Friday, October 15th, 2021
Expand the High Court?, Clinton Hospitalized & Instagram Live Improves
All the news you need in around 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by Rothys.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 reading the latest happenings...
Advisory Panel Recommends Moderna Booster
An FDA advisory panel unanimously recommended a third half-dose shot of the Moderna vaccine. The committee says it should be available to Americans who originally got the Moderna shots at least six months ago and are either seniors or at high risk due to their jobs or a medical condition. It’s up to the FDA to decide whether to give the extra doses the official go-ahead, but regulators usually take the advisory panel’s advice. They’re expected to finalize the decision within days. There’s also a positive trend to tell you about: the number of Covid-19 cases in the U.S. is down more than 40% since August.
Read More: AP, CNBC, WSJ, CNN
The U.S. to Resume Afghan Evacuations
The U.S. is still working to get vulnerable people out of Afghanistan. The Wall Street Journal cites sources who say the U.S. is planning to start running several flights a week by the end of this year. American citizens, and some Afghans who’ve been vetted, would be eligible to take them. American troops left Afghanistan at the end of August. In the weeks before the withdrawal, the U.S. military helped evacuate more than 120,000 people out of the country. However, dozens of Americans and tens of thousands of American allies who wanted to get out were left behind. The Taliban hasn’t commented on the plans yet.
Read More: WSJ, Reuters, The Week, The Guardian
Former Boeing Pilot Indicted
For the first time, a Boeing employee is facing criminal charges over the troubled 737 Max Jet. That type of plane was grounded around the world after two of them crashed, one in 2018 and one in 2019. Prosecutors say the test pilot knew about an important change to that system, and he even had trouble with it during a flight simulator session, but he didn’t tell the FAA about any of it. Because he hid the information, the system wasn’t mentioned in pilot manuals or training materials. He is being charged with fraud. If he’s convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Read More: ABC News, AP, WaPo, WSJ, DOJ
SCOTUS Commission Divided
For months now, law professors, former judges, and more have been looking into changing the U.S. Supreme Court. This week, the group released some of its findings. When it comes to expanding the size of the Supreme Court, members of the commission say adding seats would be legal but could risk undermining the court’s legitimacy. The commission seemed more on board with other potential changes like imposing term limits for justices who currently have lifetime appointments. The members noted that kind of change might not be possible, though, without changing the U.S. constitution.
Read More: Reuters, FOX News, WSJ, USA Today, Axios, White House
Former President Clinton Hospitalized
Former President Bill Clinton has been hospitalized. Clinton, who is 75 years old, has a UTI that spread to his bloodstream. However, he’s said to be on the mend since he’s responding to antibiotics well. A hospital stay is nothing new for Clinton. The former president had to have quadruple bypass heart surgery in 2004. Then, he got surgery on a partially collapsed lung in 2005. And in 2010, he had to have another heart surgery. This time around, doctors say they’re hoping former President Clinton will be able to go home soon. Clinton’s spokesperson says he’s in good spirits.
Read More: NPR, Fox News, CNN, Spokesperson Statement
La Niña Returns
La Niña is back! NOAA issued an advisory this week about the natural weather event. Typically, in a La Niña winter, the southern U.S. gets above-average temperatures and below-average precipitation. That could be bad news for the Southwest that’s already dealing with a historic drought. Meanwhile, La Niña tends to have the opposite effect on the northern U.S.: lower than average temperatures with more snow and rain. That said, the exact forecast could still change. Meteorologists won’t be able to make precise temperature, snow, and rain predictions until winter is in full swing.
Read More: Weather Channel, CNN, WaPo, NOAA
Nursing School Enrollment Grows
Nurses are burned out by the Covid-19 pandemic, and thousands of them have decided to quit or retire recently. However, the problem might not last forever. Nursing schools are starting to get more applications. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing says enrollment for nursing programs went up nearly 6% last year as compared to the year before. Figures for the current school year aren’t out yet, but administrators say the spike has continued. Students have been able to get a lot of hands-on experience doing Covid-19 testing, contact tracing, and working at community vaccination clinics.
Read More: AP, Newsweek, AACN
John Deere Strike
More major American companies are now dealing with employees on strike. The latest walkout happened at John Deere, the farm and construction equipment giant. More than 10,000 employees represented by the United Auto Workers Union decided to strike this week for the first time in 35 years. The union is demanding higher wages, better retirement benefits, and an improved work environment. However, John Deere says its workers are already the highest paid in the industry, and it was offering to raise wages another 5% to 6% this year. Both sides say they’re going to keep working to resolve the contract disputes.
Read More: Fox Business, NY Times, NPR, UAW, Deere
IG Live Adds Scheduling & Practice Mode
Instagram is rolling out a couple of new tools for its Live function. For starters, all creators can now schedule live streams up to 90 days in advance. They can promote the live event ahead of time on the feed and through Stories. That feature puts Instagram on more even footing with other live platforms like YouTube and TikTok, as well as Instagram’s parent company, Facebook. The next tool is something Instagram Live creators have been requesting for a while now. It’s called Practice mode. With this, Instagram users will be able to test lighting and audio and communicate with any guests before the video goes live.
Read More: TechCrunch, Mashable, Engadget
NASA’s Lucy Mission
NASA is launching a historic mission that could help us better understand how the solar system and the planets were formed billions of years ago. A spacecraft named Lucy will hopefully give astronauts a closer look at what’s called the Trojan asteroids. Those are two swarms of space rocks in the same orbit as Jupiter. NASA believes they were made from leftover materials that formed the outer planets. Lucy is set to launch tomorrow. The mission is expected to take 12 years, covering more than 4 billion miles.
Read More: Space.Com, SciTechDaily, CBS Miami, NASA
Record-Breaking Banksy Auction
Imagine paying tens of millions of dollars for a painting that’s half destroyed. Someone did just that this week. The painting comes from world-renowned, eccentric street artist Banksy. The original piece was an image of a girl with a balloon, and it sold at auction for almost $1.5 million in 2018. However, the crowd was shocked when, just after that sale was complete, a shredder built within the frame activated and shredded half of the painting. Still, the anonymous buyer had the last laugh. The shredded version just went for $25.4 million at auction, making it the most expensive Banksy painting ever sold.
Read More: NPR, WSJ, BBC, NY Times, Sotheby's
Feel Good Friday: Yard Sale Funds Acts of Kindness
A woman from Virginia has found a way to turn a two-day event into a year’s worth of kindness. Every year, Susan Thompson-Gaines throws a massive yard sale. She collects old clothes, toys, jewelry, and other odds and ends from all her neighbors. Then, she sells everything one weekend for whatever people can pay. She uses the profits for random acts of kindness throughout her community. This year, Thompson-Gaines raised more than $12,000, and she expects it to go a long way. She has been known to leave flowers at veterans’ graves, buy donuts for nurses, deliver presents for Santa, throw beach parties for dementia patients, and a lot more.
Read More: CBS News, WaPo, WTOP, Kindness Activist