Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Monday, June 21, 2021:
CLAUDETTE'S PATH
The first tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season to come ashore in the U.S. killed at least 13 people, including nine children, as it swept across the Southeast over the weekend. Eight of those killed were kids traveling in a local youth van that hydroplaned and crashed on a wet Alabama highway. The fiery accident also killed a man and his baby in another vehicle. Claudette was downgraded to a tropical depression but is expected to regain tropical storm status over North Carolina this morning before heading out to sea. AP
CARS INTO CROWDS
FLORIDA: Police say a deadly crash at a Pride parade in Ft. Lauderdale was an accident, and not a hate crime as originally reported. A 77-year-old man drove his pickup truck into a men’s chorus group marching in the parade, killing one person and narrowly missing a member of Congress. Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz was riding in a convertible in the parade and was almost hit. The driver was a member of the chorus who was driving alongside the parade route and apparently accelerated into the crowd by mistake. SUN SENTINEL
ARIZONA: A pickup truck driver plowed into a group of cyclists at a bicycle race near Flagstaff, seriously injuring seven people. The driver fled the scene and was shot by police. There’s no motive yet, but witnesses say the driver appeared to intentionally aim for the cyclists. CYCLING NEWS
COVID-19: 'TWO AMERICAS'
The incentives for people to get vaccinated -- whether it’s free beer or a chance to win $1 million -- appear to be losing their efficacy, and the U.S. seems unlikely to reach the White House goal of getting 70 percent of the population at least partially vaccinated by July 4. Public health officials say there’s a risk of “two Americas” emerging as the Delta variant becomes the dominant strain in the U.S.: areas where it poses little to no threat because vaccination prevalence is so high, and areas where it tears through communities that have declined the vaccines. GUARDIAN
IRAN'S NEW PREZ
World leaders met over the weekend in Vienna in an attempt to revive the Iran nuclear deal, a day after Iranians elected the hardliner Ebrahim Raisi as their new president. The outcome was not in much doubt after virtually all their other candidates were disqualified, leaving the ultra-conservative Raisi as the most likely outcome. Raisi’s election is unlikely to change much of the calculus on the nuclear negotiations because it’s the ayatollah who has final say on any policy. BLOOMBERG
RETURN TO OFFICE
The big banks have a message to their employees: get back to the office by Labor Day or start thinking about finding a new job. That was the tone from Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman, who told the bank’s staff: “If you can go to a restaurant in New York City, you can come into the office” and gave September as the final deadline. Bank of America’s CEO said essentially the same thing in a recent TV interview. Last month, JPMorgan’s CEO said he’s “done” with Zoom and wants workers to start coming back this summer, while at Goldman Sachs they’ve already been summoned. CNN
PRIME DAY
Amazon Prime Day kicks off today, with deals on everything from Amazon-branded products to third-party sellers (Amazon says there’s 2 million sales happening over the course of the 48-hour shopping bonanza). Because of the continuing global supply chain issues, be prepared to see a lot of items out of stock this year. Here are some of the best sales spotted so far: SEE LIST
SPORTS
NBA: It’s Conference Finals time. In the East, the Hawks will meet the Bucks, who dispatched the Brooklyn Nets over the weekend in an epic Game 7. Atlanta, which was below .500 for most of the regular season, knocked out the top-seeded Sixers in another wild seven-game series to make their second Conference Finals appearance in 50 years. In the West, the Suns took Game 1 of their series with the Clippers despite star Chris Paul sitting out on the COVID protocol. ESPN
GOLF: Jon Rahm became the first Spaniard to win the U.S. Open, and he did it on his first Father’s Day. Rahm putted back-to-back birdies on the 17th and 18th holes of the final round to clinch the title, three weeks after he was forced to pull out of another tournament with a six-shot lead when he tested positive for COVID. GOLF CHANNEL
OLYMPIC UPDATE
The Tokyo Olympics are plowing ahead, COVID be damned. The IOC says it will allow up to 10,000 fans -- or 50% of a venue’s capacity -- to watch events in person. The crowds will be entirely made up of domestic spectators after the committee banned international travelers from attending the Games. The good news: after a slow start, Japan’s vaccination drive has gotten much better and virus cases are now declining across the country. The opening ceremony is scheduled for July 23. CBS NEWS
SPOTTED...
… Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, who protected lawmakers during the Jan. 6 riot, throwing out the first pitch at the Nationals game: WATCH
...Prince Charles, sharing a throwback pic of him with Harry and William on Father’s Day: SEE IT
...Matthew McConaughey and his bongo, getting fans fired up for Austin FC’s first-ever home game: WATCH
…Dave Chappelle, coming on stage to help Dave Grohl cover Radiohead’s Creep at the big Foo Fighters show reopening Madison Square Garden: WATCH
LEFTOVERS: RELISH THE WIN
Fans at Sunday’s Baltimore Orioles game got a Father’s Day treat: Relish, the perennial loser of the animated Hot Dog Race, won its first race of the year, beating condiment competitors Ketchup and Mustard to advance to 1-34 on the season. Camden Yards was rocking for the underdog’s big win: WATCH
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