Monday, November 22nd, 2021
Holiday Parade Tragedy, Rittenhouse Cleared & Travel Rush
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...
Holiday Parade Crash
A holiday parade ended in tragedy yesterday afternoon in Waukesha, Wisconsin. An SUV drove through barricades and hit dozens of people, including several children. At least five people were killed, and more than 40 others were hurt. They say a person of interest was taken into custody, and the community is now safe. But, it’s not clear who that person was, what their motivation might have been, or what charges they might face.
Read More: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, CNN, Fox News, NBC News, City of Waukesha
Covid Boosters for All Adults
All American adults are now eligible for Covid-19 booster shots. The FDA authorized a third dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines for the general public, about a month after giving them the okay for certain groups. Then, the CDC signed off too. This means everyone 18 and older who got either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine at least six months ago can get a booster. All adults who got the Johnson & Johnson shot at least two months ago are also eligible.
Read More: USA Today, CNBC, Reuters, FDA, CDC
Federal Workers Must be Vaxxed Today
Today is the deadline for most federal workers to get vaccinated. They need to have gotten both doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines or one Johnson & Johnson shot. If they don’t, they’ll be punished, and that could mean getting fired. This mandate doesn’t allow regular testing and masking to be a substitute for a vaccine, but there are medical and religious exemptions. To be clear, this is different than the other order that was supposed to impact all workers at companies with more than 100 workers.
Read More: CBS News, WaPo, Politico, News Nation, White House
U.S. 2021 Covid Death Toll Surpassed 2020
More Americans have died from Covid-19 so far in 2021 than in all of 2020. The death toll for 2021 is nearly 386,000. That’s a few hundred more than the 2020 death toll. Put together, more than 771,000 Americans have died from the virus in less than two years. When it comes to the most recent deaths, infectious disease experts blame the highly-contagious delta variant of COVID-19 and low vaccination rates in some communities. Overall, nearly 70% of Americans have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Read More: WSJ, The Week, Forbes, The Hill, Johns Hopkins
Europe Lockdown Protests
Huge crowds of people across Europe have been protesting against new Covid-19 restrictions. For example, about 35,000 people protested in Brussels, Belgium over the weekend. Tens of thousands of protesters rallied in Vienna, Austria over the weekend as well. And, the Netherlands has been dealing with riots for the last three nights in a row. Angry crowds have been setting fires and hurting police officers. On Friday night, police also opened fire on a crowd in the Netherlands, and four people who were shot are still in the hospital. Thousands of protesters also took to the streets in Croatia and Italy.
Read More: BBC, NPR, Reuters, WSJ
Rittenhouse Not Guilty
A jury reached a controversial verdict in a well-known murder case. Kyle Rittenhouse was 17-years-old when he killed two men and hurt another during unrest in Wisconsin last summer. For the last couple of weeks, prosecutors tried to argue he went to Wisconsin from Illinois that night looking for trouble, pointing his rifle at people who were rallying for racial justice. But, Rittenhouse said it was self-defense, that he was chased by a mob and someone tried to take away his weapon. The jury found Rittenhouse not guilty. Rittenhouse’s first post-trial interview is scheduled to air on Fox News tonight.
Read More: AP, NY Times, Axios, WSJ, WMAQ
Protests Over Rittenhouse Verdict
Large protests were held across the U.S. in response to the verdict in the Rittenhouse murder case. The largest one was in Chicago, where about 1,000 people marched through downtown. But, things were mostly peaceful. In New York City, hundreds of protesters shut down the Brooklyn Bridge. More protesters also rallied outside the Brooklyn Nets game. In Portland, things were a lot tenser. Law enforcement declared a riot when protesters forced open a jail gate, vandalized buildings, spray-painted police cars, and threw things at officers.
Read More: ABC News, AP, CNN, Fox News
House Passed BBB Bill
The U.S. House passed Democrats’ social spending and climate bill. It now moves on to the Senate. The bill costs close to $2 trillion and includes things like universal pre-k, more affordable home care for seniors, tax breaks to encourage cleaner energy and electric vehicles, and a lot more. President Biden praised the passage, saying the plan will “create jobs, reduce costs, make our country more competitive, and give working people and the middle class a fighting chance.” Still, critics say it’s too expensive. The bill is likely to get changed as Democratic leaders try to get enough votes to make it a law.
Read More: Reuters, CNBC, WSJ, NY Times
First Female Acting President
Vice President Kamala Harris became the first woman to have presidential power in the U.S. She was the first female acting president for just 85 minutes. It happened on Friday when President Biden transferred the power of the presidency to her while he was under anesthesia for a routine colonoscopy. Former President George W. Bush had the same procedure twice during his presidency and also chose to transfer power, following the process in the Constitution. Harris is already the nation’s first female, first Black, and first South Asian vice president in history.
Read More: WSJ, CNN, Fox News, WaPo
Air Travel Pandemic Records
It looks like Americans are ready to travel again ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. TSA screened 2.24 million air travelers on Friday, marking the highest number of passengers since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in March of 2020. TSA is expecting about 20 million travelers to pass through airport security checkpoints during the Thanksgiving travel period, which runs from last Friday through next Sunday. That would be close to pre-pandemic levels for this holiday.
Read More: Axios, CBS News, Reuters, TSA
Gunshot, Panic in Atlanta Airport
Travelers recently got a big scare at one of the world’s busiest airports. A gun went off at a security checkpoint in the Atlanta airport, apparently by accident. It was in a passenger’s bag. After it went off, he took the weapon and ran. No one at the airport was shot, but travelers ran for whatever exits they could get to, even on the tarmac. Flights were grounded for almost two hours as police investigated. Now, authorities are looking for the man who packed the gun. He’ll face charges of carrying a weapon in an airport, reckless conduct, and more.
Read More: Fox News, WaPo, CNN, USA Today
More Adults Don’t Want Kids
More Americans don’t want kids. The Pew Research Center surveyed American adults younger than 50 years old who are not already parents. The study found a rising number, 44%, say it’s unlikely they’ll ever have children. That’s up 7% from those who said the same back in 2018. Overall, their reasons vary, but most say they simply don’t want kids. Other reasons include medical issues, financial concerns, the state of the world, and worries about climate change. Meanwhile, 55% of adults younger than 50 who are not yet parents say they’re very or somewhat likely to have children someday.
Read More: Pew Research, Insider, Daily Mail, NY Times
Spotify Removes Album Shuffle
Next time you listen to an album on Spotify, it’s going to play in order. The streaming giant stopped making shuffle the default option for albums because of a request from Adele. On Twitter, the singer explained that artists create albums with care and thought, and they should be listened to as intended. Spotify seemed happy to oblige, responding to her Tweet writing, “anything for you.” That said, if Spotify users want to listen to an album on shuffle, they still can. They just have to go to the Now Playing view and select the shuffle button from there.
Read More: BBC, The Verge, CNN, WaPo, Spotify
American Music Awards
This year’s American Music Awards featured some of the biggest names in music. Rapper Cardi B made her hosting debut, showcasing her comical side and a lot of new outfits. Performers included Coldplay, BTS, Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, Olivia Rodrigo, Jennifer Lopez, and more. As for the actual awards, K-pop group BTS won artist of the year, and Olivia Rodrigo won new artist of the year. All the nominees were based on streaming, album, and digital sales, as well as radio airplay and social activity. However, fans voted for the winners.
Read More: Billboard, ET, AP, AMAs
Money Monday: Cash on California Highway
People in Southern California were in for a big surprise on their morning drive. Bags of money fell out of an armored truck and broke open on Interstate 5 in Carlsbad. The freeway came to a halt as people jumped out of their cars to grab as much money as they could. However, people have to return what they found. The California highway patrol is working with the FBI to recover as much cash as possible. People who don’t bring it back voluntarily could face theft charges. Already, many people have returned the money they scooped up. But, officials wouldn’t say exactly how much was lost or returned.
Read More: San Diego Union-Tribune, KFMB, CNN, AP