Monday, August 23rd, 2021
New Afghan Threat, Extreme Flooding & TikTok Radio
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by kiwico.com/newsworthy and Policygenius.com
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 review the latest happenings...
Kabul Airport Chaos
The effort to get Americans and American allies out of Afghanistan is becoming more complicated and more dangerous. President Biden spoke from the White House yesterday, warning people that the terror group ISIS could try to attack. He said the longer U.S. troops are on the ground, the more likely it is the group will try to hurt innocent civilians and American personnel near the Kabul airport. The U.S. is telling Americans to wait for specific instructions before going to the airport. Meanwhile, the airport is still chaotic. More than 10,000 people crammed into the airport grounds just yesterday and even more tried to get in from the outside.
Read More: WaPo, AP, CNBC, Politico, Reuters
Airlines Helping with Afghan Evacuations
President Biden says the U.S. evacuated 11,000 people from Afghanistan over the weekend and about 28,000 have been evacuated over the last week. Now, the U.S. is also calling on airlines like Delta, United, American, and more to help with the evacuation efforts. Those commercial planes won’t fly directly into Afghanistan. Instead, they’ll transport evacuees who have already left the country and are stranded at American military bases in places like Germany, Qatar, and Bahrain. 13 countries, including the U.S., have promised to host evacuees temporarily.
Read More: Reuters, NPR, WSJ, Axios
Baby Born on Evacuation Flight
On one of the evacuation flights this weekend, an Afghan woman went into labor. As soon as the plane landed at an American airbase in Germany, medical crews rushed on to help with the delivery. She gave birth just moments later. Both the mother and her baby girl are now said to be in good condition.
Read More: NBC News, WaPo, CNN, Air Mobility Command
Taliban Government Talks
The Taliban are holding talks with Afghan officials from previous governments to discuss a political transition. Since driving the last government out, the Taliban have tried to rebrand themselves as more moderate than the last time they ruled the country 20 years ago. However, there have already been reports of the Taliban going back to their old ways. For example, they’re reportedly hunting down former enemies. Also, some women say they have been beaten or threatened for not properly covering themselves and some journalists say they have been beaten for their reporting.
Read More: NY Times, WSJ, Al Jazeera
G7 Meeting Today
The United Nations says at least 14 million Afghans are going hungry. That’s going to be one of the top topics at a virtual Group of Seven (G7) meeting today. The G7 includes the wealthy countries of the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, the UK, and Canada. The leaders of those countries are set to talk on video conference about how to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. They’ll also talk about making sure evacuations happen safely and plans to support Afghan refugees.
Read More: Politico, Reuters, White House
Deadly Tennessee Flooding
Record-breaking rain caused flooding in Middle Tennessee on Saturday. At least 22 people were killed and rescue crews are still searching for dozens of people missing. The flooding took out roads, cell phone towers, and telephone lines, so emergency workers are having to go door-to-door to check on people in badly damaged or destroyed homes. Federal disaster officials are talking with the governor and offering assistance.
Read More: Nashville Tennessean, AP, Axios, WaPo, WANE
Tropical Storm Henri Makes Landfall
Tropical Storm Henri made landfall in Rhode Island last night. Roads and bridges were swamped, and more than 130,000 homes lost power. Henri has since been downgraded to a tropical depression, but meteorologists say it’s still dangerous. It’s a slow-moving storm that’s dumping heavy rain on much of the Northeast, including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. The storm is expected to turn later today and eventually travel back out to sea.
Read More: CNN, AP, NY Times, WSJ, NHC
Child COVID Hospitalizations Soar
American hospitals are treating more kids with COVID-19 than at any other time in the pandemic. Children’s hospitals are especially busy in the Midwest and South where the overall community spread is high. Children are still much less likely than adults to develop a severe case of COVID-19 or die from the virus, but those numbers have been rising over the last six weeks. So far, it’s not clear if the Delta variant is making kids sicker than previous strains. Some pediatricians think so. Others say they’re probably just seeing more bad cases because of how widespread Delta is overall.
Read More: WSJ, NBC News, CDC, AAP
SE Responds to Covid Surge
Some cities and states are responding to a surge in COVID-19 cases in unique ways. For example, Orlando, Florida is asking people to start conserving water. That’s because the city is worried about running low on liquid oxygen, which is used to treat COVID-19 patients. Then, there’s Mississippi, where the health department issued an order forcing people to isolate for at least 10 days if they test positive for COVID-19. If they don’t, they’ll face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
Orlando Water Cutbacks: Orlando Sentinel, NY Times, WESH
MS Covid Isolation Law: Fox News, Sun Herald, WLBT
Proposition 22 Ruled Unconstitutional
A California judge ruled that Proposition 22 is unconstitutional. That’s the ballot measure California voters approved late last year. It lets gig economy companies like ride-hailing and delivery apps treat workers as independent contractors instead of employees with benefits. However, earlier this year a group of drivers and labor unions challenged it in court. The judge sided with that group, saying Prop 22 prevents drivers from unionizing and limits access to workers’ compensation. The judge says that makes it unconstitutional and unenforceable. Uber and other companies say they’ll appeal the ruling.
Read More: LA Times, The Verge, WSJ, Reuters, TechCrunch
All Chevy Bolts Recalled
Every Chevy Bolt electric vehicle sold around the world is being recalled. General Motors says it needs to fix a battery problem that could cause fires. GM has been telling Bolt owners to park outside and not charge their vehicles overnight because of the fire risk. They should keep doing that until they can bring their cars to a dealership for repairs. Dealers don’t have all the replacement parts just yet. Owners will be contacted when they’re ready so they can get the problem fixed for good.
Read More: CBS News, Engadget, Detroit Free Press
Don Everly Dies
Country rock legend Don Everly died over the weekend at his home in Nashville at 84 years old. He and his late brother, Phil Everly, were better known as The Everly Brothers. The duo has been remembered over the years as musical pioneers for their harmonies and guitar rhythms. They had 15 top-ten hit songs in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including “Bye Bye Love” and “All I Have to Do Is Dream.” Musicians like The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel have said The Everly Brothers inspired their music too.
Read More: LA Times, WaPo, NPR, TMZ, AP
New ‘Jeopardy!’ Host is Out
Jeopardy! is once again looking for a new host. Executive producer Mike Richards resigned after just one week on the job. It’s because recordings resurfaced from a podcast he hosted eight years ago. On that show, he made some comments about how women dressed and how their bodies looked. He also mentioned some Jewish stereotypes. Since those recordings were republished, Richards has been facing backlash, so he stepped down as host. Richards is keeping his job as the show’s executive producer. Jeopardy! will go back to using guest hosts until the studio decides on a new permanent show host.
Read More: NY Times, Variety, The Wrap, The Ringer
TikTok Radio on Sirius XM
Have you noticed a lot of influencers use the same songs on their social media videos? Now, you can hear those viral hits even more. Sirius XM just launched TikTok Radio. It features the top songs trending on TikTok and the DJs are social media creators. Sirius isn’t the first company to try to tap into this audience. Apple Music and Spotify have both created “viral hits” playlists on their platforms where you can hear a lot of the same songs. However, a full-time satellite music channel takes the trend a step further.
Read More: TechCrunch, Sirius XM, TikTok, Engadget
Money Monday: Rents Rising at Record Rates
It’s getting harder and more expensive to find and rent a home. Data from last month found that now when renters sign a new lease, they pay about 17% more than what the last tenant paid for the same apartment. The surge is highest in sunbelt cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Miami. Availability is the main reason for the surge. It’s estimated that 97% of apartments and condos are occupied in the U.S. There are a few reasons for that, like many people looking to buy a house are getting priced out, so they’re forced to stay in their rentals. Also, some landlords are taking advantage of the hot housing market and selling their properties instead of renting them.
Read More: Bloomberg, CNBC, AP