A stunning shutdown at CNN+

Julius Lasin, USA TODAY
·5 min read
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Disney's special status in Florida is set to be taken away. President Joe Biden unveiled an $800 million military aid plan for Ukraine. And scientists researched the best way to split an Oreo cookie.

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CNN+ is shutting down a month after launching

Three weeks after its launch, CNN's new streaming service is planning to shut down. The media giant confirmed Thursday Warner Bros. Discovery will shutter CNN+ on April 30. In a statement, CNN Worldwide Chairman and CEO Chris Licht said the network is part of the company's broader streaming vision and expects to combine elements of it with a planned merger of HBO Max and Discovery+. The decision to drop CNN+ marks a stunning reversal for the media giant, which had billed the fledgling service as one of its most important launches. But WarnerMedia, CNN's former parent, was acquired by Discovery on April 11, and the new owner had a different strategic vision for its streaming networks.

Florida lawmakers revoke Disney's special self-governing status

On Thursday, Florida House Republicans passed a redistricting bill to approve the dissolution of a special taxing district that allows the Walt Disney Co. to self-govern its theme park area. The measure now goes to Gov. Ron DeSantis for approval. Lawmakers voted 70-38 to back the measure, which dissolves Disney's Reedy Creek Improvement District on June 1, 2023. The district, created by state law in 1967, exempts 38 miles of land Disney owns from most state and local regulations and allows Disney to collect taxes, follow its own building codes and provide emergency services for its six theme parks and resorts. The Senate previously approved the measure 23-16, to repeal the Reedy Creek Improvement District.

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Biden announces $800 million in military aid for Ukraine

The president announced Thursday additional military aid for Ukraine totaling about $800 million, matching the same amount designated last week as Russia concentrates withering attacks on the eastern region of Donbas. "We will never fail in our efforts to defend freedom and oppose tyranny," Biden said. The announcement came the same day Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed victory in the battle for Mariupol, even as hundreds of Ukrainian troops hold out in and around a sprawling steel plant in the city. Biden added that not all the U.S. assistance is being advertised. “Sometimes we will speak softly and carry a large Javelin because we’re sending a lot of those in as well,” Biden said, taking about surface-to-air Javelin missiles and playing off a famous line from President Theodore Roosevelt.

Emergency workers clear up debris after an airstrike hit a tire shop in the western city of Lviv, Ukraine, on Monday.
Emergency workers clear up debris after an airstrike hit a tire shop in the western city of Lviv, Ukraine, on Monday.

Supreme Court upholds Puerto Ricans’ exclusion from SSI benefits program

The Supreme Court ruled Congress was within its power to exclude residents of Puerto Rico from the Supplemental Security Income program, which provides benefits to older, disabled and blind Americans. The court returned an 8-1 vote Thursday that held making Puerto Ricans ineligible for the benefits program available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia did not unconstitutionally discriminate against residents of the U.S. territory. Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, whose parents were born in Puerto Rico, was the lone dissenter. Puerto Rico has been a territory since the Spanish American War in 1898, and its residents are U.S. citizens, but they have no vote for president or representation in Congress. They also do not pay federal income tax.

Real quick

How should you split an Oreo cookie? Here's what scientists say 🍪

A group of scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology looked into the science of Oreos by devising a device designed to split the iconic cookie with a specific amount of force. The goal was to create a perfect split every single time: one side a clean cookie, the other side with all the filling. Their peer-reviewed study was published Tuesday in the journal American Institute of Physics. Study author Crystal Owens told USA TODAY she got the inspiration for the study from using a rheometer, which measures liquid and substances' responses to force. To get all the cream to wind up on one side, researchers found the Oreo needs to be from a freshly opened pack and separated with a twisting motion, Owens said.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: CNN+, Disney in Florida, and Robert Morse dies. It's Thursday's news.