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
'Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas' Creator on Bringing the Holiday Flick to Roku Streaming
Austin Winsberg, creator of the NBC series "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist" joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to dish out some details about the holiday movie special "Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas" now on Roku. Despite initial plans for producing a new Season 3 despite being canceled by the network, Winsberg said that it is not necessary to have seen the first two seasons in order to enjoy the movie. He noted that following cancellation fans rallied behind the show, campaigning for it to come back, which led to a movie being greenlit by Lionsgate to be completed within just a four-month window, according to Winsberg.
Bitcoin Struggles to Reach $100,000 Year-End Value
Bitcoin is slowly coming back to life after plunging recently, but everyone's favorite cryptocurrency needs to chart a 77% rally in the next four weeks to reach the widely forecast year-end value of $100,000. Bitcoin was trading more than 0.8% percent lower on Thursday morning, Ethereum was also declining. David Nage, portfolio manager at Arca, joins Cheddar News to talk discuss the market.
Jack Dorsey Steps Down as Twitter CEO
Jack Dorsey is stepping down as CEO of Twitter. In a statement, he says he is leaving because the company is ready to move on from its founders. Twitter's chief technology office Parag Agrawal will take over as CEO. Ian Sherr, editor at large at CNET, joins Cheddar News to talk about the announcement.
Chris Diamantopoulos Talks His Villainous Roles in Netflix's 'Red Notice' and 'True Story'
Actor Chris Diamantopolous joined Cheddar's "Between Bells" to talk about his new Netflix movie "Red Notice," starring alongside Ryan Reynolds, Dwayne Johnson, and Gal Gadot, and the massive success it has seen since its release. Diamantopoulos discussed what it was like stepping into the role of the villain, being able to play a character so different from himself in real life. He also talked about playing a heavy in another hit Netflix production, "True Story," and what it was like working with Kevin Hart and Wesley Snipes.
Downtown Santa Monica District Partners with Metaverse "FlickPlay" App
Visitors in Santa Monica are now getting a whole new look into the new metaverse world. Starting on December 1st, the Downtown Santa Monica District Is Getting Fully Immersed in AR and VR. It's All in Partnership with 'Flick Play' which is the first-ever 'Play to Earn' Metaverse App that Basically Takes the Gamification of 'Pokemon Go' and combines It with more social aspects of an App like Tiktok. Founder of the FlickPlay App Pierina Merino, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
The "Great Reshuffle", Employees Looking To Switch Jobs
Within the last couple of months, a number of employees across the country have been looking to improve their skills in order to land themselves a new job. Many employees say they are now looking for flexibility and better ways to work. LinkedIn Career Expert Drew McCaskill, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Load More