Friday, January 22nd, 2021
Biden’s ‘Wartime Effort’, Impeachment Trial Preps & Movie Releases Delayed
All the news you need in around 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by MunkPack.com (Listen for the discount code) and BlueNile.com
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...
President Biden Pandemic Response Plans
President Joe Biden is overhauling the COVID-19 pandemic response. Biden signed another 10 executive orders in what he called a “full-scale wartime effort” One tells agencies to use the Defense Production Act to boost supplies like N95 masks, testing supplies, therapeutic drugs, and vaccines. Some of the other orders are to open vaccination centers, direct more studies and trials of COVID-19 treatments, and make sure all international travelers can show a negative coronavirus test before flying into the U.S.
Read More: NY Times, Axios, NPR, White House
Fauci ‘Liberated’ with Biden
Dr. Anthony Fauci is still the nation’s top infectious disease expert. He had his first briefing under the Biden administration yesterday. There, he confessed he feels “liberated” under Biden since he is now able to talk about science without fearing backlash. Dr. Fauci also said it’s good Biden’s team can build on at least some ideas from the previous administration instead of starting from scratch.
Read More: Politico, CNBC, CBS News
Republicans React to Executive Actions
Top Republicans are taking issue with some of President Biden’s day-one actions. For example, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell doesn’t like Biden’s move to kill the Keystone XL pipeline. Environmentalists and Native American tribes said it would have damaged their land and killed local wildlife. However, conservatives like McConnell think the move will hurt the oil and gas industries and more than 1,000 jobs will be lost. Biden’s proposal for a $1.9 trillion relief bill is also facing some hurdles in Congress from even moderate Republicans.
Read More: FOX News, LA Times, USA Today, Cruz Tweet
Trump Impeachment Preps
Former President Donald Trump is focusing on his upcoming Senate impeachment trial. He reportedly hired a South Carolina-based lawyer named Butch Bowers to represent him. Bowers represented former Republican governors in ethics hearings in the past. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is pushing for the trial to start in mid-February. He reportedly wants to give Trump the time to prepare his defense. So far, no response from Democrats.
Read More: CNBC, WaPo, Reuters, LA Times, Politico
Seattle, Portland Violent Protests
More than a dozen people are now facing criminal charges for violent protests in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington. Immigration offices and other buildings were vandalized in both cities. In Seattle, the crowd burned American flags in the street and chanted, “no cops! No prisons!” In Portland, about 150 people broke windows at the state’s Democratic headquarters. Others threw rocks, bottles, and pepper spray toward police officers. At this point, it’s not clear if the Seattle and Portland groups are linked.
Read More: Reuters, CNN, WSJ, Oregonian
Storm Moving Across Country
Over the next few days, one storm system is expected to have a big impact on much of the U.S. Today, forecasters say it will bring some much-needed rain and cooler temperatures to the West Coast. Come Saturday, that same storm will move into the middle of the country. Heavy snow will blanket the Plains into the Great Lakes. To the south, this cold front is going to bring severe thunderstorms in Texas and Oklahoma. Eventually, the system will head east. The East Coast is expected to see snow this Sunday into Monday.
Read More: ABC News, Weather Channel
NFC, AFC Championship Games
Both the AFC and NFC championships are happening this Sunday. These two games will decide which teams make it to the Super Bowl this year. In the NFC game, Aaron Rogers and the Green Bay Packers will take on Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Later Sunday, The Buffalo Bills will play the Kansas City Chiefs for the AFC final. However, it’s still not clear if the Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will be able to play. He got a concussion last game and hasn’t been cleared yet.
Read More: NFL, CBS Sports, USA Today
Judge: Amazon Can Keep Parler Offline
The so-called ‘free speech’ social media platform Parler was dealt another setback. A judge ruled it’s ok that Amazon removed Parler from its web-hosting service. Amazon gave Parler the boot over too many posts inciting violence. Parler pushed back with a lawsuit, arguing Amazon broke its contract and abused its market power. However, a judge said Amazon was within its rights. Parler is expected to appeal. For now, it doesn’t look like any users can log on to Parler.
Read More: NPR, Politico, AP
Movie Release Dates Delayed
Some big-name new movie releases got pushed back in response to the ongoing COVID-19 concerns. First was the latest James Bond movie No Time to Die. It was first supposed to come out in April 2020. Now, it will be November of this year at the earliest. Also, Ghostbusters: Afterlife was pushed from June to November, a new version of Cinderella was moved from February to July, and the movie Uncharted, based on the video game, got bumped all the way until February 2022.
Read More: The Verge, USA Today, MarketWatch
Apple Working on VR Headset
Reports say Apple is working on its first virtual reality headset meant to give people 3D experiences for things like gaming, watching videos, and communicating. Bloomberg says Apple plans to make it state-of-the-art. For example, it wants the display to have a higher resolution than existing VR products. It could also have a fabric exterior to make it lighter and it might include some AR features. The goal is to have the headset launch as early as next year. It is still in development.
Read More: Bloomberg, The Verge, TechCrunch
Feel Good Friday- Kindergartner’s Diversity Book Drive
A young Black girl named Amor Coleman noticed the books she was reading in class rarely included characters who looked like her, so she decided to change that. With the help of her mom, she started a book drive to collect books about people of different races, cultures, and backgrounds. Their original goal was to get 35 books. Now, hundreds have poured in. Amor and her mom say they’re going to keep the book drive going through next month. They set up an Amazon wish list with all the books about diversity they’re hoping to get.
Read More: CBS News, Fox59, Amazon Wish List