CDC updates its COVID-19 vaccine/booster recommendations during Omicron outbreak

• According to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, she said that all US adults “should” receive the Covid vaccine booster
• Previously, the agency said that all adults “may” receive the booster but the Omicron variant has urged the CDC to strengthen their recommendation 

Virginia and Kentucky to deploy National Guard Soldiers to Africa 

• Amid the shift in US war efforts away from the Middle East, the Virginia and Kentucky National Guard has deployed 1,000 troops to the bottom of Africa
• It is unclear if the 1,000 Guardsmen is an increase in the Pentagon’s force in Africa, or if those troops are replacing others currently deployed

Zion National Park officials report death of a Virginia man and rescue of two others in park

• On November 28, a Virginia man died and two others were rescued while hiking in Zion National Park
• The Virginia man was found suspended from rope 260 ft. above Upper Emerald Pools along with 2 others stranded on a rock perch nearby
• Luckily, the two survivors were able to contact the National park Service, and rescue teams helped them to rappel safely to the ground 

National COVID measures are upheld by top German court

• On November 30, Germany’s highest court upheld COVID-19 restrictions despite complaints against the curfews and other restrictions imposed
• The ruling from the Federal Constitutional Court came hours before outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel and her designated successor, Olaf Scholz, planned to hold discussions on the situation with the country’s 16 state governors

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• California police from Walnut Creek have released surveillance footage showing two people who are accused of “dining and dashing” 
• After leaving the restaurant, the suspects fired several rounds toward a worker at the restaurant who confronted them across the street 
• According to authorities, no one was struck or injured by the gunfire and the suspects are a black male and white female with either brown or blonde hair

CDC reports California COVID-19 cases are dropping

• According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, California’s coronavirus transmission rates are dropping 
• As of September 14, California is the only state which has able to fall into this category as the second-highest tier, as defined by the CDC

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• The shutdown of GM’s Chevrolet Bolt EV has been extended at their Michigan production plant as they work with battery supplier LG Chem to fix manufacturing defects
• The Orion Assembly plant will be shut down for the week of September 13 through September 20

US sailings increased by Cruise lines despite delta variant threat to bookings

• Despite CDC warnings for those at-risk to stay away from cruises regardless of vaccination status, cruise operators continue to announce more sail dates
• According to a survey by Morgan Stanley,this points to a significant slowdown in demand for cruises 

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• BMW’s new project centered around the development of a long distance electric vehicle battery has been awarded $36 million in joint funding from the EV industry along with the U.K. government
• By 2030, the U.K. plans to stop selling new gasoline and diesel engine cars and vans; technology that boost the range of electric vehicles will be crucial

US Covid booster shot distribution begins in September 

• United States agencies are preparing to offer booster shots to all eligible Americans (over 12 years old) starting in the week of September 20
• The announcement has come ahead of a White House Covid press briefing Wednesday, where federal health officials further outlined their plan for boosters
• According to the statement signed by CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, it says, “We are starting to see evidence of reduced protection against mild and moderate disease.” 

Southwest Airlines to give referral bonuses worth $300 to hire workers

• Staff at Southwest Airlines have been informed that the company is struggling to hire workers so they have offered a referral bonus program
• The program will run until November 20 and staff can receive up to 20,000 “SWAG Points” consisting of 10,000 on their referral’s first day of work, and 10,000 after that individual completes six months with the airline. 
• Those points on Southwest’s internal platform have a taxable value of 1.5 cents each giving them a value of $300

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• China’s US goods purchases continue to fail at following trade agreement levels based on information from Peterson Institute for International Economics
• On July 26, 2021, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that the US should remove tariffs apart of three other requests from China

• The CDC has reversed their indoor mask policy and has recommended that fully vaccinated people should resume wearing masks again
• Updated guidance from the CDC is urged by the uptick in delta variant Covid-19 cases across the world

Inflation may cut workers pay by 2% despite wage increases

• In June, the average hourly wages increased by 3.6% in comparison to a year prior, and despite this growth, the average worker’s pay has been cut by 2% due to inflation
• From 2020, food prices have risen 2.4% and gasoline prices has risen 45% as well

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• On July 28, 2021, The California Department of Public Health has announced that all should resume wearing masks indoors regardless of their vaccination status
• On July 27, the CDC has also released new guidelines that called for all vaccinated people in highly populated areas to resume wearing masks 

The largest environmental concern in California is the water shortages according to new poll

• With water levels decreasing in reservoirs, high summer temperatures, and increasing water restrictions, California residents worried
• In a poll released on 7/29/2021, by the Public Polic Institute of California, they found that California residents have cited water shortages/drought to be the biggest environmental issue in the state
• A quarter of participating California adults in the survey named water shortages/drought to be the most important issue with wildfires at 17%, climate change at 13%, and 6% air pollution

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• According to information from the Georgia Department of Economic Development, they report a record $4 billion in spending for productions within the state for fiscal 2021
• For fiscal 2021 in the state, 366 productions have been filmed, 21 feature films, 45 independent films, 222 television and episodic productions, 57 commercials, and 21 music videos

CDC advisory group thinks booster shots will help those at higher risk of breakthrough infections

• An advisory group for the CDC is considering whether fully vaccinated Americans with compromised immune systems need a booster shot for the Covid vaccines
• 44% of the hospitalized Covid breakthrough cases represent people with compromised immune systems even though they only make up 2.7% of the US adult population

By the end of the decade, Mercedes plans to be all-electric

• Thursday, Germany’s Daimler has said that their Mercedes-Benz brand will be ready for all of their vehicles to be all-electric at the end of the decade
• In total, their investment into research and development between 2022 to 2030 will amount over $47 billion US 

NFL notifies teams that they may forfeit games and lose money if unvaccinated players are at risk of transmitting Covid

• The NFL has announced to teams through a memo that games would only be halted if it was required by US authorities, medical experts, or the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell
• Currently, more than 75% of players in the league are “…in the process of being vaccinated, according to the NFL
• Teams and individual players may also be faced with financial penalties if games were moved or canceled because of unvaccinated team members

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• According to the CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, 83% of all sequenced Covid-19 cases in the US are made up of the delta variant
• During the week of July 3, the delta variant of Covid-19 had only made up 50% of cases in the US
• Fatalities from the virus have also increased by 48% over the past week to an average of 239 a day

Covid continues to pose threat to Tokyo Olympics as they prepare to start

• This Friday, the Tokyo Olympics is set to start but officials still remain cautious due to many Covid-19 concerns in the country
• Today (Tuesday), an organizing committee official for the Tokyo Olympics named Toshiro Muto said that canceling games due to the pandemic would be ruled out

The Finance minister of Indonesia says the country must “protect the people” without hurting the economy

• The Finance Minister of Indonesia Sri Mulyani Indrawati has reported that the social safety net for Indonesians has increased by 20% and the healthcare expenditure has increased by almost 19%
• The resurgence of Covid-19 cases in Indonesia has also caused record-high case numbers in recent weeks from the spread of the Delta variant

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• A new warning is expected to be announced by the FDA concerning a possible relationship between rare autoimmune disease and the Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine
• The CDC has reported that the disease is called Guillain-Barre syndrome and around 100 reports have been detected out of 12.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine

Plan to end lockdown in the UK has been settled by the government despite Delta variant spread

• The easing of lockdown rules has been planned to happen on July 19 in England according to a confirmation from the UK Health Minister Sajid Javid
• Despite the rise in coronavirus cases as a result of the delta variant, the UK government still wants to go ahead with this plan
• Today (Monday), the UK has reported upwards of 34,000 covid cases 

American retailers could see their own stimulus from Child tax credit payments sometime this year

• Beginning this Thursday until sometime in December, Monthly child tax credit payments will be $250 to $300 a child depending on age and families that qualify
• The child tax payments could act as a stimulus for retailers such as Target, Costco, and Walmart as the payments may go towards things like school supplies, clothes, and food

Nordstrom purchases stake in Topshop, Tman, Miss Selfridge, and HIIT owned by UK fashion brand Asos

• To appeal to consumers in their 20s, Nordstrom has bought a stake in Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, and HIIT
• The president of Nordstrom, Pete Nordstrom has said that the collaboration between the company and these brands could help to revolutionize how their department store operator works with brands.

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• Officials from the World Health Organization have warned countries around the world against the full lifting of public health measures
• These warnings come after the region of Europe has seen an increase of 33% in Covid cases last week
• Even with highly vaccinated regions or countries, WHO cautions against the easement of mask mandates, and social distancing protocols

Marvel Movie Black Widow had promising pandemic opening with rise in pre-ticket sales

• Arriving in theaters and Disney+ Premiere Access on July 9, Marvel’s Black Widow is a highly anticipated film 
• Over the upcoming weekend analysts have estimated that the film will gather somewhere between $80 million to $110 million in the box office
• If this estimate is correct, this film would surpass F( a film that debuted about two weeks ago with $70 million

Delta variant of Covid is now dominant in US says CDC data

• According to information gathered by the CDC, the Delta variant of Coronavirus has surpassed the previous strain (alpha variant) in case amount
• The variant had been first discovered in India but now affected around 104 countries and represents more than half of new Covid cases at 51.7%

To service Northeast, Amtrak plans investment of $7.3 billion in modern trains

• Today (Wednesday), Amtrak has announced that they will be investing a total of $7.3 billion into a group of 83 modern trains
• The manufacturer that Amtrak will use to build these new trains will be Siemens Mobility’s rail manufacturing facility
• According to Amtrak’s predictions, they think that their investment will add 1.5 million or more train riders annually to their services 

• In rural areas, Dollar General has plans to become a health-care staple with hiring a chief medical officer to help them aim their products towards this new target
• I the future, customers will progressively see more health care products in Dollar general along with dental supplies and other medications
• The CEO of Dollar General says that he was inspired by customers who said they have a desire for health-care products and services at a more affordable price

• In their initial public offering in the US, the Greek-yogurt maker Chobani has potential to be valued at upwards of $10 billion according to the company’s estimations
• Currently, Chobani has factories in Idaho, Australia, and New York and does not have any plans yet on how many shares there will be for sale or the price range for its offering

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