Thursday, September 23rd, 2021
Vaccine Donations, Fed Pulling Back & Netflix Buys Iconic Stories
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Rothys.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 to peruse the latest happenings...
FDA Authorized More Boosters
The full FDA signed off on a COVID-19 booster shot for millions of Americans. The agency says people who are at high risk of getting a severe case of COVID-19 can get a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine. For the FDA, the high-risk category includes people who are 65 and older, as well as health care workers, teachers, grocery store employees, prison inmates, and people in homeless shelters. Those Americans should get a booster at least six months after they’ve had their second dose. The extra doses should be available in the next few days to people who got the Pfizer vaccine originally, assuming CDC advisers also sign off this week.
Read More: Axios, WSJ, AP, NBC News, FDA
More U.S. Vaccine Donations
Lower-income countries are about to get twice as many COVID-19 shots from the U.S. President Biden announced the U.S. is going to buy 500 million more doses of Pfizer’s vaccine to donate. This brings America’s commitment up to 1.1 billion doses shared overseas. That’s the largest donation total of any country. Still, a lot of international aid groups are calling on the U.S. and other wealthy countries to do more to help vaccinate the global population. Overall, the White House says the goal is to vaccinate 70% of the world by this time next year. President Biden has called on other world leaders to help.
Read More: ABC News, NPR, WSJ, Reuters, White House
U.S. Murder Rate Increase
The FBI published new data this week that shows the murder rate in the U.S. went up almost 30% in 2020. That means almost 5,000 more murders last year, as compared to the year before. That’s the biggest jump since the start of national record-keeping back in the 1960s. Every region of the country saw that kind of spike. However, the murder rate went up from what was a pretty low rate in 2019. So last year’s rate was about a third below what it was in the 1990s when murders were at an all-time high.
Read More: NY Times, Axios, FBI
Police Reform Talks Over
Many months of bipartisan negotiations over police reform are now officially over without a deal. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were hoping to come up with a bill in the name of George Floyd, who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer last summer. However, after months of back and forth, it seemed the differences between Democrats and Republicans on this issue were too much to overcome. President Biden says he’s going to look for other ways to improve policing. That could include executive actions since the president doesn’t need Congress to put those in place.
Read More: Politico, CBS News, WSJ, NPR, ABC News
Fed May Wind Down Stimulus Programs
It looks like the Federal Reserve is going to start scaling back its extra boost to the economy that began because of the pandemic. First, it will likely start lowering its monthly bond purchases. Then, it could start to raise interest rates again. Because of these actions, Americans kept up with borrowing and spending, and the stock market has seen record highs. However, the policies could also be making inflation worse, so the Fed is under pressure to pull back. It says it will likely do that at the end of next year. When that happens, some borrowers will have to pay more for mortgages, credit cards, and business loans.
Read More: Reuters, CNN, Fox News, CNBC
Iowa Grain Co-op Hacked
Cybercriminals reportedly targeted an Iowa farming co-op. It’s an alliance of more than 8,000 soy and corn farmers. It has an online system that’s used to track food supply chains and feeding schedules for millions of chickens, hogs, and cattle. However, it was forced to go offline because a Russian hacking group called BlackMatter launched a ransomware attack. The hackers locked up the computer network and threatened to publish the co-op’s data if it didn’t hand over a nearly $6 million ransom by this weekend. The co-op told news outlets it contacted law enforcement, but it hasn’t said if it will pay the ransom.
Read More: WSJ, WaPo, AP, Axios
Doctors Warn Against Fake Social Media Cures
Another fake coronavirus treatment is circulating on social media, and it could be dangerous. People are posting videos of themselves inhaling hydrogen peroxide as a way to prevent or treat COVID-19. Doctors with the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America are warning people not to fall for this. They say inhaling hydrogen peroxide will not treat or prevent COVID-19. It’s only supposed to be used to treat minor cuts and burns, and it can be poisonous if swallowed or inhaled in strong concentrations.
Read More: WaPo, The Hill, Seattle Times, Vox, AAFA
Microsoft Debuts New Hardware
Microsoft unveiled five new products this week: a laptop, three tablets, and a folding phone. The Surface Laptop Studio computer has a screen that can move around. It will cost $1,600. The tablets start at $400. The most basic, smallest version is supposed to be a lot faster and have more battery life than last year’s model. There’s also the Surface Duo. That’s Microsoft’s Android-based foldable smartphone. It’s said to have better cameras than the last model, stereo speakers, and 5G. It starts at $1,500. All these products will be available in a couple of weeks.
Read More: Axios, CNET, CNBC, The Verge
Netflix to Buy Roald Dahl Catalog
Netflix says it bought the Roald Dahl Story Company. That means the streaming giant is free to create new content based on the late children’s author’s characters and stories. Dahl wrote popular books like “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Matilda,” “James and the Giant Peach,” and many more. Netflix says it plans to create new films, TV series, games, live theater, and products based on Dahl’s works. Netflix hasn’t revealed how much it paid for those rights, but reports say the deal could be one of Netflix’s most expensive purchases ever.
Read More: Variety, CNN, THR, Fox Business, Netflix
Thing to Know Thursday: Covid-19 Rapid Home Tests
Rapid COVID-19 tests that people can take at home have been flying off store shelves lately. Scientists say if you’re already experiencing symptoms, the tests are pretty reliable. However, when you don’t have symptoms, the tests don’t always catch COVID-19 cases. They will catch the most infectious cases, though. The other concern is home tests could be a little less accurate than the ones at the doctor’s office because untrained people don’t always do the test correctly. Lab techs suggest people read the instructions carefully. Also, many doctors say if you are exposed to someone with COVID-19, you should wait a few days before taking a test.
Read More: WSJ, KXAN, AP, NY Times