Friday, July 16th, 2021
Global Weather Extremes, Mask Mandate Returns & Reunited After 24 Years
All the news you need in around 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by kiwico.com/newsworthy and Ritual.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...
Upper Midwest Heatwave, Wildfires
This weekend, another record-breaking heatwave is expected to bring triple-digit temperatures to more areas that hardly ever see those kinds of numbers. We’re talking about places like Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, and Western Canada. This heatwave is the latest in what’s been an unprecedented summer. In just the last month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says the nation has set 585 all-time heat records. These extreme temperatures are making droughts and wildfires worse. More than 70 wildfires are burning right now from California to Minnesota.
Read More: MPR News, USA Today, Axios, WaPo
Western Europe Flooding
Parts of Western Europe are dealing with devastating flooding. The heaviest rainfall in a century caused flash floods in Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, and more heavy rain is expected in that region today. At least 70 people have died because of these floods so far, and 1,300 more people are missing in Germany alone. Rivers have burst their banks, buildings have collapsed, and entire towns and villages have been left underwater. Several thousands of people have had to evacuate. First responders, police helicopters, and hundreds of soldiers are working to help people who are stranded.
Read More: BBC, CNN, NY Times, Weather Channel
Possible U.S. Links to Haiti Assassination
As investigators look into the assassination of Haiti’s president, they’re finding more ties to the U.S. The Pentagon says some of the suspects in President Jovenel Moïse’s killing were trained by the U.S. military when they were in the Colombian army. Separately, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency official says one of the suspects used to be a confidential source for the DEA. 15 of the shooting suspects are Colombian, and two others are Haitian Americans. An American doctor was also arrested in connection to the plot.
Read More: AP, WaPo, Fox News
Extra Security for U.S. Embassy in Haiti
President Biden has condemned the assassination of the Haitian president and called for calm as investigators get to the bottom of it. However, he turned down the interim Haitian government’s request for American troops to help with security. Instead, Biden says he’s going to send a group of marines for extra security at the American embassy in Port-au-Prince.
Read More: Reuters, AP, Bloomberg
Capital Gazette Shooter Facing Life in Prison
The gunman who shot and killed five people in a Maryland newsroom will be going to prison. The shooting happened three years ago at the offices of the Capital Gazette newspaper. The shooter admitted to attacking employees there, but he said he wasn’t criminally responsible because of insanity. This week, a jury disagreed. Prosecutors made the case that the man had a vendetta against the paper since he was the subject of a news article a few years earlier. It detailed how he stalked a former high school acquaintance. Now that he’s been found sane, he’ll be sentenced to prison. Prosecutors are asking for life without parole.
Read More: NPR, CBS News, WaPo, Axios
LA County Reinstates Mask Mandate
The largest county in the U.S. is bringing back a COVID-19 restriction. Starting tomorrow, everyone will have to wear masks at all indoor, public places in Los Angeles County whether they’re vaccinated or not. The county is bringing the mask mandate back since it keeps seeing COVID-19 cases rise, and it’s going to stay in place until cases go down again. Even though masks have been found to help, officials still say the pandemic can only really end with vaccines. About 44% of the American population hasn’t received a single COVID-19 shot yet.
Read More: LA Times, KTLA, Fox News, CNBC
COVID Vaccines for Kids Status
There’s an update on when COVID-19 vaccinations might be available for younger kids. An FDA official says the shots will likely be available for children as young as six months old sometime this winter. Both Moderna and Pfizer are still in their testing phase to make sure they’re safe and to test what the right dosage should be for younger age groups. For now, the shots are only available for people 12 years old and up.
Read More: NBC News, CNN, NY Post
Medical Centers Reject New Alzheimer’s Drug
Three medical centers in the country have come out against a controversial new Alzheimer’s drug the FDA approved last month. The Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, Mount Sinai in New York, and Providence in Washington state all say they won’t give it to patients unless more research proves it works. When the FDA first gave the drug the green light, it said the potential benefits outweighed the risks, but an advisory committee said there wasn’t enough evidence. For now, the FDA has restricted its recommendations, saying only patients with mild memory problems should take it since it’s unclear if it helps in more advanced Alzheimer’s cases.
Read More: NY Times, WSJ, Forbes, Cleveland Plain Dealer
Federal Safety Regulators Sue Amazon
Federal safety regulators say Amazon doesn’t do enough to protect customers from dangerous products. Now, the retail giant is facing a lawsuit over it. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission sued, saying Amazon needs to issue recalls if an item listed on its website is found to be dangerous, even when items are sold by outside vendors. An Amazon spokesperson told CBS News they took those items off the website, gave customers refunds, and alerted them about the safety concerns. Regulators say Amazon needs to better work with the safety commission to issue official recalls instead.
Read More: WaPo, CBS News, Reuters, CPSC
Facebook Pay Moving Off Facebook
Facebook says the Facebook Pay feature will be available on Shopify starting next month. Facebook Pay launched in late 2019 as a way for users to send money to each other, buy things in the Facebook marketplace, and contribute to online fundraisers. Now, Facebook is looking to expand its reach and compete with other digital payment apps like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal. Facebook says businesses in the U.S. will soon be able to add Facebook Pay as a checkout option on their websites. It says the user’s data is secure too because credit card and bank account information is encrypted.
Read More: PYMNTS, ARS Technica, Facebook
NBA 2K’s First Woman Cover Athlete
For the first time, a woman is going to be gracing the cover of a basketball-themed video game. WNBA all-star Candace Parker will be on the cover of the popular NBA 2K’s upcoming edition. It comes out in September in the U.S. and Canada. Parker said she grew up playing video games with her brothers and was humbled by the honor. She called it a “special moment of progress for the sport,” and that it’s important for women athletes to be represented in such a big way. NBA 2K added WNBA players to the game three years ago, but until now the athletes chosen for the cover have still been men.
Read More: Axios, The Verge, AP, Candace Parker
Feel Good Friday: Father Reunited With Abducted Son
A Chinese couple was reunited with their son after 24 years of searching. The boy was kidnapped when he was a toddler. The kidnappers sold him, but the boy’s father never stopped looking. He traveled more than 300,000 miles, carried a flag with his son’s photo on it, and passed out fliers. He ended up finding more than 100 other abducted children and helped reunite them with their parents. Earlier this year, the family finally got good news as government officials found the couple’s long-lost son thanks to DNA testing and facial recognition software. A new video of the parents hugging their now-adult son has been shared around the globe.
Read More: Inside Edition, BBC, CNN, NPR