Friday, March 26th, 2021
New Vaccine Goal, GA Election Law & Disneyland Expands
All the news you need in around 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by and Ritual.com/newsworthy and Rothys.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 reading the latest happenings...
Deadly Southeastern Tornadoes
A tornado killed at least five people in Alabama. Several others are still missing, but a search and rescue mission is underway in case they might be trapped under rubble. At least half a dozen tornadoes were confirmed in Alabama, one in Mississippi, and one in Tennessee. Homes were leveled, trees were toppled, and cars were overturned. Powerlines came down too and at last check, there were tens of thousands of homes and businesses without electricity. Today, several Alabama school districts are closed and some cities have put a curfew in place.
Read More: Weather Channel, AP, Reuters, Axios
New COVID Vaccine Goal
President Biden now says he wants to see a total of 200 million shots go into Americans’ arms by the time he marks his 100th day in office. That’s double the number from his previous goal. The U.S. has been giving out shots to about 2.5 million Americans every day on average. Also, more Americans are becoming eligible. Six U.S. states have already opened up vaccine appointments to everyone 16 and older. At least 26 more states plan to open eligibility to all adults by the end of next month.
Read More: NY Times, Politico, White House
GA Election Overhaul
Georgia’s governor signed a controversial voting overhaul into law. One of the biggest things it impacts is mail-in voting. Georgians will now have less time to request an absentee ballot and they’ll have fewer places to drop them off. It also gives state lawmakers more control over the election office. It adds an extra Saturday onto early voting and it bans outside groups from handing out food or water to people who are waiting in line. Critics say these changes are going to discourage people from voting. The governor defended the law though, saying it will make the state’s elections secure and fair.
Read More: AJC, NPR, AP, WaPo
Israel Election Too Close to Call
Israel’s fourth election in two years has ended in a stalemate. This is a big deal because Israel is one of the most powerful countries in the Middle East and the U.S. considers it one of its most important allies. However, its political system is pretty complicated. In Israel, each candidate needs to work with allies to win enough seats in the parliament to get a majority. In this latest election, all sides came up short. There are now deals being done and moves being made behind the scenes. If in the end, no one secures the majority, that means Israelis could be going back to the polls.
Read More: BBC, AP, NY Times
Earth Hour This Weekend
Tomorrow, people all over the world will unite in celebrating Earth Hour. The tradition involves people from more than 180 countries switching off their lights for an hour. It’s not just homes. You’ll usually see many landmarks and city skylines go dark too. It happens every year on the last Saturday in March. It’s a symbolic gesture meant to call attention to the climate crisis. Earth Hour happens tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. wherever you live.
Read More: CNN, EcoWatch, Earth Hour, WWF
Tech CEOs Testify on Disinformation
Once again, lawmakers grilled the CEOs of some of the biggest tech companies: Facebook, Twitter, and Google. This was the first time since the U.S. Capitol invasion that the CEOs have been questioned. Each CEO was asked if his platform contributed to the spread of misinformation and planning of that attack. Twitter’s CEO responded “yes,” but he also said technology is not the only thing to blame. When it comes to disinformation, Republicans think social media platforms are removing too much content, Democrats think they’re not removing enough and allowing harmful content to spread.
Read More: WSJ, Bloomberg, Axios, Watch Full Hearing
#StopAsianHate Day
Asian American lawmakers and community leaders are encouraging people and organizations to take part in a #StopAsianHate Virtual Day of Action and Healing. Organizers hope people will speak up and condemn anti-Asian attacks and discrimination, especially as the number of incidents reported has gone up since the start of the pandemic. A list of actions to take part today includes posting on social media with the hashtag #StopAsianHate and supporting community-based organizations that help the cause.
Read More: AsianAmericanDayofAction, Asian Journal, USA Today
Disneyland Expansion Plans
The iconic Disneyland resort in California has plans to expand. There aren’t a ton of details yet, but the theme park wants to add new attractions and rides alongside new shops, restaurants, and entertainment. Disney officials are calling the plan Disneyland Forward. However, it won’t all happen right away. Disneyland has been closed for more than a year because of the pandemic. It’s finally set to reopen next month. Then, Disney is hoping to get approval from the city for the new overhaul by 2023.
Read More: LA Times, CNN, Fox Business, Deadline
Passover Begins
A major Jewish holiday begins this weekend. Jewish people across the globe will observe Passover starting Saturday at sundown. The holiday then lasts eight days. As part of the tradition, Jews eat unleavened bread called matzo instead of regular bread. Families also get together to eat traditional foods during a big meal called a Seder. Last year, many families had to spend the holiday apart because of COVID-19. This year, many are thinking about using technology to see each other.
Read More: Today, WaPo, USA Today, White House
Feel Good Friday: Bald Eagle Population Thriving
American bald eagles, once on the brink of extinction, are now thriving in the wild. A new government report shows the number of bald eagles has quadrupled over the last dozen years. Federal wildlife officials say there are now more than 300,000 individual bald eagles in 48 U.S. states. They also point to more than 70,000 breeding pairs now, compared to fewer than 500 back in the 1960s. Since then, there have been efforts to protect them including banning the pesticide and labeling them an endangered species in most states until 2007.
Read More: AP, NPR, NY Times, FWS