than 500,000 college students out of sophistication this week. Although the strike could also be over, pissed off members of the employees’ union say they nonetheless really feel undervalued by low pay, minimal staffing and insufficient hours as they supply important companies to the nation’s second-largest faculty system. Amongst their calls for, staff are calling for a 30% pay elevate to spice up their common wage – which presently stands at $25,000.

Amid “unprecedented demand,” the present wait time for a daily US passport has soared to “about 10 to 13 weeks, and for an expedited passport about seven to 9 weeks,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated Thursday. The State Division is “getting 500,000 purposes per week for passports,” which is 30 to 40% extra candidates this yr than final yr, Blinken advised a Home Appropriations subcommittee finances listening to. Staffing and assets have been elevated to cope with the surge, Blinken stated. This comes after the division had launched a pilot on-line renewal platform so People who have already got a passport can renew on-line, nevertheless it has “now halted it to guarantee that we are able to fine-tune it and enhance it earlier than we roll it out in a much bigger means,” Blinken added.

Greater than one million individuals took to the streets throughout France Thursday with protests turning violent in some areas as demonstrators voiced their fury at proposed pension reforms. Following flare-ups in Paris and regional capitals, not less than 80 individuals had been arrested and 123 cops injured, French Inside Minister Gerald Darmanin stated. Thursday was the ninth day of strikes within the nation and the primary of coordinated motion since French President Emmanuel Macron’s authorities pushed a invoice to extend the retirement age from 62 to 64 by means of parliament with no vote final week.

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A 5,000-mile-wide blob of seaweed is heading for the shores of which state?

A. Florida

B. California

C. Maine

D. Alaska

Take CNN’s weekly information quiz right here to see in case you’re right!

$411 billion

That’s how a lot it should price to rebuild from the battle in Ukraine, the World Financial institution introduced in an up to date evaluation. The vast majority of harm is concentrated in frontline jap areas, together with Donetsk, Kharkiv and Luhansk. Nonetheless, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expressing optimism {that a} victory may come by the tip of the yr – however provided that Ukraine receives elevated help from European and Western allies.

“We are going to take all obligatory measures to defend our individuals.”

– US Secretary of Protection Lloyd Austin, issuing an announcement Thursday after a suspected Iranian-affiliated drone killed a US contractor and wounded 5 US service members in northeast Syria. “We are going to all the time reply at a time and place of our selecting,” Austin added. The US maintains roughly 900 troops within the nation.

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