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Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Friday, January 14, 2022:
FREE COVID TESTS & MASKS
President Joe Biden has announced that the federal government will now distribute one billion rapid tests to Americans for free, doubling his initial commitment. The tests will also come with N95 masks in an effort to quash record COVID cases. Biden also announced that 1,000 military personnel will be deployed to medical facilities across the country starting next week to help with staff shortages. The bolstered federal support came with a new line of messaging from the administration, which is now saying that the highly transmissible omicron strain is likely to infect "most people" and that the real challenge is maintaining critical services. NPR
VACCINE MANDATE BLOCKED
Meanwhile, another pillar of Biden's COVID response has been stopped in its tracks. The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked the administration's vaccine or testing requirement for large employers, which would have covered 80 million workers. The court did allow vaccine requirements for health care workers who work at facilities that receive Medicaid and Medicare funds. The decision, made by the court's conservative majority, noted that while COVID may be a risk in some workplaces, “it is not an occupational hazard in most.” The ruling comes as supermarkets and hospitals experience severe staff shortages due to COVID outbreaks. WASH POST
We haven’t seen a shot blocked like that since Shaq played
HOTTEST YEARS ON RECORD
2021 was a heated year. Now scientists are saying it was the sixth hottest on record. Six different calculations, from the likes of NASA and the NOAA, found it was right up there with 2016, 2018, and 2020. As you can see, those years were all in the past decade, supporting the argument that climate change is accelerating warming. NASA
Tell that to the seven layers of clothing we put on this morning
SINEMA DERAILS VOTING RIGHTS BILL
Despite a full-court push to pass a pair of voting rights bills, Democrats have hit another snag — this time in their own party. Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema says she won't support a bill undermining the Senate filibuster, which Republicans have used to block the package four times. This isn't the first time Sinema has worked against her party's agenda. This time out, she said getting rid of the filibuster would foster growing political division. NY TIMES
PRINCE ANDREW LOSES TITLES
Buckingham Palace has stripped Prince Andrew of his honorary military titles and royal patronages after a U.S. judge this week gave the go-ahead to a sexual assualt lawsuit against the Queen's son. Andrew is accused of having sex with an underage girl, Virginia Giuffre, while she was being sexually trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein. In a rare instance of the royal family acknowledging the accusations against Andrew, the palace has issued a statement that Queen Elizabeth II had received the stripped titles with her "approval and agreement." GUARDIAN
COLLEGE ENROLLMENT SINKS
College undergraduate enrollment has declined by more than a million students since the start of the pandemic. That's a nearly 7% drop in the past two years, with programs losing 465,000 students in 2021 alone. While enrollment has been trending downward for a decade, the pandemic has clearly accelerated the change. But it hasn't been a total wash for secondary education. Graduate schools are booming, adding 100,000 additional students since 2020. WSJ
Why go to college when you can get into debt on your own?
PREDATORY LENDING DEAL
One thing that might be scaring off all those college students is predatory lenders. Navient, one of the largest student loan servicing companies in the U.S., has reached a $1.85 billion settlement with several state attorneys general who accused the company of unfair lending practices, including giving out loans to students who were likely unable to pay them back. The settlement also comes with the cancellation of about 66,000 loans taken since 2002. CNN
MICROSOFT REVIEWS ITSELF
Microsoft said it plans to review its sexual harassment policies and issue a report later this year. The goal of the review, which will be conducted by an outside law firm, is to look at how the company handles sexual harassment claims and come up with a series of recommendations for improvements. The announcement comes a year after reports came out that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates had pursued a sexual relationship with an employee in 2000. CNBC
'SCREAM' REBOOT
After a decade-long hiatus, the beloved Scream franchise, known for skewering the horror genre, is back in theaters. Named simply Scream — in the fashion of other so-called "legacy sequels" such as Halloween and Candyman — it's actually the fifth film in the series, which stretches back to 1996 and features many of the same characters. This is also the first Scream not helmed by horror maestro Wes Craven, who died in 2015. Horror fans are hopeful though that the new creators will do the series justice, and early reviews are positive. VARIETY
LEFTOVERS: FRENCH DRESSING DEREGULATED
Did you know that the ingredients of french dressing were strictly regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the last 72 years? Neither did we, until we heard that the agency had finally lifted the rules after more than 20 years of prodding from the food industry. The old standard required that any dressing considered "French" have specific ingredients. Lifting the rule will allow for "greater innovation," said the FDA, so let it rip dressing-makers. USA TODAY
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