Team football helmets are lined up before practice during the Washington Football Team's NFL training camp Saturday, July 31, 2021, in Richmond, Va. Washington’s NFL team said Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022, it will unveil its new name on Feb. 2. Team president Jason Wright confirmed that the name will not be Wolves or RedWolves. He cited trademark challenges for not going down that path that was popular among fans. (AP Photo/Dean Hoffmeyer, File)
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Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Wednesday, January 5, 2022:
"I HATE U" VARIANT
Move over Omicron and "Flurona": France has reported a new variant named “IHU,” which may harbor as many as 46 mutations. The variant has so far infected 12 patients in southeastern France, with the first linked to a fully-vaccinated person who had just traveled from Cameroon. IHU is currently being monitored to assess how infectious or dangerous it could be. INDEPENDENT UK
NO SCHOOL
A battle between teachers and the mayor of Chicago means students are getting a surprise day off today. The teacher's union voted to switch to online learning due to record COVID-19 cases, but Mayor Lori Lightfoot is against the plan. Parents are still waiting to hear how their kids will be learning in the days ahead. Other cities including Cleveland, Milwaukee and Atlanta have switched to remote learning. NY TIMES
THE BIG QUIT
4.5 million workers voluntarily left their jobs in November, the highest number on record. While much focus has been on white-collar workers, in what is being heralded as “The Great Resignation,” the Labor Department found many of the quits were reported in the hotel and restaurant sectors, which tend to offer lower pay. The lagging report showed a rebound in the job market, although it's unclear how the post-Thanksgiving Omicron surge has affected these industries. AP
TRUMP NIXES JAN. 6 EVENT
Former President Donald Trump has canceled a press conference he had scheduled for January 6, exactly one year after supporters stormed the Capitol while Congress was certifying the results of the 2020 election. Trump says he's bowing out of this year's planned event because of the House Select Committee's “total bias and dishonesty” in the insurrection investigation. Fear not - Trump still plans to share his thoughts during a press conference coming up on January 15. AXIOS
COLD, COLD HIGHWAY
Rescuers in Virginia spent all day Tuesday trying to dig out hundreds of drivers stranded on I-95. Monday's winter storm brought traffic to a stop and everyone stuck on an icy 40-mile stretch of highway had to hunker down for the night in frigid temperatures. Among the weary travelers: Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, who was on his way to Capitol Hill to work on voting rights. The Virginia Department of Transportation said everyone was cleared from the highway by Tuesday night and miraculously no serious injuries or deaths were reported. CBS NEWS
WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM NAME DO-OVER
The Washington Football Team will reveal its permanent new name on February 2. The team finally dropped the name "Redskins" in 2020 after years of critics complaining it was offensive. Now the social media crowd is trying to guess whether we'll be cheering for the Armada, Presidents, Commanders, or something else next. ESPN
5G DELAY
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg convinced AT&T and Verizon to briefly postpone their 5G rollouts over worries that the new wireless service could interfere with plane safety. The airline industry says its concerned 5G, which relies on radio signals, could cause problems with pilot communications. Both companies had planned to launch the service today, but will now delay for two weeks, following Buttigieg’s call. CHEDDAR NEWS
FANATICS COLLECTS TOPPS
Global sports retailer Fanatics has acquired Topps, the granddaddy of trading cards, in a $500 million deal that includes the famed collectables arm. All 350 Topps employees will shift over to Fanatics Trading Cards, with the brand already beginning its manufacturing and distribution process. Fanatics will get an immediate boost in the industry as is acquires lucrative deals Topps has with major sports leagues like Formula 1 and Major League Soccer. ESPN
ENTERTAINMENT
CHRIS EVANS: Captain America is about to show his range as he plays Gene Kelly in a yet-to-be-titled film. DEADLINE
SOCIAL SNUB: After Miley Cyrus co-hosted a New Year’s Eve special with Pete Davidson, Kim Kardashian apparently unfollowed her on Instagram. PAGE SIX
LEFTOVERS: RESOLUTION APPS
It's January 5 - how is your New Year's resolution doing? If you need help sticking to your goal for more than a few days, the answer might be right in the palm of your hand. Wired put together this handy dandy list of apps that can help resolved users to do anything from running to meditation. WIRED
Need2Know Podcast Note: The Need2Know podcast is taking a break for now. We're looking forward to bringing you more context and analysis on the big stories of the day in a few weeks. In the meantime, check out our archive on Apple or Spotify, or watch on YouTube, and send us your feedback!
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: CEO of Achieve Life Sciences discusses a new plant-based compound that's being used to fight nicotine addiction; President & CEO OF DiaMedica Therapeutics explains a new ischemic stroke treatment option that expands the window for effective therapy for stroke patients; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Asteroid Rush.'
Catching you up on today's entertainment headlines with the Tribeca Film Festival has kicked off in NYC, "Black Adam," starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson dropped its first full trailer, the musical "Come From Away" based on a true story set during 9/11 will be closing on Broadway this October, and more.
Survivors of Larry Nassar, including Olympian Simone Biles, are seeking $1 billion in damages from the FBI due to its failure to investigate the former gymnastics team doctor convicted of committing years of serial sexual abuse of minors. Jack Queen, a senior reporter at Law360, joined Cheddar News to break down the legal grounds of this case. "This is one of the biggest black eyes that the Bureau has faced in generations, quite frankly, and the FBI has taken full responsibility and admitted that it completely botched this investigation," he said. "So, there's a lot of pressure to settle."
The Elevate Prize Foundation is donating $10,000 to different grassroots organizations based on a theme every month to help scale their work, focusing on a different theme each time. Upcoming prizes will help uplift an organization supporting the LGBTQ community and one mobilizing to help end gun violence. The foundation's CEO Carolina Garcia Jayaram joined Cheddar to discuss the initiative and why it's important to uplift these grassroots organizations. "We are identifying social entrepreneurs around the world to help them scale their work. but the ultimate purpose of that is to create the first-ever fanbase for good," she said. "We're trying to make good famous and by inspiring people to think about the role they can play in doing good in the world."
With real estate being a largely male-dominated industry, Stephanie Shojaee, vice president and chief marketing officer at development company Shoma Group, joined Cheddar News to discuss how she took on the gender gap for women to achieve leadership roles, starting at her own company. “It's been very important to teach all the women that work here, especially the younger ones, that they shouldn't change themselves," she said. "You need to be happy with who you are and just keep breaking barriers."
We are already starting to feel the effects of summer. Heat waves in Texas and California are already sending temperatures soaring. That could spell trouble for the nation's power supply. there are new concerns about outages in many areas of the country. Cheddar's Shannon Lanier explains the two main causes of blackouts, and what states are doing to keep the lights on and the air conditioning running.
If you have been on the road this past year, you've probably seen more accidents on the road than you ever have. You're not wrong. Traffic fatalities are not only increasing they are hitting historic highs. Almost 43,000 people died in motor vehicle accidents in 2021. Cheddar's Shannon Lanier investigates - and finds out why.
U.S. stocks close Tuesday at session highs after a subpar start to the trading day. Tim Chubb, Chief Investment Officer at the wealth advisory firm, Girard, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. 'We're starting to see the moderation of three core things -- we've seen the moderation of prices, we've seen the moderation of wage growth we've seen in the labor market, and we've also seen a moderation of job openings,' he says.
The victims from the USA gymnastics sexual abuse scandal continue to seek justice. Survivors of Larry Nassar are seeking more than one-billion dollars from the FBI for failing to stop the convicted sports doctor when the agency first received allegations. According to a report released by the Justice Department's Inspector General, FBI agents knew
in July of 2015 that Nassar was accused of abusing gymnasts; however, Nassar wasn't arrested until December of 2016. The group that filed the claim includes Olympic medalist Simone Biles and around 90 other women. Louise Radnofsky, sports reporter at The Wall Street Journal, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Tattoo artist Katrina "Kat Tat" Jackson, famous for starring in the VH1 hit series "Black Ink Crew: Chicago," is also the first Black woman to own a tattoo shop in Beverly Hills. She joined Cheddar News to discuss her trailblazing work, the stigma BIPOC tattoo artists face in the industry, and the way the space has changed for artists of color since her start. "In the beginning, I remember walking into a tattoo shop just like, hey, I wanna learn, I wanna be a tattoo artist and kind of just being laughed at, not taken seriously," she said. "Even with the tattoo conventions, a lot of African American tattoo artists were almost scared to go to conventions because it's not a welcoming environment."
