Thursday, March 25th, 2021
More Severe Storms, Giant Shipping Mishap & Olympic Torch Relay
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Rothys.com/newsworthy and Ritual.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 peruse the latest happenings...
Another Tornado Outbreak Possible
For the second time in two weeks, millions of people in the southeast are being told to prepare for a tornado outbreak. The highest risk area includes Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. The National Weather Service says there’s potential for some long-range twisters. Those are tornadoes that stay on the ground for several miles and often cause devastating damage. The forecast is also calling for heavy rain, large hail, and strong wind gusts. These storms will move fast, so once the warnings go out, people should take shelter immediately.
Read More: NBC News, WaPo, USA Today, NWS
Harris to Lead Border Efforts
Vice President Kamala Harris was put in charge of one of the biggest challenges of the Biden era. She’s going to be leading government efforts at the southern border. Her job will be about finding what’s causing a flood of migrants to leave their home countries and come to the U.S. Then, she will help develop a long-term strategy to hopefully address those issues. Harris is going to work closely with Latin American countries like Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.
Read More: Politico, Axios, AP, NBC News
First Senate-confirmed Transgender Official
The U.S. Senate made history with its latest confirmation vote. Dr. Rachel Levine is now the first openly transgender person to be confirmed to a federal position. She’s now the assistant secretary for health. Right after the vote, Dr. Levine promised to “promote policies that advance the health and well-being of all Americans.” The final confirmation vote was 52-48. Every Democrat and two Republicans voted “yes.” The rest of the Republicans voted “no.” President Biden says she has the expertise in medicine to help get the U.S. through the pandemic.
Read More: NY Times, ABC News, NPR, Vox
Suez Canal Blocked
A massive cargo ship is now blocking Egypt’s Suez Canal and there are fears it could have a huge impact on global trade. The Suez is one of the world’s busiest trade routes. Earlier this week, strong winds knocked a giant container ship off course and it got stuck. Tugboats are now trying to get it free, but it’s not clear when the route might be able to reopen. Experts say it could take several days. In the meantime, more than 100 other ships are waiting on both sides to cross the canal. The longer the blockage lasts, the more the rest of the world will feel the impact.
Read More: BBC, NY Times, WaPo, WSJ
Olympic Torch Relay Begins
The Olympic torch relay is now underway. The torch will be carried through all 47 of Japan’s prefectures over the next four months. It will eventually be brought to the Olympic stadium in Tokyo for the games’ opening ceremony on July 23rd. The torch relay kicked off in Fukushima at the site of the massive and devastating 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown. The torch ceremony was closed to the public and overseas fans are not allowed at any Olympic events this year.
Read More: Reuters, NBC Sports, CNN, WSJ, Olympic Games, Watch the Live Stream
Facebook: China Hacked Uyghurs
Chinese hackers have reportedly been trying to spy on Uyghur Muslims using fake accounts on Facebook. The social media company says it’s now taken down those accounts, but not before there was a sophisticated effort underway. Facebook says the hackers set up fake accounts to try to infect the computers and smartphones of Uyghur Muslims with malware. They could use that malware to spy on them. Facebook did not blame the Chinese government, but it did say the hackers are part of the same operation that’s been linked to the government in the past.
Read More: WSJ, AP, NBC News, Facebook
Uber Expands Prescription Deliveries
Uber wants to deliver your next prescription right to your doorstep. The ride-hailing giant is now teaming up with ScriptDrop. The company already works with pharmacies in 37 states to deliver medications. Now, this deal makes Uber their default delivery app. Together, they reportedly have plans to expand to more places in the coming weeks and months. Already last summer, Uber partnered with a different on-demand prescription delivery company in a handful of cities. However, this is a bigger, more widespread partnership.
Read More: Stat, WSJ, Reuters, Uber
Buy a Tesla with Bitcoin
You can now buy a Tesla with bitcoin. Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk made the announcement on Twitter. He says his company is using internal and open-source software to accept the new type of payment. He’s also warning if you decide to return your electric car, Tesla can choose to pay you back with U.S. dollars at the price bitcoin was worth when you bought it. Musk says people outside the U.S. should also be able to use Bitcoin to buy a Tesla later this year.
Read More: CNBC, Elon Musk, Tesla
Disney+ Price Hike
It’s your last chance to lock-in a subscription to Disney+ before the price goes up tomorrow. Disney+ will raise the price in the U.S. by one dollar a month. So it’s going from $7 a month to $8 or from $70 a year to $80. This is the first price hike for the streaming service since it launched in late 2019. Remember, Disney has seen the number of subscribers skyrocket during the pandemic. This month, Disney+ says it passed 100 million subscribers around the world.
Read More: Variety, The Verge, Deadline
Thing to Know Thursday: Vaccine Passports
Certain countries are adopting or considering types of vaccine passports. The idea is these passports can be digital or paper documents that show people have received their COVID-19 shots. China has already rolled out a COVID-19 digital passport for international travel. 27 European countries are thinking about using something similar to make it easier for people to cross borders within the EU. In the United States, President Biden has asked federal agencies to explore some options like this too, but it’s not clear exactly how they’ll work.
Read More: AP, Smithsonian, Cnet, Newsweek