Thursday, December 16th, 2021
Severe Storms Again, Fed Tackles Inflation & Cream Cheese Shortage
All the news you need 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 peruse the latest happenings...
Minnesota Severe Storms
From New Mexico to Michigan, more than 36 million people were under high wind warnings. Winds topped 100 mph in some places, and the National Weather Service says yesterday saw the most hurricane-force wind gusts in a day since at least 2004. Also, Iowa and Minnesota might have seen their first December tornadoes on record. Nearly 20 twisters were reported, and crews are going out today to confirm them. The storms are expected to continue through the early morning in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Wyoming, Michigan, and Illinois.
Read More: Minnesota Star Tribune, Weather Channel, WaPo, USA Today, NWS
Biden Tours Tornado Damage
President Biden is making big promises to storm survivors in Kentucky. After touring the damage yesterday, he said the federal government would cover 100% of the emergency work costs for the first 30 days after the tornado outbreak. More than 30 confirmed tornadoes tore through Kentucky and seven other states over the weekend. At least 88 people died, 71 in Kentucky alone. More than a thousand families were left homeless or with severe damage to repair, and thousands are still without heat, electricity, or water. FEMA officials are on-site in Kentucky with search and rescue teams and assistance to help storm victims.
Read More: AP, CNN, WSJ, NY Times, NPR, White House
Fed Tackling Inflation
The Federal Reserve is speeding up its plans to phase out stimulus measures that have been in place because of the pandemic. It’s in hopes of taming the highest levels of inflation in nearly four decades. The bond-buying program is now on track to end by March. Then, the Fed will address interest rates. It’s going to keep them low, near-zero, for now. But, it’s penciled in at least three interest rate hikes next year. The Fed chairman says he thinks, as a result, inflation will fall. Fed officials are also keeping an eye on Covid-19, and they mentioned there are still risks to the economic outlook.
Read More: ABC News, CNBC, Reuters, Fox Business, NPR, Federal Reserve
Omicron Spread Latest
The World Health Organization backed up what some studies have found already, that the omicron variant of Covid-19 is spreading at an unprecedented rate. It could be at least twice as contagious as the delta variant. The WHO says, by now, “omicron is probably in most countries.” Early data has shown the variant might not make people quite as sick as other versions of the virus, though the WHO says the sheer numbers could still overwhelm health systems. Here in the United States, omicron has been confirmed in at least 36 states, and health officials say it could fuel a new wave of Covid-19 as soon as next month.
Read More: NPR, BBC, WaPo, Al Jazeera, WHO
New Studies on Boosters vs. Omicron
A new study shows a third dose of the Moderna vaccine offers way more protection against omicron than just two doses, about 20 times more. Remember, just last week, Pfizer said something similar about its vaccine, that once people get a third dose, protection is 25 times higher than after the second dose. So, President Biden’s chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, says the current boosters are enough to combat omicron. And, even though vaccinated people may still get cases, the vaccines should prevent most of the worst outcomes from the virus.
Read More: NBC News, NY Times, NPR, Moderna Study, Pfizer
New Worldwide Covid Restrictions
Around the world, omicron is leading to new restrictions. Britain’s Parliament recently passed a policy to make vaccine certifications mandatory to go into nightclubs or other places with large crowds. In Italy, any visitors from the European Union have to test negative for Covid-19 before they can enter. Greece is also now requiring visitors to show a negative PCR test taken within the last couple of days. Poland closed discos and nightclubs and limited the number of unvaccinated people who can be in hotels, churches, theaters, and more. And in Canada, the government warned all Canadians to avoid nonessential international travel.
Read More: NY Times, Reuters, Bloomberg, AP, CNN
More U.S. Colleges Shut Down
After Cornell University shut down its Ithaca, New York campus over a Covid-19 outbreak, many other American colleges have followed suit. NYU, Princeton, Middlebury, and George Washington universities have all decided students will have to finish out the semester remotely. Sporting events, parties, and other gatherings were canceled. The universities made those decisions after seeing Covid-19 rates spike. Elsewhere, more than 30 colleges have mandated not just Covid-19 vaccines but booster shots for students, too. More are expected to do the same soon.
Read More: CBS News, WaPo, AP, WSJ
Covid-19 Outbreaks in Sports
Pro sports leagues are once again dealing with the impact of Covid-19. More than 100 people throughout the NFL, NBA, and NHL were sidelined this week. Some games had to be postponed, and new rules are being considered. So far, American sports leagues haven’t enforced any new rules on fans, but the rules about vaccinations and testing vary by city. Issues with Covid-19 aren’t just affecting American sports. England's Premier League is dealing with dozens of Covid-19 cases among players and staff, so it postponed games, shut down practice facilities, and added new mask mandates.
Read More: WSJ, CNBC, USA Today, BBC, Forbes
Airline CEOs Testify in Congress
Lawmakers grilled the CEOs of major U.S. airlines about how they spent billions of taxpayer dollars. Remember, the airline industry got a government bailout of $54 billion at the height of the pandemic when almost no one was traveling. The government said it was mostly to save jobs in the industry. Yet, the companies still made cuts through early retirements, buyouts, and unpaid leave, which left them unprepared for when travel resumed. Well, airline executives admitted some of their struggles and mistakes while testifying on Capitol Hill yesterday. But, they all told lawmakers things would have been worse without the government’s financial help.
Read More: CNBC, ABC News, WSJ, CNN, WaPo
Bruce Springsteen Sells Catalog
Bruce Springsteen made a blockbuster deal this week. Billboard reports he sold his entire recorded music and publishing catalog to Sony Music. Sony reportedly paid about $500 million for it, giving it ownership of his full collection of classic songs. Billboard estimates his album catalog generated about $15 million in revenue last year, and his publishing catalog brings in about $7.5 million a year. But, as Variety reports, catalogs require a lot of management to get big money. So, selling is an attractive option to a lot of artists, especially as they start estate planning.
Read More: Billboard, Variety, NY Times, NY Post
Kraft Paying People to Not Make Cheesecake
The maker of Philadelphia Cream Cheese is paying people not to buy cream cheese because there’s a shortage. There are a few reasons for it, such as lockdown-related baking, a supply chain hit by a cyberattack a few months ago, and a shortage of truck drivers, manufacturing workers, and packaging supplies. Philadelphia says it plans to maximize production to keep up with demand soon. But, in the meantime, it plans to give 18,000 shoppers $20 to buy different desserts or dessert ingredients. To claim the prize, sign up starting at noon tomorrow. Then submit a receipt for the dessert you bought between then and Christmas Eve.
Read More: Fox Business, USA Today, CNN, NY Post, Philadelphia Cream Cheese
Thing to Know Thursday: Teen Substance Abuse Drops
It seems teenagers are drinking less alcohol and using fewer drugs. The U.S. has seen a record decline in 2021. The National Institute on Drug Abuse does a survey each year, and researchers found the largest single-year drop in substance use (like alcohol, marijuana, vaping, and illicit drugs) among teens since they started the survey decades ago. The survey also found vaping is still the most common method of nicotine use for teens, but the share of students who say they vaped in the last year dropped significantly. The NIDA director calls the data unprecedented and says, perhaps, it’s one unexpected, positive consequence of the pandemic.
Read More: CNN, The Hill, Time, NIDA