Monday, October 19th, 2020
New Infections Surge, Historic Colorado Wildfires & World Series Teams
All the news you need in about 10 min:
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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...
U.S. Virus Surge
New coronavirus infections are climbing in nearly every state around the U.S. The country is now averaging more than 55,000 new cases every day. That’s about 60% more than this time last month. Some states have started putting restrictions back in place. For example, New Mexico’s governor ordered businesses that serve alcohol to close at 10 p.m. and Kentucky’s governor told authorities to step up mask enforcement.
Read More: CNN, NBC News, ABC News, Politico, CDC, Johns Hopkins
UN Iran Arms Embargo Expires
A UN arms embargo on Iran expired over the weekend. For the past 13 years, that embargo stopped Iran from being able to buy or sell foreign weapons, like tanks and fighter jets. The expiration was expected as part of a nuclear deal with world powers. However, the U.S. is strongly against it. Americans have been trying to extend the arms embargo for months, but the UN has said the U.S. doesn’t have the authority to change the terms of an agreement it left a couple of years ago.
Read More: Axios, AP, CNBC
Syria Hostage Negotiations
A top White House counterterrorism official reportedly traveled to Syria for secret hostage negotiations. They were the first high-level discussions between the U.S. and Syria in more than a decade. The Wall Street Journal was first to report the update. The Trump administration is reportedly seeking the release of Austin Tice, a freelance journalist who disappeared in 2012, and Majd Kamalmaz, a Syrian-American therapist who disappeared in 2017. It’s believed they’re both being held by Syrian President Bashar Al-Asad.
Read More: WSJ, The Hill, Reuters
Biden, Trump Campaign Events
The presidential election is now just 15 days away. President Trump is campaigning in Arizona today, Pennsylvania tomorrow, and North Carolina on Wednesday. His Democratic rival, Joe Biden, hasn’t released as many details about his upcoming schedule, but his campaign has said he’s not slowing down. Over the weekend, they both visited states they’re trying to flip. President Trump was in Nevada, which hasn’t voted for a Republican since 2004. Biden went to North Carolina, where no Democrat has won a presidential race since 2008.
Read More: AP, NY Times, Reuters
CO Wildfires Spreading
Colorado is dealing with two massive, fast-moving wildfires. The Cameron Peak Fire has been burning in Larimer County, around Fort Collins, since August. Over the weekend, it became the largest wildfire in Colorado history. It’s burned about 320 square miles so far. As of early this morning, it’s 62% contained. About 50 miles southeast, there’s the Calwood Fire. It started burning on Saturday and has already burned about 13 square miles. That one is only 15% contained. So far, there have been no reported injuries or deaths from either fire.
Read More: Denver Post, USA Today, ABC News, NBC News, FEMA, InciWeb
World Series Begins
The Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers are going to the World Series. Both teams secured their spots over the weekend. The World Series is slated to begin tomorrow in Arlington, Texas. All games will be played there and fans will be allowed to attend. The league is selling about 11,000 tickets for each game, but that’s less than 30% capacity. For fans who can’t go in-person, the whole series will air on FOX. The first pitch is tomorrow at 7:09 p.m. CT.
Read More: Tampa Bay Times, ESPN, LA Times, SI, WaPo
FB: 2.2M Ads Tried to Disrupt Election
Facebook says it rejected 2.2 million ads that were trying to interfere with the U.S. election. The company’s vice president of global affairs told a French newspaper the ads were meant to “obstruct voting.” He also said Facebook pulled 120,000 posts for the same reason, and it put warning labels on 150 million others. Already, the company has banned content that promotes certain conspiracy theories and it blocked post-Election Day political ads.
Read More: The Verge, Engadget, The Guardian
Google Can Detect Hummed Songs
If you have a song stuck in your head, but can’t remember the name, Google can now help. You just have to hum or whistle the melody and the search engine will populate songs that sound similar. Google just needs 10-15 seconds of audio to make it work. The new feature is available now on Google Assistant, or the latest version of the Google app, with either iOS or Android. Just go to the search bar, hit the microphone button, and say, “what’s this song?”
Read More: USA Today, Business Insider, CNN, Google
Airbnb’s Top Destinations for 2021
Airbnb has released its list of top travel destinations for 2021. Most of them are in the U.S. since Airbnb is an American company and the pandemic has caused international travel restrictions. People are choosing spots they can drive to, and locations that offer outdoor perks like skiing, hiking, or beach-going. Some of the trending 2021 destinations are Breckenridge, Colorado, Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee, Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Palm Springs, California.
Read More: USA Today, Airbnb
Monday Monday: Book Stores Launch Shop Local Campaign
Bookstores around the country have been lashing out at Amazon and begging more people to shop locally. The American Booksellers Association developed the campaign because it says at least one independent bookstore has closed since the start of the pandemic. However, book sales have jumped more than 6% this year compared to last year. The problem is most purchases are going through major warehouses like Amazon, so the association gave small stores signs that say things like, “If you want Amazon to be the world’s only retailer, keep shopping there.”
Read More: NY Times, AP, CNBC, Amazon