The Daily Dive

This is a compilation of some of the most compelling stories of the week.

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This week the California legislature passed a bill to create a government panel that would set wages for fast food workers in the state.  They would be able to set hourly wages of up to $22/hour.  Fast food operators are mobilizing against the bill saying it will drive up operating and labor costs and lead to price increases for consumers.  Unions on the other hand are praising the decision and other states are keeping an eye on the developments with a possibility of adopting similar legislation.  Heather Haddon, restaurants reporter at the WSJ, joins us for what to know.

Next, we are increasingly seeing anxious and depressed teenagers use multiple psychiatric drugs, a practice called polypharmacy.  The problem is that many of the medications might not be tested in adolescents or tested for use together.  Often this path starts with drugs used to treat ADHD and other medication gets added on to treat side effects or dull the effects of some drugs.  A study from 2020, found that over 40% of people ages 2 to 24 who were prescribed ADHD drugs were also prescribed at least one other medication for mood and behavioral disorders.  Matt Richtel, reporter at the NY Times, joins us for more.

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The FDA has cleared the new Covid booster shots that target the Omicron subvariants that are prominent right now.  The shots are likely to be offered very soon but complicating the efforts will be the vaccine fatigue that has set in and the fact that these shots have been cleared without results from clinical trials.  Vaccine experts say it is not needed since it’s just an update to a proven shot and is similar to the process for flu shots.  Liz Whyte, reporter at the WSJ, joins us for what to know about the retooled boosters.

Next, get ready for the magic mushroom pill!  As the medical benefits of psychedelic drugs has moved into solid science and more mainstream startups are racing ahead to bring products to market.  Psilocybin and other psychedelics have shown promise in treating conditions like depression and PTSD and is especially effective when paired with therapy.  As a result, we are seeing an industry pop up that could see a global market for psychedelic pharmaceuticals reach $6.9 billion by 2027.  Kristen V Brown, health editor and reporter at Bloomberg News, joins us for more.

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The water system in Jackson, Mississippi is failing.  There is little to no drinking water and residents are under order to boil water for 3 minutes before drinking or using to cook.  Gov. Tate Reeves has signed an emergency declaration and first steps are to restore water quantity at the O.B. Curtis Water treatment plant and then water quality as the shortage is expected to last days.  Bobby Harrison, senior capitol reporter at Mississippi Today, joins us for what to know about this water system failure.

Next, thieves across the country are targeting Hyundai and Kia owners.  Design flaws in the cars that use a steel key and not fobs or push-button start are being stolen, sometimes in a matter of seconds with as little as a screwdriver or a USB cord.  Tutorials online and even groups calling themselves the “Kia Boys” are popularizing the thefts.  Annalise Frank, Detroit reporter at Axios, joins us for what to know.

Finally, Republicans had been excited for a red wave to hit in the midterm elections, but those hopes have been running up against a few walls recently.  Democrats have a long way to go to maintain their majorities in both chambers of Congress, but Democrats recently scored a victory in a bellwether election, persuadable voters are trending towards Dems, and the abortion issue isn’t playing well for the GOP.  Sahil Kapur, senior national political reporter at NBC News, joins us for more.

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Salvage food stores have long been a place for people to find deals at a deep discount, but inflation and some rebranding is making them grow in popularity.  These stores sell what mainstream retailers call “unsellables,” often products like dented cans and boxes, things on the cusp of sell-by dates, and weird holiday marketing attempts.  Another thing fueling interest is the small subgenre on social media where people chronicle their trips and display their hauls like trophies.  Some people just love finding a good deal.  Kim Severson, food correspondent at the NY Times, joins us for what to know about salvage stores.

Next, almost $400 million went to a veteran retraining program as part of the American Rescue Plan, but a lack of oversight and the involvement of for-profit schools led to a flop where only 397 veterans landed jobs.  It’s known as the Veteran Rapid Retraining Program or VRRAP.  One school where there were problems was the Chicago-based Future Tech Career Institute.  Students there said that schedules were disorganized and didn’t follow a set syllabus, and school-issued laptops didn’t have enough memory and couldn’t run critical software.  Lisa Rein, reporter at the Washington Post covering the federal government, joins us for more.

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The discussions surrounding President Biden’s decision to forgive some student debt for millions of Americans continued with some opponents saying it would increase inflation and it amounts to an unfair bailout for elites and those that could not manage their loans.  The White House chose to fight back by highlighting several Republican lawmakers who had six and seven figure PPP loans forgiven which taxpayers were also in the hook for.  Julia Manchester, national political reporter at The Hill, joins us for this, more fallout from the Mar-a-Lago raid, and Democrats thinking they may have a chance in November after all.

Next, Abbott Laboratories has restarted production of Similac at their plant Michigan that was at the center of the U.S. baby formula shortage.  One thing that gets overlooked was what caused the shutdown…a lot of sloppiness coming from the factory.  By the time FDA investigators showed up for their annual inspection, it was already a year overdue because of Covid restrictions.  Despite finding evidence of cronobacter bacteria at the plant, the FDA relied on Abbot to fix its own problems and then came a whistleblower report.  By the time the plant was shut down some babies had fallen ill, and the shortage was imminent.  Anna Edney, national healthcare reporter at Bloomberg News, joins us for how the US baby formula shortage got started.

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This is a compilation of some of the most compelling stories of the week.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a compilation of some of the most compelling stories of the week.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NASA’s Artemis program which will return people to the surface of the moon will have a big test on Monday.  We will see a launch of the new moon rocket called the Space Launch System.  It will send an uncrewed Orion capsule around the moon and back and eventually take people to the moon surface in 2025.  Miriam Kramer, space reporter at Axios, joins us to discuss if NASA’s old way of space exploration will stand up in the modern space age.

Next, the fall Covid-19 booster campaign will be upon us soon and how well the new Omicron-specific boosters will work may depend on a phenomenon called “original antigenic sin.”  Since people have been infected, vaccinated, and boosted, people’s immune systems are on different playing fields and your first exposure may play a bigger part in future immune responses.  Carolyn Johnson, science reporter at the Washington Post, joins us for what to know.

Finally, everyone wants that opportunity to achieve the perfect work/life balance and remote work is a big factor, but would you take a pay cut for it?  Some employers are currently debating whether remote work can be classified as a perk or benefit and pocket the savings by reducing salaries for people working at home, especially if they move to lower-cost markets.  Don Lee, economics reporter at the LA Times, joins us for how you may soon be asked to take a pay cut to keep working from home.

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Big news for those with student loan debt!  President Biden announced that he will forgive $10,000 in federal student debt and $20,000 for those with Pell grants.  This new action will affect millions and see almost 9 million people get their balances wiped completely.  There are earnings caps and the payment pause on most federal loans has been extended through December 31.  Annie Nova, personal finance reporter at CNBC, joins us for what to know about the debt relief and the pressure from both sides of the aisle, some still don’t think it was enough and others think it could set a bad precedent and increase inflation.

Next, Google has an automated tool to detect abusive images of children that is a big help in combating the online spread of these types of photos, but sometimes the system can get it wrong, and the consequences can be serious.  Recently a father took a picture of his naked son to send to the doctor for a diagnosis, but as the photo passed through Google’s servers it was flagged and it all went downhill.  The father became the target of a police investigation and lost access to his account along with a decade’s worth of contacts emails and photos.  Kashmir Hill, technology reporter at the NY Times, joins us for what to know about this case.

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