Tuesday, August 10th, 2021
‘Code Red for Humanity’, Schools vs. Governors & Pretend Mars Mission
All the news in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by HelloFresh.com/NEWSWORTHY14 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...
UN Climate Change Report
Hundreds of top scientists released the most comprehensive report to date about climate change. It was sponsored by the United Nations. It found that weather extremes are going to become worse in the future. It says humans have warmed the planet by roughly two degrees since the 19th century, mostly by burning coal, oil, and gas for energy and the rate of warming has ramped up in recent years. The UN Secretary-General described the report as a “code red for humanity.” In three months, the UN is holding a climate conference to talk about how to slow the trends.
Read More: Reuters, NY Times, CBS News, AP, WSJ, Full Report
Pediatric Hospitals Filling Up
Children’s hospitals in the south are now overwhelmed. They’re dealing with a surge in COVID-19 cases as well as other respiratory illnesses that are usually only seen in the winter. Some pediatric medical centers in Louisiana, Tennessee, Texas, and more have reported bed and staffing shortages. Unfortunately, doctors think it will only get worse now that kids are going back to school.
Read More: NBC News, The Hill, CNN, WFAA
School Mask Mandates
Some school districts are testing the limits of their states’ laws. The governors of Florida and Texas have banned districts from mandating masks. However, schools in Dallas and Austin, Texas decided to issue mask mandates anyway. Two Florida districts did the same and more are expected to later this week. Now, Florida’s governor says the superintendents and school board members who go against his order won’t get paid. In the past, both governors have said these decisions should be up to parents, not school officials.
Read More: ABC News, CNN, AP, Fox News, Dallas Morning News
Military Vaccine Mandate
Starting next month, members of the U.S. military will have to get their COVID-19 shots. The defense secretary sent troops a memo yesterday that says, in part, “To defend this nation, we need a healthy and ready force.” The Biden administration has been pushing for this mandate since service members live and work closely together, so there’s a high risk for outbreaks. By the time the mandate goes into effect on September 15th, the Pfizer shots are expected to have full approval.
Read More: WaPo, Fox News, WSJ, AP
Prince Andrew Sex Abuse Lawsuit
A member of the British royal family is being sued for sexual abuse. For years, there have been allegations that Prince Andrew was involved in some illicit behavior with underage girls while he was friends with Jeffrey Epstein. This week, Virginia Giuffre filed a lawsuit against him. She says Epstein offered her to Prince Andrew for sex while she was a teenager and that many times, Prince Andrew raped her. She is asking for damages. Lawyers for Prince Andrew haven’t responded yet, but in the past, the prince has said what Giuffre accuses him of “never happened.”
Read More: ABC News, NY Times, BBC, Reuters
R Kelly Sex Trafficking Trial Begins
R&B star R. Kelly is going to trial this week for sex trafficking. He is charged with abusing women and girls for nearly two decades. He’s also accused of making child pornography and making hush payments to silence his alleged victims. Kelly is pleading not guilty to all the charges. Jury selection started yesterday. Opening arguments begin next week. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
Read More: AP, USA Today, WSJ, NPR
Caribbean Tropical Storm Warnings
Parts of the Caribbean are under new tropical storm watches and warnings. Over the next couple of days, people in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and much of the Dominican Republic could see strong winds, flooding rain, and mudslides. The system is expected to reach tropical storm strength this morning. If it does, it will be named Tropical Storm Fred. After the storm passes the Caribbean, it could head to Florida by the weekend. However, it’s still too early to know the exact path of this storm or how strong it will be by then.
Read More: Weather Channel, CNN, WaPo, NWS
Record Number of Job Openings
There are more job openings in the U.S. right now than at any other time in history. A new Labor Department report says employers were trying to fill more than 10 million positions at the end of June. The places looking to hire the most workers include retail companies, restaurants, hotels, and healthcare providers. However, there aren’t enough potential workers to fill the open jobs. An estimated 8.7 million Americans are looking for work right now.
Read More: CNBC, Reuters, CNN, WSJ, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Sanderson Farms Sold
Some big American poultry companies are coming together and expanding as chicken demand is surging in the U.S. Sanderson Farms agreed to sell for around $4.5 billion. Sanderson is already the country’s third-largest chicken producer. Food supplier Cargill Inc. is buying Sanderson with the help of an agricultural investment firm called Continental Grain Co. The merger will reportedly help Cargill expand its international poultry business here in the U.S. The deal is expected to close early next year.
Read More: Financial Times, WSJ, Reuters, Bloomberg
Flight Delay Strands Team USA Athletes
Some Team USA athletes have had a tough time getting home from the Tokyo Olympics. A United Airlines flight was supposed to take off from Tokyo on Sunday and head to Chicago. However, the flight was rescheduled because of some sort of mechanical problem. That was just one of nearly 4,500 flights to and from the U.S. that were delayed yesterday. More than 700 international flights were canceled. This has been happening a lot lately because of worker shortages, technical problems, and severe weather.
Read More: Fox Business, Doug Mills, Flight Aware
Volunteers Needed for Pretend Mars Mission
NASA is hoping to find people who want to spend a year pretending to live on Mars. It’s looking for people willing to live in a 3D-printed habitat made to look and feel like Mars. Paid volunteers will perform simulated spacewalks and research missions. They’ll have limited communication with the outside world and they’ll have to deal with equipment failures. The goal is to help NASA understand the struggles astronauts will face during a real-life mission to the red planet. NASA is looking for applicants who have master’s degrees in science, engineering, or math or are experienced pilots. Applicants should also be in good physical health.
Read More: AP, Business Insider, Sky News, NY Post, NASA
Most Expensive Video Game
A collectibles company says someone paid $2 million for a Super Mario Bros. game from 1985. The vintage game was made for the original Nintendo console but had never been opened. The $2 million sale broke the record for the most expensive video game in history. The previous record was set just last month. That’s when someone paid about $1.5 million for a Super Mario 64 game.
Read More: NY Times, GamesRadar, The Verge
Trivia Tuesday
Q: Which country invented ice cream?
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: Demolition of the Berlin Wall began in what year?
A: 1989
Read More: History, BBC, IWM