I agree that consuming up to the minute reporting of TV news and social media is not good (and can be paralyzing), but I used to read daily & especially weekly

I agree that consuming up to the minute reporting of TV news and social media is not good (and can be paralyzing), but I used to read daily & especially weekly newspapers when they were more of a thing. They aren't just news, but I think that's besides the point. There is skill in understanding your sphere of influence as it relates to what's important to you. Some high level examples: The mentioned China and NK conflict? Outside of my sphere of influence and interest. It probably would mostly be a waste of time to read stuff like that. The mentioned soldiers in Iraq? Some of them could have been my buddies, so while it was outside of my sphere of influence, it was definitely of interest. Then there's local news, including new things to do, see, hear, eat, etc. and these are well within both my sphere of influence and interests. This is definitely valuable to me.