Friday, July 15th, 2022
White House v. Texas, World Politics Shakeup & Wordle Board Game
All the news you need in around 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 the latest happenings...
Covid Hospitalizations Rising
The newest CDC data shows another uptick in Covid-19 hospitalizations. The CDC says nearly 34,000 patients are in American hospitals with Covid-19 right now, and as of this week, nearly 6,000 more are being admitted every day on average. Nationwide, that means hospitalizations have doubled since May. They’ve gone up more in the south-central United States, states like Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Still, hospitalizations are much lower than their peaks in January, and the amount of people dying from Covid-19 is still relatively low. Health officials credit better treatments and vaccines for that.
Read More: CDC, NBC News, Axios, CNN, Reuters
Drop in Routine Vaccinations
A new report from the United Nations found millions of children around the world, most of them in the poorest countries, have missed some or all of their childhood vaccinations in the last couple of years. These are the types of vaccines that fight against common diseases like tetanus and whooping cough. Officials say it’s the largest backslide in routine immunization in a generation and should be considered a public health emergency. The report blames a variety of things, including the pandemic disrupting regular health services and misinformation about vaccines.
Read More: UNICEF, Reuters, NY Times, Bloomberg, AP
Texas Sues over Abortion Guidance
Texas has now become the first state to sue the federal government over recent guidance to doctors and hospitals around the country. Remember, the Health and Human Services Department told them they have to provide an abortion when the procedure could save the life or health of a pregnant woman. In Texas, the abortion ban has an exception for medical emergencies, but the state’s attorney general filed a lawsuit anyway. He said the guidance would force hospitals and doctors to commit state crimes. So far, the HHS has not responded to the suit.
Read More: Texas AG, White House, Texas Tribune, Politico, WSJ, WaPo
Watchdog: USSS Deleted Texts
The Homeland Security Department’s watchdog says many Secret Service text messages from the day of the Capitol riot and the day before were deleted, and they were deleted after the watchdog requested them. A Secret Service spokesman responded, saying it happened as part of a pre-planned device replacement program, not part of a cover-up. He also pointed out that the Secret Service had already turned over thousands of emails and messages as requested. Still, some lawmakers investigating the January 6th attack called the news “concerning.”
Read More: HSGAC, Secret Service, The Intercept, ABC News, AP, WSJ, NY Times, Axios
Italy Prime Minister Resigns
The Italian prime minister put in his resignation yesterday. It came after a political alliance collapsed over different opinions about how to respond to the Ukraine war and how to help Italians out of an economic slump. However, Italy’s president rejected the prime minister’s resignation. It’s not clear exactly what the future holds, but this shows how fragile the political landscape is in Europe right now. The British prime minister resigned last week, and the French president lost his majority in parliament.
Read More: BBC, CNN, WSJ, CNBC
Sri Lanka President Out
An Asian country has also been going through political turmoil lately. Sri Lanka’s president officially resigned yesterday. He had already fled the country, following months of heated protests over how he was handling an economic crisis. Protesters stormed government buildings in Sri Lanka, but once the president stepped down, they left, and the nation’s military re-established control. Sri Lanka’s prime minister already resigned last week. Lawmakers will be holding an election next week.
Read More: WaPo, Axios, AP, NY Times
Extreme Heat Worldwide
Parts of Spain and Portugal topped 104 degrees this week, breaking all-time temperature records. 40 regions across France are under some sort of heat alert, and the UK is expected to get triple-digit temps next. Further east, several Chinese cities, including the most populous city of Shanghai, issued the highest-possible alerts for extreme heat. In the United States, Texas has been dealing with a long stretch of triple-digit heat. However, it could get even worse this weekend and into next week. Parts of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas might see their highest temperatures yet.
Read More: NOAA, NASA, Axios, CNN, The Guardian, Reuters, WaPo, Fox Weather
Virginia Flooding
Heavy rainfall caused severe flooding in southwest Virginia this week. A bridge collapsed, homes were torn from their foundations, and roads were washed away. There is some good news, though. The dozens of people who were reported missing have since been found, and no one was reported hurt. Virginia’s governor is going to tour the areas impacted by flooding today.
Read More: VDEM, Weather Channel, NBC News, AP, WSJ
New Suicide Hotline Number
People experiencing a mental health emergency will soon be able to dial three numbers, 9-8-8, for help. The 988 suicide and crisis lifeline launches across the U.S. tomorrow. Anyone in the country can text or call the number 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The lifeline is free and confidential and has a network of more than 200 local crisis centers. Counselors can provide emotional support and connect callers with other resources if needed. The original suicide prevention lifeline, 1-800-273-TALK, will continue to work as well.
Read More: 988 Lifeline, USA Today, NBC News, WaPo, NY Times
Wordle Board Game
The popular online word puzzle game Wordle is becoming a physical board game. The New York Times is partnering with toy and games company Hasbro to make it happen. The new, physical version will be called Wordle: The Party Game. It’s meant to have multiple players interacting in real life. Players will compete to guess a secret five-letter word that has been written down by another player. Players earn points with each round it takes to guess the correct word. The player with the least amount of points wins. The game is available now for pre-order. It’s expected to ship on October 1st.
Read More: Pre-order, NY Times, The Verge, CNN, Axios
Van Gogh Self-Portrait Found Hidden
Another work of art from one of the most famous and influential painters in history has just been discovered. The National Galleries of Scotland came across a self-portrait of Vincent Van Gogh. It was found on the back of another one of his paintings called “Head of a Peasant Woman”. The newly-discovered work is believed to have been hidden behind it for more than a century, covered by layers of glue and cardboard when it was framed in the early 20th century. Experts at the gallery in Scotland were doing an x-ray of the painting ahead of an upcoming expedition when they first saw it. Now, visitors will be able to see the x-ray for themselves.
Read More: National Galleries Scotland, NPR, CBS News, AP, NY Post
Feel Good Friday: Teen Builds Veterans Memorial
A sizable new veterans memorial is now on display in a small town in Minnesota, thanks to a determined teenager. When Dom Claseman was 15 years old, he told the city council he wanted to build the memorial as his Eagle Scout project. Dom already had architectural plans and a spot picked out. He just needed $12,000. Over the next two years, Dom collected more than $77,000, so he expanded his vision. The memorial now includes 280 pavers engraved with the names of veterans and service members who died in combat as well as black granite benches, bronze statues, and flags.
Read More: KARE, Upworthy