There's new information about the world's oldest flying reptile, which was discovered in Australia. The giant creature is known as a pterosaur and lived about 107 million years ago. According to a study published today in the journal History Biology, the animal had a wingspan that was 6.5 feet long and was the first vertebrate able to fly. It lived alongside dinosaurs during the Mesozoic Era, which began 252 million years ago.
SHARK SPOTTING
Meanwhile, this shark was recently spotted circling around a man and his son who were taking a dip at Orange Beach, Alabama. The footage was captured on a drone by a 15-year-old who was monitoring sharks in the Gulf of Mexico. The gulf is home to 50 species of sharks, only about half of which are known to have encounters with people.
BEE SWARM
Finally, a huge swarm of bees was filmed over a crowd of spectators at the Indianapolis 500 Race over the weekend. The video shows the bees hovering above spectators. The man who shot the video says the crowd was unfazed by the bees and was mostly focused on the race. There was even a beekeeper sitting a few rows away from the swarm who helped remove the bees after the race. He said there were an estimated 12,000 to 16,000 bees in the stands.
President Biden's self-imposed deadline of making booster vaccines available for all Americans is today, but with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration only approving the boosters for senior citizens, it doesn't look like he can make that deadline. The nation's top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci defended both positions, saying that the deadline was more of a placeholder and that he also stands by the FDA's decision.
Dr. Jen Caudle, family physician and associate professor at Rowan University, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss more on the booster shot and Pfizer's vaccine for young kids.
26 states have now fully vaccinated more than half of their population with Vermont, Connecticut, and Massachusetts fully vaccinating at least two-thirds of their residents. These three states are among the ones with the lowest new Covid-19 cases per capita, but in states with low vaccination rates, hospitals are filling up again.
Dr. Rob Davidson, ER doctor and executive director of Committee to Protect Health Care, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss more.
Gas prices are expected to rise ahead of Labor Day weekend, with millions of people hitting the road and Hurricane Ida disrupting the nation's oil and gas industries. Chris Williams, CEO of CW Petroleum Corp, joined Cheddar to discuss the rise and fall of gas prices, plus what his company plans to do to adapt to the uptick in electric vehicles.
