Friday, December 11th, 2020
Vaccine Endorsement, ‘The Big One’ & Surprise Album Drops
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...
FDA Panel Recommends Pfizer Vaccine
A panel of experts overwhelmingly voted “yes” to Pfizer’s vaccine candidate, recommending the FDA issue an emergency use authorization. The FDA doesn’t have to follow that recommendation, but it usually does, and is expected to this time too. Authorization could come by the end of the weekend and the first Americans are expected to be vaccinated in a matter of days. Before the vote yesterday, the committee discussed a lot of issues related to the vaccine. For example, they talked about whether people with allergies or teenagers should get the shot.
Read More: AP, NY Times, Stat
First Kids get Moderna Vaccine
Moderna started testing its COVID-19 vaccine on kids as young as 12 years old yesterday. Pfizer has a similar trial happening too. They are both hoping to have final data from the teen studies before the 2021 school year. Next, they plan to study the long-term effects of the shots, possible allergic reactions, and the results in high-risk people, like pregnant women and cancer patients. The same panel that met yesterday is also scheduled to meet next week to consider the Moderna vaccine option next. It’s expected to recommend that one too.
Read More: Reuters, KGO, Moderna
Support for Challenging Election Results
More than 100 Republicans in Congress are supporting a lawsuit that questions election results. It started with the attorney general in Texas. This week, he asked The Supreme Court to overturn presidential election results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. He says those states used the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to illegally change voting laws that skewed the results. He says those votes shouldn't count. 106 GOP House members are now backing the lawsuit. So far, The Supreme Court hasn’t said whether it will take up the case.
Read More: The Week, AP, The Hill, SupremeCourt.gov
DC Pro-Trump Rally Planned
Thousands of Trump supporters are expected to rally in the streets of the nation’s capital this weekend. The group Women for America First is holding the event tomorrow. It’s the same group that organized last month’s Stop the Steal rally that drew tens of thousands of people. It’s all meant to show support for the president trying to challenge election results. They are also “demanding transparency” ahead of the electoral college meeting next week to finalize election results.
Read More: WaPo, USA Today, The Hill
Biden Picks VA Secretary
President-elect Joe Biden tapped Denis McDonough to be his secretary of veterans affairs. McDonough worked for President Obama, first as a national security adviser, then as chief of staff. Biden reportedly chose him because he understands government and is crisis-tested. However, the choice is getting some backlash from veterans service organizations who expected the president-elect to pick a war veteran to lead the VA. This nomination does have to be confirmed by the Senate.
Read More: Politico, WaPo, NPR, Biden Transition
Rice to Lead White House Domestic Policy
President-elect Joe Biden picked Susan Rice to lead the Domestic Policy Council. Most analysts expected Biden to put Rice on his team, but not for this job since most of her experience is in foreign policy. However, Biden might have been worried about Rice not being able to get through Senate confirmation hearings and this position doesn’t need Senate confirmation. She will be able to start right away on policy proposals involving immigration, clean energy, education, racial equality, and more.
Read More: Politico, Reuters, CNN, Biden Transition
Time’s Person of the Year
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, together, were just named Time Magazine’s 2020 Person of the Year. Most years, it’s gone to just one person. Time has never chosen a Vice President. However, this year was different. Time’s editor-in-chief said his team picked Biden and Harris because they “will shape the nation’s role in the world and the future of the American experiment. Other finalists included infectious disease specialist Dr. Anthony Fauci, frontline healthcare workers, and President Trump.
Read More: Time, USA Today, NBC News
Airbnb Shares More than Double in IPO
On Airbnb’s public debut, shares closed at nearly $145 apiece. That’s more than double how they started. The IPO was already the biggest of the year and the closing price gave the home-sharing company a $100 billion valuation. This comes even though Airbnb had a rocky year. Its profits tumbled when the pandemic forced travelers to cancel their vacations. However, since then, the company has rebounded. It’s not quite making pre-pandemic money, but it’s bounced back faster than traditional hotels.
Read More: AP, NY Times, Reuters
Army Hosts Navy
The 121st Army-Navy game will happen tomorrow. However, because of COVID-19, it will look and feel different than usual. It’s being played at West Point’s Michie Stadium for the first time in 77 years and for only the fourth time in history. Both schools agreed to move it from the usual site in Pennsylvania because of local COVID-19 protocols. Not many fans will be allowed. However, the student section of about 9,000 people will be there. President Trump is also scheduled to fly in. If you want to watch it on TV, it happens tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET on CBS.
Read More: AP, ESPN, WaPo, CBS Sports
Colin Kaepernick Gets Ben & Jerry’s Flavor
Former NFL player and current civil rights advocate Colin Kaepernick is getting his own flavor of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. It’s called Change the Whirled. Ben & Jerry’s said it wanted to honor Kaepernick’s courage. He has fought racial injustice on and off the field. His ice cream will be non-dairy, made with fudge chips, graham crackers, and chocolate cookies. A portion of the proceeds will go to Kaepernick’s nonprofit, Know Your Rights. It launches sometime next year.
Read More: MarketWatch, LA Times, Ben & Jerry
Disney+ Expanding Content
Disney is adding some of its new shows and movies directly to the streaming service Disney+ over the next few years. The list includes 10 Star Wars shows, 10 Marvel shows, 15 live-action or animated series, and 15 new Disney or Pixar movies. Some movies will be available to stream the same day they hit theaters. Disney+ launched about a year ago. It has since grown to 86 million subscribers.
Read More: USA Today, TechCrunch, The Verge
Taylor Swift Drops New Album
Taylor Swift released her second surprise album of the year. This one is called Evermore. Swift says it’s the “sister record” to the album she released in July called Folklore. That album has been nominated for five Grammy awards. Swift says she just couldn’t stop writing music, so she partnered with the same creative team and churned out Evermore. It dropped at midnight, along with a music video for the album’s first single, “Willow”.
Read More: NY Times, Variety, Taylor Swift
Geminids Meteor Peaks
One of the biggest meteor showers of the year, the Geminids meteor shower, will peak this weekend. It happens every December when Earth passes through a trail of debris from a small asteroid. This year, the best time to watch it is this Sunday night into Monday morning. During that time, up to 120 meteors could go streaking across the sky every hour. The meteors are often bright and yellow, so they’re pretty easy to spot if the sky is clear. This year, they’re peaking around the time of a new moon too.
Read More: CBS News, WaPo, Weather Channel
Feel Good Friday: Pay-it-Forward Chain in MN
At a Dairy Queen in Brainerd, Minnesota, more than 900 customers participated in a “pay it forward” chain. For the better part of three days, every car that passed through the drive-thru paid for the person behind them. It totaled about $10,000 in sales. Word quickly spread about this on social media and one person called the store, offering to put money on a gift card, in the event someone couldn’t pay it forward. The Dairy Queen workers say they’ve been energized and uplifted by the experience.
Read More: Today, FOX News