Wednesday, November 25th, 2020
Stock Market Rally, Macy’s Parade Changes & Beyoncé Makes History
All the news you need in 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by ButcherBox.com/NEWSWORTHY and LiquidIV.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 reading about the latest happenings…
PA, NV, MN, NC Certify Election Results
Four more battleground states certified their election results. Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Minnesota all signed off on a Joe Biden victory. North Carolina certified its votes for President Trump. Now that most battleground states have certified their results, it makes Trump’s election challenges more difficult. However, the president is threatening more lawsuits anyway. Election disputes are supposed to be settled by December 8th. Each states’ electors cast their votes on December 14th, officially determining the next president.
Read More: NY Times, AP. CNN, NPR, WaPo, Trump Tweet
Dow Closes Above 30,000 for First Time
The U.S. stock market is making history. The Dow climbed more than 400 points yesterday, taking it above 30,000 for the first time. The S&P 500 also rose 1.6% to its own all-time high. Analysts say there are a few reasons behind the boom. For example, there’s less political uncertainty since the Trump administration allowed the start of the Biden transition. There’s also been a flurry of good news this week when it comes to vaccines. That seems to be giving investors hope that 2021 could be a year of economic recovery.
Read More: WaPo, WSJ, AP, CNBC
Task Force Calls for “Significant Behavior Change”
The White House coronavirus task force has another serious warning about the spread of COVID-19. It put together a set of reports about the fall surge. Specifically, they said this “aggressive, rapid, and expanding” spread of the virus requires a “significant behavior change” from all Americans. They recommended wearing a mask anytime you’re in public and increasing physical distancing. That means businesses would need to lower their capacity limits too. This comes as the U.S. reported nearly 2,100 new COVID-19 deaths yesterday.
Read More: CNN, The Hill, Johns Hopkins, COVID Tracking
Purdue Pharma Pleads Guilty
The drugmaker behind the highly-addictive painkiller Oxycontin has formally pleaded guilty to three criminal charges. Purdue Pharma admitted to playing a part in the opioid crisis in the U.S. that led to nearly half a million deaths over the past two decades. For example, the company acknowledged it gave the government misleading information about its efforts to keep prescription drugs off the black market. It also admitted to paying doctors to write more prescriptions for its painkillers.
Read More: AP, ABC News, NY Times, WSJ, Axios
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
The 96th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is still on for tomorrow, but there will be some changes this year. The parade route will only be a block long, instead of the regular two miles, because organizers don’t want big crowds to gather. Also, there won’t be any marching bands traveling from around the country. However, the giant balloons and fabulous floats will be back. There will also be tons of performances from stars like Dolly Parton, the cast of Hamilton, and the Sesame Street muppets. It airs on NBC starting at 9 a.m. ET tomorrow.
Read More: NY Times, Variety, Macy’s
2021 Grammy Nominations
Women are dominating the nominations for the 2021 Grammy Awards. Beyoncé got the most nods of all. She was nominated for nine awards, including record and song of the year for “Black Parade.” Beyoncé is also making Grammys history. She’s now the most-nominated female artist of all time. So far, she’s been nominated for a Grammy 79 times throughout her career and won 24 times. Other top nominees include Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, and Roddy Ricch. The award show airs on January 31st. It will be hosted by The Daily Show host Trevor Noah.
Read More: USA Today, NY Times, Variety
Obama Memoir Breaks Sales Record
Former President Barack Obama’s new memoir is now among the fastest-selling nonfiction books. A Promised Land sold 1.7 million copies in North America in its first week. The book’s publisher Penguin Random House says that’s the best first-week sales it's ever seen. Other presidential memoirs haven’t come close. The fiction best-sellers still sell much more than the non-fiction ones. The overall fastest-selling book of all time is still J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Read More: AP, The Hill, WSJ
Elon Musk Becomes 2nd-Richest Man
Elon Musk is now the second-richest person in the world. He overtook Microsoft founder Bill Gates yesterday and is now just behind Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on the “world’s richest” list. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk is now worth $136 billion. Most of his wealth comes from Tesla, the electric car company he founded. Tesla’s stock has been surging this year since investors are optimistic about the future of electric cars.
Read More: Bloomberg, NBC News, NPR
Scotland Makes Feminine Products Free
Scotland is now the first country in the world to make menstrual products free. Scottish lawmakers have unanimously signed off. The BBC says it makes period products available to anyone who needs them and it’s set to go into effect within two years. It’s expected to cost the Scottish government about £24 million annually — which equates to about $32 million. Scottish lawmakers argue period products are a basic need, so everyone should have access. They also expect other countries to follow suit.
Read More: BBC, NY Times, Axios, Scottish Parliament
Queen Elizabeth Launches Gin
Queen Elizabeth has launched her own brand of gin made with ingredients from her own garden. It’s called Sandringham Gin, named after the Sandringham Estate where the queen usually spends the holidays. The gin is distilled in local, small batches and costs £50 ($63) a bottle. For now, the gin is only available in the UK. Over the summer, the royal family also sold a Buckingham Palace Gin online. It sold out within hours.
Read More: USA Today, People, Sandringham Gin
Work Wednesday: Major Retailers Close on Thanksgiving
Major retailers are closing up shop for Thanksgiving. Places like Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Dicks Sporting Goods, and Macy’s will stay dark. They say they’re doing this to support and protect their employees during the pandemic. This is the first time in more than 30 years Walmart has closed on Thanksgiving. Still, some other places will be open, like Whole Foods, CVS, Walgreens, and Dollar General will stay open.
Read More: CNN, USA Today, FOX Business