Friday, March 19th, 2021
100M Vaccine Doses, Severe Storms Aftermath & NFL’s Amazon Deal
All the news you need in around 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Fitbod.me/newsworthy & EveryBottleBack.org
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...
First Vaccine Goal Reached
Today, the U.S. is expected to give out its 100 millionth COVID-19 shot since President Biden took over. That means the U.S. is ahead of its initial goal. President Biden promised to get 100 million doses into Americans’ arms within his first 100 days in office. Today is day 58. Of course, the vaccine program was first launched under former President Trump and another 16.5 million doses were given out in his last five weeks in office. Still, there’s a long way to go, but Biden says he plans to announce his next vaccine goal next week.
Read More: Politico, AP, NPR, ABC News
U.S. Sending Doses to Mexico and Canada
The U.S. is planning to start sharing some COVID-19 vaccine doses. The Biden administration says it’s sending out four million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine that have been in a stockpile. That version of the vaccine is not authorized in the U.S. yet, but it has been given the green light in both Mexico and Canada, so that’s where they’re headed. The shipments will go out as a loan with the U.S. getting future doses of vaccines later. The exact details aren’t final.
Read More: NY Times, AP, BBC, Reuters
Euro Nations Resume AstraZeneca Shots
This week, the European Union’s medicine regulator has been looking into safety concerns over the AstraZeneca vaccine. A few dozen people in Europe, out of the millions who got the shots, ended up getting dangerous blood clots afterward. Now, the EU group confirms the vaccine is safe to use and the benefits far outweigh the risk. Earlier this week, virtually all of Western Europe had stopped using the shots temporarily until they heard more. Now, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and other countries say they’ll bring the shots back.
Read More: CNBC, WSJ, CNN, EMA
Anti-Asian Discrimination Hearing
Prominent U.S. lawmakers, scholars, and advocates spoke about discrimination and hate crimes against Asian Americans at a rare Congressional hearing. It was scheduled a few weeks ago but happened just days after a white man killed eight people including six Asian women in the Atlanta area. During the hearing, Asian American lawmakers said language from some of their colleagues has put a “bulls-eye” on Asian Americans. They asked them to stop using terms like “China virus” and “Kung flu” to describe COVID-19.
Read More: ABC News, NY Times, USA Today, WaPo
Biden Visiting Atlanta
President Biden and Vice President Harris are addressing the fear and frustration in the Asian American community. Already, the White House has lowered flags in memory of the eight people killed in the Atlanta area. Today, the president and vice president are going to be meeting with Asian American community leaders in Atlanta. Originally, they were planning to promote the COVID-19 relief package, but the White House now says the political event will be pushed back.
Read More: AJC, Politico, NBC News
Severe Storm Aftermath
People across the deep south are cleaning up from a tornado outbreak. Dozens of tornadoes were reported mostly in Alabama in Mississippi. Some were also reported in Missouri, Louisiana, and the Carolinas. Several homes were damaged or destroyed and at least two people were hurt. Thankfully, no deaths have been reported as of this morning. Meteorologists say this storm could have been much worse if it hit more densely populated cities. Instead, it mostly hit rural areas and it seems people there were prepared.
Read More: Weather Channel, CBS News, CNN, WaPo, NOAA
First Day of Spring
The official start of spring is almost here. What’s called the spring equinox happens tomorrow. It means the sun will be directly over the equator early tomorrow morning. It’s also the tipping point for when our days will finally have at least as much light as darkness. Tomorrow, we’ll have about 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. After that, the sun will keep setting later until June. This equinox also marks the first official day of astronomical spring. Forecasters say almost the entire U.S. will see warmer-than-average temperatures for the next three months.
Read More: USA Today, NJ.Com, Farmers Almanac
Asteroid to Pass by Earth
An asteroid the size of the Golden State Bridge is set to skim past Earth this weekend. Scientists say it’s up to 2,200 feet wide and it’s zipping along at almost 77,000 miles per hour. It’s one of the fastest-known asteroids to fly by Earth. Don’t worry though. It won’t get too close. At its closest point, it will be more than a million miles from our plant, so scientists say it probably won’t make an impact. It will be closest to us at about 11 a.m. ET on Sunday. Space enthusiasts should be able to spot it with a telescope.
Read More: CBS News, Fox News, NASA
Facebook Shows Off Neural Wristbands
Facebook is showing off its new augmented reality project. It’s making bracelets meant to translate subtle signals from your brain and turn them into action. They read your nerves as they send information from your brain to your hand. For example, while wearing the bracelets, you’ll be able to navigate through the AR menus by just thinking about moving your finger to scroll. The product is still being developed, so at this point, it’s too soon to know how well it might work, what it will cost, or when it would be available.
Read More: The Verge, MIT Technology Review, Buzzfeed, Facebook
NFL Signs Media Deals
The NFL has inked massive media deals with some of the biggest TV networks. The deals are together worth about $110 billion for 11 years. These deals let the networks and platforms broadcast pro football games. Amazon is now going to be the exclusive home for Thursday Night Football. Sunday Night Football will stay on NBC and Monday Night Football will stay on ABC and ESPN. The Sunday afternoon games are split up between CBS and FOX. The new agreements are set to get underway in 2023 and they’ll last through the 2033 season.
Read More: NY Times, Axios, CNBC, NFL
AMC Opening Nearly All Theaters
It looks like movie theaters are ready for a comeback. As of today, America’s largest movie chain, AMC Theaters, says it will have 98% of its locations open. Even more will open up next week. This is a huge turnaround since it was only nine months ago that AMC said it might not survive the coronavirus pandemic. Now, AMC is offering jobs to some of its old employees who got laid off at the start of the pandemic and it’s hoping movie-goers will be ready to come back too. Of course, there will be more safety protocols in place.
Read More: AP, Bloomberg, MarketWatch, AMC
Feel Good Friday: WallStreetBets Donates to Gorilla Charity
The same Reddit community that rallied around failing stocks like GameStop earlier this year is now rallying around a different cause. Users of the popular Reddit page WallStreetBets have recently donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to charities that protect gorillas in the wild. One of the mottos of WallStreetBets is “Apes Together Strong.” Some say it reflects the wild nature of their investments. Someone on the page donated to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund last weekend. Since then, other people have decided it was a good idea too. The organization received $350,000 in donations in just a few days.
Read More: The Verge, Business Insider, CNN, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund