Monday, April 26th, 2021
Second Doses Skipped, Tax Refunds Delayed & Oscars History
All the news you need in about 10 min:
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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...
Americans Missing 2nd Vaccine Dose
A growing number of Americans are skipping their second doses of the Pfizer and Moderna shots. CDC data says more than five million people, or about 8%, of those who got the first dose, skipped their second. The New York Times interviewed people who say they were worried about possible side effects. Others say they feel protected enough with just one dose. Also, there are some cases of supply shortages. Now, health officials are reminding people even though a single shot will give you some protection against COVID-19, it will be weaker and might not protect you against new strains.
Read More: NY Times, CNN, The Hill
J&J Vaccine Back in Circulation
Over the weekend, the FDA and CDC said it was OK to start giving the Johnson & Johnson shot again, saying its benefits outweigh the risks. It was on pause while health officials investigated a possible link to rare but serious blood clots. 15 out of nearly eight million people who received the J&J vaccine in the U.S. got the condition. Three of them died. Moving forward, everyone who gets the shot will get an information sheet. It mentions the rare clotting problem and what symptoms to watch out for.
Read More: WaPo, ABC News, USA Today
U.S. Sending Aid to India
For the fourth day in a row, India set a global record for new, daily COVID-19 infections. Hospitals are overwhelmed and oxygen supplies are running low. Now, the U.S. is promising to help. The U.S. government is sending materials needed for vaccine production. It’s also sending test kits, ventilators, personal protective equipment, and more. Public health advisers from the CDC are also going to work with Indian health officials at the embassy there. The European Union, Britain, and India’s neighbor, Pakistan, have also offered to send essential medical supplies.
Read More: NPR, The Guardian, USA Today, White House
Biden Calls Armenian Mass Killings “Genocide”
President Biden is now the first U.S. president to officially recognize the massacre of Armenians 106 years ago as genocide. An estimated 1.5 million Armenians were killed during WWI under the Ottoman Empire. That area is now modern-day Turkey, which is a U.S. ally and NATO partner. Some officials there say this could damage the U.S.-Turkey relationship. Turkey acknowledges many Armenians were killed during the difficult circumstances of the war, but it doesn’t agree with how many died. The Armenian prime minister released a statement too, saying Biden’s words were a “powerful step on the way to acknowledging the truth.”
Read More: NPR, CNN, Politico, CBS News, Newsweek
Arizona GOP Audit
It’s an unprecedented effort more than six months after a presidential election. Votes from Arizona’s most populous county are being recounted. Republicans seized more than two million ballots from Maricopa county, the machines that counted them, and computer hard drives full of data. They handed all the materials off to a Florida-based consultant called Cyber Ninjas. Republicans who authorized it say this independent review will help people trust the results, but critics argue it will only cause unnecessary doubt and the consultant group isn’t qualified. Even if the audit finds errors, it wouldn’t be enough to change the outcome of the election.
Read More: Arizona Republic, AP, NY Times
Millions of Tax Refunds Delayed
The IRS says it’s holding 29 million tax returns for manual processing. That means many Americans’ refunds are delayed. In a typical year, taxpayers get their refunds within three weeks of filing. This year, many say it’s been six to eight weeks and counting. It’s complicated for a few reasons. One is because the IRS had a backlog of returns from last year it wasn’t able to process since offices shut down at the start of the pandemic. Also, the ones taking the longest are returns that need a correction because of changes from the government’s COVID-19 relief packages.
Read More: Fox Business, USA Today, CBS News
Check Your Return Status: IRS
Academy Awards
History was made at this year’s Academy Awards. Chloe Zhao became the first woman of color to win a Best Director Oscar for her work on the movie Nomadland. That movie also won for Best Picture and Frances McDormand won Best Actress for the third time for her role in it. Best Actor went to Anthony Hopkins for The Father. The nominees and guests were spread out. However, thanks to testing and quarantine requirements ahead of time, they did not have to wear masks.
Read More: Deadline, NY Times, NPR, Oscars
Clubhouse’s First Sports Sponsorship
It’s a first for the audio chat app Clubhouse. The social media platform will provide exclusive content for this week’s NFL Draft. For Clubhouse, it’s the first collaboration with a major sports league. Beginning today, football fans can drop in on chat rooms hosted by the NFL. The rooms will include assessments of prospective players, mock drafts, and conversations with alumni from the University of Alabama football team. Fans will also hear from athletes, coaches, and analysts during the live selection process. The NFL Draft begins on Thursday.
Read More: The Verge, Variety, NFL, Clubhouse
COVID-19 At-Home Tests Sold at Chains
Big chain pharmacies are now carrying COVID-19 tests you can do at home without a prescription and you’ll get results fast: in about 15 minutes. We’re talking about the at-home test developed by Abbott laboratories. It’s now on store shelves at CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart, and it’s also being sold online. Abbott says it plans to expand to other retailers soon. The kit costs $23.99 and it comes with two tests. The company says it can detect COVID-19 even without symptoms and it’s about 95% effective.
Read More: USA Today, NPR, NBC News, Abbott
Honda Aims for Electric-Only Cars by 2040
Honda is going all-electric. The automaker says it plans to be selling only electric vehicles by the year 2040. The goal is to phase out any new all-gas and diesel-powered vehicles over the next two decades. In the short term, Honda is teaming up with rival company General Motors to make it happen. Honda’s two new electric SUVs will run on GM’s Ultium batteries. They’re coming in 2024. Then over the next six years, Honda’s CEO says it will invest more than $46 billion in research and development. It will eventually use a Honda battery and hydrogen-powered technology.
Read More: Honda, Reuters, USA Today, NPR
Josh Fight
Hundreds of people named Josh gathered at a park in Lincoln, Nebraska to determine who was the best Josh of them all. It was all in good fun. The Joshes came prepared with signs and costumes and they battled using pool noodles. A four-year-old named Joshua Vinson Jr. was declared the winner. The Josh Fight started as a joke last year, but it gained momentum online, so college student Josh Swain decided to plan the event for real. It also did some good. Participants, volunteers, and spectators donated hundreds of pounds of food to a food bank and raised more than $8,000 for a children’s hospital foundation.
Read More: USA Today, AP, People, Joshua Swain Twitter, KLKN Reporter Yousef Nasser
Money Monday: The Booming Housing Market
The housing market is booming so much, there’s now a record low number of houses for sale in the U.S. Construction companies are racing to keep up with the demand to build more. Builders got started on nearly 20% more homes in February compared to a year ago. A recent study found the U.S. has about four million fewer homes than it needs to keep up with the current demand. That’s partly because of labor and materials shortages, but also because more millennials who have been renting the last few years are now looking to buy.
Read More: Business Insider, MarketWatch, CNBC, WaPo, Axios