Monday, July 12th, 2021
New School Guidelines, Biden vs. Monopolies & Billionaire Reaches Space
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Ritual.com/newsworthy and Framebridge.com (Listen for the discount code)
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...
New CDC Guidelines for Schools
The CDC released new guidelines for schools urging them to fully reopen. They say teachers and students who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19 should still wear masks, but anyone who’s gotten their shots is safe to go without. The CDC also says students should still be spread out at least three feet away from each other and anyone unvaccinated should be tested for COVID-19 once a week. It’s ultimately up to each school district to decide what works best for them based on CDC recommendations.
Read More: NBC News, WSJ, AP, CDC
Latest U.S. Outbreaks
COVID-19 death rates here in the U.S. are as low as they’ve been since the very early days of the pandemic. However, new cases are rising in most of the country. 42 states saw an increase in new infections in the last two weeks. The biggest increases are in places like Missouri, Arkansas, and Florida. Hospitalizations are going up in those states too. However, health officials say those cases and hospitalizations are almost entirely made up of people who haven’t gotten their shots. Nationally, about 48% of the American population is now fully vaccinated.
Read More: PBS News, USA Today, NPR, Reuters
Biden Antitrust Order
The White House is trying to crack down on monopolies throughout the U.S. economy. President Biden's latest executive order includes more than 70 actions and recommendations that involve more than a dozen federal agencies. Republicans have agreed with a lot of the order. However, they argue the U.S. doesn’t have quite as big of an issue with monopolies as the Biden administration is letting on. They worry some of the eventual rules could end up making the economy less productive. If the government agencies do end up making policies out of Biden's recommendations, they’ll likely face legal challenges from big companies that could take years to resolve.
Read More: Politico, WSJ, CNBC, TechCrunch, White House
Violent Weekend in Haiti
A Florida-based doctor was arrested for having a central role in the assassination of Haiti's president. Haiti’s police chief says Christian Emmanuel Sanon was plotting to become president himself and recruited people who killed President Jovenel Moïse. 20 other people have also been arrested for the hit job. Senior FBI and DHS officials are now in Haiti to discuss how the U.S. government might be able to help with the investigation. The U.S. denied Haiti's request for military assistance to help secure the streets. Over the weekend, some Haitian gang leaders threatened to take power now that the country has no clear leader.
Read More: WaPo, NY Times, AP, Reuters, Bloomberg
Fires in Several States
Several states in the western U.S. are still baking in triple-digit temperatures, and it’s making it hard for firefighters to get control over more than 50 wildfires burning right now. The largest wildfire of the year so far in California is raging near the border with Nevada. Officials say lightning sparked it north of Lake Tahoe and it’s grown to about 135 square miles. In Oregon, an even larger fire is racing through the Fremont-Winema National Forest. That one disrupted service on power lines that send electricity into California. Other fires are burning in Washington, Idaho, Arizona, Montana, and more.
Read More: AP, NBC News, Weather Channel
Third Western Heat Wave
Temperatures are still especially high for this time of year in the western U.S. Notoriously hot Death Valley, California, got up to 130 degrees on Friday, just four degrees shy of a world record. Vegas tied its all-time record when it got up to 117 degrees over the weekend and it’s staying in the triple-digits this week. Tens of millions of Americans are still under heat advisories in what’s now the third heatwave to hit the same region so far this summer.
Read More: WaPo, WSJ, USA Today, Axios
Giant Pandas No Longer Endangered
It looks like decades of conservation efforts have paid off. China took giant pandas off its list of endangered species. The animal’s status was downgraded to “vulnerable.” Giant pandas live in a few mountain ranges in China, and there are now more than 1,800 of them living in the wild. More than 600 others live at zoos around the world. A separate international group moved giant pandas off the endangered list five years ago. Chinese officials disagreed with the decision at the time, but now they say habitats have expanded and bamboo forests have grown, giving pandas enough to eat.
Read More: Euronews, CBS News, BBC, Smithsonian National Zoo
Virgin Galactic Test Flight
Space tourism is one step closer to reality now that Virgin Galactic has completed its first fully crewed test flight. Company founder Richard Branson was on board this weekend’s flight along with five crewmates. The space plane, named Unity, reached more than 53 miles above Earth. Branson and the others experienced a few minutes of weightlessness, then Unity started coming back down. It landed safely back on the runway. The entire trip took about an hour. Virgin Galactic then opened a sweepstakes for two free tickets on the space plane. The winner will be announced in late September for a flight early next year.
Space Tourism Sweepstakes: The Verge, Omaze
Read More: Bloomberg, AP, Fox Business, Reuters, WSJ, Virgin Galactic
TikTok ‘User Safety’ Change
TikTok will start removing certain videos automatically if they break the rules. Until now, TikTok employees have been reviewing questionable content before deciding whether to take it off the platform. Going forward, a machine will do some of this work. TikTok says its technology will recognize and remove videos that show nudity, sex, violence, illegal activities, and other graphic content. If someone feels their video has been removed by mistake, they can file an appeal. TikTok says this automation will free up its employees to focus on moderating hate speech, bullying, and false information.
Read More: Fox Business, The Verge, Business Insider, TikTok
‘Black Widow’ Box Office & Streaming Success
The latest Marvel superhero movie crushed it at both the box office and on streaming over the weekend. Black Widow, starring Scarlett Johansson, was released both in theaters and on Disney+ on the same day. The movie earned about $80 million from ticket sales in North America. That’s a new record for the pandemic era. On streaming, the movie was available for $30 on Disney+. That option brought in more than $60 million worldwide this weekend. A Disney spokesperson says “Black Widow’s strong performance” proves having a “flexible distribution strategy” is a good idea since some fans still prefer to watch new movies at home.
Read More: Variety, CNN, CNET
Wimbledon Champions
Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic made history at Wimbledon. He won his 20th Grand Slam, which ties the men’s record currently held by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Djokovic praised both of his rivals after winning Wimbledon, saying Federer and Nadal have inspired him to be a stronger player. On the women’s side, top-ranked player Ashleigh Barty made history at Wimbledon by being the first Australian woman to win the title in more than 40 years. This was Barty’s second Grand Slam title.
Men’s Final: WaPo, Bleacher Report, AP
Women’s Final: NY Times, ESPN, CBS Sports
Major Soccer Competitions Wrap
England and Italy faced off in the Euro Cup Finals, which is a European soccer championship. The match came down to a penalty kick shootout, and Italy ended up winning it. This was Italy’s first Euro Cup title in more than 50 years. Another international soccer competition happened on this side of the world. Argentina beat Brazil in the Copa América Final, the largest soccer tournament in Latin America. The final score was one to zero, and it was Argentina’s first major title win in 28 years.
Euro Cup Final: BBC, WaPo, Evening Standard, Reuters
Copa América Final: NPR, NY Times, Reuters
Money Monday: Consumer Borrowing Soars
Americans are borrowing money again and setting new records for it. The Federal Reserve says credit usage has reached its highest level in five years. People are using credit to buy or lease cars, take vacations, and pay for things like weddings. Lenders have also approved more new credit cards than at any other time in the last decade. There are reportedly a few reasons for the borrowing spree. For starters, a lot of people were able to pay down existing debt during the pandemic. They spent less, too. Now, with things reopening, Americans are more willing to splurge, even if they don’t have the funds readily available.
Read More: WSJ, MarketWatch, PYMNTS