Tuesday, August 3rd, 2021
Border Order Lawsuits, Air Travel Headaches & Biles on the Beam
All the news in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp.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 to read the latest happenings...
Biden Admin Renews Title 42
The Biden administration extended Title 42 this week. That rule lets border officials turn away undocumented adults without giving them a hearing. It’s meant to prevent COVID-19 from spreading in holding facilities. Under President Biden, children and some families have been allowed to stay, but the administration says it’s still necessary to keep the rule for adults as long as the public health risk is high. Many immigration advocates and lawmakers want it gone now, saying it’s an inhumane policy, especially since so many migrants are fleeing violence and poverty. The ACLU is planning on taking the Biden administration to court over it soon.
Read More: NY Times, Politico, NPR, Axios, CDC, ACLU
DOJ Sues Texas over Migrant Order
Texas’ Republican governor is butting heads with the Biden administration over immigration enforcement. In his most recent executive order, Gov. Greg Abbott banned anyone who’s not a government official from driving migrants anywhere. He told state troopers to pull over cars and buses suspected of transporting migrants. Abbott says this is necessary because migrants are spreading COVID-19 in communities around the state. The U.S. Justice Department is suing Abbott, saying Texas is interfering with the federal government’s policy of letting migrants stay in shelters or with their families while they wait for court dates.
Read More: Texas Tribune, CBS News, Fox News, CNBC
70% Vaccine Milestone Reached
The U.S. hit President Biden’s vaccine goal about a month late. More than 70% of American adults are now at least partially vaccinated. Biden wanted us to reach this point by the 4th of July, but the pace of vaccinations slowed a bit earlier this summer. Now though, it seems they’re picking up, mostly in places where outbreaks are growing. Last week, for the third week in a row, states with the highest number of new COVID-19 cases also had the highest vaccination rates. Some cities are also offering cash rewards to people who get vaccinated, and some federal and state workers are now forced to get the shots or face weekly testing.
Read More: CNBC, Axios, Politico, ABC News
More Mask Mandates
More indoor mask mandates are coming back. People in Washington D.C. and the San Francisco Bay area now have to wear masks anytime they’re in any indoor public area. Los Angeles County also reinstated its mask mandate last month. This week, Louisiana became the first to do the same thing statewide since its vaccination rate is low and its new case count is high. For everyone else, the CDC highly recommends people wear masks inside, vaccinated or not. However, they’re still not required in most places.
Read More: WSJ, Newsweek, Fox News, NY Times
Lindsey Graham Tests Positive
A prominent U.S. Senator came down with COVID-19. Sen. Lindsey Graham was diagnosed with the virus this week even though he was vaccinated in December. He’s the first Senator to get a breakthrough infection. Graham says he has flu-like symptoms and will be isolated for 10 days. Still, he says he doesn’t regret getting his shots. He said, “without vaccination, I am certain I would not feel as well as I do now. My symptoms would be far worse.”
Read More: WaPo, WSJ, CNN, Fox News
Air Travel Hits Another High
TSA says more than 2.2 million people went through airport security checkpoints this past Sunday alone. That’s the highest number since February of 2020 before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. However, airlines have thousands of fewer workers now than they did before the pandemic, and that shortage of workers has led to a lot of delays and cancellations. Spirit Airlines canceled 36% of its scheduled flights yesterday. American Airlines canceled 14% of its scheduled flights. Thousands of more flights were delayed the last couple of days, which left passengers stranded.
Read More: AP, USA Today, Fox Business, Spirit Airlines
Boeing Starliner Launch Today
Boeing is blasting off to the International Space Station today. This will be the company’s second test flight with its Starliner capsule. The uncrewed spacecraft will carry about 400 pounds of cargo to the space station. The launch is set for this afternoon as long as thunderstorms don’t cause a delay. Boeing is trying to prove it’s capable of carrying astronauts to space. Boeing has made dozens of changes to the spacecraft since its failed launch more than a year ago. Assuming the Starliner successfully connects to the space station this time, it’ll spend about a week up there before flying back home.
Read More: Space.com, NASA, CNET
Watch Live: NASA
Reese Witherspoon’s Media Company Sold
Reese Witherspoon is selling her media company in a reported $900 million deal. The actress’ company, Hello Sunshine, was created to tell more female-driven stories. It’s produced recent hits like the HBO drama Big Little Lies, Hulu’s Little Fires Everywhere, and The Morning Show on Apple TV+. The new media firm buying Witherspoon’s company doesn’t have a name yet, but it’s reportedly looking to produce high-quality programming that can be sold and licensed to any network or streaming platform. Two former Disney executives will be in charge. Witherspoon will be part of the new media company’s board of directors.
Read More: WSJ, Axios, CNBC, E! News, THR
More Wins for Women’s Gymnastics
More women on the American gymnastics team will be coming home with hardware. Jade Carey scored a gold medal after she dominated in the floor exercise finals. She’s the third American gymnast in a row to win gold on the floor routine at the Olympics. The 2016 winner was Simone Biles, who, as it turns out, isn’t done in Tokyo. USA Gymnastics says Biles will compete in the balance beam finals along with teammate Sunisa Lee today. It will be Biles’ first event back since she withdrew last week citing concerns for her mental health. The balance beam event is happening very early this morning.
Read More: USA Today, SI, CNN, USA Gymnastics
Track & Field Medals
American discus thrower Valarie Allman won the first gold medal for Team USA track and field. On her first attempt, Allman threw the discus more than 226 feet. That was more than enough to secure the top spot on the podium since it was more than six feet further than anyone else. Also in track and field, Kendra Harrison is taking home a silver medal in the 100-meter hurdles. An athlete from Puerto Rico won the gold.
Read More: People, NBC New York, Yahoo Sports, NBC Sports
U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Loses
The USA’s women’s soccer team is now competing for a bronze medal at best. In the semi-finals, Team USA lost to Canada. Now, the U.S. will play Australia for the bronze. Canada will play Sweden to decide who will get either silver or gold. This will be the first time Canada has ever had a chance at a gold medal in women’s soccer. This also means a Canadian soccer player will make history as the first openly transgender athlete to win a medal in the Olympics.
Read More: CBS Sports, ESPN, Fox News, NBC News
Twitter Fleets Disappears Today
Starting today, Twitter Fleets will disappear from the top of your feed. The social media app debuted Fleets just nine months ago, but the feature didn’t pick up a lot of traction. Twitter says Fleets were only popular among people who were already active on Twitter anyway, so it decided to pull the plug. Users will now only see live audio rooms called Twitter Spaces at the top of their timelines instead. Fleets were Twitter posts that disappeared after 24 hours, sort of like the stories on Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat.
Read More: Twitter, TechCrunch, Android Headlines, The Verge
Google Tensor Preview
Google is building its own computer chips to power its Pixel smartphones. The tech giant says by developing what it calls Google Tensor, it can add more customized features. For example, sharper photos and videos that’ll be less blurry even if the thing you’re taking a picture of is moving. Google also says the Tensor chip will have enhanced artificial intelligence capabilities. For example, speech recognition will be more accurate, like when you’re dictating a text message. The chips are expected to be ready by this fall when Google will start selling the upcoming Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro phones.
Read More: CNET, The Verge, CNBC, 9to5Google, TechCrunch
Trivia Tuesday
Q: Demolition of the Berlin Wall began 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: Women were allowed to compete in the modern Olympics starting in what year?
A: 1900
Read More: IOC, NBC News, U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum