Tuesday, March 9th, 2021
CDC’s New Advice, Winter Olympics Boycott? & Malala Takes on TV
All the news in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by EveryBottleBack.org & BLUblox.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...
CDC Guidelines for Vaccinated People
The CDC put out new guidelines this week. They give fully vaccinated people the green light to go back to at least some pre-pandemic activities. For example, the CDC says fully-vaccinated people can visit indoors with other people who have also gotten their shots and they don't need to worry about wearing masks or social distancing. However, even once you are vaccinated, the CDC asks you to keep wearing masks in public and should keep avoiding crowds since you never know who else might be a high risk.
Read More: AP, NPR, NY Times, CDC
More Migrant Children Detained
A lot more migrant children are trying to get into the U.S. and shelters are filling up fast. The New York Times got hold of documents that show more than 3,000 children were detained at the U.S.-Mexico border in the last two weeks. That’s more than triple the number from two weeks earlier. For now, many of the unaccompanied minors are being held in facilities that were built for adults and have been widely criticized. They’re supposed to be moved to shelters meant for children, but it’s reportedly taken longer than usual to do so lately. The federal government reopened an emergency facility in Texas to create more space.
Read More: NY Times, CBS News, Reuters
Chauvin Trial Jury Selection
The former police officer charged with killing George Floyd is going to be back in court. It’s time to select the jury for his murder trial. Derek Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter. Prosecutors say he killed George Floyd in Minneapolis last May by kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes during a police investigation. The whole thing was captured on video. Still, defense attorneys are reportedly going to argue Floyd died from drug use and an underlying health condition, not from Chauvin’s restraint.
Read More: Minneapolis Star Tribune, WaPo, AP, USA Today
Another Senate Republican Retiring
Sen. Roy Blunt, from Missouri, is now the fifth Senate Republican to bow out of the 2022 midterms. Blunt is 71 years old and in his announcement, he mentioned he’s already served decades in public service and won 14 other elections, so it seems he’s had enough. His retirement paves the way for a crowded, competitive Republican primary in Missouri followed by a closely-watched election. It won’t be the only one. In all, there are 34 Senate seats up for grabs in next year’s midterm elections.
Read More: Politico, Axios, WSJ, NBC News
Djokovic Breaks Tennis Record
Tennis star Novak Djokovic set another new record. He’s now spent a total of 311 weeks as the number-one ranked tennis player in the world. That means he’s now surpassed the record once held by another legend, Roger Federer. Djokovic called reaching the milestone a “relief” and says it means he can now focus on just winning titles. Already, he’s won 18 Grand Slams. For now, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal still hold the record for most Grand Slams with 20 each.
Read More: AP, ESPN, Bleacher Report, Djokovic Tweet
Calls to Boycott 2022 Beijing Olympics
Pressure is growing for the U.S. to boycott next year’s Winter Olympics. The games are supposed to happen in Beijing next February, but more than 180 human rights groups and some lawmakers in Congress say the U.S. should boycott because of human rights abuses in China. One Congressman even introduced a resolution, urging the U.S. to skip the games unless they’re moved to a new host country. However, opponents say a boycott will accomplish little to nothing, except deprive star athletes of the opportunity to compete. China says these boycott talks are “doomed to fail.”
Read More: USA Today, AP, FOX News
Buy the First-Ever Tweet
The first-ever tweet is now up for auction. Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey tweeted, “just setting up my Twitter” back in 2006. Now, he’s putting it up for sale as an NFT. Remember, non-fungible tokens are essentially unique digital tokens verified by the owner. He shared the link to a platform called Valuables that lets people buy and sell tweets autographed by their creators. At last check, Dorsey’s tweet has reached a bid of $2.5 million.
Read More: CNBC, CNN, Reuters, Twitter
Malala Partners with Apple
Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai is taking her passions to the small screen. The 23-year-old activist will work with Apple to produce dramas, comedies, children’s series, documentaries, and more that will stream on Apple TV+. Yousafzai told Reuters she wants to introduce people to new voices and perspectives and she hopes young girls will be inspired by her work. Already, Yousafzai has dedicated much of her life to promoting girls’ education. No word yet on when her shows and movies will drop on Apple TV+.
Read More: Reuters, AP, CBS News, Apple
'The Queen’s Gambit' Musical
First, it was a book. Then, it was a miniseries. Now, The Queen’s Gambit is getting turned into a musical. The production company Level Forward got the rights to bring the story of an orphan turned chess prodigy to the stage. Level Forward hasn’t given any details about the project yet, or when we could see it go live, but the company knows what it’s doing. It co-produced four Broadway shows in 2019 alone.
Read More: NY Times, Variety, Deadline
Trivia Tuesday
Q: What is the painting ‘La Gioconda’ more commonly known as?
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: The moon has how many phases?
A: 8
Read More: NASA