Thursday, August 5th, 2021
200 Million Cases, Gun Makers Sued & TikTok Stories
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp.com/newsworthy 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 peruse the latest happenings...
200M+ Covid Cases Worldwide
More than 200 million people around the world have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic started. The global death toll stands at nearly 4.3 million. The true number is believed to be much higher because in a lot of places, testing is limited. Still, it’s a record, and it’s one that’s only growing as the world is now dealing with the new delta variant that’s thought to be at least twice as contagious as the original strain. The rate of new cases is now going up in about a third of countries, and a lot of them haven’t been able to give even half of their population even one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Read More: Reuters, NY Times, Newsweek, Johns Hopkins
WHO Calls to Halt Booster Shots
The World Health Organization is calling on all countries to hold off on considering booster shots. A lot of health experts around the world have been debating whether people might need an extra shot after they’ve been fully vaccinated. So far, it’s still not scientifically proven that giving people an extra dose will help to prevent COVID-19 from spreading, but it’s being studied. The WHO says governments should wait until at least 10% of every country’s population is vaccinated before straining vaccine supplies even more. The U.S. has already donated more than 110 million vaccines to the rest of the world so far.
Read More: WSJ, NPR, AP, Stat News
Mexico Sues American Gun Makers
The Mexican government is now suing some of America’s biggest gun manufacturers. It’s accusing them of negligence that makes it easy for powerful drug cartels to get their weapons. Mexico’s lawsuit names 11 companies. It says it’s estimated at least 70% of weapons trafficked to Mexico come from the U.S., and it wants $10 billion in compensation for the havoc those guns have wrought in its country. So far, the manufacturers haven’t commented about this lawsuit, but one trade association for the U.S. gun industry says Mexico is solely responsible for the crime and corruption within its borders.
Read More: AP, WSJ, WaPo, NY Times
Cuomo Criminal Investigations
Four New York prosecutors now say they’ve opened separate criminal investigations into allegations that Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed and inappropriately touched several women. It’s not clear if Cuomo will actually be charged with a crime though. One expert told Politico the actions the governor is accused of are generally considered civil matters, not criminal. As for Cuomo, he still says he’s innocent and that he won’t step down, but state lawmakers might force him out of office. They’re meeting early next week to talk about next steps that could lead to impeachment.
Read More: NY Times, Politico, Fox News, Axios
CA Water Restrictions
California officials are taking drastic action to combat a severe drought. They’re restricting water access for thousands of Central Valley farmers. Typically, those farmers draw from the state’s largest rivers to water their crops. However, they’ll soon face limits on how much they can take. The California State Water Board wants to prioritize the drinking water supply first. It approved a new order and, if the secretary of state signs off, it will go into effect in two weeks. This could impact the rest of the U.S. since California is by far the largest agricultural producer in the country. Experts say this means there might be smaller harvests of things like corn or alfalfa.
Read More: LA Times, SF Chronicle, CNN, NY Times
NOAA Boosts Hurricane Season Forecast
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) updated its seasonal hurricane forecast this week. It’s now predicting anywhere between 15-21 named storms including the five we’ve already had this year. If the forecast is right, that would make this the sixth above average hurricane season in a row. NOAA also thinks three to five of the storms will be major hurricanes. NOAA says storm activity will start ramping up in the next two weeks, so it’s important for people to get their disaster kits and evacuation plans ready now. Typically, hurricane season lasts through the end of November.
Read More: Weather Channel, WaPo, Axios, NOAA
American Woman Wins Gold in Wrestling
More history was made at the Tokyo Olympics. For the first time, a Black woman has won the gold medal in freestyle wrestling. Tamyra Mensah-Stock is also only the second American woman to ever come in first place in this event. The Texas native beat her opponent from Nigeria four to one in the championship match.
Read More: Axios, NY Times
More Events Today
Over on the soccer field, the American women’s team is competing for a bronze medal early this morning. They’re playing against Australia. The men’s basketball team is also facing an Australian team early this morning in the semi-final round. The winner is guaranteed a medal. Speaking of medals, Team USA is still on top. Our American athletes have won dozens of medals, including almost 30 gold ones. The Tokyo Olympic games wrap up in just three days.
Read More: CBS Sports, NBA, USA Today
Medal Count: Olympics
Roku Streaming Down
It seems we’re watching a lot less TV now compared to just a few months ago. That’s according to the streaming platform Roku. Between April and June, Roku customers streamed nearly 17.5 billion hours worth of content. That’s about one billion fewer hours compared to the previous quarter. Roku says it’s clear people are streaming less because they’re starting to get out more as pandemic restrictions ease up. Roku’s report caused the company’s shares to drop by about 7% yesterday.
Read More: Variety, CNBC, Bloomberg
TikTok Stories
TikTok is experimenting with disappearing videos like the ones on Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram. The video-sharing app is testing out TikTok Stories. Like on the other social media apps, the videos automatically delete after 24 hours. This same concept has been pretty popular on some apps, but not so much on others. More than 500 million people reportedly use Instagram stories every day. However, Twitter shut down its version this week because not enough people were using it. For now, TikTok stories are only available for some users. The company hasn’t said when it plans to make stories more widely available.
Read More: Business Insider, Gizmodo, The Verge, Bloomberg
DaBaby Loses More Gigs
Rapper DaBaby is facing more backlash over some controversial comments he made at a concert last month. A lot of people are now calling him homophobic. He spoke negatively about gay encounters and also made false claims about people living with HIV or AIDS. He has been widely criticized ever since and he’s been dropped from tons of big-name shows. He also lost a branding deal with a clothing company. DaBaby has publicly apologized. In an Instagram post, he described his remarks as “misinformed” and “hurtful,” and said he appreciated how some people had reached out to “offer wisdom, education, and resources.”
Read More: Reuters, LA Times, BBC, Variety, THR, DaBaby
Rihanna Officially a Billionaire
Forbes says Rihanna is now worth an estimated $1.7 billion. That makes her the second-richest woman in entertainment after Oprah Winfrey. It’s not her music that’s earned her the most money, though, but her business enterprises. Rihanna launched a makeup company in 2017 called Fenty Beauty which accounts for more than 80% of her wealth. As for the other 20%, she also owns a lingerie company called Savage X Fenty. Then, of course, there’s her music and film career. Rihanna hasn’t released new music since 2016, but she’s reportedly working on her 9th studio album now. No release date has been announced yet.
Read More: Forbes, WaPo, Fox Business, CNN
Thing to Know Thursday: Prolonged Allergy Season
Experts say allergy season is longer and more severe than it used to be. There are a few reasons for this. For starters, there is 20% more pollen in the air compared to the 1990s. You can also blame the trees in your neighborhood. Urban planners tend to plant male trees because they don’t grow fruit, but male trees release pollen. If there aren’t enough female trees in the area to collect the pollen, it hangs around in the air and aggravates our allergies. Another reason for this year being especially bad is the U.S. had a relatively mild winter that led to more mold this spring and summer.
Read More: Axios, ABC News, Detroit Free Press