The Daily Dive

State of emergency declared at the Arizona border. Gov. Doug Ducey has blamed the Biden administration for the surge in illegal crossing and said that about 250 National Guard troops would be deployed to help local law enforcement that is overwhelmed. While unaccompanied minors continues to be a problem, Arizona is seeing an influx of single adult males. Alicia Caldwell, immigration reporter at the WSJ, joins us for more.

Next, we might be hitting another snag in the vaccine rollout… too much vaccine. Some states are starting to see the supply of doses exceed the demand. The pace of vaccinations has flattened out at about 3 million per day as states are starting to see too many open vaccine appointments. Rachel Roubein, health reporter at Politico, joins us for how the strategy is changing to get more people vaccinated.

Finally, get ready for the forever maskers. There are pockets of people that have indicated that despite the easing of mask wearing rules and increased vaccination rates, they will most likely be wearing their masks far beyond the pandemic. Reasons vary, with many saying they have avoided the flu and other illnesses and want to keep that streak going. Eve Peyser, writer at NY Magazine, tells us about those who won’t be putting their masks away just yet.

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Guilty on all three counts. Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes, causing his death, was found guilty on second and third degree murder, in addition to second degree manslaughter. In an emotional case, many feel that justice has been served, but it’s just a first step toward accountability. Janelle Griffith, national reporter at NBC News, was on the scene in Minneapolis and helps us break down this historic verdict.

Next, more than half of American adults have received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine, and while that is good news, experts increasingly feel that we might not get to herd immunity. Recent polls suggest that 15-25% of Americans don’t plan on being vaccinated which won’t help in the effort. Elizabeth Weise, national correspondent at USA Today, joins us for why herd immunity might no longer be on the table.

Finally, coronavirus vaccination cards are increasingly being used in fraud scams. Recent listings on eBay are promising an “Authentic CDC Vaccination Card” for about $10. And scammers are also using those vaccination selfies you might be posting to make their fakes look even more real. Dan Diamond, national health reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for more.

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Los Angeles could become the biggest U.S. city to start a guaranteed income program. LA Mayor Eric Garcetti will be asking the city council to set aside $24 million for a program that would pay out $1000 in monthly payments to 2,000 low-income families. There is some data from similar programs that show it does help beneficiaries, but it doesn’t fare well in overall in public polling. Chris Palmeri, LA Bureau Chief at Bloomberg News, joins us to discuss the new plan.

Next, vaccinations rates are going up and people are ready to get out there and start shopping again, but how will consumer spending change? With the increased use of delivery apps and curbside pickup, grocery shopping might see the most sustained changes. Younger shoppers will also be a big force in apparel spending and more eager to interact with people outside of their households. Melissa Repko, retail reporter at CNBC, joins us for more.

Finally, it seems that the fight to unionize at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama may not be over yet. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union filed objections alleging that Amazon illegally interfered with the votes. This comes after the employees there overwhelmingly voted against forming a union. Annie Palmer, technology reporter at CNBC, joins us for what’s next in what could be a lengthy legal challenge.

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Dr. Anthony Fauci addressed the pause of the J&J vaccine on Meet the Press Sunday and said he does not expect the use of the shot to be cancelled saying it could be back in some form by Friday. Last week we also saw another mass shooting where the shooter was able to obtain his guns legally, despite being on the radar of the FBI and some of those charged with storming the Capitol are claiming they were just there as journalists, not to cause mayhem. Ginger Gibson, deputy Washington digital editor at NBC News, joins us for more.

Next, the conversation about vaccine passports continues as many private businesses and some states move ahead with developing methods to verify that people have been vaccinated or have negative covid tests, at the same time, some states are trying to ban them. Without federal leadership on the issue, people will most likely have to navigate a patchwork approach with many apps to choose from. Ashley Gold, tech and policy reporter at Axios, joins us for what might be next in this discussion.

Finally, ransomware attacks continue to be a problem for the country, costing the U.S. $1.3 billion last year. It has been an especially frustrating problem for schools that have been targeted as they try to navigate closures due to the pandemic. In one case, a school had to cancel online and in-person classes for a week as they tried to get their systems back up. And in another case, they had to turn to all-paper packets with no teacher interaction. Kevin Collier, reporter at NBC News, tells us about ransomware hitting schools.

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

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

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The defense has rested, the prosecution has rested and closing arguments will begin on Monday in the trial of Derek Chauvin, accused of killing George Floyd. The defense will continue to claim that underlying health conditions and drug use caused Floyd’s death. Chauvin has been charged with second and third degree murder and also second-degree manslaughter. The jury will be sequestered while they make their decisions. Janelle Griffith, national reporter at NBC News, joins us to recap this week of defense witnesses.

Next, in December of 2015 a terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California left more than a dozen people dead. In the aftermath of the scene, an iPhone 5c was found that belonged to one of the shooters. What kicked off after that was a fight between the DOJ and Apple to unlock that phone. Now, years later, we are finding out that the FBI turned to a little known Australian firm which used and exploit chain to finally get in. Reed Albergotti, technology reporter at the Washington Post, joins us for how a terrorist’s phone was finally unlocked.

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If you have money invested in cryptocurrency, you most likely had a good day Wednesday. Coinbase, the largest exchange for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies became the first major crypto company to go public and surged in its first day in the stock market. With Coinbase going public, it pushes cryptocurrency into the mainstream as something to seriously invest in. Paul Vigna, reporter at the WSJ, joins us to break it down.

Next, we are learning a little more about the investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz and a trip he took to the Bahamas with some associates and at least five young women. This trip is a key focus of the DOJ in their investigation. We also learned that Matt Gaetz’s phone was seized last winter as federal agents were looking into him. Marc Caputo, national political reporter at Politico, joins us for new details.

Finally, the CDC is studying cases of Covid “vaccine breakthrough.” There have been hundreds of cases reported in Florida, Michigan, and Washington about people getting infected with coronavirus after getting fully vaccinated. Experts say that this is expected as no vaccine provides 100% coverage, but are also looking into whether these are cases of being exposed to high levels of the virus or variants. Rob Stein, health correspondent at NPR, joins us for more.

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The fallout over the Daunte Wright shooting continues in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. We are seeing more protests and also the resignation of Police Chief Tim Gannon and Officer Kim Potter, who shot Wright. As it stands, they are making it seem like a case of mistaking her firearm for her Taser, but the community is not accepting it. Torey Van Oot, Twin Cities reporter at Axios, joins us for the latest police shooting happening under the backdrop of the Derek Chauvin trial.

Next, the FDA and the CDC has paused the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine while it reviews data after finding six women came down with blood clots after receiving the vaccine, one of those women died. Still, this is extremely rare, these are the only 6 cases so far after almost 7 million shots have been administered. Peter Loftus, healthcare reporter at the WSJ, joins us for what we know about the J&J vaccine.

Finally, President Biden is planning to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021. A deadline of May 1 was originally agreed upon by the Trump administration and the Taliban. The plan will not be conditions-based and will allow the U.S. to shift to current priorities, including military competition with China. Missy Ryan, national security reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for more.

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Elon Musk and his Boring Company has a new public transit system built 40 feet under the Las Vegas Convention Center. It cost $52 million and reduces a 15 minute walk to just under a couple of minutes as you ride in a Telsa through tunnels at about 35 mph. It’s a proof of concept that will soon be expanded as the city of Las Vegas and Clark County are going to also develop the “Vegas Loop,” a 15 mile system with stations at local resorts and attractions. Rick Velotta, gaming and tourism reporter at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, joins us for more.

Next, throughout the pandemic, nursing homes have been under more scrutiny as outbreaks were happening in these facilities that were understaffed and housed some of our most vulnerable citizens. In California, death and neglect was found inside a troubled nursing home chain called ReNew Health. Their CEO applied to operate nine new facilities and was denied because of all of the violations at her other facilities, but in a weird twist, she is still operating those very facilities because of licensing loopholes. Elly Yu, investigative reporter at KPCC and LAist.com, joins us to talk about the flawed system allowing this to happen.

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