Wednesday, April 28th, 2021
Biden’s Big Speech, New Mask Guidelines & ‘Real ID’ Delayed Again
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 reading about the latest happenings…
Biden’s First Address to Congress
Tonight, President Biden will give his first formal address to Congress. He will highlight what he considers the accomplishments his administration has made so far. He’ll also outline his vision for the country moving forward. A big focus is going to be the $1.5 trillion economic proposal President Biden is calling the American Families Plan. It includes new spending on childcare, family leave, and education. He wants to pay for it with new tax hikes on the richest Americans. After Biden’s address tonight, Republican Sen. Tim Scott will deliver the GOP response.
Read More: NY Times, WSJ, Reuters, NBC News
$15 Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors
Hundreds of thousands of federal contractors will get a pay bump. President Biden signed a new executive order to increase their minimum wage to $15 an hour. There are an estimated five million contract workers in the federal government like cleaners, maintenance workers, shuttle bus drivers, and more. The Economic Policy Institute says now, as many as 390,000 of them are getting a raise. The new order says all federal agencies need to include the higher wage in the new contracts starting early next year.
Read More: WSJ, NPR, Axios, AP, Reuters, White House
New CDC Masking Guidelines
The CDC put out new guidelines that say Americans who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 don’t need to wear masks in most outside situations. The only exceptions are outdoor events that can get especially crowded. For people who are not vaccinated, the CDC still recommends wearing a mask outside a lot of the time, especially if they’re around other unvaccinated people, but not necessarily while walking, running, or biking with family members. The federal health agency says everyone, vaccinated or not, should still wear masks at public indoor places.
Read More: AP, WaPo, NY Times, CBS News, CDC
Republican Vaccine Ad
A group of Republican doctors who are also U.S. Senators teamed up with some House Republicans to promote COVID-19 vaccines. They filmed a new ad that combines scientific medical advice with conservative principles. For example, one Senator/doctor said in the ad the shots are a way to “end the government’s restrictions on our freedoms.” Another talked about how the vaccines are safe, saying the FDA “cut bureaucratic red tape, not corners.” Recent polls have shown Republicans are less likely to get a COVID-19 vaccine than Democrats.
Read More: The Hill, The Week, Bloomberg, Watch Ad
Real ID Deadline Pushed Back
Americans now have more time to get a Real ID license since the deadline was pushed back again. It’s supposed to be a version of a driver's license that’s harder to forge. To get one, you have to go through a stricter identification at the DMV. You’ll eventually need one to board a plane, even to fly domestically. Now, it won’t be required until May of 2023. The deadline was originally supposed to be last year, then got delayed to this year. Now, federal officials say another delay is needed since the pandemic made it harder for adults to get to their local DMVs.
Read More: NBC News, CBS News, DHS
New Crypto Reward Credit Card
There’s soon going to be another way to collect cryptocurrency by doing your regular shopping with regular U.S. dollars. Mastercard is partnering with the digital currency exchange platform Gemini to offer one of the first Crypto Rewards credit cards in the world. It will be available in the U.S. this summer and users will be able to use it wherever Mastercard is accepted. Like with other cards, shoppers will earn a percentage back based on how much they spend. However, instead of getting cash back on purchases, shoppers will get bitcoin or they can choose between more than two dozen other cryptocurrencies Gemini supports.
Read More: Business Insider, Reuters, Mastercard, Gemini
Spotify Launches Paid Podcasts
Spotify debuted its paid subscription service for podcasts, though it’s just starting with 12 creators in the U.S. Some other creators will be able to start charging listeners for bonus episodes over the next few months. It’s similar to what we offer to our NewsWorthy insiders but through a different platform. You can pay a small monthly fee to get ad-free versions of the show. However, major platforms like Spotify and Apple committing more to podcasting speaks to the growth of the medium. The number of podcasts on Spotify has more than quadrupled since 2019.
Read More: TechCrunch, WSJ, Variety, Spotify
LeBron Rookie Card Ties Record
NBA star Lebron James just broke a new record off the court. A signed version of his 2003 rookie card sold for a record-breaking $5.2 million in a private sale. That makes it the most expensive basketball card ever. It also ties the record for any sports card. The only one in history that sold for just as much as the Lebron card is a 1952 card of the baseball legend Mickey Mantle. Analysts say there are more extremely rare Lebron James and Mickey Mantle cards out there, but most owners don’t want to part with them.
Read More: ESPN, USA Today, CBS News, SI
Japanese Serial Dater Charged With Fraud
It turns out dating too many people at once doesn’t just get complicated. It can be criminal. A man in Japan was arrested over it and is facing fraud charges. Police say he strung along as many as 35 women at once. The serial dater reportedly told several of the women he wanted a serious relationship and even marriage. However, the police think he may have only been in it for birthday presents. He reportedly got around $1,000 worth of presents from the women. Several of them came together to file a formal complaint against the man. That led to his arrest.
Read More: Japan Today, Newsweek, Tokyo Reporter
Work Wednesday: Why Some Workers are Quitting Stable Jobs
New estimates say one in four U.S. workers is planning to quit their job when the pandemic is over. A recent survey found that of those people who plan to quit, 80% said they didn’t think they could advance at their current job. 72% said the pandemic made them rethink how they wanted to use their skills. The New York Times spoke to people about this. Some of them who’ve been working remotely say they realized they don’t like staring at computer screens all day, instead of spending time with their families. Many have been inspired to start a business or take a more flexible job instead.
Read More: NY Times, CNBC, Prudential