Wednesday, June 24th, 2020
Next Few Weeks “Critical”, Hospital Price Tags & So Long Segway
All the news you need in 10 min:
This episode is brought to you by www.MagicSpoon.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 reading about the latest happenings…
COVID-19 Testing & Vaccines
Members of the White House coronavirus task force told lawmakers they are increasing COVID-19 testing around the country. This comes even though President Trump told a rally crowd his team was ordered to slow down testing. The president stuck to those his comments yesterday by saying he wasn’t kidding. The health experts also spoke about a coronavirus vaccine. Dr. Anthony Fauci says he’s optimistic Americans will have access to a vaccine by the beginning of 2021, but COVID-19 will stick around for a while anyway.
Task Force Testimony: AP, CNN, Reuters, WaPo, NY Times, Prepared Testimony
Trump Doesn’t Kid on Testing: Axios, Politico, ABC News
COVID-19 Cases, Hospitalizations Surge
The nation’s top infectious disease expert said the next few weeks will be critical for Americans to control COVID-19. He cited Florida, Texas, and Arizona of places with a “disturbing surge” of infections. Florida cases are up 87% from last week. In Texas, hospitalizations have reached record highs 12 days in a row. Hospitals in Arizona have reached 83% capacity. Dr. Fauci says people in those areas should stay home as much as possible and wear masks if they have to go out.
Read More: NBC News, CBS News, Arizona Republic, CNBC, Texas Tribune, Johns Hopkins
Prosecution “Pressured” in Roger Stone Trial
A federal prosecutor says he was told to go easy President Trump’s longtime confidant. He’s going to testify about that on Capitol Hill today. Aaron Zelenski was one of four lawyers who quit prosecuting Roger Stone’s criminal trial in protest. Stone was convicted last year for witness tampering and lying to Congress during the Russia investigation. Now, Zelenski says the Justice Department gave orders to lighten Stone’s sentence. Republicans are reportedly expected to push back on Zelensky’s testimony today by saying it wasn’t about politics, but policy disagreements.
Read More: AP, LA Times, Reuters, Prepared Testimony
Powerful Earthquake Hits Mexico
A strong earthquake rattled southern Mexico, destroying buildings and injuring several people. At least six people died. The 7.4 magnitude quake hit the tourist area of Huatulco. Several buildings collapsed and an oil refinery burst into flames. At least one hospital that’s been caring for COVID-19 patients will likely have to be evacuated. The U.S. Geological Survey says more than 50 million people likely felt the Earth shake yesterday.
Read More: CNN, USA Today, AP, USGS
Trump AZ Rally
President Trump spoke to students in Phoenix, Arizona. An estimated 3,000 people packed a megachurch for the rally yesterday. Many lined up for hours to get inside. During his speech, President Trump spent a lot of time condemning recent decisions to tear down confederate monuments. He said, “the left-wing mob is trying to demolish our heritage.” The president also said the “fake news” is misleading the public about the severity of COVID-19.
Read More: Reuters, Politico, USA Today
Biden/Obama Fundraiser
Former Vice President Biden is sticking with virtual campaign events for now. His usual live stream got a big boost yesterday when former President Barack Obama joined his old running mate. Obama said there’s no one he trusts more to heal the country than Joe Biden. It’s the first time the two have teamed up in the same event in the 2020 presidential campaign. It ended up being Biden’s largest fundraiser yet.
Read More: Reuters, AP, Axios, WaPo
Virgin Galactic Partners with NASA
Another private space company is partnering with NASA to take humans to space. Virgin Galactic will be working to design a program to take private citizens to orbit. Specifically, it will help find people who want to pay for a trip to the International Space Station, train them, and coordinate their transportation.
Read More: Space.com, ABC News, Virgin Galactic
Hospital Price Transparency
Hospitals and insurers may have to start being more upfront about the prices for common tests and procedures. A federal court ruling this week upholds the Trump administration’s push for more price transparency in the industry. The idea is supposed to help beef up competition and push down costs. However, the American Hospital Association plans to appeal. Hospital leaders argue the ruling won’t help patients understand their out-of-pocket costs and it could lead to more confusion. It’s not clear yet when the changes are supposed to take effect.
Read More: AP, WSJ, CNN
NASCAR Hate Crime Investigation
The FBI says the rope found in a black NASCAR driver’s garage wasn’t meant to intimidate him. Investigators say it had been there since October, long before Bubba Wallace was assigned to the garage. One of his crew members reported it Sunday because it looked like a noose, but it might have just been a pull rope to close the garage door. Either way, NASCAR is showing support for Wallace. Before Monday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway, all 39 drivers and their crews marched down pit road and pushed Wallace’s number 43 car to the front of the line, just moments before the race.
FBI Finds No Crime: AP, CNN, ESPN
Support for Bubba Wallace: ESPN, AP, USA Today, CBS News
Comedians Address Blackface Controversies
Four episodes of the sitcom 30 Rock are being pulled out of circulation and creator Tina Fey is issuing an apology. The episodes feature characters in blackface. NBC is now removing them from streaming platforms like Peacock, Prime, and Hulu. The same day, ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel said sorry for the same thing. He occasionally used blackface to play Black celebrities on Comedy Central about 20 years ago. Now, Kimmel says he regrets it.
‘30 Rock’ Removing Episodes: NY Times, CBS News, Variety
Jimmy Kimmel Apology: CNN, AP, WaPo
Segway to Stop Making Scooters
After nearly 20 years, Segway will stop making its two-wheeled personal transporters. They were launched in 2001 with the expectation of revolutionizing city transportation. However, the idea never took off with anyone besides security guards and tourists. Only 140,000 Segways were ever sold, which was well below expectations. They’ll be officially retired next month.
Read More: AP, Engadget, Fast Company
Work Wednesday: Twitter Workers Get Election Day Off
More companies are moving to make Election Day a paid holiday. Twitter is the latest company to make the announcement. All of its U.S. workers will get November 3rd off, so they can vote in the general election. Other companies also plan to give employees the day off this November, including meal kit service Blue Apron and clothing company Patagonia.
Read More: CNBC, AP, Forbes