Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Friday, February 5, 2021:
COVID-19: GOOD NEWS ONLY
Johnson & Johnson has submitted its vaccine for emergency approval to the FDA, as expected. If and when the shot gets the green light, doses could start shipping by early March, adding a third highly-effective vaccine to the country’s arsenal. In NYC, Yankee Stadium opens today as a mass-vaccination site for eligible Bronx residents. COVID hospitalizations nationwide are finally back to their pre-Thanksgiving levels, down more than 40,000 from their early January peak. The U.S. did nearly 1.7 million vaccinations yesterday, a new daily record. STAT
SCHOOL OPENING BATTLE LINES
Chicago and San Francisco are in battles with their school districts over when and how to reopen schools for in-person learning. Chicago public-school students were supposed to go back to a hybrid model this week but the city and the teachers union have still not reached a deal, leading to a frustrated Mayor Lori Lightfoot blaming the union for dragging its feet. Meanwhile, in San Francisco the situation is even more contentious. The city is suing its own school district in an attempt to reopen classrooms. Teachers unions in many large districts are saying they won’t go back until they’re vaccinated. ABC NEWS
GREENE BOOTED
The House stripped Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of both her committee assignments as punishment for spreading conspiracy theories and hate speech. The vote was nearly party line, though 11 Republicans broke ranks to vote with Democrats. Of the 199 Republicans who voted against removing Greene, not a single one defended her. She expressed regret about at least some of her theories, saying she now believes "9/11 absolutely happened." AP
BIDEN CUTS BAIT ON SAUDIS
President Biden is ending U.S. arms sales and other support for Saudi Arabia in its long-running offensive in Yemen. That war, between Houthi rebels and the Saudis in one of the poorest countries in the world, has led to a “humanitarian and strategic catastrophe,” Biden said. Saudi warplanes armed with American weapons have been relentlessly and often indiscriminately bombing targets in Yemen for six years. AP
PELOTON DEMAND
Peloton has been among the biggest winners of the pandemic, so much so that it cannot keep up with the demand for its fitness bikes and treadmills. The company admitted as much in its earnings report, saying it had $1 billion in sales last quarter but future profits will be squeezed as the company invests in fixing its supply chain problem. Peloton buyers have reported months-long delays in getting their orders. BLOOMBERG
BEST LAPTOP EVER?
It’s been a couple months since Apple started shipping its new Macs made with its own proprietary silicon chips. After spending time putting them through the ringer, reviewers are nearly unanimously in their reviews -- that these are the best laptops on the market today, and it's not particularly close. The M1 MacBooks are expensive (obv.), but the innovation in the chips means that they're super fast, turn on instantly, don’t cause the fan to run, and the batteries are said to last at least all day. CNET
SUPER BOWL PREVIEW
Super Bowl LV is Sunday in Tampa Bay. Patrick Mahomes is looking to defend the Chiefs’ title, while Tom Brady is looking to win his seventh ring at age 43. Like everything else, the Big Game will look different from years past, with a fraction of the normal crowd on hand and a more reflective tone expected, at least off the field. The Chiefs are heavy favorites -- but as many have learned over the last two decades, you bet against Brady at your own risk. Kickoff is 6:30 p.m. ET on CBS. If you just want to see The Weeknd, the Halftime Show will probably start sometime in the 8 p.m. hour. PREDICTIONS
SPOTTED...
… Olivia Rodrigo, making her TV debut on Jimmy Fallon to sing her #1 hit Drivers License: WATCH
SCREEN ACTORS GUILD
Hot on the heels of the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild Awards announced this year’s nominations, giving the late Chadwick Boseman an historic four nods combined for his two roles in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Da 5 Bloods. The SAGs are considered among the most prestigious awards for actors because they’re given out by their peers. Meanwhile, former President Trump resigned from SAG-AFTRA, the union behind the awards, as he faced disciplinary action for the Capitol riot. In a letter, Trump wrote that he was proud of his work in Home Alone 2 and Zoolander but concluded that being a SAG member has "done nothing for me”: READ IT
LEFTOVERS: SECOND CHANCE STIMULUS
If you did not receive the full amount you were owed in either round of stimulus checks over the last year, there’s still a chance to get it straightened out. In some cases, payments may have been miscalculated; in others, they may never have been received at all for a host of reasons. If you believe this happened to you, the IRS is letting eligible taxpayers claim a recovery rebate on their 2020 tax returns. Here’s how to do it: READ
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