From Gridiron Snubs to Doomsday Clocks: Key Headlines from Jan. 28

Today's news cycle is brimming with a blend of sports drama, technological shifts, poignant farewells, and stark global warnings. From the unexpected snub of a football legend to a beloved "lobster lady's" passing, and from the evolving landscape of social media to the ominous tick of the Doomsday Clock, January 28th offers a diverse array of headline-grabbing stories.

Belichick's Hall of Fame Snub and Caitlin Clark's New Gig

In a surprising turn for the NFL, six-time Super Bowl champion head coach Bill Belichick reportedly did not secure enough votes for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Citing four unidentified sources, ESPN indicated that Belichick failed to receive the necessary 40 votes from the 50-person panel of media members and other Hall of Famers. The Hall of Fame class of 2026 is slated to be announced on February 5th at NFL Honors in San Francisco, potentially leaving fans to wait another year for the revered coach's enshrinement, according to WKTV.

Meanwhile, basketball phenom Caitlin Clark is set to bring her insights to NBC's "Sunday Night Basketball" pregame coverage. The Indiana Fever star will join the broadcast team for the Los Angeles Lakers vs. New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden. NBC has designated Clark as a "special contributor" alongside host Maria Taylor and analysts Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter, and Tracy McGrady. Clark, a two-time WNBA All-Star with a marketing relationship with Xfinity, expressed her excitement to "share her insights on the game she loves," with a return pregame role scheduled for March 29.

A Farewell to Maine's "Lobster Lady" and TikTok's Tumultuous Week

Maine is mourning the loss of Virginia Oliver, affectionately known as the "lobster lady," who passed away at 105. Oliver, one of the world's oldest lobster fishers, began her career at the age of 8 alongside her father and brother in Rockland, Maine. She dedicated nearly a century to the male-dominated industry, witnessing its evolution from a working-class food source to a luxury item. Her life and contributions were celebrated globally, yet she maintained her humility. The Maine Lobster Festival lauded her as "a living piece of Maine’s maritime history," as reported by WKTV.

On the tech front, TikTok is navigating a challenging period marked by app deletions, censorship claims, and technical glitches in the wake of its recent ownership change in the U.S. The company attributed some of these issues to a "major infrastructure issue triggered by a power outage" at one of its U.S. data center partner sites. This outage led to various bugs, including creators temporarily seeing zero views on their videos, slow load times, and timeout requests when posting. Additionally, TikTok has agreed to a settlement in a landmark social media addiction lawsuit, just as the trial was set to commence. The platform was among several, including Meta's Instagram and Google's YouTube, accused of deliberately addicting and harming children. While Snapchat's parent company, Snap Inc., settled last week for an undisclosed sum, details of TikTok's settlement remain confidential. A lawyer for the plaintiff confirmed that TikTok remains a defendant in other personal injury cases, with the trial proceeding against Meta and YouTube.

Doomsday Clock Nears Midnight and Southwest's Seating Shuffle

A somber warning comes from the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, who have advanced their "Doomsday Clock" to 85 seconds to midnight, indicating humanity is closer than ever to self-destruction. The science-oriented advocacy group cited a trifecta of threats: nuclear war, climate change, and the potential misuse of biotechnology and artificial intelligence. The advancement from last year's 89 seconds to midnight reflects the group's concern that "global understandings are collapsing, accelerating a winner-takes-all great power competition and undermining the international cooperation" necessary to mitigate these risks. The clock, established in 1947, serves as a symbolic representation of the likelihood of humanity-ending events.

In airline news, Southwest Airlines is making a significant shift by ending its long-standing open-seating policy. Beginning Tuesday, passengers on Southwest flights will experience assigned seating. This new policy, for which tickets have been on sale since July, introduces new airfare tiers, allowing passengers to pay more for preferred seats closer to the front or with extra legroom. An eight-group boarding structure will replace the previous free-for-all, with groups determined by seat location, fare class, loyalty tier status, and airline credit card rewards benefits.

Corporate Restructuring and a Quiet Box Office Weekend

Pinterest announced plans to lay off nearly 15% of its workforce as part of a broader restructuring effort aimed at reallocating resources towards artificial intelligence initiatives. The image-sharing platform stated in a Tuesday filing that these cuts support "transformation initiatives," including a pivot to AI roles and products. Pinterest also intends to reduce its office space. This restructuring is anticipated to conclude by the end of September, incurring pretax charges ranging from $35 million to $45 million. The job cuts will impact hundreds of employees, and shares of Pinterest saw a decline of over 9% in midday trading Tuesday, according to WKTV.

Finally, a major winter storm led to Hollywood's quietest box office weekend of the year. The Amazon MGM sci-fi thriller "Mercy" managed to unseat "Avatar: Fire & Ash" from the top spot, earning $11.2 million in North America. Hundreds of theaters were forced to close due to the storm sweeping from Texas to Maine. Despite "Mercy" receiving critical acclaim and audience reception, it was enough to end James Cameron's third Pandora epic's month-long reign at the box office.