Thursday, November 4th, 2021
Paid Leave Revived, Fed Cuts Back & Celebrating Diwali
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 peruse the latest happenings...
New BBB Plan Additions
The Democrats’ $1.85 trillion social spending and climate package seems to look a little different every day. Just one week after they stripped it down, lawmakers added federally-paid family and medical leave. Dems also added a new program that would help some seven million immigrants who are in the U.S. without legal standing. It would let them apply for permits to work and travel in the U.S. for five years. Also this week, Democrats reached a deal to lower prescription drug costs for most older people. These are all on top of other big social and climate initiatives. A lot of the costs would be covered with higher taxes on people earning more than $10 million a year.
Read More: AP, NY Times, WSJ, NPR
New Jersey Governor Re-elected
It was an extremely close race, but, in the end, New Jersey's Democratic governor won re-election. The race was called for Gov. Phil Murphy last night. Only a few thousand votes made all the difference out of about 2.5 million ballots cast. Even though Murphy won, Democrats around the country worry they’re losing support because New Jersey isn’t considered a swing state. President Biden carried it by more than 15 points last year. Next year, Democrats are trying to keep their slim majorities in Congress during the midterms, and Republicans are hoping to get more power back.
Read More: NY Times, WSJ, Politico, CNN
New Details on Raiders Star Crash
The former NFL star who was charged for a deadly car crash is now out of jail, and more details have emerged as to exactly what happened. Prosecutors say former Las Vegas Raiders player Henry Ruggs III was driving 156 mph in a residential area before the crash. He rear-ended the car in front of him, and that car’s driver was killed. After the crash, police say Ruggs refused to do a field sobriety test, so investigators got a warrant to take blood from him at the hospital a couple of hours later. It showed his blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit. If convicted, Ruggs could face decades in prison.
Read More: Las Vegas Review-Journal, ESPN, Fox News, CNN
COP26 Latest Pledges
World leaders, like presidents and prime ministers, have now left the big climate conference in Scotland. But, national negotiators are still there, going through all the details. One plan is to boost weather monitoring in dozens of under-developed countries that have done little to cause the climate crisis but are hurt the most by extreme weather patterns. Also, at least 18 countries promised to quit coal overseas and at home. But, coal-dependent countries like the U.S., India, China, and Australia didn’t sign on. The World Coal Association has said efforts to get rid of coal ignore the fact that it’s still critical to the energy supply.
Read More: BBC, MarketWatch, AP, Reuters, CNN, UK Govt.
Fed Slowing Bond-Buying Program
The Federal Reserve is planning to phase out its stimulus measures put in place because of the pandemic. The Fed has been providing extra support for the U.S. economy by buying billions of dollars worth of government bonds and other assets. But, the Fed says it plans to start to cut back on those purchases a little bit by the middle of next year. It’s making the change because inflation is at a 30-year high. Still, for now, the Fed is keeping interest rates almost near zero to help keep borrowing costs low. The Fed chairman says he wants to see more people back to work before raising those rates.
Read More: CNBC, Fox Business, CNN, NPR, NY Times
Meta Keeps Facial Recognition
Remember earlier this week when Facebook promised to stop using facial recognition systems and delete the face scans of 1 billion users? Well, there’s a big caveat to that. The parent company Meta is scaling back, but it isn’t getting rid of its use of facial recognition technology for other purposes. Recode reports Meta is looking into ways to use biometrics in its metaverse business. Critics worry about both bias and privacy, especially when all that personal data is in the hands of a company that has had privacy blunders in the past.
Read More: Recode, Apple Insider, Financial Times
Holiday Coffees Released
The largest coffee chains in the country are rolling out their festive menus. Dunkin’ unveiled its new seasonal drinks and food yesterday, complete with a new Holiday Blend Coffee, a Toasted White Chocolate Latte, Pancake Minis, and more. Starbucks is rolling out its new holiday-themed menu, too, as well as debuting its first non-dairy iced holiday coffee, the Iced Sugar Cookie Almondmilk Latte. Starbucks’ signature red cups are also back, and this year, there are four different ones that look like wrapped-up gifts.
Read More: CT Post, MassLive, Orlando Sentinel, CNN, Dunkin, Starbucks
Happy Diwali
Today is Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights. The holiday is celebrated by more than a billion people around the world, especially in South Asia. Hindus, Sikhs, and Buddhists all bring their own cultural traditions to Diwali. Typically, people get together, have parties, give gifts to each other, and pray for a brighter future. People will often line candles and lamps throughout their homes and along their driveways. They might also buy colorful new clothes or make sweet treats. Festivals and celebrations can last for several days.
Read More: USA Today, CNN, BBC, Nat Geo
Thing to Know Thursday: Open Enrollment Begins
It's time for Americans to pick or change health insurance plans. Open enrollment started this week. Whether you get health insurance through work or opt for a private or government option like Obamacare, now is the time to review what plans are out there for you. This year, you might be able to take advantage of new discounts that came from one of the recent COVID-19 relief packages. If you plan on getting health insurance through work, the deadlines vary by company. But, with the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), if you want coverage to start on January 1st, you must enroll by December 15th.
Read More: Money, LA Times, KFF, White House, Healthcare.Gov