Thursday, May 6th, 2021
CDC’s Summer Outlook, Unruly Travelers & Baby Bust
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by LightStream.com/newsworthy and Noom.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...
CDC’s New Outlook for Summer
A new CDC report includes a very hopeful outlook about the future. Teams of experts were told to predict how COVID-19 will affect the U.S. in the months ahead. They were told to make different projections that vary based on how people might behave or how vaccine drives might work. Under every scenario, the experts predicted new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths will drop sharply by the end of July. From that point, they’ll keep going down even more. The only bad news is cases could rise a bit more this month as restrictions are lifted and new COVID-19 variants are still spreading.
Read More: AP, USA Today, CNBC, CDC
Judge Overturns Eviction Ban
Millions of Americans could be on the verge of getting kicked out of their rental homes even earlier than expected. Because of the pandemic, the CDC banned most evictions across the country. That ban was supposed to stay in place until at least the end of next month. However, a federal judge overturned it yesterday. She said unlike Congress, the CDC doesn’t have the authority to impose bans. The Justice Department disagrees and has promised to appeal. The eviction ban will likely stay in place while this gets sorted out in courts.
Read More: CNBC, Axios, WaPo, Reuters
Officer Who Shot Rayshard Brooks Reinstated
A police officer who was fired right after a controversial, deadly shooting in Atlanta is now getting his job back. Ofc. Garrett Rolfe was fired from his job and arrested for murder for shooting and killing Rayshard Brooks last summer. However this week, Atlanta’s civil service board said Rolfe wasn’t given his right to due process since he was fired less than 24 hours after the shooting happened and he didn’t have time to explain himself. Now, he’s getting reinstated, but he won’t be back on the streets. He’ll still be on leave until his criminal case gets resolved.
Read More: AJC, AP, ABC News, NPR
American Students Guilty in Italian Police Death
Two American college students are now set to spend the rest of their lives in Italian prisons. The Americans, who were teenagers at the time, were vacationing in Rome when reports say they stole someone’s backpack. Police responded, but they were not in uniform. A fight broke out and one of the Americans stabbed one of the officers 11 times. That officer died. Prosecutors said the Americans were trying to kill him. The defense team argued they were acting in self-defense because they didn’t know they were fighting the police. In the end, both men were found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Read More: NY Times, Fox News, NBC News, WaPo
Facebook Upholds Trump Ban, Orders Review
Former President Trump still won’t be able to post to Facebook or Instagram. Facebook’s oversight board has been looking into this issue ever since the social media giant banned Trump back in January. Now, board members say Facebook was right to do so, saying Trump’s posts incited violence. They also say the ban doesn’t need to be indefinite. The ruling gives Facebook six months to come up with a long-term plan and decide whether to let Trump post again.
Read More: WSJ, Axios, Fox News, Oversight Board, Facebook
Earthquake Early Warning System
In three west coast states, everyone with a cell phone can now get a warning before a major earthquake hits. Officials say a federal alert system is now live all across California, Oregon, and Washington. The system is called Shake Alert. It relies on data from a government network that monitors earthquake activity. When the system detects an earthquake that’s magnitude five or higher, people will receive an alert on their phones. It’s meant to give people about 10 seconds to take cover or grab hold of something before the shaking starts.
Read More: NPR, U.S. News & World Report, ShakeAlert, USGS
More Violent Incidents on Planes
Bad behavior on airplanes is becoming more common. The FAA says it’s getting more reports than ever before of passengers being disruptive or abusive to flight attendants, even though fewer people are flying overall. Typically, the FAA gets no more than 150 reports a year from airlines, but that number has skyrocketed to more than 1,300 in the past three months alone. Many of the reports have been about passengers refusing to wear masks. Others have involved violence. Now, the FAA says it’s planning to fine people thousands of dollars for misbehaving.
Read More: CNN, NBC News, Reuters, Axios
Peloton Recalls Treadmills
The popular fitness company Peloton is recalling all of its treadmills because of safety concerns. Peloton says anyone with a Tread or Tread+ should stop using it and they can contact the company for either a remedy or a full refund. Federal officials have been pressuring Peloton to issue this recall for a while now. They say dozens of children and at least one pet have gotten hurt when they got sucked under the workout machines. At least one child died. At first, Peloton argued the machines were safe as long as customers follow the instructions. Now, Peloton’s CEO is apologizing.
Read More: Peloton, CPSC, USA Today, Fox Business, CNET
Successful SpaceX Starship Test Flight
SpaceX finally pulled off a successful test flight of its Starship spacecraft. That’s the rocket that’s supposed to be able to shuttle NASA astronauts to the moon in 2024. In yesterday’s test, the rocket flew about six miles high before turning around and landing safely back on earth. That’s about how high airplanes fly, but about 70 miles below the orbit. The high-altitude test was the fifth one SpaceX has done, but it’s the first one that went so smoothly. Next, SpaceX is hoping to send the Starship into orbit before the year is out.
Read More: CBS News, WaPo, CNBC
Nurse’s Week Begins
Today is the start of National Nurses Week. Federal data shows nearly four million people are working as nurses across the country. Every year, starting on May 6th, there’s a week dedicated to celebrating their hard work. A recent Gallup poll found nurses are the most trusted people in the medical profession, receiving the highest ratings for honesty and ethical standards. This year, many companies are showing their appreciation with discounts and freebies.
Read More: Nursing World, USA Today, Parade, Bureau of Labor Statistics, AACN, Gallup
Thing to Know Thursday: U.S. Birth Rate Drops
In 2020, the U.S. birth rate dropped another 4% as compared to 2019. Now, the CDC says for every 1,000 women of child-bearing age, there are about 56 births. That’s the lowest rate on record and about half of what it was in the 1960s. It didn’t matter the age group or ethnicity, the birth rate was lower last year almost across the board. Women have historically put off having babies when the economy is in trouble. However, this is the sixth straight year the birth rate has gone down. On average, women are having babies later too and overall family size is getting smaller.
Read More: AP, NY Times, Axios, CDC