Wednesday, September 22nd, 2021
Big Climate Push, Border Patrol Investigation & First Day of Fall
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by kiwico.com (Listen for the discount code) and Rothys.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…
U.S. Climate Pledges
At the United Nations General Assembly, President Biden announced a plan to double financial aid to poorer countries by 2024 so they could switch to cleaner energy. This would mean the U.S. would be contributing about $11.4 billion a year. Congress still needs to approve the money before it gets sent. If that happens, it would make the U.S. one of the largest climate donors in the world. However, how much the U.S. should be spending depends on who you ask. The U.S. has also been one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases for hundreds of years.
Read More: Reuters, WSJ, WaPo
China Halting Coal Projects
The Chinese president said his country would stop sending money to coal-fired power plants in other countries. When that policy goes into effect, it could force 47 planned power plants in 20 countries to shut down. This is a big shift for China since a lot of its foreign policy has to do with building infrastructure and trade in other places. Still, it doesn’t mean the end of coal. Analysts say China added as much coal power in its own country in the last year as it’s potentially canceling abroad.
Read More: CNN, NY Times, Politico
Global COVID-19 Summit
Today, President Biden is hosting a virtual summit about tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. The White House says the president will talk about making tests, oxygen, and other supplies more widely available. Biden is also expected to ask world leaders to get 70% of the world’s population fully vaccinated within a year, up from about 40% now. That will mean a lot of developed countries donating more COVID-19 shots.
Read More: WSJ, WaPo, Reuters, White House
More Hospitals Ration Care
Hospitals in western states are now so full of mostly COVID-19 patients that doctors are having to choose who to care for. Some hospitals in Idaho, Montana, and Alaska have had to start rationing medical care. It’s impacting not only patients with COVID-19 but people who are sick for other reasons too. Most providers are looking at who has the best chance of surviving and deciding not to care for the sickest patients who might not live, even with the best treatments available.
Read More: WaPo, CNN, AP, NPR
Tennessee Limits Antibody Treatment
Tennessee is the first state to limit a highly effective antibody treatment for COVID-19 patients. Officials told health care providers to give those treatments to unvaccinated patients first since they’re considered more high risk. Seniors and people with compromised immune systems are also high on the list. Still, health officials say vaccines offer better protection than antibody drugs. The protection also lasts longer with vaccines, and they are less expensive.
Read More: The Tennessean, NBC News, Business Insider, WaPo
J&J Booster Data
Johnson & Johnson is the latest COVID-19 vaccine maker to push for booster shots. Right now, the Johnson & Johnson version is the only vaccine that comes in just one dose. However, the company released new data this week that shows a second dose boosts protection. In a large trial, when people got a second shot about two months after the first, the vaccine became 94% effective at keeping them from getting sick with COVID-19. That’s compared to about 74% with just a single shot. The FDA still needs to review and confirm the findings, then decide whether to give the go-ahead for Americans to receive boosters.
Read More: NY Times, WSJ, CNN, NPR, Johnson & Johnson
DHS Investigating Border Patrol Agents
Some border patrol agents are now under investigation over some videos and photos circulating this week. They show agents on horseback chasing down Haitian migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. Some of the agents were swinging long horse reins toward the migrants and yelling at them about the state of their country. This happened near a crowded makeshift camp in South Texas where about 15,000 migrants are being kept under a bridge. The Homeland Security Department is investigating the agents who were involved. In the meantime, authorities say they are sending a lot of the migrants back to Haiti on flights.
Read More: AP, NY Times, Fox News, NBC News, DHS
Australia Earthquake
People are cleaning up damage from one of the biggest earthquakes in Australia’s history. A 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck near the country’s second-largest city of Melbourne. People could feel the tremors hundreds of miles away. The good news is that no serious injuries have been reported. However, several buildings and power lines were damaged, roads were cracked, and apartments had to be evacuated. That area could get aftershocks for the next few days, weeks, or even months.
Read More: The Guardian, Reuters, AP, CNN
VA Benefits for LGBTQ Veterans
LGBTQ service members who were discharged under “don’t ask, don’t tell” can now be treated as veterans. That means thousands of them are now eligible for government benefits. Under “don’t ask don’t tell,” openly gay, bisexual, and transgender people were not allowed in the military. In that time, more than 14,000 servicemembers were believed to be discharged solely because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or HIV status. Now, the VA says they can get assistance like health care, guaranteed home loans, burial benefits, and more.
Read More: CBS News, CNN, NY Times, White House, VA
American-JetBlue Antitrust Suit
American Airlines and JetBlue Airways are being sued over their new partnership. Last year, the airlines agreed to combine operations at four airports in the northeast. This means they can sell each other’s flights in the New York and Boston areas. Well, this week, the U.S. Justice Department, six states, and Washington, D.C. filed a lawsuit to stop it. They argue the airlines’ agreement gives them too much power, and it could mean higher prices, fewer options, and poorer customer service. American and JetBlue disagree, and they’ve promised to fight the suit in court.
Read More: CNBC, The Hill, WSJ, Reuters,
Google Buys Manhattan Office Building
A lot of Google employees are still working from home, but their company is betting big money people will come back soon. Google says it’s paying $2.1 billion for an office building in New York City. That’s the largest American office deal since 2018 when Google bought another building in New York. This time, the tech giant is getting a 12-story building in Manhattan that takes up two full city blocks. It’s still being built, but it’s on track to be ready in 2023. Already Google has about 12,000 workers in New York City, and it says it plans to add at least 2,000 more.
Read More: WSJ, NY Times, CNBC, NY Post, Google
McDonald’s Phasing Out Plastic Toys
McDonald’s is the latest big company making changes to help the environment. The fast-food chain plans to phase out plastic toys in its Happy Meals over the next four years. New toys will be made from recycled, renewable, or plant-based materials instead. McDonald’s says that initiative will reduce the amount of plastic in its Happy Meals by 90%. The brand is also looking into whether it could use recycled plastic toys to make things like playground equipment and restaurant trays.
Read More: Axios, Yahoo Finance, AP, McDonald’s
Autumnal Equinox
Goodbye Summer, and hello Fall! The Autumn season begins today with the Autumnal equinox. During the equinox, day and night are both about 12 hours long in most parts of the world. The equinox refers to the exact moment when the sun is directly above the equator. The Farmer’s Almanac says that exact moment is 3:20 ET this afternoon. Then, here in the northern hemisphere, daylight hours will get progressively shorter until the Winter solstice in December. The opposite is true in the southern hemisphere where Spring has now sprung.
Read More: USA Today, Farmer’s Almanac, Vox
Work Wednesday: Schools & Child Care Worker Shortages
Schools and child care providers are facing a severe worker shortage right now. Districts need more teachers, counselors, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, and after-school care providers. However, they're struggling to fill open positions. Some workers have said they are hesitant about working with young children since they can’t be vaccinated against COVID-19 yet. However, the main reason appears to be financial. Because of the tight labor market, restaurants, retailers, and factories are offering higher wages and signing bonuses to entice new hires. Schools and child care companies say they can’t compare.
Read More: NY Times, CSCCE, Education Week