Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Wednesday, June 2, 2021:
COVID STATUS UPDATE
BIG MILESTONE: NYC reported zero new COVID deaths on Tuesday for the first time in months-- a huge milestone for the one-time epicenter of the pandemic in the United States. More than 57% of New York adults are fully vaccinated, but vaccination rates have plateaued in the past few weeks. NBC NEW YORK
STATUS REPORT: President Biden will hold a news conference at 1:15 pm ET today to talk about the nation’s COVID response. His goal is to have 70% of U.S. adults receive at least one COVID-19 shot by July 4. So far, 12 states have passed that benchmark. USA TODAY
COVID VARIANTS: WHAT’S IN A NAME: COVID variants will soon be named after letters in the Greek alphabet, and in order of their detection, instead of the place where they were first discovered. The World Health Organization says referring to a variant by the country or location where it was first found can create a stigma around that location, and deter a local government from reporting it. THE GUARDIAN
VOTING RIGHTS: HARRIS IN CHARGE
President Biden has put Vice President Kamala Harris in charge of leading the administration’s effort to protect voting rights. At an event commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, Biden said that "With her leadership and your support, we're going to overcome again.” Many Republican-led states have been working to pass voter reform legislation, and federal election reform legislation is currently stalled in the closely divided Senate. POLITICO
AMAZON GETS BEHIND MARIJUANA
Amazon says it supports the federal push to legalize marijuana, and will no longer screen its workers for the drug. Amazon says it’s changing its controversial policy to measure worker productivity, known as “time off task.” CNBC
DOORDASH & UBER VS AMAZON
DoorDash and Uber Eats are looking to one up Amazon, with a focus on “next-hour commerce.” For consumers, this means getting everything from food to pharmacy items within an hour after ordering. The head of Uber Technologies says, “Amazon powers next-day delivery. We’re going to power next-hour commerce.” WSJ
KRISPY KREME GOES PUBLIC (AGAIN!)
IPO: Krispy Kreme is looking to go public in early June on the Nasdaq, and will trade under the ticker symbol DNUT. The company is owned by the European investment firm JAB Holding, which also owns Panera and JDE Peets. In its IPO prospectus, Krispy Kreme says it is not a restaurant but “an affordable indulgence.” NY TIMES
VACCINE GIVEAWAY: Krispy Kreme also says it’s already given away 1.5 million free doughnuts through its COVID-19 vaccine promotion, in which fully vaccinated people can get a free doughnut every day for the rest of the year. CNN
INFLATION NATION
Just as Americans are getting ready to go back to restaurants, inflation is driving up costs. Many restaurants raised prices by as much as 10% to make up for the higher cost of food and supplies, and increased wages, which are up 30%. NBC NEWS
TESLA PRICE HIKE
Tesla says it’s raising prices on its vehicles because of supply chain pressure, particularly for raw materials like microchips. CEO Elon Musk also responded to complaints about Tesla removing the lumbar support on the passenger side. Musk wrote on Twitter: Moving lumbar was removed only in the front passenger seat of 3/Y (obv not there in rear seats). Logs showed almost no usage. Not worth cost/mass for everyone when almost never used.” CNBC
MLB’S NFTS
The MLB is getting into the NFT game, teaming up with Candy Digital to sell digital trading cards and autographed balls. Their first offering is a digital collectible commemorating Lou Gehrig's "Luckiest Man" speech on July 4, 1939. SI.COM
SPOTTED...
... swimmers in London’s Sky Pool, the world’s first see-through pool located 110 feet above ground. It’s located between the 10th floors of two luxury high rise buildings. SEE PICS
LEFTOVERS
EL James is out with the final book in her Fifty Shades trilogy, this time, told from the perspective of Christian Grey. ‘Freed’ follows Christian and Anastasia as they plan their wedding and attempt to overcome challenges that get in the way. James says the book has been a quote "labor of love.” GMA
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