Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Tuesday, December 15, 2020:
COVID-19: ‘V’ DAY IN USA
Frontline healthcare workers across the U.S. are now in the process of receiving the first dose of Pfizer and BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine, almost exactly a year after the first cases of COVID-19 were reported in Wuhan, China. The mass vaccination campaign began as the U.S. crossed 300,000 deaths from the virus. Dr. Fauci said in an interview on MSNBC that Americans without underlying conditions should start to be able to get vaccinated by late March or early April. He predicted herd immunity will be reached in the U.S. by the early summer. NBC NEWS
ELECTORAL COLLEGE
The Electoral College officially confirmed Joe Biden as president-elect in a smooth and decisive vote, with no electors defecting. The final tally was 306 electoral votes for Biden and 232 for President Trump -- the exact same margin that Trump won with in 2016. In an address to the nation following the vote, President-elect Biden said “it’s time to turn the page” on the election, praised the state and local officials who defended the system from attempts to subvert it, and pledged again to be “a president for all Americans.” POLITICO
BARR OUT
Attorney General William Barr will leave the Trump administration early after falling out with the president in recent weeks. Barr is resigning as of Dec. 23 “to spend the holidays with his family,” according to a tweet from President Trump. The decision to resign was said to be Barr’s, coming after he acknowledged that the Justice Dept. found no widespread voter fraud in the election in spite of the president’s claims. Deputy AG Jeff Rosen will run the DOJ for the final month of the Trump presidency. AP
FLEXIBLE WORK WEEK
Google has told its employees that they should prepare for offices to reopen next September, a few months later than planned. Once that happens, the company will start testing a flexible workweek in which staffers are expected to be in the office for at least three days, and can work remotely the other two days. That sort of hybrid model is gaining traction as companies try to figure out what their WFH policies should be post-vaccination, and an endorsement from Google could go a long way in getting more big employers on board with a flexible policy. NY TIMES
SHIPPING DEADLINES
The next couple weeks may be among the most critical ever for the shipping and delivery industry. Already dealing with sustained high demand due to the pandemic, companies like UPS and FedEx are handling what’s expected to be a record number of holiday deliveries, plus the first vaccine shipments. A major winter storm this week will add even more pressure. If you still have shopping to do, here are the shipping deadlines for the big-box retailers and the cutoffs if you’re shipping your gifts out yourself. Bottom line: get it done now. THE VERGE
CALI EXODUS
Larry Ellison, the billionaire founder of Oracle, says he is moving to Hawaii, following his company’s decision to move its HQ from Silicon Valley to Austin, Tex. Ellison is the latest in a string of high-profile (aka rich) Californians who are leaving the state. Elon Musk and Joe Rogan have both recently decamped for the Lone Star State, which notably does not have an income tax. And it’s not just the wealthy. Both San Francisco and NYC have lost residents this year while cities like Austin, Phoenix and Nashville have gained people. As for Ellison, he shouldn’t have a hard time finding new digs: he owns an entire Hawaiian island. RECODE
GAME OF THE YEAR
Lamar Jackson led the Baltimore Ravens to a win over the Cleveland Browns in Monday Night Football in what’s already being called the most exciting game of this weird NFL season. Jackson, the league’s reigning MVP, dominated in the first half before leaving the field to be treated for cramps in the third quarter. But with his backup QB injured, Jackson returned to lead the Ravens to 13 points in the final two minutes of the game for a 47-42 win over the Browns: HIGHLIGHTS
MARIAH #1
It’s that time of the year again. Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You is the top song in the U.S. The 1994 holiday favorite leads the Billboard Hot 100, the second consecutive year the hit single has topped that chart. The song is also number 1 in the UK for the first time. Carey has spent 83 weeks in the top spot, the most of any artist in Billboard’s history. EW
SPOTTED, NATURE EDITION…
… the sun -- or absence thereof -- during the only total solar eclipse of the year. The “path of totality” was visible from a small strip of Argentina and Chile, just enough for some great pics to make it to social media: SEE THEM
… Italy’s Mt. Etna, the most active volcano in Europe, erupting with a 300-foot-high explosion of lava and ash over Sicily (no one was hurt): WATCH
LEFTOVERS: DISAPPEARING PORN
PornHub, the eighth-most popular website in the U.S., is removing all unverified content from its platform -- an unprecedented move that includes millions of videos -- after Discovery, Visa and Mastercard dropped the site in the wake of a New York Times op-ed that raised concerns PornHub was profiting off sex trafficking and child pornography. The adult site has seen its traffic skyrocket during the pandemic. CHEDDAR
Listen to the N2K Podcast! Looking for more context and analysis on the big stories of the day? Check out our podcast! Hosts Jill and Carlo break down the headlines, every weekday morning Listen on Apple or Spotify, or watch on YouTube, and send us your feedback!
