Tuesday, January 11th, 2022
Insurers Cover Tests, Human Gets Pig Heart & Georgia Wins
All the news in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by MamaZen (Listen for the discount code) and StitchFix.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 to read the latest happenings...
U.S.-Russia Security Talks
American and Russian officials talked for nearly eight hours on Monday, but not much was accomplished since both sides reportedly stuck to their demands. The U.S. wants Russia to prove it doesn’t intend to invade an American ally, Ukraine. Russian officials have denied having any big takeover plans, but U.S. officials aren’t convinced. Meanwhile, Russia’s top demand is a guarantee that the NATO alliance won’t expand any further east. Western leaders call that idea a nonstarter. There will be two more high-profile talks on this topic later in the week.
Read more: NY Times, WaPo, WSJ, AP, Axios, White House
4th Hottest Year on Record
2021 was one of the hottest years in American history. A new report from the government agency NOAA says it was the 4th hottest year in the U.S. The warmth was fueled by a record hot summer. December also ranked as the warmest on record, dating back to 1895. Overall, every state in the country recorded above-average temperatures. However, areas in the northeast, as well as parts of the west and midwest, were the warmest compared to the average.
Read more: Weather Channel, Newsweek, The Independent, NOAA
Weather Disasters Cost
The government agency NOAA says 2021 brought the 2nd-highest number of extreme weather disasters in history. For example, Portland, Oregon dealt with an extreme heatwave, with temperatures reaching 116 degrees. Wildfires swept across the American west while Texas reported deadly ice storms. The Midwest saw tornadoes for the first time in December, and four hurricanes caused extensive damage. NOAA counted 20 events that each cost more than $1 billion. Altogether, they caused about $145 billion in damages.
Read more: CNN, The Hill, Gizmodo, NOAA
Insurance to Cover At-Home Tests
The White House unveiled a new policy that says private insurance has to cover the cost for eight at-home Covid-19 tests every month. It starts this weekend. If you have private insurance, it should be free, as long as each test doesn't cost more than $12. That means you won’t even have to pay a deductible, co-insurance, or co-payment. Some insurance companies are setting up deals with pharmacies so people can get the tests without paying upfront. With others, you’ll likely have to pay for it and then submit a claim to get your money back.
Read more: Politico, WSJ, WaPo, The Hill, HHS
Record Number of Kids Hospitalized
The CDC says an average of 830 children are being admitted into hospitals with Covid-19 every day. That’s the highest rate since the start of the pandemic. However, kids younger than 18 make up less than 5% of all new daily hospital admissions for Covid-19. That’s lower than any other age group. Of course, school administrators are considering all of this as they decide whether to keep campuses open or enforce any new rules.
Read more: CBS News, Fortune, AP, Fox News, CDC
School Closures
Last week, more than 5,400 K-12 schools reported stopping in-person learning because of Covid-19. That’s the most in one week so far this school year. The number was impacted by the 3rd biggest school district in the country. Students at Chicago Public Schools have been out of class for five days while the city and school district tried to negotiate with the teachers union over health protocols. They’ve now made a deal, and kids in Chicago are set to return to class tomorrow. Thousands of other schools also reopened this week.
Read more: WaPo, WSJ, Bloomberg, CNBC, Burbio
Pig to Human Heart Transplant
For the first time, U.S. surgeons successfully transplanted a pig heart into a human. Three days after the surgery, doctors say the patient is doing well. The University of Maryland Medical Center said the man needed a heart transplant but was ineligible for a traditional one. So to save his life, the FDA gave the hospital the green light to transplant a genetically-modified pig heart. It’s too soon to tell if the transplant will be successful. In the past, these transplants have failed because the patients’ bodies will reject the animal organ.
Read more: AP, NY Times, Baltimore Sun, FDA, UMSOM
College Football National Championship
The Georgia Bulldogs are officially National College Football Champions. They won the title for the first time in more than four decades when they beat Alabama. It was a real come-from-behind win, too. Alabama was leading at half-time, but the game started heating up in the 4th quarter. With just over eight minutes left in the game, Georgia's quarterback threw a 40-yard touchdown, putting the Bulldogs in the lead. After that, Georgia scored two more touchdowns, and the team’s defense stopped Alabama from scoring any more. The Bulldogs beat the Crimson Tide 33-18.
Read more: ESPN, USA Today, The Athletic, Yahoo Sports
NFL Coaches Fired
Several NFL coaches are now out of a job. At least three teams fired their head coaches on what’s called Black Monday, the day after the league’s regular-season ends. The Miami Dolphins cut head coach Brian Flores. This was a surprise because the Dolphins won eight of their last nine games. ESPN says Flores is expected to be a top candidate somewhere else. The Minnesota Vikings fired their head coach, Mike Zimmer. He was the 3rd winningest coach in Vikings history, but he got the boot after a losing season. The Chicago Bears also fired their coach, Matt Nagy.
Read more: USA Today, Reuters, CBS Sports, NY Post
Gaming Mega-Merger
In a video game mega-merger, the owner of “Grand Theft Auto” bought the owner of “Farmville” and “Words with Friends” in a $12.7 billion deal. We’re talking about Take-Two and Zynga. Take-Two’s chief executive says this opens up a chance for crossplay. That’s how people can play the same games whether they are on a phone, video game console, or PC. For example, if you’re on an Xbox, but your friend is on a PC, you can still play the same game. The deal doesn’t officially close until next year.
Read More: The Verge, Axios, WaPo, AP, T2, Zynga
New Maya Angelou Quarters
The U.S. Mint started shipping special quarters with the face of the late poet and activist, Maya Angelou on them. It's part of the program called The American Woman Quarters. This makes Angelou the first Black woman to ever appear on the coin. Four other American, trailblazing women will also be featured on new quarters this year, like the first woman in space, Sally Ride. The other quarters will begin rolling out later this year and go through 2025. You’ll still see George Washington on the heads side of the quarter, and the historic women will be featured on the tails side.
Read more: Reuters, Politico, USA Today, CNN, U.S. Mint
Trivia Tuesday
Q: How many times was Martin Luther King, Jr. arrested?
Play along on today’s Instagram Stories quiz. We’ll also have the answer right here next week.
Last Week’s Trivia Tuesday Answer
Q: Tom Cruise considered pursuing a career in what sport before being injured?
A: Wrestling
Read More: Biography, Independent, Daily Mail, USA Today