Tuesday, July 27th, 2021
New Vaccine Mandates, Jet Fuel Shortages & College Sports Shakeup
All the news in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Noom.com/newsworthy and HelloFresh.com/NEWSWORTHY14
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 read the latest happenings...
Healthcare Worker Vaccine Mandate Support
A lot more healthcare workers could be pressured into getting their COVID-19 vaccines soon. A group of nearly 60 major medical organizations says anyone who works in healthcare should be required to get vaccinated. It says “the health and safety of U.S. workers, families, communities, and the nation depends on it.” About 50 medical systems reportedly already have this kind of policy in place. Just yesterday, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced a mandate. The VA says 115,000 frontline healthcare workers will have to get vaccinated in the next two months or face penalties that could include getting fired.
Read More: NBC News, CBS News, WSJ, Bloomberg, APC
CA, NYC, VA Vaccine Mandates
The country’s largest state and the largest city gave government workers a choice to either get their COVID-19 vaccine or face weekly testing. We’re talking about California and New York City. They both say government employees, including teachers and police officers, have to get COVID-19 vaccines or show proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test before they can work. California is also including millions of public and private sector health care employees in the mandate. Some critics have questioned whether this is legal, but in previous legal challenges, judges have said mandates are reasonable and they’ve let them stand.
Read More: WaPo, WSJ, NPR, NY Times, Fox News, VA.Gov
Last Surfside Victim Identified
More than a month after a tragic condo building collapse in Florida, the last victim has finally been identified. The final death toll reached 98, making it the largest non-hurricane emergency in the state’s history. For weeks, rescuers have been moving debris from the piles of wreckage and pulling out bodies. Most of the rubble has been moved to a Miami warehouse where scientists and rabbis are working to recover any more remains and personal items. It’s not clear what will happen to the area long term. Some condo owners want to rebuild, while others say there should be a permanent memorial built in its place.
Read More: Miami Herald, AP, ABC News, USA Today
Afghanistan Civilian Deaths Rising
Innocent people are now dying in Afghanistan at record levels. The United Nations has recorded more than 1,600 civilian deaths so far this year. That’s a 47% increase from last year. Nearly half of all the casualties were women and children. The UN thinks the violence could get even worse since the Taliban keeps taking over more rural areas. So far, the militant group’s gains have coincided with foreign troops leaving Afghanistan. Most international forces have left already, and all American troops are on track to withdraw by the end of next month.
Read More: BBC, WaPo, Al Jazeera, NY Times, UN
U.S. Ending Combat Role in Iraq
President Biden says the U.S. military will soon wind down its mission in Iraq. There are around 2,500 American troops in Iraq now. They are mostly focused on countering what’s left of the terrorist organization ISIS. Biden says by the end of this year, the U.S. role in Iraq will be only about training and advising the Iraqi military to defend itself. It’s not clear how many troops will stay in Iraq for that.
Read More: AP, WSJ, Reuters, Axios
Tech Giants Reporting More Extremist Content
An internet counterterrorism organization is starting to track more extremist content online. The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism includes 17 companies like Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and YouTube. So far, it has mostly focused on tracking terrorist groups, but now it’s going to start cracking down on content from white supremacists and far-right militia groups here in the U.S. It’s saving their manifestos, PDFs of extremist publications, and URLs to a key database. The tech platforms have long been criticized for letting violent, extremist content spread online, but other people have accused them of over-broad censorship.
Read More: Reuters, The Hill, GIFCT
Aon, Willis Towers Merger Scrapped
In the face of legal battles, two insurance brokers decided to call off what would have been the largest merger in their industry. Last year, English company Aon agreed to buy its Irish rival Willis Towers Watson for nearly $30 billion in stock. Together, they said they’d be better equipped to handle risks like cybercrime and climate change. However, their merger faced scrutiny from regulators all around the world, and the U.S. Justice Department sued to block it. The companies are now bowing to the pressure. Aon says it’s paying Willis Towers Watson a $1 billion termination fee, and they’ll go back to working separately.
Read More: WSJ, NY Times, Reuters
American Airlines Warns of Fuel Shortages
Travelers might notice more flights with layovers these days. American Airlines says it’s running into fuel shortages at some small and midsize airports, so it’s planning to add stops so some of its flights can refuel. The airline is also asking pilots to conserve fuel whenever they can, for example, by leaving one engine off when they’re taxiing. The issue is there aren’t enough tanker trucks or drivers to deliver enough fuel around the country, and the demand for air travel is way up, especially to smaller airports near outdoor tourist attractions. Airports on the west coast seem to be affected the most.
Read More: CNBC, AP, The Hill
UT and OU Leaving the Big 12
The University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas are leaving the Big 12. This is a big deal since the Longhorns and Sooners have been Big 12 staples since the 90s. They aren’t leaving right away though and will stay in the conference until 2025 when their current media deals are set to expire. After 2025, both OU and UT are expected to join the SEC. Nothing is set in stone, but if that happens, the SEC would become the largest college sports conference with 16 teams total. Analysts say the Big 12 is probably going to start recruiting new members.
Read More: CBS Sports, USA Today, WSJ, ESPN
Olympics Roundup
History just keeps getting made at the Tokyo Olympics. For the first time, an athlete from the Philippines won a gold medal. A women’s weightlifter scored the top prize, breaking her country’s 97-year drought. Separately, on team USA, a 17-year-old high schooler named Lydia Jacoby won a gold medal in women’s swimming. She is the first swimmer from Alaska to ever make the Olympic team and she won the race by a fraction of a second. Finally, an Australian mathematician won a gold medal for cycling. She won her road race five years after getting a Ph.D. in mathematics. As of early this morning, the U.S. and China are tied for the most medals overall.
Medal Count: NBC
Read More: ESPN, AP, NPR, Yahoo Sports, CNN
Pink Offers to Pay Fines for Norwegian Athletes
The Norwegian women’s beach handball team is sparking conversations around the world about strict uniform rules. The European Handball Federation says women’s handball players need to wear bikini bottoms, even though men wear shorts. Recently, the Norwegian women’s team decided to wear shorts too, and they were fined almost $1,800. The team has received a lot of support since then. This week, American pop singer Pink called the rules sexist and offered to pay the team’s fine. In the wake of criticism, the European Handball Federation says it’s donating the fine to a foundation that supports equality for women and girls in sports.
Read More: USA Today, BBC, CBS News, AP, P!ink
Trivia Tuesday
Q: Women were allowed to compete in the modern Olympics starting in what year?
Play along on today’s Instagram Stories Quiz. We’ll also have the answer right here next week.
Last Week’s Trivia Tuesday Answer
Q: Which metal makes up most of an Olympic gold medal?
A: Silver
Read More: Thoughtco, CNN, NBC Sports, IOC