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

Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Tuesday, November 23, 2021:

CHRISTMAS PARADE CRASH

The man who allegedly plowed through a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wis., killing five people and injuring 48, has been identified by police as Darrell Brooks, a rapper who performs under the name MathBoi Fly. Brooks is facing five counts of intentional homicide. Police say Brooks had just fled a domestic dispute when he sped his Ford Escape through the parade route, and that there’s no evidence he knew anyone in the parade. Court documents show that Brooks has a lengthy criminal record, including an arrest earlier this month for allegedly running a woman over with his car. He was released on $1,000 bail last week, which the prosecutor in that case now says was “inappropriately low.” AP

BOOSTER EXPANSION

The White House says as many as three million people got their boosters since the CDC authorized the shots for all adults on Friday, a strong start for the booster campaign heading into the holidays. More than 36 million Americans have been boosted since September. The White House also announced that 95% of federal employees have complied with the vaccine mandate, which goes into effect today. NBC NEWS

AHMAUD ARBERY KILLING

The prosecution will give its closing rebuttal today in the trial of the three white men charged with murdering Ahmaud Arbery. The defense rested its case by blaming Arbery for “running away instead of facing the consequences” and “making terrible, unexpected, illogical choices.” Arbery’s mother left the courtroom after a lawyer for the defense caused audible gasps when she told jurors: "Turning Ahmaud Arbery into a victim after the choices that he made does not reflect the reality of what brought Ahmaud Arbery to Satilla Shores in his khaki shorts with no socks to cover his long, dirty toenails.” That comment appears to be based on Arbery’s autopsy, which described his toenails as “long and very dirty." CNN

FED CHAIR TO STAY ON

President Biden will re-nominate Jerome Powell to lead the Federal Reserve for a second term. There were murmurs that Biden was going to nominate another veteran of the Fed, Lael Brainard, to the top job amid pressure from progressives. Instead, she is being put forth as vice chair. Biden praised Powell for his “decisive” leadership during the pandemic. CHEDDAR

BEZOS DONATIONS

Jeff Bezos has donated $100 million to former President Obama’s foundation, the largest individual gift the foundation has received to date. The donation was given in honor of John Lewis, with Bezos asking that the plaza at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago be named after the late civil rights icon. Bezos also made a simultaneous gift of $166 million to the NYU Langone hospital system. While the Amazon founder has been upping his philanthropy of late, it’s a drop in the bucket compared to his ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, who has given away close to $9 billion since their divorce. ABC NEWS

BLACK FRIDAY CREEP

Target has announced it will be closed on Thanksgiving Day -- not just this year but for good. Target CEO Brian Cornell says the retailer is making a pandemic-era change permanent, forcing back a trend of the Black Friday sales creeping into Thanksgiving. Walmart is also closing for the holiday, but hasn’t said whether it will follow in Target’s footsteps in the future. AP

LEBRON SUSPENDED

LeBron James will be sitting on the bench when the Lakers play the Knicks in NYC tonight. The NBA suspended James for one game following an altercation at the Lakers-Pistons game on Sunday night, in which James hit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart in the face as they jostled for position during a free throw. That hit, which James says was an accident, caused him to be ejected for only the second time in his 19-season career. Stewart was also ejected and has been suspended two games after he repeatedly tried to fight James in the ensuing melee. ESPN

GUCCI GANG

If you’re planning a post-turkey outing to the movies, Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci opens widely in theaters tomorrow, just in time for Thanksgiving. The film is inspired by the wild story of the family behind the Italian fashion empire, with Lady Gaga and her much-discussed accent in the lead role. The early reviews are all over the place, with critics calling it everything from  “an astounding maelstrom of overacting” to “absurdly enjoyable.” In the meantime, get in the zone by checking out the Lake Como palazzo featured in the film, now available to rent out on Airbnb: SEE IT

SPOTTED...

… Pete Davidson, sporting a hickey while out on a date with Kim Kardashian in L.A.: SEE PICS

...All Too Well (Taylor’s Version), moving into the top spot on the Billboard 100. At 10:13, the Taylor Swift ballad eclipses Don McLean’s American Pie as the longest song to ever top the chart: BILLBOARD

LEFTOVERS: BRACE FOR IMPACT

NASA is launching a mission tonight that’s right out of one of those disaster movies from the 1990s. The space agency’s new planetary defense division is planning to crash a spacecraft into an asteroid in an attempt to bump the rock slightly off course, the first real-world test of a technique that could theoretically become useful if an asteroid of a certain size is discovered to be hurtling toward Earth. The asteroid in question is six million miles away, and it will take the golf-cart sized spacecraft about 10 months to get there. The launch, with an assist from a SpaceX rocket, happens tonight (weather permitting): WATCH LIVE

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 Science
NASA's Most Powerful Telescope, James Webb Space Telescope, Ready For Launch
After two decades of engineering, over $10 billion, and a series of delays, the most powerful telescope built by NASA is finally scheduled to launch on Saturday. The James Webb Space Telescope was built to provide a fresh look at the universe by detecting light that is invisible to the human eye and to reveal new information about the universe's oldest stars and galaxies. Lou Strolger, observatory scientist and deputy head of instruments division, space telescope, joins Cheddar News.
NHL Not Going to Olympics Due to COVID-19 Surge
The 2022 Winter Olympics will be without some of hockey's biggest players. The NHL and the NHL Player's Association have agreed to not participate in the men's hockey tournament at the Games in Beijing next year. The league has been forced to postpone some games because of a rise in COVID-19 cases among players. Washington Post sports reporter Samantha Pell joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss what this could mean for the Winter Olympics and the sport of hockey.
U.S. Opens Investigation into Tesla's 'Passenger Play' Feature
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a formal investigation into Tesla. The agency is looking into about 580,000 Tesla vehicles, and a feature called 'Passenger Play' which allows drivers to play video games on the center touch screen. The feature previously only worked when a vehicle was in park; but, the NHTSA says it has confirmed that the feature has been available while vehicles are in motion since December of 2020. iSeeCars.com executive analyst Karl Brauer joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Baron Davis & Kate Hudson Star in New Ad for Cannabis-Infused Seltzer Brand Cann
Baron Davis and Kate Hudson want you to bring cannabis home for the holidays. The cannabis-infused seltzer brand Cann released a new spot featuring the actress and former NBA player. The campaign comes hand in hand with Cann's launch of a new holiday bundle, which includes its product with Hudson's King Street Vodka. Davis and Hudson are also Cann investors. Cheddar cannabis reporter Chloe Aiello spoke to Davis about his involvement with the company and its new campaign.
How Universities Might Be Playing for Time With Remote Learning as Omicron Surges
Universities like UCLA, Yale, and Duke have announced they're implementing remote learning amid the COVID omicron variant surge, despite President Biden recommending that K-12 schools should continue in-person education. Jared C. Bass, senior director for Higher Education at American Progress, joined Cheddar to break down what institutions of higher education might be considering differently. "I think some universities are allowing periods of a bit of a respite to allow students to get testing and make sure when they do return back to campus that they're healthy," he noted.
EV Expert Makes the Case for Domestic Mining for Lithium for Batteries
Supply chain issues have become one of the biggest roadblocks for the U.S. EV market, with production woes likely to stunt the industry's growth in 2022. Rich Steinberg, electric vehicle expert and industry advisor, told Cheddar that the Biden administration investing in domestic mining for essential minerals used in battery manufacturing — such as lithium — could help alleviate the bottlenecks. "Some of those same materials are available domestically, they just haven't been prioritized," he said, noting the paradox between green tech and "dirty" mining. "The good news is that there are ways to extract those materials cleanly."
Maker of First FDA-Approved Portable MRI Machine Hyperfine Goes Public
Hyperfine, the pioneer of the very first FDA-approved portable MRI device, made its public debut on the Nasdaq via a SPAC merger. CEO Dave Scott joined Cheddar's "Opening Bell" to discuss the IPO launch, the company's valuation at $580 million, and the impact of its machine called Swoop. "We can roll an MRI system, our MRI Swoop system, right into the room where you are, right up to your patient bedside, and scan you right there and get an image in less than an hour," he explained.
Load More