Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Thursday, June 3, 2021:

PANDEMIC STATUS UPDATE

MONTH OF ACTION: President Biden declared June a “national month of action” when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic. As part of his push to get 70% of Americans at least partially vaccinated by July 4th, the White House laid out new incentives like free food delivery and groceries, airline tickets and Xboxes. Overall cases are still trending lower, with 20,000 new daily infections reported on Tuesday. WASHINGTON POST

VARIANTS: Meanwhile, the B.1.617.2 variant originally discovered in India has already spread to more than 60 countries, including the United States. This variant is particularly worrisome because it may be the most transmissible variant yet. NY MAG

HACK ATTACKS

NYC SUBWAY: Hackers with suspected ties to China breached the New York City transit system in April, although officials say there was no risk to riders or customer info. NBC NEW YORK

MEAT PROCESSING PLANT: The beef and pork producer JBS USA is trying to get back up and running after a cyberattack last weekend, which forced shutdowns at plants in North America and Australia. The White House says Russia was likely behind the attack. Experts say it could cause a supply crunch, sending the price of meat higher. CNN

DR. FAUCI EMAILS

Thousands of pages of Dr. Fauci’s emails obtained by BuzzFeed News from early 2020 provide a glimpse into how he tried to develop an effective strategy to fight the pandemic amid conflicts with the Trump administration. The emails cover the period from January to June of 2020. BUZZFEEDNEWS

NEW ISRAELI GOVERNMENT (MAYBE)

A diverse group of opposition lawmakers have reached a power-sharing government to oust Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from office for the first time in 12 years. The coalition includes everyone from an Arab Islamist party to secular Jews to religious nationalists. Under the deal, Centrist lawmaker Yair Lapid and one-time Netanyahu ally Naftali Bennett will take turns as prime minister. Lapid said, "The government will do everything it can to unite every part of Israeli society.” Israeli Parliament still needs to approve the deal. NBC NEWS

MEDINA SPIRIT TESTS POSITIVE… AGAIN

Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit failed a second drug test, potentially disqualifying him from the Derby and elevating second-place winner Mandaloun. Churchill Downs has also suspended famed trainer Bob Baffert for two years. Baffert’s attorney says additional testing is being done to trace the source of the steroid, which they say came from an ointment to treat a skin infection. NY TIMES

VENUS EXPLORATION

NASA is launching two scientific missions to study Venus, between 2028 and 2030. Venus is Earth’s so-called sister planet, and our closest planetary neighbor, but it has a thick, toxic atmosphere and temperatures that reach 800 degrees. NASA hasn’t explored Venus in over 30 years, and has been giving more attention to Mars. REUTERS

MEME STOCK 2.0

Shares of theater chain AMC continued their record rally, doubling in price on Wednesday with help from retail investors on Reddit. AMC CEO Adam Aron offered even the smallest shareholder a free large popcorn if they signed up to a regular newsletter. The #WallStreetBets Reddit thread is also boosting some other meme stocks: Just yesterday, BlackBerry shares jumped 31%, Koss Corp shares rose about 70%, and Bed, Bath and Beyond rose 41%. CHEDDAR

RENT THE RUNWAY GOES RESALE

Rent the Runway is getting into the resale business. Customers will soon be able to buy gently used clothes and accessories from the site, in addition to renting items, without having a Rent the Runway membership. The company is looking to rebuild its business, which took a big hit during the pandemic when people stopped spending money on clothes for weddings, vacations and other events. CNBC

“COACH K” RETIRING

Legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has decided to retire after the upcoming 2021-22 basketball season. “Coach K” is 74 years old, and took over Duke’s basketball program ahead of the 1980-81 season. He’s the winningest coach in college basketball history, and has led Duke to five NCAA Tournament victories and 12 Final Four appearances. He’s expected to be replaced by Duke assistant and former player Jon Scheyer. CBS SPORTS

LEFTOVERS

An Italian artist sold an invisible sculpture at auction for $18,000. The buyer will receive a certificate of authentication signed by the artist, but the sculpture itself is "immaterial," meaning that it does not actually exist. The artist, Salvatore Garau, has reportedly instructed the buyer to display the sculpture in an area that is about 5 ft. long by 5 ft. wide. NEWSWEEK

Listen to the N2K Podcast! Looking for more context and analysis on the big stories of the day? Check out our podcast! Hosts Jill and Carlo break down the headlines, every weekday morning Listen on Apple or Spotify, or watch on YouTube, and send us your feedback!

Share:
More In Culture
AT&T Investors Digest WarnerMedia Spinoff Merger With Discovery for $43 Billion
AT&T announced earlier today it is spinning off its media properties in WarnerMedia in a merger with Discovery in a $43 billion deal.Scott Rostan, founder and CEO at Training The Street, joined Cheddar to talk about what the unwinding of the telecom giant's Time Warner media properties means for investors. "I think the investor sentiment is they're digesting the new information, and they're looking into the dividend, especially the reduction of the dividend," said Rostan, noting the transaction allows AT&T to focus on its core telecommunications business.
Energy Storage Solutions Company Leclanché Powers EV Fleets to Reduce Emissisions
A 2021 report from UK Research and Innovation found that the shipping industry makes up at least 2.5 percent of the world's total CO2 emissions. It's a problem that energy solutions company, Leclanché, is trying to solve. Founded in 1909, the company has been developing and producing batteries for more than 100 years. Today, Leclanché's lithium-ion battery is used to electrify not just ships, but also railroad locomotives, trucks, and specialty vehicles. Cheddar News spoke with Pierre Blanc, chief technology and industrial officer of Leclanché, to discuss.
Amazon Funds Amogy to Commercialize Ammonia-Powered Cargo-Shipping Vessels, Decarbonize Transportation
Amazon is betting that ammonia could be the fuel of the future, participating in a Series A round for the Brooklyn-based company Amogy in December. Amogy aims to de-carbonize transportation with a clean energy system that uses ammonia as a renewable fuel. Amogy is partnering with Amazon on its first commercial product - an ammonia-powered cargo-shipping vessel. Amogy CEO Seonghoon Woo joins Cheddar Climate to discuss.
FedEx Announces Student Ambassador Program With Historically Black Colleges & Universities
One of the world's largest transport companies is kicking off Black History Month with a new initiative aimed at the next generation of business leaders. Today, FedEx announced the launch of its Student Ambassador Program. Participants selected from eight historically black colleges and universities will receive career guidance from FedEx executives. The program is part of FedEx's ongoing commitment to HBCUs and will also help the company expand its pipeline for diverse talent. Cheddar News welcomes senior vice president at FedEx, Jenny Robertson, and Jerryl Briggs, President of Mississippi Valley State University, to discuss.
'Sing 2' Takes Top Spot From 'Spider-Man' at UK Box Office
"Sing 2" has overthrown "Spider-Man: No Way Home" as the number one film at the UK box office. The animated sequel brought in $8.1 million, in just its two first weekends. However, "No Way Home" is still on track to beat "Avatar" as the number one grossing movie of all time.
First Black CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America on Empowering Youth With NFL
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America has been a driving force for youth mentorship since 1904. The nonprofit organization is launching its annual Big Draft campaign this month in partnership with the NFL, and Artis Stevens, the first Black CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, joined Cheddar to discuss the push for adding more "Bigs" as mentors on his one-year anniversary leading the non-profit organization. "While the NFL is recruiting and drafting more players, they're also helping us to draft more mentors and, particularly, men all the way from across February to all the way to April of this year," Stevens explained.
Supreme Court To Hear Challenge To Affirmative Action
The Supreme Court will reconsider race-based affirmative action in college admissions. The court will examine admissions policies at Harvard University and The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, which count the race of applicants as a factor in admissions. The court has upheld affirmative action policies in the past, saying it helps to create more diverse student bodies. However, the conservative Supreme Court could be skeptical and even possibly hostile to such policies. Nick Anderson, Higher Education Writer, Washington Post joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Crypto Prices Plummet, Wiping Out $1 Trillion In Global Value
The value of most cryptocurrencies have plummeted in recent months since reaching all-time highs in November, wiping out more than $1 trillion in value globally. The steep crash has some talking about the possibility of a crypto winter, a term referring to a prolonged bearish period where asset prices persistently fall over many months. This all comes as the Fed is expected to raise interest rates, and the Biden administration is working on an executive order to regulate Bitcoin and other assets. Josh Goodbody, COO of Qredo, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the crypto crash, and how the industry might recover from it.
Streaming Giants Struggle to Retain Subscribers Following Big Releases
Recent data reveals that streaming giants are struggling to retain subscribers in the months following a major release. According to data from Antenna, subscriber trends show that users will subscribe to a given streaming service just to watch a particular show, and then cancel those subscriptions shortly after. This comes as the streaming space continues to heat up as new entrants crowd the space. Jon Christian, Founding Partner + Digital Supply Chain Leader at OnPrem joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Load More