Wednesday, January 6th, 2021
Historic Runoff Results, Pro-Trump Protests & Grammys Postponed
All the news you need in 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by www.Rothys.com/newsworthy and Noom.com/newsworthy
Story Summaries
All the news stories mentioned in today's episode are listed with links below, so you can spend as much -- or as little -- time as you want reading about the latest happenings…
GA Senate Election Results
For the first time in decades, it looks like Georgia voters are sending at least one Democrat to the U.S. Senate. That means Dems are one step closer to gaining control of Congress. Several news outlets are projecting Democratic Rev. Raphael Warnock has won one of the state’s runoff elections. The other race is still too close to call. Democrat Jon Ossoff has a narrow lead. If that holds, Democrats will have taken down two Republican incumbents. However, neither Republican candidate has conceded, both insisting they still have paths to victory.
Read More: NY Times, AP, WSJ
Equally Split Senate
If both Democrats end up winning the Georgia runoffs, the Senate will be split evenly between Democrats and Republicans, with 50 lawmakers from each party. That’s only happened three times in American history. This time, it would technically mean Democrats will have the majority since Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would act as the tie-breaker. However, it would also give individual senators a lot more power. In the past, this type of split has meant leaders from both parties have worked together more to decide what bills to bring to a vote.
Read More: WaPo, Axios, Bipartisan Policy Center
Congress to Certify Electoral College Votes
This afternoon, Congress count the Electoral College votes. Dozens of Republicans in the House and Senate plan to challenge the results in a handful of swing states. Some say they at least want a federal audit of the election results before finalizing them. Once there’s an objection, lawmakers can debate for up to two hours, then vote on whether to continue or not. Since Democrats control the House and many Republicans in the Senate have already accepted Biden’s victory, the objections aren’t expected to go beyond that point.
Read More: Reuters, AP, NBC News, Trump Tweet
D.C. Pro-Trump Protests
While Congress is meeting inside the Capitol, rallies to support Trump are happening outside. President Trump will speak to those crowds this morning. They’re expected to get pretty huge. One rally has a permit for up to 30,000 people. Some protesters have already started showing up. So far, many have been peaceful, but several have been arrested, some for weapons charges, others for assaulting a police officer. Washington, D.C.’s mayor has asked residents to stay away from the downtown area and the national guard has been mobilized.
Read More: AP, WaPo, NBC News, FOX News
Kenosha Officers Won’t Face Charges
A top prosecutor in Kenosha, Wisconsin decided not to file charges against the officer who shot and paralyzed Jacob Blake. He said a case against the officer would be hard to prove because the officer insists he was protecting himself and he feared Blake was going to stab him. Blake admitted to holding a knife when officers approached him. He was shot seven times in front of his children. However, the Blake family attorney promised to file a civil lawsuit. A federal civil rights investigation into the shooting is still underway.
Read More: Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Kenosha News, AP, NY Times
States with Worst COVID Rates
There are now more than 131,000 COVID-19 patients in American hospitals right now. Healthcare systems in the west and south are especially overwhelmed. For example, Los Angeles is running out of oxygen tanks, so ambulance crews are being told to use oxygen only for their worst-case patients. In the Atlanta, Georgia area, nearly every major hospital is almost full, so state officials had to reopen a field hospital for the third time since the pandemic began. That’s why health experts say now is the time to follow as many precautions as possible.
Read More: NBC News, WaPo, Johns Hopkins, COVID Tracking
FDA Rejects Vaccine Changes
The FDA shot down suggestions that the U.S. should shake up how the coronavirus vaccines are handed out. Some experts have been pushing ideas like delaying the second doses or only giving half doses as a way to get more people vaccinated sooner. However, none of those methods have been tested in clinical trials. That’s why for now, the FDA says until enough data supports those kinds of changes, it’s warning against them.
Read More: Axios, USA Today, The Hill, FDA
Grammys Postponed to March
This year’s Grammy Awards have been postponed. They were supposed to happen on January 31st, but they’ve now been pushed back to March 14th. Organizers say the delay is because Los Angeles, where the live ceremony takes place, is seeing a tremendous spike in COVID-19 cases. It still hasn’t been announced where the award show will take place or how, but whatever happens, a lot of popular artists are set to be featured. Beyoncé is nominated for the most awards this year with nine nods.
Read More: Variety, NPR, AP, Grammys
Executive Order Bans Chinese Apps:
President Trump is putting new restrictions on a handful of Chinese-owned apps. He signed an executive order that bans at least some transactions with eight of them. The apps include: Alipay, which is sort of like Venmo, as well as WeChat Pay, and more. In a statement, the White House says it’s cracking down on these apps to protect national security and to keep data out of the hands of the Chinese government. The ban on transactions is expected to go into effect in 45 days. So far, no reaction from China.
Read more: Reuters, The Verge, WSJ, White House
Amazon Buys Passenger Planes:
For the first time, Amazon bought a fleet of jets. The company said it bought 11 planes from Delta and WestJet Airlines as part of an effort to ship its orders faster. The planes will be converted to deliver cargo (rather than passengers), and they’re expected to be ready to go by 2022.
Read more: The Verge, AP, Reuters, Amazon
Historic Heisman Winner:
For the first time in nearly three decades, a wide receiver won the most prestigious award in college football. Alabama’s DeVonta Smith won this year’s Heisman Trophy. He really made a name for himself this past season. Smith was named the AP player of the year last week as well, and he’s expected to be one of the top players selected in the 2021 NFL draft. But first, you’ll likely see him play this upcoming Monday when Alabama takes on Ohio State for college football’s national championship title.
Read more: ESPN, CBS Sports, USA Today
Work Wednesday - Minimum Wage Increases:
The minimum wage has gone up in 20 states, including Arizona, California, New York, and Massachusetts, as of January 1. In some states, the minimum wage is now as high as $14 per hour. In others, it’s $8.75. Both are still higher than the federal minimum wage, which still stands at $7.25 an hour. That national minimum wage hasn’t changed in more than 11 years, and that’s the longest it’s gone without an increase since 1938. Some believe the low federal wage keeps people in poverty, while others argue raising pay requirements hurts small businesses and jobs.
Read more: CBS News, The Hill