Friday, November 27th, 2020
Trump’s Latest Pardon, High Court Blocks Restrictions & Native American Heritage Day
All the news you need in around 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 reading the latest happenings...
Trump Pardons Michael Flynn
President Trump pardoned his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, on Wednesday. Back in 2017, Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about having contact with the Russian ambassador at the time. Then earlier this year, Flynn’s new legal team accused prosecutors of misconduct and asked to have his guilty plea withdrawn. A judge dismissed those claims. Now, this pardon means Flynn won’t have to face any time in prison and the case is likely closed. Some Democrats are calling it an abuse of power.
Read More: NPR, AP, FOX News, Trump Tweet, Pelosi Statement, Nadler Statement
U.S. Sets COVID-19 Records
The number of coronavirus patients in American hospitals hit a record high for the 17th straight day. The COVID Tracking Project says more than 90,000 Americans were in the hospital with COVID-19 on Thanksgiving. Many medical centers are warning they’re running out of room. A few states are delaying all elective procedures that require overnight stays. Also, some places have changed the rules so doctors and nurses with COVID-19 can keep working. However, they can only work in COVID-19 units.
Read More: WaPo, CNN, Becker’s ASC Review, Johns Hopkins, COVID Tracking
SCOTUS Blocks NY Restrictions
The U.S. Supreme Court overruled some coronavirus-related restrictions in New York. The state’s governor tried to enforce 10- and 25-person capacity limits on churches, synagogues, and other religious institutions. However, Catholic and Orthodox Jewish groups sued, saying it violated the right to worship. High court justices agreed with the religious groups in a 5-4 decision. Chief Justice Roberts was among the four who disagreed. He said the governor and public health officials are allowed to put restrictions in place if it’s for public safety.
Read More: AP, Axios, NBC News, Full Ruling
Standardized Testing Pushed Back
National standardized reading and math tests have been pushed back a year because of the pandemic. The National Center for Education Statistics is in charge of this. It had originally planned for hundreds of thousands of fourth and eighth-graders to take the tests in early 2021. However, the NCES is worried about the risk of spreading the coronavirus in schools and communities. So it pushed testing back to 2022. Now, some say state testing is even more important to keep sufficient data on students’ learning.
Read More: Axios, Reuters, WaPo, NCES
Native American Heritage Day
Today is Native American Heritage Day. The holiday encourages all Americans to honor the rich culture, tradition, and history of Native Americans. President Obama officially designated the holiday in 2009. Some people commemorate it with ceremonies and activities. Some Native Americans say they’re not happy the holiday falls on the day after Thanksgiving since it competes with Black Friday. Others call it a good first step and hope it becomes more widely recognized.
Read More: Native Hope, Newsweek, NIH, Philadelphia Inquirer
Black Friday/Small Business Saturday
Companies are rolling out some of their biggest deals of the year today. However, Black Friday is different this year. For starters, most stores have been phasing in their discounts for weeks because they don’t want stores to deal with huge crowds during the pandemic. Companies are also hearing up for a surge in online shopping. Also, tomorrow is Small Business Saturday. People are encouraged to shop local and support independent creators. A recent Google survey found 66% of shoppers plan to spend more money at local businesses this year.
Read More: CNN, The Verge, USA Today, Engadget, AP
Penguin Random House Buys Simon & Schuster
Penguin Random House bought Simon & Schuster in a deal worth $2 billion. Penguin Random House is already the biggest publisher in the U.S. and 96-year-old Simon & Schuster is the 3rd-largest. If the sale goes through, one company will reportedly end up controlling about a third of all books in the U.S. Critics bring up antitrust concerns. However, others say the book industry already has a ton of competition, so there’s no need to worry about one company taking over. The deal is expected to close next year.
Read More: NY Times, WSJ, Deadline, WaPo
Ravens QB Tests Positive for COVID-19
The NFL’s reigning MVP has tested positive for COVID-19. We’re talking about Lamar Jackson, the quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens. Jackson hasn’t said if he’s experiencing any symptoms. The whole team is dealing with an outbreak. The Ravens were supposed to play the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday, but the game was pushed back to Sunday because nine other Ravens players and several staff members either have it or were exposed to someone who has it.
Read More: NFL, NBC Sports, CBS Sports
Alabama Head Coach Gets COVID-19
COVID-19 is rattling college football too. Alabama coach Nick Saban tested positive for the virus. He told ESPN he’s feeling okay for now. He only has mild symptoms like a runny nose. Still, Saban is going into quarantine. That means he won’t be able to coach Saturday’s game against Auburn. That’s a big disappointment since the Alabama-Auburn rivalry is one of the biggest in college sports.
Read More: ESPN, NY Times, AP
Winner of National Dog Show
A Scottish Deerhound took home the top prize at this year’s National Dog Show. The pooch named Claire beat out hundreds of other dogs to win “Best in Show.” Judges say she was the “picture of elegance.” She looks like a large greyhound, but she’s bigger and has a rougher coat. Other standout breeds this year were the Poodle, Wire Fox Terrier, and English Springer Spaniel. They all competed in the scaled-back show. It didn’t have spectators, vendors, or sponsors because of the pandemic.
Read More: NBC Sports, USA Today, CNN, PEOPLE
Feel Good Friday: U.S. Rhodes Scholars Chosen
This year, one of the U.S. Rhodes Scholars was Mackenzie Fierceton. She reportedly grew up bouncing from one foster home to the next. She said it was extremely challenging and isolating. She aged out of the child welfare system and now, at 23 years old, she’s one of only 32 winners chosen out of more than 2,300 applicants. When it comes to higher education, it’s one of the most prestigious awards you can get. This year’s group of winners are among the most diverse ever. 22 of the winners are students of color.
Read More: AP, Forbes, Philadelphia Inquirer, Rhodes House