If the tweets stopped, would anyone notice?
Can Twitter changes save Twitter?
The 140 character verdict on Twitter is out, and it's not good. Twitter reported in Q4 earnings Wednesday that it's losing core users. That's a big deal because the number of users Twitter has says whether it can compete against Facebook for advertising bucks. Twitter is popular in some circles (reporters, politicians, celebs) but a lot of people don't get why they should use the service. So they're not. CEO Jack Dorsey says he can get more people on Twitter, but the change won't happen overnight. Speaking of change, on Wednesday the company announced it's going to select which tweets it thinks you want to see and put those at the top of your timeline. Yup, Facebook-style. Twitter faithful nearly melted when they heard the rumors last week, elevating #RIPTwitter to a top trend. So, is Twitter doomed? You tell us using #TheShortList (if you're on Twitter, of course).
The Trump balloon hasn't burst
And now the battle is on for South Carolina. Trump won Tuesday's New Hampshire primary with 35% of the vote, and he leads polls in South Carolina. What this means. Probably a pretty long and contentious fight for the Republican presidential nomination. Not in the fight: Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina, who both dropped out Wednesday. Also coming up. The Democratic caucus in Nevada. After Bernie Sanders (who can’t find one nice thing to say about Trump) won New Hampshire (the first Jew to win a presidential primary) with 80% of young voters (hey, it matters, remember Obama 2008?), it's clear Hillary Clinton needs to up her youth game. On her side? Nevada is a diverse state, and that’s where people say she stands to gain. Onward!
Burger Hot Dog King?
Your next hot dog fix might not have to come after an exhausting trip to Costco. Fast food chain Burger King said Wednesday that it’s expanding its beef kingdom to include two different kinds of franks — classic and chili cheese. You can start noshing when they hit stores Feb. 23. Why is this a big deal? This is the first time Burger King has offered hot dogs, and the launch will make it the largest restaurant seller of hot dogs in the country. The timing is perplexing: As most of the fast food industry is trying to figure out how to be healthier, Burger King has decided we all should be eating more processed meat.
So that March interest rate hike — you're saying there's a chance?
Remember that big-deal interest rate hike coming in March? It's not such a sure bet anymore. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen was sufficiently wary Wednesday in her testimony before Congress, saying global economic troubles and the recent sell-off in stocks could rattle the U.S. economy. And that could threaten the Fed's plans to raise the rate gradually this year. Wall Street wants to know if the March rate hike is off the table. Yellen signals: It's no longer a slam dunk.
Kanye being, well, Kanye
Before we tell you this, remember this is the guy who's running for president in 2020. Kanye West tweeted Wednesday (emphatically!!!!!) that Bill Cosby is innocent. Nearly 60 women have accused the 78-year-old comedian of drugging and sexually assaulting them as far back as the 1960s. Cosby has been formally charged in one case for aggravated indecent assault stemming from a 2004 encounter with an ex-Temple University employee. We're not sure what Kanye knows (or thinks he knows), but the tweet had a lot of people in an uproar. Kanye's good at that.
Extra bites:
No one is safe from the executioner's hand in North Korea. No one.
This angry elephant terrified a town in India:
Elon Musk, having an exceptionally bad year as an investor, lost $3.3 billion on a double whammy.
From pirate to politico: Johnny Depp plays Donald Trump in this Funny or Die biopic.
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This is a compilation of stories from across USA TODAY.