Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Friday, May 28, 2021:
Bonus: Need2Know Presents: Instant Summer! The unofficial playlist for Hot Vax Summer is streaming here.
HOT VAX SUMMER
Memorial Day Weekend 2021 is set to look a whole lot different -- and a whole lot better -- than last year’s unofficial start to summer. Daily COVID cases are going down about 20 percent a week as vaccinations continue. Air travel is expected to be 60 percent higher than it was this time last year. The Indy 500, known as the “world’s largest sporting event,” will welcome a sold-out crowd of 135,000 fans on Sunday. The bad news: the weather is going to be dreary, cool and rainy for the Midwest and Northeast through much of the weekend. FORECAST
BIDEN BUDGET
President Biden will unveil his first budget today that will take the U.S. to its highest levels of federal spending since WWII. The $6 trillion budget incorporates the administration’s stimulus bill, infrastructure plan, and “mandatory” spending on things like defense, Medicare and Social Security. The budget would run a deficit of $1.8 trillion to finance the spending, despite a slew of new tax increases, mostly on corporations. USA TODAY
GOP CIVIL WAR
Former House Speaker and one-time VP candidate Paul Ryan criticized the party’s allegiance to former President Trump in a speech calling on Republicans to re-embrace traditional conservative values. Ryan’s entry into the GOP’s civil war comes as Senate Republicans prepare to block an independent panel from investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. A new poll from the Public Religion Research Institute finds that QAnon is now more popular than some religions, with 15 percent of Americans believing that “patriots may have to resort to violence” to restore the country’s rightful order. NY TIMES
CONGO VOLCANO
Thousands of people have fled the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo due to an active volcano. Mount Nyiragongo already erupted once, spewing lava and ash on the nearby city. At least 32 people were killed and thousands more left homeless. Officials say the volcano could blow again with little or no warning: SEE PICS
PARTY BAN
Airbnb is extending the platform-wide ban on parties at least through the summer “in the best interest of public health.” The home-rental company says the party ban has been popular with its hosts, many of whom already don’t allow parties or large gatherings at their properties. BBC
A.I. RACE
Microsoft’s president is warning that lawmakers have to step up regulation of artificial intelligence, saying George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984 “could come to pass in 2024” if measures aren’t taken to protect the public. In a new BBC documentary, Brad Smith of Microsoft explains how A.I. is now advancing so quickly that the technology is reaching a point where policy will be difficult to implement. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has also been warning that China is quickly catching up to the U.S. when it comes to A.I., calling it a “national emergency.” BBC
FAN BANS
The fans are back for the NBA playoffs, and they are rowdy. Too rowdy, in some cases. Three teams have banned spectators from their arenas this week. The Knicks indefinitely barred a fan from Madison Square Garden for spitting on Hawks guard Trae Young during Wednesday’s game. The Sixers also banned and revoked the season tickets of the fan who dumped popcorn on Russell Westbrook of the Wizards as he was walking off the court with an ankle injury. In that incident, Westbrook had to be restrained from going after the person. And the Jazz banned three people who reportedly made lewd and racist remarks to the parents of Grizzlies star Ja Morant as they watched their son play. CNN
HOLIDAY BOX OFFICE
The blockbusters are starting to come back. Cruella, Disney’s latest tentpole, hits theaters and Disney+ today (where it’ll cost you $30 on top of your subscription). The live-action 101 Dalmatians prequel starring Emma Stone is getting pretty good reviews, with critics calling it fashionable, punk rock, chaotic, absurd, fun, and even transgressive. The other big holiday release is A Quiet Place Part II, which is bypassing streaming and opening exclusively in theaters to rave reviews. Hollywood’s expecting this to be the biggest weekend at the box office since the pandemic began. BO MOJO
SPOTTED...
…Abbigail Bugenske, the first winner of Ohio’s vaccine lottery, Vax-a-Million. The recent college grad was driving when she got a call from Gov. DeWine telling her she won the first $1 million jackpot: WATCH
LEFTOVERS: LITTLE GENIUS
A toddler from Los Angeles is the youngest member of American MENSA, the “genius society” for highly intelligent people. Kashe Quest is 2 and already has an IQ of 146 (the U.S. average is about 100...on a good day). She knows all 50 states by shape and location, can count to 100 and is currently learning Spanish and ASL. Despite her place in the second percentile of intelligence, Quest’s mom says she’s also a typical toddler who loves Paw Patrol and isn’t afraid to throw a tantrum. TODAY
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