Wednesday, July 27th, 2022
Historic Rainfall, Russia Quits ISS & RIP Choco Taco
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Indeed.com/newsworthy and Zocdoc.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 about the latest happenings…
St. Louis Flash Flooding
St. Louis and other parts of Missouri got up to a foot of rain in one day, demolishing the daily record set more than a century ago. Then came flash flooding that one National Weather Service meteorologist called “catastrophic”. Interstates and neighborhood streets were turned into rivers, roofs collapsed, and people had to be rescued from their homes and cars. Sadly, at least one person died in the floodwaters. Officials say the property damage is “significant”, and more storms are possible in the area later this week.
Read More: NWS, Weather Channel, KSDK, WaPo, NY Times, USA Today
More Oil Released from Reserves
The Biden administration says it’s going to release more oil from the strategic reserves. This is the fifth time President Biden has authorized this kind of release. Now, the federal government is also working on a deal to buy oil from drillers at preset prices to help restock those reserves, starting this fall This is meant to calm oil prices that have been going up for a while, especially since Russia invaded Ukraine. However, gas prices have gone down recently. AAA says the national average is $4.32 a gallon, down from nearly $5 a gallon a month ago. That said, it’s still much higher than a year ago when the national average was $3.16.
Read More: White House, AAA, GasBuddyGuy, Fox Business, MarketWatch, Business Insider, Reuters
IMF Warns of Recession
The world could be on the brink of a global recession. That’s according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). For the second time this year, the IMF downgraded its outlook for the world economy. It mostly blamed three things: Russia invading Ukraine, inflation, and Covid-19. The IMF says those factors have influenced pain in every continent more than expected. However, it’s not all bad. When the IMF broke things down by country, it showed most of the world is still going in the right direction. The one that seems to be worst off is Russia which is expected to see its economy shrink by 6%.
Read More: IMF, Reuters, NY Times, Axios, Newsweek
Russia Quitting ISS
Russia says it will pull out of the International Space Station after 2024 and build its own space station. This marks the end of an area since, for the last three decades, astronauts from Russia, the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Canada have worked together on the ISS. Now, it’s not clear if the ISS can keep operating after 2024 without the Russians. NASA was planning to use the station until 2030, but Russia has been in charge of the systems that keep the ISS in the right orbit. For now, the federal government says it’s exploring options.
Read More: BBC, NBC News, WaPo, Space.Com
Chinese Rocket Debris Falling to Earth
China is now just one step away from having a fully-operational space station. However, part of its venture has faced international backlash. After the latest module docked, the rocket that delivered it started falling back toward Earth, and no one knows exactly where it will land. This is the third time China has been accused of not properly handling its space debris. There’s an extremely low chance this rocket part will hurt anyone on Earth, but space experts in the U.S. still consider the risk unacceptable.
Read More: Aerospace Corp, Space.Com, WaPo, CNN, Fox News
More Exercise Recommended
Results from a new 30-year study show people who exercise more than what’s recommended live the longest. Researchers analyzed data from more than 100,000 adults, the time and intensity of their exercise, and death rates. They found people who did two to four times the minimum recommended dose of moderate or vigorous activity had the lowest risk of death from all causes. That means they had five to ten hours a week of moderate activity or two and a half to five hours of vigorous exercise per week.
Read More: AHA, CNN, The Hill, Psychology Today, Forbes
Teva Reaches Settlement in Opioid Crisis
Another drugmaker reached a multi-billion dollar deal to settle thousands of lawsuits over its alleged role in America’s opioid crisis. Teva Pharmaceuticals is the world’s biggest seller of lower-priced, generic versions of prescription medications. It’s now agreed to pay up to $4.25 billion to resolve legal claims. That includes money to state and local governments and Native American tribes that still need to give the final okay. Many of the lawsuits have claimed Teva and other companies pushed painkillers for widespread use without properly warning of addiction risks. Teva still isn’t admitting wrongdoing.
Read More: Teva, AP, Reuters, WSJ, Bloomberg
Instagram Addresses Criticism
Instagram has been facing criticism from some users who don’t like new features that make the app more like TikTok. In recent tests, Instagram has prioritized videos over photos in feeds, including content from people you don’t follow. It also announced most videos would be posted as reels, among other things. Kylie Jenner recently shared a picture that read “Make Instagram Instagram Again”, and other celebrities agreed. Now, the head of Instagram is addressing the backlash, saying people tend to like and share videos more than photos, so “we’re going to need to evolve.” He also said more changes will be coming to make the app better.
Read More: Adam Mosseri, NY Times, WSJ, TechCrunch, The Guardian
Choco Taco Discontinued
Klondike is discontinuing the Choco Taco after nearly 40 years. The treat is vanilla ice cream in a waffle cone taco shell, dipped in chocolate and peanuts. You might still be able to find one on a local ice cream truck or convenience store. However, once they’re sold out, they are gone for good. The decision sparked a lot of backlash on social media. Celebrity chef Andrew Zimmerman called it “insanity”, and multi-millionaire Alexis Ohanian, who co-founded Reddit, tweeted that he’d like to buy the rights to Choco Taco. So far, Klondike hasn’t responded to his offer.
Read More: Klondike, NBC News, NPR, AP, Sen. Chris Murphy, Alexis Ohanian
Work Wednesday: More Workers OOO
There are a lot of severely understaffed workplaces around the U.S. right now. Businesses are dealing with labor shortages, as well as sick days and vacation plans. The Census Bureau says over two weeks earlier this month, nearly four million people didn’t work because they either had Covid-19 symptoms or were taking care of someone else with Covid-19. On top of that, millions of people are taking vacations they put off earlier in the pandemic. Now, many restaurants, hotel chains, manufacturers, and other workplaces are struggling to keep operations running.
Read More: Census, Chamber of Commerce, Axios, WSJ