Tuesday, December 7th, 2021
Biden-Putin Talks, Olympic Boycott & Big Names in Vegas
All the news 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 read the latest happenings...
Biden-Putin Call Today
President Biden has a video meeting today with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This comes as the American intelligence community is warning Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine, an American ally, as soon as next month. Biden will reportedly make it clear if Russia does that, the U.S. will respond with sanctions and more troops in Europe if needed. However, Russia wants the U.S. to promise to roll back military cooperation with Ukraine, among other things. President Biden will also follow up on cybersecurity issues, space exploration, and the effort to get Iran back into the nuclear deal.
Read More: WaPo, NY Times, CNN, CNBC, White House
DOJ Sues Texas Over Voting Maps
The U.S. Justice Department has once again sued Texas over voting concerns. The DOJ says Texas lawmakers illegally discriminated against voters of color when they drew new districts that give white, Republican voters more political power. The lawsuit asks the court to keep Texas from holding elections under these redrawn districts and to force Texas lawmakers to draw new maps that reflect the population. But, the attorney general in Texas is promising to fight the lawsuit in court.
Read More: Texas Tribune, WaPo, Fox News, NPR, DOJ, TX AG
NYC Vaccine Mandate
A new mandate says anyone who works in-person for a private company in New York City needs to have at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine by the end of this month. New York City's mayor says more details about the rules and how they’ll be enforced will come out next week. Still, lawyers say the mandate is bound to face legal challenges. Already, the city has been enforcing other mandates like showing proof of vaccination to do certain indoor activities. And, just this week, those rules extended to children older than five, so they won’t be able to participate in extracurricular activities if they’re not vaccinated.
Read More: NY Times, WSJ, Fox News, Reuters, NYC.Gov
Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
Today marks exactly 80 years since Americans were attacked on Pearl Harbor. More than 2,300 Americans died when Japan bombed the Hawaiian naval base on December 7th, 1941. That attack pushed the U.S. into World War II. Today there will be a parade and ceremony to remember those who died or fought for their country in World War II. The Veterans Affairs Department says about 240,000 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II are still alive today. Some of them will be going to Hawaii for today’s events. You can watch the ceremony and parade from home starting at 4 pm Hawaii time (9 pm ET/6 pm PST).
Read More: Waco Tribune, CNN, NY Post, White House, NPS
Live Stream Events: Pearl Harbor Parade
U.S. Not Sending Officials to the Olympics
U.S. government leaders have decided to boycott the Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. American athletes will still be able to compete. But, the Biden Administration won’t send any diplomatic or official representatives. It’s hoping to send a message to China that it can’t support human rights abuses. But, China says the U.S. should “stop politicizing sports,” and a Chinese government spokesperson said, “China will take resolute countermeasures.” Although, no details were given about what those might be.
Read More: NPR, CNN, Fox News, NY Times, Politico, White House
Devin Nunes to Lead Trump Media Company
The Trump Media and Technology Group announced Congressman Devin Nunes will be its CEO starting next month. Nunes said, “The time has come to reopen the internet and allow for the free flow of ideas and expression without censorship. He is leaving an influential position in the House where he is the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee and a member of the Ways and Means Committee. So, his seat in Congress will be up for grabs in next year’s midterm elections, and Republican leaders will replace him in the committees.
Read More: NBC News, AP, USA Today, Fox News, TMTG
Smollett Took the Stand
Actor Jussie Smollett took the stand this week, telling jurors, “There was no hoax.” Police and prosecutors say he filed a false police report and staged a hate crime back in 2019. Two brothers testified last week that Smollett paid them to pretend to beat him up in front of surveillance cameras. But, Smollett and his attorneys insist he was beaten by two men in Chicago who yelled racist and homophobic slurs and put a noose around his neck. He's charged with six counts of felony disorderly conduct. If found guilty, Smollett could face up to three years in prison, but experts say he would likely only face probation.
Read More: Chicago Tribune, AP, CBS News, WSJ, NY Post
Buzzfeed Goes Public
The digital media company Buzzfeed is now a publicly-traded company on the Nasdaq. Buzzfeed execs have said going public will let the company acquire other media companies and invest more into the platform. On its first day of trading yesterday, the Buzzfeed stock had an initial jump of about 50%, but it later tumbled. And Buzzfeed raised a lot less money than it expected from the deal that brought it onto the stock market in the first place.
Read More: CNBC, Vox, NY Times, Reuters, WSJ
Tickets go on Sale for Adele's Residency Show
Tickets go on sale today for Adele’s Caesar’s Palace residency in Las Vegas. But, Ticketmaster is giving priority to fans who have already registered with their free Verified Fan program. Those people have a chance to get tickets to “Weekends with Adele” starting at 10 am PST/1 pm ET today. Ticketmaster may also make same-day seats available once the show starts. There are also reseller sites, like StubHub, who will likely have Adele tickets available later. There will be two shows each weekend from January through April.
Read More: Billboard, Rolling Stone, Variety, USA Today, Reuters, Adele
Michael Bublé and John Legend Residencies
Adele is not the only star taking their talents to Vegas in the new year. Both Michael Bublé and John Legend announced new residencies starting in April 2022. Tickets to see Michael Bublé go on sale this Friday, December 10th. Then, fans can buy tickets to John Legend's shows beginning on Monday, December 13th.
Read More: People, Billboard, Las Vegas Weekly, John Legend, Michael Bublé
Trivia Tuesday
Q: Which natural disaster is measured with a Richter scale?
Play along on today’s Instagram Stories quiz. We’ll also have the answer right here next week.
Last Week’s Trivia Tuesday Answers
Q: What geometric shape is generally used for stop signs?
A: Octagon
Read More: Allstate, Mental Floss, Road Traffic Signs