Wednesday, December 30th, 2020
First $600 Payments, Food Guidelines for Kids & Holiday Songs Top Charts
All the news you need in 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by NativeDeo.com/newsworthy and BlueNile.com
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 about the latest happenings…
$600 Payments Sent
The first $600 direct payments are starting to go into Americans’ bank accounts and the first paper checks are also going out today. This money is expected to go quicker than the first round of payments approved back in March because the IRS and Treasury Department already have the necessary information, like who qualifies. Like last time, it goes by your 2019 tax returns. Single people who made up to $75,000 will get $600. Couples who together earned up to $150,000 will get double.
Read More: NY Times, USA Today, Mnuchin Tweet
Senate Passes on Larger Payments Bill
Despite President Trump pushing for bigger payments and lawmakers in the U.S. House approving a bill to make it happen, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell won’t allow it through for a vote. McConnell says the Senate will only consider boosting the size of payments if other priorities from President Trump are addressed too, like changes to online speech rules and election reforms to deal with voter fraud. Top Democrats aren’t on board with that though, saying the other priorities aren’t focused enough on struggling families.
Read More: WSJ, ABC News, CNBC
Trump Slams ‘Weak and Tired’ GOP
Senators still may override President Trump’s veto of the defense spending bill. The House already voted again on that bill with more than 100 Republicans voting with most Democrats to defy Trump. Now, it’s up to the Senate to finalize it. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell urged his colleagues to do the same as the House this week. President Trump lashed out against his own party, calling Republicans “weak,” “tired,” and “pathetic.” If the defense bill doesn’t become law, military construction projects and other Pentagon activities will be put on hold.
Read More: AP, CNN, FOX News, Trump Tweet
Congressman-Elect Letlow Dies of COVID-19
For the first time, an elected official has died from COVID-19. Congressman-elect Luke Letlow from Louisiana passed away last night, just days before he was supposed to be sworn in. He was only 41 years old and a local news outlet cites his doctor as saying Letlow did not have any known underlying health conditions. He leaves behind a wife and two young children. A special election will be held for his seat in Congress, though the date has not been set yet.
Read More: Politico, Axios, FOX News, Letlow FB Post
Punishment for Breonna Taylor Raid
The Louisville, Kentucky police department is planning to fire two more officers involved in the high-profile killing of Breonna Taylor. It’s been more than nine months since Louisville police shot and killed Taylor in her home while serving a no-knock warrant. Termination notices went out for the officer who fired the shot that killed her and another officer who police say lied to a judge to get the warrant for the nighttime raid. A Kentucky grand jury already decided not to charge them with crimes, but the FBI is still investigating.
Read More: Louisville Courier-Journal, NY Times, NBC News
No Charges in Tamir Rice Shooting
The U.S. Justice Department decided not to bring any charges against police in the 2014 killing of 12-year-old Tamir Rice. The Black boy was shot by white officers in Cleveland while holding a toy pellet gun. The boy’s family and protesters have called for police to be prosecuted. We now know that won’t happen. The Justice Department said it came to its decision because dispatchers never told officers the suspect was a child, or that the weapon might be a toy, even though the person who called 911 did give that information.
Read More: Reuters, NPR, WaPo
Boeing 737 Max Resumes U.S. Service
The Boeing 737 Max is finally flying with passengers in the United States. American Airlines is using it for flights between Miami to New York. The inaugural flight was yesterday. That marked a huge milestone since the aircraft was blamed for two deadly crashes and has been grounded ever since. The FAA has been working with Boeing to fix the issues. Last month, the plane was cleared to fly again. For now, American Airlines is the only U.S. carrier putting the plane back in the air. Others are set to start in early 2021.
Read More: NY Times, CNBC, WSJ, AP
New U.S. Dietary Guidelines
The federal government has new advice about what we should eat and drink. It released new dietary guidelines, as it does every five years, based on input from a scientific advisory committee. This year, one of the biggest changes has to do with kids. It’s the first government dietary guidelines for infants and toddlers. It now recommends only feeding breast milk for at least six months and that children under two shouldn’t have any added sugars. That means no candy, cake, or ice cream.
Read More: AP, WSJ, NY Times, Dietary Guidelines
New Coronavirus Strain in CO
The new, more contagious strain of COVID-19 has made it to the U.S. A Colorado man in his 20s tested positive with the new variant. He reportedly had not been traveling. Scientists don’t know a lot about this new strain yet, but they say it seems to spread faster. At least it doesn’t look to be any more dangerous though. People don’t get any sicker from this one. Experts also say the vaccines on the market should be effective in preventing this new strain, but more research is needed to know for sure.
Read More: Denver Post, AP, WaPo, CO Gov
Britain Authorizes AstraZeneca Vaccine
The UK just authorized another COVID-19 vaccine early this morning. This one was developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. The UK is the first in the world to give this version of the vaccine the green light. Millions of doses will start going out there on January 4th. Here in the United States, the AstraZeneca vaccine is still in final-phase trials. In early trials, it was found to be up to 90% effective.
Read More: NBC News, NY Times, WSJ
CA Vaccine Proof in Apple Wallet
Some people now have a high-tech way to prove they’ve gotten their COVID-19 vaccines. Los Angeles County partnered with the health startup Healthvana to offer digital vaccine cards. People can keep them in their Apple Wallet on their iPhones or the competing Google platform on Androids. They show which vaccine you got, when you got it, and how many doses you received. This should help remind people to get the correct second dose at the right time. Elsewhere, people are getting physical, hand-written vaccine cards for now.
Read More: Bloomberg, 9to5 Mac, Business Insider
Holiday Songs Dominate Billboard 100
For the first time, a record 39 holiday songs have made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Nine out of the top 10 songs on the list are holiday tunes. Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Christmas is You” is in the No. 1 spot. Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” is in second place, followed by Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock.” The only non-holiday song in this week’s Top 10 is 24kGoldn and Iann Dior’s “Mood,”
Read More: AP, Variety, Billboard
Work Wednesday: Companies Dealing with Unused Vacation Days
Usually, a lot of major companies don’t let workers rollover vacation days to the next year. However, the New York Times reports that seems to be changing, even if it's just for this year, since the pandemic ruined a lot of vacation plans. For example, Bank of America and the magazine company Conde Nast say workers will be able to push five days into the first quarter of 2021. Other companies have offered to pay employees for their unused vacation time. Some are still sticking to the use-it-or-lose-it policy though.
Read More: NY Times