Tuesday, November 24th, 2020
Transition Officially Begins, GM Recall & New TikTok Rival
All the news in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by ButcherBox.com/NEWSWORTHY and DukeCannon.com (listen for how to get a discount)
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 read the latest happenings...
GSA Authorizes Biden Transition
The Trump administration is now officially working with the Biden transition team. The General Services Administration formally designated President-elect Biden as the “apparent winner” of the presidential election. This means Biden and his team will get nearly $10 million in funding, plus office space and computers in each government agency. He’ll also get classified national security information, access to the White House coronavirus task force, and more. Still, President Trump is not conceding. He tweeted that he’ll “keep up the good fight.”
Read More: AP, NBC News, NY Times, WSJ, Trump Tweet, Biden-Harris Transition
Biden Announcing Cabinet Picks
President-elect Biden has named some picks for his upcoming administration. Seven of them held senior roles in the Obama administration too. For example, Biden nominated Tony Blinken as his secretary of state. Biden also picked Alejandro Mayorkas to lead Homeland Security, Avril Haines as director of national intelligence, and former Secretary of State John Kerry as special envoy on climate. Next, Biden is expected to nominate former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to lead the Treasury Department.
Read More: AP, NY Times, Politico, WaPo
COVID-19 Outbreak Growing Nationwide
COVID-19 is growing beyond just hot spots in the U.S. 45 states are now reportedly seeing ongoing increases. There are major metro areas from coast to coast reporting new cases at or near record levels, like Pittsburgh, Albuquerque, Baltimore, and San Diego. Hospitalizations and deaths keep breaking records too. The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the U.S. has reached new record highs every day for the past two weeks. The U.S. is also averaging more than 1,500 new deaths per day.
Read More: NY Times, Axios, Salt Lake Tribune, Stat, Johns Hopkins
Trump to Pardon Turkey
There will be a turkey pardon at the White House today. The annual tradition dates back to 1863. This year, two turkeys from Iowa were selected. Their names are Corn and Cob. The National Turkey Federation says the two so-called "VITs," Very Important Turkeys, "made themselves right at home" in their Willard InterContinental hotel room this weekend. After today’s ceremony, both will live out their days at Iowa State University at a new "state-of-the-art turkey production facility."
Read More: Ames Tribune, FOX News, WUSA, National Turkey Federation
White House Christmas Tree Arrives
The official White House Christmas tree arrived yesterday in a horse-drawn carriage. This year, it’s an 18-and-a-half-foot Fraser Fir from a tree farm in West Virginia. First Lady Melania Trump greeted the delivery and posed for photos while Christmas music played outside the White House. On Twitter, she called it “lovely” and said she was excited to begin decorating.
Read More: USA Today, CNN, AP, Melania Trump Tweet
NBA Players Meet with Pope
Pope Francis met with American professional basketball players at the Vatican yesterday. Five NBA players who are active in the players union made the trip. They talked about what they’ve been doing to take a stand against inequality. Already this year, some players have refused to take the court in protest of racial injustice and many players have worn social justice messages on their jersey. Now, the pope is urging them to remain united and humble in their fight.
Read More: NY Times, AP, Reuters
GM Recalling Millions of Vehicles
General Motors is recalling six million pickup trucks and SUVs in the U.S. This is to replace airbags that could potentially be dangerous. They are made by Takata, which has had issues before. About six years ago, there were problems with airbags exploding. That led to the largest auto recall in history. Now, U.S. safety regulators say there needs to be another one. They say millions of GM vehicles made between 2007 and 2014 need to have their airbags replaced.
Read More: CNN, AP, Axios
Check Your Vehicle for a Recall: NHTSA
Snapchat Launches TikTok Rival
Snapchat rolled out a new feature that’s almost identical to TikTok. It’s called Spotlight. It showcases short-form videos that other users created. However, you can’t comment on Spotlight videos like you can on TikTok. Many posts are anonymous and they are only visible to your friends unless you specifically set them to public. There’s an incentive to post on Spotlight too. For at least the rest of the year, Snapchat said it will be giving out $1 million daily to users who submit the most popular Spotlight videos.
Read More: The Verge, Engadget, Snap
Ken Jennings to Guest Host ‘Jeopardy!’
Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings is set to guest host the popular game show he once dominated. Jennings will begin filling in next week when the taping of the show starts again. Longtime host Alex Trebek passed away from pancreatic cancer earlier this month. His permanent replacement hasn’t been chosen yet, so there are going to be a series of guest hosts instead. Jennings will be the first and he’s a fan favorite. He holds the record for the longest Jeopardy! winning streak with 74 wins.
Read More: Variety, USA Today, AP, Jeopardy!
Trivia Tuesday
Q: What is a group of turkeys called?
Play along on today’s Instagram Stories Quiz. We’ll also have the answer right here next week.
Last Week’s Trivia Tuesday Answer
Q: What is the only major city located on two continents?
A: Istanbul
Read More: Times of India, MIT, Turkey Travel Centre