Friday, July 9th, 2021
Americans Arrested in Haiti, Quiet Olympics & Historic Spelling Bee Champ
All the news you need in around 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Policygenius.com and kiwico.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...
Afghanistan Withdrawal Update
American troops will be out of Afghanistan even sooner than planned. Instead of September 11th, President Biden bumped the withdrawal deadline up to August 31st. About 90% of U.S. troops are out already. Some military and intelligence leaders have been raising concerns about security in Afghanistan once all U.S. troops leave, especially as the Taliban have been retaking more districts there. However, the President defended the withdrawal yesterday, saying the U.S. has already achieved its main goals in the country. Biden says now it’s up to the Afghan people alone to decide their future.
Read More: NPR, Axios, WSJ, CBS News
Haiti Assassination Update
Dozens of people are now accused of assassinating Haiti’s president, including two American citizens. The Americans were detained, along with 15 other suspects from Colombia. Haitian police say eight more suspects are still on the run. Officials haven’t said what might have motivated the men to kill President Jovenel Moïse, but there are fears this killing could cause more turmoil for Haiti. It’s already facing widespread gang violence, hunger, and poverty, along with strong political divisions. The U.S. State Department is urging all Haitian officials to work together to keep the peace.
Read More: WaPo, NY Times, AP, Reuters
Capitol Fencing Coming Down
The U.S. Capitol is going to start looking a little more friendly today for the first time in six months. Crews will start taking down the security fencing that went up just after the January 6th Capitol riot. This week, the House Sergeant at Arms told members of Congress that security conditions have improved in the months since the riot. However, Capitol police will be monitoring threats and the fencing could go back up if needed. The Capitol is still closed to most members of the public, and it’s not clear when tours will start back up again.
Read More: AP, Politico, NY Times, ABC News
Michael Avenatti to Prison
Michael Avenatti was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for trying to extort Nike. He was trying to get the sports apparel giant to pay him $20 million to conduct an internal investigation. He threatened that if Nike didn’t agree, he would expose alleged corruption within its elite basketball program. Nike never paid Avenatti, and instead hired lawyers who recorded some of his threats and turned them over to the FBI. Before handing down the sentence, the judge said “Avenatti had become drunk on the power of his platform.” There are more charges against him in California and New York for defrauding other clients.
Read More: WSJ, ABC News, Fox Business, AP
Pfizer Developing Booster
Vaccine-maker Pfizer says it seems its COVID-19 shots might start losing their effectiveness after a while, especially now that the Delta variant is spreading quickly. So next month, it’s going to ask the FDA to authorize a booster shot. This is based on a small set of data out of Israel. Researchers there found after six months, some vaccinated people were infected with the Delta variant. So far, the FDA and CDC are not convinced a booster shot is needed. They say even when there have been breakthrough cases, they’ve been mostly mild.
Read More: CNN, CNBC, Reuters, USA Today
Japan State of Emergency
With just two weeks to go until the Olympics, Japan’s government is putting Tokyo under a new state of emergency. The goal is to reduce COVID-19 infections since the number of new cases has been rising in Tokyo recently. People will be asked to stay home as much as possible, and restaurants will close early. No fans will be allowed at the Olympics. That reverses a decision made just last month to allow some local spectators into stadiums and arenas. The change means Olympic organizers will lose out on up to $800 million from ticket sales. Tokyo officials have both promised the Olympics will go on as safely as possible.
Read More: Kyodo News, ESPN, WSJ, NY Times, AP
Cancer Deaths Drop
Fewer Americans are dying from some of the most common types of cancer. The American Cancer Society, National Cancer Institute, CDC, and more released a new report this week. It looked at data from 2014 to 2018 and found the biggest drops in lung cancer and melanoma deaths. Researchers credit lower smoking rates, as well as better targeted treatments. There were parts of the report that were concerning, too. Death rates rose for brain cancers, pancreatic cancers, and a couple more. Also, even though more people are surviving, there are also more Americans getting breast and kidney cancers. Researchers say that could be linked to a rise in obesity, poor diet, and total sitting time.
Read More: Stat, ABC News, CNN, USA Today, Cancer.gov
CA Water Conservation
Drought conditions are now so bad in California the governor is asking more people to cut back on water use. Governor Newsom’s emergency proclamation now covers 50 out of the state’s 58 counties. He says if everyone in those counties can cut back by 15%, that would be enough water to supply more than 1.7 million households for a year. The conservation order isn’t mandatory, but the state suggests people do things like take shorter showers, only run washing machines and dishwashers when they’re full, and fix any water leaks. If the drought gets worse, the State Water Resources Control Board could end up mandating restrictions.
Read More: LA Times, SF Chronicle, CNBC, Gov. Newsom
Volkswagen, BMW Dirtier Car Fines
The European Union fined Volkswagen and BMW about $1 billion over conspiring with each other to stop innovation that could have curbed pollution and made cars cleaner. The EU explains the German automakers knew they had technology that could reduce toxic emissions in diesel-powered cars, but agreed they wouldn’t compete to develop the best emissions systems. Instead, they decided to only meet the minimum requirements of the EU. Investigators say this so-called “emissions cartel” violated antitrust laws. VW and BMW both agreed to settle the case, admitting their role in the scheme.
Read More: The Verge, Reuters, WSJ, CNN
National Spelling Bee Champion
14-year-old Zaila Avant-garde became the first Black American student to ever win the Scripps National Spelling Bee. She won by correctly spelling the word murraya, which is a type of tropical tree. This year’s competition was a little different than years past because of the pandemic. Only the top eleven spellers competed in person and the first three rounds were held virtually. The 8th grader will take home more than $50,000 in cash and prizes. Avant-garde said in the next few years, she’d like to see more African American and Hispanic contestants at the bee.
Read More: WaPo, AP, Deadline, Spelling Bee
Feel Good Friday: Family Saved From House Fire
Two men noticed something was wrong and took action to save a family from a burning home. One was a FedEx driver. During his usual route, Rashad Conwell noticed a neighbor’s garage was on fire. He ran to the door and let a woman inside know there was a fire. Randy Mohammad was also working nearby and banged on the door to alert the family. The woman told local news stations she had no idea she was in danger, but because of them, she and her family ran out the door and no one was seriously hurt.
Read More: Inspire More, WBTV, WJZY