Facebook is falling behind in the youth movement. New data shows the social media giant is losing its appeal with teenagers in the U.S., specifically to the photo-sharing app Snapchat.
A new study by the research firm eMarketer found that in 2017 alone, Facebook lost 1.4 million users between the ages of 12 to 17 — a roughly 10 percent drop for that demographic, Recode notes. The fall was even worse than what eMarketer had predicted, having anticipated just a 3.4 percent drop in users aged 12 to 17, Recode reports — and even that modest downturn was the first time eMarketer had ever projected declining user rates for Facebook across any age group.
Most observers agree that there are two factors that are largely responsible for Facebook's teenage exodus: the loss of the ever-important "cool" factor, and teenagers' preference for Snapchat. Facebook's "cool" — or lack thereof — is widely attributed to its appeal among older generations. What growth Facebook is seeing is among older users rather than younger ones, CNBC reported — a "predicament" for the social app, eMarketer's Debra Aho Williamson told CNBC.
By comparison, Snapchat is thriving. Even after it rolled out a widely panned redesign, Snapchat expects to add 1.9 million users under the age of 25 in 2018. Meanwhile, Facebook could lose 2 million in that same demographic, CNBC reports.
While Facebook is losing its hold on the all-important teen demographic, eMarketer still predicts that Facebook's overall user share in the U.S. will grow. Facebook still boasts nearly 170 million American users, compared to Snapchat's 86.5 million. Kelly O'Meara Morales
Two U.S. citizens and the remains of a third American were released by Houthi rebels in Yemen on Wednesday in a surprise exchange that sent about 250 Yemeni militants back to the country. Sandra Loli, a U.S. aid worker held hostage for three years, and businessman Mikael Gidada, detained for a year, were flown to Oman, along with the remains of Bilal Fateen. Between 240 and 283 Yemeni rebels stuck in Oman for several years were flown to Sanaa, Yemen's capital, with reluctant agreement from Saudi Arabia. The deal also included medical aid for Yemen, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Saudi Arabia, which has been battling the Iranian-backed Houthis in a bloody civil war since 2014, was "especially concerned about three dozen Houthi fighters being sent back to Yemen who they said had received specialized training in Iran on drones and missiles," the Journal reports. "The U.S.-backed deal between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia includes the largest known agreement to allow armed adversaries of the U.S. and its allies to return to an active conflict zone."
President Trump has emphasized the return of U.S. hostages held abroad. "We will not rest until those held are home with their loved ones," said national security adviser Robert O'Brien, Trump's former lead hostage negotiator. Senior Houthi political leader Muhammad Ali al-Houthi was also pleased with the exchange. "We congratulate the wounded on their return to the homeland after a long wait that was supposed to not happen because of the criminality of the Saudi American aggression," he said.
Houthi told The Washington Post that negotiations had been underway for months and speculated that "the American administration wants to benefit from the delay by, on one hand, demonizing the Yemeni people and, on the other hand, highlighting a success for it in its upcoming election campaign." The White House called that claim "patently and categorically false" and also denied Houthi's suggestion that the American hostages had been detained for suspicious or unlawful activity.
The proxy war in Yemen between Saudi Arabia and Iran has killed more than 112,000 people and spawned one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. There is bipartisan opposition in Congress to U.S. military support for the Saudi offensive, and Trump vetoed a bill that would have ended that support. Peter Weber
President Trump declared during a rally in Des Moines on Wednesday night that the United States needs an intelligent leader who is able to keep up with the likes of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
"President Xi of China, he's 100 percent," Trump said. "Putin of Russia, 100 percent. Kim Jong Un of North Korea, 100 percent. These people are sharp and they're smart. Joe has lost it. In his best days he wasn't a smart man, and everybody knows it." Trump was referring to former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee for president.
Polls show a tight race in Iowa, a state Trump won easily in 2016. Trump brought up a new poll by Focus on Rural America that has him leading Biden 50 percent to 44 percent, and while this should have Trump feeling better than the polls showing the two effectively tied, he told the crowd, "For me to only be up six, I'm a little bit concerned, I'll tell you that. Because nobody's going to do for Iowa what I did for Iowa."
The rally was held at the Des Moines International Airport, with thousands of people standing next to each other, many of them not wearing masks. Nearby, a digital billboard showed the message "Trump Covid Superspreader Event," with an arrow pointing toward the airport. While Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) issued a proclamation that states people must stay at least six feet apart at social gatherings, she used her Twitter account to encourage people to attend the event, the Des Moines Register reports, and spoke before Trump took the stage.
After throwing MAGA hats into the crowd, Reynolds told the audience, "The momentum, the enthusiasm, the energy is on our side. Don't believe the polls, don't believe what the media is telling you. Up and down the ticket, people are fired up for Republican victories on Nov. 3." Catherine Garcia
President Trump's economic advisers met privately at the White House with the board of the conservative Hoover Institution in late February, and their assessment of the economic fallout from the nascent COVID-19 pandemic spurred one attendee, veteran hedge fund consultant William Callanan, to warn of coming economic tumult in a memo that was then circulated among a small group of elite investors, The New York Times reports.
When Callanan sent the memo to the founder of Appaloosa Management and a top lieutenant on Feb. 25, the U.S. had just 17 known COVID-19 cases and Trump and the White House were publicly saying the virus was completely under control. "Stock market starting to look very good to me!" Trump said Feb. 24, the same day his White House economic advisers were meeting with the Hoover board members. "What struck me," Callanan wrote in his memo, according to the Times, was that nearly every official he heard from raised the coronavirus "as a point of concern, totally unprovoked."
"To many of the investors who received or heard about the memo, it was the first significant sign of skepticism among Trump administration officials about their ability to contain the virus," the Times reports. "Traders spotted the immediate significance: The president's aides appeared to be giving wealthy party donors an early warning of a potentially impactful contagion at a time when Mr. Trump was publicly insisting that the threat was nonexistent." Some investors told the Times they used the warning to their financial advantage.
Callanan told the Times his memo, which quickly spread to a small circle of well-connected investors without his knowledge or consent, contained "personal and professional views based on extensive research and publicly available information." This doesn't appear to be a legally problematic use of insider information, according to legal experts. Read more at The New York Times. Peter Weber
President Trump told a crowd in Iowa on Wednesday night that his youngest son, Barron Trump, recovered quickly from COVID-19, and that's one reason why schools must reopen soon.
Earlier in the day, first lady Melania Trump revealed that Barron, 14, had the coronavirus. He is a "strong teenager and exhibited no symptoms," she said, and he has since tested negative.
While at a rally in Des Moines, Trump said Barron had COVID-19 for "such a short period of time. I don't even think he knew he had it because they're young and their immune systems are strong and they fight it off — 99.9 percent. And Barron is beautiful and he's free, free."
Teachers have been apprehensive about returning to in-person learning amid the pandemic, as they don't want to catch the virus and they don't want it to spread among their students, either. Trump, however, said that after his son tested positive, "within, like, two seconds, it was Barron is just fine now. He's tested negative, right? Because it happens. People have it and it goes. Get the kids back to school." Catherine Garcia
President Trump is "not happy" with Attorney General William Barr, he told Newsmax during an interview that aired Wednesday night, and Trump would not say whether Barr will get to keep his job should the president win re-election in November.
Trump had "no comment" on Barr's job security, as it was "too early. I'm not happy with all of the evidence I had, I can tell you that. I am not happy."
Trump has been pushing Barr to indict his political foes, and on Tuesday, The Washington Post reported that a Department of Justice investigation into whether Obama administration officials improperly "unmasked" Trump campaign members whose names were redacted in intelligence reports had concluded, with former U.S. Attorney John Bash finding no wrongdoing.
Trump told Newsmax that this was "ridiculous" and "a disgrace. I think it's really a horrible thing that they're allowed to get away — when they say no indictments, they actually said no indictments before the election. I had to go through elections with all those clouds over my head. But they don't because the Republicans are so nice. Personally, I think it's too bad. I think it's too bad, they're guilty as hell." Catherine Garcia