Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Thursday, August 12, 2021:
NEW VAX INFO
The FDA is expected to authorize booster shots for immunocompromised people as soon as today. The amended emergency authorization would allow adults with weakened immune systems to get a third dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines to give them extra protection against the Delta variant. Meanwhile, the CDC now unambiguously and strongly recommends that pregnant women get vaccinated. That puts it in line with the recommendations from the leading OB-GYN groups. NBC NEWS
BACK TO SCHOOL
California is imposing the country’s first “vax or test” rules for teachers ahead of the new school year. All K-12 teachers and staff at both public and private schools will be required to show proof of vaccination or submit to weekly testing. With students already returning to class in Florida and Texas, where the Covid situation is far worse than it is in California, a growing number of school districts are defying their governors’ orders and mandating masks. CNN
EXTREME WEATHER
HEAT: It may be getting darker earlier, but summer is still in full effect in the Northern Hemisphere. Some 200 million Americans are currently under some type of heat advisory. The Pacific Northwest is in the midst of its sixth heatwave of the year, with temps 10 to 20 degrees above average -- not good news for the firefighters battling the dozens of blazes out West. If you think it’s miserable here, at least you’re not in southern Europe. Sicily just hit a high of 120F. If confirmed, that would be the hottest temperature ever recorded on the continent. AXIOS
HERE COMES FRED: Tropical Depression Fred is still churning in the general direction of the southeast U.S. after making landfall in the Dominican Republic as a tropical storm. The latest models have Fred re-strengthening as it skirts up the western coast of Florida this weekend and then making a potential landfall along the panhandle early next week. TRACK
CENSUS DATA DROP
The Census Bureau is set to release a trove of data from the 2020 count today, and it’s expected to show that the country’s white population declined for the first time. The last batch of data in April showed that overall population growth declined in the 2010s for the first time since the Depression. This one will give a more granular view on the changing demographics of the U.S. The data will be key for states to start the process of redrawing their voting maps. NPR
INFLATION COOLS
Inflation started to moderate in July, according to data from the Dept. of Labor, though prices on pretty much everything are still going up, if just at a slightly lower rate. The inflationary landscape is, as one economist put it: “the equivalent of going from a 104-degree to a 101-degree fever–it’s still elevated. It’s just not as hot as what we saw in the prior three months.” That was still enough to send the Dow and S&P to record highs. WSJ
ROUGH AIR
Southwest Airlines has a warning about the Delta variant’s impact on the travel and leisure sector. The airline now says it doesn’t expect to turn a profit for Q3. Southwest was profitable in June and July but now predicts the resurgence in Covid cases is going to keep it from repeating the feat for the quarter as bookings slow and cancellations pile up. Frontier Airlines recently blamed Covid for a slowdown in bookings, too. And credit card data from JPMorgan shows that spending on restaurants and air travel is starting to slow again. ABC NEWS
INSTA 'LIMITS'
Instagram is introducing new features meant to cut down on verbal abuse and harassment from accounts who don’t follow you. Users can now turn on “limits,” which prevents non-followers or recent followers from sending DMs or posting comments. IG says it expects the feature to be useful for celeb or business accounts that get a lot of engagement, much of it often abusive or worse. It’s effectively a middle ground between allowing anyone to message you and turning off comments and DMs entirely, and comes after Black soccer players in England were flooded with racist messages after their team lost the Euro final. THE VERGE
JEOPARDY! TWOFER
Jeopardy! has confirmed that current executive producer Mike Richards will in fact become the permanent regular host. The game show is also making the actress Mayim Bialik host of its primetime specials, like an upcoming college tournament. Bialik is known for her roles on The Big Bang Theory and Blossom and will become Jeopardy’s first permanent female host. But Richards gets the daily gig, putting an end to the speculation over who would fill the late Alex Trebek’s shoes. DAILY BEAST
SPOTTED...
...Audi’s latest concept, dubbed “skysphere,” an electric roadster that can shape-shift from a grand tourer that drives itself into a driver-powered sports car: SEE IT
LEFTOVERS: CLOSER CALL
The bad news: there's a higher chance that an asteroid the size of the Empire State Building could actually hit Earth. The good news: you and everyone you know will be long dead by the time it's something to worry about. Scientists have tinkered with their trajectory for the asteroid Bennu, raising the odds of a direct hit with Earth from 1-in-2,700 to 1-in-1,750 sometime around September 2182. Even if Bennu were to crash into us, it's not big enough to end life on Earth. But it would still do enough damage to wipe out the entire Eastern Seaboard, depending on where it hit. AP
