Wednesday, August 18th, 2021
Taliban’s Promises, Full ICUs & Amazon Outsells Walmart
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Rothys.com/newsworthy and BetterHelp.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…
Taliban Promises
The Taliban are laying out what they plan to do with Afghanistan. They’re trying to show they’re more moderate now than the last time they controlled the country 20 years ago. This time, they say they’ll respect women’s rights, but “within the bounds of Islamic law.” Although they didn’t elaborate and Islamic law is interpreted differently around the Muslim world. The Taliban also say they’ll forgive those who fought against them or helped the U.S. and other countries during the war, as well as make sure Afghanistan doesn’t again become a haven for terrorists. Many Afghans are skeptical though, mostly because the Taliban has a history of oppression.
Read More: AP, NY Times, Fox News, CBS News
Kabul Evacuations Latest
The U.S. military is ramping up the pace of evacuations in Afghanistan. It’s hoping to start shuttling out 5,000 to 9,000 American citizens and Afghan allies every day through the end of this month. They’re coming to the U.S., as well as other countries, including Canada and several in Europe. Meanwhile, the Taliban is still in talks with several Afghan politicians about the exact shape of the new government, but so far, the Taliban hasn’t made any real public commitments.
Read More: Politico, The Hill, Axios, WSJ
IG Report on Afghanistan
The 20-year U.S. mission in Afghanistan is now being criticized. The watchdog for Afghanistan Reconstruction says the U.S. botched the mission. Its new report says American taxpayers spent billions of dollars on projects that were often not sustainable, corrupt, or rushed. It also says American officials didn’t have an understanding of the Afghan environment, socially, culturally, or politically. Plus, it says U.S. officials were more concerned about demonstrating short-term progress than responding to conditions on the ground. This was based on 13 years of oversight work, including hundreds of interviews with politicians, military officials, and experts.
Read More: Politico, Fox News, CBS News, CNN, Full Report
1 in 5 ICUs Nearly Full
The number of Americans in the hospital with COVID-19 is hitting heights we haven’t seen since winter. In some southern states, hospital workers are struggling to find enough beds. Some hospitals have large, outdoor tents to hold all the patients. It’s worse for extremely sick patients who need to be in the intensive care unit. New federal data shows the number of hospitals with very full ICUs doubled in recent weeks. Now, one in five ICUs in the U.S. is at least 95% full. Experts say when ICUs are full, it’s difficult or impossible for healthcare workers to keep up high standards of care.
Read More: NY Times, WSFA, WCPO, KARK, WaPo
Gov. Abbott has Covid
As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Texas, the state’s governor is among those who have tested positive for the virus. Gov. Greg Abbott says he doesn’t have any symptoms, but he’s getting an antibody treatment anyway and is isolating at the governor's mansion. Abbott was fully vaccinated, and NBC News cites sources who say he got a third shot recently too. Most Americans aren’t eligible for boosters yet, but the Biden administration is expected to roll them out to more people soon.
Read More: Texas Tribune, WaPo, NBC News, WSJ, Gov. Abbott
Caldor Fire Evacuations, Injuries
Another Northern California wildfire is burning out of control. The Caldor Fire has burned through more than 10 square miles, about 60 miles east of Sacramento. Thousands of people have been told to evacuate and at least two people have been seriously hurt. It’s not clear exactly how much damage has been done, but some reports say very few homes are left standing in the town of Grizzly Flats. About 1,200 people live there.
Read More: San Francisco Chronicle, NBC News, KXTV, CBS News
Other California Fire Threats
The nation’s largest wildfire, the Dixie fire, is still burning, just north of the Caldor Fire. It’s already burned through hundreds of homes and thousands more are still threatened. Last night, Pacific Gas & Electric started shutting off power to tens of thousands of customers in Northern California. It’s hoping to prevent strong winds from knocking down power lines and sparking even more fires. The outages are expected to last through this afternoon.
Dixie Fire Gains: AP, NY Times, Bloomberg, InciWeb
PG&E Blackouts: LA Times, WSJ, KPIX, PG&E
Tropical Trio of Storms
Tropical Depression Fred brought heavy rain and several tornadoes to Georgia and the Carolinas. Many roads are flooded and dozens of homes are damaged. Now, the storm is moving up the east coast. It could bring heavy rain as far north as New York. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Grace is expected to become a hurricane in the next couple of days as it heads toward Mexico. There are hurricane warnings in effect for resort towns like Cancun, Cozumel, and Playa Del Carmen. Also, Tropical Storm Henri is spinning around Bermuda. It’s expected to head away from land by the end of the week.
Fred Causes Damage: Weather Channel, AP, WaPo, USA Today
Track of Grace and Henri: Accuweather, CNN, Miami Herald, Sun-Sentinel, NHC
TSA Extends Mask Mandate
You’ll have to keep wearing masks on planes, trains, and buses for a while longer. The TSA has extended the federal mask mandate until at least mid-January. It was originally supposed to expire next month, but federal officials say masks are still necessary while COVID-19 is still spreading. However, masks have made travel a lot tenser lately. The FAA has received more than 3,800 reports of unruly passengers this year. It says almost 2,800 of them involved people who were refusing to wear a mask.
Read More: CNBC, Reuters, WaPo, CNN
Amazon Outsells Walmart
Amazon outsold Walmart last year for the first time. The New York Times cited new corporate and industry data that shows in the last year, people spent more than $610 billion on Amazon. That’s about $44 billion more than what Walmart reported. This is the first time Walmart has been outsold by anyone in the U.S. since 1990. However, the pandemic was huge for Amazon since stay-at-home orders and quarantines forced people to buy more products than ever online. Walmart saw growth in the last year as well, just not as much as Amazon.
Read More: NY Times, Forbes, Quartz
Retail Sales Fall
It looks like Americans are starting to cut back on their spending. The U.S. Commerce Department says overall retail sales were down last month as compared to the month before. The biggest drops were at stores that sell clothing, furniture, and sporting goods. However, spending at restaurants and bars is still going up. Economists say this shows Americans are shifting their priorities from goods to services.
Read More: WSJ, AP, CNBC
Google Unveils Budget Pixel 5A Phone
Google debuted the latest version of its budget smartphone this week. The Pixel 5A has the same processor and camera system as last year’s model. However, it has a larger battery that can run for up to two days without a charge. Google also says it made it more water-resistant so if you drop the phone in three feet of water, it won’t break down. The Pixel 5A also has a slightly larger screen than the last model, and it supports 5G. It will be available next week in the Google store for $450.
Read More: The Verge, CNBC, Engadget, Cnet
Work Wednesday: Survey: 10M Workers Considering Freelance
A new survey from the freelancing platform Upwork found as many as 10 million full-time American workers are seriously considering going freelance. 73% of them say it’s because they don’t want to go back to their offices. They want to keep working remotely and would prefer more flexibility in their schedules. This trend reportedly has pros and cons for businesses. On the positive side, having more freelancers means more talented workers without the overhead costs associated with full-time workers, like health insurance and retirement plans. However, some businesses may lose their most experienced team members.
Read More: Forbes, NY Times, Upwork