Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Wednesday, July 7, 2021:
TRACKING ELSA
Tropical Storm Elsa is getting ready to make landfall on the west coast of Florida north of Tampa. Elsa strengthened back into a hurricane briefly before being downgraded to a strong tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph. About 12 million people are under tropical storm warnings across three states. Once Elsa makes landfall, the system will track over southeast Georgia, the eastern Carolinas and Virginia tonight and into tomorrow. LATEST ADVISORY
COVID-19 LATEST
The White House is changing its approach to vaccinations to reach Americans who are still hesitant, as nearly half of states are now seeing rising case numbers fueled by the Delta variant. President Biden said the administration will focus on a community-based approach to reach more of those people, focusing on getting supplies to local doctors and pharmacies. There will be more door-to-door vaccinations, mobile clinics and workplace events in states like Mississippi and Alabama, where just a third of the population is fully vaccinated. NBC NEWS
NYC MAYOR
Eric Adams will almost certainly become the next mayor of NYC after the Democratic primary was finally called for him after two weeks of vote tabulating. Adams, a former police captain who will become the city’s second Black mayor if he’s elected, had a lead of 1 point against his closest rival, Kathryn Garcia, when the AP called the race for him. He will face Republican Curtis Sliwa in November. Sliwa’s chances of victory are exceedingly slim given that Democrats outnumber Republicans 7-1 in NYC. AP
JEDI CONTRACT KILLED
The Pentagon is scrapping its $10 billion cloud-computing contract known as JEDI. That contract had been awarded to Microsoft during the Trump administration, leading Amazon to sue claiming that Trump had improperly interfered with the deal because of his animus toward Jeff Bezos. Now the Dept. of Defense says the contract is already outdated as it winds its way through court. Instead, the government will solicit bids from both Amazon and Microsoft on future cloud projects. FEDNEWSNET
EAT FRESHER
Subway is making its biggest changes since the sandwich chain opened its first store 55 years ago. The company will launch a new campaign next week called Eat Fresh Refresh that will spotlight new bread recipes, revamped sandwiches with trendy ingredients like smashed avocado, and its first delivery service. Subway is still the largest fast-food chain in the U.S. but it has seen sales decline steadily since 2016 as customers’ tastes have changed. The chain was hurt even more during the pandemic -- even as competitors thrived -- due to its lack of drive-thru and delivery options. CRAIN'S
NEW SWITCH
Nintendo has announced a surprise update to its red-hot Switch gaming console/mobile device. Called the Switch OLED, the new device features an upgraded screen and a couple of new bells and whistles -- like a kickstand and an ethernet port -- and will launch in October for $350. Switch sales have been incredibly strong, helping Nintendo shares hit an all-time high earlier this year. It’s now on track to become the fastest console to sell 100 million units. KOTAKU
SPORTS
NBA: The Phoenix Suns won their first NBA Finals game in 28 years -- and the Milwaukee Bucks lost their first Finals game in 47 years. Of the 19 players on the floor between both teams, 18 of them were playing in their first championship series. Chris Paul put up 32 points and 9 assists in his Finals debut, becoming only the third player 36 or older to score 30 points in a Finals appearance (the other two: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Tim Duncan). ESPN
OLY: Sha’Carri Richardson will not represent the U.S. in Tokyo after testing positive for marijuana. Richardson has been left off the track & field roster entirely, even though she could have run in the relays despite her ban in the 100-meter. ESPN
BRITNEY'S LAWYER QUITS
Britney Spears’ court-appointed lawyer for her conservatorship case has resigned. Sam Ingham filed paperwork asking the court to dismiss him from the case after Spears testified last month that she did not even know she had the option to file a request to terminate the conservatorship, which has controlled her finances and work for the last 13 years. Ingham has been paid $500,000 a year -- by Spears -- for the duration of the arrangement. His resignation comes after the pop star’s longtime manager quit, though he was not involved in the conservatorship. YAHOO ENT
SPOTTED...
...Jessica Chastain, Helen Mirren and Adam Driver among the A-listers on the Cannes red carpet: SLIDESHOW
…the first teaser for the new season of Succession, coming to HBO Max in the fall: WATCH
LEFTOVERS: 4 DAY WORKWEEK
A years-long 4-day workweek experiment in Iceland is being called an “overwhelming success” by the researchers who conducted it. Two trials that took place between 2015 and 2019 and involved 2,500 workers who went down to 35 or 36-hour workweeks without a reduction in pay. The results showed that productivity remained the same -- or even went up -- in most of the workplaces, which included offices, hospitals and preschools run by the government. The trial participants also reported feeling less stressed and burnt out. More than 85% of workers in Iceland have now either moved to shorter hours for the same pay or will soon be given the right to do so. BBC
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