Get the Need2Know newsletter in your inbox every morning! Sign up here!

Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Friday, October 29, 2021:

FACEBOOK GOES META

Facebook shall now be known as Meta. Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the rumored corporate rebrand during a presentation focusing on the company’s bet on the “metaverse,” a blending of the digital and physical worlds that he sees as the future. Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook (the platform) will keep their names and brands, but under the Meta umbrella. Executives, including Zuckerberg, have denied that the rebranding is an attempt to distance the company from its various reputational problems. CHEDDAR

STILL NO DEAL

President Biden landed in Rome overnight for a series of global summits with his economic agenda hanging in the balance back in Washington. Before he left, the president unveiled a new $1.8 trillion framework for his social spending bill in the hopes that it would satisfy the party’s centrist holdouts. The biggest chunk of that bill is $550 billion for climate change programs, which Dems had hoped would be signed into law by the time Biden arrives in Glasgow for COP26. POLITICO

VAX SHOWDOWN

A big test for strict vaccine mandates starts today in NYC. After a state judge refused to block a police union’s request to pause the city’s mandate, the entire municipal workforce -- the biggest in the country -- must have had at least one shot or they’ll be placed on unpaid leave starting Monday. The latest statistics from the city show a quarter of NYPD and EMS employees and a full third of FDNY and sanitation workers have not shown proof of vaccination, leading to worries that there could be a significant shortage of essential workers. NY TIMES

CUOMO CHARGED

Former NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been charged with a misdemeanor sex crime for allegedly groping a female aide at the executive mansion in Albany last year. The criminal complaint stemmed from one of the women whose accusations of sexual harassment led to Cuomo’s resignation this summer. The former governor’s lawyer denied the charge and accused the local sheriff of carrying out a political hit job. The charge has a penalty of up to one year in jail, and Cuomo will have to appear in court for an arraignment on Nov. 17. NBC NY

SUMMER SLOWDOWN

The U.S. economy grew at a sluggish 2% over the summer, for the weakest rate of growth since the recovery started. Third-quarter GDP was expected to be disappointing given the resurgence of Covid combined with the supply-chain bottlenecks that zapped consumer spending. Many economists expect economic growth to pick up this quarter, but the supply-chain remains the biggest question mark ahead of the holidays. CNN

WAGE HIKES

Starbucks and Costco are the latest chains to institute a new minimum wage in a bid to hire and retain workers in a historically tight labor market. Costco has raised its minimum wage to $17/hour, and Starbucks has put in a floor of $15/hour for its employees. Costco’s pay raise comes just eight months after it hiked starting wages to $16, while Starbucks’ hike will kick in next summer, when baristas will earn up to $23/hour. NPR

HOCKEY SEX ABUSE SCANDAL

The head coach of the Florida Panthers has resigned in the fallout of a sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the NHL. Joel Quenneville was the coach of the Chicago Blackhawks during the team’s 2010 Stanley Cup run, when Hawks prospect Kyle Beach claims he was sexually assaulted by the team’s video coach, Brad Aldrich. Beach came forward this week, revealing himself as the “John Doe” in that case. A league investigation found that Quenneville was aware of the incident at the time even though he claimed as recently as Wednesday that he didn’t learn about it until recently. CHICAGO TRIB

ZAYN & GIGI SPLIT

Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik have reportedly split up amid an alleged dispute between Malik and Hadid’s mother, Yolanda. TMZ, citing unnamed sources, is reporting that Yolanda Hadid claimed that Malik “struck” her and that she was “seriously considering” going to the police. Malik issued a short statement vehemently denying that accusation. According to People, the singer and supermodel have decided to go their separate ways and will continue to co-parent their baby, Khai. PEOPLE

SPOTTED...

...Matt Damon, hawking cryptocurrency in a commercial for Crypto.com that debuted during Thursday Night Football: WATCH

 ...a Roman villa with the world’s only Caravaggio ceiling mural, up for auction at a starting price of $547 million. $360 million just gets you the painting: SEE IT

…Sen. Mitt Romney, dressed as Ted Lasso, warming up for Halloween in a bit with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema: SEE PICS

LEFTOVERS: EXTINCTION EVENT

Did the pandemic actually drive a strain of the flu to extinction? That’s a distinct possibility, according to new findings from Australian researchers. Scientists studying influenza say they have been unable to detect any signs of the B/Yamagata lineage of the virus anywhere in the world since April 2020. Their published study suggests that the various measures put into place around that time -- lockdowns, border closures, social distancing, masking, etc. -- may have effectively wiped that strain of flu off the map for good. COSMOS

Listen to the N2K Podcast! Looking for more context and analysis on the big stories of the day? Check out our podcast! Hosts Jill and Carlo break down the headlines, every weekday morning Listen on Apple or Spotify, or watch on YouTube, and send us your feedback!

Share:
More In Culture
Rights of Nature Says Nature Has Basic Rights to Exist
An increasing number of countries are recognizing "Rights of Nature", a legal movement that says ecosystems and species have basic rights to exist and flourish. Grant Wilson, executive director at Earth Law Center joins Cheddar News to explain what the movement is aiming to achieve.
House GOP Asks Twitter Board to Preserve Records of Elon Musk's Purchase Bid
The saga surrounding Elon Musk's bid to buy Twitter has made its way to Washington, DC. A group of 18 House Republicans are calling on the social media platform's board to preserve all records and documents related to the company's response to the offer from the Tesla CEO. Caleb Silver, editor in chief of Investopedia, joined Closing Bell to discuss. "This is a long term play, but it's just a shot across the bow by congressional Republicans, who probably will end up taking the House, that they're going to be tough on Big Tech and they're going use Musk's bid for twitter to take it private, so that he can get the platform to be open source and remove its censorship."
Tech Firms Like Alphabet, Meta Commit $925M to Carbon Removal Initiative Frontier
Removing carbon from our atmosphere has become a goal for scientists and entrepreneurs around the world, and while many have begun to develop promising technology solutions, a few big names in tech, including Stripe, Alphabet, Shopify, Meta and McKinsey, are committing nearly $1 billion dollars to fund carbon removal technology through 2030 through a new initiative called Frontier, an advanced market commitment to incentive following through on development. Hannah Bebbington, the head of strategy for Frontier, joined Cheddar News to discuss. "What Frontier aims to do is help get this market on track by sending that strong demand signal such that we can scale up capacity really significantly in the next couple of years," she said.
Autumn Peltier to Canada: Less Talk, More Action on Clean Water Access
Autumn Peltier, an indigenous water activist, joined Cheddar News to talk about the lack of access to clean water among indigenous communities in Canada. “I say the government to hold themselves accountable for the promises that they make because Canada and indigenous people have a long history of broken promises and they still continue to this day to keep breaking promises with the nation's people," she said. "Less talk and more action is very much expected from me."
Sustainability and Green Climate Hacks for Your Everyday Life
Sustainability Concierge Friday Apaliski joins Cheddar Climate Celebrates Earth Day, where she shares tips for how homeowners can go green without breaking the bank. She also provides everyday ways and climate hacks to make the planet a cleaner place.
Load More