Monday, February 1st, 2021
Monster Snowstorm, Myanmar Coup & Major NFL Trade
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Noom.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 review the latest happenings...
Another Major Snowstorm
More than 110 million Americans are in the path of a snowstorm today. The winter weather system already dumped nearly a foot of snow in the Midwest. Today, it’s hitting the East Coast even harder. New York City could get up to 18 inches of snow by tomorrow. In both New York and New Jersey, emergency response teams are working around the clock. Utility companies are ready to respond to power outages as they happen. Washington, D.C. could get up to eight inches of snow too.
Read More: CBS News, NBC News, CNN
Trump New Impeachment Lawyers
Former President Trump changed his impeachment legal team with just more than a week to go before his Senate trial. He has two new lawyers now. Trump’s former team quit a couple of days ago. Those lawyers haven’t put out a reason themselves, but reports say they didn’t agree on how to defend the former president. Reports say Trump wanted them to argue there was election fraud. However, the lawyers wanted to focus on whether it was constitutional to hold an impeachment trial against a former president.
Read More: AP, CBS News, Reuters, ABC News
Proud Boys Indicted
Federal prosecutors announced some of their most serious charges yet in response to the violent invasion of the U.S. Capitol. Two members of the far-right nationalist group the Proud Boys are facing charges for conspiracy, assaulting an officer, civil disorder, and more. Overall, more than 170 people have been charged in the riot. However, most have been accused of more minor crimes. The only other serious conspiracy charges have been brought against members of the militia group the Oath Keepers.
Read More: NY Times, AP, NPR, DOJ
FBI Pipe Bomb Investigation
Federal investigators are offering a $100,000 reward for information about the person who left two pipe bombs in Washington, D.C. The FBI says the explosives were planted the night before the capitol riot. They were found just blocks away from each other at the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national committees. Experts defused them, so no one was hurt. Since then, the FBI says it’s interviewed more than 1,000 people and it put surveillance images on its website. However, so far, no one has been arrested.
Read More: WaPo, NBC News, FBI
Russia Mass Protests
For the second weekend in a row, tens of thousands of Russians took to the streets to demand opposition leader Alexei Navalny be released from custody. Navalny is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s main rivals. Two weeks ago, he was taken into custody. Police reportedly arrested thousands of people over the weekend and some of them were beaten. The U.S. is calling on Russia to release Navalny and has criticized the treatment of protesters.
Read More: AP, WSJ, Politico, Blinken Tweet
Myanmar Leader Detained
In Myanmar, the military took over in a coup against their democratically-elected government. Senior politicians were detained in early-morning raids. The army blamed “election fraud” and said it’s taking over for at least the next year. At the same time, mobile networks and the internet are down in major cities, and some local journalists are reportedly going into hiding. The new U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken responded, saying the military must reverse actions immediately.
Read More: Reuters, AP, NY Times, Blinken Tweet
J&J Vaccine Data
The world could soon have another powerful weapon against the COVID-19 pandemic. Johnson & Johnson reported the results of its largest vaccine study. This is the vaccine that only requires one dose. Now, the drugmaker says it’s about 72% effective in preventing any illness from COVID-19 in the U.S. It’s also 85% effective at preventing severe illness. It’s not available to the public yet. The company is reportedly going to ask for FDA authorization in the next week.
Read More: AP, WaPo, CBS News, J&J
BBB: Don’t Post Vaccination Cards
The Better Business Bureau says if you want to post about getting a COVID-19 vaccine, leave your vaccine card out of the picture. The cards show what kind of vaccine you got and it also includes personal information like your full name, birth date, and where you got your shot. The BBB says that’s valuable information for scammers. It could put you at risk and bad actors could use those images to make fake vaccination cards to sell online.
Read More: BBB, CBS Boston, Newsweek
Coachella, Stagecoach Canceled
For the second year in a row, two of the country’s biggest music festivals have been called off. Coachella and Stagecoach got canceled. They were set to begin in Southern California in April, but both events were scrapped because of a Riverside County health order. Local officials say the festivals could have exposed too many people to COVID-19 and it would have been difficult to do contact tracing. Coachella and Stagecoach haven’t announced if they’ll reschedule or skip this year.
Read More: LA Times, The Verge, CBS News, Riverside County
NFL QB Trades
Two quarterbacks who were both No. 1 NFL Draft picks got traded. The Detroit Lions traded Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams for their quarterback Jared Goff. Stafford will reportedly be leaving the Lions as the team’s all-time leader in every passing category. However, some say the Lions got the better deal. Besides 26-year-old Goff, the Rams also traded away two future first-round draft picks and a third-round pick for Stafford, who is almost 33.
Read More: ESPN, FOX News, CBS Sports, NFL
Unique Pro Bowl Game
A very unique version of the Pro Bowl happened yesterday. Usually, the Pro Bowl is like an all-star game between some of the league’s most celebrated players. This year, it was a virtual video game. It was played on Madden 21. A rotating lineup of football players and celebrities were at the controllers each quarter. For example, Snoop Dogg played one quarter, and NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace played another. In the end, the NFC beat the AFC 32-12.
Read More: USA Today, ESPN, Boston Globe
Black History Month
Every February, the U.S. and Canada spend the month honoring the achievements of Black people and celebrating Black culture. The NAACP suggests using Black History Month to do things like support Black-owned businesses and creators, donate to a Black organization, or visit a Black history or civil rights museum. There are also dozens of virtual events happening and major businesses are throwing their weight behind Black History Month as well.
Read More: NY Times, Smithsonian, History, NAACP
Companies Celebrating Black History: Yelp, Apple, Peloton, Under Armour
Money Monday: High-End Liquor Sales Booming
High-end liquors like pricey whiskeys and tequilas are flying off store shelves. Despite bar closures, distillers are seeing their strongest sales in about four decades. Alcohol executives tell the Wall Street Journal this is because fewer people can spend money on things like concerts, travel, and live sports anymore, so they’re splurging on high-end booze instead. People are opting for alcohol that costs at least $40 a bottle. A trade body called the Distilled Spirits Council says revenue jumped up 7.7% to $31.2 billion last year.
Read More: Axios, WSJ, JAMA