Friday, January 7th, 2022
Dueling Riot Speeches, Supreme Court on Mandates & Hero Hockey Fan
All the news you need in around 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Masterworks.Art/newsworthy and kiwico.com (Listen for the discount code)
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 the latest happenings...
Biden’s January 6th Speech
This week, President Biden and former President Trump were again taking jabs at each other. To mark one year since the deadly Capitol invasion, Biden addressed Americans, and as expected, he blamed his predecessor for the riot. Specifically, he said Trump and his supporters were holding a “dagger at the throat of democracy” with lies about the presidential election. However, Trump fired back. He said the current president is “destroying our nation with insane policies.” And he called Biden’s speech a “distraction: from his failings as a leader.
Read more: AP, CNN, Fox News, Reuters, Axios, White House
SCOTUS Hearing Vaccine Mandate Challenges
The Supreme Court is back in session today to discuss a hot-button issue for Americans right now: Covid-19 vaccine orders. The justices will consider whether the Biden administration can enforce vaccine and testing requirements for large businesses or a vaccine mandate for healthcare workers. It's unusual that the Supreme Court would take on this debate right now since it hasn’t been fully aired out in lower courts yet, but it's considering it now as an “emergency” because Covid-19 cases are surging in the U.S. Reports say rulings will probably come in the next few days or weeks.
Read more: WSJ, KMGH, Deseret News, WaPo
Global High of Covid Cases
It’s not just the United States. Covid-19 cases are spiking all over the world. The World Health Organization says the global case count last week went up by 71%, compared to the week before. That’s a record increase, and it represents spikes in every region of the world. The U.S. had the highest number of newly reported cases, followed by the U.K., France, Spain, and Italy. There is good news, though. The Covid-19 survival rate is getting much better almost everywhere. That same week that saw a big spike in cases saw a 10% decrease in Covid-19 related deaths.
Read more: CNN, AP, Al Jazeera, WHO
More Variants Likely
The World Health Organization made it clear that we shouldn’t consider the omicron variant of Covid-19 “mild.” The WHO chief reminded people that, like earlier variants, omicron is putting people in the hospital, overwhelming healthcare systems, and some patients are still dying from it. Other top health officials say the more it spreads, the more likely another variant will pop up. So experts say the best way to put a stop to all future variants is for everyone to get vaccinated.
Read more: BBC, CNBC, WaPo, NPR
Winter Storm Latest
A lot more snow is coming if you live in the Northeast. This morning on the East Coast, snow is expected to fall at least an inch an hour. It could come down even faster in parts of Connecticut and Long Island. Overall, New York City could see up to 5 inches of snow. The snow totals are expected to be even higher in New England. About a foot could fall in states like Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. This is the same winter storm that broke records in other places in the south and mid-Atlantic yesterday.
Read more: NY Times, AP, Weather Channel, USA Today, NWS
Scientists Explore “Doomsday” Glacier
A team of scientists is on a mission to check out the massive, melting Thwaites glacier, otherwise known as the doomsday glacier. It's in a very remote part of the world in western Antarctica, and scientists want to know how fast it's melting. If the glacier were to melt entirely, scientists say it would drive sea levels up more than 25 inches. That would threaten the lives of millions of people around the world. Scientists will use two robot ships to go underneath the glacier to measure the seafloor, water temperature, and ice thickness. Plus, they’ll look for any cracks.
Read more: The Hill, AP, Gizmodo, Fortune, Thwaites Glacier
GameStop Launching NFT Marketplace
GameStop’s shares are up again. They soared yesterday after reports the video game retailer will be getting into the latest trendy tech, NFT’s. The Wall Street Journal reports GameStop hired nearly two dozen people to launch a marketplace for NFTs. It's going to be an online hub for buying, selling, and trading virtual assets related to video games. For example, it could include avatar outfits and weapons. The company is also reportedly exploring partnerships with cryptocurrency companies. The marketplace is reportedly set to launch later this year.
Read more: CNBC, WSJ, Reuters, Bloomberg
More CES Highlights
High-tech health and wellness were some of the most popular trends featured at this year’s CES, the world’s largest tech show. For example, a smart toilet. The Toto wellness toilet is made to analyze your health and fitness after your bathroom break. There’s also the Sleep Number Climate 360 smart bed that tracks stress and rest data. Plus, a pastry scanner was unveiled that detects cancer-causing ingredients. And, there’s an air quality sensor that can predict indoor pollution. There were many more high-tech gadgets like smart glasses, VR gaming gear, and a lot more.
Read more: CNET, Gizmodo, CBS News, Wired
Taco Bell Subscription Launches
Taco Bell’s new subscription service, the Taco Lovers Pass, is now available nationwide. With it, customers can get a taco every day for 30 straight days. The monthly pass costs about $10 a month, depending on your location. Also, four different tacos qualify for the deal. By the way, other chains have tried this idea, too. Panera has a $9 a month program to let customers get a coffee a day. Sweetgreen has a $10 discount program that lets people get all their orders for $3 a day.
Read more: The Verge, USA Today, CNN, Taco Bell
Hasty Pudding’s Woman/Man of The Year
Two famous actors are being honored for their work in entertainment and philanthropy with an iconic award dating back more than half a century. Jennifer Garner is this year’s woman of the year. Jason Bateman was named man of the year. Those awards are given out by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals. It's the third-oldest theater group in the world, and the awards started in the 1950s. Both Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman will receive the group’s traditional “pot of pudding” next month. In the past, the Hasty Pudding Awards have gone to legendary actors like Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep.
Read more: AP, WBZ, THR, AP, Hasty Pudding
Feel Good Friday: Hockey Fan Delivers a Lifesaving Note
A hockey fan is getting a big reward for the lifesaving note she wrote on her phone mid-game. Nadia Popovici was at an NHL game when she noticed a suspicious mole on the neck of the equipment manager for the Vancouver Canucks. She typed a message on her phone to tell Brian Hamilton to get it checked. He brushed it off but then showed his doctor. It turned out it was a type of skin cancer. He wanted to thank her, so he tracked her down on social media. For her efforts, the Canucks and the Kraken teamed up and gave her a $10,000 scholarship for her medical school education.
Read more: NY Times, NBC News, Vancouver Canucks