Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Tuesday, May 11, 2021:
JERUSALEM VIOLENCE
Weeks of tensions in Jerusalem exploded into violence between Israelis and Palestinians, with Israeli security forces launching airstrikes on Gaza that killed at least 24 people, including children, according to Gaza officials. The majority of the dead were militants, Israel said. The airstrikes happened after Hamas fired more than 100 rockets at Israel, injuring six Israeli civilians. Prior to the exchange of fire, Israeli police clashed with Palestinian protesters at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. More than 700 Palestinians were hurt in that confrontation, as were 30 police officers. AP
COVID-19: LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
The FDA has approved Pfizer’s vaccine for kids aged 12 to 15. Once the CDC meets gives the go-ahead, vaccinations for adolescents could begin immediately and help speed the return to classrooms in the fall. Pfizer’s clinical trials showed that the vaccine appears to be even more effective for the 12-15 group than it is for adults. Side effects were comparable to what’s been seen in older groups, though fevers were slightly more common. CNN
TRANS PROTECTIONS
The Biden administration will restore federal protections for transgender people in healthcare, reversing a Trump-era policy that defined sex as “gender assigned at birth,” and had the effect of excluding transgender Americans from protection under the law when it came to their medical care. That rule was blocked in court, so Biden’s reversal essentially restores an Obama-era policy. Some conservatives warn the change could require doctors to perform gender reassignment surgery even if it goes against their professional judgment. AP
BABY BUST
China is the latest country to report a notable fertility slump, made even more notable given the country’s once-booming population growth. According to census data, the Chinese population grew by just 72 million in the last decade and its annual growth rate is approaching zero. Six years after Beijing ended its one-child policy, there are still not enough babies being born to replace China’s rapidly aging population. Nearly 20 percent of the country is now aged 60 and above. SCMP
CORN POPS
The price of corn is near an 8-year high, with a bushel costing twice as much as it did this time last year thanks to huge demand from China and a drought in Latin America. That’s good news for farmers in the Midwest, but potentially bad news for just about everyone else. Corn is a key ingredient in everything from gasoline to Coke, and the price increase is likely to trickle down to the pump and the supermarket before long. WSJ
PIPELINE HACKERS
The hacking group believed to be behind the ransomware attack on a major gasoline pipeline wants people to know that it didn’t mean to knock half the East Coast’s fuel offline. The DarkSide group, confirmed by the FBI to be the main suspect in the cyberattack, posted on the dark web that it’s really more of a “ransomware-as-a-service” operation that sells its malware to the highest bidder, and “didn’t mean to create problems.” The group said it plans to do a better job vetting its customers and affiliates going forward. BLOOMBERG
NFL COMEBACK
Tim Tebow is reportedly signing a one-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars that will bring the 2007 Heisman winner back to football after a six-year hiatus. The Jags are expected to sign Tebow as a tight end, not a quarterback. Tebow will be reunited with Urban Meyer, who coached him at Florida and now runs the Jacksonville franchise. ESPN
GLOBES CANCELLED
Next year’s Golden Globes are probably off after NBC said it would not air the awards show over the various scandals surrounding the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The HFPA has been embroiled in controversy for months surrounding its questionable financial practices (lavish junket trips) and lack of diversity (not one of its 87 members is Black). The group released a plan last week to reform itself, but several major Hollywood players like Netflix and Warner Bros. said they’d boycott the Globes until it was clear real change is coming, and now NBC has all but ensured the show is off for at least a year. VARIETY
SPOTTED...
...Leonardo DiCaprio, in the first photo released from the new Scorsese film, Killers of the Flower Moon, currently filming in Oklahoma: SEE PIC
…Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, photographed for the first time together in Montana. The former couple reportedly jetted off to a private ski resort for the weekend amid rumors they’re rekindling their romance: SEE PICS
LEFTOVERS: DERBY DOPE
The fact that the Kentucky Derby winner tested positive for steroids is just the latest example of cancel culture run amok, according to the horse’s trainer. Bob Baffert said in an interview that his suspension from Churchill Downs was a “cancel culture kind of thing,” and that he’s still planning to run Medina Spirit in the Preakness on Saturday pending the results of a second drug test. In explaining why horses can accidentally test positive for banned substances, Baffert pointed to another horse of his that once tested positive after eating hay that was peed on by someone who had just taken cough syrup. SI
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