Long-time fast food workers strike for the first time, as the industry faces a pivotal shift

EPA unions want science protected against another Trump, resistance in Mariupol, Ukraine, continues, and Drake has sparked a Taylor Swift fan theory

APRIL 22, 2022 THE BIG STORY   Long-time fast food workers strike for the first time, as the industry faces a pivotal shift Bryan Meltz for BuzzFeed News A 57-year-old father of three, Anil Yadav emigrated from India in 1981 and worked as a Jack in the Box fry cook in the Bay Area before eventually becoming one of the biggest franchise owners in the country. Now, for the first time in his three decades of franchise ownership, he and his employee Crystal Orozco stand head-to-head in fast food's fight for greater employee protections.   Orozco and her colleagues are among the scores of fast food workers going on strike for the first time over the last couple years. Two years into the pandemic, company hazard pay raises have ended, and government relief programs, such as stimulus payments and eviction moratoriums, have expired, leaving workers with low wages in an intensifying sense of economic precarity.   Yadav agreed to an interview for this story because, he said, he hoped people would consider his perspective. "I know what this is gonna come off to look like," he said. He was making a comfortable living in a country where the vast gap between the richest and poorest was "difficult to justify," he said. But Yadav had worked long hours and taken on debts to attain the stability he now had. He lives what he imagines the American Dream is supposed to look like.   But as workers exit the fast food industry at record rates, franchise owners like Yadav are in an unfamiliar position, facing worker strikes without the freedom to cycle in a batch of replacements and setting the stage for a battle over labor conditions with no end in sight. STAYING ON TOP OF THIS   The last place of resistance in Mariupol refuses to surrender Maxar satellite imagery overview of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol, Ukraine on April 9, 2022 Satellite image (c) 2022 Maxar Technologies Satellite images reveal possible mass graves outside Mariupol, over a month into attacks on the city. Ukraine officials accused Russia of burying up to 9,000 civilians outside the area, according to the AP. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced victory in Mariupol, but Ukrainian soldiers and civilians continue resistance inside a massive steel plant. Putin ordered a blockade of the plant after Ukrainian forces repeatedly refused to surrender, BBC reports. SNAPSHOTS Taxpayers footed the bill for the Capitol insurrection. The DOJ might make Jan. 6 defendants cover more of it. Until this month, prosecutors had estimated the cost of damage to the Capitol at nearly $1.5 million. A new estimate is an additional $1 million more than the original sum.   The veteran who founded We Build the Wall pleaded guilty to fraud and agreed to pay back more than $17 million. Brian Kolfage, who raised millions of dollars to build a private border wall, admitted he plotted with others to secretly take donations to enrich himself.   Robert Morse, Mad Men star and Broadway legend, has died at 90. After a yearslong break from an award-winning career as a Broadway staple, Morse made a comeback on AMC's popular show Mad Men as one of the founding partners of the Sterling Cooper ad agency.   A Florida bride and her caterer allegedly served cannabis-laced food to unknowing guests. The two have been charged with tampering with food, delivery of marijuana, and culpable negligence, after several of the guests were hospitalized. A NEW KIND OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION   EPA unions want science protected against another Trump The US government is charging 21 people in cases totaling $149 million in alleged COVID fraud. Cases announced Wednesday include selling fake COVID treatments or vaccination cards, exploiting the Telehealth system, and billing hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent tests.   "Until I get caught and go to jail, fuck it. I'm taking the money," one accused fraudster allegedly told an undercover agent.   Government agencies repeatedly warned Congress that fraud has surged during the COVID pandemic. But so far, Congress has been slow to provide the resources or authorities requested to crack down on fraudsters and scammers.   Most of the $149 million total is tied to one California health clinic, which allegedly exploited people seeking COVID tests to fraudulently bill Medicare $144 million. Medicare paid out about $20 million in false claims before detecting the alleged fraud. "THEY TOO SOFT TO UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF HARD WORK"   Why fans think Drake and Taylor Swift are releasing a song together Drake has reignited speculation that he and Taylor Swift will be teaming up for a song together after he randomly posted a throwback photo with her to his Instagram page on Monday. His 107 million followers were stunned to see the snap at the end of a carousel post that was otherwise comprised of photos of just him and his son. Instagram: @champagnepapi What a photo, eh?   "They too soft to understand the meaning of hard work," Drake captioned the post, which Swift has yet to respond to.   It's been speculated that the post is an Easter egg to hint at the imminent release of a Swift rerecording that Drake will feature on. Or the 6 god is messing with us. Only time will tell. READER'S CHOICE   Nourish yourself with these weekend long reads BuzzFeed News/Vintage Books The troubled legacy of Fifty Shades of Grey The year is 2012. You're wary of being ambushed by a crowd dancing to "Gangnam Style" at seemingly any moment. Obama is the first sitting president to declare his support for marriage equality, all while various states move to explicitly ban it. The campus sexual assault wars are heating up; this is the year after a Yale fraternity was temporarily suspended for making its pledges march through campus chanting, "No means yes, yes means anal," while carrying signs reading, "We love Yale sluts."   Meanwhile, that same year, a book originally written as Twilight fanfiction and published online under the pen name "Snowqueen's Icedragon" was rereleased as an independent ebook before getting picked up by Vintage Books as a three-part series. Now titled Fifty Shades of Grey, the first book in the series was an instant sensation, quickly outstripping Harry Potter to set a record in the UK for the fastest-selling paperback of all time. In the US, the novel was the bestselling book of the decade (its sequels earned spots 2 and 3), and as of 2017, the series had sold more than 150 million copies worldwide.   How teachers feel about the new ABC hit Abbott Elementary Abbott Elementary, a mockumentary-style comedy following a group of passionate teachers and a self-absorbed principal at an underfunded Black and brown majority school in North Philadelphia, is the highest-rated debut ABC comedy in years. It's also inspiring real-life teachers to continue bettering the schools they teach at and motivating the students that walk into their classrooms every day.   "I've always said that I wish there was a show like The Office that reflected my life as a teacher," New York middle school teacher Malikah Mahone said. "It was just so nice to be seen on TV."   Steven Stayner's childhood abduction made him a household name. Then his brother became a serial killer. Steven Stayner's 1972 abduction was originally treated like a local news item about every parent's worst nightmare. One December afternoon, 7-year-old Steven had been walking home in Merced, California, when he was coaxed into a stranger's car with the promise of a ride home. Stayner was held by Kenneth Parnell, who had previously been convicted of sexually abusing a child, in Mendocino County for the next seven years, given a new name and life, and gaslit into forgetting his family. In 1980, Parnell kidnapped another child, Timothy White. Stayner escaped, hitchhiking to the police station with White.   Then 10 years later, in one of the most improbable twists in the annals of true crime, the Stayner name made headlines again when a string of murders in Yosemite became a national mystery. The perpetrator was Cary Stayner, Steven's older brother.   Hulu's Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story revisits all these events, mostly from the surviving family members' perspectives. Director Jessica Dimmock's series doesn't adopt the explicitly revisionary lens that has propelled most contemporary true crime productions. Instead, by foregrounding the voices of the Stayner family, it hints at themes like intergenerational trauma and the distortions and consolations of storytelling. Mostly, though, it amplifies the bizarre story's own simple power. The weekend is here! I hope you can use it to reconnect with a simple joy, Alexa 📝  This letter was edited and brought to you by Alexa Lee and BuzzFeed News. You can always reach us here.     👉 Your support of BuzzFeed's journalism does not constitute a charitable donation, and your contribution is not eligible for a tax-deduction. This is part of an effort to explore a deeper relationship with our most active supporters. 🔔  Want to be notified as soon as news breaks? Download the BuzzFeed News app for iOS and Android (available in Canadian, UK, Australian, and US app stores). 💌  Did a friend forward you this email? 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