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Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Thursday, September 30, 2021:
DO OR DIE DAY
It’s the last day of the fiscal year, which means the federal government will shut down at midnight tonight unless Congress passes a funding bill to keep essential agencies and operations open. Both chambers plan votes today to keep that from happening, staving off one crisis while another -- the impending debt ceiling -- looms. Meanwhile, Democrats are still struggling to get President Biden’s two big legislative priorities over the finish line. Speaker Pelosi planned for a vote on the infrastructure bill today, but left room to delay it. AP
COVID LATEST
The CDC has issued an urgent plea for women who are pregnant, may become pregnant, or currently breastfeeding to get vaccinated as soon as possible, noting that more than a quarter million cases of Covid in pregnant women have been reported to date, with 22 deaths in August alone. Vaccination rates among pregnant women have remained low despite the CDC listing pregnancy as one of the conditions that increases the risk of severe Covid. NBC NEWS
GABBY PETITO CASE
The FBI is in possession of a possible burner phone that Brian Laundrie bought after he returned home without Gabby Petito, but left at home before he went missing. As the manhunt for Laundrie continues, the widespread coverage of the case appears to have led authorities to a major break in another missing persons case. Police in Wyoming discovered what they believe to be the remains of Bob Lowery in the same forest where Petito’s body was found. Lowery, a father of two from Texas, vanished last month after he told his family he was going camping. DESERET NEWS
MASS EXTINCTIONS
The Fish & Wildlife Service has declared 23 species extinct, including the ivory-billed woodpecker, 10 other birds, two fish, a bat, eight mussels and a plant. The species will be taken off the endangered list after an exhaustive search found no evidence they’re still alive. While it’s possible some of those species could reappear, officials say extinctions are only going to increase unless conservation efforts get better. AXIOS
BUCK STOPS HERE
Dollar Tree is raising prices above a dollar for more items across its thousands of stores, a sign of retailers passing the higher costs of goods, transportation and labor onto customers. Some products at Dollar Tree will now cost $1.25 or $1.50. The company says it’s had good feedback on testing higher prices, and the $1+ price point will allow it to sell more new products like frozen meat. WSJ
YOUTUBE ANTI-VAX BAN
YouTube is cracking down on vaccine misinformation, banning several high-profile anti-vax accounts including that of prominent vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The ban goes beyond videos that make claims about the Covid vaccines and will include all content that claims any commonly used, approved vaccine is dangerous or ineffective. Experts have said for years that the popularity of anti-vax videos on YouTube was contributing to a rise in skepticism about vaccines around the world, but especially in the U.S. ENGADGET
PENNANT RACE
The hottest streak of the baseball season was broken last night when the Milwaukee Brewers shut out the St. Louis Cardinals, ending the Cards’ late-season win streak at 17. St. Louis clinched the National League wild card in the process, while red-hot Milwaukee is chasing the NL pennant. The Brewers’ hopes of winning their first ever World Series was made more complicated when the team’s top relief pitcher, Devin Williams, said he’d miss the postseason because he broke his pitching hand drunkenly punching a wall after the Brewers clinched a playoff berth. ESPN
BRITNEY, ALMOST FREED
Britney Spears’ father Jamie has been suspended as the conservator of her estate after a judge ruled that the “current situation is not tenable.” A court-appointed accountant will replace Jamie, at least until the next hearing in November when the judge may end the 13-year arrangement altogether. Britney’s lawyers argued for the suspension of Jamie rather than immediate termination because it means his records could still be turned over to the court. If the conservatorship were to be fully terminated, those records would remain privileged. PEOPLE
SPOTTED...
…the much anticipated HomeGoods online store, finally up and running. The discount retailer had resisted e-commerce for years but finally gave in: SHOP IT
...Kanye West’s new hoodie done in collaboration with the GAP, now available to pre-order for $90: SEE IT
...Eminem, making an appearance at the grand opening of his Mom’s Spaghetti restaurant in Detroit: SEE PIC
LEFTOVERS: MUSEUM HEIST
A Danish art museum gave an artist $84,000 to reproduce an old sculpture for an upcoming show. It got back two empty canvases. The artist, Jens Haaning, says the canvases are a piece he’s calling Take the Money and Run, a commentary on labor. As he put it to the local broadcaster: “It is a breach of contract, and breach of contract is part of the work...the work is that I have taken their money.” The museum hung the canvases for the exhibition but says it eventually wants its money back. Haaning says not only will he be keeping the cash, but "I encourage other people who have just as miserable working conditions as me to do the same.” ARTNET
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