Friday, July 29th, 2022
Recession Confusion, New Booster Plan & Billion-Dollar Jackpot
All the news you need in around 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 the latest happenings...
Kentucky Flooding
Torrential rains unleashed floods in Kentucky, parts of Virginia, and West Virginia. At least eight people have died in Kentucky, and the state’s governor says he expects the death toll to rise to triple digits since several others are missing or trapped. Gov. Andy Beshear called this “one of the worst, most devastating flooding events in Kentucky’s history.” He told NBC News the storm has wiped out hundreds of homes, and roads are still under water. Rescue crews from around Kentucky and other states have been going around in helicopters and boats, trying to get to as many people as possible.
Read More: NWS, Gov. Beshear, Weather Channel, AP, NBC News, WaPo
To Help: Flood Relief Fund
U.S. GDP Shrinks
The U.S. economy is shrinking. The latest report from the federal government shows the American GDP fell at an annual rate of .9% between April and June. That comes after a 1.6% drop earlier this year. Many economists say, now that there have been two quarters with a shrinking GDP, the U.S. is in a recession. Others say we’re not there yet since the unemployment rate is still low, wages are going up, and industrial production is still strong. Either way, consumers aren’t ramping up spending, businesses are pausing investments, and the housing market is slumping.
Read More: BEA, WSJ, Reuters, Fox Business, CNBC
Special Edition Interview: The NewsWorthy
Lawmakers’ Controversial Asia Trip
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other American lawmakers are headed to Asia today. Sources confirmed the trip to Bloomberg News and other outlets. There are talks that lawmakers might make a stop in Taiwan, despite warnings from Chinese leaders. Even though Taiwan is a self-governing island, China sees it as being under its control. The Biden administration has promised to protect Taiwan from a potential invasion. However, China still doesn’t like the idea of a top American official like Pelosi going to Taiwan. If she does, China says it will respond with “strong measures”.
Read More: Bloomberg, NBC News, NPR, AP, WSJ
Congress Passes Computer Chip Bill
Congress passed a bill to boost the manufacturing of essential computer chips on U.S. soil. That could make a big impact since semiconductor chips are in high demand, and over the last few decades, factories and jobs have gone overseas. This bill could change that. It gives nearly $53 billion in funding for semiconductor chip production. Another $200 billion is going to scientific research. Lawmakers say this will help prevent future supply chain crises and make a lot of tech products cheaper for Americans. The bill overwhelmingly passed in both the House and Senate. President Biden says he plans to sign it into law soon.
Read More: US House, AP, Reuters, The Verge, Axios
Updated Covid Booster Coming
Americans will soon be able to get new, updated Covid-19 booster shots. The New York Times cites sources who say there will be a new booster campaign rolling out in September for all adults and possibly children. This time around, the vaccines will be specifically designed to fight the omicron variant of Covid-19, including the BA.5 subvariant that’s most dominant. So far, only Americans 50 and older or certain people with immune deficiencies have been able to get a second booster, but they have been getting another dose of the same formula. The Times says everyone else will not get a second dose of the old booster, only one of the new ones.
Read More: NY Times, Axios, NPR, MarketWatch
JetBlue to Buy Spirit
An agreement has been reached for JetBlue to acquire Spirit Airlines and become the 5th-largest airline in the U.S. It’s an acquisition worth $3.8 billion. This has been a months-long fight. JetBlue snatched Spirit away from a deal to merge with Frontier Airlines and convinced Spirit’s shareholders to support the JetBlue deal instead. JetBlue still needs approval from federal regulators to complete the deal. It may not be finalized until 2024. The airlines will continue to operate independently until then.
Read More: JetBlue/Spirit, CNBC, WSJ, CBS News, CNET
TJs First Union Vote
Employees at a Trader Joe’s store in Massachusetts voted to unionize, turning that supermarket into the only one of the company’s more than 500 locations to have a formal union. Other votes are reportedly in the works. A statement from the union Trader Joe’s United called it historic. A Trader Joe’s spokesperson said the company is prepared to start talks but already has some of the best pay, benefits, and working conditions in the grocery store business.
Read More: Trader Joe’s United, Fox Business, WaPo, NY Times, AP
Lollapalooza Underway
Thousands of music fans from around the world are coming together in downtown Chicago for one of the largest music festivals in the world. It’s time for Lollapalooza. It kicked off yesterday, and about 100,000 people are expected to attend the festival each day. They’ll have a lot to see since more than 170 performers will be there like Green Day, Metallica, Machine Gun Kelly, Doja Cat, J. Cole, and more. Tickets are still available. If you’re not in Chicago, you can watch performances from home. This year, Hulu is streaming the festival. If you have a subscription, it’s free.
Read More: Hulu, NY Post, Rolling Stone, Billboard
$1.1B Mega Millions Jackpot
The Mega Millions jackpot is up again. This time, it’s surpassed $1 billion, marking only the third time the jackpot has reached ten figures. The next drawing will be the 13th in the current jackpot run, which started in April. The jackpot keeps getting bigger until there is at least one winner. The next drawing for the grand prize is tonight.
Read More: Mega Millions, Fox Business, CBS News, AP
Feel Good Friday: World’s Largest Vertical Farm
The world’s largest vertical farm opened in Dubai. It could serve as a good example for others like it since it uses 95% less water than traditional farming methods. Also, there are no pesticides, herbicides, or other chemicals used. The new facility automatically tracks and adjusts lighting, humidity, nutrients, and other factors to boost plant growth. Overall, it’s 330,000 square feet, stacked with shelves of lettuce, spinach, arugula, and more. It can produce more than two million pounds of leafy greens a year. An American-based company called Crop One was behind the project. It has another vertical farm in Massachusetts.
Read More: Crop One, Fast Company, TechCrunch