Monday, September 27th, 2021
Train Derailment, Election Audit Findings & China Bans Crypto
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Noom.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 to review the latest happenings...
Amtrak Train Derailment
An investigation is underway to try to find what caused a deadly disaster on an Amtrak train over the weekend. It was traveling from Chicago to Seattle when the train somehow went off the tracks in a remote part of Montana. At least three people were killed, and 50 others were hurt. As of this morning, seven of them are still in the hospital, some with critical injuries. People who live near the site rushed to offer help. Amtrak is calling it an accident and says no other trains or equipment were involved. The National Transportation Safety Board has a team in Montana investigating.
Read More: AP, Reuters, CNN, CBS News, Amtrak, BNSF
Huawei Executive Released
The U.S. reached a deal to release one of the world’s most famous tech executives from detention. Meng Wanzhou is Huawei’s chief financial officer. Back in 2018, she was arrested in Canada at the request of the U.S. She’s been accused of misleading banks about her company’s ties to Iran. That violated U.S. sanctions, so she’s been under house arrest in Canada. However, she was released over the weekend after she admitted her wrongdoing. At the same time, China released two Canadians who were put in jail shortly after Meng was arrested. China accused them of espionage, but never showed evidence.
Read More: NY Times, BBC, WSJ, Financial Times, State Dept.
German Chancellor Election
For the first time in 16 years, Germans elected someone other than Angela Merkel to lead their country. She decided not to seek a fifth term as chancellor. Voters chose Olaf Scholz. He leads the Social Democratic Party that tends to lean a little more left of center. Merkel’s party leans a little right of center. Her party came in second. The final tally was close, so now, the Social Democrats need to team up with other pirates to form a government. Those negotiations could take weeks or months.
Read More: The Guardian, BBC, AP, CNBC
AZ Election Audit Results
Results of another review of the American presidential election found President Biden won fairly. Arizona Republicans have been challenging the outcome of the election in the state’s largest county. Earlier this year, they seized ballots, machines, and computer hard drives and shipped them off to a consulting firm called Cyber Ninjas. Now, Cyber Ninjas’ findings show Biden won by even more votes than the official results certified. Still, President Trump claims the review did find widespread fraud. He called on Arizona’s attorney general to open another investigation. Three earlier reviews in that same county also showed no sign of fraud.
Read More: Reuters, AP, WSJ, Business Insider, Trump Statement
NY Possible Healthcare Worker Shortages
Today is the deadline for all healthcare workers in New York to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or be fired. However, many still haven’t gotten their first shots, so thousands may have to leave their jobs. That means the state could be dealing with a serious staffing shortage. Gov. Kathy Hochul says she’s ready to call in qualified National Guard members, retirees, and out-of-state healthcare workers if needed. A reported 84% of New York’s hospital employees are fully vaccinated. However, that’s not enough to keep things running normally.
Read More: NPR, NY Times, AP, CBS News, Gov. Hochul
Cargo Piles up on Both Coasts
Imported cargo is piling up on both sides of the country. More than 60 giant ships are lined up waiting to dock at the Los Angeles and Long Beach, California ports. That means tens of thousands of containers are stuck. About 24 other cargo ships are also stuck, waiting to dock off the coast of Long Island, New York. The problem is every link in the U.S. supply chain is understaffed: shipping lines, port workers, truckers, warehouse workers, railways, and retailers. They’re all blaming each other for the imbalances. Now, a lot of retailers are dealing with shortages, and Costco is bringing back purchase limits on some items.
Read More: WSJ, Business Insider, The Week, NY Times
CA Zero-Emission Autonomous Vehicles
California is now telling companies that make self-driving vehicles that they need to make them clean. State lawmakers passed a new law that requires autonomous vehicles to be zero-emission by 2030, and the governor signed it. It was sponsored by environmental groups who say rules like this are needed to rein in greenhouse gas emissions. Already, the most prominent autonomous vehicle companies in California, Waymo and Cruise, operate fully electric vehicles as part of their fleets. However, other companies say electric vehicles are bad for self-driving cars because the time it takes to charge them takes them off the road for too long.
Read More: The Verge, TechCrunch, Spectrum, Gov. Newsom
China’s Crypto Crackdown
China is cracking down harder on cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. The country declared all crypto transactions are illegal, even on foreign exchanges. Also, it banned crypto mining. That’s the complex process that uses computer networks to create bitcoin or other tokens. Since China has low electricity costs and cheaper computing hardware, it’s been one of the world’s main centers for mining. Chinese officials say they’re cracking down because cryptocurrencies can disrupt the financial system and are too easily used to launder money. However, China is developing its state-run currency.
Read More: AP, NY Times, Reuters, BBC, WSJ
Box Office Roundup
The latest Marvel superhero movie, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” became the highest-grossing movie of the year in North America. Ticket sales have reached nearly $200 million in the U.S. and Canada. However, that’s nowhere near what the highest-grossing movie made before the pandemic. Back in 2019, “Avengers: End Game” made almost $860 million.
Read More: CNBC, CNN, Variety, THR
‘Jeopardy!’ Star Breaks $1 Million
A Yale Ph.D. student added himself to the “Jeopardy!” hall of fame. Matt Amodio became only the third person in history to earn more than $1 million during a winning streak. The only other contestants to win more than $1 million in regular-season games are Ken Jennings, whose 74-game streak netted $2,520,700, and James Holzhauer, who earned $2,462,216 over 32 victories. As for Amodio, his run began last season, and he’s now won 28 games straight. He isn’t stopping there either. You can watch his 29th game today.
Read More: USA Today, People, EW, Jeopardy!
Longest Kick in NFL History
More history was made on the football field. The kicker for the Baltimore Ravens made the longest kick in NFL history. Justin Tucker knocked home a record-breaking 66-yard field goal. He did it in a dramatic fashion. Tucker made the field goal with just three seconds left in the game to beat the Detroit Lions. Had he not made the kick, the Ravens would have lost the game. Afterward, Tucker’s coach called him the “best kicker in NFL history.”
Read More: NFL, CBS Sports, AP, Ravens
Money Monday: Online Shopping Becoming More Expensive
It’s about to get more expensive to shop online because shipping rates are going up. That starts next month at the USPS. Rate hikes for commercial and retail packages will range from 25 cents to $5. Then, starting in November, companies will have to pay FedEx a higher fuel surcharge. In January, FedEx will raise shipping rates by an average of nearly 6%. UPS is expected to announce similar increases soon. Companies are expected to pass the added costs onto shoppers. Already, some companies have increased handling fees. Others might raise the amount customers have to pay to qualify for free shipping.
Read More: WSJ, CNN, CNET, FedEx, USPS