Thursday, January 28th, 2021
Domestic Terror Threat, Ambitious Climate Plan & Netflix’s Biggest Show
All the news you need in about 10 min:
Today's episode is brought to you by Ritual.com/newsworthy 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 to peruse the latest happenings...
Domestic Terror Threat Heightened
For the first time in a year, the U.S. government used a federal alert system to warn people about a threat of domestic terrorism. The Department of Homeland Security hasn’t cited any specific plot. However, the warning says there’s a lot of anger, especially from claims about the 2020 presidential election, and that anger could lead some people to launch attacks in the coming weeks. It also says some people may have been emboldened by the invasion of the U.S. Capitol building earlier this month.
Read More: ABC News, AP, WSJ, NY Times, DHS
Climate Crisis Executive Actions
President Biden signed more executive actions all about climate change. One temporarily bans oil and gas companies from leasing federal land for drilling. It will not impact drilling already underway and the administration says the oil industry still has access to millions of acres of land not owned by the federal government. However, 30 Republicans put out a statement calling the action an “assault on American energy as well as good jobs.” However, Biden is promising to create millions of good-paying union jobs in the green energy sector.
Read More: AP, Politico, WSJ, FOX News, White House
Watchdog: HHS Misused Emergency Funds
Your tax dollars meant for public health emergencies were misused. That’s what the Health and Human Services Department’s Inspector General is saying. The federal watchdog pointed to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA. It’s supposed to help finance vaccine research and pandemic preparedness. However, investigators say hundreds of millions of dollars went to unrelated activities instead. The HHS Department is reviewing the issue and it hired an outside accounting firm to audit the agency.
Read More: NY Times, CNBC, WaPo, ABC News, IG Report
U.S. Buys 200M More Vaccine Doses
There are new plans to ramp up COVID-19 vaccine deliveries. President Biden says he wants to make sure the U.S. has enough doses to vaccinate the U.S. population with both the required shots by the end of summer. The administration plans to buy 200 million more doses and start boosting states’ supplies as soon as next week. The new purchase will add onto the 400 million bought last year.
Read More: CBS News, AP, Politico, WaPo, CDC
Shortages Warnings
The new COVID-19 response coordinator says the U.S. is still facing shortages of personal protective gear and other essential supplies. Jeffrey Zients and other top officials are meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. They’re trying to rally support for a $1.9 trillion relief package that would solve that problem. It would also provide billions of dollars for vaccine distribution, schools, unemployment benefits, and another round of direct payments.
Read More: NY Times, The Hill, NPR
WHO: Pregnant Women Should Skip Vaccines
The World Health Organization is telling most pregnant women to skip getting vaccinated for now. It’s the same as the guidance Pfizer and Moderna have provided. The reason for the new recommendation is the lack of data. Neither company enrolled pregnant women in the vaccine trials. Both say they plan to study it in the future. That said, the CDC does still allow pregnant people to choose to be vaccinated. The WHO said the shots are likely ok for moms of breastfeeding children.
Read More: WSJ, Reuters, LA Times, WHO
Ongoing Market Volatility
The SEC and treasury secretary are said to be keeping an eye on the powershift in the u.S. stock market. It’s not clear if federal regulators will eventually step in. Remember, millions of small-time investors are coming together to take on some of the most sophisticated investors. They’ve sent some unexpected stocks soaring. For example, GameStop’s value has shot up more than 1,700% since December. At least one online brokerage took the rare step of not allowing some of these transactions because of “unprecedented market conditions.”
Read More: SEC, CNET, Bloomberg, WSJ, CNN
Apple Urging People to Update iPhones ASAP
If you have an iPhone or iPad, Apple wants you to update as soon as possible. It says its latest software update fixes three security flaws hackers could exploit. Apple hasn’t spelled out specifics, but it says one of them affects iOS. The other two affect the browser engine used by Safari and other apps. The new update is for the iPhone 6 and later as well as the iPad Air 2 and later. It came out on Tuesday.
Read More: AP, TechCrunch, USA Today, Apple
Cloris Leachman Dies
Oscar and Emmy-winning actress Cloris Leachman has died. Her publicist said she passed away in her sleep yesterday at 94 years old. Leachman is most famous for her role as Phyllis Lindstrom on the popular 1970’s sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Her career took off in the late 1940s and she has hardly slowed down since. She most recently appeared in the movie Jump, Darling. It was released last year.
Read More: USA Today, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Mel Brooks Tweet
‘Bridgerton’ is Netflix’s Biggest Show
Netflix says Bridgerton has become its biggest series of all time. It’s a romantic drama produced by Shonda Rhimes based on novels by Julia Quinn. It debuted on the streaming platform last month and since then, more than 82 million households have watched it. That’s more than 40% of all Netflix subscribers. Netflix says Bridgerton blew away its expectations and it’s already been renewed for a second season.
Read More: The Verge, Deadline, Netflix
Sundance Film Festival Begins
The Sundance Film Festival kicks off today. Usually, thousands of filmmakers, actors, and movie fanatics flock to Park City, Utah for the event. This year, the festival will be mostly virtual instead because of the pandemic. That means people will be watching the movies online from home. Things like director Q&As will be done remotely too. Sundance will have fewer feature films than usual this year than usual. The festival runs through February 3rd.
Read More: LA Times, Rolling Stone, Engadget, Cnet, Sundance FF
Thing to Know Thursday: Holocaust Remembrance
The world just marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It marks the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp. In a larger sense, it’s a reason to acknowledge the history of the Holocaust and hopefully learn from it. Ultimately, Nazi Germany killed six million Jewish people and about five million others mostly in the 1940s. Normally, memorial events happen every Remembrance Day. This year, many moved online. Also, some survivors used the occasion to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
Read More: AP, NY Times, CBS News, NBC News