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U.S. surpasses 2020 COVID-19 infection total, climate action after Hurricane Ida damage: 5 Things podcast


On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: The U.S. has surpassed its 2020 COVID-19 infection total and more grim milestones may be on the way. Plus, President Joe Biden calls for climate action after hurricane damage, Vice President Kamala Harris campaigns for California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Virginia removes its largest Confederate monument and Derek Jeter enters the Hall of Fame.

Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

Taylor Wilson:

Good morning, I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Wednesday, the 8th of September 2021. Today new grim milestones for the U.S. Coronavirus pandemic, plus Biden calls for climate action, and more.

Taylor Wilson:

Here are some of the top headlines.

  1. A powerful magnitude seven earthquake slammed near the Mexican resort city of Acapulco last night. At least one person is dead, and buildings moved hundreds of miles away in Mexico City.
  2. The Taliban have announced an interim government in Afghanistan. The cabinet has no women, includes veterans of their hard line rule in the 1990s, and is made up mostly of the country's dominant Pashtun ethnic group. There is already international pressure on the move, but the Taliban have called the current government temporary.
  3. And Britney Spears' father, Jamie Spears, has filed a petition to end his daughter's conservatorship. He's controlled it, at least in part, for the past 13 years.

Taylor Wilson:

The United States reached two grim COVID-19 milestones yesterday. On the same day the country reached 650,000 total deaths from the virus, the U.S. also registered more COVID cases in 2021 than all of 2020. Both of those numbers are more than 20.1 million. One caveat is that testing for the virus was still limited early last year, and major outbreaks were not detected in the U.S. until March of 2020 so the true number of 2020 infections will never be known. But it's clear that the Delta variant of COVID-19 has again brought the pandemic to concerning levels after cases dropped dramatically over this summer. And even as most children returned to the classroom in recent weeks, kids are making up more and more Coronavirus cases. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, they accounted for 26.8% of cases in the week ending September 2nd. That's almost twice as high as the 15.1% they've represented since the beginning of the pandemic.

Taylor Wilson:

And a new Paste BN/Ipsos Poll found that most parents support mask mandates at school, with all children under 12 still ineligible for the vaccine. According to the polling, 65% support mask requirements for students and staff, and the same portion want vaccine requirements for staff as well. Only a slightly lower number, 59%, want to require eligible students be vaccinated. Even with the enthusiasm for these requirements, parents do want their kids back in the classroom, with 67% in favor of five days a week.

Taylor Wilson:

President Joe Biden visited parts of New York and New Jersey yesterday that were slammed by Hurricane Ida. During his visit, he pointed to climate change and the likelihood that more freak weather events are on the way in coming years.

Joe Biden:

The threat is here. It's not going to get any better. The question, can it get worse? We can stop it from getting worse, and so folks we've got to listen to the scientists and the economists and the national security experts. They all tell us this is code red. The nation and the world are in peril.

Taylor Wilson:

Hurricane Ida killed at least 67 people around the country, particularly in the flooded Northeast which is not used to regular hurricane conditions.

Taylor Wilson:

Meanwhile, swells from Hurricane Larry will hit parts of the Atlantic coast today from Florida to Maine. The waves could cause coastal flooding, though the storm itself is not expected to make a U.S. landfall. Larry is still spinning in the Atlantic as a category three hurricane with sustained winds of 115 miles an hour.

Taylor Wilson:

Vice President Kamala Harris heads to her home state of California today to campaign for Governor Gavin Newsom. The governor faces a recall election next Tuesday, under pressure for a number of issues including his handling of the Coronavirus pandemic. National correspondent Crystal Hayes has more.

Crystal Hayes:

During COVID a lot of Governors got a lot of heat. There were recall efforts against Governors in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, but none of them garnered enough support, enough signatures to actually do what's happening right now in California. This recall effort against Governor Newsom really started before the pandemic had really, really hit the U.S. And then the recall effort was really fixated on his policies from immigration, taxes, those sorts of things, but as the pandemic wore on fatigue grew, and a lot of people were pretty angry about some of the very, very strict mandates that California elicited, from shutting down schools to shutting down even outdoor dining for some restaurants, closing beaches, those sorts of things. We've seen a lot of things, like homelessness, skyrocket in the country, especially in California.

Crystal Hayes:

Basically this allows voters the chance to say we're not happy with the job you're doing, and force somebody out of office before an actual election. People have to garner enough signatures and then the process becomes an actual ballot pitcher where people vote. When you look at California on a national stage it's known as one of the bluest states in the country. It's a leader on a lot of progressive and liberal policies. It's going to send shock waves if Governor Newsom is in fact booted from office. What it will mean for the Democratic Party, what it will mean as far as other leaders looking at how they manage COVID in the future, it'll send a message to the Democratic Party, and you will hear Republicans no doubt saying that the Governor and all of his policies failed.

Crystal Hayes:

For Democrats, it could be a warning signal for them ahead of the next election. There's 46 candidates, so a lot of people on the ballot. People like reality star and former Olympian, Caitlyn Jenner, former Mayor of San Diego and Conservative Radio Host Larry Elder. Recalls are used in quite a few states, 19 states. States like Alaska, California, Colorado, Arizona, but it's incredibly rare. California's almost kind of more so known for this. There are only two times in history that a Governor has actually been recalled or removed from office. That happened in the 1920s in North Dakota and then most recently in 2003 in California when then Governor Gray Davis was removed from office and replaced by movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Taylor Wilson:

President Joe Biden will also head to the Golden State to campaign for Newsom in the coming days.

Taylor Wilson:

Virginia today will remove its largest Confederate monument. The 131-year-old Robert E. Lee Memorial statue in Richmond served as both a symbol of Confederate heritage and a major base for racial equality demonstrations last summer. The City's Mayor, Levar Stoney, said in a statement, "We are taking an important step this week to embrace the righteous cause and put the lost cause behind us. Richmond is no longer the capital of the Confederacy. We are a diverse, open and welcoming city, and our symbols need to reflect this reality."

Taylor Wilson:

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced last year that the statue would be removed during nationwide protests against systemic racism after George Floyd's murder by police. Some residents last October filed a lawsuit opposing its removal, but the Supreme Court of Virginia ruled against them last week. Robert E. Lee was a Confederate General during the Civil War.

Taylor Wilson:

Well, Derek Jeter and Larry Walker are finally heading to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The New York Yankees shortstop and Montreal Expos and Colorado Rockies outfielder will enter the hall during a formal induction ceremony today after delays because of the pandemic. They'll be joined in the class of 2020 by former St. Louis Cardinals player, Ted Simmons and the late former Labor Leader, Marvin Miller. He ran the Major League Baseball Players Association from 1966 to 1982, pushing for a number of changes in the players favored. There will not be a class of 2021. You can catch today's induction ceremony at 1:30 PM Eastern, 10:30 AM Pacific on MLB network and mlb.com.

Taylor Wilson:

And you can find 5 Things wherever you get your audio, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Thanks as always to Shannon Green and Claire Thornton for their great work on the show. 5 Things is part of the Paste BN Network.