Monday, July 26th, 2021
Coast-to-Coast Heatwave, Covid Rules Spark Protests & Guardians of the MLB
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by HelloFresh.com/NEWSWORTHY14 and Noom.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...
Western Wildfire Evacuations, Progress
Firefighters have started to make progress on the largest wildfire burning in the U.S., but there are still big challenges ahead. The Bootleg Fire in southern Oregon is now nearly halfway contained. It has already burned through more than 640 square miles. It’s one of 86 large fires burning in 12 states. More than 22,000 firefighters are battling the flames. In California, the largest one is the Dixie Fire, which has leveled more than a dozen houses and other buildings in the northern California town of Indian Falls. Other large fires are burning in Montana, Washington State, Nevada, Wyoming, and more.
Read More: Axios, AP, Reuters, WSJ, InciWeb
U.S. Heatwave
Another heatwave is coming this week, and it’s expected to bring higher-than-average temperatures coast to coast. The northern and central plains are expected to get hit especially hard. In midwestern cities like St. Louis, it could feel like 110 degrees outside. Texas and Oklahoma could also see temperatures in or near the triple digits all week. Forecasters say some areas will see a cool down by the end of the week. For others, the extreme heat will stick around through the start of next month. This is set to be the fifth heatwave in the U.S. so far this year.
Read More: USA Today, NY Times, Axios, NWS
Europe Anti-Vax Protests
Huge groups of protesters upset over new COVID-19 rules rallied all around the world this weekend. One of the largest demonstrations happened in France. More than 160,000 people protested against their government’s COVID-19 health pass policy. People there need to show a pass that shows whether they’ve recently tested negative for COVID-19 or been vaccinated to get into large venues. French lawmakers are also considering making it mandatory in many places like restaurants, gyms, public transportation, and more. Similarly, thousands of people in Italy protested the new “green pass” which is the same kind of thing.
Read More: France24, AP, NY Times, Al Jazeera
Australia Anti-Lockdown Protests
Thousands of people protested in Australia over lockdown restrictions. Greater Sydney has been locked down for the last month. People there are only able to leave home with a reasonable excuse. Huge crowds, mostly unmasked, held an anti-lockdown protest over the weekend. Now, officials worry the events might have led to more infections, and they might have to extend the lockdown even more.
Read More: The Guardian, AP, Reuters, WaPo
More U.S. Officials Urging Vaccines
Here in the U.S., public health officials are said to be considering new mask recommendations, even for vaccinated people. The nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told CNN he’s been in talks about whether the government should change up the guidelines. Right now, masks are only strongly recommended in social settings for unvaccinated Americans, but that could change soon. Already, some areas are calling on all people to wear masks in indoor public places, vaccinated or not. Other local officials are hesitant to add any more restrictions, but many are recommending vaccines.
Read More: AP, Politico, CNN, NY Post
Common Cold on the Rise
COVID-19 aside, a lot of Americans are getting sick this summer. The CDC says common colds are on the rise even though normally, the cold season would be months away. Health officials say since most people were distancing and masking during the usual cold season last winter, levels were unusually low. Now that people are socializing again, they are getting exposed to those viruses again. Also, people are going to the doctor more to get tested for the coronavirus, and a lot of them are getting diagnosed with regular colds instead. Experts say if you have symptoms, you should always get tested to know for sure what you have.
Read More: NY Times, USA Today, The Verge, CDC
The Cleveland Guardians
The Major League Baseball team that’s been known as the Cleveland Indians for the last 106 years has a new name. The ballclub announced after the 2021 season, the team will be called the Cleveland Guardians. The team colors will remain the same, and the script on the uniforms will stay as close as possible to the current style. The organization said it chose the Guardians as the new name after reviewing more than 1,000 other options. Before this, the Indians faced a lot of pressure to change the name since there has been a national reckoning over names that are considered racist.
Read More: ESPN, Cleveland Plain Dealer, WOIO-TV
Team USA Medals
Team USA had a rockier start than usual at the Tokyo Olympics. For the first time in nearly 50 years, the Americans didn’t win a medal on the first day of competition. However, our swimmers broke the drought yesterday. Chase Kalisz won the first gold medal for Team USA in the men’s 400-meter individual medley. Since then, other Americans have won gold in things like fencing and taekwondo. As of early this morning, Team USA is now second in the medal count, with only China ahead of us.
Read More: NBC Medal Count, NBC News, ABC News, CNN
Olympic Upsets
A couple of popular Olympic events haven’t ended well for Team USA so far. In women’s gymnastics, Team USA finished second behind Russia in the preliminary round. The scores don’t carry over to the team final though, so the Americans could still come back and win a third straight team gold. On the Olympic basketball court, the American men’s team had an upset. Team USA lost to France in their first preliminary game. Despite the loss, the men’s basketball team is still in the running for a medal.
USA Women’s Gymnastics Stumbles: NY Times, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports
USA Men’s Basketball Loses: AP, CBS Sports, Fox News
Cruise Rules Lifted (Again)
The cruise industry is, once again, allowed to set sail without needing to follow government safety restrictions. This issue has gone back and forth for months, and this is the third change in just the last few weeks. The federal government said cruise companies needed to follow the CDC’s rules before carrying passengers again, but last month, a Florida judge decided the rules were too tough and cruise lines didn’t have to follow them. Then, a little more than a week ago, a federal appeals court overruled that ruling and reinstated the CDC guidelines. On Friday, that same court reversed its own decision, making it easier for more ships to set sail.
Read More: Reuters, CNBC, Fox Business
GM Pauses Pickup Production
Starting today, General Motors is halting production on its larger pickup trucks and SUVs for at least a week. The shutdown reportedly impacts most of GM’s plants in North America. It’s all because of supply shortages, as there has been a shortage of semiconductor chips for several months and automakers can’t finish new vehicles without them. The lack of new models available at dealerships has caused prices for both new and used vehicles to skyrocket in recent weeks. GM says it expects production to go back to normal by next month.
Read More: Detroit Free Press, GM Authority, CNET, CNN
HBO Max’s Deal With Warner Bros
It looks like movie studios aren’t ready to abandon streaming anytime soon. Warner Brothers says it is making 10 original movies for HBO Max that will debut next year. Warner Media owns both the movie studio and the streaming platform. Those 10 films will be available exclusively on HBO Max from day one. This move comes as the competition for fresh content heats up. Comcast recently announced that Universal Studios’ movies would start going to Peacock after theatrical runs are done, and HBO’s deal with Disney-owned studios expires next year, so more of those are expected to land on Disney+ or Hulu.
Read More: THR, Variety, WSJ, The Verge
Money Monday: Coffee Prices Hit 7-Year Highs
Coffee prices are rising to their most expensive levels in nearly seven years. Part of the issue is Brazil hasn’t had the best weather this year and Brazil is the world’s biggest coffee producer. Recently, the South American country has dealt with freezing temperatures and frost, and this extreme cold happened on the heels of the most severe drought Brazil has seen in a century. The two extremes from mother nature mean farmers may not be able to produce enough coffee beans to match global demand. The price of coffee has gone up about 60% since the start of this year, and coffee sellers may pass on those added costs to consumers.
Read More: Financial Times, WSJ, Marketwatch