Monday, June 21st, 2021
Dangerous Tropical Storm, 300 Million Shots & Prime Day Deals
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp.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 review the latest happenings...
Tropical Depression Claudette
Tropical depression Claudette is pounding the east coast of the U.S., currently threatening the Carolinas. It’s expected to strengthen back into a tropical storm this morning. People need to prepare for torrential rain, flooding, and possible tornadoes. Claudette already left a deadly trail of damage across parts of the south, mostly in Alabama. Strong winds, heavy rains, and tornadoes were reported in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Claudette is the third named storm of the year for the Atlantic hurricane season.
Read More: Weather Channel, NPR, WSJ, USA Today, NWS
New Iranian President
Ebrahim Raisi was elected as Iran’s new president over the weekend. Raisi is a conservative judge who has strong ties to Iran’s supreme leader. The U.S. sanctioned Raisi two years ago over alleged human rights abuses. Analysts also think Raisi is going to resist the U.S. trying to limit Iran’s military activities in the Middle East, though he appears to be open to a new nuclear deal. Nuclear talks are set to resume next month and Raisi is set to be sworn into office in six weeks.
Read More: WSJ, NY Times, USA Today, WaPo
Mayors Promise Reparations
Mayors from big cities like Los Angeles and Denver are promising to pay reparation money for slavery. Each mayor says they’ll pay small groups of Black residents in their cities. They’re hoping to set an example for the federal government on how a national program could work. So far, they don’t have details about how much this effort is going to cost, who’s going to pay for it, or how the recipients will be chosen. Advocates say reparations are a way to right the wrongs caused by slavery, segregation, and housing discrimination. Critics argue Americans shouldn’t have to pay for crimes of the past.
Read More: AP, Forbes, Fox News, MORE
Delta Variant Becoming Dominant
According to the World Health Organization, the Delta variant of COVID-19 is now becoming the dominant strain around the world because of how highly contagious it is. Studies have found Delta is between 40-80% more contagious than previous strains. So far, it accounts for around 10% of cases in the U.S. The CDC director says she expects it to become the dominant strain here in the coming months. There is a fear that the mutations will cause the vaccine to be less effective. However, so far that isn’t the case, with vaccines being said to tackle even the Delta variant.
Read More: ABC News, CNBC, Fox News, Politico
300 Million Vaccine Doses
President Biden announced another milestone over the weekend. Since he took office, more than 300 million COVID-19 shots have been given, which is on top of the nearly 17 million during the Trump administration. This means more than half of the total population in the U.S. has had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, with 45% of Americans being fully vaccinated. The U.S. still has a long way to go, though, with the nation’s top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci saying between 70-85% of the population needs to be vaccinated for the U.S. to reach herd immunity.
Read More: CBS News, Axios, USA Today, CDC
First Trial Cruise
The cruise industry is one step closer to getting back to business. A Royal Caribbean ship set sail from Miami last night. No paying customers were on board. Instead, the ship was carrying about 600 employee volunteers, along with a CDC representative, to test COVID-19 health and safety measures. Everyone was vaccinated. The idea of a trial cruise was laid out as a requirement by the CDC, but it’s possible not every cruise line will have to follow these requirements.
Read More: CNN, Marketplace, Royal Caribbean
Judge Blocks CDC from Enforcing Cruise Rules
The state of Florida sued the CDC over strict cruise line regulations. Florida’s governor argued they weren’t rational because more people are getting vaccinated, and other industries like airlines, hotels, and restaurants have been allowed to reopen, so cruises should be able to, too. On Friday, a federal judge agreed. He says starting next month, cruise lines can ease up on the rules if they’re leaving from Florida ports. Those rules include trial voyages, testing sites on each ship, and a seven-day limit on the length of each voyage. Instead of hard rules, the CDC is supposed to call them recommendations or guidelines.
Read More: Forbes, NY Times, WSJ, The Hill
American Airlines Cuts Flights
American Airlines is cutting flights in response to a surge in passengers. It is dealing with maintenance and staffing issues, so American says it’s cutting flights in places where there are more options to get people where they need to go. This could help avoid last-minute cancellations elsewhere. The airline canceled more than 300 flights over the weekend, and it plans to cut dozens of flights every day for the rest of this month. About 1,000 flights planned for the first half of July are also getting scrapped.
Read More: Axios, Reuters, WSJ, ABC News
Snapchat Removes Speed Filter
Snapchat’s controversial speed filter is now gone from the app. When people used that filter, you could see how fast they were going. Safety advocates have long worried it’s encouraged young drivers to drive irresponsibly. The social media app has faced lawsuits from families whose loved ones have been hurt or killed in car crashes. Snapchat has made changes over the years, like making the filter harder to find by making it a sticker that included a warning saying “don’t snap and drive.” Now, the company says it decided to delete the feature from the app because it’s rarely used anymore.
Read More: NPR, Car and Driver, The Verge, CNET
Amazon Prime Day
Amazon Prime Day is officially underway. The retail giant says this is the largest Prime Day ever. There are more than two million items on sale, though the discounts are only available to Amazon Prime members. The event kicked off at midnight PT and it lasts 48 hours. CNBC suggests shoppers look for deals on things like smart home devices, laptops, tools, and pet products. Other major retailers have gotten into the habit of offering deals during Amazon’s Prime Day event, too. Special sales are also going on at Walmart, Target, Kohl’s, Best Buy, Home Depot, and more.
Read More: Amazon, CNBC, NY Times, CNN, Forbes
Backstreet Boys & *NSYNC Unite
Lance Bass and Joey Fatone of *NSYNC, along with Nick Carter and AJ McLean from the Backstreet Boys, teamed up for a pride event over the weekend. They performed under the name Back-SYNC at an event that raised money for LGBTQ organizations like the Trevor Project and LA Pride. This may be the first of many collaborations. AJ McLean teased fans with a Tiktok video suggesting that he, Carter, Fatone, and Bass were working on a new album together as Back-SYNC.
Read More: Variety, iHeartRadio, AJ McLean
Money Monday
Kids as young as 13 are now legally trading stocks. Fidelity is helping fuel the trend by recently launching a program called The Youth Account. It lets teens buy and sell stocks and mutual funds. Kids under 18 need a parent’s permission to sign up, and parents can receive alerts about transactions and close their kid’s accounts at any time. Fidelity says the program can help teach teenagers about money management. Not everyone thinks it’s a good idea though, with critics arguing making stock trading as easy as playing a game could be harmful to teens.
Read More: WSJ, CNBC, Go Banking Rates, Fidelity