Friday, August 20th, 2021
Taliban’s War Chest, Gov’t Sues Facebook & Toys ‘R’ Us Comeback
All the news you need in around 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 the latest happenings...
2nd Day of Afghan Protests
Hundreds, if not thousands, of people in Afghanistan, are starting to stand up to the Taliban. For the second day, Afghan protesters took to the streets. Reports say the Taliban once again responded to protests with violence, in some cases shooting into the crowds. Witnesses tell Reuters several people were killed. For now, there is no functioning police force. It’s Taliban fighters patrolling the streets. Witnesses say they’re enforcing the law as they see fit and it’s not always clear which laws people are supposed to follow.
Read More: NY Times, WSJ, AP, Fox News, Reuters
Taliban’s New War Chest
In many cases, the Taliban is now working with billions of dollars worth of American-made weapons and equipment. They’ve been able to take it from Afghan security forces. That includes guns, drones, night-vision goggles, trucks, planes, helicopters, communications gear, and more. Current and former U.S. officials tell Reuters there’s concern those weapons could be used on civilians or they might end up in the hands of other militant groups like ISIS. Now, the Biden administration is reportedly thinking about trying to destroy them by launching airstrikes.
Read More: Reuters, The Hill, Politico, WSJ
Afghanistan Evacuations Increase
Even though the Taliban promised not to retaliate against anyone who fought against them, there’s evidence they’re breaking that promise. The New York Times got hold of a confidential document from the United Nations that says Taliban members are searching for people who worked with the U.S. or NATO, and they've threatened to arrest or kill their family members if they can’t find them. That’s one reason the U.S. military is ramping up evacuations. It’s flying thousands of American citizens and allies out of Afghanistan every day. Tens of thousands more still need to get out.
Read More: CNN, Fox News, Newsweek, ABC News
Bomb Threat Near U.S. Capitol
U.S. Capitol Police officers were involved in a tense standoff for more than five hours. A North Carolina man drove onto the sidewalk outside the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. He told officers he had a bomb in his truck. Several government buildings were evacuated. For hours, the suspect was live-streaming an anti-government rant on Facebook before the social media giant took down his account. Eventually, the standoff came to a peaceful end and the man was taken into custody. Police who searched his truck didn’t find a bomb, but they collected some materials that could have been used to make one.
Read More: CBS News, AP, Fox News, Politico, USCP
North Carolina Flooding
The remnants of Tropical Storm Fred left parts of North Carolina flooded. Sadly, at least two people died in those floods and about 20 are still missing. The storm left many roads impassable. It also damaged or destroyed at least 10 bridges and swamped many homes and businesses. North Carolina’s governor has promised to help people rebuild. The same storm system is pushing through New York and New England with heavy rains today.
Read More: AP, USA Today, Fox News, CBS News
Tracking Tropical Storms
Tropical Storm Henri is expected to turn into a hurricane today and it looks like it could approach southern New England by Monday, bringing more strong winds, heavy rains, and possible flooding. Henri’s exact path is still up in the air though. There’s also Tropical Storm Grace. It hit Mexico as a hurricane yesterday. It brought some floods, power outages, and toppled trees, but there was no major damage. Still, the threat isn’t over. Forecasters say Grace could make landfall again tonight or early tomorrow. Grace will stay south of Texas though, so the U.S. likely won’t be impacted by that one.
Read More: Weather Channel, CNN, Reuters, WaPo, NHC
3 U.S. Senators get COVID-19
Three vaccinated U.S. Senators tested positive for COVID-19 this week. Sens. Angus King, Roger Wicker, and John Hickenlooper all say they have mild symptoms and they’re isolating. Sen. Lindsey Graham got COVID-19 earlier this month even though he, too, was vaccinated. Most of those Senators say they’re still happy they got the shots because, without them, their symptoms could have been worse.
Read More: Politico, CNN, WSJ, CNBC
Concerts, Movies Delayed
COVID-19 is starting to impact the entertainment industry again. Stevie Nicks, Limp Bizkit, Garth Brooks, Neil Young, and more have decided to cancel shows because of health and safety concerns. When it comes to movies, the highly-anticipated Avatar 2 got pushed back from December of this year to December of next year because of production delays. The Batman starring Robert Pattinson, along with the latest Doctor Strange movie were also delayed until March of next year. The next Jurassic World and Minions movies won’t come out until next summer.
Read More: Billboard, USA Today, WaPo, Forbes
NYC Homecoming Celebration
There is at least one big event going on this weekend as scheduled. New York City is having a huge concert in Central Park. It’s been in the works for months and was supposed to be in celebration of the city coming back from the pandemic. Now, to get in, people will need to show proof they’ve been vaccinated. The lineup for “We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert” includes a long list of stars like Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, LL Cool J, Carlos Santana, and more. CNN will also air the event live starting at 5 p.m. ET tomorrow.
Read More: NY Times, NY Daily News, CNN, Homecoming 2021
New Facebook Antitrust Suit
The federal government is suing Facebook again. For a while, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has said the social network abuses its power to illegally crush smaller competitors. It wants a court to step in and force Facebook to sell off Instagram and messaging service WhatsApp. The FTC first took legal action last year, but a judge threw out that lawsuit, saying the FTC didn’t give enough evidence to prove Facebook has monopoly power. Now the FTC says it compiled more evidence, so it filed a new, longer lawsuit. Facebook is still fighting it, saying there’s still plenty of competition in the social media market.
Read More: WSJ, CNBC, Axios, Politico, Reuters, Facebook
OnlyFans Bans Sexually Explicit Content
The online platform OnlyFans is working to become more family-friendly. OnlyFans has been known for a lot of adult content, but starting in October, it’s going to ban anything sexually explicit. The company says it decided at the request of its banking and payout partners. Even though pornographic material is the most popular content on OnlyFans, it’s not the only thing. The platform has more than two million creators including musicians, chefs, and fitness instructors who use the platform to sell access to exclusive content.
Read More: TechCrunch, Variety, Bloomberg
Amazon to Open Large Retail Locations
Amazon is reportedly planning to open large, brick-and-mortar retail stores. The Wall Street Journal says Amazon’s retail sites will be like department stores, selling everything from clothing to electronics to household items. The stores will be about 30,000 square feet which is comparable to stores like T.J.Maxx and Kohl’s. The first locations are expected to be in California and Ohio. However, Amazon hasn’t officially confirmed the plans.
Read More: WSJ, CNBC, Forbes
Toys ‘R’ Us Partnering With Macy’s
Toys ‘R’ Us is getting a new home at Macy’s. Soon, Toys ‘R’ Us will have separate shops set up in more than 400 of Macy’s department stores. The toy brand has a special section on the Macy’s website now too. Toys ‘R’ Us has been trying to rebound ever since filing for bankruptcy in 2018. It closed all of its stand-alone stores already. Macy’s hasn’t set an exact date yet for when the Toys ‘R’ Us shops will open, but it will be sometime next year.
Read More: Fox Business, CNN, USA Today, Macy’s
Simone Biles Post-Olympic Tour
Gymnast Simone Biles is preparing for a post-Olympic tour alongside four of her Olympic teammates. They’ll travel to 35 cities across America beginning next month. The Gold Over America Tour (GOAT) will feature gymnastics and dance performances. It will also highlight mental health. Former UCLA gymnast Katelyn Ohashi will reportedly lead discussions about the importance of self-care. This is important for Biles too. She famously pulled out of several events at the Tokyo Olympics because of a mental block.
Read More: AP, Axios, Yahoo! Sports, GOAT
Feel Good Friday: Texas Boy Aims to Donate 500,000 Books
A 10-year-old Texas boy is sharing his love of reading with as many other kids as he can. Orion Jean is trying to collect half a million used books by the end of this month and he wants to give them to disadvantaged students. He’s received thousands of donations from around the country already. This is just Orion’s most recent project to help others. Last year, he won a speech contest about kindness. He used the $500 prize to launch his organization called Race to Kindness. For the first project, he organized toy drives for a local children’s hospital. Then, he helped collect more than 100,000 Thanksgiving meals for families.
Read More: CBS News, Texas Monthly, Instagram
How to Donate: Race to Kindness