Thursday, December 17th, 2020
Poverty in America, Negro Leagues Recognized & Bitcoin Hits Record
All the news you need in about 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by www.Rothys.com/newsworthy and ButcherBox.com/newsworthy
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...
Vials Have Extra Doses
When some pharmacists opened up the boxes of newly-authorized COVID-19 shots from Pfizer, they realized they got even more doses than promised. So the nation’s supply could grow by millions of doses. The FDA doesn’t know why they weren’t counted correctly but told healthcare workers to use the extra shots. There’s no safety concern. Federal officials also secured doses of other vaccines they expect to get emergency authorization. That includes the Moderna vaccine which is expected to get the green light in the next couple of days.
Read More: NY Times, Reuters, FOX News, Politico
Health Experts Urge More Caution
Since things with the vaccine seem to be going as well as could be expected, the country’s testing czar told CNN “the end of the pandemic is in sight.” However, he said it’s still too soon for people to start letting their guards down. The nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told CNBC the same thing. Fauci says between 75-85% of the population would have to get the vaccine for our lives to get back to normal. He says we should keep up physical distancing, mask-wearing, and hand washing often.
Read More: CNBC, CBS News, CNN
More COVID Hospitalization Records
More than 113,000 COVID-19 patients are in American hospitals and some hospitals are hitting their breaking points. The Washington Post points to rural areas in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and North Carolina. Also, in Boston, hospitals are consolidating pediatric wards to fit more adults battling COVID-19. California is opening at least four temporary field hospitals to help with overflow patients.
Read More: WaPo, LA Times, COVID Tracking
U.S. Poverty Rate Jumps
New data shows the number of Americans in poverty is moving in the wrong direction quickly. It’s increased more this year than ever before in a single year. The federal poverty line is a household income of $26,200 for a family of four. The new data shows in the last five months, nearly eight million Americans fell below that line. The information comes from researchers at the University of Chicago and Notre Dame. They say the situation stems from the coronavirus pandemic, as well as dwindling government aid in the last few months.
Read More: WaPo, Forbes, Full Report
Congress Finalizing Relief Deal
If Congress doesn’t act soon, more benefits are set to expire at the end of this month. However, there’s good news on that front. Congressional negotiators say they’re closing in on a $900 billion relief package. This one could include more individual payments too, but they probably won’t be as large as last time. One Senator said they’ll probably be in the “500 to 600 dollar range.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told some Senators to be ready to vote on this as soon as this weekend.
Read More: Politico, CNBC, AP
Election Fraud Senate Hearing
A top cybersecurity official that President Trump fired last month just faced a tense round of questioning about election fraud. Republicans called for this hearing, concerned about what they called voting “irregularities.” However, the former election security chief, Christopher Krebs, told the Senators, “we are past the point where we need to be having conversation about the outcome of this election.” He pointed to President-elect Biden’s win in the electoral college and again defended his statement that this was the “most secure” election in American history.
Read More: WSJ, AP, USA Today, ABC News, CBS News
MLB Adding Negro Leagues to Official Records
Major League Baseball is hoping to right a wrong, 100 years later. It now says it’ll give the former Negro Leagues major league status. The Negro Leagues started 100 years ago and in 1920 and ran through the late 1940s. Now, 3,400 past players will be added to the MLB history books. For example, legendary Hall-of-Famer Willie Mays will add even more hits to his record when his stats from his Negro League days are added.
Read More: WaPo, Reuters, AP, MLB
10 States Sue Google
Google is facing another major government lawsuit. This time, Republican attorneys general in 10 different states, led by Texas, filed the suit. They accuse the search giant of making an illegal deal with Facebook to rig the online advertising market. If true, both companies may have violated federal antitrust laws. The lawsuit also makes other claims that all circle back to Google having too much power over the digital advertising space. In response, Google called the lawsuit “baseless” and promised to fight it.
Read More: WSJ, WaPo, Reuters, Wired
Bitcoin Breaks Above 20,000
The cryptocurrency Bitcoin had a record-setting day. Yesterday, it surpassed the $20,000 mark for the first time. This means its value jumped more than 180% in the last year. Analysts say the recent surge is partly thanks to big-name investors moving their own assets into Bitcoin. The value of a Bitcoin is based on what people are willing to pay for it, so it’s been on a rollercoaster ride since it was first created in 2009. Now, experts say more diversity among investors could provide more stability.
Read More: CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Bloomberg, Bitcoin Explained
HBO Max Coming to Roku
As of today, Roku users can download and start watching HBO Max. It took months of negotiations to make this happen. Roku and AT&T, which owns HBO Max, have reportedly been in touch almost daily to finalize the agreement. Some analysts say they struck the deal at just the right time. On Christmas, the highly-anticipated movie Wonder Woman 1984 goes straight to streaming on HBO Max the same day it hits theaters. Starting in 2021, Warner Brothers is releasing all its new releases that way.
Read More: Axios, The Verge, Engadget, Roku
Celebrating Beethoven’s 250th Birthday
Today, people around the world are celebrating the 250th birthday of Ludwig Van Beethoven. No one knows the composer’s actual birthdate, but on this day in 1770, he was baptized. In the 250 years since, he’s made a big impact on the music world. To celebrate his birthday, Spotify has a playlist called “Celebrate Beethoven” that includes some of his most recognized and influential works. NPR has also created one that you can find on Apple Music.
Read More: NY Times, NPR, WaPo, Engadget, Carnegie Hall
Thing to Know Thursday: What’s a Nor’Easter
Nor’Easters are winter storms that happen on the northeast coast of North America and form in a certain way. They happen when warm winds off the coast mix with cold winds from the land. The winds end up swirling together and cause severe weather conditions, like flooding, blizzards, and the occasional tornado. They typically happen between November and March. One Nor’Easter hit several East Coast states yesterday, bringing several inches of snow, and it’s still affecting millions of people today.
Read More: NY Times, NWS, HowStuffWorks, Weather Channel