Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Tuesday, June 22, 2021:
COVID-19 LATEST
CANADA: Travel restrictions are falling across much of the world. Not in Canada. Our neighbor to the north is extending its border closure with the U.S. until at least July 21 and continuing a ban on nonessential international travel. Canadian officials say the restrictions can’t be lifted until 75% of the population is fully vaccinated. According to official data, just 15% of eligible Canadians have received both doses. YAHOO NEWS
USA: It’s a more encouraging picture in the U.S., even if President Biden’s 70% goal may be out of reach. More than 150 million Americans are now fully vaccinated, approaching 50 percent of the population. At the same time, daily deaths have fallen below 300 for the first time since the earliest days of the pandemic. AP
STUDENT ATHLETES
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of college athletes being allowed to receive relatively modest payments related to their education. The case was very narrowly focused, meaning it didn’t touch on whether student-athletes should be paid for competing, either through endorsement deals or directly from the NCAA. But the Court’s unanimous decision suggests it could be open to taking a bigger case on the matter in the near future. ESPN
BIG APPLE ELECTION
Residents of New York City are going to the polls to vote for their next mayor today. The results of the Democratic mayoral primary will all but assure who will be in charge of steering the economic recovery of the country’s largest city. This election is the most high-profile experiment yet with ranked-choice voting: voters are asked to rank their top 5 choices for each office, theoretically giving everyone more of a say in who is elected. The latest polling shows Eric Adams, a former cop, in the lead -- though the race is remarkably wide open. NEWS12
HONG KONG CRACKDOWN
Hong Kong’s influential pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily may be forced to shut down by the end of the week after Beijing froze the accounts of the paper’s backers and arrested five of its executives in a newsroom raid. China has been escalating its brutal crackdown on free speech and dissent in the semi-autonomous city, a year after the new national security law came into effect. SCMP
AIRLINE WOES
The airline industry is struggling mightily amid the pickup in travel. For one, incidents involving unruly passengers have been soaring since more people have started taking back to the skies, according to the FAA. A group representing the airlines and their unions are now asking the federal government to get involved in prosecuting some of those passengers. Meanwhile, big carriers like American are cancelling hundreds of flights through mid-July due, in part, to a labor shortage that’s making it difficult to meet skyrocketing demand. CNN
GAY IN THE NFL
Carl Nassib has come out as the first openly gay active NFL player. The Raiders defensive lineman posted on social media: “I just want to take a quick moment to say that I'm gay. I've been meaning to do this for a while now, but I finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest…. I just think that representation and visibility are so important. I actually hope that like one day, videos like this and the whole coming-out process are just not necessary.” Nassib concluded by announcing a $100,000 donation to the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ nonprofit focused on suicide prevention. The NFL and the Raiders quickly put out statements saying they stand with Nassib. PFT
USA SWIMMING
With Michael Phelps retired and Ryan Lochte failing to qualify for Tokyo, the U.S. swimming team is looking to debut a new generation of talent this Olympics. The U.S. will bring 11 teenagers to the games next month, the most since 1996. Among them is Lydia Jacoby, the phenom from Alaska who has already clocked personal bests that put her in the rankings among the world’s greatest. NY TIMES
SPIELBERG GIVES IN
Steven Spielberg has inked a deal with Netflix that will have the visionary director produce -- and potentially direct -- multiple movies for the streaming platform every year. The partnership between Amblin, Spielberg’s production house, and Netflix is notable because Spielberg has been known in Hollywood as something of a streaming critic. Just a few years ago, he reportedly lobbied the Oscars to disallow Netflix from competing for awards. VARIETY
SPOTTED...
… Richard Hutchinson, considered the world’s most premature baby -- who doctors gave “zero” chance of survival -- celebrating his first birthday as a bouncing baby boy: SEE PIC
… a guy on some type of drone/hoverboard, casually flying through Times Square: WATCH
LEFTOVERS: HICCUP CURE
A drinking straw designed to instantly “cure” the hiccups appears to be enormously successful, according to a medical study in which 90% of participants said the straw worked better than any home remedies they tried. The HiccAway straw was invented by a doctor at the University of Texas who found that the extreme suction created by the straw helped “reset” the nerves that cause the hiccups. The product is now available online for about $14. GUARDIAN
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