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Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Wednesday, September 29, 2021:
VAX FOR KIDS TIMELINE
The Pfizer vaccine’s authorization for children aged 5 to 11 could be slightly delayed. The company submitted trial data to the FDA, but not the official request for an emergency use authorization. That’s expected “in the coming weeks,” according to Pfizer. Dr. Fauci said he’s still hopeful there could be shots in young arms by Halloween, though it took the FDA a month to approve the authorization for 12-15 year olds. CNN
DEMOCRACY IN ACTION
President Biden cancelled a trip to Chicago today in order to hunker down with Democrats in Congress ahead of a series of crucial votes that could make or break his economic agenda. Biden is personally negotiating with Sens. Manchin and Sinema over the cost of his social spending bill as the House prepares to vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill. That bill is in danger of not passing after Sen. Bernie Sanders urged progressives not to vote for it unless the other bill passes first. Hovering over everything are the looming deadlines on funding the government and raising the debt ceiling. Treasury Sec. Janet Yellen said if that isn’t worked out soon, the government will run out of cash in three weeks. AP
MILLEY ON DEFENSE
The secretary of defense and the chairman of the joint chiefs defended the Biden administration’s pullout from Afghanistan at a high-profile hearing on Capitol Hill. Gen. Mark Milley testified under oath that he urged Biden not to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan, contradicting the president’s claims that no one warned him against it. Milley also defended his calls with a Chinese counterpart in the last days of the Trump administration, saying senior Trump officials had sanctioned it. POLITICO
HAVANA SYNDROME
The CIA reportedly evacuated an intelligence officer in Serbia who had injuries consistent with the mysterious Havana Syndrome that has afflicted American diplomats and spies around the world since first coming to light in Cuba in 2016. Symptoms include dizziness, nausea, severe headaches, fatigue and memory loss. The government believes the neurological attacks are being caused by some type of “directed-energy source,” like an electromagnetic beam, but beyond that it remains a mystery. WSJ
STICKER SHOCK
From energy to houses to consumer staples, prices continue to go up without an end in sight. Crude oil is eyeing $80 a barrel, with some analysts predicting $100 if it’s an especially cold winter. Natural gas is up 180% over the last year. Home prices in the U.S. were up 20% in July for the 14th straight month of accelerating increases, breaking another record. Lumber prices are rising again after bottoming out over the summer. Not even your morning latte is safe: coffee futures have been jumping, and that could trickle down to the corner cafe by the end of the year. BLOOMBERG
NEW AMAZON STUFF
Amazon announced a boatload of new products and devices at its fall hardware event, including: a wall-mounted smart screen meant to blend into the wall, a smart thermostat that’s half the price of a Nest, a new Fitbit-style fitness tracker, and a home robot named Astro that looks like a cross between Rosie from the Jetsons and Wall-E. Amazon also unveiled the flying home security camera that it teased last year, as well as a Ring security kit for jobsites and a partnership with Disney on an Alexa-like voice assistant for kids. TECHCRUNCH
TURTLE POWER
If the Yankees go far in the postseason, they can thank their new team pet. The Bombers are 7-0 since players adopted a turtle named Bronxie, who lives in the clubhouse. Bronxie was on hand when the Yanks swept the Rangers at home and then traveled with the team to Boston, where they swept the Red Sox. The “rally turtle” was roaming the locker room for the Yanks’ win against the Blue Jays last night and has become something of a full-fledged mascot in the American League wild-card race. NJ.COM
BOND IS BACK
The new James Bond movie is almost here, for real. No Time To Die, Daniel Craig’s swan song as 007, got its star-studded red-carpet premiere last night at the famed Royal Albert Hall in London -- some 18 months after it was originally scheduled for release before the movie became a sort-of canary in the coal mine for the pandemic. The producing duo behind the Bond franchise say they aren’t even entertaining ideas for who will replace Craig until next year. In the meantime, if you’re planning to see No Time to Die in theaters when it opens in the U.S. next weekend, plan accordingly: the final cut is clocking in at 2 hours 43 minutes. BBC
SPOTTED...
...Barack and Michelle Obama, shovels in hand, breaking ground on the Obama Presidential Center on Chicago’s South Side: SEE PIC
...LeBron James, acknowledging that he got vaccinated despite his initial skepticism: WATCH
...the tracklist for Kanye West’s Donda, updated on the streaming platforms in real-time. Kanye removed Chris Brown from one song, among other tweaks: LISTEN
LEFTOVERS: FOREVER 21
Could you fit into the jeans you wore when you were 21? If not, you’re at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to one of the world’s leading experts on the disease. A professor at Newcastle University in the UK made the claim while speaking at a recent conference, sparking some controversy along the way. Prof. Roy Taylor presented a study that found that even people with “normal” BMIs who couldn’t fit into their old jeans were still at higher risk of diabetes, arguing that “diabetes is not caused by obesity but by being too heavy for your own body." GUARDIAN
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