Friday, September 10th, 2021
Millions Face Vax Mandates, DOJ Sues Texas & Smart Ray-Bans
All the news you need in around 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Ritual.com/newsworthy and kiwico.com (Listen for the discount code)
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...
Biden’s New Covid Strategy
President Biden announced new federal vaccine requirements that will affect as many as 100 million Americans. He said all businesses with 100 employees or more will have to make sure their workers are either vaccinated or tested every week. The president also said all federal employees, including government contractors, will have to be vaccinated, and they’ll no longer have the option to get tested instead. President Biden also announced plans to increase shipments of COVID-19 antibody treatments by 50%, send federal teams to help overwhelmed hospitals, increase COVID-19 testing, and more.
Read More: AP, Reuters, WSJ, White House
LA Schools Mandate Vaccines
For the first time, a major school district decided to start requiring COVID-19 vaccines for students. Children 12 and older in Los Angeles public schools have to be fully vaccinated by January to show up to class. If they’re not, they’ll have to opt for online-only classes and no extracurricular activities. It’s not clear if this might set a precedent for other school districts to soon follow.
Read More: LA Times, Axios, WSJ, NPR, LAUSD
DOJ Sues TX Over Abortion Law
The U.S. Justice Department is now suing Texas over its strict new abortion ban. The government’s lawsuit says the state law is unconstitutional because it takes away women’s right to have abortions. The Texas law bans the procedure as soon as doctors can detect a heartbeat. That’s usually about six weeks into a pregnancy. In response to the latest action from the Justice Department, the Texas governor called the lawsuit a politically motivated distraction. Legal experts expect this case to make its way back to the Supreme Court in the next few weeks.
Read More: Texas Tribune, WSJ, AP, WaPo
Evacuations Resume at Kabul Airport
For the first time since the U.S. military left Afghanistan, an international flight took off from the Kabul airport. More than 100 foreigners were on board the Qatar Airways jet, including Americans. It landed in Qatar last night. The passengers were able to stay at a facility with other evacuees until they can go to their final destinations, like the U.S. or Canada. Other international flights are expected in the coming days. Meanwhile, other flights are going into Afghanistan, stocked with humanitarian aid like food supplies. The United Nations says as much as 97% of Afghanistan’s population could be in poverty by the middle of next year.
Read More: Reuters, WaPo, Fox News, CNN, NY Times
9/11 Commemoration Plans
This weekend, the U.S. will mark a painful milestone: 20 years since the 9/11 terror attacks. It was September 11th, 2001 when four hijacked planes crashed. Two of them flew into New York City’s twin towers, one into the Pentagon, and a fourth into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 Americans were killed. Tomorrow, President Biden will travel to all three sites where planes crashed. Former President Obama will attend the remembrance ceremony in New York. Former President George W. Bush will give the keynote address in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Other remembrance events are happening around the country.
Read More: NY Times, CNN, Fox News, CBS News
2021 Tied Hottest Summer Ever
This summer is now tied for the hottest summer on record in the U.S. NOAA says it hasn’t been this hot since 1936, which was the infamous dust bowl summer. Between June and August, the average temperature in the continental U.S. was 74 degrees. That’s more than two degrees warmer than the averages in the 1900s. California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah had their hottest summers ever. 21 other states from the northeast to the Rockies recorded top-ten hottest summers. Only southern states had average temperatures.
Read More: Axios, Weather Channel, USA Today, NOAA
Facebook and Ray-Ban’s Smart Glasses
Ray-Ban and Facebook teamed up to roll out smart glasses called Ray-Ban Stories. They look like regular glasses and weigh about the same too. You can even have prescription lenses put in. However, they also come equipped with a camera and speakers. They can play music and podcasts and accept phone calls. No headphones are necessary. The glasses can also snap photos and record 30-second videos which are saved to the person’s smartphone. A white light will shine from the glasses when the camera is activated. They are now on sale for about $300.
Read More: Axios, WaPo, The Verge, Facebook
Amazon to Cover College Tuition
Amazon says it will cover the costs of college tuition, books, and fees for its full-time, hourly employees in the U.S. Employees who’ve been with the company for at least three months are eligible starting in January. Part-time staffers working at least 20 hours a week can get half of their tuition paid for. The program will work for hundreds of colleges around the country. The company will also pay for high school diploma programs, GEDs, and programs for workers learning to speak English. Walmart and Target have also beefed up their education benefits in recent months.
Read More: CNBC, Engadget, WSJ, Amazon
AMC’s First Ad Campaign
For the first time, the largest movie theater chain in the world is spending money on an advertising campaign. AMC Theaters partnered with actress Nicole Kidman for a commercial. It’s meant to persuade customers that movies are better on the big screen than a home streaming network. Traditionally, theaters haven’t needed to promote themselves. The movie-making studios took care of that by promoting new films. However, theaters have continued to struggle with ticket sales, especially since COVID-19 cases have been ticking up again.
Read More: Business Insider, Deadline, THR, YouTube
Feel Good Friday: Single Mother Braids Hair for Free
A single mom in Tennessee who works three jobs to support two kids is making a huge difference for other single parents in her community. Brittany Starks has been donating her time to braid children’s hair for free. The process can take up to six hours per child. At a salon, it can cost up to $300. About a month ago, Starks posted on Facebook offering free braiding services for kids. She soon had 35 appointments. To get them all done before classes started, she recruited two volunteers to help. Now, Starks plans to make this a monthly event.
Read More: WaPo, WTVF-TV, GoFundMe